This will be mainly on the men's and women's singles draws. Sorry to those who are hardcore and follow juniors, doubles, wheelchair, and whatever other divisions there are. I'm just following kinda casually and just stick to the one's that draw the most ratings. But, before I geto to those draws, let's talk about the talk of a possible roof at Arthur Ashe stadium. Granted, this is two years in a row where everything has been pushed back due to rain. But also, it's just some freaky weather, and the Open is different from the other 3 majors in that it's played in America, has primetime coverage, and has a 5th set tiebreak, unlike the others where the match could inevitably go on forever with games. (See Wimbledon 2009) Arthur Ashe also never had an idea to put a roof in there anyway, when it was just completed just over a decade ago. Centre court probably never did either, but I personally like the craziness of the schedule, that's how NYC works anyway, crazy yet organized. One last thing, could this be the beginning of the end for tennis on network? ESPN2 aired the women's singles final instead of CBS, which aired it last year despite the delay on a Sunday night and got a really high rating for it might I add for tennis, 3.3. Personally, I hope that it isn't, as more and more stuff is being taken off network and put on cable.
Women's singles
Serena Williams ruined Kim Clijsters moment with her outburst to the line judge. Granted, it was a horrible foot fault call, but your emotions cannot get the best of you in that situation. Congrats though to Clijsters, coming back in only her 3rd tournament after coming back from maternity leave/retirement. Clijsters also came in a a wild card, thanks to the USTA for letting her play. Clijsters came through an incredibly tough draw to win it as well, beating both Serena and Venus Williams. We also saw Melanie Oudin, perhaps maybe the beginning of a great tennis career for the 17-year old American from Georgia. Oudin is the only American ranked in the top 75 other than the Williams sisters as well, so hopefully in the Aussie she gets to go far again. There also is a ton of parity in the game as well, with 2 unranked players making it to the semifinals. Granted, one was Clijsters, a former number 1, but still a great stat. Dinara Safina again proved that she shouldn't be ranked number 1, as she lost in before the quarters, raning system needs to be changed to have the majors count more. If you have any other comments on that, please e-mail me at braveever@yahoo.com
Men's Singles
Juan Martin Del Potro took down the man, Roger Federer in 5 sets in a great epic match. Federer maybe lost his will to win it after the 4th set. I don't think he is done yet though, he still proved he can win this year, with 2 major wins, 1 of them, the French to complete the career grand slam. This match was great, an epic match. Plus, with his one shot against Novak Djokovic through his own 5 hole for the winner. American men's tennis also needs to perform better at their own major, as no man went passed the 4th round. Rafa Nadal couldn't quite complete the career grand slam, losing to the eventual winner, Del Potro.
It was a great final Grand Slam of the year, looking forward to the Aussie next year. The Open had something for everyone, controversy, triumph, and upsets. Gotta love tennis. As mentioned above, if you have anything else to say about this, please e-mail me at braveever@yahoo.com
Monday, September 14, 2009
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
NFL Preview
Hey everyone, my first post actually about sports! I'm previewing the NFL as it starts tomorrow and I'm going to give a bold prediction for each team, give what I think they're record will be, and these will come in order of worst to first in each division. At the end of the post, I'll give you my NFL MVP, and how I think the playoffs will play out in each conference. First to go for the NFC.
NFC East
Washington Redskins: Albert Haynesworth will not be worth the money and Jason Campbell will be released in the offseason. Haynesworth will not be the same dominaant force in this division as he was in the AFC, the weaker conference in my opinion. Then, Campbell has had ample time to prove himself, and he hasn't been the dominant quarterback that was expected. Record: 7-9.
Dallas Cowboys: Wade Phillips will be replaced by Jason Garrett at the end of the season. Phillips has not been that good of a coach. He got lucky with Romo being so good over Bledsoe in '06, and then also he hasn't won a playoff game with the team. Garrett isn't the highespt paid assistant in the league without him being groomed for the head coaching job. Also, without T.O., they won't be as prolific of an offense.
Record: 8-8
N.Y. Giants: Will be hurt severely by the loss of Plaxico Burress. It was evidenced last year in the final few games and in the playoff loss against the Eagles. Red Zone offense will be horriffic.
Record: 10-6
Philadelphia Eagles: Michael Vick will not live up to any hype. Will not be a distraction either, but he will prove himself to be a changed man and will do excellent community service. Will break through the barrier to go through to the Super Bowl. Admittedly homer pick.
Record: 11-5
NFC South
Tampa Bay Bucs: Josh Freeman will get a shot at starting by Thanksgiving. Something will happen to Byron Leftwich, who is severely injury prone. Everyone knows it's a rebuilding year with new coach, new quarterback, and new regime entirely.
