First impressions weren’t good for a new batch of Baby Bombers in a 5-1 season opening loss against the Verrazano rival Cyclones at Key Span Park last night.

Despite five strong innings of one-hit ball along with six strikeouts from starter Gabriel Medina, Staten Island couldn’t get going offensively. Despite the same amount of hits (8) as their opponents, they struggled all night stranding 10 runners.

With the game still scoreless in the home sixth, Brooklyn got to reliever Nick Chigges by pushing across three runs with two outs. The big blow came courtesy of Jeffery Voyles, whose three-run home run gave his team a lead they wouldn’t relinquish making a loser of Chigges (0-1).

The Cyclones would tack on two insurance runs in the eighth off reliever Jason Kiley on a one out two-run double by Raul Reyes that made it 5-0.

Staten Island got their only run in their final at bat thanks to a leadoff triple from second baseman Justin Snyder, who would then come into score on a passed ball to break up the shutout.

But that would be all they could muster as the Cyclones improved to 1-0 on the young season while Staten Island fell to 0-1.

Tonight, the Baby Bombers will look to return the favor in front of a packed house at Richmond County Bank Ballpark (RCBB) in St. George. They’ll send Brooklyn native Dellin Betances to the mound. The 19 year-old will be making his Staten Island debut tonight. He was selected by the Yankees in last year’s draft in the eighth round out of high school. He is listed at 6-9 215 and according to reports, his fastball can reach the mid 90’s. He also is supposed to possess a breaking ball and changeup in his repetoire. We’ll see if that’s the case in a few hours.

A couple of summers ago, he was named an Aflac All-American and also pitched for the Team USA Junior National Team.

It should be a fun night at the ballpark. See you all there!

It all begins again for the Staten Island Yankees later tonight when they face their Verrazano rivals the Brooklyn Cyclones at Coney Island.

The past two seasons were as good as it gets for the Baby Bombers on the field as they went on to capture back-to-back New York-Penn League championships. Now with new management in place and a new skipper in Mike Gillespie, they’ll take aim at a three-peat.

Last year’s championship team produced several All Stars including third baseman Mitch Hilligoss who is set to take part in the South Atlantic League All Star Game with 2006 teammate Jonathan Hovis ironically enough on the same night his former team returns to the field at Key Span Park.

This season, three returning players will begin the summer at St. George, including Penn League All Star reliever Nick Peterson, starter Angel Reyes and third baseman Tim O’Brien. Much like James Cooper and Nick Larsen last year, they’ll look to provide leadership for such newcomers as Dellin Betances, Gabriel Medina, Justin Snyder and David Williams.

The new batch of Baby Bombers should really enjoy the environment when they play host to the Cyclones in a home opener which is a sellout. There always is plenty of energy and electricity whenever the rivals meet. But with a packed house, it should be even taken to a whole new level at Richmond County Bank Ball Park tomorrow night.

With more fans expected to support the team due to a smart organizational plan which features all the food you can eat, a meeting with Yankee GM Brian Cashman and an Old Timer’s Day, it should be even more fun for everyone this summer.

Get ready for another great season. We’ll be covering it all summer long!

It was billed as LeBron vs Tim Duncan but this NBA Finals evolved into the Tony Parker coming out party. The 25 year-old point guard for the Spurs was utterly brilliant in helping lead his team to a sweep of the overmatched Cavaliers- finishing it off in style with 24 points on an efficient 10-of-14 from the floor as his team held on for an 83-82 Game Four victory before a disappointed capacity crowd at Quicken Loans Arena.

The soon to be future Mr. Eva Longoria had a terrific last week, averaging 24.5 points and shot 57 percent for the entire series to become the first player from Europe to take home the Finals MVP trophy. It was very deserving for the often overlooked guard who terrorized opponents this Spring with his frenetic drives to the basket and clutch play.

The former 2001 28th overall selection finally got out of superstar teammate Tim Duncan’s shadow with a splendid postseason which culminated in the Spurs’ third NBA title in six years and fourth overall in the past nine. Oddly enough, all four have come in odd years with the first coming in 1999. The last three have come in 2003, 2005 and now 2007. So does that not bode well for a possible repeat next year? We’ll have to wait and see.

For now, a jubilant Parker was at a loss for words about how much it meant:

“This is like a dream. I don’t want to wake up,” he said after wiping away tears.

You have to start putting the Spurs in that modern day dynasty category now. Four titles in nine years is impressive enough in any era. Especially in a cap era where more players change jerseys and it makes it even harder to keep your nucleus intact. Regarding his team’s place in history, Parker remarked:

“I don’t care where we fall in history. I just feel blessed, honored and privileged to play on a team like this.“

And really, that’s all that matters. He and valuable sixth man Manu Ginobili have teamed up with the NBA’s premier power forward to win three more championships this decade. They have bought into coach Gregg Popovich’s defensive team oriented brand of basketball. Some have unfairly labeled their style as “bland or boring.” What’s so bad about playing the game hard at both ends and getting rewarded for your commitment?

In the end, winning is all that matters. Just look what Duncan had to say:

“It never gets old, it never gets old. Unbelievable. Such a great run, a great journey, a great bunch of guys.”

So where does his fourth title rank?

“This one’s sweeter. The road that we took to get here was as tough as we ever had it. Guys persevered, we had great performances from one to 12.”

The quiet stoic superstar who never loses focus is so modest. His team was very impressive during this run. And it started in similar fashion to how championship No.3 resulted. By dropping Game One at home to Denver before coming back to take four straight in impressive fashion, even reducing Carmelo Anthony to near tears after going up 3-1.

