Djokovic Dethones Nadal, Wins Wimbledon

Novak Djokovic defeated Rafael Nadal today at Center Court to win his first Wimbledon Championship and erase all whispered doubt that he wasn't really the best player in the world.

Winning 6-4, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3, there was only a brief period in the match where the end result seemed to be in doubt.

Djokovic played even with Nadal throughout most of the first set, showing his quickness and shot-making ability, winning points away from Nadal that very few players could have done.  With the first set 5-4 and on serve, Djokovic was able to earn his first service break and win the set with an excellent forehand down the line.

That first set sudden victory seemed to both energize Djokovic and cause Nadal to tighten up a bit, as Djokovic rolled through the second set quickly.  With two service breaks, Djokovic was able to win 6-1 in roughly 33 minutes, a very quick set.

The third set was the complete opposite of the second, as it was Nadal who broke Djokovic twice to coast through the set 6-1 in 31 minutes.  The match's momentum definitely seemed to be with Nadal at this point, with his impossible shot-making ability on full display.  Djokovic seemed to lose a bit of energy, and one had to wonder if the pressure of the day was finally catching up to the Serb.

In the fourth set, Djokovic was able to break Nadal in the first game, and this brought a greater energy back to his body language.  Summoning his considerable will that has made him a Champion, Nadal was then able to fight back in the next game, breaking Djokovic.

The players held service for the next few games, and then Djokovic won four straight service points to go up 4-3 in the fourth set.  Nadal seemed to sense the incredible pressure in that eighth game and opened his service game up with a double fault, his first of the match.  From there, he made a few unforced errors and was broken again.

With Djokovic up 5-3, he seemed to resort to the play of his second set and demonstrated in that final game why he's now #1.  Incredible quickness, unbelievable defense, and making the shots he needed to when it counted allowed Djokovic to win that final game and then hoist the Wimbledon Trophy as Champion.

Photo taken from http://www.tennisearth.com/news/tennisNews/Djokovic-ends-Federer-Nadal-era-wins-2011-Wimbledon-226845.htm

ATP Tennis Rankings Explained: Why Djokovich Has Overtaken Nadal

Novak Djokovic has overtaken Rafael Nadal in the ATP Rankings that are set to come out on Monday.  This has been a bit of a confusing subject matter to some, as the rankings don't lend themselves to easy understanding always.  Here are some key things to understand about the ranking system:

• Points are allotted every time a player wins a match round in most ATP-recognized tournaments. These include the four Major Grand Slams, the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (series of tournaments held around Europe, North America, and Asia), the ATP World Tour 500 (another series of tournaments held around the world), the ATP World Tour Finals (tournament held at end of the year involving just the top 8 ranked players at that time), and certain other ATP 250 tournaments.  The Davis Cup doesn't count, which is why you haven't seen a player like Roger Federer play in that competition.
• Point Totals are given for every round that is reached (for simplicity, only points awarded for quarter-final appearances and above are noted):
• Grand Slam: 2000 (W), 1200 (F), 720 (S), 360 (QF)
• ATP World Tour 1000: 1000 (W), 600 (F), 360 (S), 180 (QF)
• ATP World Tour 500: 500 (W), 300 (F), 180 (S), 90 (QF)
• Points are accumulated in a rotating 52 week schedule; This is why Djokovich is about to overtake Nadal; Last year's Wimbledon results, as of Monday's rankings, will be taken off of each player's ATP points total
• Prior to the start of Wimbledon, Nadal had 12,070 points for the previous 52 weeks, and Djokovich had 12,005.  Last year at Wimbledon, Nadal received 2,000 points for his win, and Djokovich received 720 for his semi-finals appearance.
• Taking away last year's Wimbledon results gives Nadal 10,070 points and Djokovich 11,280.  Even if Nadal wins Wimbledon tomorrow, and he garners the 2000 points the winner receives, Djokovich's 1200 points for his Finals appearance keeps him on top:
• Djokovich: 13,280 points
• Nadal: 12,070 points
• The reason for Djokovich's rise to the #1 ranking lies in his remarkable performance over the first half of 2011.  He won all four ATP World Tour Masters 1000 championships this year, and defeated Nadal in the Finals each time.  He also won the 2011 Australian Open when Nadal was defeated in the quarterfinals.  Finishing higher than Nadal over this period enabled him to make up the ground needed in the points total.

USA Women Defeat Colombia in World Cup Match

In what was a bit of a sloppy game, the United States beat Colombia in group play 3-0 today in Germany at the World Cup to advance to the Quarterfinals.

The United States women missed numerous goal chances, especially in the first half, until Heather O'Reilly took a deflection off a Colombian defender and rocketed an 82-foot shot into the top corner of the net.

In the second half, Megan Rapinoe added a beautiful ripper of a goal on a pass from Lauren Cheney in the 49th minute and just seven minutes later Carli Lloyd took a short pass from Stefanie Cox and bended a shot past the Colombia goalkeeper to finish the scoring at 3-0.

The actual goals were nice, but the score could have been much higher had the Americans converted more of their easier chances.

Next up: Sweden on Wednesday, 12:30 p.m. EST, ESPN

Wimbledon Men's Final Preview: Nadal vs. Djokovic, or Superman vs. Batman

How can you go wrong with this Final?

On one side, you have Rafael Nadal, who has won two Wimbledon Championships already and 10 Grand Slams in total.  The #1 ranked player in the world (until Monday) who is so athletic and relentless on the court that no winner is safe.

On the other side, you have Novak Djokovic, who on Monday will become the new #1, no matter what happens on Sunday.  He has only lost one match since Thanksgiving of LAST YEAR.

Graphic courtesy of Wimbledon/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/9528905.stm


So what happens on Sunday when these two tennis powerhouses meet?

