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!)

Kuzzy wins!!!

Congratulations to Svetlana Kuznetsova for her French Open title win over Dinara Safina today!

I was so torn between these two...one, Safina, trying to prove her world number one status by finally winning a major (Slam) title, and the other trying to prove that she's not a "one-slam wonder", having claimed the U.S. Open several years ago as her only Slam title.

Kuzzy had the poise today, and as a result, the better game. Classy ladies, both. Well done, ladies!

A puddle of sports viewing-induced nerves. Me.

I'm thinking mimosas tonight. Or something. Gah.

I don't dare post about it now. It's too big of a deal to me...

And I'm not superstitious really, but when it comes to sports I don't take any chances! My son once talked me into making the same dinner every game night during a Wings series. Not fun (but...they won?) LOL. But this isn't about the Red Wings. Though they lost last night...grrr. (And someone is happy in the comments of the post below this! Hee.)

Mum's the word from me on the subject I won't broach here. Yet. But it would be a big time sports dream come true for me.

Chicken Little wants a post about my Wings!

I love that I turned chicken little on to the Red Wings! I feel so proud! Hee.

Unfortunately, I can't be as detailed about the Stanley Cup finals as I can with tennis. At least so far. I watched the two Stanley Cup finals games on Saturday and Sunday, but not with full focus. The Wings make me nervous at times and I have to look away when there is a prolonged stretch where the Penguins are pressing and keeping the puck on our end. I did see a couple of spectacular saves by Osgood.

There was a bit of a dust-up at the end of game two, and I got nervous when some Pens went after Zetterberg and some fights broke out. I'm a hockey chick, but I've never liked the fighting! Tensions were high, and apparently there is some discussion going on as to whether a Penguin or two will serve a game suspension but I didn't get all the details. I do know that the Wings coach Mike Babcock is on record as saying he didn't feel anything that went on warranted any suspensions.

Pavel Datsyuk is still out with an injury, which I really believe is a broken foot and he won't be back (he took a puck to the foot - ouch!), but the Wings are being coy about that injury. Day to day. It just shows how deep this team is though, when you consider how key of a player they're missing.

Anyway, the Wings are up 2-0 in this series, both games played at home so far, so now they head to Penguins territory. We'll see how they do in their house. I think these last two games were a lot closer than the scorelines show (both games 3-1). The two teams are very evenly matched and I'm afraid of the Penguins, to be honest. The Penguins' play literally put me on the living room floor last year in agony over some very close games. If the Wings can take one of these next two...well, I'll be an insufferable fan. Are you with me, chicken little?

GO WINGS!

Soderling beats The Clay King!

"I kept telling myself, this is just another match. Regardless if it is the fourth round against Rafael Nadal"

- Robin Soderling

Did anyone happen to hear my squeal of delight when I learned that Spain's Rafael Nadal - the number one men's tennis player in the world - had been knocked out of the French Open yesterday?

Sweden's Robin Soderling achieved what Roger Federer has failed four years in a row to do, beating Nadal 6-2, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6 and it was beyond impressive. More about the match in a bit. I'd like to set this encounter up a little, as these two players have a bit of colorful history.

Nadal met Robin Soderling en route to the 2007 final of Wimbledon. The scoreline was 6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 4-6 and it was the beginning of the fifth set - a very tight match which Soderling looked very capable of winning.

Let me begin by explaining that Rafael Nadal is famous for his "ticks" on court. Various things he does as he sets up to serve with the whole routine pushing the time limits for serving - one notorious tick being that he digs at his briefs from behind. Yes. And on every serve. It's pretty unsightly to watch, but apparently it is something that he can't stop - kind of like an OCD habit? So not only does he have this really gross habit, but add to that the fact that he takes way too much time for all of these ticks, and you often get frustrated players (and viewers) watching this. He disrupts the flow of the match. Granted, what he does is mostly within the rules. But if it isn't a deliberate tactic, it sure feels like it sometimes.

Anyway, during this match, Nadal had, in his usual manner, made Soderling wait to receive serve and had also held up Soderling's serve for his little routines. A player can delay the server by raising his hand to indicate he isn't ready to receive serve, which Nadal often does and then takes his time settling. Again, within the rules, but not often done - at least so regularly. Some consider this a bit of gamesmanship. Well, Soderling at one point looked ready to receive the serve, but apparently needed to run back to his chair for something...put his hand up, but Nadal didn't see it and nearly served before he realized Soderling wasn't ready. Nadal gave a disgusted head shake. Yeah, can you believe it? Neither could Soderling. Watch what he does in response in this clip from the match.

So, if you watched the clip you'll see that Soderling mocked the digging at the briefs. I watched this live and I have to tell you, I laughed. Of course. And then I also knew for certain that Soderling had just lost the match. Nadal glared at him and found a new inspiration, and it was over pretty quickly after that. This little exchange has not been forgotten by avid tennis fans, and NBC showed it yesterday during the match to show this history between the players.

I did watch the match on NBC when it was broadcast in taped delay, and Soderling was sublime. He has a lot of firepower - strong, powerful shots that he kept deep in the court, which is a must against Nadal. That and his great movement continually seemed to have Nadal on his back foot. Amazing. Nadal generally is like a human backboard. He gets everything back and wears his opponents down. But Soderling jumped on seemingly every short ball and did something special with it. His serve was very effective as well. And here's the thing...just like when playing Federer in the years past, players have a tendency to lose belief when playing Nadal. And who can blame them? If you've ever seen Rafael Nadal play on clay, you would understand how a sense of futility can creep into his opponent's consciousness. That's a killer right there, and there was no sign of this from Soderling. He just kept his cool and didn't seem to show the nerves that this occasion could bring out. That all by itself is just incredible.

Look what all of that earned for Soderling: his place in the record books for ending Nadal's four year undefeated reign at Roland Garros, and great chance to take this prized title for himself. Ending Nadal's streak is a very big deal in tennis even if he doesn't win another match at this Open. I hope he does. He certainly deserves some more success after this historic defeat. I want Roger to win this, but I'd be more than happy to celebrate a title for the man who beat The Clay King in his house.

ADDED: I'm being a bit obnoxious about Nadal in this blog, if you can't tell. And part of that is just sports, you know? Rooting against the guy who you consider to be your fave's nemesis. It really is a compliment to Rafael Nadal underneath it all, and as I have many friends who are great fans of his, I really have no desire to rub salt in this wound. I really hope they don't read this. If you are a big sports fan you really do understand how this stuff hurts, and I certainly have no wish to add to any of my friends' pain.