Le Tour

July is here! my favorite time of year, for one reason the Tour de France! I know what you are thinking it has been going for a week already and this is the first time you are writing anything about it. Yes. The first week of the tour is all flat stages intreguing only if you like to watch the last about 10k to see who wins. In my mind we started today, the first real mountain stage. I have but one thing to say to all Americans who think Armstrong is simply going to walk in and win again. He isn't. Yeah I said it, he isn't going to win unless something changes with Alberto Contador. What none of you have been watching the tour since Armstrong stopped competing. He is the captain of the Astana team. Yes he is on the same team as Armstrong. He is the man Lance was six years ago when there was not a competition as to who was the best. He still hasn't won seven. Your right he has won one. He is younger than Lance and when he turned it on today there was no one, not even the great Armstrong who was going to be able to keep up for more than a couple stages. This kid is the real deal. I'm just giving the American public the heads up. Armstrong can win, he has done things beyond what people thought he could do his entire career, right now at this point in time Contador is the better climber.

On another related note, what are the odds on Astana finishing first second and third? The team is beyond stacked, and has a legitimate possibility of pulling it off. Now that would be the talk of the tour!

Wimbleton!!!!!

Anyone who watched the final had two emotions at the end. Relief and sadness. Relief because Roger Federer won his 15th grand slam in possibly one of the greatest matches of all time. Sadness because there had to be a loser. Both athletes fought their hearts out for as long as they could. They went as hard as they could for the longest match in the and championship final. Federer was sensational with his calm collected usual self. Pulling off the big shots when he needed to. One thing many people will look to is the second set tiebreaker. Roddick fell apart for six points. These six points cost Roddick the match. I personally am a huge fan of both players. They are both good guys and good in the media. Roddick charismatic funny and sarcastic. Federer quiet reserved and confident.

The extent of Roddick charisma is outlined by the cheer he received upon beating Murray, the hope of a nation. The dejected look on Andy's face when the match was over let you know how much he cared about getting a Wimbledon trophy. I am going to say this now, don't be surprised if Roddick WINS yes wins the US Open. He has shown he was fit, he has shown that he now has a dangerous backhand. The serve is always tough and he now believes he can win. This change in a mental attitude has made possibly the largest difference out of any of the changes. Watch out there may yet be a couple more wins in the making for Andy Roddick.

Now on to the star of the show; Roger Federer. What is there to say about this guy? He is simply the best to ever play the game. This man has been able to set himself apart from every other tennis player, not just with winning the 15th although that secured it. He leads nearly every significant category for a tennis player. He is still young, I wouldn't be surprised if he managed to put the record completely out of site. I'm saying around 18 or 19. Yes Nadal could come back and take a few away from him, but he has been in 21 straight major quarter finals. The consistency with which he gets deep into the tournaments allows him more opportunities than any other player to win the big tournaments. Congrats Roger! Good luck!

Traitors

This year has provided an extremely active trade season in the NBA. We will start with a few of the blockbuster trades so far this off season.
-Shaq to Cleaveland- this is a good move for Cleveland. I would not give this move any more commitment than that until I am able to see how Shaq does next season. He will be playing a different role as a "bodyguard" this next season. For once he is not the biggest personality of his team. It will be interesting to see him a this role. One thing Shaq will not disrupt is the amount of fun the Cavilers have, with both him and LeBron pulling jokes and having fun with the rest of the team. The Cavs will have a relaxed air about them no team is going to match. My question is what happens to Ilgauskas? Clearly not the same defender or presence inside Shaq is. How will he handle coming off the bench. I am assuming of course he will play behind Shaq.
-Artest to L.A.- The best move of any team in the draft or trade this off season. As far as money on an investment you are getting a brusing deffender and one of the more intimidating people on the basketball court in the current game, and only giving up a good defender who was a decent spot shooter. Now Artest is intimidating if for nothing else other than the fact he is crazy and has the tendency to fly off the handle. If nothing else Kobe isn't going to have to wear himself out both mentally and physically having to deal with him on the opposing team. Now is he going to behave himself. Under the direction of Kobe and the Zen Master I don't think there will be too much of a problem with his attitude. Watch out rest of the league L.A. just got even better than they were.
-Villaneuva and Gordon to Detroit- I think every one is realizing how important Billups was to that team and how with out him the rest of the players are not going to be able to perform at the same level. These two players are not going to replace Billups at all, and they move away from the typical tough defence Detroit usually plays. Bad move in my opinion for the Pistons, and will only move them further down the list in the East.
These are only the big trades so far and there is talk of more and more big names on the move. We will see if Boston or Portland are able to land their big players in the next couple of days. One thing is for sure, with the amount of action other teams are making so far if you don't make a couple of big trades you are going to be in trouble next year.

