French Open Men's Quarterfinalists

(1) RAFAEL NADAL - Spain

The 24 year old Spaniard made it to the quarterfinals by defeating John Isner, Pablo Andujar, Antonio Veic and Ivan Ljubicic. In the first four rounds of the tournament, Nadal has dropped only 2 sets, both to Isner by scores of 7-6. Currently ranked #1 in the world, Nadal has won 5 of the past 6 French Opens losing only in 2009 to Robin Soderling in the 4th Round. Ironically, it will be Soderling who Nadal faces in the Quarterfinals.

(2) NOVAK DJOKOVIC - Serbia & Montenegro

The 24 yera old Serbian is in the midst of an historic run winning 41 consecutive matches to start the year. Djokovic defeated Thiemo de Bakker, Victor Hanescu, Juan Martin del Potro and Richard Gasquet to reach the quarterfinals, and actually will be advancing to the semifinals because his scheduled quarterfinal opponent Fabio Fognini was forced to withdraw due to an injury. Djokovic has never won the French Open making it to the semifinals three times (2007, 2008 and now 2011).

(3) ROGER FEDERER - Switzerland

The 29 year old Federer has won 16 Grand Slam titles, but the French Open only once in 2009. Currently ranked third in the world, Federer defeated Feliciano Lopez, Maxime Teixeira, Janko Tipsarevic and Stanislas Wawrinka to reach the quarterfinals. Federer lost in the quarterfinals of last year's French Open to Robin Soderling, but will take on Frenchman Gael Monfils this time around. *Update* In today's lone men's quarterfinal match, Federer defeated Monfils in straight sets 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 sending him on to the semifinals for the first time since winning the event in 2009.

(4) ANDY MURRAY - Great Britain

24 year old Scottish professional tennis player ranked 4th in the world, Murray has never won a Grand Slam losing in all 3 finals he's played in (2010 Australian, 2011 Australian, 2008 U.S.). The quarterfinals is the farthest he's ever made it at the French Open, also getting there in 2009. Murray reached the quarters by beating Eric Prodon, Simone Bolelli, Michael Berrer and Viktor Troicki. Murray will next take on Juan Ignacio Chela.

(5) ROBIN SODERLING - Sweden

26 year old Swede who has reached the French Open finals twice, but never won a Grand Slam. Soderling reached the French Open finals in both 2009 and 2010, but lost first to Roger Federer and then to Rafael Nadal. Soderling did defeat Nadal in the 2009 4th Round and the two will face off yet again in this year's quarters. Soderling has defeated Ryan Harrison, Albert Ramos, Leonardo Mayer and Gilles Simon so far in the tournament.

(9) GAEL MONFILS - France

France's last hope to win the Open, the 24 year old Monfils has only made it past the French Open quarterfinals once, back in 2008 when he made it to the semifinals. No Frenchman has won the Open since 1983 when Yannick Noah defeated Mats Wilander in straight sets. That streak will continue another year following Monfils' straight set defeat at the ends of Roger Federer today. Monfils defeated Bjorn Phau, Guillaume Rufin, Steve Darcis and David Ferrer to reach the quarterfinals.

JUAN IGNACIO CHELA - Argentina

Currently ranked 34th in the world, Chela defeated Tim Smyczek, Kevin Anderson, Lukas Rosol and Alejandro Falla to reach the quarterfinals. At the age of 31, this is only the third Grand Slam quarterfinal that Chela will have played in. He also reached the French Open quarters in 2004 and the U.S. Open quarters in 2007.

FABIO FOGNINI - Italy

24 year old Italian currently ranked 49th in the world, Fognini was in the midst of his best Grand Slam run ever when he was forced to pull out with a leg injury. Fognini became the first Italian to reach the French Open quarterfinals since 1995. He defeated Denis Istomin, Stephane Robert, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and Albert Montanes to reach the quarters.

French Open Fourth Round Results

Men

(3) Roger Federer (Switzerland) def. (14) Stanislas Wawrinka (Switzerland) 6-3, 6-2, 7-5
(2) Novak Djokovic (Serbia & Montenegro) def. (13) Richard Gasquet (France) 6-4, 6-4, 6-2
Fabio Fognini (Italy) def. Albert Montanes (Spain) 4-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 11-9
(1) Rafael Nadal (Spain) def. Ivan Ljubicic (Croatia) 7-5, 6-3, 6-3
(5) Robin Soderling (Sweden) def. (18) Gilles Simon (France) 6-2, 6-3, 7-6
Juan Ignacio Chela (Argentina) def. Alejandro Falla (Colombia) 4-6, 6-2, 1-6, 7-6, 6-2
(9) Gael Monfils (France) def. (7) David Ferrer (Spain) 6-4, 2-6, 7-5, 1-6, 8-6
(4) Andy Murray (Great Britain) def. Viktor Troicki (Serbia) 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-5

Women's Seeded Players

(13) Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) def. (28) Daniela Hantuchova (Slovakia) 6-7, 6-3, 6-2
(14) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Russia) def. (3) Vera Zvonareva (Russia) 7-6, 2-6, 6-2
(11) Marion Bartoli (France) def. Gisela Dulko (Argentina) 7-5, 1-0, retired.
(5) Francesca Schiavone (Italy) def. (10) Jelena Jankovic (Serbia & Montenegro) 6-3, 2-6, 6-4
(15) Andrea Petkovic (Germany) def. Maria Kirlenko (Russia) 6-2, 2-6, 6-4
(6) Li Na (China) def. (9) Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic) 2-6, 6-1, 6-3
(7) Maria Sharapova (Russia) def. (12) Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland) 7-6, 7-5
(4) Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) def. Ekaterina Makarova (Russia) 6-2, 6-3

Top Tens

Men's Tennis Rankings (previous week's rankings)

1. Rafael Nadal (Spain) - 12070 points
2. Novak Djokovic (Serbia) - 11665 points
3. Roger Federer (Switzerland) - 8390 points
4. Andy Murray (Great Britain) - 6085 points
5. Robin Soderling (Sweden) - 5435 points
6. Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) - 4200 points
7. David Ferrer (Spain) - 4060 points
8. Jurgen Melzer (Austria) - 2850 points
9. Gael Monfils (France) - 2465 points
10. Mardy Fish (USA) - 2395 points



Women's Tennis Rankings (previous week's rankings)

1. Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) - 10255 points
2. Kim Clijsters (Belgium) - 8115 points
3. Vera Zvonareva (Russia) - 7755 points
4. Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) - 5425 points
5. Francesca Schiavone (Italy) - 5246 points
6. Samantha Stosur (Australia) - 4645 points
7. Li Na (China) - 4635 points
8. Maria Sharapova (Russia) - 4481 points
9. Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic) - 3743 points
10. Jelena Jankovic (Serbia) - 3670 points



FedEx Cup Points Leaders

1. Bubba Watson 1383 (1)
2. Luke Donald 1354 (2)
3. Mark Wilson 1243 (3)
4. Nick Watney 1241 (6)
5. David Toms 1229 (4)
6t. Phil Mickelson 1190 (5)
6t. K.J. Choi 1190 (7)
8. Martin Laird 1129 (8)
9. Rory Sabbatini 1100 (9)
10. Gary Woodland 1070 (10)



NCAA Baseball Rankings

1. Virginia 49-9 (3)
2. Vanderbilt 47-10 (2)
3. Florida 45-16 (5)
4. South Carolina 45-14 (1)
5. Texas 43-15 (4)
6. Florida State 42-17 (8)
7. North Carolina 45-14 (6)
8. Texas A&M 42-18 (13)
9. CS Fullerton 40-15 (11)
10. TCU 42-17 (7)

OUT: Arizona St. (11), Oregon St. (16)



AL Leading Hitters (through Monday)

1. Matt Joyce TB - .368 (60/163)
2. Jose Bautista TOR - .356 (58/163)
3. Michael Young TEX - .340 (70/206)
4. Adrian Gonzalez BOS - .332 (74/223)
5. Howard Kendrick LAA - .322 (57/177)
6. Wilson Betemit KC - .314 (49/156)
7. Miguel Cabrera DET - .314 (58/185)
8. Jason Kubel MIN - .310 (62/200)
9. Erick Aybar LAA - .308 (52/169)
10. Jed Lowrie BOS - .306 (48/157)



NL Leading Hitters (through Monday)

1. Lance Berkman STL - .344 (52/151)
2. Matt Holliday STL - .344 (53/154)
3. Jose Reyes NYM - .335 (76/227)
4. Andre Ethier LAD - .330 (64/194)
4. Joey Votto CIN - .330 (64/194)
6. Starlin Castro CHC - .320 (70/219)
7. Ryan Braun MIL - .318 (63/198)
7. Gaby Sanchez FLA - .318 (63/198)
9. Placido Polanco PHI - .317 (66/208)
10. Todd Helton COL - .315 (47/149)




AL ERA Leaders (through Sunday)

1. Josh Beckett BOS - 1.80 (4-2)
2. Jered Weaver LAA - 2.10 (6-4)
3. James Shields TB - 2.15 (5-3)
4. Gio Gonzalez OAK - 2.17 (5-2)
5. Dan Haren LAA - 2.29 (5-3)
6. Trevor Cahill OAK - 2.31 (6-3)
7. Alexi Ogando TEX - 2.33 5-0)
8. Michael Pineda SEA - 2.42 (6-2)
9. Josh Tomlin CLE - 2.74 (6-2)
10. Jeremy Hellickson - 2.80 (6-3)



NL ERA Leaders

1. Jair Jurrjens ATL - 1.51 (7-1)
2. Josh Johnson FLA - 1.64 (3-1)
3. Kyle Lohse STL - 2.13 (7-1)
4. Tim Lincecum SF - 2.22 (5-4)
5. Charlie Morton PIT - 2.51 (5-2)
6. Roy Halladay PHI - 2.56 (7-3)
7. Anibal Sanchez FLA - 2.60 (4-1)
8. Clayton Kershaw LAD - 2.62 (6-3)
9. Tommy Hanson ATL - 2.80 (5-4)
10. Shaun Marcum MIL - 2.80 (6-2)



Photos Courtesy (in order of appearance):

livetennisguide.com
bbs.chinadaily.com.cn
zimbio.com
espn.go.com
zimbio.com
zimbio.com
zimbio.com
zimbio.com

