Here’s an overlook of some of the big sports stories that transpired this weekend! As always, there was a little bit of everything!
Tennis
Tennis’s last Grand Slam gets underway tomorrow in Flushing Meadows, NY. Top players Maria Sharapova and Juan Martin del Potro both will miss the last major event of the season due to injuries. Besides their exclusions, everyone else is raring to go. The top seeds for the U.S. Open on the men’s side are Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams for the women. Serena Williams is the clear cut favorite on the women’s side with really only Victoria Azarenka in her way to the title. However, Rafael Nadal, the #2 seed is the favorite coming off recent back-to-back hard-court titles in Montreal and Cincinnati. Nadal has been in scintillating form after returning from his knee injury with a record of 53-3 heading into this year’s U.S. Open. Rafael Nadal could meet Roger Federer in the QF for the first time at the U.S. Open. with the winner possibly playing David Ferrer in the SF. Federer is seeded #7 which is the lowest he has been seeded in almost 10 years. Another anticipated match up could be the SF between Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. If all goes to plan, Serena Williams should stroll to her 5th U.S Open title and a men’s final between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic should provide some extraordinary tennis with the winner, taking control of the tennis crown headed into next year.
Soccer
The 2nd match of European soccer was again filled with drama and excitement. In the English Premier league, Arsenal who suffered a shock defeat at home to Aston Villa last weekend responded with a convincing 3-1 victory away to Fulham. Other notable games included Liverpool winning 1-0 away at Aston Villa thanks a very cool finish from Daniel Sturridge who seems to be in great form. Tottenham narrowly edged out Swansea 1-0 at home thanks to a Roberto Soldado penalty. The biggest story of the weekend had to be the shock result of Cardiff City defeating Manchester City 3-2 at home in what was their first primer league game in over 50 years! Manchester City took the lead, but Cardiff City responded with 3 unanswered goals to shock the 2012 champions. All this drama, and still there is Manchester united vs. Chelsea tomorrow to finish match day 2 in the EPL. This was another weekend which again proved why the EPL is the most exciting and dramatic soccer league in the world. Looking at other notable results across Europe this weekend, in Spain: FC Barcelona edge Malaga 1-0, Real Madrid play Granada on Monday. In Italy: Juventus beat Sampadoria 2-0. In Germany: Bayern Munich defeated Nurnberg 2-0. In France: PSG carved out a 2-1 win over Nantes. Another match day in the books and we still have the clash of the giants matchup tomorrow as Manchester United take on Chelsea!
NFL
The Denver Broncos defeated the St. Louis Rams 27-26 on Saturday night in their 3rd preseason game. This was the so called ‘dress rehearsal’ as the starters saw a lot of game time and it was good to see. Peyton Manning went 25/34 for 234 yards which included a gem of a throw to DT in the end zone. A black mark definitely had to be Ronnie Hillman who again fumbled and know the RB position is up for grabs headed into week 1. A lot of people still believe that Knowshon Moreno is the best RB on the team currently. These next few weeks, will be very interesting to see whether Hillman, Ball, or Moreno can maintain the confidence of the coaches to be the #1 RB on the depth chart. Von Miller, who everyone knows has been suspended for the first 6 games saw some action with the first team D also last night and made some Milleresque plays. There is no doubt his athleticism and big play ability will be missed. It was a little strange to see him playing, but then again John Fox wanted to send a message that the Broncos are still behind him. Bottom line Von, the games you do play this regular season better be BEAST MODE 24/7! All in all, another preseason game down, one to go! September 4th…. Can’t wait!
Quick Hits
Golf
Adam Scott never thought his score of a -11 was going to hold up; he was mistaken and won The Barclays. Tiger Woods left a birdie putt one rotation short on the 18th hole which would have set up a playoff, but it was not to be. Deutsche Bank Championships next week, as the FedEx Cup Playoffs continue. Read Josh Sisco’s in depth report! http://lightningrodsports.com/barclays-recap/
LLWS
Tokyo, Japan defeated Chula Vista, California 6-4 to win the Little League World Series. This was Japan’s 14th championship game, and 9th title overall.
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Sammy Mugharbil
Sammy is Studying Sports Industry, Marketing, and Broadcast Journalism at Metro State University of Denver. He's an Intern with the Colorado Rapids Youth Academy, and a Volunteer for the Metro State Broadcast Network.
