For the 1st time since the late 90s, the tennis world finally has a rivalry at the top of its sport. Rafael Nadal’s breakthrough on grass over these past two weeks has cemented his status as a contender to Roger Federer’s place at the top of the ranking. Since the great Agassi-Sampras rivalry, tennis has been without a great matchup that can draw mainstream attention, Nadal-Federer is about to hit that level.

Prior to this week Nadal could be discounted as another of the countless clay court specialists who’ve appeared over the years. Players like Carlos Moya or Alberto Costa have all appeared unbeatable on the clay courts only to disappear once the grass and hardcourt season begins. Nadal’s march to the Wimbledon final has moved him beyond that status and into the realm of the game’s top players.

Does Nadal stand a chance against Federer tomorrow? A lot has been made of Nadal’s success against Federer in past matchup, but the vast majority of those games have been on clay. Federer has amassed a 57-11 record on grass over his career and has hasn’t lost of the surface since 2002, winning 47 straight games on the surface. Nadal on the other hand, has only played in 15 matches on grass in his career and before this year had rarely played on the surface. It’s doubtful his baseline game will be able to withstand Federer’s all around approach on this surface, but Nadal has proven to have a few surprises up his capri shorts at this tourney.

Federer will go into this match as an overwhelming favourite, but you can bet they’ll be a lot of television tuned to this battle come Sunday morning. No matter who wins the championship, the sport of tennis will be the big winner. How can you not be excited to see this matchup.

• My main man Zinedine Zidane scored on a penalty kick to lead France to a 1-0 win over Portugal.  The World Cup final is set, with the French going up against Italy.  VIVE LE FRANCE!
• Barry Bonds’ trainer was jailed for a WHOLE WEEK, for not agreeing to testify to the grand jury in the perjury case.  Wow, that is some serious punishment, was sending him to his room without dinner deemed to be too rough?
• The Bulls continue to wheel and deal, sending Tyson Chandler to the Hornets for PJ Brown and JR Smith.  PJ Brown is old, Tyson Chandler is a bust and JR Smith is a headcase, sounds like your basic NBA trade to me.
• Hefty Bartolo Colon pitched a complete gain shutout for the Angels, all round nice guy Kenny Rogers helped the Tigers avoid being swept by the A’s and the Yanks rebounded from losing by 18 runs to beat the Indians by 8.  Mike Mussina become the 1st pitcher in AL history to win 10 games in 15 consecutive seasons.  MOOOOOOOOSE!
• Man-Ram is skipping the all-star game again.  This angers Buster Olney who suggests he should be taken off the ballet next year.  Easy there Buster, its just an exhibition game.
• Roger Federer wins again and advances to the semi-finals at Wimbledon along with Jonas Bjorkman and Marcos Baghdatis, otherwise known as whathisname and thatdudefromcyprus.
• Jose Canseco demanded a trade after one game in his comeback.  That’s awesome.

• Shame on you New York Yankees!  Getting hammered around the park on the bosses birthday.  The Cleveland Indians provided all the 4th of July fireworks for George and the fans smashing out 21 hits in a 19-1 route.
• Halladay wins for a league high 11th time in Texas, as Jays clip Rangers 3-2.  This guy is nails.
• Pistons snag (C) Nazr Mohammed from the Spurs for 5 years, at around 5 million a season.  Make no mistake, Detroit basketball is still gonna dominate the east.
• Bonzi Wells rumoured to be going home to Indiana.  Makes perfect sense for the Pacers because they really haven’t filled the void since that bad boy Ron Artest was traded.
• Grosso ignites the Italians to a 2-0 win, brings the country of Germany to tears.
• Sharapova set to take on Mauresmo in the semi-finals after cruising through Elena Dementieva.  Not too often the top 4 seeds make it to the semifinals.  Fantastic job ladies. 
• Federer takes on Ancic, while Stepanek and Bjorkman battle it out Wednesday morning.