French Open - Who's Left on the Women's Side Entering Play Sunday

Women's Top 32 Seeds - Ins and Outs


Headed to the Fourth Round:


(3) Vera Zvonareva (Russia)
(4) Victoria Azarenka (Belarus)
(5) Francesca Schiavone (Italy)
(6) Li Na (China)
(7) Maria Sharapova (Russia)

(9) Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic)
(10) Jelena Jankovic (Serbia & Montenegro)
(11) Marion Bartoli (France)
(12) Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland)
(13) Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia)
(14) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Russia)
(15) Andrea Petkovic (Germany)



(25) Maria Kirilenko (Russia)
(28) Daniela Hantuchova (Slovakia)



Headed Home:

(1) Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) - Third Round - Daniela Hantuchova (Slovakia) - #28
(2) Kim Clijsters (Belgium) - Second Round - Arantxa Rus (Netherlands) - #99
(8) Samantha Stosur (Australia)  - Third Round - Gisela Dulko (Argentina) - #51
(16) Kaia Kanepi (Estonia) - Third Round - Ekaterina Makarova (Russia) - #33
(17) Julia Goerges (Germany) - Third Round - Marion Bartoli (France) - #11
(18) Flavia Pennetta (Italy) - First Round - Varvara Lepchenko (Uzbekistan) -  #77
(19) Shahar Peer (Israel) - First Round - Maria Jose Martinez (Spain) - #86
(20) Ana Ivanovic (Serbia & Montenegro) -  - First Round - Johanna Larsson (Sweden) - #64
(21) Yanina Wickmayer (Belgium) - Third Round - Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland) - #12
(22) Dominika Cibulkova (Slovakia) - First Round - Vania King (USA) - #94
(24) Jarmila Gajdosova (Slovakia) - Third Round - Andrea Petkovic (Germany) - #15
(26) Nadia Petrova (Russia) - First Round - Anastasia Rodionova (Russia) - #74
(27) Alexandra Dulgheru (Romania) - Second Round - Sorana Cirstea (Romania) - #99
(29) Shuai Peng (China) - Third Round - Francesca Schiavone (Italy) - #5
(30) Roberta Vinci (Italy) - Third Round - Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) - #4
(31) Klara Zakopalova (Czech Republic) - First Round -  Yung-Jan Chan (Taipei) - Unranked
(32) Tzvetana Pironkova (Bulgaria) - Second Round - Gisela Dulko (Argentina) - #51

French Open - Who's Left on the Men's Side Entering Play Sunday

Men's Top 32 Seeds - Ins and Outs

Headed to the Fourth Round:

(1) Rafael Nadal (Spain)
(2) Novak Djokovic (Croatia)
(3) Roger Federer (Switzerland)
(4) Andy Murray (Great Britain)
(5) Robin Soderling (Sweden)
(7) David Ferrer (Spain)
(9) Gael Monfils (France)
(13) Richard Gasquet (France)
(14) Stanislas Wawrinka (Switzeland)
(15) Viktor Troicki (Serbia)
(18) Gilles Simon (France)

Headed Home:

(6) Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) - First Round - Stephane Robert (France) - Unranked
(8) Jurgen Melzer (Austria) - Second Round - Lukas Rosol (Czech Republic) - Unranked
(10) Mardy Fish (USA) - Third Round - Gilles Simon (France) - #18
(11) Nicolas Almagro (Spain) - First Round - Lukasz Kubot (Poland) - #99
(12) Mikhail Youzhny (Russia) - Third Round - Albert Montanes (Spain) - #38
(16) Fernando Verdasco (Spain) - Third Round - Ivan Ljubicic (Croatia) - #37
(17) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France) - Third Round - Stanislas Wawrinka (Switzerland) - #14
(19) Marin Cilic (Croatia) - First Round - Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo (Spain) -  #100
(20) Florian Mayer (Germany) - Second Round - Alejandro Falla (Colombia) - Unranked
(21) Alexandr Dolgopolov (Ukraine)  - Third Round - Viktor Troicki (Serbia) - #15
(22) Michael Llodra (France) - First Round - Steve Darcis (Belgium) - Unranked
(23) Thomaz Bellucci (Brazil) - Third Round - Richard Gasquet (France) - #13
(24) Sam Querrey (USA) - Second Round - Ivan Ljubicic (Croatia) -  #37
(25) Juan Martin del Potro (Argentina) - Third Round - Novak Djokovic (Croatia) - #2
(26) Milos Raonic (Canada) - First Round - Michael Berrer (Germany) - #95
(27) Marcos Baghdatis (Cyprus) - Second Round - Leonardo Mayer (Argentina)  - #100
(28) Nikolay Davydenko (Russia) - Second Round - Antonio Veic (Croatia) - Unranked
(29) Janko Tipsarevic (Serbia & Montenegro)  - Third Round - Roger Federer (Switzerland) - #3
(30) Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (Spain) - Third Round - Fabio Fognini (Italy) -  #49
(31) Sergiy Stakhovsky (Ukraine) - Third Round - David Ferrer (Spain) - #7
(32) Kevin Anderson (South Africa) - Second Ronud - Juan Ignacio Chela (Argentina) - Unranked

Bogus Trivia

So this was one of my trivia questions on my ESPN desk calendar this week. The only problem is that the only Cub to lead the NL in homeruns in the 1980s wasn't Kevin Mitchell like the answer states. While Mitchell did lead the NL in homers in 1989, that was with the Giants. In fact, Kevin Mitchell never even played for the Cubs. So what's the right answer? That would be The Hawk, Andre Dawson. Dawson hit an NL leading 49 homers for the Cubs in 1987 en route to winning the MVP award. Matt 1, Calendar 0.

Photo Courtesy: baseballcardsoutlet.com

NHL Eastern Conference Finals - Game 6

TAMPA BAY 5 BOSTON 4 - Series tied 3-3.

Goals:

TAM- Teddy Purcell 2 (6), Martin St. Louis 2 (10), Steven Stamkos (6)
BOS- Milan Lucic (3), David Krejci 3 (10)

Notes:

Martin St. Louis became the first player to ten goals this postseason when he netted his second goal of the game midway through the third period. David Krejci joined him in double digits three minutes later when he completed his hat trick. Krejci scored only 13 goals in 75 goals during the regular season... Teddy Purcell had a multi-goal game for the second time in the series. 5 of his 6 goals have come in the conference finals... Dwayne Roloson was back in goal for the Lightning after sitting in favor of Mike Smith for Game 5. Roloson saved 16 of 20 shots en route to the win... Of the five Game 7s so far this postseason, the home team has won four of them. The one team to win a Game 7 on the road was Tampa Bay who knocked off Pittsburgh in the first round... Boston defender Zdeno Chara leads the NHL in plus-minus this post season with a +11... Boston winger Milan Lucic is second in the NHL, and first in the Eastern Conference in penalty minutes with 43 in 17 games. Vancouver's Maxim Lapierre leads all players with 54 penalty minutes... Game 7 is tomorrow night in Boston.

French Open - Who's Left on the Women's Side

Women's Top 32 Seeds - Ins and Outs

Headed to the Third Round:

(1) Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark)
(3) Vera Zvonareva (Russia)
(4) Victoria Azarenka (Belarus)
(5) Francesca Schiavone (Italy)
(6) Li Na (China)
(7) Maria Sharapova (Russia)
(8) Samantha Stosur (Australia)
(9) Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic)
(10) Jelena Jankovic (Serbia & Montenegro)
(11) Marion Bartoli (France)
(12) Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland)
(13) Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia)
(14) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Russia)
(15) Andrea Petkovic (Germany)
(16) Kaia Kanepi (Estonia)
(17) Julia Goerges (Germany)
(21) Yanina Wickmayer (Belgium)
(24) Jarmila Gajdosova (Slovakia)
(25) Maria Kirilenko (Russia)
(28) Daniela Hantuchova (Slovakia)
(29) Shuai Peng (China)
(30) Roberta Vinci (Italy)

Headed Home:

(2) Kim Clijsters (Belgium) - Second Round - Arantxa Rus (Netherlands) - #99
(18) Flavia Pennetta (Italy) - First Round - Varvara Lepchenko (Uzbekistan) -  #77
(19) Shahar Peer (Israel) - First Round - Maria Jose Martinez (Spain) - #86
(20) Ana Ivanovic (Serbia & Montenegro) -  - First Round - Johanna Larsson (Sweden) - #64
(22) Dominika Cibulkova (Slovakia) - First Round - Vania King (USA) - #94
(26) Nadia Petrova (Russia) - First Round - Anastasia Rodionova (Russia) - #74
(27) Alexandra Dulgheru (Romania) - Second Round - Sorana Cirstea (Romania) - #99
(31) Klara Zakopalova (Czech Republic) - First Round -  Yung-Jan Chan (Taipei) - Unranked
(32) Tzvetana Pironkova (Bulgaria) - Second Round - Gisela Dulko (Argentina) - #51

French Open - Who's Left on the Men's Side

Men's Top 32 Seeds - Ins and Outs

Headed to the Third Round:

(1) Rafael Nadal (Spain)
(2) Novak Djokovic (Croatia)
(3) Roger Federer (Switzerland)
(4) Andy Murray (Great Britain)
(5) Robin Soderling (Sweden)
(7) David Ferrer (Spain)
(9) Gael Monfils (France)
(10) Mardy Fish (USA)
(12) Mikhail Youzhny (Russia)
(13) Richard Gasquet (France)
(14) Stanislas Wawrinka (Switzeland)
(15) Viktor Troicki (Russia)
(16) Fernando Verdasco (Spain)
(17) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France)
(18) Gilles Simon (France)
(21) Alexandr Dolgopolov (Ukraine)
(23) Thomaz Bellucci (Brazil)
(25) Juan Martin del Potro (Argentia)
(29) Janko Tipsarevic (Serbia & Montenegro)
(30) Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (Spain)
(31) Sergiy Stakhovsky (Ukraine)

Headed Home:

(6) Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) - First Round - Stephane Robert (France) - Unranked
(8) Jurgen Melzer (Austria) - Second Round - Lukas Rosol (Czech Republic) - Unranked
(11) Nicolas Almagro (Spain) - First Round - Lukasz Kubot (Poland) - #99
(19) Marin Cilic (Croatia) - First Round - Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo (Spain) -  #100
(20) Florian Mayer (Germany) - Second Round - Alejandro Falla (Colombia) - Unranked
(22) Michael Llodra (France) - First Round - Steve Darcis (Belgium) - Unranked
(24) Sam Querrey (USA) - Second Round - Ivan Ljubicic (Croatia) -  #37
(26) Milos Raonic (Canada) - First Round - Michael Berrer (Germany) - #95
(27) Marcos Baghdatis (Cyprus) - Second Round - Leonardo Mayer (Argentina)  - #100
(28) Nikolay Davydenko (Russia) - Second Round - Antonio Veic (Croatia) - Unranked
(32) Kevin Anderson (South Africa) - Second Ronud - Juan Ignacio Chela (Argentina) - Unranked

French Open Second Round Results

Men's Seeded Players

(16) Fernando Verdasco (Spain) def. Xavier Malisse (Belgium) 4-6, 6-3, 7-6, 6-1
Juan Ignacio Chela (Argentina) def. (32) Kevin Anderson (South Africa) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2
(10) Mardy Fish (USA) def. Robin Haase (Netherlands) 7-6, 6-2, 6-1
Lukas Rosol (Czech Republic) def. (8) Jurgen Melzer (Austria) 6-7, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6, 6-4
Alejandro Falla (Colombia) def. (20) Florian Mayer (Germany) 4-6, 7-6, 6-1, 6-2
Leonardo Mayer (Argentina) def. (27) Marcos Baghdatis (Cyprus) 7-5, 6-4, 7-6
Antonio Veic (Croatia) def. (28) Nikolay Davydenko (Russia) 3-6, 6-2, 7-5, 3-6, 6-1
(21) Alexandr Dolgopolov (Ukraine) def. Andreas Haider-Maurer (Austria) 6-2, 6-4, 6-2
Ivan Ljubicic (Croatia) def. (24) Sam Querrey (USA) 7-6, 6-4, 6-4
(15) Viktor Troicki (Serbia) def. Tobias Kamke (Germany) 6-2, 6-2, 7-6
(4) Andy Murray (Great Britain) def. Simone Bolelli (Italy) 7-6, 6-4, 7-5
(18) Gilles Simon (France) def. Jeremy Chardy (France) 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-4
(5) Robin Soderling (Sweden) def. Albert Ramos (Spain) 6-3, 6-4, 6-4
(1) Rafael Nadal (Spain) def. Pablo Andujar (Spain) 7-5, 6-3, 7-6

Women's Seeded Players


(9) Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic) def. Zheng Jie (China) 6-4, 6-1
(30) Roberta Vinci (Italy) def. Iryna Bremond (France) 6-3, 6-4
Sorana Cirstea (Romania) def. (27) Alexandra Dulgheru (Romania) 6-2, 7-5
(12) Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland) def. Sania Mirza (India) 6-2, 6-4
(15) Andrea Petkovic (Germany) def. Lucie Hradecka (Czech Republic) 7-6, 6-2
(16) Kaia Kanepi (Estonia) def. Heather Watson (Great Britain) 6-1, 6-3
(24) Jarmila Gajdosova (Slovakia) def. Anabel Medina Garrigues (Spain) 7-6, 6-4
(21) Yanina Wickmayer (Belgium) def. Ayumi Morita (Japan) 6-4, 7-5
(25) Maria Kirilenko (Russia) def. Chanelle Scheepers (South Africa) 6-1, 6-4
Arantxa Rus (Netherlands) def. (2) Kim Clijsters (Belgium) 3-6, 7-5, 6-1
(7) Maria Sharapova (Russia) def. Caroline Garcia (France) 3-6, 6-4, 6-0
(6) Li Na (China) def. Silvia Soler Espinosa (Spain) 6-4, 7-5
(4) Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) def. Pauline Parmentier (France) 6-0, 6-1

For Whom the Bell Towles

Not the biggest story in the world here, but as an Astros fan I feel obligated to write about it. Houston catcher J.R. Towles has been stuck in the middle of just an abysmal slump this month. After starting the season hitting the ball pretty well, he had managed just one hit in the month of May entering play yesterday and was 0 for his last 32 dropping his average from .382 to .197. Towles started his career with a strong showing in 2007 during a September call-up where he batted .325 and even enjoyed an 8 rbi game against the St. Louis Cardinals that year, but has since then been completely overmatched at the plate. He hit .137 in 146 at bats in 2008, .188 in 48 at bats in 2009 and .191 in 47 at bats last season. And now it seemed as though he was headed down that path once again. All that changed yesterday though. Facing crafty lefty Ted Lilly, Towles hit a 2-out double in the second inning, finally snapping the skid with his first hit in 3 weeks. He followed that up with a 1-out single off reliever Mike MacDougal in the 7th notching his first multi-hit game since April 19th. Finally, tied 1-1 in the bottom of the 9th, with pinch runner Brian Bogusevic on second base, Towles stepped in against Matt Guerrier and lined a single into centerfield for the game winning rbi. Having watched him struggle the past few seasons, not to mention what he's been going through the past month, I really couldn't be happier for J.R. It's always nice to see a guy who's been struggling find some success, and nobody needed that hit yesterday more than he did. Way to go, buddy. Hopefully this gets you going.

French Open Second Round Results

Men's Seeded Players

(7) David Ferrer (Spain) def. Julien Benneteau (France) 6-3, 6-4, 6-2
(13) Richard Gasquet (France) def. Marcel Granollers (Spain) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4
(30) Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (Spain) vs Marsel Ilhan (Turkey) 6-4, 1-6, 6-2, 4-6, 13-11
(25) Juan Martin del Potro (Argentina) def. Blaz Kavcic (Slovenia) 6-3, 6-2, 6-4
(12) Mikhail Youzhny (Russia) def. Mikhail Kukushkin (Russia) 6-3, 7-5, 6-4
(14) Stanislas Wawrinka (Switzerland) def. Thomas Schoorel (Netherlands) 6-3, 6-2, 6-4
(31) Sergiy Stakhovsky (Ukraine) def. Kei Nishikori (Japan) 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6
(23) Thomaz Bellucci (Brazil) def. Andreas Seppi (Italy) 6-1, 6-2, 6-4
(29) Janko Tipsarevic (Serbia & Montenegro) def. Pere Riba (Spain) 6-1, 6-3, 6-0
(9) Gael Monfils (France) def. Guillaume Rufin (France) 6-3, 1-6, 6-1, 6-3
(2) Novak Djokovic (Croatia) def. Victor Hanescu (Romania) 6-4, 6-1, 2-3, retired
(3) Roger Federer (Switzerland) def. Maxime Teixeira (France) 6-3, 6-0, 6-2
(17) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France) def. Igor Andreev (Russia) 6-3, 7-6, 6-3

Women's Seeded Players


(8) Samantha Stosur (Australia) def. Simona Halep (Romania) 6-0, 6-2
(3) Vera Zvonareva (Russia) vs Sabine Lisicki (Germany) 4-6, 7-5, 7-5
Gisela Dulko (Argentina) def. (32) Tzvetana Pironkova (Bulgaria) 6-4, 6-2
(14) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Russia) def. Mona Barthel (Germany) 6-0, 7-6
(17) Julia Goerges (Germany) def. Lucie Safarova (Czech Republic) 2-6, 7-5, 6-2
(13) Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) def. Irina Begu (Romania) 6-1, 6-1
(10) Jelena Jankovic (Serbia & Montenegro) def. Vera Dushevina (Russia) 6-3, 6-2
(29) Shuai Peng (China) def. Polona Hercog (Slovenia) 7-5, 6-1
(28) Daniela Hantuchova (Slovakia) def. Sara Errani (Italy) 6-1, 6-2
(1) Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) def. Aleksandra Wozniak (Canada) 6-3, 7-6
(5) Francesca Schiavone (5) def. Vesna Dolonts (Russia) 6-1, 6-2
(11) Marion Bartoli def. Olga Govortsova (Belarus) 6-4, 6-7, 6-2

NHL Western Conference Finals - Game 5

VANCOUVER 3 SAN JOSE 2, 2OT - Vancouver wins series 4-1.

Goals:

VAN- Alex Burrows (7), Ryan Kesler (7), Kevin Bieksa (5)
SAN- Patrick Marleau (8), Devin Setoguchi (7)

Notes:

The Canucks tied the game with 13.2 seconds remaining in regulation to send it into overtime... Roberto Luongo made 54 saves to help send the Canucks to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1994 when they lost to Mark Messier's New York Rangers in 7 games... Henrik Sedin picked up two more assists giving him 6 over the past two games and 11 in the 5 games series. Sedin leads all players with 21 points in the postseason... The San Jose Sharks are one of six active teams that have never reached the Stanley Cup Finals. The others are the Phoenix Coyotes, Minnesota Wild, Columbus Blue Jackets, Atlanta Thrashers and Nashville Predators... Kevin Bieksa, who scored the game winner in double overtime, had just 6 goals in 66 games during the regular season. He already has 5 goals during the playoffs... Canada has not had a Stanley Cup Winner since 1993 when the Montreal Canadiens defeated Wayne Gretzky and the Los Angeles Kings... Patrick Marleau scored in every game of the series except Game 4... Devin Setoguchi's 7 goals this postseason equaled his total from the 3 previous postseasons with the Sharks... The Canucks will now wait to see the results of the Eastern Conference Finals where Boston holds a 3-2 series lead over Tampa Bay. Vancouver played each team once during the regular season losing 5-4 in overtime to the Lightning and 3-1 to Boston. Both games were played in Vancouver.

NHL Eastern Conference Finals - Game 5

BOSTON 3 TAMPA BAY 1 - Boston leads series 3-2.

Goals:

TAM- Simon Gagne (5)
BOS- Nathan Horton (7), Brad Marchand (6), Rich Peverley (2)

Notes:

Mike Smith started in goal for Tampa Bay as Dwayne Roloson was benched by the Lightning for Game 5. Smith saved 17 of 19 shots in a losing effort. It was his first career playoff start... Tim Thomas got his 21st career playoff win by saving 33 shots for the Bruins... 2nd year winger Brad Marchand has 6 goals and 6 assists in this his first postseason. Marchand had 21 goals and 20 assists for the B's in his first full NHL season... This was the first time this series that Simon Gagne scored a goal and the Lightning didn't win. Gagne scored in both Game 1 and Game 4, Tampa Bay's two wins... Rich Peverley, who joined the Bruins in the middle of the season, had only played in one postseason series before this year and did not score... Patrice Bergeron picked up his 11th assist of the postseason tying him for 6th in points with 15... The series goes back to Tampa Bay for Game 6 tomorrow night.