Record: 5-11
Carolina Panthers: Will have hangover effect from loss to Cardinals in the playoffs last year, and will fall back to earth. Really steady organization, but always seem to have lackluster year after a great one.
Record: 8-8
Atlanta Falcons: Michael Turner will lose a few steps, and not play in all 16 games, also Tony Gonzalez will lose a few more steps, and hurt Matt Ryan a little bit, not help.
Record: 9-7
New Orleans Saints: Drew Brees will break Dan Marino's yardage mark this season and throw for over 3 miles. Or, for those into actual football terms, over 5,280 yards. Will be offensive machine and keep teams in check defensively.
Record: 10-6
NFC North
Detroit Lions: Will win their Thanksgiving day game. They have tried to change the culture so much, and it will show with a total of 5 wins.
Record: 5-11
Minnesota Vikings: Brett Favre will not play all 16 games and they will not make the playoffs.
Record: 8-8
Green Bay Packers: Will not live up to the hype. Everyone expects a 11-5 season, but needs one more year of building under Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers also will get injured at one point in the season and miss at least 2 games.
Record: 9-7
Chicago Bears: Jay Cutler will continue to work magic and will do his best with the weak receiving corps in Chicago. The Defense will also return to its '07 form and be one of the best in the league.
Record: 10-6
NFC West
St. Louis Rams: Will be as bad as the Lions were last year, only win 2 more games than the Lions.
Record:2-14
Arizona Cardinals: Like every Super Bowl loser this decade, will fall back to earth. Kurt Warner will also lose his starting job to Matt Leinart at some point in the season.
Record: 6-10
San Francisco 49ers: Mike Signletary will lead San Fran back to the playoffs for the first time since 2002. Shaun Hill will be a pro bowler as well.
Record: 9-7
Seattle Seahawks: Will have huge turnaround year under new coach Jim Mora Jr. Matt Hasselbeck will play all 16 games.
Record:10-6
AFC East
Buffalo Bills: T.O. will live up to his skip Bayless nickname of Team Obliterator and Trent Edwards will have the record for sacks this season under a revamped O-line.
Record: 6-10
New York Jets: Mark Sanchez will be a good quarterback, but fall short of the playoffs as Rex Ryan turns the Jets defense into one that rivals the Ravens and Steelers as the best of the AFC, yet fall short of the playoffs.
Record: 9-7
Miami Dolphins: Will continue to flourish under Tony Sparano and Bill Parcelss running the show, as they make the playoffs for the second consecutive year.
Record: 10-6
New Englad Patriots: Tom Brady will have no ill-effects of the knee injury he had and will be helped by Laurence Maroney as he will play all 16 games for the first time in his career.
Record: 12-4
AFC South
Jacksonville Jaguars: Jack Del Rio will lose his job after a second consecutive losing season and have half of their home games blacked out, due to the lack of attendance.
Record: 5-11
Tennessee Titans: Vince Young will again start by the end of the season, yet fall just short of the playoffs.
Record: 9-7
Houston Texans: Will make the playoffs for the first time in the history, and challenge the Colts dominance of the division.
Record: 11-5
Indianapolis Colts: As long as Peyton Manning is quarterback and Bob Sanders is at safety, they'll win 12 games, despite everyone saying this is the beginning of the end.
Record: 12-4
AFC North
Cincinnatti Bengals: Carson Palmer will return to his '05 form and Chad Ochocinco will again be a dominant receiver now that Houshmanzadeh is gone. But, the defense will continue to stink, hence the record. Marvin Lewis is a great defensive coordinator, not great head coach, so he's gone at the end of the season.
Record: 5-11
Baltimore Ravens: Defense will fall to low levels and Joe Flacco will have a sophomore slump as he suffers from playing into the postseason and will wonder what happened to him and the defense.
Record: 6-10
Cleveland Browns: Eric Mangini will have the Browns back to winning ways, yet come short of the playoffs. Brady Quinn will also prove himself as the face of the franchise and be a 30 TD guy.
Record: 9-7
Pittsburgh Steelers: Will suffer no ill-effects from winning the Super Bowl and repeat as North division champs. Rashard Mendenhall will also be groomed to take over the starting job from Willie Parker and be a great change of pace back.
Record: 11-5
AFC West
Kansas City Chiefs: Matt Cassel will prove that he's a product of the system and be a really bad quarterback in KC.
Record: 3-13
Oakland Raiders: Anyone who punches his own assistants in the face shouldn't be a head coach, yet the Oakland Raiders seem to function. JaMarcus Russell will also make some waves and be an ok quarterback.
