Djokovic goes down

I got to watch some of the French Open yesterday. Coverage did not start until the afternoon, so the only match I saw live was Federer vs. Mathieu, and that was only the final two sets. Mathieu managed to win the first set but Federer got his act together after that and won the next three to take the match. He's still looking good, in my opinion. The upset of the day was Djokovic losing to Philipp Kohlschreiber in straight sets. I never would have expected him to lose this early. Also, Roddick surprisingly won another match, this one against Marc Gicquel. So now he's in the 4th round, which is the best he's ever done at this tournament. Up next will be Gael Monfils, so that will present a challenge for him. In the other half of the draw, Nadal and Murray both seem to be going strong. I think they'll both have matches today, so I might watch a little if I get the opportunity.

Federer, Roddick advance in Paris

More action at the French Open today. Federer and Roddick both played and won. It was not a cakewalk for Federer, as he needed 4-sets to take down Jose Acasuso, 7-6(8), 5-7, 7-6(2), 6-2. I remain optimistic about his chances of making the final. Roddick beat Ivo Minar in straight sets, which is an excellent result for him. He rarely wins any matches at this tournament. I figured I might as well include a picture of him in this post since he might be gone the next round (ha ha)! Another top guy who played today was Novak Djokovic. He started his match against some guy named Sergiy Stakhovsky and won the first two sets before play was suspended. I think Djokovic is a solid clay-court player, and I expect him to do very well, at least until he runs into the brick wall known as Nadal. But they are in opposite halves of the draw, so Djokovic could likely end up meeting Federer in the semis. I would give Federer the edge in that one, but either way it will be fun to watch.

Cavs on thin ice

I'm not sure why the Cavs are having so much trouble winning, but now they're in a very bad position. They're down 3 games to 1 to an Orlando team that seems to have figured out how to beat them. Cleveland's only win came in a game where they trailed with only a couple seconds left on the clock but got a miraculous 3-pointer from LeBron at the buzzer. Game 3 was a 10-point loss, and game 4 last night was a very close affair, going to overtime before the Magic came away with a narrow, 2-point victory. It does not look good for Cleveland. They'll return home for the next game, but Orlando has already proven they can win on the road. If the Cavs do win, they'll go back to Florida for game 6. So, it is possible for Cleveland to win 3 in a row, but they'll have to get their act together in order for it to happen.

French Open underway

Action began at the French Open yesterday and continues right on into today. This is going to be a very interesting tournament to watch, and I'll be sure to keep an eye on the results. Both Federer and Nadal played today, and both won in straight sets. Other possible contenders include Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic, although it's safe to say it would be huge upset if either of those guys won. The favorite is obviously Nadal, but I personally believe Federer has a better shot than most people think. Sure, this is a guy who's had a down year so far and could not even manage to win an event until a week ago, but he also elevates his game in majors. I can still remember after last year's Wimbledon final when everyone wrote him off as a has-been. His summer hard-court season was unimpressive, but then he won the US Open. Now, I understand that clay-courts are a different story, but in the past 4 years Federer has not lost a match at the French Open to anyone not named Nadal. That includes making the finals 3 years in a row. Federer is undoubtedly the second best clay-court player in the world, and, as evidenced by the recent Madrid tournament, he has the ability to beat Nadal on that surface. As if that's not intriguing enough, a Federer win would tie him with Pete Sampras for the most career majors at 14.

LeBron hits buzzer-beater

After dropping game 1 of their conference championship series to Orlando, the Cavs were in serious danger of going down 0-2 before having to hit the road. Game 2 was last night and started out well enough, with the Cavs outscoring the Magic 30-16 in the first quarter. But Orlando clawed their way back into the game until finally pulling even in the final frame. With time running down, Hedo Turkoglu hit a shot that gave them a 2-point lead, which almost everyone thought was good enough to win the game. The Cavs needed to put up a shot immediately, and, not surprisingly, the ball went to LeBron. What was surprising was that instead of fighting for position under the hoop, he went out to 3-point land and drained the shot from there. I watched the replay of that over and over this morning. Absolutely clutch. It will be interesting to see what mental effect this has on both teams as they go into game 3 down in Florida.

Conference finals

The NBA conference finals are ready to begin! Orlando defeated the Celtics in game 7 of their series to advance, while the Lakers also needed 7 games to finally beat the Rockets. Now the Magic will take on the Cavs, who haven't lost a game yet this postseason, and the Lakers will be up against the Nuggets, who soundly defeated Dallas in 5 games. Those matchups are interesting, but in the end I think it will be the Cavs against the Lakers in the finals, with the Cavs winning.

Federer downs Nadal in Madrid

Roger Federer won his first tournament of the year in Madrid today with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over the King of Clay, Rafa Nadal. After some disappointing results from Federer in previous tournaments, this is a much needed and welcome championship for him. It wasn't a major, but it was close. Defeating Nadal on clay is an extreme rarity, but Federer possesses the skills to do it. He had a tough match against Roddick in the quarterfinals, dropping a tiebreaker in the second set before winning the third. Then he dispatched del Potro in the semis in straight sets before his ultimate victory today. Nadal, on the other hand, had a real struggle in the semis against Djokovic. He lost the first set, eked out a tiebreaker in the second, and was down a break early in the third. I didn't follow the conclusion of the match, but Nadal must have broken back to send it to another tiebreaker, which he won. Still, I suspect that took a lot out of him. The French Open is coming up in another week, and we may see a Federer-Nadal final for the fourth year in a row. If so, that'll be a match I won't want to miss.