Maybe their only real challenge came from the offensive minded Suns. Many will still point to the Game Five suspensions of Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw for why the Spurs were able to prevail in six but who really thinks a team that doesn’t play enough defense would’ve beaten them?

What separates the Spurs is their intensity on the other side of the floor. They lock in defensively and make it extremely difficult on opponents. In the second round win over Phoenix, they bruised and battered Steve Nash wearing the two-time league MVP down. He still put up good numbers but really had to work for it.

The younger Jazz were no match in the Conference Finals for an experienced bunch who reduced Mehmet Okur and Andrei Kirilenko to non-factors in another five game conquest. Despite a brilliant series from second-year guard Deron Williams and solid numbers from Carlos Boozer, it wasn’t enough to offset the balance of Duncan, Parker and Ginobili who torched Utah.

If they made the Jazz look ordinary, then they dismantled the inexperienced Cavs in the Finals. The only player on their roster with Finals experience was backup guard Eric Snow. It really showed in this series. The Spurs hammered the Cavs in the first two games with extraordinary play from their dynamic trio. With Parker and Ginobili slicing and dicing Cleveland and Duncan doing his thing down low, LeBron didn’t have enough support to threaten them. That was a series theme.

The Spurs’ perimeter D forced sharpshooter Daniel Gibson into many misses from downtown. The rookie who took apart the Pistons was never allowed to get into a comfort zone often looking rushed. That was bad news for the Cavs because he was the only reliable outside threat they had. Sasha Pavlovic had several open looks but couldn’t make San Antonio pay for doubling and sometimes tripling LeBron.

Though the Cavs were competitive in their two home games with a chance at the end, they just weren’t able to execute in the halfcourt. In their Game Three 75-72 defeat, even their young superstar couldn’t save them. Though James was probably fouled by Bruce Bowen on his desperation three-point attempt from 28, it was likely before the shot meaning two free throws with seconds to spare. It probably wouldn’t have been enough time to pull out an unlikely victory.

So how did James perform? He still wound up with respectable numbers (22.0 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 6.8 APG) but shot only 36 percent and turned the ball over 23 times. In Game Four, he went 10-for-30 even though he finished with 24. The versatile forward also handed out 10 assists and added six rebounds but did have six turnovers as well summarizing how frustrating a series it was.

The bottom line here was he didn’t have enough help. Drew Gooden performed admirably but nobody else really stepped up. Not having that second star to take some pressure off LeBron’s back definitely hurt. Hopefully, the Cavs are able to deliver that so they aren’t so uncompetitive the next time they reach a Final.

Just how sad was this series? There’s little doubt that they got killed in the ratings by The Sopranos season finale last Sunday. But overall, this might’ve been the low point for the NBA because that’s how bad it was. The Cavs never held a halftime lead and didn’t really give you the sense they could win. The scores were so lowscoring in Cleveland that at times, it was unwatchable. In fact, their 322 points was the lowest total for four games.
Even when the Cavs showed you a little something by starting out the fourth quarter last night with an 11-0 run to take a three-point lead, the more experienced Spurs never panicked down the stretch getting some clutch scoring from Ginobili, who scored 13 of his game high 27 in the final 12 minutes of the season. He dropped in a dagger from downtown from the left side of the key which pretty much finished Cleveland.

With another ring, Mr. Big Shot Robert Horry won his seventh title. He also won two with Houston, three with the Lakers and got his second with the Spurs Thursday night. He truly is blessed.

Parker dedicated the victory to teammate Michael Finley. The 34 year-old veteran shooting guard joined San Antonio last year after playing his first 10 seasons with Phoenix and Dallas. He finally is a champion which is nice to see.

The Spurs finished the postseason with an impressive 16-6 mark. In fact, their .727 winning percentage is the highest in Finals history. Not too shabby.

With four NBA crowns, Popovich trails just Red Auerbach (9), Phil Jackson (9), John Kundla (5) and Pat Riley (5) for the most in NBA history. Not a bad list to be a part of!

And so, that concludes this NBA playoffs. It wasn’t a great one but we’ll still remember LeBron’s heroic Game 5 performance at Detroit in which he carried his team to a double overtime victory by scoring the final 25 and 29 of the last 30.

It might not have been a kind Finals experience for the young superstar but he’ll learn from it and only get better which is a scary prospect for the rest of the league.

We’ll see you all this Fall!

-As Scott Proctor recorded the final out of yet another Yankee victory by appropriately enough fanning the final batter on high cheese- this time 7-1 to complete a three-game sweep of what’s supposed to be a good Arizona ballclub which they managed to outscore by a combined 18-4, you can’t help but wonder how this team was once playing so badly and had hit rock bottom at 21-29 and were a crazy 14.5 games behind Boston.

They were thought to be dead. It sure looked that way with the offense stagnant and the pitching inconsistent. There never seemed to be a sense of urgency either when you looked at the dugout. Then A-Rod changed all that up in Toronto by yelling out “Ha” to distract Blue Jay infielder Howie Clark during a routine pop up which should’ve ended an inning. Instead, it continued with the man who was seen with a buxom blonde at another hotel earlier in the series ticking off the Jays and also helping his team avoid a sweep with a 10-5 win.

Somehow, it all turned around from that point. Since that controversial night, the lightning rod has sparked the team to an 11-2 mark in June including a current nine-game winning streak to lift the Bronx Bombers back to two games over .500 (33-31). With wildcard leader Detroit losing for the second straight day, suddenly they’re only 3.5 off the pace heading into a Subway series showdown with the slumping Mets.