French Open First Round Results

Men's Seeded Players

(8) Jurgen Melzer (Austria) def. Andreas Beck (Germany) 6-3, 6-4, 6-2
(20) Florian Mayer (Germany) def. Igor Kunitsyn (Russia) 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
(16) Fernando Verdasco (Spain) def. Juan Monaco (Argentina) 6-2, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4
(21) Alexandr Dolgopolov (Ukraine) def. Rainer Schuettler (Germany) 6-3, 6-3, 6-1
Lukasz Kubot (Poland) def. (11) Nicolas Almagro (Spain) 3-6, 2-6, 7-6, 7-6, 6-4
(24) Sam Querrey (USA) def. Philipp Kohlschreiber (Germany) 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4
(32) Kevin Anderson (South Africa) def. Nicolas Mahut (France) 6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 6-3
(1) Rafael Nadal (Spain) def. John Isner (USA) 6-4, 6-7, 6-7, 6-2, 6-4
(18) Gilles Simon (France) vs Michael Russell (USA) 6-3,4-6, 6-1, 6-0
(4) Andy Murray (Great Britain) def. Eric Prodon (France) 6-4, 6-1, 6-3
(5) Robin Soderling (Sweden) def. Ryan Harrison (USA) 6-1, 6-7, 6-3, 7-5

Women's Seeded Players

(6) Li Na (China) def. Barbora Zahlavova-Strycova (Czech Republic) 6-3, 6-7, 6-3
(4) Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) def. Andrea Hlavackova (Czech Republic) 6-3, 6-3
(21) Yanina Wickmayer (Estonia) def. Monica Niculescu (Romania) 6-0, 6-3
(15) Andrea Petkovic (Germany) def. Bojana Jovanovski (Serbia) 6-4, 7-6
Vania King (USA) def. (22) Dominika Cibulkova (Slovakia) 6-7, 6-3, 6-2
(27) Alexandra Dulgheru (Romania) vs Laura Pous Tio (Spain) 6-3, 6-4
(24) Jarmila Gajdosova (Slovakia) def. Virginie Razzano (France) 6-3, 6-1
(7) Maria Sharapova (Russia) def. Mirjana Lucic (Croatia) 6-3, 6-0
Johanna Larsson (Sweden) def.(20) Ana Ivanovic (Serbia & Montenegro) 7-6, 0-6, 6-2
(2) Kim Clijsters (Belgium) def. Anastasia Yakimova (Belarus) 6-2, 6-3

Gold Cup Roster Announced

The U.S. Men's National Team has announced their roster for their upcoming friendly with Spain and the ensuing Gold Cup. Here's what you need to know about the guys who made the team:


Goalkeepers:

Tim Howard (Everton, England) - 32 year old goalkeeper who started every game for Everton in the English Premier League this year leading them to a 7th place finish (13-10-15, 54 pts). Howard was the starting goalie for the U.S. in the 2010 World Cup and has 58 career caps.

 Photo Courtesy: zimbio.com

Marcus Hahnemann (Wolverhampton, England) - Started 14 games for Wolves in the English Premier League as they narrowly escaped relegation. A few weeks shy of 39, Hahnemann has 9 caps with the National Team and was a member of the 2010 World Cup team although he did not make an appearance as Howard played every minute in goal.

Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake, MLS) - 31 year old keeper for Real Salt Lake where he's been the starter since 2007. Prior to joining Real, he'd spent time with DC United and the defunct Miami Fusion. In 7 starts with Real this year, has allowed just 2 goal. 5 career caps with the U.S. National team including one start this year.


Defenders:

Carlos Bocanegra (Saint-Etienne, France) - Bocanegra, who turns 32 on Wednesday, was once upon a time the 4th overall pick in the 2000 MLS SuperDraft. Now over a decade later, Bocanegra is the U.S. captain and has compiled 87 caps with 12 international goals. A member of both the 2006 and 2010 World Cup teams, Bocanegra joined Saint-Etienne this past summer and helped them to an 8th place finish in France's Ligue 1 following a 17th place finish a year before.

 Photo Courtesy: zimbio.com

Jonathan Bornstein (Tigres, Mexico) - The former Chivas USA defender joined Tigres following the 2010 season. He has made 7 appearances for the Group 1 leaders including 4 starts. Bornstein was a member of the 2010 World Cup team making a pair of starts in South Africa. He has 37 career caps and has scored a pair of international goals.

Steve Cherundolo (Hannover, Germany) - One of the few U.S. defenders who earned high praise for their play at the 2010 World Cup, Cherundolo has 65 caps and a pair of goals for the National Team. The 32 year old outside back has played in Germany for Hannover 96 since 1999 helping them to a 4th place finish in the Bundesliga this year while starting 33 of a possible 34 games.

Clarence Goodson (Brondby, Denmark) - 29 year old defender playing out a 3 year deal for Brøndby IF in Denmark. A member of the 2010 World Cup, he has 17 caps and a pair of international goals, both of them scored against Honduras.


Eric Lichaj (Leeds, England) - 22 year old defender on loan to Leeds United from Aston Villa, Lichaj is relatively new to the National Team picture with only 3 caps to date. Lichaj started 16 games for Leeds who finished in 7th place in the English League Championship.

Oguchi Onyewu (Twente, Netherlands) - On loan currently from AC Milan with whom he signed a 3 year deal in 2009, Onyewu missed the entire 2009-2010 season due to a torn patellar tendon suffered while on National Team duty. The 29 year old Onyewu has played for the U.S. in the last two World Cups, but was limited in 2010 due to the knee injury he'd suffered previously. In his National Team career, he has amassed 59 caps and scored 6 goals. With Onyewu aboard, Twente Enschede finished in second place (21-5-8) in the Dutch Eredivisie, and won the Dutch Cup over Ajax 3-2. Onyewu has made 8 appearances for them including 7 starts.

Tim Ream (New York, MLS) - Started all 30 matches for the New York Red Bulls in his rookie season and 9 of a possible 10 this year. The 18th overall pick in the 2010 MLS SuperDraft joined the National Team picture late last year and has made a pair of starts for them in 2011 giving him 3 caps.

Photo Courtesy: zimbio.com

Jonathan Spector (West Ham United, England) - 25 year old defender who has been with West Ham since 2006, Spector played 14 premier league games for the Hammers who finished in last place (7-19-12). Spector scored one goal in the Premier League, 1 more in the FA Cup and had 2 goals in a 4-0 win that knocked Manchester United out of the Carling Cup. A member of the 2010 World Cup team although he did not see any action, Spector has 30 caps in his career.



Midfielders:

Freddy Adu (Rizespor, Turkey) - The 21 year old Adu, who signed a pro contract at age 14, now finds himself playing in Turkey's second division on loan from the Portuguese side Benfica where he has gotten regular playing time and already scored 4 goals. Adu has a pair of goals and 15 caps with the National Team scoring against Guatemala in World Cup Qualifying and then against Grenada at the 2009 Gold Cup. However, the 2-time MLS all-star was left off the 2010 World Cup roster and did not appear for the National Team last year.

Michael Bradley (Aston Villa, England) - Michael Bradley left his mark on U.S. soccer when he scored the game tying goal against Slovenia late in the match helping the Americans erase a 2-0 deficit at the 2010 World Cup. The 23 year old midfielder is under contract with Borussia Mönchengladbach, but has been loaned to Aston Villa where he appeared 3 times as a substitute and received 1 start in the FA Cup. Prior to the loan, he'd made 19 appearances this season (17 starts) and scored 3 goals for Borussia Mönchengladbach. Bradley has 52 caps and 8 international goals in his National Team career.

Clint Dempsey (Fulham, England) - The 28 year old Texan led Fulham in scoring this past season notching 12 goals and tallying 3 assists in 37 appearances (35 starts). Dempsey also added a goal during the Carling Cup. In 70 career appearances with the National Team, Dempsey has tallied 19 goals. A member of the last two World Cup teams, he scored in 2006 against Ghana and in 2010 against England. In the 2009 Confederations Cup, Dempsey scored 3 times including goals against Spain and Brazil.

Photo Courtesy: zimbio.com

Landon Donovan (Los Angeles, MLS) - Currently MLS's leading scorer with 7 goals in 9 appearances, Donovan is the men's national team's all time leading scorer with 45 goals in 130 appearances. Donovan led the U.S. with 3 goals in the 2010 World Cup scoring against Slovenia, Algeria and Ghana giving him 5 World Cup goals in his career. A member of the U.S.'s past 3 World Cup teams, Donovan had 7 goals and 16 assists last season and has 110 goals and 92 assists in his MLS career.

 Photo Courtesy: zimbio.com

Maurice Edu (Rangers, Scotland) - 25 year old midfielder who has helped Rangers to 3 straight Scottish Premier League titles. Edu made 33 appearances this season and netted a pair of Premier League Goals while also tallying a score in Europa League play. Edu was a member of the 2010 World Cup team and appeared to score a game winner in the 85th minute against Slovenia, but a questionable call caused it to be overturned.
Edu has 21 caps including a pair of starts in 2011 and has scored 1 international goal.

Benny Feilhaber (New England, MLS) - 26 year old Brazilian-born midfielder who joined the New England Revolution this season after playing in Europe (Germany, England, Denmark) since 2005. Has played 5 games for the Revs so far tallying 1 assist. As a member of the National team, he's received 38 caps and scored a pair of goals including the game winner in the 2007 Gold Cup final against Mexico. A member of the 2010 World Cup team, Feilhaber appeared 3 times as a substitute.

Jermaine Jones (Blackburn, England) - 29 year old German-born midfielder on loan to Blackburn Rovers from Schalke 04. Played internationally for Germany, but switched his affiliation to the United States in 2009.  Jones had 3 caps with Germany's senior national team before opting to play for the U.S. Since joining the U.S. squad he has appeared in 4 matches, including twice this year. In the English Premier League this year, Jones started 15 games for Rovers helping them avoid relegation.

