Congratulations to the Los Angeles Lakers for successfully defending their NBA Championship against the tough Boston Celtics. It was a fantastic series that ended in a climactic Game 7 comeback by the Lakers. These two teams were so evenly matched that if the game went 2 minutes more or was best-of-9, it may have ended differently. Another classic Finals matchup between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers. If you got your family to watch it you will be rewarded for the rest of your life with that memory, no matter who you wanted to win.
Also congratulations to Graeme McDowell who won the U.S. Open of golf, becoming the first European to win in 40 years. Tiger Woods stumbled early in the event but was able to make a surge on the last day to get in contention but he was never really that close. Even though he isn’t winning, he is still near the top, he isn’t going anywhere and look for a big win sometime soon.
The World Cup is still front and center and soon we will be out of the first round and onto matches that will have absolute winners and no more ties. Hopefully scoring will rise too because I personally am tired of the low scoring or non scoring. But I continue to watch because there is so much on the line with these teams. They play for entire countries and they know how much it means. Their emotions are apparent and they give their all every time they step out on the pitch (soccer language for “field”).
Top 3
1. FIFA 2010 World Cup – United States vs. Algeria – June 23 @ 10 am
The U.S. has held its ground so far with a strong showing against England and a display of great heart against Slovenia to get a comeback tie in their last match. The game should have ended in a 3-2 U.S. victory but there was a horrible call of offsides that disallowed the winning goal. But the determination the U.S. team showed to comeback was awesome and should give them a lot of motivation into this game. A win for either team means advancing to the next round so that should be more than enough motivation for each to go play hard. In a Group filled with ties, this would be a great opportunity for the U.S. to take advantage of to ensure advancement and one step closer the the Cup. Watch and cheer on our team and make it a memorable event for you and your children.
2. FIFA 2010 World Cup – France vs. South Africa – June 22 @ 10 am
South Africa’s feeling of triumph over being the host nation wore off during their last match when they lost 3-0 to Uraguay. They will have a tough time even making it out of the first round but playing from behind is the best start to any underdog story. A win will help unite the team along with the country and their opponent seems to be working their hardest to make it easy on South Africa. There is sever turmoil in the French locker room. Their coach, Raymond Domenech, is on his way out as the French national coach and the players are not taking him seriously. The team has failed to score yet in the tournament and striker Nicolas Anelka has been thrown off the squad after a heated argument during the last match. The rest of the team then walked off the field during Sunday’s practice in protest of the dismissal. All of this spells disaster even if the team wins this match. But perhaps they can find their spark if they go down early and need to band together. But I doubt it, watch to see this team implode before your very eyes.
3. MLB – New York Yankees at Los Angeles Dodgers – June 25, 26 & 27
Current Dodger manager Joe Torre was the Yankee manager during the 90’s and early 2000’s, leading them to numerous World Series titles and some of the best years in Yankee history. This will be his first time going up against his former team and even if he won’t say it out loud, he wants to stick it to ‘em. They parted under unfavorable circumstances and while it wasn’t ugly, anybody would want to stick it to their former employer. This will also be the first time Manny Ramirez plays the Yankees again since he was a Boston Red Sox player and beat the Yankees to advance to the World Series. On top of all that, these two teams have hated each other for years. While the Dodgers were still in Brooklyn the Yankees were always the better team and over shadowed the Dodgers and the teams met a couple times in the 70’s and 80’s to decide the World Series. These will be very interesting games and worthwhile to watch just because they don’t get to play each other often.
Quick Picks
- With hockey and basketball over, baseball comes front and center as that season heats up. Go to MLB.com to get all the latest information and see what your team is up to.
- Jimmie Johnson is winning again and the rest of the NASCAR driver better beware. Keep an eye on the standings here.
