He did it!!!! Congratulations, Roger!

Wow. Just an amazing match. My head is still spinning over it. 5 sets. 16 games to 14 in the last set. Epic. Rollercoaster match, with momentum switching back and forth until the fifth set, when game after game, both men stared down a "sudden death" by valiantly holding their serves until the 30th game. Yes - the 30th game in one set! Roger broke Andy to win the Championships. I screamed. Both men deserved such high praise for this effort that I was sad to see someone lose. Warriors. Both of them.

I truly hope Andy gets the next one. He so deserves one after this effort.

Oh, boy. The record for most grand slam singles titles ever (15) was claimed by Roger today edging Pete Sampras, who flew there just this morning to be there for the momentous occasion (how classy was that?), and...Roger is now the world's number one ranked player once again! He had relinquished the number one ranking to Rafael Nadal last year shortly after losing his prized Wimbledon champion status to the same. How sweet it is for this fan that he was able to reclaim it.

Sports dreams don't get much bigger than this for me.

Elena D is still in the tourney!

You guys are missing out. Elena Dementieva of Russia will be playing a semi-final match vs. Serena Williams on Thursday at Wimbledon. She's a terrific player and has been one of my favorites for quite a while, mostly because she seems very sweet and genuine. Wish her luck!

In other news...Roger faces Ivo "Dr. Ivo" Karlovic of Croatia tomorrow in the quarterfinals. This guy is nearly seven feet tall and serves out of...well, a tree. I'm worried.

The Championships at Wimbledon begin tomorrow!

I've been in "waiting impatiently" mode. Last year, Federer went into this tournament a 5 time in a row champion (tying Bjorn Borg for the record). He then faced Rafael Nadal for the third time in a row in the finals. I've said before that the matches between these two have always caused great anxiety in me, and this last Wimbledon final proved to cause more than that for me. In a long 5 set match which ended in near darkness, Nadal finally succeeded in wresting the prized crown from Roger's grasp, and it was incredible and heartbreaking to watch all at once. I haven't been able to watch this match again.

Since 2005, Roger had gone into The Championships at Wimbledon carrying disappointment from Roland Garros (the French Open), and each time as a result of being defeated by Rafael Nadal. As a fan of Roger's, I'd been watching Nadal chase Roger for years, succeeding in preventing him from claiming the one title he was missing to round out his career. You see, there are four major tournaments in the tennis season - called Grand Slam tournaments or Slams for short, and Roger had won all but the French Open. Many tennis analysts and fans considered the lack of a French Open title to be a major hole in trying to proclaim Roger the greatest tennis player ever. And there was Nadal, in the Wimbledon 2008 final, taking what I saw as Roger's last refuge. So you can see how, after losing his prized title at Wimbledon last year and then finally capturing the Roland Garros title this year, the drama was building for a possible rematch at Wimbledon - with me hoping for him to get some revenge, right?

It ain't gonna happen. Roger can still reclaim the title, but Rafael Nadal, defending Wimbledon champion, will not play due to...well, I'll let you be the judge. Is it an "injury" when you have pain but doctors say you can play without further risk? Is it too much mentally to play through the pain, so in effect, more like he's mentally unfit? I'm wondering how I'd feel if this were Roger and he pulled out of a tournament of this magnitude like this? Thankfully, I haven't have to wonder so far. He hasn't missed a Slam for injury or otherwise in his entire career and has played several at below his best, including one where he had undiagnosed mononucleosis.

I'm still very excited about this tournament. A win here for Roger would be huge and no less a feat than if he were to face Nadal here, in my opinion - and he'd not only reclaim his title, but the number one ranking! I'll be on the edge of my seat.

Alrighty! What now?

So...last I left things, I was a wee bit upset at a major sporting disappointment. But remember how I hinted at having some other sports to fall back on? Yeah...like my Tigers, right? Well, they're getting ready to lose three in a row now as I'm watching the Cards have a field day in only the sixth inning, ahead 11-1. Not lookin' too promising there, guys! (And I am not mentioning the name of the team that scored the previous two wins, either. That city is now on my list, if you know what I mean. Heh.)