Record: 4-12
Denver Broncos: Will be rebuilding for a few years and will be awful on offense having Kyle Orton as your starting quarterback and Correll Buckhalter as your starting running back. Brandon Marshall will be traded by the trading deadline.
Record: 5-11
San Diego Chargers: Why should I even bother? Clinch division by Thanksgiving, and still play hard then. Class of the AFC, yet will get blacked out at least once.
Record: 12-4
Playoffs: AFC Champion: San Diego over New England
NFC Champion: Philly over New Orleans
Super Bowl Champion: Philly. (Everyone saw it coming.)
MVP: Philip Rivers
NFC East
Washington Redskins: Albert Haynesworth will not be worth the money and Jason Campbell will be released in the offseason. Haynesworth will not be the same dominaant force in this division as he was in the AFC, the weaker conference in my opinion. Then, Campbell has had ample time to prove himself, and he hasn't been the dominant quarterback that was expected. Record: 7-9.
Dallas Cowboys: Wade Phillips will be replaced by Jason Garrett at the end of the season. Phillips has not been that good of a coach. He got lucky with Romo being so good over Bledsoe in '06, and then also he hasn't won a playoff game with the team. Garrett isn't the highespt paid assistant in the league without him being groomed for the head coaching job. Also, without T.O., they won't be as prolific of an offense.
Record: 8-8
N.Y. Giants: Will be hurt severely by the loss of Plaxico Burress. It was evidenced last year in the final few games and in the playoff loss against the Eagles. Red Zone offense will be horriffic.
Record: 10-6
Philadelphia Eagles: Michael Vick will not live up to any hype. Will not be a distraction either, but he will prove himself to be a changed man and will do excellent community service. Will break through the barrier to go through to the Super Bowl. Admittedly homer pick.
Record: 11-5
NFC South
Tampa Bay Bucs: Josh Freeman will get a shot at starting by Thanksgiving. Something will happen to Byron Leftwich, who is severely injury prone. Everyone knows it's a rebuilding year with new coach, new quarterback, and new regime entirely.
Record: 5-11
Carolina Panthers: Will have hangover effect from loss to Cardinals in the playoffs last year, and will fall back to earth. Really steady organization, but always seem to have lackluster year after a great one.
Record: 8-8
Atlanta Falcons: Michael Turner will lose a few steps, and not play in all 16 games, also Tony Gonzalez will lose a few more steps, and hurt Matt Ryan a little bit, not help.
Record: 9-7
New Orleans Saints: Drew Brees will break Dan Marino's yardage mark this season and throw for over 3 miles. Or, for those into actual football terms, over 5,280 yards. Will be offensive machine and keep teams in check defensively.
Record: 10-6
NFC North
Detroit Lions: Will win their Thanksgiving day game. They have tried to change the culture so much, and it will show with a total of 5 wins.
Record: 5-11
Minnesota Vikings: Brett Favre will not play all 16 games and they will not make the playoffs.
Record: 8-8
Green Bay Packers: Will not live up to the hype. Everyone expects a 11-5 season, but needs one more year of building under Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers also will get injured at one point in the season and miss at least 2 games.
Record: 9-7
Chicago Bears: Jay Cutler will continue to work magic and will do his best with the weak receiving corps in Chicago. The Defense will also return to its '07 form and be one of the best in the league.
Record: 10-6
NFC West
St. Louis Rams: Will be as bad as the Lions were last year, only win 2 more games than the Lions.
Record:2-14
Arizona Cardinals: Like every Super Bowl loser this decade, will fall back to earth. Kurt Warner will also lose his starting job to Matt Leinart at some point in the season.
Record: 6-10
San Francisco 49ers: Mike Signletary will lead San Fran back to the playoffs for the first time since 2002. Shaun Hill will be a pro bowler as well.
Record: 9-7
Seattle Seahawks: Will have huge turnaround year under new coach Jim Mora Jr. Matt Hasselbeck will play all 16 games.
Record:10-6
AFC East
Buffalo Bills: T.O. will live up to his skip Bayless nickname of Team Obliterator and Trent Edwards will have the record for sacks this season under a revamped O-line.
Record: 6-10
New York Jets: Mark Sanchez will be a good quarterback, but fall short of the playoffs as Rex Ryan turns the Jets defense into one that rivals the Ravens and Steelers as the best of the AFC, yet fall short of the playoffs.
Record: 9-7
Miami Dolphins: Will continue to flourish under Tony Sparano and Bill Parcelss running the show, as they make the playoffs for the second consecutive year.
Record: 10-6
New Englad Patriots: Tom Brady will have no ill-effects of the knee injury he had and will be helped by Laurence Maroney as he will play all 16 games for the first time in his career.