The Amazin’s are going through the exact same sort of slump the Yanks did. They’ll be entering with a five-game skid which included a sweep at the hands of the Dodgers in L.A. They have lost their last four series and 10 of 12 overall. The last time the two NY teams met, it was the Yanks who were stumbling along and dropped two of three at Shea. It should be interesting to see what happens this weekend with the roles reversed.

The good news for the Mets is they still lead the NL East by two games over both slumping Atlanta and red hot Philly. But Willie Randolph’s ballclub still must get the ship righted soon. They do have good pitching match-ups with their top three of Oliver Perez, Tom Glavine and El Duque going up against the Rocket, rookie Tyler Clippard and Chien-Ming Wang. We’ll see if the friendly city rivalry helps sharpen up the Mets’ quiet bats and suddenly uncharacteristic sloppy fielding.
Meanwhile, Joe Torre’s bunch have to be extremely pleased with how they have played. With A-Rod having a big month with six homers and 23 RBI’s (two more today) and Bobby Abreu remembering who he is, things have fallen into place for the resurgent Yanks. They have even shed six games off Boston’s once insurmountable lead. It will still be a tough climb but stranger things have happened.

Think about this also. If the Yankees can sweep the Mets, amazingly enough the two teams would have the exact same record. A month ago, that was about as unlikely as a historic Red Sox’ comeback in the 2004 ALCS from 0-3 down against the Yanks.

That’s why they play the games.

-This NBA Finals sure has been just thrilling for ABC. Do you think right about now, ESPN wishes they had that contract back? Much like the NHL on Versus, it hasn’t quite worked out the way they envisioned. Neither has LeBron’s first taste of the Finals. However, you had to know this was coming against a machine-like opponent in San Antonio on their way to a fourth NBA title. The trio of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili has been too much to overcome. And even when they had an off game the other night, they got four treys from defensive specialist Bruce Bowen (13 pts) and held on for a three-point win.

And so Gregg Popovich’s club goes for a sweep tonight at Quicken Loans Arena. If they wrap it up, it will be their third NBA title in the last six years. You have to start putting them in that dynasty category. It’s much tougher to win now. But under arguably the NBA’s best coach and maybe the best power forward of all-time, the Spurs have been a dominant franchise. And they seem to prefer winning these NBA titles in odd years. With what? The prior three all coming that way (1999, 2003, 2005). What’s one more to make it four in the past decade since the Big Fundamental landed in Texas?

-Speaking of Duncan, he might not stir it up like a Kobe or AI but on the court what it boils down to is this: He’s a winner. Duncan does his talking in how he plays every night which usually is 20 and 10 with a handful of assists plus a few blocks. He’s dominated the biggest games. It was a couple of years ago when his team had been forced seven against a tough Detroit team. His character was questioned. And in the biggest moment, the Wake Forest product rose up and silenced the critics on his way to a third Finals MVP.

Duncan might be a quiet superstar but he’s also the best for a reason.

-If the Spurs do get it done tonight, it says here that Duncan’s running mate Parker AKA the Roadrunner should get that MVP trophy. The future Mr. Eva Longoria has stepped out of his teammate’s shadow with a brilliant postseason. Nobody’s been able to stop the lightning quick guard from getting to the lane and either scoring or setting up open teammates. He really makes that offense go and puts defenses on their heels. With an improved outside shot to boot, it makes Parker an impossible cover.

And to think he’s still just 25. It makes one ponder how he could’ve lasted 27 picks until the Spurs called his name at No.28 six years ago. What do you think all those other GM’s who passed on him are thinking right about now with another draft two weeks away?

-I realize these games have been brutal to watch but could the referees actually attempt to get the calls right? It was blatantly obvious that Bowen fouled LeBron just before that last second desperation 28 footer. Yet they didn’t bother to call it. Not that it would’ve mattered anyway. But the one close game which meant so much was not helped at all by David Stern’s officials one bit.

-Tell you one thing. For as bad as the Stanley Cup Final was, this has been even more uneventful with ratings dipping to an all-time low. When the two teams combine for the second lowest score in over 50 years, you know it’s not going as planned. Still though, at least they have a nice montage of Finals Moments past which draws you in unlike the other sport. That’s the one thing the NBA has always done well.

-Justin Verlander’s no-hitter was terrific a couple of nights ago against Milwaukee. The 2006 AL Rookie of the Year fanned a career high 12 and got superb defense from teammates Neifi Perez and Magglio Ordonez late. The Perez’ play where he made a diving stop in the hole to start an inning ending 6-4-3 double play in the eighth was beautiful stuff. The Ordonez’ sliding catch was nice as well. And when Ordonez caught J.J. Hardy’s fly ball near the warning track, the 24 year-old had done it.
Afterwards, the excited starter called it “the best thing that’s ever happened.”

If you caught a glimpse of his girlfriend, you might disagree a little bit. However, it also tells you how competitive he is and how much the game means. After winning 17 games last year in helping lead the Tigers to the pennant, he’s followed it up by jumping out to a 7-2 start with a 2.79 ERA, which is almost a run lower than his 3.63 last year. Opponents are batting a cool .212 off him as opposed to .266 in 2006. In 84 innings, he’s already more than halfway to last year’s strikeout total of 124 with 68 this time around.

All this while anchoring the Detroit staff with Kenny Rogers not due back until the second half. The former 2004 second overall selection out of Old Dominion looks like a future Cy Young winner. Who knows? It could come this year if he gets them back to October.

-If you haven’t been able to watch Marlins’ shortstop Hanley Ramirez, please do. He’s not Jose Reyes but he’s also not too far behind. They are two special talents.

