Nadal Wins Wimbledon

WIMBLEDON- Domination. #1 in the world Rafael Nadal won his second Wimbledon championship today over #12 Tomas Berdych in straight sets, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 for his eighth career major title, tying him with Andre Agassi, Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl, Fred Perry and Ken Rosewall for seventh all-time. Nadal held serve and broke Berdych four times to win a swift 2 hour, 13 minute match in which the final result was never really in doubt.

Nadal's win at the All-England Club comes just a month after winning the French Open, and a return to top form after a difficult 2009 season in which Nadal missed Wimbledon due to injury. "After not an easy year for me, to be back at my favorite tournament of the world and to play well another time, and not only play well [but] to finish with the trophy, is amazing for me," he said.

For Berdych, who was in just his first ever Grand Slam final, the loss comes at the end of a great tournament in which he knocked off defending champion Roger Federer as well as #3 Novak Djokovic to reach the final. But Nadal was just too strong for him today. "I think the biggest difference between us was that when he got a chance, he just took it," Berdych said.

World Cup Quarterfinals

July 2
Brazil vs. Netherlands 10 AM ET ESPN
#1 vs. #4 in the world, but the Dutch have looked shaky at times this World Cup at the back, and Brazil should capitalize if they do again.
Ghana vs. Uruguay 2:30 PM ET ESPN
The Black Stars did well capitalizing on defensive lapses by the United States to advance, but Uruguay's great defensive poise and the outstanding play from forward Luis Suarez will be too much for the final African team.
July 3
Argentina vs. Germany 10 AM ET ABC
The youth of the Germans took out the old English, but can they beat Diego Maradona's Argentinians and Lionel Messi and let the pressure of the tournament get to them? We shall see, but this will certainly be a fun match to watch.
Spain vs. Paraguay 2:30 PM ET ABC
The Spanish looked solid in eliminating Portugal in the round of 16, especially at the back in holding Cristiano Ronaldo's side goal-less. Paraguay similarly failed to score against Japan, and only advanced on penalty kicks. Their inability to score will end their run here, with striker David Villa and the Spanish attack on form.
My Round of 16 record: 6-2

MLB All-Star Voting

MLB All-Star voting ends on Thursday night. So if you haven't voted 25 times yet, be sure to vote at MLB.com. The players I voted for are below.

In World Cup news, the fourth South American team to advance to the quarterfinals did so earlier today with Paraguay defeating Japan in penalty kicks 5-3 after a scoreless 120 minutes of regulation soccer.

2010 NBA Draft

FIRST ROUND

1. Washington Wizards: John Wall (PG) Kentucky
2. Philadelphia 76ers: Evan Turner (SG) Ohio State
3. New Jersey Nets: Derrick Favors (PF) Georgia Tech
4. Minnesota Timberwolves: Wesley Johnson (SF) Syracuse
5. Sacramento Kings: DeMarcus Cousins (C) Kentucky
6. Golden State Warriors: Ekpe Udoh (PF) Baylor
7. Detroit Pistons: Greg Monroe (PF) Georgetown
8. Los Angeles Clippers: Al-Farouq Aminu (SF) Wake Forest
9. Utah Jazz: Gordon Hayward (SF) Butler
10. Indiana Pacers: Paul George (SF) Fresno State
11. New Orleans Hornets*: Cole Aldrich (C) Kansas
12. Memphis Grizzlies: Xavier Henry (SG) Kansas
13. Toronto Raptors: Ed Davis (PF) North Carolina
14. Houston Rockets: Patrick Patterson (PF) Kentucky
15. Milwaukee Bucks: Larry Sanders (PF) VCU
16. Minnesota Timberwolves♣: Luke Babbit (SF) Nevada
17. Chicago Bulls♠: Kevin Seraphin (PF) France
18. Oklahoma City Thunder♦: Eric Bledsoe (PG) Kentucky
19. Boston Celtics: Avery Bradley (SG) Texas
20. San Antonio Spurs: James Anderson (SG) Oklahoma State
21. Oklahoma City Thunder^: Craig Brackins (PF) Iowa State
22. Portland Trailblazers: Elliot Willaims (SG) Memphis
23. Minnesota Timberwolves♠: Trevor Booker (PF) Clemson
24. Atlanta Hawks◘: Damion James (SF) Texas
25. Memphis Grizzlies◙: Dominique Jones (SG) South Florida
26. Oklahoma City Thunder^: Quincy Pondexter (SF) Washington
27. New Jersey Nets♪: Jordan Crawford (SG) Xavier
28. Memphis Grizzlies: Greivis Vasquez (SG) Maryland
29. Orlando Magic: Daniel Orton (C) Kentucky
30. Washington Wizards♫: Lazar Hayward (SF) Marquette

*traded to Thunder
^traded to Hornets
♦traded to Clippers
♣traded to Blazers with Ryan Gomes for Martell Webster
♠traded to Wizards
◘traded to Nets
◙traded to Mavericks
♪traded to Hawks
♫traded to Timberwolves

Also, other NBA transaction today:
Bulls trade Kirk Hinrich to Wizards for future second round pick.