Sacha Kljestan (Anderlecht, Belgium) - The 5th overall pick in the 2006 MLS SuperDraft by Chivas USA was a finalist for the 2006 MLS Rookie of the Year Award. Played with Chivas USA until 2010 when he signed a 4 year contract with Belgian First Division Champions Anderlecht where he scored 3 goals in his first year with the club. As a member of the National Team has made 26 career appearances scoring 4 goals including a hat trick against Sweden in 2009.

Robbie Rogers (Columbus, MLS) - 24 year old midfielder in his 5th season with the Columbus Crew. Has a pair of goals and an assist in 10 games this year after scoring just 1 goal a year ago. Has made 13 career appearances for the National Team and scored in the 2009 Gold Cup against Grenada. In 2008, helped lead the Crew to the MLS Cup while being named a member of the MLS Best XI.


Forwards:

Juan Agudelo (New York, MLS) - 18 year old striker who has made an immediate impact at both the club and international level. Already has a pair of goals for the national team in just 4 appearances . Scored the game winner against South Africa in his international debut and followed that up with an equalizer against Argentina in the U.S.'s 1-1 draw back in March. For the Red Bulls, he has made 4 starts while coming on as a substitute 5 times playing behind Luke Rodgers and Thierry Henry, but he's already netted a pair of goals.

Photo Courtesy: zimbio.com

Jozy Altidore (Bursaspor, Turkey) - 21 year old striker on loan to Bursaspor from Villareal, Altidore made his MLS debut at the age of 16. Is the youngest U.S. player to score a hat trick in an international game doing so in a World Cup Qualifyer against Trinidad and Tobago at the age of 19. Has 10 international goals in 34 career appearances, but failed to score in 4 games at the 2010 World Cup.

Chris Wondolowski (San Jose, MLS) - 28 year old striker who had his breakout season last year with the Earthquakes. After scoring only 7 goals in his first 5 seasons, Wondo tallied 18 goals last season en route to winning the Golden Boot. In 10 games in 2011, Wondo has added 5 more goals and already set a career high with 2 assists. Wondolowski made his international debut in January getting the start against Chile.

French Open First Round Results

Men's Seeded Players

(25) Juan Martin del Potro (Argentina) def. Ivo Karlovic (Croatia) 6-7, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4
Steve Darcis (Belgium) def. (22) Michael Llodra (France) 6-7, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3
Michael Berrer (Germany) def. (26) Milos Raonic (Canada) vs 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
(29) Janko Tipsarevic (Serbia & Montenegro) def. B Dabul (Argentina) 7-6, 6-1, 6-0
Stephane Robert (France) def. (6) Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) 3-6, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, 9-7
(27) Marcos Baghdatis (Cyprus) vs Frederico Gil (Portugal) 7-6, 6-2, 6-2
(12) Mikhail Youzhny (Russia) def. Go Soeda (Japan) 7-5, 6-2, 6-4
(23) Thomaz Bellucci (Brazil) def. Andrey Golubev (Russia) 6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 7-6
(15) Viktor Troicki (Serbia) def. Julian Reister (Germany) 6-4, 6-3, 6-3
(28) Nikolay Davydenko (Russia) def. Denis Gremelmayr (Germany) 7-6, 6-1, 6-3
(10) Mardy Fish (USA) def. Ricardo Mello (Brazil) 6-2, 6-7, 6-2, 6-4
(2) Novak Djokovic (Serbia & Montenegro) def. Thiemo de Bakker (Netherlands)  6-2, 6-1, 6-3
(3) Roger Federer (Switzerland) def. Feliciano Lopez (Spain) 6-3, 6-4, 7-6
(9) Gael Monfils (France) def. Bjorn Phau (Germany) 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-0
(13) Richard Gasquet (France) def. Radek Stepanek (Czech Republic) 7-5, 6-3, 6-0


Women's Seeded Players

Yung-Jan Chan (Taipei) def. (31) Klara Zakopalova def. (Czech Republic) 7-5, 6-1
(29) Shuai Peng (China) def. Tamira Paszek (Austria) 6-3, 6-2
(16) Kaia Kanepi (Estonia) def. Sofia Arvidsson (Sweden) 7-5, 6-1
(28) Daniela Hantuchova (Slovakia) def. Shuai Zhang (China) 6-3, 6-3
(9) Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic) def. Greta Arn (Germany) 6-2, 6-1
(12) Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland) def. Patricia Mayr-Achleitner (Austria) 6-1, 6-2
(25) Maria Kirilenko (Russia) def. Coco Vandeweghe (USA) 7-6, 6-2
Anastasia Rodionova (Russia) def. (26) Nadia Petrova (Russia) 6-7, 6-3, 6-4
(30) Roberta Vinci (Italy) def. Alberta Brianti (Italy) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
(5) Francesca Schivanoe (Italy) def. Melanie Oudin (USA) 6-2, 6-0
(11) Marion Bartoli (France) def. Anna Tatishvili (Georgia) 1-6, 6-2, 6-1
(1) Caroline Wozniacki (Denmrak) def. Kimiko Date Krumm (Japan) 6-0, 6-2
(3) Vera Zvonareva (Russia) def. Lourdes Dominguez Lino (Spain) 6-3, 6-3

NHL Western Conference Finals - Game 4

VANCOUVER 4 SAN JOSE 2 - Vancouver leads series 3-1.

Goals:

VAN- Ryan Kesler (6), Sami Salo 2 (3), Alex Burrows (6)
SAN- Andrew Desjardins (1), Ryane Clowe (6)

Notes:

The Canucks scored 3 goals during 5 on 3 advantages in a 1:55 span during the second period. Meanwhile the Sharks failed to convert on all 5 of their power play opportunities.. The Sedin brothers combined for 7 assists an Henrik assisted on all four goals while Daniel assisted on the last three. Henrik now leads the NHL in postseason points (19) and assists (17). Teammate Ryan Kesler is tied for second with 17 points... 36 year old defenseman Sami Salo had 2 goals and an assist in Game 4 after tallying just 1 goal and 0 assists in his previous 12 appearances this postseason... 24 year old rookie Andrew Desjardins scored in just his second career postseason appearance. Desjardins had 1 goal and 2 assists in 17 games during the regular season... Roberto Luongo made 33 saves for the Canucks as he earned his 28th career postseason win... The Canucks played without injured defensemen Christian Ehrhoff and Aaron Rome... Vancouver can clinch a berth to the Stanley Cup finals with a win tomorrow night on their home ice. The Canucks outscored San Jose 10-5 in the two opening games in Vancouver.

Top Tens

Men's Tennis Rankings

1. Rafael Nadal (Spain) - 12070 points
2. Novak Djokovic (Serbia) - 11665 points
3. Roger Federer (Switzerland) - 8390 points
4. Andy Murray (Great Britain) - 6085 points
5. Robin Soderling (Sweden) - 5435 points
6. Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) - 4200 points
7. David Ferrer (Spain) - 4060 points
8. Jurgen Melzer (Austria) - 2850 points
9. Gael Monfils (France) - 2465 points
10. Mardy Fish (USA) - 2395 points



Women's Tennis Rankings

1. Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) - 10255 points
2. Kim Clijsters (Belgium) - 8115 points
3. Vera Zvonareva (Russia) - 7755 points
4. Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) - 5425 points
5. Francesca Schiavone (Italy) - 5246 points
6. Samantha Stosur (Australia) - 4645 points
7. Li Na (China) - 4635 points
8. Maria Sharapova (Russia) - 4481 points
9. Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic) - 3743 points
10. Jelena Jankovic (Serbia) - 3670 points



FedEx Cup Points Leaders

1. Bubba Watson 1383 (1)
2. Luke Donald 1354 (2)
3. Mark Wilson 1243 (3)
4. David Toms 1229 (-)
5. Phil Mickelson 1190 (4)
6. Nick Watney 1169 (5)
7. K.J. Choi 1161 (6)
8. Martin Laird 1129 (7)
9. Rory Sabbatini 1100 (8)
10. Gary Woodland 1050 (9)

Out: Aaron Baddeley (11)



NCAA Baseball Rankings

1. South Carolina 44-12 (2)
2. Vanderbilt 44-9 (3)
3. Virginia 45-9 (1)
4. Texas 40-13 (5)
5. Florida 41-15 (4)
6. North Carolina 39-11 (13)
7. TCU 40-15 (9)
8. Florida St. 40-15 (6)
9. Arizona St. 38-14 (12)
10. Oregon St. 38-14 (7)

OUT: CS Fullerton (11), Oklahoma (12)



AL Leading Hitters (through Sunday)

1. Matt Joyce TB - .355 (50/141)
2. Jose Bautista TOR - .353 (48/136)
3. Adrian Gonzalez BOS - .342 (65/190)
4. Michael Young TEX - .339 (61/180)
5. Howard Kendrick LAA - .322 (57/177)
6. Jed Lowrie BOS - .319 (44/138)
7. Jason Kubel MIN - .318 (54/170)
8. Wilson Betemit KC - .315 (40/127)
9. Miguel Cabrera DET - .313 (50/160)
10. Erick Aybar LAA - .309 (43/139)



NL Leading Hitters (through Sunday)

1. Matt Holliday STL - .349 (52/149)
2. Lance Berkman STL - .338 (44/130
3. Joey Votto CIN - .335 (55/164)
4. Placido Polanco PHI - .335 (59/176)
5. Yadier Molina STL - .333 (48/144)
6. Starlin Castro CHC - .323 (62/192)
7. Brett Wallace HOU - .318 (47/148)
8. Brandon Phillips CIN - .317 (53/167)
9. Matt Kemp LAD - .316 (56/177)
10. Jamey Carroll LAD - .316 (55/174)





AL ERA Leaders (through Sunday)

1. Josh Beckett BOS - 1.73 (3-1)
2. Trevor Cahill OAK - 1.79 (6-1)
3. Dan Haren LAA - 1.84 (4-2)
4. James Shields TB - 2.00 (5-2)
5. Alexi Ogando TEX - 2.13 (4-0)
6. Zach Britton BAL - 2.14 (5-2)
7. Michael Pineda SEA - 2.16 (6-2)
8. Gio Gonzalez OAK - 2.20 (5-2)
9. Josh Tomlin CLE - 2.41 (6-1)
10. Jered Weaver LAA - 2.45 (6-4)