Since his winning streak began, Djokovic has faced Nadal four times and won all four matches.  They missed out on playing each other in the French Open final when Djokovic lost to Federer in the semi-finals.

This is Djokovic's first grass tournament of the year, so it's hard to know for sure if his game will continue to be superior to Nadal's.  Neither man has had a terribly difficult match in this year's Wimbledon, and there are no obvious weaknesses in their games.

What I'm hoping for is another Wimbledon classic, like that 2008 Final when Nadal outlasted Federer in 5 sets to finally defeat Federer in a Grand Slam other than the French.  It was the best tennis match I've ever seen, and this Djokovic/Nadal match has the potential to be just as great.

My prediction: Djokovic in 4 sets

O'Reilly's Amazing Goal for US Women's World Cup Team

USA vs Colombia - Women's World Cup - NOW

The United States Women's World Cup team is just about to start play against Colombia in group play on ESPN, starting Noon EST.

The U.S. team is a heavy favorite in this game, but this could be an excellent introduction to women's soccer and their style of play (remarkably cleaner than the men's game but still powerful) for the American fan.

Photo courtesy Martin Rose/Bongarts/Getty Images

Wimbledon Junior's - Britain Still Waiting

Why is it that Britain is so cursed in this beloved game of theirs?

Today in the Boys' Junior Championship, British hope Liam Broady was defeated by Australian Luke Seville 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.  

What's sad for British tennis fans is that Seville is not even close to Australia's current best talent, young Bernard Tomic (just one year older than Seville).

I don't know what to make of Britain's lack of a tennis star, any more than I know why America hasn't produced a top-tier male tennis player in the past decade.  Perhaps these things are simply cyclical, and one just has to be patient.  Eventually, the time will come.  For now, I'm just enjoying watching these amazing tennis players no matter what nationality they represent.

Kobe Bryant's Platelet-Rich Plasma Treatment Explained

Kobe Bryant, turning 33 in August, underwent Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) treatment in his arthritic right knee at a facility in Germany in early June.

Bryant has had three previous procedures done on that knee, but he continues to suffer from the effects of degenerative joint disease.  It's unknown if he's had this particular therapy before, but by having this treatment he's showing that his knee arthritis is still bothering him.

In the PRP procedure, a small amount of blood (about an ounce) is removed from the patient.  That blood is then centrifuged to a degree where the platelets are pulled out of the rest of the blood into a bit of the liquid component (plasma).  That very highly concentrated platelet/plasma mixture is then injected back into the affected tissue area.

Here's the theory behind the procedure: sports injuries happen frequently to areas such as tendons or joints where there may be poor blood supply to provide the building block materials needed to heal that injury.  Platelets have been shown to produce certain substances (such as platelet-derived growth factor) that speed up the growth and repair of connective tissues.  By injecting a high concentration of platelets into an area that has a poor blood supply, healing may be greatly enhanced.

Over the past ten years, this procedure has become more widespread as the benefits and evidence of its use has become better known.  Other athletes who have had the procedure done include Tiger Woods (four times), Troy Polamalu, and Hines Ward, but you don't have to be a world-class athlete to get the same treatment.   Doctors use PRP for a variety of ailments including the knee, hip, shoulder, wrist, and ankle.

There isn't yet an overwhelming amount of evidence to show that PRP works consistently, but considering the low risks associated with the therapy (infection, nerve damage), this treatment is clearly worth a shot for Kobe.

Jagr Signs with Flyers After Penguins Drop Offer

In a bit of a surprising twist to the NHL off-season, Jaromir Jagr has decided to sign with the Philadelphia Flyers after receiving offers earlier in the week from the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Detroit Red Wings.

"We made what we thought was a very fair contract offer to Jaromir on Tuesday, based on his stated interest of returning to the Penguins," Pittsburgh general manager Ray Shero said. "We made our best offer from the start, given our salary-cap structure, in an attempt to facilitate a deal.  But now, after several days, with an extended time frame for making a decision and additional teams getting involved, we have decided to move in a different direction."

Jagr signed a one-year contract worth $3.3 million whereas the Penguins offer was for $2.2 million.

Perhaps this was simply a ploy to get the best possible offer from an NHL team? Jagr had to know that the team most receptive to his stated interest to play in the NHL again would be the Penguins, and from there he was most likely hoping other teams might bid as well.  Looks like he got his wish.

Wimbledon Semi-Final Results

So no real surprises today at Wimbledon, with both Djokovic and Nadal advancing to the Finals.

Djokovic won in relatively easy fashion against Jo-Wilifried Tsonga 7-6, 6-2, 6-7 (9-11), 6-3. Although Tsonga had more winners and aces against Djokovic, he also had over twice as many unforced errors (29 to 13).  This wasn't going to get it done on a day like today when Djokovic was serving and playing as well as he has all year.

Nadal dropped his first set against Andy Murray, but took over the match after that, winning 5-7, 6-2, 6-2, 6-4.  Murray seemed to be ready to give Nadal a fight in the early stages of the match, dictating the tempo and attacking points.  However, at a crucial point in the second set when he was up 2-1, he mis-hit an easy forehand that would have given him a great chance to break Nadal and potentially win another set.  At that point, it seemed like the old immature Andy Murray who quickly got down on himself quite hard and seemed to just fall apart for the most part the rest of the match.

With today's matches, Djokovic becomes the #1 ranked player in the world, and even if Nadal beats him on Sunday he will still retain his ranking.

Wimbledon Finals Preview will be posted on Saturday.

Hey Brits, don't be too sad that Murray won't win this major this year.  There is a British junior player who has made it into the junior finals where a British player hasn't won since 1962.  Liam Broady.  Let's remember that name.