Winning Dramatically

Friends,

Some amazing sports events have taken place within the past 48 hours. The record tennis match at Wimbledon between American, John Isner and Frenchman, Nicolas Mahut was nothing short of incredible. It was eleven plus hours, lasting nearly twice as long as the previous longest match (which was 6+ hours). The fifth and final set was 70-68, which is about ten times what a normal set would be. I would venture to say that this is a record that will never be broken. These two young tennis players may or may not ever get to the top of their sport (Isner is currently ranked #23 at Wimbledon), but they will be immortalized as the two players who played the marathon match.

If this wasn't remarkable enough, Landon Donovan's "last minute" soccer goal for the U.S. in stoppage time was very dramatic. The Americans had several opportunities to score earlier in their final group game against Algeria, but we're never able to get the luck they needed for the ball to hit the back of the net. Thanks to Donovan, who scored in the 91st minute, the U.S. moves on to the round of 16, instead of Slovenia (who would have moved on if the the U.S. had tied or lost). Now, our national team faces Ghana next...a very quick team that will pose a challenge to our defense. I think that many soccer enthusiasts, including myself, are not concerned about our offense...as we have a lot of fire power up front...but, whether our defense will make a good stand as they did against Algeria. The U.S. has a favorable draw if they can get past Ghana...the sky is the limit!

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't give a shout out to the regional baseball team. The Texas Rangers have run their winning streak to eleven in a row with powerful hitting (which is not too unusual for the Rangers), as well as some solid pitching (which historically has been a challenge for the Rangers). So, we are just going to count our blessings, especially now that Nelson Cruz has returned to add to the power surge. The Rangers are solidly in control of the A.L. West, and here is hoping that they continue to play well and pull away from the rest of the teams in their division (sorry Ms).

Blessings,
Don