And then there is Roger. So you can kind of forgive me for posting the hot pic, right? A girl needs some inspiration right about now.

Speaking of Roger Federer...Wimbledon is right around the corner. I'd really like Roger to take back his crown there. He lost it in a tough, heartbreaking, instant classic five set match against Rafael Nadal (remember him?) last year. Dare I ask for another sports dream to come true this year? Yeah. I dare. To dream, anyway.

Wings lost last night - I can't complain.

What's up with that?

Well, they did win it last year, and the Penguins got all the way to the finals again this year to stage a rematch...that's a hungry team. Not to mention scary good when they're "on", and I think they were last night. I think the Wings are lucky the score was so close.

So I was crabby afterward. But not for long. Ok, a little longer than I would have liked, but it didn't take me long to remember my blessings, and I mean beyond sports there (so many!), but even in my sports world, how could I complain?

My Wings are a great hockey team. They're still in contention for the Cup. My Tigers are very watchable - and for baseball, that's all it takes for me. And then there's Roger...in theory, I should not dare ask for another sports dream for a while.

In theory.

The Mighty Federer

I couldn't talk about it pre-match. I could barely hope for it. After four years of losing to Rafael Nadal (first in a semi-final, and then 3 consecutive finals)I had come to believe the dream may never come.

It has come. For Roger and for his fans. Roger beat The Great Soderling, conquerer of the King of Clay, Rafael Nadal in straight sets at the French Open (Roland Garros) today.

With this win, Roger has tied Pete Sampras with 14 Grand Slam title wins for most ever. Some (John McEnroe) are already calling him the greatest of all time because Pete never won the French Open. I'm just glad he's up there now. Never to be questioned as far as his greatness again, I would hope.

Congratulations and thank you, Roger. For becoming my favorite tennis player ever when you were 19 as I watched you end Sampras' run at Wimbledon; for allowing me to witness some of the greatest tennis ever played; and for persevering, through all of your recent adversities and the race against time to deliver this dream for all of your fans.

(Photo courtesy of my friend Sam - that's his glass of Amaretto - thanks, Sam! Cheers!)

Roger Wins!

Would it look bad if I said something nice about Nadal now? Yeah. That's what I thought too. Hee.

Roger Federer beat Rafael Nadal on...clay(!) yesterday. I'm still a little shocked by it. It's not that I haven't known for years that he had the game to beat the King of Clay, it's just that I, like most of Roger's fans, had come to believe he had lost the mental game against Nadal so thoroughly that it would take a monumental effort and everything in his arsenal to be working almost perfectly for it to happen.

That's what happened yesterday in the Madrid final. Roger's forehand and backhand were rock solid - the forehand looking the best I've seen all year as far as pace and accuracy went, and the backhand - his weakness against the lefty Nadal - did not crumble. In fact, I think I noticed some new (much needed) tactics there. He also very effectively employed the tactic of pulling Nadal out wide on his forehand side (where he has greater reach), and then driving the next ball down his backhand side. Not easy, but Roger made it look so yesterday. It's pretty clear that Roger has been thinking about this opportunity. And he capitalized on it. With calm and focus. Yeah, that demeanor has been sorely missed.

And his serve! He had it again. Not just the first, but the second serve - even scoring an ace on the second serve on one point. A lot of analysts and commentators have lazily tried to say that Roger had to up his game - that his rivals had caught up to his talent. I do think that his rivals have gotten a whole lot better (they're much younger than him in tennis years, after all), but I never believed that what we were watching this last year or so was Roger in full flight. The serve was key, and it wasn't there like it had been. Not so yesterday, and boy, was it beautiful. Up the "T", out wide, and just generally with more pace and bite. Lethal.

So what does this win mean? With his serve back, and his weapons firing, not to mention this mental boost to his confidence, Roger is looking ready to go toe to toe again with Nadal. Great news! I'm not sure what it means for Roland Garros, and the winning of the only Slam title Roger is missing, but I'm now feeling so much better about his chances.

Way to go, Roger!