-Speaking of which, the past few days haven’t been exactly what one would expect from the Mets’ best player.

-Remember when the Phillies were written off? Just saying.

-With another home run today, Ken Griffey, Jr. inched closer to 600 with No.579 in another loss for the hapless Reds. Even after all the injuries, the ex-Mariner centerfielder still has one of the sweetest home run swings in the game. And with all the drama as a washed up Barry Bonds attempts to catch Hank Aaron, it’s the player most believed would get there first who is jacking balls out of the park on a regular basis. With 16 on the season, he’s currently tied for second in the Senior Circuit. Not bad for a guy who hasn’t been able to stay healthy much.

You can only picture how many more dingers he’d have by now. Maybe it would be the more popular player approaching Homerin’ Hank without all the hoopla.

-Chad Gaudin took a 6-1 record into his start against Houston earlier today. The 24 year-old Oakland starter’s 2.43 ERA ranked second in the league to teammate Dan Haren. He was once drafted in the 34th round by the Devil Rays in 2001, who promptly gave up on him after two seasons and dealt him to Toronto for Kevin Cash. Who? Gaudin lasted only one season with Toronto before the A’s acquired him for Dustin Majewski. Who Part II?

Just remember that Gaudin was still just 21 when Tampa gave up on him which explains why they are who they are.

Then there’s former first overall selection Josh Hamilton, who now has nine homers with the Reds. Just imagine the 26 year-old comeback story in an outfield with Carl Crawford and Delmon Young. And imagine that trio with rising star B.J. Upton in that lineup. Pretty scary.

At least they weren’t the only club to give up on Hamilton. The Cubs had him too. They do have Felix Pie manning center but Hamilton might’ve been a better option. Or maybe he could’ve shifted to right which wouldn’t have been bad.

Makes you wonder sometimes what these teams are thinking about.

-Mike Keenan becoming coach of Calgary 13 years to the day after leading the Rangers to their first Stanley Cup in 54 years just doesn’t feel right in today’s NHL.

Aside from blogging, I also host my own one hour show entitled Hard Hits over at Blog Talk Radio.

Tonight’s show airs live from 9 ET/6PT and runs till 10ET/7PT. To check it out live, it can be found here:

Among topics which will be discussed are the NBA Finals, Yankees/Mets, Roger Clemens and Rafael Nadal’s three-peat at Roland Garros which prevented Roger Federer from making Grand Slam history for the second consecutive year.

There also might be some other surprises. You’ll just have to find out what’s on our mind later on.

For other show archives, you can go to our host page and pull them up here:

http://blogtalkradio.com/hostpage.aspx?host_id=2402
Hope you check us out later tonight or in the future as we air more shows during what should be a busy summer.

Rafael Nadal ruled the clay again with another determined display to prevent Roger Federer from making history.

Instead, it was the recently turned 21 year-old No.2 ranked Spaniard who made some at Roland Garros by getting the best of the 10-time Grand Slam champion in a near repeat performance from last year’s final- prevailing in four sets 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 for the second consecutive year over the world No.1 to become the first men’s three-peat French Open champion since the legendary Bjorn Borg, who won four straight from 1978-81 on his way to six in Paris.

It marked the third consecutive year Nadal stopped Federer from winning the one major which has eluded him. The 25 year-old Swiss Maestro had already made history by appearing in his Open Era record eighth straight Grand Slam final. He was attempting to become the sixth man to complete the career Grand Slam. Ironically, American Andre Agassi was the last to accomplish the difficult task when he cameback from two sets down in 1999 to defeat Andrei Medvedev at Philippe Chatrier court.

If Federer wants to join the exclusive group which includes Agassi, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, Don Budge and Fred Perry, he’ll have to wait until next year much to the disappointment of a supportive crowd which chanted, “Ro-ger, Ro-ger,” throughout.

The loss was extremely frustrating for the classy champion who even passed on an NBC postmatch interview with the one and only Bud Collins. That’s when you know how much this meant to him.

The truth is he didn’t play all that well in his straight set semifinal win over Nikolai Davydenko on Friday and knew he’d have to come with a better effort. The problem was who was on the other side of the net. This wasn’t two out of three sets where he finally got Nadal at Hamburg a couple of weeks ago to snap his clay court record 81-match winning streak.

I really believed that beating him in the best three of five on this surface would be even too much for the great Federer which was exactly how it played out for a second year in a row. Nadal is so special on the red stuff that he makes his opponents play a grinding game they don’t want to get into. With so much action on the ball and higher bounces on the surface, it makes opponents play tougher shots.

That might help explain Roger’s unusually high number of unforced errors. He committed 59 which was more than double Nadal’s more controlled total of 27. Amazingly enough, more than half (14) those errors came in the opening set and it was one he pulled out which had to have a rippling affect on Federer who was unable to convert on any of the 10 break chances he had. Nadal saved 16 of 17 break points during the match.

Twice, Nadal got out of 15-40 holes and even climbed out of a 0-40 deficit. During one extended game which featured several deuces, the gritty Spaniard saved five break points before holding.
That game seemed to take the wind out of Federer’s sails. The very next service game, Nadal suddenly broke him for 4-3 en route to capturing the last four games of the set which included a second break on only his second such opportunity, punctuating the set with a crosscourt backhand winner which kissed the line.

After making almost half his errors in the first set, Federer’s play improved dramatically in a turnaround second set which saw him break for the only time in the match in the seventh game. After failing to break early in the set, he saved a break point on his serve to hold.

