Sunday proved to be a fun day for this sports fan.The men’s finals at Wimbledon proved to be one of the best sporting events in some time. Add to that the Braves winning a 17-inning affair and I had a full day of entertainment.
While tennis isn’t a sport that receives a lot of attention in the United States, the match between Roger Federer and Raphael Nadal was more fun to watch than all of the NBA playoff games combined.
I would have liked for Federer to win the title, but Nadal definitely looked like a champion throughout the match. I’m a little surprised Federer kept his place at the top of the ATP rankings after the loss. He has deserved the spot for a long time, but he will be overtaken very soon.
Nadal looked much stronger on Sunday and seemed to have an answer for everything Federer threw at him. After being humiliated by Nadal in the French Open a few weeks ago, the 26-year-old came back strong at Wimbledon. But Nadal is clearly the man to beat in men’s professional tennis right now.
That’s not to say Federer is washed up because he’s still one of the best in the game. And tennis fans will probably see Federer-Nadal matchups in all the grand slam finals for a while. While the safe bet used to be on Federer (except for on the clay courts), Nadal has closed the gap.
After Wimbledon ended, I flipped over to the Braves game and settled in for what turned out to be a long, drawn-out affair. I admit to watching much of the 17-inning, five and a half hour game, but I started out with the intention of watching just a bit of the action.
The Houston Astros have a young guy by the name of Wesley Wright playing for them. Wright is a 2003 graduate of Goshen High School in Alabama. This is relevant only to me because I graduated from Goshen a couple of years before Wright did.
In fact, I can remember watching him play high school ball. He was drafted by the Dodgers right out of high school and has spent the last few years in the minors. He went to the Astros in the off-season and he’s been pitching some for them this season.
So Sunday was the first chance I’ve had to see him play professionally. Lucky for me, Wright came in the game, eventually replaced by every other pitcher on the Houston roster.
It’s a little strange to see someone from your hometown pitching in the majors. Since they were playing in Atlanta, Wright expected a lot of family to make the trip.
“The main thing is, my family gets to come,” Wright said. “A lot of people that have never seen me play at this level have a chance to come see me play. That’s probably the most meaningful thing about this trip.”
Wright struck out three, walked one and gave up one earned run in one and one-third innings on Sunday.
Seeing Wright playing against the Braves made me think about the players around here who may be playing in the big leagues in a few years. East Central Alabama is loaded with talented players and I don’t think it’ll take long before we have to turn on the television, or take a road trip to see them play.
