A Tale of Two Cities

Ok. The title of this post is a little misleading. But one of the things I like about my blog is that it’s well… my blog. I can do whatever I want. Just like you can do whatever you want with your blog.

Come to think of it, another think I like about my blogs (and blogs, in general) is that it can be used to convey any sort of emotion or message, as long as you can write it. Some days I’ll use my blog to express pride and joy in a certain athlete’s accomplishments. Other days I’ll use this space
as a forum to call out someone who I feel could do better (I’m look at you Rick Reilly).

Today, I’d like to use my blog for the latter. As a member of the media (Ha! Right?) I feel its my obligation to myself and you, the reader, to point out and be critical when the moment calls for it. As anyone who has seen my Twitter account, SubwayScripture this last night, July 1st, I was quite miffed at Transformers 2.

Forget the atrocious critics’ reviews. Forget the 20% rating on RottenTomatoes. Forget how skeptical you’ve become when someone tells you how “god awful” and “painfully terrible” a movie is. Forget all of it, and let me tell you this: I understand that hearing a movie is so bad only makes you want to see it more. But I guarantee that you will be disappointed, unsatisfied, and possibly in the mood to riot about it. That’s all I’m going to say, the rest is up to you. Just don’t try asking for your money back. I already tried, and they don’t do that anymore.

Despite the tragedy that was Trans2, today wasn’t all bad. The sports world had a lot going on these past few days. The mention just some of the things:

• T-Wolves draft point guards with their first 3 picks (all in the first round), including one talented Spaniard who may just play another year of Euro-ball instead of play in the small market of Minnesota.
• Staying in the NBA: The Clippers finally made a good move by dumping the man they call Z-Bo (Zach Randolph, I believe it’s a play on Bozo because of the clown-like shots he puts up) for an expiring 2010 contract. The player the get in return is Quentin Richardson. It’s ironic though, because Richardson, considered by many as a first-round bust, was traded a few days ago to the Grizzlies by the Knicks for Darko Milicic, considered by many as the biggest bust of the 2000-decade drafts. Only the Clippers could make a move as shaky as this one and have people saying, “That’s one of their best deals in a while!”.
• Shaq to Cleveland for literally a bag of peanuts. Well, maybe not literally. But what would you call package that included a 34-year old washout and this man? Quick note: When you type “Sasha Pavlovic” into Google, the next highest result isn’t his stats or his wikipedia page, it’s about his girlfriend. That’s never a good sign for a player.
• Billy Mays passed away on June 28 of an apparent heart attack. For someone who absolutely revolutionized the way household and otherwise trivial products are sold, his untimely passing isn’t nearly getting the time or attention it deserves. 50 years from now, people will look back and point to Mays’ life and say, “That’s the guy who made advertising what it is today.” RIP Billy.

But the clear story of the week took place at the All England Club. That’s right, Wimbledon. For anyone who was immediately turned off in realizing that this last part of the article is going to be about tennis, let this be your reminder of last year’s epic. On the women’s side, it’s all chalk with the Williams sister’s facing Safina and Dementieva in the semi’s. My money’s on one of the sister’s, given how dominating they’ve been so far.

But the Men’s side. Oh boy is that going to be something else. First, keep in mind that the world #1, Rafa Nadal, the only man who seems to be able to stop Federer on grass courts, is out with a bum knee. Then in one semi matchup you have the #2 (more like 1A) Roger Federer, a 5-time Wimbledon champ with a chance to win #6 at Wimbledon, and 15th overall to move ahead of Sampras for most Grand Slam titles all-time, against a resurgent Tommy Haas who is 7 years past his prime but looking for his last shot at glory.

The in the other match you have the monumental Andy v Andy. Andy Roddick, who just hit a personal-record 43 aces to beat Lleyton Hewitt over five sets. Andy Murray who cruised through his quarterfinal match but needed a 5-set epic of his own against Stanislas Wawrinka to get there. Andy Roddick, the perennial underachiever, who hasn’t one since the ‘03 US Open. Andy Murray, the homegrown talent, trying to become the first Englishman to win at The All England Club since Fred Perry did it back in 1936, a whopping 73 years ago! The American Andy Roddick, the archetype of America personified through tennis: shoot first (big serve) ask questions later (every other part of his game).

What a game that’s going to be. With the entire crowd pulling for Murray, will Roddick even stand a chance? We know about his serves, but his aces will only carry him so far. Hewitt almost beat him, despite Roddick doubling up the number of aces that Murray had. The difference for Roddick in that match, and every match so far at Wimbledon, is that the other parts of his games are showing up at key points. His stamina is there when the opponents have been fading. His return game is working. But most importantly, he’s developed a killer two-handed backhand that he can actually rely on the win points. There were at least 4 or 5 key points that Roddick won because of his backhand that he couldn’t have won otherwise. Those points won him the match. He’ll need just as much (and a cool, collective temperament) if he wants to beat the favorite Murray.