NL ERA Leaders

1. Josh Johnson FLA - 1.64 (3-1)
2. Jair Jurrjens ATL - 1.80 (5-1)
3. Jaime Garca STL - 1.93 (5-0)
4. Tim Lincecum SF - 2.06 (4-4)
5. Kyle Lohse STL - 2.17 (5-2)
6. Roy Halladay PHI - 2.21 (6-3)
7. Shaun Marcum MIL - 2.37 (6-1)
8. Charlie Morton PIT - 2.62 (5-1)
9. Jhoulys Chacin COL - 2.70 (5-2)
10. Tommy Hanson ATL - 2.72 (5-3)


Photos Courtesy (in order of appearance):

livetennisguide.com
bbs.chinadaily.com.cn
zimbio.com
thestate.com
zimbio.com
zimbio.com
zimbio.com
zimbio.com

French Open First Round Results

Men's Seeded Players

(31) Sergiy Stakhovsky (Ukraine) def. David Guez (France) 6-7, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3
(14) Stanislas Wawrinka (Switzerland) def. Augustin Gensse (France) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2
(30) Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (Spain) def. Robert Kendrick (USA) 6-1, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3
Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo (Spain) def. (19) Marin Cilic (Croatia) 7-6, 6-4, 6-4
(7) David Ferrer (Spain) def Jarkko Nieminen (Finland) 6-3, 6-3, 6-1
(17) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France) def. Jan Hajek (Czech Republic) 6-3, 6-2, 6-2

Women's Seeded Players

(13) Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) def. Magdalena Rybarikova (Slovakia) 6-2, 6-3
(14) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Russia) def. Yarolslava Shvedova (Russia) 7-5, 6-3
(32) Tzvetana Pironkova (Bulgaria) def. Casey Dellacqua (Australia) 7-5, 6-3
(17) Julia Goerges (Germany) def. Mathilde Johansson (France) 6-1, 6-4
(10) Jelena Jankovic (Serbia & Montenegro) def. Alona Bondarenko (Ukraine) 6-3, 6-1
Varvara Lepchenko (Uzbekistan) def. (18) Flavia Pennetta (Italy) 6-3, 2-6, 6-3
Maria Jose Martinez (Spain) def. (19) Shahar Peer (Israel) 7-6, 6-1
(8) Samantha Stosur (Australia) def. Iveta Benesova (Czech Republic) 6-2, 6-3

Who Pulled Off the Upsets

33 year old Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo is ranked 99th in the world. Prior to knocking off Marin Cilic today, he had posted a record of just 3-11 this year, never winning more than one match in any tournament he played in. He was eliminated in straight sets at the Australian Open in the first round by Illya Marchenko and is making his first French Open appearance since 2007 when he lost in 5 sets to Stanislas Wawrinka in the opening round.

28 year old Maria Jose Martinez is ranked 87 in the world. She was 4-8 this year entering play today, but had played a tough schedule losing matches to Caroline Wozniacki, Kim Clijsters and Li Na. She played Shahar Peer in Dubai earlier this year losing in straight sets 6-4, 6-1. She made it to the second round of the Australian Open before losing to France's Alize Cornet.

Uzbekistan's Varvara Lepchenko celebrated her 25th birthday yesterday and the 85th ranked player in the world got to celebrate some more today with her win over Flavia Pennetta. Lepchenko was just 3-8 on the year before her win today and was eliminated from the Australian Open in the first round by Caroline Garcia in 3 sets. Lepchenko won her first round game at the French Open last year as well defeating American Christina Mchale in straight sets before losing to Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova.

MLS - Week 8 Results

Got a little behind on the MLS recaps, let's see if we can't get caught up...

DC UNITED 2 SEATTLE 1

United put an end to Seattle's 6 game unbeaten streak holding on for a 2-1 win at RFK stadium. Both sides had opportunities to strike first in the first half with Fredy Montero and Alvaro Fernandez getting chances for Seattle and Andy Najar drilling the post for DC, but eventually it was United who got on the board. Najar fed Charlie Davies a ball down the right wing and Davies slotted a ball across the goal mouth beautifully for veteran Josh Wolff. The wide open Wolff easily converted the first time left-footed shot for the early lead giving him a pair of goals on the season and 75 goals in his 13 year MLS career. The same trio of players would combine once again in the second half to make it 2-0. This time Najar would find Wolff and it was Wolff's cross to a similarly open Davies that gave him his league leading 6th goal of the year. Seattle would battle back though. Fredy Montero was dropped in the box by Dejan Jakovic setting up a penalty kick that Brad Evans easily converted past Bill Hamid. The Sounders then created a pair of great chances over the next 5 minutes, first Fernandez heading a cross from Roger Levesque, but right at Hamid, and then Montero's shot headed toward the top corner was just barely deflected away by Hamid to preserve the 2-1 lead and the win.



COLORADO 2 HOUSTON 1

The Rapids snapped a 4 game winless streak overcoming a 1-0 deficit against the Dynamo and pulling out a 2-1 win with a pair of late goals. Houston had the best chances early on, but both teams failed to produce goals in the first half. The Dynamo continued to get good looks in the second half as Will Bruin twice got in behind goalkeeper Matt Pickens, but his touches took him too far wide and both of his attempts hit the side netting. Colin Clark finally broke the scorless draw when he beat Pickens in the 71st minute with a left footed strike to the near post that appeared to have Pickens leaning the wrong way. Colorado came right back a couple minutes later though when Tally Hall misjudged a Jamie Smith free kick. Smith's free kick was just a lofted ball into the box, but Hall came out too far and it went over his head and into the net for his 3rd goal of the year to tie the game. The Rapids would use another free kick 10 minutes later to go ahead when Houston failed to clear it and Caleb Folan nudged it to left back Scott Palguta whose one time left footed shot found the back of the net for his first goal of the year.



PORTLAND 1 PHILADELPHIA 0

The Timbers are becoming a force to be reckoned with as they've now won 4 of their last 5 with consecutive shutout wins over Real Salt Lake and now the Philadelphia Union. Portland's Mamadou 'Futty' Danso scored the game's only goal heading home a free kick from Jack Jewsbury for his first MLS goal. Both sides had chances to go ahead before that as Futty and Eric Brunner each missed headers for Portland and Sebastien Le Toux and Carlos Ruiz had chances for the Union. Portland had twice as many shots though (16-8) and Philadelphia just couldn't handle Portland in the air as the Timbers ripped off their 4th straight home win. Futty's goal was just the 3rd one the Union have conceded this year as Colombian Faryd Mondragon has been particularly stingy in net in his first MLS season.



REAL SALT LAKE 1 CHIVAS USA 0

Real Salt Lake came away victorious, but couldn't have been in much of a mood to celebrate as star Javier Morales had his ankle broken on a tackle by Chivas's Marcos Mondaini and is expected to miss a minimum of 4 months. Mondaini was the second Chivas player to be sent off following his tackle in the 37th minute as 13 minutes early Andrew Boyens was sent off following his second yellow card. Boyens was actually lucky not to have been sent off for his first infraction as he took down Alvaro Saborio from behind on what looked to be a 1 on 1 situation with keeper Dan Kennedy, but in the end he was sent off early anyways. Despite the two man advantage, Real struggled to score as Kennedy played sensationally in goal coming up with 7 saves. Finally in the 87th minute, substitute Collen Warner's cross was flicked to the back post by Nat Borchers where Will Johnson was waiting and he managed to slam the ball home just before a diving Kennedy was able to deny the opportunity. Johnson's goal was his first of the season as RSL bounced back from their defeat against the Timbers and improved to 5-1-0.



TORONTO 2 HOUSTON 1

Toronto got their first win since March 26th as they got a pair of second half goals and held on to knock off the Dynamo 2-1. 19 year old Honduran striker Joao Plata was the story in this one as he had his first MLS goal and later added an assist. Toronto opened the scoring in the 50th minute when Nick Soolsma was taken down in the box by Andre Hainault. Plata coolly stepped up to take the penalty and hammered it into the roof of the net past Tally Hall to give the Reds a 1-0 lead. Plata was again in the heart of the action about 10 minutes later when he appeared to be awarded a second PK when he looked to be taken down in the box by Hall. After conferring with the linesman however, the call was overturned due to what appeared to be an offsides ruling. But Plata wasn't done. In the 81st minute his through ball found Maicon Santos who got in behind the last defender, Corey Ashe, and drilled a left footed shot into the lower right corner for his second goal of the year, and first since the season opener, to make it 2-0. Houston would battle back though. Lovel Palmer got the Dynamo on the board in the 87th minute when he one-timed a shot from the top of the box into the lower right corner past Stefan Frei to cut the deficit in half, but it was too little too late as Toronto finally found their way back into the win column.



NEW ENGLAND 0 COLORADO 0

The Revs were shut out for the second straight game as they played to a scoreless draw with the defending champion Rapids. New England struck the crossbar in each half as Ryan Cochrane headed a corner off the woodwork in the 15th minute and Benny Feilhaber, still in search of his first goal as a member of the Revs took a centering pass from Sainey Nyassi and hit his first touch off the bar in the 74th. Shalrie Joseph had perhaps the best chance for either team in the 57th minute when he got free for a header at the top of the 6 in the 57th minute but Matt Pickens just managed to get a hand up to keep it out of the net. New England had one last good chance in stoppage time when Nyassi got free down the right wing and looked to have an open player in the middle but Tyrone Marshall made a sliding save cutting off the cross and Pickens was able to gobble it up to keep it scoreless. With Colorado short both Omar Cummings and Conor Casey, Andre Akpan led the offense with a pair of good scoring chances in the first half. Since starting the season with 3 straight wins, the rapids have won just once in their last six matches.



SEATTLE 1 COLUMBUS 1

Seattle struck first, but in the end were lucky to come away with a draw as Columbus had all sorts of opportunities but couldn't find the back of the net. Kasey Keller made 5 saves denying good opportunities from Eddie Gaven, Robbie Rogers, Emilio Renteria and Andres Mendoza to earn the Sounders a point. Fredy Montero opened the scoring in the 7th minute when he got on the end of a cross from Erik Friberg heading the ball past Will Hessmer for his second goal of the year. Columbus would tie it up in the second half though when Chad Marshall was taken down going for a ball off a corner kick by Patrick Ianni setting up a penalty kick for Emilio Renteria. Keller guessed wrong and Renteria scored easily giving him 4 goals on the year and a pair of made penalties. That would be the only goal Keller would allow though as he made two more big saves down the stretch denying an Eddie Gaven rocket from a tough angle at the near post and then tipping Andres Mendoza's free kick just over the bar in stoppage time.



