Three Main Events in less the 24 Hours, Part I

7:22 a.m.: I couldn't take it anymore. I fell asleep after Nadal scored that third set victory to go up 2-1 on Federer, and apparently Nadal won the whole thing.

And the match totally hinged on the last two games of the third set. Federer had multiple chances to take the set and crush Nadal's spirit. Nadal looked tired, drained and like he couldn't go on if he had lost that set.

But he won.

This is what my friend sent me on Facebook: "Nadal was unhuman. His heart, the way he plays the big points, his unfamiliarity with hard courts, even though he was physically drained... GOSH!!! Definitely one of the best matches I've seen, and it's up there with last year's Wimbledon final!"

It's too bad I missed a great ending.

3:27 a.m.: His body might be letting him down, by Nadal sure has some mental fortitude. Down love-40, Nadal fights back for the set. No one has been broken in the third set yet and now Federer serves to tie things up.

3:20 a.m.: Nadal might be tiring. He's missed some shots that he hasn't missed all game. Another two-handed backhand goes wide for him. If Federer continues to wear down Nadal, it might be over sooner than we all think.

3:17 a.m.: Nadal's called for the trainer. Apparently something's wrong with his right leg. But it doesn't look serious. Just a rub down. I don't know what that'll do either than relax the muscles. Hopefully it doesn't hamper him for the rest of the match. This might be a result of that long match Nadal had with Verdasco a couple of days ago.

3:02 a.m.: Apparently there were a couple of bugs on the court. Delayed the match by 30 seconds. Why couldn't we see the ball boys kill and clean up the bugs? It's not like the bugs were streaking.

2:51 a.m.: There have been some really close challenges today. That last challenge was just crazy. There was a hairline's breath between the ball and the line. Amazing.

2:38 a.m.: I love it how Federer gets "pumped" for matches against Nadal. Only a great rivalry and a great opponent can bring that out of the normally quiet Swiss. And the great rivalries will do that--bring out something extra--a little oomph added. All tied a 1-1.

2:10 a.m.: I wonder what it is about Nadal that Federer can't break him. It's like impossible. Is it Nadal's power? Or is it that Federer's slicing shots are neutralized because Nadal stays so deep and so fast along that baseline?

1:55 a.m.: Federer is not only a master with the racket, but he's a master of the challenge. If he could only be employed by the NFL and college football teams.

1:50 a.m.: What a stat: Nadal is 76-1 in majors after winning the first set. SEVENTY-SIX AND ONE! But the only loss has come on the hard court, in Flushing last year at the U.S. Open. So, if a trend is to be broken, Federer still has a shot.

1:21 a.m.: These long rallies cannot be fun for Nadal. He played Verdasco to five sets and five hours for the longest match in Aussie Open history. Nadal has to be gassed or will be gassed by the third set.

1:05 a.m.: BREAK POINT AGAIN! How does Federer only have a 14 percent success rate on break points against Nadal. That's crazy.

1:02 a.m.: The voice of tennis, Dick Enberg, just said "full-blooded stroking." Yeah, he did.

1:00 a.m.: My friend, who is watching the match with me, says that Nadal reminds him of Chris Pontius. Here's a picture of Nadal. And one of Pontius. You be the judge. Personally, I don't see it, but I'm not the one with alcohol in my body.

12:54 a.m.: Federer double-faults?!!! Nadal secures the break point?! Already?! Federer has too many unforced errors...already.

12:47 a.m.: I'm sure this will come up sometime in the match, but Roger Federer is not done yet. He's running out of gas, but he's not done yet. And my friends are so one-sided. Either they're for Federer or they're for Nadal. Why can't we just enjoy these two duke it out (hopefully at ever grand slam final) the next few years.

12:34 a.m.: Nice montage by ESPN showing the championship point from last year's Wimbledon final.

Let's just hope that John McEnroe isn't around to give Federer a hug if Federer loses this one today.

12:23 a.m.: I'm at the beginning of my adventure--the attempt to live-blog the three biggest sporting events this weekend.

It's currently 12:23 a.m. here in California and I'm minutes away from the Australian Open final between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. In about 7 and a half hours, Liverpool and Chelsea kickoff the biggest match of the Premiership weekend. And of course, in about 15 hours, Pittsburgh and Arizona kickoff Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa.

My goal is to capture my day as I try to follow all of these events. It'll be crazy, but wildly fun.

And oh, I've got my money on Federer. We've never seen Federer and Nadal go at it on a hard court major final. This is our chance and the conditions suit Federer well.