Encouraged by the crowd, he suddenly started getting a higher percentage of first serves in and began dictating rallies by using a lethal crosscourt backhand and some effective play at the net in which he converted at a high ratio to put Nadal on the defensive. He finally put it altogether during the seven game to pull ahead 4-3 but then had to save a couple of break points before holding. It also took five set points before he squared the match.

The aggressive play gave Federer a realistic chance at winning this but that’s when the resilient Nadal immediately turned the tables on him early in the third set to break during the second game. He took advantage of a wide forehand miss on the first point to break quickly. If there was a shot which failed Roger, it was his trademark shot which produced over half the miscues from the baseline. Nadal’s speed might’ve had something to do with it. He gets to so many shots that it sometimes forces foes to go for too much. Federer fell into that hole.

From that point, he never seemed comfortable. There were still shots of brilliance coming off his racket which defied logic but not enough consistency to threaten Nadal, who faced just one break point the final two sets. He easily served out the third set producing a strong forehand down the line which Federer couldn’t get back.

Nadal did give Federer one look to get an early 2-0 break lead in the fourth but the Spaniard erased it by winning the most important exchange of the match. It was 23 strokes long. With neither player giving an inch as they went for every conceivable angle, Nadal finally ended the point by ripping a forehand down the line which was just out of Federer’s reach, giving a fist pump. It symbolized why he won. Because he was better on those big points.

After Nadal held, he broke a deflated Roger for 2-1 and never looked back. Though Federer forced him to serve it out, he could make no impression on the Spaniard’s serve which got much stronger towards the conclusion. When a Federer forehand down the line fell long, a jubilant Nadal fell to the clay before getting congratulations from his worthy opponent at the net. He then climbed into the stands to celebrate with his family and friends including his uncle who coaches him. It was a nice moment.

Even nicer during the trophy presentation was the special appearance of former three-time French Open winner Gustavo Kuerten, who got a deserved loud reception. The classy ex-champ has battled injuries and underwent two hip surgeries last year. He still hopes to return to the tour and hopefully play at his favorite Grand Slam next year. One can only hope so.

Nadal improved to a perfect 21-0 at Roland Garros having never lost in his three appearances. Pretty amazing. He also is now a ridiculous 34-0 in best of five matches on clay. He ran his clay court record against Federer to 6-1 with just the three set defeat two weeks ago.

Federer is now 0-3 against Nadal in Paris having lost in the semis in 2005 and the finals the past two years. All three defeats came in four sets. Since two years ago, he’s 4-7 against him while posting a 199-7 record against everyone else.

One has to ponder what he’s feeling right now. He’ll turn 26 in August and you have to figure he’ll get a couple of more chances to complete the career Grand Slam at Roland Garros. But how will it be possible with Nadal in the way? This was essentially the same match as last year’s except he took the first set in convincing fashion before Nadal dominated much of the rest of it before Federer broke to force a tiebreak before falling.

Here was his reaction after the disappointing result today:

“Of course, I’m a bit sad, a bit disappointed. Eventually, if I get it, the sweeter it’s going to taste. So hopefully I’ll give myself more and more opportunities, over and over again. I know I can do it now, that’s for sure. … Bad thing - I missed too many opportunities. I couldn’t get them done, in the first set especially, and then that maybe in the long run hurt me.“

Now the scene shifts to the familiar grass which is his dominant surface which has seen him run off the last four Wimbledons during what’s been an amazing run as the longest tenured No.1 player on the ATP tour eclipsing Andy Roddick’s current coach Jimmy Connors earlier this year.

The growing question is will Federer suffer from a hangover after such a difficult loss? You know he felt he was finally going to climb that final hurdle and deliver the goods today but it wasn’t to be. He’s always been mentally tough. Now we’re going to find out just how tough he really is later this month.

Meanwhile, the classy Nadal felt bad for his opponent:

“I am very happy. “But I am really sad for Roger. He is a friend and I know he is a great champion, whether he wins or loses. … It’s a dream for me. I worked very hard to be the best.“

No question this budding 21 year-old is Federer’s best rival at this juncture. The two have separated themselves from the time being from a competitive pack which includes Roddick, Davydenko and fast mover Novak Djokovic. Also keep an eye on how Andy Murray returns from an injury which forced him to miss this event. If 100 percent, he could do some damage at the All England Club with some home cooking.

Nadal certainly has the drive to be good on other surfaces as he proved during last summer’s surprising run to the Wimbledon final before falling four tough sets to Federer. It will be interesting to see if he can take that next step this time around with two majors left.

It should make for a compelling summer.

Roger Clemens’ day finished up a little while ago as the 44 year-old seven-time Cy Young Award winner made his return to the Bronx.

After permitting a first inning run on an Adam LaRoche two out single, the Rocket settled down to pitch two consecutive scoreless before the Pirates tied it at three with a two out Jack Wilson double to right which Bobby Abreu couldn’t track down. It was hit well but was also one the adventurous right fielder could’ve had if he could overcome his fear of the wall.

After the hit, Clemens finished strong by retiring the last seven including his seventh strikeout of the day to end the top half of the sixth. He left to cheers from the Stadium crowd and was in line for career win No. 349 due to a Jorge Posada fifth inning sac fly.

His final line: 6 IP, 5 H, 3 R (3 ER), 2 BB, 7 K’s, 108 pitches

Considering that it was his first start, that’s a lot of pitches. But the most encouraging news for the Bronx Bombers was his command. Though he wasn’t overpowering with a fastball which reached 90, Clemens was able to hit spots and pitch effectively. His splitter was particularly effective resulting in a few whiffs.

