Federer, Earnhardt, McKee, Savran, NBA, & PSU

Mike’s Commentary
Roger Federer became the greatest tennis player of all-time by winning his 15th Grand Slam event by capturing last week’s Wimbledon title. He surpassed the 14 majors amassed by Pete Sampras. This was the most watched Wimbledon in 10 years thanks to Federer’s chase for history and because of the fact that his opponent for the day was American Andy Roddick. Unfortunately for Roddick, his career record against Federer fell to 2-19.

Much has been made this year of Dale Earnhardt Jr’s lackluster performances that currently has him in 21st place in the Sprint Cup standings. Given his bloodline and that he drives for Hendrick Motorsports, all of the concerns are understandable. However, it seems to me that Richard Childress Racing has fallen the furthest this year. After placing three cars in the 2008 Chase, RCR is now watching from the outside looking in. Jeff Burton leads Childress’ stable in 15th place after 18 races, with Clint Bowyer in 16th place and Kevin Harvick in 26th place. Earnhardt’s father, Dale Sr., won six of his seven championships while driving for Childress.

Notes from the Stubenator
Defensive Upgrade: The Pittsburgh Penguins lost two shut down defensemen this past week in Rob Scuderi and Hal Gill. Both defensemen were solid defensive defensemen but their asking price was way too high for their overall talent and skill level. In order to fill this hole in the defensive corps the Pens are very close to signing Jay McKee from the St. Louis Blues. Jay is actually considered an upgrade from Gill and Scuderi. McKee is 6 feet 4, 203 pounds and he will be turning 32 at the beginning of the season. The pens are looking to sign him to a one year contract. Jay McKee is considered a very skilled shot blocker in front of the net. Last year McKee had one goal, seven assists and a rating of plus 11 for the Blues.

Exhibition Schedule Announced:
The Pittsburgh Penguins released their 2009 preseason schedule yesterday, which includes home games September 18 against Toronto and September 25 against Columbus, both at 7:30 p.m. The other four games are on the road: Sept. 21 at Montreal, Sept.22 at Toronto, Sept. 24 at Columbus and Sept. 27 at Detroit. The 2009-2010 regular season NHL schedule is expected to be released later this month.

Dick’s Thoughts
The area sporting world is going to look a lot different at least television wise. Savran on Sportsbeat has been cancelled due to the lagging economy. The show has been on the air since 1991.

The Lakers add Ron Artest, the Celtics get Rasheed Wallace, and the Cavaliers trade for Shaq. I can’t imagine any other team
having a chance to win the NBA title next year than those 3 teams.

Looking at the upcoming Penn State basketball scheduled I saw one interesting opponent. The Nits who were criticized for their soft schedule last year will be playing Slippery Rock on November 6th, maybe Joe can schedule SRU in football in the future.

Thought of the week: Blessed are those who can give without remembering and take without forgetting.