Record: 12-4
AFC South
Jacksonville Jaguars: Jack Del Rio will lose his job after a second consecutive losing season and have half of their home games blacked out, due to the lack of attendance.
Record: 5-11
Tennessee Titans: Vince Young will again start by the end of the season, yet fall just short of the playoffs.
Record: 9-7
Houston Texans: Will make the playoffs for the first time in the history, and challenge the Colts dominance of the division.
Record: 11-5
Indianapolis Colts: As long as Peyton Manning is quarterback and Bob Sanders is at safety, they'll win 12 games, despite everyone saying this is the beginning of the end.
Record: 12-4
AFC North
Cincinnatti Bengals: Carson Palmer will return to his '05 form and Chad Ochocinco will again be a dominant receiver now that Houshmanzadeh is gone. But, the defense will continue to stink, hence the record. Marvin Lewis is a great defensive coordinator, not great head coach, so he's gone at the end of the season.
Record: 5-11
Baltimore Ravens: Defense will fall to low levels and Joe Flacco will have a sophomore slump as he suffers from playing into the postseason and will wonder what happened to him and the defense.
Record: 6-10
Cleveland Browns: Eric Mangini will have the Browns back to winning ways, yet come short of the playoffs. Brady Quinn will also prove himself as the face of the franchise and be a 30 TD guy.
Record: 9-7
Pittsburgh Steelers: Will suffer no ill-effects from winning the Super Bowl and repeat as North division champs. Rashard Mendenhall will also be groomed to take over the starting job from Willie Parker and be a great change of pace back.
Record: 11-5
AFC West
Kansas City Chiefs: Matt Cassel will prove that he's a product of the system and be a really bad quarterback in KC.
Record: 3-13
Oakland Raiders: Anyone who punches his own assistants in the face shouldn't be a head coach, yet the Oakland Raiders seem to function. JaMarcus Russell will also make some waves and be an ok quarterback.
Record: 4-12
Denver Broncos: Will be rebuilding for a few years and will be awful on offense having Kyle Orton as your starting quarterback and Correll Buckhalter as your starting running back. Brandon Marshall will be traded by the trading deadline.
Record: 5-11
San Diego Chargers: Why should I even bother? Clinch division by Thanksgiving, and still play hard then. Class of the AFC, yet will get blacked out at least once.
Record: 12-4
Playoffs: AFC Champion: San Diego over New England
NFC Champion: Philly over New Orleans
Super Bowl Champion: Philly. (Everyone saw it coming.)
MVP: Philip Rivers
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Cheap folks/Do people not care?
The reason why I'm writing this is because I work at a grocery store and we have to ask folks if they'd like to donate to the Berks County Food Bank. Well, today was the first day of probably two weeks of it. I am a cashier and so whenever I ask this, most people say no. And when I hear that, I think to myself, "why are these people so cheap?" They buy all of this food for themselves, and yet do not care to think about those who really need it most, the poor. Jesus was the poorest of the poor, and yet he still gave. There are others in the Bible who were incredibly poor, yet gave, because they knew they would be blessed later. When I go grocery shopping on Friday or Saturday, I will donate. Not only will I donate because I feel that the poor need food, but I also will feel like donating because it's a buck people! It's not alike I'm asking you to give 100 bucks a pop to them. Also, people don't think of others around them, they just think of their own self centered lives and not around to anyone else, when we should think about others before ourselves, not the other way around.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Protesting Obama
First off, I'm a moderate liberal. Just because I voted for Obama doesn't mean I agree with his views. But, for all of those afraid of him campaigning socialism, he didn't! Plus, I just think he wanted to wish all of the students good luck. Also, he talked about them having to have an education to accompliosh things in life. He also talked about himself, just having to work hard and making the right decisions. He didn't make any comments overtly political or anything, just played the straight line. Why are people so paranoid? Just because you may not agree with his viewpoints on things, why should you have the right to say my kids aren't going to listen to these person. Granted, we live in America, and can make these comments because of free speech, but still. I try it and listen to it, and then we form opinions, not before it. Sure, we make predictions, but most of the time those are wronng as well. So, just listen to him, then form your opinion. If you have any disagreements, please let me know by e-mail. My e-mail address is braveever@yahoo.com.
First blog post
Hey everyone, I've decided to create a blog, considering things about sports mainly, but about other random stuff too. The other random stuff will include thoughts about the church, things my current church and former church. It could be about politics. It could be about money and the economy, just random stuff that I think I'll have an opinion about. I may be a little bit brash at times, may have opinions that may be too strong, but I hope that you may respond to me if you think I'm wrong. I'll have a link up to my e-mail at the end of every post as well.
Thanks,
P.J. Walk
Thanks,
P.J. Walk
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