All in all, a decent outing from a man who despite the ridiculous prorated $28 million salary remains locked in. All one had to do was watch his reaction to a throw he made to end the second on a tapper where the fiery competitor pumped his fist. Clemens might be a hired gun but that fire still burns.

At last check, the Yanks led 8-3 with one out in the eighth looking on their way to a fifth consecutive victory.

It was a familiar sight at Paris earlier today as Belgian Justine Henin once again lifted the trophy for her third consecutive French Open title. The top seed took advantage of a shaky first-time slam finalist in seventh seeded Ana Ivanovic to easily prevail in straight sets 6-2, 6-1- becoming the first woman to three-peat since Monica Seles (1990-92).

It was her sixth career Grand Slam title and moved her ahead of Martina Hingis and Venus Williams, trailing only Serena Williams’ eight among active players on the WTA Tour. Out of the six, four have come on her favorite surface at Roland Garros in familiar surroundings on Philippe Chatrier court including her first back in 2003.
For the 25 year-old clay court master, it was extra special due to having her family in attendance for the first time to watch her play splendid tennis to lift the trophy. Her mother passed away in 1994 and she just had recently reconnected with her stepfather and siblings. While her Dad watched on TV, Justine’s sister and two brothers watched from the stands and enjoyed the big moment.

Just how much did it mean to the champion? Here was her reaction:

“It has been a huge step in my life in the last few months, and I was glad I could give them this victory, because everyone suffered a lot from the situation in the last few years. And today, finally, we are united in this joy and we can share this moment, and it’s great. And I feel so happy that I can offer that to them.“ 

There’s nothing as meaningful in life as family. One can’t put a price on what it means. That’s why it’s very nice to see Henin able to reconvene with her’s and be able to celebrate such a special moment. It marked only the second time since 1937 that a woman had won three straight French Opens.

Though she eventually cruised to a routine victory much like her other three straight set finals before, it was a slow start. The 19 year-old Ivanovic broke her right away in the opening game and had a 40-Love lead for 2-0 but the resilient Henin climbed out of the hole to break back.

Able to keep more balls in play due to her superior speed and attacking Ivanovic’s serve (45 percent 1st serve) which wasn’t quite up to speed unlike a blowout semi win over Maria Sharapova, Henin was able to keep more balls in play during rallies. Henin made twice less unforced errors (13) compared to her opponent’s 26.

Ivanovic was overcome by the moment against the more experienced champion. It made for another quick day at the office for Henin, who became the first player to win four titles in Paris since the legendary Steffi Graf.

After Ivanovic held for only the second time during the match, she easily served out the championship, clinching it with a forehand volley winner before excitedly tossing her racket in the air and dropping to her knees.

By prevailing in straight sets, Henin made it an Open Era record 35 straight without dropping one.

The only thing left for her to do is complete the career Grand Slam by winning at Wimbledon next month on grass. Expect the top ranked player to get the usual challenges from past Wimbledon winners defending champion Amelie Mauresmo, Sharapova and the Williams sisters. We’ll see if she can make history.

Nadal Aims For 3-Peat While Federer Goes For History In Rematch: Meanwhile, the much anticipated men’s rematch between top seeded Roger Federer and back-to-back winner Rafael Nadal is set for tomorrow morning. It can be seen live at 9 ET/6 PT on NBC.

Nadal is aiming to become the first three-peat French Open champion since Bjorn Borg, who won four straight from 1978-81. Meanwhile, Federer is once again going for history as he attempts to become just the sixth man to complete a career Grand Slam. A year ago against Nadal, he stormed through the opening set only to see the Spaniard bounceback in style to win the next three sets to repeat on clay.

This match-up is as good as it gets. Federer might not have played crisply even though he beat Nikolai Davydenko in three sets to reach his slam record eighth consecutive final but the 10-time slam winner at least knows he can beat Nadal on the red surface- ending the No.2 ranked Rafa’s record 81-match win streak at Hamburg last month.

He also has won his last 27 matches in slams but the biggest question is can he get the best of Nadal three out of five sets on this surface to make history? That remains to be seen.
Rafa will bring a 7-4 head-to-head record including 5-1 on clay against Roger. It will be the third slam final meeting with the two splitting two four setters last year in Paris and London.

After straight setting top five riser Novak Djokovic in the semis, Nadal hasn’t dropped a set and will try to become the first French Open champion to not lose a set since Borg (1978-80).

Something has to give tomorrow. Make sure you tune in because it should be great!

Our pic of the day comes from the one and only Paris Hilton, who looks as weepy as a spoiled brat is supposed to look when a Los Angeles judge reversed a decision which would’ve allowed The Simple Life star to serve out the remainder of her 45-day jail sentence at her home in Hollywood due to an unspecified medical condition. Instead she was ordered to return to an L.A. County jail to be determined after she undergoes psychiatric examination:

It’s about time someone taught her a lesson!

For the past two months, we’ve been preoccupied with the NHL playoffs providing extensive coverage along with some NBA mixed in. We haven’t really given our assessment on other stuff going on. Now has come the time to put some of those thoughts down. So let’s get to it in no particular order:

1.In the end, Billy Donovan realized that making the big move to the NBA was all wrong. That maybe the comfort of Gainesville and the college game is where the former Providence long distance bomber under ex-coach Rick Pitino belonged. Sometimes, the mind has a funny way of working and it can play tricks. While the opportunity to coach a rising Orlando Magic team was a good one, maybe after taking the job last week the 42 year-old realized that what he had accomplished already with the Gators was plenty. Or maybe he stepped back and saw how the pros weren’t too kind to Pitino the second time around or Tim Floyd or Leonard Hamilton.