So its the 4th of July, here’s some random thoughts popping through my sweet little melon:

• I’ll be honest, I’m sick of the World Cup, its been on too damn long.  But since I’ve made picks up until now, here’s your picks for the semis: France and Germany.  Dun dun dun!
• You best believe MLB is going to rig the ‘last chance’ vote in the AL.  Francisco Liriano is the kid who everyone wants to see.  Some of those other guys are having nice years, but Liriano is the draw right now.
• The Tour de France should just be cancelled this year.  All the top riders are suspended, its like having March Madness without any teams from the ACC.
• Steve Yzerman retired today.  The guy was a great leader and an even better player.  The NHL lost one of its best today.
• Ben Wallace signed in Chicago today.  Prepare for every publication to name the Bulls the Eastern Conference favourite next year.
• There are no Americans left at Wimbledon.  Why is this a story?  None of the men had a chance, and all the women are either old or injured.  Besides Agassi, the current American tennis scene is boring and not worth reporting on.
• Is there anything stupider than deciding World Cup games on penalty kicks.  I know the games would probably end up last 5 hours, but honestly play until someone scores.  Or else go with paper, rock, scissors, has about as much to do with soccer as the penalty kicks do.  PS I could freaking do a better job than those England guys at this.
• That Women’s US Open golf playoff sure was a nailbiter.  Lets see, will it be the best women’s golfer in the world or some chubby girl I’ve never heard of.  Tough to call.
• Chris Pronger was dealt from Edmonton.  Lets just say I’m glad he’s gone and don’t blame him for getting out of there.
• Read Frangos’ stuff from the past few days…. its a hell of lot better than this nonsense.
• Enjoy the 4th Americans.

Say hello to Biljana Golic. Nicknamed “Biba”, many are comparing this hottie to Anna Kournikova.

The comparisons might be there in appearance, but the differences are in the sport they play.  Biba, who is originally from Serbia, is a huge hit with fans of tennis, but of the indoor variety.  That’s right you guessed it, table tennis is the sport I’m talking about.

Biljana is currently attenting Illinois Institute of Technology on a scholarship and because her sport isn’t an NCAA sanctioned sport, Biba has been allowed to participate in tournaments and she’s been very successful in them over the past couple of years, as well as finishing 2nd last year in the national championships, losing to Jackie Lee from California-Berkeley.

A sport not known for having good looking athletes in attractive uniforms, Killerspin, a table tennis manufacturer, has designed uniforms that Biba currently wears while playing, to help attract an audience and it seems to be working.

A daughter of a table tennis coach, Biljana started smashing balls against the wall while growing and eventually became a two-time Yugoslavian champion in singles and doubles.

With her fun personality and model like looks that have fans shouting out her name, I’m sure we will be hearing more from Biba as she continues to rip up the table tennis circuit with her talented play, and of course her sex appeal. Go Biba Go!

Happy Birthday Canada! Now what happened while we were all out pregaming it for today?

• The Raptors dealt Charlie Villanueva to the Bucks for TJ Ford and cash. I like this deal for the Raps, although the janitors in the ACC are losing their favorite player. They never have to worry about hair clogging up the drain when Villanueva’s in the shower.
• Andre Agassi’s final Wimbeldon came to and end early Saturday, when he lost to Rafael Nadal in straight sets. Agassi blamed the loss on Nadal’s capri pants.
• The Tour de France started yesterday. Some guy named Thor leads it. I’m not sure if he’s the only guy left in the race or not.
• Boris Said has the pole for the Pepsi 400 in Daytona this weekend. That is most un-NASCAR name I’ve ever heard.
• The Boston Red Sox finally lost, ending their winning streak at 12. Waiver wire scrub Jason Johnson is to blame for the loss.
• Speaking of Jason Johnson, his old team, the Indians continue to flounder. They blew a 7-0 lead by giving up 9 runs in the eighth and ninth innings. The game ended on a walk-off grand slam by Adam Dunn.
• I can’t understand half the words these English soccer announcers say, but man are they awesome. Bollocks.

• The Toronto Raptors used the 1st pick in the Draft to select Andrea Bargnani from Italy as speculated.  It’s always interesting to see how players react to be picked by Canadian teams, but he’s gonna like Toronto as its the best multicultural city in the NBA.  Remember that reaction from Steve Francis when Vancouver picked him, what a bitch! 
• Portland drafts Tyrus Thomas 4th, then trades him to Chicago for the 2nd pick overall, LaMarcus Aldridge. 
• Battier traded to Houston for 8th pick, which turns out to be Rudy Gay.
• Larry Brown files grievance against Knicks for remaining money owed.  Give it up already Brown, you suck and you should give back the money you stole last year. 
• Pedro was welcomed with open arms by the Fenway faithful, but lasted only 3 innings against his old mates as they bombed him for 8 runs.
• Pirates lose 13th in a row, and have ripped the title of worst team from the Royals.
• Patrick Roy was selected to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.  Perhaps the greatest goalie ever.  Take that Jeremy Roenick!
• Bryan McCabe finally says yes to $28.75 million US.  Signs with the Leafs despite his wifes wishes to play in Long Island.  Way to man up McCabe.
• Mauer batting average climbs to .392 going 11 for 13 in his last 3 games.
• Federer ousts Henman in 85 minutes to continue his streak.  Roddick survives near upset by Tipsarevic.  Sharapova cruises into the third round in straight sets over Ashley Harkleroad.