I say the old man still got's some left and ties Pete Sampras tonight/this morning for the most major titles ever.

The match is about to start, I'll see you in a bit.

P.S.: I've been awake since 8 a.m. this morning, making this a little bit interesting.

Super Bowl Eve (And there are more things that I'm worried about)

As a fan of the once mighty San Diego Chargers, part my says to root against the Steelers tomorrow in Super Bowl XLIII and hope that the Cardinals can put Pittsburgh back in its place.

But the NFL fan of me says that it'd be a travesty for the Cardinals--long the League's laughing stock--to win a Super Bowl period (and before Chargers). It's as if the Los Angeles Clippers or (godforbid) the Chicago Cubs ever won a championship (again in the case of the Cubs).

However, if the Cubs were in the World Series next year, I'd root for them to win it. A century is a long time to wait and if any professional team deserves it (if pro teams are deserving of our adulation) it's the Cubs.

But I digress.

This year's Super Bowl seems more muted than usual. Maybe it's because of the recession and the United States' troubling economy. Maybe because all of our country's excitement was zapped from a two-year long battle for the Presidency which ended in the party of all parties that was Inauguration Day for Barack Obama.

And then maybe it's because these are two teams you really can't hate, nor love, nor get behind. It's Pittsburgh and its Terrible Towels. It's Arizona and its...old retired people. And the game is in Tampa, which isn't the most exciting place in the world.

No, this game doesn't excite me. And no matter how much NBC or ESPN or even Ketih Olbermann hype this game up, I will watch it reluctantly (and with tired eyes).

With Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer doing battle at 12:30 a.m. my time Sunday morning for the Australian Open Final and Liverpool and Chelsea going at it at 8 a.m. my time later that Sunday morning, I'm pretty sure that I'll be all but excited for the Super Bowl.

And if that's not enough, the two teams are really not that exciting.

The Steelers' quarterback (Ben Roethlisberger) is as ho-hum as you can get, while Arizona's is a has-been that has found a renaissance (every old man is rooting for you Kurt Warner).

There are no controversial wide recievers--just likeable ones in Larry Fitzgerald and Hines Ward.

And the best storyline coming into the game belongs to the awkwardness that comes from the head coaches. Arizona's Ken Whisenhut should have been Pitttsburgh's guy after Bill Cowher left, but the guys in suits picked Mike Tomlin instead. Oh the intrigue (and oh how you cannot discern the sarcasm in my voice).

But it is still the Super Bowl. Millions will tune in, throw a party and spend an entire Sunday forgetting about life for awhile.

Because in the end, the Super Bowl (and all of sport) is about that--distraction. It doesn't matter who wins. It doesn't matter who loses. It doesn't matter who is the game's MVP or if the game was a blow out or the second greatest game ever played.

Sport and the Super Bowl are a tool, a little bit of joy amidst a time of harrowing prospects. And that's why, even if this is the most boring Super Bowl in it's 43-year history, that's why people will watch. Even if they will (like I) reluctantly.

Sport's Place in A Historic Day

The inauguration Barack Obama yesterday meant a lot of different things to a lot of different people. To many political pundits, Obama's first day on the job was the signal of a generational change; that the proverbial torch has been passed from the one generation of Americans (Baby Boomers) to the next (Generation X).

To the layman, Obama's election and taking office is the signal of renewed hope in the American spirit. Or maybe they too feel what the pundits feel.

And of course, to many, Barack Obama's election is the finality of a century's long struggle for true freedom and equality in the United States.

If you ask the sports world, that's what Obama's place in history means to them. Sure, there are those fluff stories about how Obama loves basketball.

But true reason why athletes and the sport world took a break to watch this historic moment in American history is because the Presidency seemed so far away for minorities in the United States. It was always that mountain top that many thought no African-American individual would ever get to.

ESPN devoted coverage of the inauguaration on SportsCenter. Athletes around the country spoke out as to why it was important to them. And it was pretty much the same message: we've broken the color barrier in sports, a thing done 62 years ago, but to see a black man in the Oval Office, that was only the biggest of dreams--at least that's what Dave Winfield told the Union-Tribune.

But sport is one of the truest and purest proving grounds. It's where race or religion or belief does not matter. And because of sport's seeming progressive nature, of course they had to remind the rest of the country that "we were first."

Yesterday, as the world watched Obama take the oath of office, it was as if the sports world was saying, "you're welcome."

It was the black athlete that first stood up against Adolf Hitler's hatred when Jesse Owens and Archie Williams took home gold medals from Berlin in 1936.

