A Great Day For Sports

Today was an excellent day if you were a sports fan. Let's begin....

First of all, Virginia Tech beat #1 North Carolina today.....they had leads as large as 20 points, only to have them shrink to something like 4 or 5, but held on. It's always great to see unranked teams beat huge established teams like North Carolina or Duke, whom the Hokies beat last week. Great to watch.

Watching Ohio State beat Tennessee was also a highlight. Greg Oden is a man.

OK, then football. Watching Indy play a mediocre offensive game and an excellent defensive game was actually really fun. Watching that last Colts drive made even me, a casual football fan, appreciate just how good they were. How long did that drive take, 7 minutes? Against the best defense in the league? The Colts are for real. Imagine how good they'll be if Peyton Manning comes around.

Then, the Wolves. For 3 quarters, the Wolves were outhustled and pretty much outplayed, but were only down 5 going into the fourth. Then, the Wolves decided to play great basketball, which resulted in their best 4th quarter of the year. They ended up winning 109-98, outscoring Jersey 37-21 in the 4th. That makes 9 out of their last 12.....they're certainly playing well, but I still wouldn't be opposed to them trading away 1 or 2 of their guards for a big man. But I digress.

The Saints-Eagles game just ended. I only got to catch the last 5 minutes or so, but it looked good. Why Andy Reid would decide to go for it on 4th and 10, then punt on 4th and 15, is beyond me. Meh.

So, a good day for sports. Tomorrow may be even better. Preview.....

First of all, the two NFL playoff games.....Patriots-Chargers, Bears-Seahawks. I don't do much football, but I pick the Chargers and Bears to win. Really going out on a limb there, but oh well, might as well pick the favorites. I hope the Chargers beat the Patriots by 80.

The Australian Open starts tomorrow. Finally, something I can sink my teeth into.....

I've already given out my reasons as to why you should watch the Australian Open. Now, for some analysis of what's going to happen on the men's side.....

Everyone's asking "Who's going to dethrone Roger Federer?" We saw some flashes of people stepping up to the plate last year, even as Federer won 3 grand slams and got to the finals of the French. In the finals of each major, Federer won in 4 sets, and all followed the same sort of pattern.....Federer takes the first set, his opponent (Baghdatis, Nadal, Roddick) makes a run and takes the second, a tight third set which Federer eeks out, then Federer dominates the 4th to win. For the most part.

I think the top players are starting to feel more comfortable playing Roger, and starting to even figure him out a little. Whether or not it's going to make a difference whether they win or not is a different story, but what used to be opponents' intimidation is starting to turn to determination. Look for Federer to win a maximum of 2 majors this year, including a loss at the Australian.

For me, the Australian seems like Roddick's major. The way he ended 2006 was impressive.....winning the US Open Series, getting to the final of the US Open, having match points against Federer at the Masters Cup.....but he still seemed like he was figuring out how he wanted to play. With a month to train and hone his skills, I think the Australian might be his best bet for a major. The Rebound Ace surface, which the Australian is played on, is reportedly playing faster then usual, which helps Roddick a lot. He has the confidence of knowing that he's rejoined himself as one of the elite players in the world. It just seems right. He's my pick to win the Australian Open.

Still, there are others that you have to consider, Federer being atop the list. He's won 2 of the last 3, and had match points against the eventual winner 2 years ago. James Blake is another player to be considered, with his huge game and growing confidence. Rafael Nadal, despite his late season slump, is another guy to throw in there. Then there are wild cards like Marat Safin, Fernando Gonzalez, and Richard Gasquet. Everyone expects Federer to win, but the field is really wide open.

Again, I URGE you to give the Australian Open a chance. The TV times on ESPN2 are reasonable, with live coverage in the evening and taped delay matches running in the afternoon. Give it a chance, I beg of you.

Australian Open TV Times

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