Experience

Well the USA fell about twenty minutes short of beating Brazil yesterday. Watching the game the amount of confidence the team had at the beginning of the game was awesome. It was fun to watch how good the our team can play when they are firing on all cylinders. The defense was tight and passes were crisp. The world saw how good a USA team can play and if nothing else they will at least be cautious when they play us in the future. Two players I thought played outstanding; Charlie Davies and Landon Donavan. The amount of energy Davies brought to the front line was huge momentum for the USA team. Donavan played some of the best soccer I have seen him play in this last tournament. People will talk about the amount of goals Dempsey scored but the play from Donavan deserved the number 10 on his jersey. However there was one person on the field who without his play the USA would have been in trouble early; Tim Howard. He established himself as one of the best if not the best keeper in the world. Yes he let in a few late goals but who could have stopped the Brazilians and the attack they were putting on for an entire game. Having a clean sheet for a half on that amazing team is impressive in itself. Howard made a couple saves look routine which any other keeper would struggle to make.

This brings me to another point Keller was one of the best keepers in the world when he was playing for the USA. The amount of work he did for the team needs to be congratulated. Howard will be a great replacement, we have been luck with keepers here and hope the skill at this position continues as the rest of the team continues to fill out and mature into what will hopefully become a contender within the ranks of world soccer.

On the NBA Draft

I did not watch much of the NBA draft live. What i did watch of the draft was entertaining. The amount of trades and deals struck on draft day was fun to watch. It was however hard to tell who your favorite players were going to play for. I would see one of my favorite players go to one team only to have an update come across the screen seconds later saying he was playing for a different team. This draft had a number of players who could be good. There didn't seem to be any players who are going to have a large impact on the NBA right away. Blake Griffin may have had the most impressive numbers of any player since Tim Duncan, but with every player in the NBA having nearly the same physical ability his domination seems to me as though it is going to be limited. There do seem to be a number of different very talented point guards. I don't know if any of them are going to be Chris Paul or Tony Parker good but have the potential to start and run the offense for their respective teams.

U.S.A..... U.S.A..... U.S.A.

I am a huge soccer fan. In case anyone lives in a box. The USA soccer team some how pulled off one of the greatest wins in our own soccer history day before yesterday. I understand soccer isn't the most popular sport here in the states. It is one of the major sports we do not even come close to dominating in. However the win verse Spain looks to be the start of something possibly real for American soccer. Two young players scored for the US in the game Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey. Both players are emerging a good players for their respective teams in Europe. While I personally have always felt Dempsey holds the ball for too long too often. Altidore has shown real promise. Being only 19 years old and being build like a typical football running back or db, he could be a turning point in American Soccer. Next year he will be playing his second season in La Liga. With his build and age things could be looking up if a number of players who are our (the USA's) best athletes start to play soccer. Sports such as football, basketball, and track have taken away a number of players who easily would have been great soccer players. Could you imagine having Kobe Bryant in the middle heading the ball on a cross, or opposition trying to cover Reggie Bush streaking onto a ball behind the defense? If Altidore is able to become a force in the European ranks more young kids may see how they can become a world wide star through the sport. The world could be seeing a completely different outlook of athletes they have to face when they see the United States on the schedule.

First Post

I have noticed there are a number of athletes who have their own blogs to keep their fans updated. This has recently changed to tweeting. I plan on using this blog to express my humble opinions to different fans or really anyone who wants to read someone else’s opinion that isn’t getting paid. The topics I plan on pursuing are limited only by the sports I am able to follow at one time. I have played a number of different sports ranging from swimming to soccer to basketball. Hopefully my readers (if there are any of you out there) will at least be amused at the strange topics I follow and my opinions on those topics.