It was Joe Louis, Jim Brown and Ernie Davis who stood up to oppression in their sport. It was Muhammed Ali that help put the Civil Rights movement on his shoulders. It was Arthur Ashe and Kareem Abdul-Jabar who continued the movement, though quietly.

It was Larry Doby in the American League and of course it was Jackie Robinson before him in the National League.

These were the pioneers.

There should be no question as to why the sports world paused to celebrate Obama's achievment. Because as much as Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks and Jesse Jackson laid down the foundations of the Civil Rights movement, it was the black athlete that captured the hearts of Americans.

It was in sport, where equality has no pillars to hide behind, that showed everyone 62 years before, that yes we can. Yes, America can have no racial strife, no racial inequality, that everyone truly is the same.

That, yes, America can actually hold up to its founding principals and set forth what the founders meant to do.

The Super Bowl is Set

First, thoughts still go out to Willis McGahee. That was a vicious hit and is a reminder of how awful the game of American football can be. Let's hope that McGahee has a speedy recovery.

But, otherwise, the Super Bowl is set and it might be a pretty interesting one, if you're willing to look pass that the Arizona Cardinals are going to Tampa (I, for one, may not, as referenced last week).

The Super Bowl pits strength versus strength this year. The NFL's top defense in the Steelers and what seems to be a reincarnation of the "Greatest Show on Turf" in Arizona with Kurt Warner leading the team. If that's not interesting enough for anyone to watch this game, then maybe they aren't true football fans.

Of any sport, the only one the really embodies the chess analogy is American football. What one does directly effects what the other team does. If the Cardinals go five-wide and spread the field, then look for the Steelers to matchup with more defensive backs. If you see Troy Polamalu coming in for a blitz, look for Arizona's center to change the blocking assignments.

It'll be a game of strategy in two weeks and one that should be fun to watch.

To the rest of the week:

• Is this the end of the Baltimore Ravens as we know them? If Rex Ryan quits and takes the Jets job, and with an aging defense, what are the Ravens to do?
• I had a conversation with my friend who said that another friend doesn't value DeSean Jackson and says that Jackson is arrogant for no reason. Please. This TD grab yesterday shows why Jackson is the cocky bastard that we (and I) all know. Jackson, if you give him just an inch of space, is one of a handful of players that can take it to paydirt everytime he has the ball. So yes, he does have something to be arrogant about.
• Sorry Joe Flacco, Dan Marino is still the best rookie quarterback ever.
• I don't care if there was a huge banner in the stadium yesterday, but Arizona, you did not just "Shock the world." The world doesn't even care.

Extra Point:

Larry Fitzgerald is superman. Troy Polamalu is superman. Hopefully we get to see those two lineup against each other a few times in the Super Bowl. It probably won't happen, but we can always hope.

The Week That Was the Divisional Playoffs in the NFL

Super Bowl 43 is turning out to be quite possibly one of the most boring Super Bowls in recent memory. With the way the divisional playoffs went, if you thought that the Steelers-Seahawks title game from a few years back was boring, you've seen nothing yet.

Only three of the final four teams have the kind of buzz that brings the masses to their television sets on Sundays, and that's Pittsburgh.

If I were an NFL exec, I'm hoping that the Steelers beat Baltimore next Sunday, because whoever comes out of the NFC won't bring a massive following (or enough hype to give the Super Bowl huge ratings).

Maybe an all-Pennsylvania Super Bowl may get people to their TV sets. Maybe Donovan McNabb still has the star power to draw the huge crowds. But, right now, I am not looking forward to next Sunday's championship games nor am I looking forward to February 1.

To the rest of the week:

• There's Tim Sullivan of the Union-Tribune spouting off the obvious...again. However, this time, rightfully so. Pass rush and a lack of a running game has plagued the Chargers all year. It finally bit them in the ass in what was a miracle of a run that was the last five weeks. But now the season's over and A.J. Smith has got to address those problems.
• BTW...not even the 2006 edition of LaDainian Tomlinson could have ran behind the 2008 San Diego Chargers offensive line. The line is the problem, not LT or Sproles or Hester or even Michael Bennett.
• What happened to Carolina? How did the Panthers implode like that?
• I guess it wasn't a Happy Birthday for Jake Delhomme.
• The Giants looked ordinary against Philadelphia.
• And we all knew that Tennessee was a fraud. C'mon. Kerry Collins? Really?

Extra Point:

It's too bad Tony Dungy finally retired. However, I think it's the right time--at least the right time to leave Indianapolis. The sun has set on Peyton, Dungy and the Colts. It's time to start anew and someone had to leave. And that someone had to be Tony Dungy.