It might be basketball in the “purest form” as Billy The Kid mentioned last week but coaching in the NBA is a completely different animal than college, where there’s more of a chance to build a long lasting legacy such as Mike Krzyzewski with Duke.

And so maybe it just came down to the fact that Donovan realized he already had the best job. One he enjoyed and was extremely passionate about. Maybe for once the kids mattered more along with his family. And if that’s the case even after a John Kerry-esque few days which might have hurt his squeaky clean image, then good for him! He made the right decision and did the Magic a favor.

2.Speaking of the Magic, they’ll now turn to ex-Heat coach Stan Van Gundy. You remember him? The coach who did a solid job with the Heat before Shaq came and essentially along with Pat Riley forced him out. Not that we’re blaming the Diesel here. Riley is Benedict Arnold and pulled the strings by coming back when it was convenient to help get Miami their first NBA championship. And yes, he proved he still was a great coach but what he did to Van Gundy was always a travesty.

Now the brother of Jeff gets another crack with another team in Southern Florida. He’ll have Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson to work with coming off a first round sweep at the hands of Detroit. Now it will be his show to run without any distractions from the two-faced Riley who always only beated to his drum.

And maybe a chance for some sweet revenge for a likeable guy who we can’t help but pull for. Can you believe the nerve of Riley to hold the Magic up for compensation? The Heat will receive a 2007 second round pick at this year’s draft and future considerations just to get Van Gundy out of the final year of his contract.

We’ll say this for Riley. He might be a snake but you got to give him credit for holding up Orlando here and getting what he could for a guy who was basically sitting on the beach chair probably fishing.

It definitely should make for some interesting games between Miami and Orlando next year.

3.According to a report out of an Oregon paper, Kevin Durant was the only player at a workout who couldn’t bench press at least 185 pounds. The 18 year-old who made NCAA history by becoming the first freshman to take home AP Player of The Year honors is a very talented versatile small forward but if this is true, he definitely needs to get much stronger because going up against NBA big men is a much tougher prospect. Hopefully, this is a wakeup call for what is one of the most exciting players we’ve seen in a long time.

4.With each guy one match away from the most anticipated grand slam final rematch in a long time, you just hope that Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer get there for what should be a breathtaking clay court battle. But first, Nadal must get through fast riser Novak Djokovic and Federer the same against Nikolai Davydenko before it becomes reality. And remember, Roger finally got Rafa a month ago in three sets. But it does leave us wondering if the 10-time slam winner can get the best of Nadal in best three out of five to make history by completing the career Grand Slam. Or will Nadal three-peat and start up some Bjorn Borg comparisons? Doesn’t matter yet. First, they each must prevail in Roland Garros later today.

5.By helping lead his team to their first Stanley Cup, former Devil Scott Niedermayer became the only active player to win four Cups. Along with a Conn Smythe, a Norris and Olympic gold, the defenseman has built up quite a winning legacy. But to win that elusive fourth one while teaming up with younger brother Rob was extra special. It’s not often in sports that such a great thing happens where two brothers team up to win a championship. When one considers what he turned down from Lou Lamoriello to go across the coast to play with Rob, he took a big risk. But family meant more here than money. And don’t underestimate Niedermayer probably realizing he’d accomplished everything he could in New Jersey winning three Cups but probably never would’ve gotten out of Martin Brodeur’s shadow even if he’d stayed and won a couple of more.

Sometimes, there really are happy endings. Though there are probably plenty of Devil fans who would beg to differ at this point. Bottom line: Niedermayer is a winner and didn’t need his former boss or teammates to prove it.
6.As nice it was to see the Niedermayers have their special moment where Scott handed the Cup to Rob, probably the best part was watching Teemu Selanne lift the hardware after 15 years (14 seasons). He came into the league as a baby faced Finn who was an electric finisher, setting the league on fire en route to the Calder with a rookie record 76 goals and 132 points with the Winnipeg Jets. He had waited a long time. Seeing the wide grin and reactions was priceless. Great stuff from a likeable athlete towards the end of a brilliant career.

7.Just think. The next time someone discusses Michael Vick, it won’t be for his breathtaking runs. Suddenly, pitbulls have taken on a whole new meaning. What do you think Clinton Portis is thinking right about now? Did anyone say Wizard of Oz and Scare Crow here?
8.So it only took senile owner Charles Wang five seasons to realize his ridiculous 10-year $85 million investment in Alexei Yashin wasn’t working out. We wonder what it finally took. Was it the four first round playoff exits with their captain utterly silent symbolizing why he was such a failure in Ottawa? Or was it the two assists in his last 12 playoff games? Or was it the one good move the owner made hiring Ted Nolan, who isn’t a fool and knew he had to get rid of Yashin if the Islanders were to have any shot at bringing back Ryan Smyth and Jason Blake?

And the chapter has finally closed on one of the all-time duds. Just remember then GM Mike Milbury gave up Zdeno Chara and a first round pick which turned into Jason Spezza. Oh don’t worry. Wang’s only on the hook for a cool $17.6 million to complete the buyout. Ah. To be an athlete sometimes. At least Yashin showed up and played in games unlike Carl “DL” Pavano.

Final thought. My broadcast partner Gary Harding talked about Garth Snow on our NY Hockey Report show Wednesday night. Newsflash: Snow had nothing to do with this move and isn’t calling the shots. The owner is. And that means the Fishsticks’ problems aren’t over. Not by a long shot. Just wait and see.

9.Now that the Yankees have finally decided to show up and play a little, we’re going to find out if they can save their season. Even if it means Roger Clemens back in Pinstripes starting tomorrow against the Triple A Pirates. And it says here that if Joe Torre’s club can’t sweep Pittsburgh at The Stadium, they can forget about being taken seriously.

