It took almost 49 weeks, but the Mets got their ace back Monday. Pedro returned to the mound and while the radar gun readings weren’t pretty, he got the job done. Five innings, two runs and four strikeouts later and Pedro showed that he will contribute in 2007. It’s still a long way until October, but Pedro probably has five more tune-ups before the real games start and rhe Mets and their fans have to feel better about their chances.
The Mets don't get a reprieve as they travel to Atlanta for a weekend series. In the span of four days, they managed to let the Phillies right back in the division race. September doesn't look as fun as it did on Sunday.
The best part about the end of summer? Maybe that's the U.S. Open, which starts Monday in Flushing. The tennis season's final Grand Slam provides the players with a grueling test to cap what feels like a condensed hard-court season.
Holy smokes! Giant fish on the MTA, Paris Hilton in jail, then out, then in again, Al Gore, goatses, blumpkins, Matt Damon, and baby art critics! It's been a busy week across the Ist-A-Verse, and here's a smattering of what's been going on.
Superbowl MVP, Colts quarterback Peyton Manning is set to host Saturday Night Live tomorrow. Saying, "The only thing I've done live is play football, and that's the best thing I do. I've told everyone those commercials are very taped and very edited, but being live is kind of like a game."
-Yankees 9 Orioles 4: Sal Fasano became a Yankee because of his defense and not his hitting, but on Sunday he showed that he has some offensive skills too. Fasano went 2-4 with a three-run homer as New York cruised to an easy victory.
After rain washed out Tuesday's action, plenty of tennis made up for the lost time on Wednesday. Mikhail Youzhny took out Rafael Nadal in four sets, opening the draw for Andy Roddick, who disposed of Lleyton Hewitt. Roddick has enjoyed a resurgence since he hired Jimmy Connors. His backhand has improved -- it couldn't get worse -- and his attitude has changed. Could Roddick beat Roger Federer if they met in the final on Sunday? Their history doesn't suggest so, but it would be the most intriguing match.
With the U.S. Open behind thanks to two days of rain, plenty of tennis was played on Sunday in Flushing. Andre Agassi's final match, a loss to qualifier Benjamin Becker, drew most of the headlines, but Andy Roddick's resurgence also deserves some attention. He won his third-round match over Fernando Verdasco and will play Becker -- not Agassi -- in the fourth round. Jimmy Connors may have helped the 2003 champion, but only time, and tougher matches, will tell.
He's only won two matches, but Andre Agassi has already made his final U.S. Open memorable. Thursday's win over Marcos Baghdatis, the No. 8 player in the world, came after a tortuous match. After leading by two sets, Agassi dropped the third, but he rebounded to take a 4-0 lead in the fourth set. Baghdatis rallied to take that set and an early break in the fifth, but Agassi broke right back, and neither player lost his serve until Agassi broke Baghdatis to win 7-5. He'll next face Benjamin Becker, a qualifier, so a fourth-round match against Andy Roddick could be in the offing. No matter what fans thought of Agassi's earlier career, which included immaturity and a lack of success against some of the game's biggest stars (Pete Sampras), few should be in a rush to see Agassi leave.
When he announced he would retire after the U.S. Open, Andre Agassi made himself the story until he is eliminated. That almost came sooner than fans -- or CBS and USA -- wanted. Agassi survived three tiebreaks and beat Andrei Pavel in four sets to advance to a second-round match against Marcos Baghdatis on Thursday. The 36-year-old could have given up when, after splitting the first two sets on tiebreakers, he fell behind 4-0 in the third set. But Agassi rallied, much to the delight of the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd, which was about as one-sided as can be imagined.