Celtics take 3-2 lead over Orlando

I did not have high expectations for the Celtics after they were down 2-1 against a good Magic team, but surprisingly they came back and won a couple of close games to take the lead in the series. Unfortunately I haven't been able to see or listen to the games, but I do follow the news reports with interest. The Cavs had no trouble dispatching Atlanta and still have not lost a game yet during these playoffs. A Cleveland-Boston series in the Eastern Conference finals should be a good one. Of course, Boston still needs to win one more game against Orlando. In the west, the Lakers absolutely crushed the Rockets last night, 118-78. That's got to be embarrassing for Houston. A 40-point loss? The only encouraging thing for them at this point is that game 6 will be played in Houston, so if they can win that one they'll have another shot at beating the Lakers in LA. Whoever wins that series will likely come up against Denver in the conference finals.

Rockets even with Lakers

I got to watch some playoff basketball this afternoon -- a rare treat in this day and age when the majority of games are on cable. Game 4 of the Lakers-Rockets series just concluded a few minutes ago down in Houston. The Rockets jumped out to a huge lead in the first quarter and never looked back. The Lakers did not play well defensively and never threatened to get back in the game. The final score was 99-87, which is misleading in that it makes the game seem closer than it was. The Lakers outscored Houston 33-16 in the final quarter, but by then the final outcome was not even in doubt. The Rockets were just trying to take time off the clock. So, the series is now tied 2-2 heading back to Los Angeles. I think it would be a mistake to look at this game as an indicator of how game 5 will play out, but I also think the Lakers should be concerned. If it's a close game in the final seconds, all of the pressure will be on the Lakers to win at home. It will be interesting to watch, but I won't get to see it since it'll be on cable. Not to mention past my bedtime.

Achilles update

I finally saw the orthopedist yesterday to discuss the results of the MRI I had on my ankle. There did not appear to be any tears, which is good news, but there was some inflammation in the tendon. The doctor gave me quite a few options -- physical therapy, injections, surgery -- none of which I'm willing to do. However, he did suggest using an anti-inflammatory gel (primarily used for arthritis, I believe) and wrote me a prescription for it. So last night and today I've been smearing that stuff all over my Achilles. No noticeable improvement yet, but I figure it can't do any harm. I'm also continuing to ice it after running.

Cavs handle Hawks

The Sixers are out, but the NBA playoffs roll on without them. Last night the Cavs opened up their series against the Hawks and had little trouble winning the first game 99-72. They're looking great so far, and I would not be at all surprised if this is the year they win the NBA title. The Lakers have been less than impressive and even dropped their first game against the Rockets. Likewise, the Celtics fell to the Magic in their first game. The Cavs seem to be the only consistently good team out there, which is a pleasant surprise. I've always rooted against the Lakers, and even though I like the Celtics, they just won it all last year. One team that hasn't been talked about much is Denver. They currently lead Dallas 2-0 and could really shock a lot of people by making it to the finals. But, there's still a lot of basketball to be played before all is said and done.

Nadal takes Rome title

Another clay-court tournament, another victory for Nadal. The Rome tournament was held last week, and everything went pretty much as expected. Nadal won everything and was matched up with Djokovic in the final, just like in Monte Carlo. Roger Federer had yet another disappointing result, losing to Djokovic in the semis. I can't figure out what's going on with that guy. He had a great Australian Open, coming within one set of the title, but after that he has struggled mightily. He always seems to shine in the Grand Slam events, so I hope he plays well enough to make the final at the French Open. I don't give him much of a chance at beating Nadal, but up until very recently I would have argued that he was the second best clay-courter in the world. At least Djokovic has been having some solid performances on clay. If he's not in Rafa's half of the French Open draw, he'll have a great chance at making the final.

Sixers' season comes to an end

The Magic beat the Sixers 114-89 last night to win the series 4-2 and put an end to the Sixers' postseason hopes. I listened to a little bit of the game in the second quarter, and it didn't sound like the Sixers were ever really in the ball game. Orlando jumped out to an early lead by outscoring them 30-19 in the first quarter, and after that the Sixers never got any momentum. Overall, this was an expected outcome. Orlando won their division with a good record, while the Sixers struggled down the home stretch and only barely managed to end up with a 500 record. It was a surprise to me to see them win game 1 and then come back home to Philly and win game 3 also. I had started to think that maybe they could pull off the series win, but they needed to win their home games, and they dropped both games 4 and 6. So, I'll have to wait until next season to hear another Sixers game. Meanwhile, the Celtics have their hands full with the Bulls. What I expected to be an easy series is turning out to be a dogfight. The Bulls won again last night, in triple overtime.