10.Have you ever seen a worse outfielder than Bobby Abreu? Just saying.

11.Jose Reyes is the most exciting player in the game. The way he can terrorize opposing pitchers on the basepaths is great theater. But he learned a valuable lesson the other night after swiping second for steal No.31 off 44 year-old veteran Jamie Moyer. Never underestimate those tricky southpaws.

12.Did the Mets really believe Moises Alou would stay healthy? When El Duque continues to defy logic even after a brief DL stint and then returns continuing to baffle batters, what does that tell them? Alou’s still a good hitter and definitely gave the Amazin’s a boost hitting behind David Wright but anyone could’ve told them he was only going to be good for 90 to 100 games. And now, with Endy Chavez out a few weeks due to a hamstring injury and Shawn Green finally close to returning, suddenly their outfield is a mess. It’s a lot different when you’re forced to start decent bench guys such as David Newhan and Ben Johnson.

13.Considering how hot he’s tearing it up with Texas, who thinks the Mets couldn’t use Victor Diaz right about now? Remember him?

14.It only took one injury riddled year for the Dolphins to essentially give up on Daunte Culpepper. And for what? A 35 year-old Trent Green. There’s got to be a lot of chuckling going on in Minnesota.

15.Watching Maria Sharapova get taken apart and essentially go through the motions in a blowout straight set semifinal loss to Ana Ivanovic was a lot like watching her blown out by Serena Williams at the Australian Open. Clay isn’t like other surfaces for the big hitters and requires a ton of running and being able to slide into your shots. Maybe that’s why America had such a pathetic showing in Paris with not one male player getting out of the opening round, making it just the third ever time that’s happened in the Open Era at a slam. It also would’ve been nice if Serena had given Justine Henin a better battle in the quarters a few days prior.

16.LeBron James is going to have to much better than the 14 and six turnovers on just 4-of-16 shooting if his Cavs are going to give Tim Duncan’s Spurs a series here. Do you think they’re going to be seeing Tony Parker in their sleep? Maybe he can get up and down that fast because of who he’s marrying a month from now. What does Eva Longoria think?

17.Who makes better videos? Fergie or Shakira? You decide.

18.The Ducks finished off all four of their opponents at the Honda Center and improved to 8-0 all-time in close out games. To borrow something we heard the other night, must’ve been the presence of Snoop Dogg. Seeing him in a Ducks jersey kind of takes us back to the days of “Gin and Juice” and “Murder Was The Case.”

The NHL wants to promote their sport and attract actual audiences. Have rappers such as Snoop pitch it. It would work too.

19.It’s too bad Lindsay Lohan is such a train wreck because she has talent.
20.Make me care about Paris Hilton.

21.Almot twenty years after he made the first Die Hard, here comes a 52 year-old Bruce Willis pulling off sorts of crazy stunts in Live Free or Die Hard as the comical John McClane. And you know it will still have some scenes worth talking about.

22.Is there ever a normal day in the life of A-Rod? That’s one of the things ex-Mets GM Steve Phillips has been proven right about. Who knew the circus existed in the Bronx and we’re not talking about The Boss here?

23.Five hundred career saves for Trevor Hoffman should seal what should be a first ballot entry into Cooperstown. And the best part is he did it almost exclusively with one team- saving 498 of them with the Padres after coming over from Florida in 1993 in exchange for Gary Sheffield. There he is 14 years later still closing out big games for a good San Diego team who will be in a tight three horse race for the NL West all season with the Dodgers and Diamondbacks. With 18 saves, the guy who comes out to Hell’s Bells is right up there with ML save leader Jose Valverde. It was nice to see the closer record the milestone in true fashion with a punchout.

24.This Chasing Aaron thing is taking a little longer than most thought considering the way Barry Bonds came out of the gate.

25.When Michelle Wie wins a significant LPGA event, that’s when she’ll be taken seriously. Not because of what Annika Sorenstram said.

26.If MLB is really expecting Jason Giambi to rat out peers, they’re in for a rude awakening. To be honest, this whole crusade by Bud Selig to apply pressure on the injured Yankee slugger is a joke. All because he made reference to taking steroids in a USA Today article and had the audacity to criticize baseball. Giambi was actually right and that’s why Selig got upset. If they really wanted to make an example of him, they should’ve done it a couple of years ago when the story first broke. They need to wake up.

27.After a splendid rendition of the national anthem before Game 1 of the NBA Finals, Jordin Sparks can sing for me anyday. Who knew that ex-Giant Phillipi’s daughter will probably have a better career than her Dad, who btw was a pretty good player and didn’t fall and slip like most of the Giants’ secondary when the game’s on the line.
28.Who would you rather have right now for a key at bat? Abreu or Sheffield? Case closed.

29.Find me five better clutch hitters than Chase Utley. Just ask Mets fans.

30.Every year, Vlad Guerrero flies under the radar and he’s only one of baseball’s most talented players who puts up big numbers year after year since entering the league a decade ago when he came up as a highly touted prospect with the Montreal Expos. And here he is on a very good first place Angels club delivering clutch hits such as the walkoff home run he had against the Orioles the other night and putting up another monster season. Maybe just once he’ll really be appreciated. And it’s not like he doesn’t have an MVP. He edged Sheffield a few years ago. But it always seems like he’s not getting the type of credit that the other big stars do.

Maybe it’s because of where he plays. But all he does is put up consistent numbers year in and year out without a peep. It’s about time people start taking a look.