DC UNITED 0 DALLAS 0

Kevin Hartman made a huge save in the closing seconds of play to preserve a 0-0 tie and earn FC Dallas a point against DC United. Josh Wolff hit a cross into the box where a wide open Fred tried to head it in off a bounce but Hartman dove in at the last second making himself big and denying the Brazilian. DC United really only had one other great chance and that was in the opening minutes of the game when a Brek Shea miscue dropped the ball literally right into Charlie Davies lap. Davies' first touch betrayed him however, and Hartman was able to fly in for the block. Andy Najar got a hold of the rebound but his attempt was cleared off the line by Ugo Ihemelu and then Davies had another crack at it, but his attempt was tackled away by Andrew Jacobson. Both sides received a scare in the second half when young stars Brek Shea and Najar collided going for a loose ball in the box and both players went down for an extended period of time. Fortunately, both players were able to walk off under the own power although Najar would not return to the game. DC's defense looked much improved this week limiting their opponents to just the one goal in two matches after allowing 8 goals in their two previous games against Houston and New York.



CHICAGO 0 VANCOUVER 0

Vancouver's winless streak continues as they still haven't won since their season opener against Toronto FC. Chicago meanwhile is looking at a winless streak that is now six games following the draw. In the first ever match between these two clubs, neither side was able to capitalize on their opportunities and both teams, though desperately in need of a win, walked away with just a point. Diego Chaves came the closest to putting the Fire ahead in the first half when his right footed shot beat Jay Nolly but deflected off the back post and was cleared from danger. Dominic Oduro and Marco Pappa also had great chances for the Fire in the first half, but with nothing to show for them. Late in the second half, Vancouver's Eric Hassli had the game's best chance to get on the board when Davide Chiumiento's through ball found him with nothing but empty space between him and the goal. Hassli got a little too cute though trying to dribble by Chicago keeper Jon Conway and Conway stood him perfectly and dove in picking the ball right off Hassli's foot before he could get a shot off.



LOS ANGELES 1 NEW YORK 1

In one of the more anticipated matchups of the season, the Galaxy and the Red Bulls played to an entertaining 1-1 draw. The big name stars, Landon Donovan, David Beckham and Thierry Henry all factored directly in the result featuring the league's two first place teams. Henry struck first when Dane Richards played a dangerous ball low into the box and Henry was able to touch it past a charging Donovan Ricketts and then fend off a late charge from Sean Franklin before tucking the ball into the back post for his 4th goal of the season and a 1-0 lead. L.A. would increase the pressure though and Bouna Coundoul was forced into making a terrific save on Chad Barrett from just beyond the penalty spot. The Galaxy then appeared to tie the game when Juan Pablo Angel headed in Landon Donovan's cross in the 25th minute only to have it ruled offsides. The Galaxy would break through later in the half as unchallenged Donovan headed in a David Beckham corner giving Donovan 4 goals and Beckham 5 assists on the year. Donovan nearly made it 2-1 a little over a minute later when he was played a through ball and touched in past Bouna Coundoul who'd come out to apply pressure. Donovan directed the ball towards the now empty net, but hit it just a hair too soft. Never quitting on the play, defender Tim Ream chased the ball down and tackled the ball off the goal line at the last possible second. New York had some good chances in the second half has substitute Juan Agudelo fired a snap header just wide of the net and Dane Richards hit the post in the 82nd minute, as neither side broke through and each had to settle for a point. Ricketts and Coundoul combined to make 11 saves in the match.

NHL Eastern Conference Finals - Game 4

TAMPA BAY 5 BOSTON 3 - Series tied 2-2.

Goals:

TAM-Teddy Purcell 2 (4), Sean Bergenheim (9), Simon Gagne (4), Martin St. Louis (8)
BOS- Patrice Bergeron 2 (4), Michael Ryder (5)

Notes:

Boston opened up a 3-0 lead in the first period leading to Dwayne Roloson getting benched for the second time in three games. Mike Smith replaced him and stopped all 21 shots he faced as Tampa Bay pulled off the come-from-behind win. Smith has now appeared twice against the Bruins this series and stopped all 29 shots he's faced... Patrice Bergeron's 4th goal tied his career playoff high set last season... Teddy Purcell's two goals came 63 seconds apart in the 2nd period. Purcell is playing in his first postseason in his 5th year in the NHL... Sean Bergenheim's was his league leading 9th of the postseason. Bergenheim scored just 14 goals during the regular season... The Lightning have scored 5 goals in a game three times in this series... Simon Gagne's game winner was the 36th goal of his playoff career. He scored 9 in last year's playoffs for the Flyers. Gagne also added a pair of assists... Martin St. Louis' empty netter in the third period was the 31st goal of his playoff career. He is one short of tying his career high set in 2004 when the Lightning won the Stanley Cup... The series returns to Boston for Game 5 on Monday night.

NHL Western Conference Finals - Game 3

SAN JOSE 4 VANCOUVER 3 - Vancouver leads series 2-1.

Goals:

VAN- Alex Burrows (5), Dan Hamhuis (1), Kevin Bieksa (4)
SAN- Patrick Marleau 2 (7), Ryane Clowe (5), Dan Boyle (3)

Notes:

The Sharks opened up a 3-0 lead in the first period with a pair of goals from Patrick Marleau and a power play goal from Ryane Clowe. The Sharks had three power play goals in the game on ten power play opportunities. Vancouver also scored two power play goals... Patrick Marleau tied Logan Couture for the team lead in postseason goals with 7. The 31 year old Marleau is just 2 goals shy of tying his personal career high for playoff goals set in 2006. Marleau has spent his entire 13 year NHL career with San Jose... All of Vancouver's goals came in the third period, but their comeback fell a goal short... Antti Niemi made 27 saves for his 24th career postseason win... Sharks captain Joe Thornton had 3 assists giving him 14 in this year's postseason. Following the game, Thornton lead all players in assists (14) and points (17). Henrik Sedin had an assist for Vancouver giving him 13, good for second best in the NHL. Thornton's career playoff high had been 12 points set last year for San Jose... Dan Hamhuis followed up his 3 assist game in Game 2 with his first 2011 playoff goal in Game 3. Hamhuis scored just 6 goals in 64 regular season games and entered play last night with just one postseason goal in 43 career playoff games, all with Nashville... Game 4 will be Sunday afternoon in San Jose. The Sharks had never won a home game in the Conference Finals before last night.

French Open Draw

Opening Round Matches for Men's/Women's Top Ten:


(1) Rafael Nadal (Spain) vs John Isner (USA)
(2) Novak Djokovic (Serbia) vs Thiemo De Bakker (Netherlands)
(3) Roger Federer (Switzerland) vs  Feliciano Lopez (Spain)
(4) Andy Murray (Great Britain) vs  Eric Prodon (France)
(5) Robin Soderling (Sweden) vs  Benjamin Becker (Germany)
(6) Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) vs  Stephane Robert (France)
(7) David Ferrer (Spain) vs  Jarkko Nieminen (Finland)
(8) Jurgen Melzer (Austria) vs Andreas Beck (Germany)
(9) Gael Monfils (France) vs Bjorn Phau (Germany)
(10) Mardy Fish (USA) vs Ricardo Mello (Brazil)


(1) Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) vs Kimiko Date-Krumm (Japan)
(2) Kim Clijsters (Belgium) vs  Anastasiya Yakimova (Belarus)
(3) Vera Zvonareva (Russia) vs  Lourdes Dominguez Lino
(4) Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) vs Andrea Hlavackova (Czech Republic)
(5) Francesca Schiavone (Italy) vs Melanie Oudin (USA)
(6) Li Na (China) vs Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (Czech Republic)
(7) Maria Sharapova (Russia) vs Mirjana Lucic (Croatia)
(8) Samantha Stosur (Australia) vs Iveta Benesova (Czech Republic)
(9) Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic) vs  Greta Arn (Hungary)
(10) Jelena Jankovic (Serbia) vs Alona Bondarenko (Ukraine)

NHL Eastern Conference Finals - Game 3

BOSTON 2 TAMPA BAY 0 - Boston leads series 2-1.

Goals:

TAM- none
BOS- David Krejci (7), Andrew Ference (2)

Notes:

Tim Thomas made 31 saves to shutout the Lightning after they scored 10 goals in the first two games of the series. It was the first time Tampa Bay had been shut out since Game 1 of their opening series against the Penguins and Thomas's first shutout of the 2011 playoffs... David Krejci now has as many goals this postseason as he did in his first three postseasons combined... Patrice Bergeron returned to the ice for the Bruins after missing the two opening games of the series with a concussion... Andrew Ference scored just 3 goals in 70 regular season games for the Bruins. Ference played 56 playoff games from 2004-2010 without scoring any goals... Each side had 3 power play opportunities, but both sides failed to capitalize... Tyler Seguin was finally held scoreless after scoring 3 goals in the first two games of the series... The series stays in Tampa Bay for Game 4 on Saturday afternoon before going back to Boston for Game 5 on Monday night.

NHL Western Conference Finals - Game 2

VANCOUVER 7 SAN JOSE 3 - Vancouver leads series 2-0.

Goals:

VAN-Daniel Sedin 2 (8), Raffi Torres (2), Kevin Bieksa (3), Christopher Higgins (4), Aaron Rome (1), Mason Raymond (2)
SAN-Logan Couture (7), Patrick Marleau (5), Ben Eager (1)

Notes:

The Canucks scored 2 goals in a 39 second span during the 1st period to erase a 1-0 deficit... The two teams combined for 5 power play goals with San Jose going 2 for 2 and Vancouver going 3 for 7... Daniel Sedin tied Tampa Bay's Sean Bergenheim with his 8th goal of the postseason in the 3rd period... Logan Couture's 7th goal tied Ville Leino (2010) and Richard Zednik (1998) for the most goals scored by a rookie in a single postseason over the past 20 years. The 22 year old scored 32 goals in 79 games for the Sharks during the regular season... Aaron Rome's goal was his first in 13 career playoff games... Ben Eager's goal was 3rd of his postseason career (spanning 47 games). He had 7 goals during the regular season splitting time between Atlanta and San Jose. Eager was a member of the Stanley Cup Champion Blackhawks last season... With 3 assists in Game 2, Henrik Sedin now leads all players in postseason assists this year with 12. Dan Hamhuis also added 3 assists in the win. In his first 14 playoff games this year, he tallied just two... Game 3 of the series will be Friday night in San Jose. The Sharks had just 11 regulation losses at home during the regular season, but the Canucks had the best road record in the NHL.

