Nice Guys Finish Last

Ok so maybe Andy didn't finish last, but you get the point. Andy fought hard, but couldn't outlast Roger Federer at the Open. Roger dominated Andy, as usual, but all hope is not lost. Andy jumped up to #6 in the World Rankings and is back to #1 in the US rankings. Andy is also now at third in the points system to qualify for the Masters tournament in Shanghai. Only the top 7 men will compete!!

Andy's resurgence this summer has been exactly what the doctor ordered. When Andy's cofidence is high, so is his game play. I think beating Roger has become more of a mental hurdle, rather than a physical. Roger made key mistakes in his win over Andy. Andy could have easily capitalized on them if he was on top of his game. I think Andy needs to prepare more mentally before playing Roger. If Andy hadn't taken so long to get his game in order in his first few service games, Andy could have easily taken the first 2 sets and put him in a more focused attitude. Instead, he started out antsy and nervous. By the time he settled down, it was too late. By the fourth set, Andy conceded to Federer. Being down 2 sets to 1 after losing a tough tie break in the previous set, probably didn't have Andy in the best mind set. Hopefully, he'll keep the winning ways up and play his heart out in the coming months.

Now onto football...All day on Sunday, I was thinking about Andy and the U.S. Open Final. Now that the tennis season is officially over, I can get back to football!! Ahh football. Saturday was spent at Byrd Stadium watching a mediocre team attempt to beat a presumably worse team. It was pathetic. The Terps are not looking good, and I'm worried about the West Virginia game on Thursday. The Mountainqueers... I mean Mountaineers are looking at possibly going undefeated this year. After Louisville lost it's star running back in the opening minutes of its season opener, WVU is poised for a conference sweep and a National Championship run. Of course, the pesky turtles in Maryland are known to suck and still beat good teams. Does anyone remember our insanely crazy win over Florida State in 2004? Hell, we beat FSU with Joel Statham behind center. Anything's possible with the Terps, I suppose. Of course, that was at home and we travel to the fiery hell that I call Morgantown. (By the way, Morgantown is the shittiest place in America I have ever been to. I had 5 year olds telling me to fuck off! I had friends who had beer and food thrown at them. And all of this happened before I got to the stadium! Fucking hillbillies!!)

Now you may think I was only referring to Andy with the title of the post, but alas you would be wrong. The Ravens are back to their ass whooping ways, and I couldn't be more happy about it!! The Ravens are not finishing last because they are not nice guys. Our defense devoured the Bucs offense!! There was not an ounce of nice of the field when Ray Ray and Company stepped onto it. It was all business. The Ravens got their first shut out since 2003, beating the Bucs 27-0. McNair looked awesome. The offense seemed to click for the first time in a long while. I'm not saying that I'm hopping on the McNair bandwagon like the rest of Baltimore. Before I can deem McNair the Ravens' savior, I have to see him in action. Honestly, I went to both of the Ravens' preseason games and he looked good on his first drive in the Giants game, and that was it. For me to say he is the reason the Ravens are playing so great, I have to see him beat a worthy opponent. The Bucs defense is not anywhere near as good as their Super Bowl one. And Chris Simms is probably worse than Kyle Boller when it comes to quarterbacking.

The Ravens play host to Oakland this weekend, and they are looking like one of the worst teams in football after last night's shut out loss at home versus the Chargers. Aaron Brooks was sacked more times than he completed a pass. He had 6 completions and was sacked 7 times. Not good. Of course, it's totally good for the Ravens. Granted, the Chargers defense is pretty awesome, mostly because of fellow Terp Shawne Merriman!! But I think the Ravens defense has a more complete group. With Ed Reed, Ray Ray, Bart Scott, CMac, etc. the Ravens are out for blood.

I still think the Ravens have a lot to prove, but it will take a few weeks for me to be totally sold on this turnaround.

So the moral of the story is: Screw Nice!!