US Advances to Round of 16

Simply amazing. Three minutes away from elimination from this year's World Cup, Landon Donovan scores in the 91st minute to give the US a 1-0 win over Algeria, and 5 points to top Group C. With England's 1-0 win over Slovenia, the United States needed the full three points today, and after having a Clint Dempsey goal disallowed, another Dempsey shot hit the post, and Jozy Altidore miss an open-net shot, the Americans finally broke through with Donovan's rebound off the goalie during stoppage time. "This team embodies what the American spirit is about," Donovan said. "We had a goal disallowed the other night. We had another good goal disallowed tonight. But we just keep going. And I think that's what people admire so much about Americans. And I'm damn proud." The U.S. will play Ghana in the Round of 16 Saturday afternoon at 1:30 PM CT on ABC.

In other spectacular sports news today, the longest tennis match in history was played today, and will continue tomorrow. At Wimbledon, John Isner and Nicolas Mahut started today's play in the fifth and final set after playing the first four sets yesterday. What happened next was seven hours in a single set, with the score 59-59 before play was suspended due to darkness. Records shattered include longest ever match time (will surpass 10 hours tomorrow), most games in a set (118 currently), and most aces in a match (98 for Isner, 95 for Mahut, previous record was 78).

Graeme McDowell Wins U.S. Open

In a final round of a major golf championship, it seemed like nobody wanted to step forward and capture the title. With Pebble Beach's golf course playing extremely difficult on Sunday, Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell emerged as the winner, shooting a final round 3-over 74 to finish at even par for the week, one shot ahead of France's Gregory Havret, who finished at +1. Ernie Els finished in third at +2, while Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson tied for fourth at +3. 54-hole leader Dustin Johnson completely collapsed, shooting a final round +11. McDowell, who only had one birdie in the final round, moved up to #13 in the world rankings and became the first European to win the U.S. Open in 40 years. It was also his first career PGA Tour win. "I can't believe I'm standing with this right now," McDowell said, posing with silver trophy. "It's a dream come true. I've been dreaming it all my life. Two putts to win the U.S. Open. Can't believe it happened."

Sweet Repeat

In one of the ugliest offensive Game 7’s of all time, the two most storied franchises in NBA history put it all on the line for the championship.

What resulted was a nail-biter from start to finish which resulted in the Los Angeles Lakers repeating as NBA Champions, and defeating their bitter rivals, the Boston Celtics 83-79 in Game 7 at Staples Center to win their 16th title.

In a game and series dominated by amazing defense, both teams struggled mightily from the field for most of the game. Finals MVP Kobe Bryant had 23 points, but shot just 6 of 24 from the field, allowing Boston to open up a 13-point lead midway through the third quarter.

But with timely contributions from Ron Artest, who had 20 points, and Pau Gasol, who had 19 points and 18 big rebounds, the Lakers took the lead in the fourth quarter, and never gave it up.

The championship is the fifth for Bryant and fellow guard Derek Fisher, as well the 11th for coach Phil Jackson.

"This one is by far the sweetest, because it's them," Bryant said after the Lakers beat Boston for the first time in a Game 7. "This was the hardest one by far. I wanted it so bad, and sometimes when you want it so bad, it slips away from you. My guys picked me up."

The win is only the third time in 12 tries the Lakers have defeated the Celtics in the championship round, but moves Los Angeles to within one of Boston’s record 17 titles.

“It’s very sweet,” said Gasol, who was huge in the fourth quarter. “It feels amazing to win a championship. It adds up when you beat Boston, especially with the history, the rivalry. With our personal history, 2008, it feels even better. If I could get a genie and get a wish, this would be my wish.”

Paul Pierce had 18 points for the Celtics, but a great run through the playoffs, which included shocking upsets of the Cavaliers and Magic, came to an end one win short of the final prize. Ultimately, the length of the Lakers was too much for the Celtics, who were playing without starting center Kendrick Perkins, who was injured in Game 6. LA ended up out rebounding Boston 53-40, a key stat considering the rebounding winner won every game in the series.

"We had an opportunity to win, but it just didn't go our way down the stretch,” said guard Ray Allen, who struggled mightily to shoot in Games 3-7 after his record-breaking eight three-pointers in Game 2. “I don't think we ran out of steam. Lady Luck just didn't bounce in our corner.”