Maddux Sports Blog

It was a pretty good day for a pair of friends today.

I had no doubt in my mind before today, but the argument has been made even more compelling – Roger Federer is unquestionably the greatest male tennis player of all time. If you didn’t see the match today then you really missed out. Andy Roddick, to his tremendous credit, played about as well as he could possibly have played. He was aggressive, accurate, and focused – three things that don’t always come in one package for the talented American. No matter what he did, though, Federer was there to match him. Roddick got close to a breakthrough a couple of times in the final marathon set, but whenever he pushed the Swiss star to the brink, Federer would fight his way out. Federer is so ridiculously creative – it’s almost as if he invents shots for particular situations, and as if he adapts his entire game to suit the needs of a particular situation. He wasn’t having an easy time handling Roddick’s blistering serve on Sunday, so he ratcheted his own serve up and, incredibly, almost doubled the number of aces Roddick had. It was a truly epic battle between two warriors, but you couldn’t shake the feeling from he very start that n matter what Roddick tried it wouldn’t quite be enough. Unbelievable.

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James Blake lost at Wimbledon already. I won’t spend anymore time dwelling on the pathetic state of American men’s tennis – you know the drill. Roger Federer won, too, and he made it look easy. I was a little bit concerned at the start because he looked a bit lethargic for the first few points, but then I realized that it was his first grass match of the year and I was less concerned. By the middle of the first set his legs were back under him and he looked very good. He rolled to an easy win, and gave us no reason to doubt his ability to win it all.

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What a strange day of golf that was to watch. Ricky Barnes started out looking like he was totally unbeatable, and looked worse and worse as the day progressed. Mike Weir self-destructed like he is sadly prone to do. Phil Mickelson paired every thoroughly impressive hole with an equally awful one. David Duval looked like he was teetering on the brink the whole time, yet somehow mostly kept it together. Most bizarre, though, was Tiger. It’s not that he played poorly – he is human, so that can happen. It’s how bad his body language was. He was shooting poorly, and he was showing his frustration in increasingly negative and self-destructive ways. I don’t know what was going through his head, but it wasn’t good. There certainly wasn’t that killer instinct that we are so used to seeing from him. He’s played well at times since returning from injury, but this is clear proof that he’s far from alright.

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This US Open may never end. It’s reasonably entertaining, but it is so inconsistent and the weather is such a factor that there will be an asterisk the size of my head beside the name of whoever wins this one. At this rate Monday golf seems like a lock, and Tuesday could even be a possibility if things don’t change. I golfed on Friday with a woman whose boss paid a ridiculous amount of money to golf with Tiger Woods at a charity event. On Tuesday. It would be crushing to miss out of something like that. Of course, Tiger might not be in much of a mood to golf on Tuesday given how he has played so far, so maybe missing out would be a lucky thing.

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I was sad to see yesterday that Dontrelle Willis was held out of his next start. Nobody is saying it, but you have to imagine that it will be very hard for him to find his way back into the rotation. He showed some promise in his early starts, but he’s been getting increasingly ineffective since then. He’s clearly not a major league pitcher at this point. It never fails to amaze me to see a guy totally lose his game like that. It’s like what has happened with Fausto Carmona – a couple of years ago he was the next big thing, and now he’s toiling down in class A.

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Here are some what I find to be surprising (sometimes pleasant, sometimes perplexing and sometimes funny) developments in the world of sports.

Stanley Cup Game 7

I honestly thought that the Penguins would be out by now, but they made is a real series. Can Hossa come through for Detroit? Can Crosby take the trophy for Pittsburgh? It has been a home series. Neither team has been able to steal one when visiting. In goal, Osgood had outperformed Fleury. In the playoffs, Osgood has a better save percentage and goals against average. But in the last game, Fleury gave up just one score, notching a .962 SV%, while Osgood gave uo two, earning a .935 SV%. It is gut-check time at the Joe Lewis Arena in Detroit. It should be a great one. There’s nothing like a game seven for the Stanley Cup.

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