U.S. Women Beat Japan Again

The U.S. women knocked off 4th ranked Japan for the second time in 5 days by a score of 2-0. The United States used the same lineup it used on Saturday against the Japanese with the same results. Amy Rodriguez opened the scoring with her 4th goal of the year converting a pass from Heather O'Reilly in the 28th minute and O'Reilly put the game away in the 69th minute with her 29th career goal as the U.S. won for the 8th time in 10 tries this year. Carli Lloyd, the leading scorer for the U.S. in 2011 had the assist on O'Reilly's goal giving her 12 points through the U.S.'s opening ten matches. Hope Solo made 3 saves in recording her second consecutive shutout and 52nd of her career to earn the win for the United States. The U.S. has one more tuneup match before heading to Germany when they take on Mexico on June 5th at Red Bull Arena. The U.S. opens up World Cup play on the 28th of June against Korea.


U.S. Starting Lineup (Caps/Goals)

GK - Hope Solo (94/0)
DEF - Becky Sauerbrunn (10/0)
DEF - Ali Krieger (17/0)
DEF - Stephanie Cox (73/0)
DEF - Rachel Buehler (58/1)
MID - Heather O'Reilly (143/29)
MID - Shannon Boxx (145/22)
MID - Carli Lloyd (110/27)
MID - Megan Rapinoe (30/10)
FWD - Amy Rodriguez (64/17)
FWD - Abby Wambach (156/118)

Subs (Caps/Goals)

DEF - Amy LePeilbet (48/0) for Cox
MID - Lauren Cheney (41/13) for O'Reilly
MID - Lori Lindsey (21/0) for Boxx
MID - Tobin Heath (27/2) for Rapinoe
FWD - Alex Morgan (18/7) for Rodriguez

NHL Eastern Conference Finals - Game 2

BOSTON 6 TAMPA BAY 5- Series tied 1-1.

Goals:

TAM- Adam Hall (1), Martin St. Louis (7), Vincent Lecavalier (6), Steven Stamkos (5), Dominic Moore (3)
BOS- Nathan Horton (6), Tyler Seguin 2 (3), David Krejci (6), Michael Ryder 2 (4)

Notes:

Adam Hall's goal was scored 13 seconds after the opening faceoff. It is the quickest goal in Lightning playoff history. Hall scored just 7 goals during the regular season and had been scoreless in his first 12 playoff games this year... 19 year old Tyler Seguin had 2 goals and 2 assists in his second career playoff game for the Bruins. The second overall pick in the 2010 draft now has 3 goals and 3 assists in the series after not seeing action against Montreal or Philadelphia... Dwayne Roloson and Tim Thomas entered play ranked #1 and #3 respectively in postseason goals against average. Following the first two games of this series, they are now ranked #6 and #7... Martin St. Louis (1 goal 1 assist) and Vincent Lecavalier (1 goal 3 assists) tied Vancouver's Ryan Kesler for the postseason scoring lead with 16 points... Dwayne Roloson was benched for the 3rd period after allowing 6 goals in 27 shots. Mike Smith replaced him and stopped all he shots he faced. Smith started 20 games for the Lightning during the regular season. This was his first career playoff appearance... Boston scored a pair of power play goals after not scoring any in Game 1... After not scoring in Game 1, Tampa Bay's top 4 regular season goal scorers, Steven Stamkos, St. Louis, Lecavalier, and Dominic Moore all found the net in Game 2... Game 3 will be Thursday night as the series shifts to Tampa Bay.

NBA Draft Lottery Order Set

The Cleveland Cavaliers' first season without LeBron James was a disaster. Winning just 19 games and going through a stretch between November 30th and February 9th where they went 1-36 including a 26 game losing streak, it was a far cry from the 61-21 record, the best record in the NBA, they posted in James' last season. Things may be looking up though as the Cavaliers won the lottery and now have 2 picks in the top 4 in the upcoming draft. While the draft is not particularly deep, assuming they don't botch the picks, this can only help them. Utah was the other winner as they get New Jersey's #3 pick (from the Deron Williams trade) and also their own pick at #12. Here's how the rest of the lottery shook out:

1. Cleveland (19-63)
2. Minnesota (17-65)
3. Utah (39-43)
4. Cleveland (19-63)
5. Toronto (22-60)
6. Washington (23-59)
7. Sacramento (24-58)
8. Detroit (30-52)
9. Charlotte (34-48)
10. Milwaukee (35-47)
11. Golden State (36-46)
12. Utah (39-43)
13. Phoenix (40-42)
14. Houston (43-39)

Mavs - Thunder Preview

Regular Season Series - Mavs Won 2-1

11/24/10 - Dallas 111 Oklahoma City 103 - Nowitzki 34 Durant 32
12/27/10 - Dallas 103 Oklahoma City 93 - Durant 28 Nowitzki 13 (left game w/ injury)
01/06/11 - Oklahoma City 99 Dallas 95 -  Durant 28 Nowitzki DNP


Playoff Resumes

(3) Dallas

Def. (6) Portland 4 games to 2
Def. (2) Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 0

(4) Oklahoma City

Def. (5) Denver 4 games to 1
Def. (8) Memphis 4 games to 3


Likely Starters

Dallas

PG - Jason Kidd - 10.1 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 7.2 apg
SG - DeShawn Stevenson - 3.2 ppg, 0.7 rpg, 1.0 apg
SF - Shawn Marion - 9.7 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 2.3 apg
PF - Dirk Nowitzki - 26.5 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 2.8 apg
C - Tyson Chandler - 6.9 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 0.3 apg

Oklahoma City

PG - Russell Westbrook - 23.9 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 7.0 apg
SG - Thabo Sefolosha - 4.4 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 0.8 apg
SF - Kevin Durant - 28.9 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 2.3 apg
PF - Serge Ibaka - 9.6 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 0.3 apg
C - Kendrick Perkins - 4.7 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 0.5 apg


Key Bench Players

Dallas

SG - Jason Terry - 18.3 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 3.8 apg
SF - Peja Stojakovic - 10.7 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 0.2 apg
PG - Jose Juan Barea - 7.7 ppg, 1.2 rpg, 3.7 apg
C - Brendan Haywood - 2.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 0.3 apg

Oklahoma City

G - James Harden - 12.4 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 3.7 apg
PF - Nick Collison - 5.9 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 0.6 apg
PG - Eric Maynor - 5.2 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 2.5 apg
SG - Daequan Cook - 4.2 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 0.1 apg
C - Nazr Mohammed - 2.7 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 0.0 apg


Prediction

This one's a tough one for me to pick. Dallas has to have the edge going in as the Thunder haven't beaten them when Dirk Nowitzki plays. However, the Thunder have also made some big moves since they last met and now possess a lot more interior size. Dallas also had Caron Butler at their disposal in their two wins and while there are rumors that he may be activated for the Conference Finals, it seems unlikely he'll return to his previous level of impact. Either way, you're looking at the league's hottest team, winners of 6 in a row who absolutely decimated the defending champion Lakers in the second round, going up against one of the best tandems in the NBA right now in Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant. Both teams have interior size (Chandler and Haywood vs Perkins and Mohammed). Both teams have depth, both teams can hit outside shots, both teams have dominant scorers... I think Oklahoma City gets the edge in point guard play, but Dallas just has so many options who can beat you. I dunno. I'm going to say Mavericks in 7 with Dirk and Durant trading blows the whole series, but ultimately experience winning out. That being said it would not surprise me in the least to see the Thunder steal the series, but I ultimately think Oklahoma City is still a year away.

RIP Harmon Killebrew

Baseball lost another great this year as Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew passed away today at the age of 74 following a bout with esophageal cancer. One of the greatest players to ever play for the Minnesota Twins organization, Killebrew finished his career a 13-time all-star with 573 home runs (11th all-time) and won the AL MVP award in 1969. Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1984, Killebrew tallied 2086 hits over 22 seasons. At the time he retired in 1975, he was 2nd all time in American League home runs behind only the great Babe Ruth. One of the most feared hitters of his era, and one of the greatest right handed hitters EVER, Killebrew slugged at least 40 homers in a season 8 different times, including 49 in both 1964 and his MVP season 1969, and he led the league in that category in 1959, 1962-64, 1967 and 1969. Following his retirement, the Twins retired his #3.

Photo Courtesy: cirscusnospin.blogspot.com

Bryce Drew to be Named Head Coach at Valpo

Like father like son. Homer Drew will pass the torch to one of his sons for the second time as he hands off the coaching reigns to Valparaiso's all time leading scorer, son Bryce. Homer Drew coached the Crusaders from 1988-2002 before stepping down in favor of his son Scott. Scott Drew coached the team for a year before moving on to Baylor, and Homer Drew was rehired and held the position again from 2003 until now. In his two stints as the Crusader head coach, Homer Drew won 371 games and led Valparaiso to the NCAA tournament 7 times including a run to the Sweet 16 in 1998.

Bryce Drew was the star for Valpo back in 1998. The Mid-Continent Conference Player of the Year for the second straight time, Drew averaged 19.8 points and shot 43.3% from long range. In a game against Western Illinois he hit 9 3-pointers and finished with a season high 33 points, but Drew saved his best work for the NCAA tournament. In the opening round, Drew hit one of the more famous shots in NCAA tournament history when his 3-pointer at the buzzer gave the Crusaders a 1 point win over 4th seeded Mississippi. The Crusaders would continue their run to the Sweet 16 when they knocked off Florida State in overtime 83-77 behind Drew's 22 points, but their season ended at the hands of a Rhode Island team featuring Drew's future Houston Rockets teammate Cuttino Mobley. Drew ended his collegiate career as Valpo's all-time leader in points (2,142), assists (626), steals (186), made 3's (364) and field goals (696), and became the Crusaders' first ever first round draft pick when the Houston Rockets took him with the 16th overall pick in the 1998 NBA draft. Drew played 6 seasons in the NBA with the Rockets, Bulls and Hornets, averaging 4.4 points and 2.2 assists over 243 career games including 46 starts. In 2005, Bryce returned to Valpo as an assistant coach and now at age 36 takes becomes the third Drew to take over as head coach.