A Case of the Mondays

A big day today in England as Wimbeldon got underway. I have pretty much watched every Wimbeldon since the mid 90's. When I was young I found out that Pete Sampras had the same birthday as me so I would watch Wimbeldon every year because Sampras pretty much won it every year. Recently I have begun playing tennis just about everyday because not only is it a good workout but its actually pretty fun. That in combination with my longtime love for Wimbeldon will lead to some extended coverage on the event here at Big O Sports Blog. So on the slate today we have my Wimbeldon preview and is KG headed to Hollywood? Let's roll.


Welcome to the All England Club

I am just going to be upfront about this, I really don't have any bold predictions on the men's side of the bracket. Roger Federer will almost certainly win his fifth straight Wimbeldon. This guy just does not lose on grass, it doesn't happen. Federer on grass is like Nadal on clay, just go ahead and consider it a lock. You have to wonder if every other man competing in this tournament has it in the back of his mind that he's pretty much playing for second place. I mean once you get to the final with Federer, you're more or less just trying to not get embarrassed. If you can steal a set than that's just a bonus, but really you just want to get your second place trophy without getting skunked.

Honestly I would really like to see Andy Roddick win this thing, I really would. He's America's best tennis player and to sweeten the pot, he even lived in Omaha for about 15 minutes, so I genuinely root for the guy. That being said, he pretty much doesn't have a shot. This is a family friendly site so I can't tell you exactly the relationship between Roger Federer and Andy Roddick, but let's just say that Federer owns him. Further more, Roddick knows it. I was up at about 4 AM when Federer and Roddick's Austrailan Open Match aired live, and after giving Roger a game in the first set, I just wanted Roddick to fake an injury so he didn't have to suffer anymore. It looked as if at any given point Andy would just burst into tears and beg for mercy. It was painful to watch, not just as an American but as a human being. The worst part was Roddick wasn't even playing poorly in that match, he was playing some pretty solid tennis, and Federer was just THAT much better, it was absurd. You could see it in Roddick's face that he knew he was outmatched and he was just trying not to embarrass himself. Something he clearly also knew he was failing at. Roddick will never beat Federer in a meaningful Grand Slam match while both stars are in their prime, you can mark that down. For the sake of Andy Roddick and his friends and family and anyone who even remotely likes the guy, I hope these two don't meet at the All England club. If Roger wants to get upset in the early rounds clearing the path for Andy to win it all I'd be all for that, but I'm not holding my breath for that one.


Could KG Make Kobe a Happy Camper?

There have been talks of sending Kevin Garnett to the Los Angeles Lakers. The deal was born as a four team blockbuster involving in addition to Minnesota and LA, the Indiana Pacers and Boston Celtics. That monstrosity fell apart because the Celtics didn't like their end of the deal (basically they didn't like being involved in a KG trade where they didn't get KG), but talks between the T'Wolves and Lakers have continued. Meanwhile SportsCenter continues to report that the four team deal is still being discussed, well don't believe them, its just not true. However KG to the Lakers is a possibility still. ESPN also is reporting that Kobe Bryant's camp claims that acquiring Kevin Garnett would not impact Bryant's desire to be traded. That is also false, you know how I know? Because I'm not retarded. Kobe would happily remain a Laker and become a model citizen faster than Gwen Stefani can crap out another terrible, generic pop songs.

The deal which I have heard would send Garnett to the Lakers and in return Minny would get Lamar Odom, Andrew Bynum and the Lakers' #19 first round pick. The hold up on this deal is that the Wolves apparently are not big fans of Lamar Odom. This is why Minnesota is just not a winning franchise consistantly, they make bad decisions. Lamar Odom is one of the most dynamic talents in the league and performs better when there is less pressure on him. You say being traded for Kevin Garnett has inherant pressure? Well this guy got traded to Hollywood for SHAQ! Part of the reason he was able to succeed in LA was because the focus is always on Kobe first and everyone else second. I am pretty sure he could handle that pressure cooker up in Minnesota without a lot of problems. Minnesota should jump, you hear me, jump at the opportunity to grab not only Lamar Odom but Andrew Bynum, who many people believe is in the process of developing into a dominant big man, AND a first round draft pick. Anyway unless someone can talk some sense into Wolves GM Kevin McHale, which doesn't seem to be a likely possibility, this deal probably won't happen. It probably should happen, but I wouldn't count on it. No one in an NBA front office is smart enough to do anything that actually makes sense.


That's all folks.