Andre Agassi’s final Wimbledon appearance started out a little dicey versus Serbian Boris Pashanski. Down 6-2 after the first set and shaking off a bit of rustiness, Agassi stormed back against the 71st seed taking the next 3 set by the scores of, 6-2, 6-4, and 6-3 to advance to the second round.

With this win, it should give Andre some momentum as the matches will no doubt become tougher as the tournament progresses.

Agassi announced Saturday, that he will retire after the US Open later this year.  You just get the feeling that Andre will find a way to make this last appearance at Wimbledon, the same place where the 36 year old won his first of eight career Grand Slam titles back in 1992, a memorable one.

This is what I’ve liked about the guy since day one, when he first bursted on to the scene.  Yes he started out as the “Image is everything” guy, and looked as though he just wasn’t going to be the player everyone hyped him to be by playing mediocre tennis, but to follow his career after him winning first title, he’s just been the man!  

Along with his competitive nature, he possesses that certain flare for the dramatic, and his highlight return game just dominates the competition and is just something else.  

With Andre having won each of the four slam at least once, and being part of an elite list of only five to achieve this feat, it would really be something to see Andre finish strong by winning Wimbledon and the US Open one final time to increase his total number of slams to 10.  Go Andre! 

While we all patiently wait for Frangos to post yesterday’s soccer goals, here’s what else was going on:

• Day one of Wimbledon was pretty much rained out.  Who knew it ever rained in England?  Roger Federer was winning against the guy who’s been referred to as feisty more times than necessary.
• Your winners in the World Cup: Italy and Ukraine.  Guess which team won on a controversial penalty kick?  Yeah, those guys.
• Papi Ortiz had the game winning RBI for the Red Sox over the Phillies.  The Sometimes Big Unit was good as the Yanks beat the Braves (shocker).  Derrick Lee came back and the Cubs lost again.  The Tigers never lose.
• The crazy minor league manager got a seven game suspension.  Well worth it, I say.
• They need a mercy rule in golf.  The Booz Allen tourney was again postponed on Monday.  Ben Curtis leads by 7 shots with 2 holes to play.  Just end it already.  Fun Fact: Ben Curtis hates the Steelers.
• Isiah Thomas has one year to turn around the Knicks.  I think Barbaro has a better chance of winning next year’s Kentucky Derby.
• PING!  Oregon State won the college world series over North Carolina.  The very un-college baseball like score of 3-2 gave the Beavers the title.  SI says they are the first ‘truly’ northern team to win since 1966, what the hell does that mean?  Have some southern squads been falsifying their location to get some publicity?  Well phooey on those teams, can’t pull one past SI.
• More proof that Boston fans can be pretty stupid.  They actually believed a rumor that they were going to get Allen Iverson while only giving up Wally Szczerbiak.  But don’t worry, the Jazz were going to add blind guy backstabber Carlos Boozer to make it all work out.  Hey Boston, I’m hearing that the Marlins are about to deal Miguel Cabrera to da SOX for David Wells, spread the word.

• The Tigers continue to prove that they are for real, having now won 13 of 15 as they swept the Cardinals 3 straight over the weekend.
• Ken Grumpy Jr. passed Mike Schmidt and moved into 11th place all time on the home run list with his 549th dinger.
• Saturday, Germany defeated Sweden 2-0, while Argentina doubled Mexico 2-1. Sunday saw Portugal & England advanced to the next round of the World Cup with 1-0 victories over The Netherlands & Ecuador respectively. All I have to say is the biggest whiner in the tournament gets to go home. Bye bye Kuyt!
• Melo wants to stay a Nugget, hopes for a long-term deal. Nuggets, yours still kicking yourselves for not taking Wade aren’t you.
• Ben Curtis is your leader going into the final round Monday at the Booz Allen Classic. A tourney like this needs John Daly amongst the leaders, you think.
• Jeff Gordon won the Dodge/Safe Mart 350, his 1st victory of the season, about time you showed up for a race this year Jeff.
• Randy Moss opens for business his new Inta Juice store in his native West Virginia.
• Roger Federer set to continue his grass dominance as Wimbledon kicks off Monday.