Wednesday, July 25, 2018
World Cup, Wimbledon, All Star Game
It's a busy
sports world out there, well worth a comment or two.
Alexander
Ovechkin, a Russian player who won the Stanley Cup this year, took
the opportunity to transport the Cup to Mother Russia in support of
his team playing in the World Cup. He raised the trophy to the
delight of supporters at a Fan Fest. He ate a little caviar from the
bowl, and drank several beverages as well. To no avail.
The Croatian
team beat the Russians on penalty kicks (aka “penalties”) and
moved on the the semi-finals to play the English on Tuesday
afternoon. These are exciting times for the English squad, as they
have not advanced this far in many years. The last time the English
won the World Cup was in 1966, and the star of the final game was a
man named Hurst. No relation.
In the other
semi-final game, France and Belgium square off. It should lead to an
interesting final. I will be looking for President Putin in the
stands.
They are
coming down to the crunch at Wimbledon this week. Canadians are
pleased that Milos Raonic has advanced to the quarter finals, and is
scheduled to play the American giant John Isnor. Raonic got to the
final a couple of years ago, and lost to Andy Murray. All of these
players are very finely tuned athletes, and they can break down
physically at any given moment. Raonic had had his share of injuries,
primarily because he plays such a tough physical game, No one serves
it harder. He puts tremendous stress on all parts of his body as he
stretches to return shots to all areas of the court.
Roger
Federer is still in the running, having won more consecutive sets
than any other player, ever. Rafael Nadal always plays his best
tennis on clay, but he will be tough to contend with down the
stretch. Djokovic seems to be in form. The truly great players in the
game will battle it out this week. Serena Williams was not listed as
one of the top ranked players for the tournament, but she is still in
the hunt, playing very well.
Baseball
players will be hanging up their spikes for a few days as the stars
of the game with show their stuff at the annual All Star Game. It
will be interesting to see which players will add their names to the
list to play in the “Home Run Derby”. Several players pass on
that event, even though they qualify. There is a growing feeling that
the activity messes with one's swing, and upsets a player's natural
hitting style. More often than not, successful players in the event
suffer, power-wise, in the second half of the season.
Here are the
players to watch for at the event:
American
League: First base-Jose
Abreu, Second base-Jose Altuve, Third base-Jose Ramirez, Short
stop-Manny Machado, Catcher Willson Ramos....Fielders: Mookie Betts,
Mike Trout, Aaron Judge. Designated Hitter-J. D. Martinez.
National
League: First
base-Freddie Freeman, Second base-Javier Baez, Third Base-Nolan
Arenado, Short stop-Brandon Crawford, Catcher-Wilson
Contreras...Fielders: Nick Markakis, Matt Kemp, Bryce Harper,
The
only Blue Jay assigned to the squad is pitcher J. A. Happ. There are
strong rumours that he will be traded during the break. He has has a
decent season, but has fallen off lately.
And
the Canadian Football League season continues to unravel as teams now
have four or five games under their belts. I have already purchased
tickets for the family for a game in September in Ottawa. Always a
treat!!
James
Hurst
July
10, 2018
# posted by James Hurst @ 9:16 AM 