Joy for tennis fans around New York City as the US Open officially started today out in Flushing despite some unfriendly tennis weather. Fun outings (with outrageously priced food and drink) for the whole family! With first-round matches underway, one seeded player has already fallen. 19th seed Dominik Hrbaty lost to Mikhail Youzhny in straight sets in opening round play. Some other big names advanced without much resistance. In men's singles, Andy Roddick easily advanced in straight sets. Justine Henin-Hardenne also advanced easily in women's singles. Currently underway is what looks like a great match between Paradorn Srichaphan and Jose Acasuso. It looks mighty exciting from the live updates on our computer screen.
Andres du Bouchet’s regular gig is that of Boliviguayan Entertainer of the Year Francisco Guglioni, MC of Giant Tuesday Night of Amazing Inventions and Also There is a Game!!! at Rififi. But beneath that vague mask of South American there is a real person. A man. With stories to tell. In the form of a one-man show.
In this era of tennis that does not see American men or women dominate the sport, the United States Open has struggled to maintain its appeal to American sports fans. The casual observer, whose fandom has made the US Open's popularity soar, has paid attention n the past because Americans have been winning. They don't appreciate the genius of Roger Federer or the deceiving power of Justine Henin-Hardenne. No longer can the USTA rely on the likes of the now-retired Pete Sampras and the aging Andre Agassi to make a run at the Open title each year to keep these fans attached.
This year, as was the case last year, the men's tournament has defending champion Roger Federer on one level and everyone else on the next. That Federer owns his two closest rivals, Lleyton Hewitt (2001 champion) of Australia and the American Andy Roddick (2003 champion), makes most of his matches predictable. The only player capapble of beating Federer when both play their best tennis is 2000 champion Marat Safin, but inconsitency has rocked his career.
The 2004 US Open kicked off with a bang last night, as evidenced by Serena William’s latest attire. Williams, never one to shy away from spectacle, dispatched Sandra Kleinova of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-3 in a just 53 minutes.
Mike and Bob Bryan? Done.
Second seeded Andy Roddick started out strong, but it was not meant to be. Roddick used his powerful serve to set up his equally formidable ground game in taking the first set of the Wimbledon Men's Final from Roger Federer but ultimately fell 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (3), 6-4. "I wasn't wanting to get in rallies where he could kind of do his thing, come up with spectacular stuff," Roddick said. "I went out and I tried to take it to him. I was successful most of the time. And then on a couple of key points, I wasn't."
Jennifer Capriati and Serena Williams both advanced today in straight sets. Capriati beat Nadia Petrova, 6-4, 6-4 while Williams defeated Tatiana Golovin, 6-2, 6-1. The victories by Capriati and Williams set up a head-to-head matchup in the semifinals between the respective seven and one seeds.
The 108th edition of Wimbledon got off to a rousing start today as nine time champion and 47 year old Martina Navratilova won her opening round match against Colombia's Catalina Castano 6-0, 6-1. The match, which lasted a mere 46 minutes, was Navratilova's first singles win in 10 years. It was only Castano's second match ever at The All England Club. "It's almost like playing my mom," said Castano, whose mother is 50. Navratilova will next face Gisela Dulko who she lost to in the opening round of the French Open a few weeks ago.
Roddick hit 15 aces but lost his serve nine times. His groundstrokes became more and more erratic as the match wore on. "I was waffling," Roddick said. "I wasn't decisive enough. I wasn't sticking with things I wanted to do." Roddick had lost in the first round the past two years.
On Monday Wheaties announced that Andre Agassi would be gracing a special edition of the cereal box to coincide with the start of the French Open. Agassi then went out and suffered one of the most surprising and unexpected losses in the Open era, ranking with Pete Sampras' loss to George Bastl at Wimbledon in 2002, and Lleyton Hewitt's loss to Ivo Karlovic there a year ago. Jerome Haehnel, a 23 year old qualifier from France, ranked 271st in the world, shocked the 1999 French Open champ 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-3.
The 2004 French Open gets underway at Roland Garros today. The pre tourney buzz is, as usual, all on the women’s side of the field.
add to digg
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
email this
tweet this
add to facebook