Who's Number 1?

Sixteen writers in the AP Poll and one lone coach (of course it was Utah's Kyle Whittingham) gave Utah No. 1 votes in the final polls of the year.

(I know this is a couple days late, but hey, better late than never).

Of course, this is the perpetual problem with the current system and one that many want to change with a playoff system.

Naysayers of the BCS system want a true number one team crowned at the end of the year. No ifs, ands or buts. No questions. No whatifs. No maybe-this-team-should-be-at-the-top. They want a playoff. They want it bad and they looking at the Utes' undefeated season (capped with that win over Alabama) and the debacle in the Big 12 as the rallying cry.

Guess what. That playoff ain't comin', no matter who says they want one (Barack Obama may be able to fix all the troubles in the world--or at least promise he can--but can't fix college football).

Sure Utah had an undefeated season, but really, a team from the Mountain West who's best win came against an uninspired Crimson Tide, that should be the No. 1 team in the country?

And don't give me that "oh the Mountain West is really good" bullshit. The mid-majors were overrated this year. Everyone of them. Except the Utes.

And what about Texas? Should the Longhorns not be considered? Why didn't any coaches break from the AFCA and vote for UT? Because the AFCA threatened to not count votes by coaches who didn't vote for Florida.

Should Utah be No. 1? No, but I would have voted for them. Because, at the end of the day, we all knew that there was no way that the Utes were going to be named No. 1 in the country.

FOX Asks "Where Did All the Offense Go?"

Update 11:02 p.m.: I'm watching ESPN's coverage right now, and it's the same stuff. Thanks sports media for making the whole world think that after Florida and Oklahoma breezed threw some powderpuff defenses that last month of the season, that both offenses are supposed to continue like a well-oiled machine. Right.

Florida won, as I predicted (though it isn't on record. You'll just have to ask my friends).

Not much to say about the game besides that Tim Tebow is a pretty good football player, Percy Harvin is amazing and Sam Bradford might have the softest touch in the college game (that's a good thing).

The game was pretty much ho-hum, which can be a pretty good characterization of all 34 bowl games this year, collectively. Collectively, this bowl season wasn't extraordinary. But that's a post for another day.

What I'll always remember from this BCS National Championship Game is FOX's team (play-by-play guy Thom Brenaman, color guy Charles Davies and the in-studio crew of Chris Rose, Eddie George, Barry Switzer and Jimmy Johnson) kept harping on the fact that both the Gators and Oklahoma were scoring at a lower rate than they normally do.

It's as if the entire FOX crew was expecting a 42-41 shootout. Please.

Look at what teams Florida and the Sooners have played the last couple of months. Oklahoma's last five opponents before the BCS title game was Mizzou, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Texas A&M and Nebraska.

The Gators played Alabama, Florida State, The Citadel, South Carolina and Vanderbilt.

The only quality defensive team in that group of 10 teams is...Bama.

Everyone else (even the Red Raiders) is a defensive pansy.

So when the best two teams, with two pretty good defenses, get together for the championship game, you--FOX--still expect a shootout? Really? And for godsakes, the Gators played THE CITADEL and dropped 70 points on them.

I didn't expect to see a 7-7 game at half. But I for sure didn't expect to see 48-46.

C'mon FOX, at least pretend to show some professionalism.

(There Will Be No) Extra Point:

My friend brought up a good point after the game. He wonders what does Urban Meyer think about Utah's 13-0 season and if the Utes should be given consideration as the No. 1 team in the country.

We both came to the conclusion that, given the circumstances, Meyer has to say Florida has to be given the No. 1 spot in the AP poll, even though he was saying different when he took Utah to a BCS win a few years ago.

The Week That Was Wild Card Weekend in the NFL

There is definitely still a buzz in and around San Diego about the way the Chargers advanced to the divisional round of the NFL Playoffs on Saturday.

It's not a hangover. It's an actual buzz. The city, the county, hell maybe all of southern California are still drunk off of what was quite possibly the greatest game ever played (in San Diego).

And it's too bad that when games this good happen--when there is so much surrounding the game, all the little intricacies and dramas, storylines and arcs--it's too bad that professional journalists have a deadline of a few hours after a game to get their work in, because there's so much to talk about, that often--in the best games--professional journalists become mediocre.

These beat writers and sports columnist always fall short in the biggest of games.

Take the Union-Tribune's two sports columnists. Nick Canepa and Tim Sullivan were so excited and so for a loss for words that they decided to write about everything in their two columns. There was so much to say that the two writers were constricted by their inch counts.

Even the great Michael Silver was dumbfounded and his piece was a mash-up of three different columns (at least that's what it read like).

This game will probably go up there in the annals of Chargers as one of the great ones--right up there with the win over Miami in 1982, or the two wins in the 1994-95 NFL playoffs that sent San Diego to the Super Bowl (a 22-21 win over the Dolphins and a 17-13 victory over Pittsburgh).

But if the Chargers continue to roll and somehow reach Tampa, Florida on February 1, this game should not be seen as the beginning of an incredible run. That win came on Dec. 4, against the hated Raiders, on a Thursday night, when San Diego was 4-8 and the season looked like it was over.

That game won't be remembered, because it was just another blow out.

But the win on Saturday--take it from the professionals who struggled to write about the game--no words can be used to really describe it. And no words are really needed.

To the rest of the weekend:

• Arizona Over Atlanta: It's nice to see that franchise get a home playoff game and win. And it's was nice to see that wiley vet--the former NFL MVP and grocery store bagger--Kurt Warner, flex his muscles and get that team the win. And I was totally surprsied about how much Edgerrin James played after what he said about the Cardinals on Friday. I guess the lesson is throw the team under the bus and then get more carries.

• Sunday Games: Were boring. But I will tell you that Cam Cameron has got to be assistant coach of the year (if the award exists), taking a rookie quarterback (who played Division I-AA football at Delaware!!!) and making him a playoff winner. And everyone has to be excited to see the Philly-NYG matchup next week after the Eagles disposed of the Vikings.

Extra Point:

Of all the guys that NBC could have hired to embellish its football coverage on Football Night, it hired Matt Millen. Does anyone even believe a thing that comes out of his mouth, regardless if it's football related or not?

I'll Be Back

So it's been awhile.

It happens when you write a blog, you move places, have to get stuff in order, you get lazy and then the blog you write just isn't as important as it once was.

But that should change, hopefully.

I'll be back and I've got a lot on my mind. I'll have new blog entries this week, starting with my thoughts on the college football and how to address the Mountain West, my take on the NFL playoffs and of course there'll be all those random things in between that I will put my two cents into.

So, I'll be back--if not Saturday then Sunday. That's a promise.

(And I totally know that I'm address six people right now, but hey, with a little more effort, maybe I can grow that number to seven).

The Headlines: Week 13...One Step Away

It comes down to the Civil War.

Oregon State survived against Arizona and is now one game away from that coveted Rose Bowl berth.

Not much to say but this is the clearest the picture has been all year in the race for the Roses.

If the Beavers lose next weekend to Oregon, then it's USC to the Rose Bowl. If Oregon State takes the Civil War, then off to Pasadena they go for the first time since 1965.

But what about the other bowl games the Pac-10 has tie-ins to? Let's take a look.

If Oregon State beats Oregon next week, then:

1) USC receives another BCS bid if it beats UCLA
2) California goes to the Holiday Bowl if it beats Washington
3) Oregon goes to the Sun Bowl
4) Arizona goes to either the Las Vegas Bowl or the Emerald Bowl if it beats Arizona State
5) If the Sun Devils win their last two games, then they can go to the Las Vegas Bowl or Emerald Bowl and the Wildcats go to the other game.
6) UCLA gets a bowl bid if it beats ASU and USC, but that's not going to happen.

If the Ducks beat the Beavers, then:
1) USC goes to the Rose Bowl
2) Oregon goes to the Holiday Bowl, via tiebreaker.
3) Oregon State goes to the Sun Bowl
4) Cal goes to the Emerald Bowl
5) Arizona goes to the Las Vegas Bowl, if it beats ASU
6) If the Sun Devils win their last two games, then they go to the Las Vegas Bowl and the Wildcats go to the Hawaii Bowl.
7) UCLA still won't receive a bowl bid.

The Pac-10 does have seven bowl tie-ins, but it looks like only six teams will get bids. The bowl that gets left out is the Pointsetta Bowl. If the Pac-10 sends two teams to the BCS, then the Hawai'i Bowl and the Poinsetta Bowl are left out of the Pac-10 equation.

Next week will clear this all up.

To the headlines:

• Arizona: Cats Skinned by Field Goal
  
• California: The Axe Comes Back to Berkeley
  
• Oregon State: Smelling the Roses
  
• Stanford: Bowl Bid Axed
  
• Washington: Winless Season Cometh
  
• Wazzu: Someone Had to Win