The Championships, Wimbledon 2015: Grass Court Grand Slam

My second favorite grand slam (after the US Open, of course) is back!

The Championships 2015 at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in the bustly London suburb of Wimbledon is home to the only grass court grand slam in tennis. Where the players get dirty from the grass! Like at all grand slam events, anything can happen, especially in the ladies' singles draw as depicted on the draw itself. Anything can happen. Defending singles champions Novak Djokovic and Petra Kvitova once again get top seeding, sort of.

With that in mind, the first round draws in singles.

GENTLEMEN SINGLES
First round matches of interest
(1) Novak Djokovic v Philip Kohlschreiber
(2) Roger Federer v Damir Dzumhur
(3) Andy Murray v Miguel Kukushkin
(4) Stan Wawrinka v Joao Sousa
(5) Kei Nishikori v Simone Bolelli
(6) Tomas Berdych v Jeremy Chardy
(7) Milos Raonic v Daniel Gimeno Traver
(9) Marin Cilic v Hiroki Moriya
(10) Rafa Nadal v Tomaz Bellucci
(11) Grigor Dimitrov v Federico Delbonis
(12) Gilles Simon v Nicolas Almagro
(13) Jo Wilfried Tsonga v Gilles Muller
(14) Kevin Anderson v Lucas Pouille
(15) Feliciano Lopez v Steve Darcis
(16) David Goffin v Horacio Zeballos
(17) John Isner v Go Soeda
(18) Gael Monfils v Pablo Carreno Busta
(19) Tommy Robredo v John Millman
(20) Roberto Bautista Agut v Robin Bemelmans
(21) Richard Gasquet v Lucas Saville
(22) Viktor Troicki v Aleksandr Nedovyseov
(23) Ivo Karlovic v Elias Ymer
(24) Leonardo Mayer v Thanasi Kokkinakis
(25) Andreas Seppi v Brydan Klein
(26) Nick Kyrgios v Diego Schwartzman
(27) Bernard Tomic v Jan Lennard Struff
(29) Guillermo Garcia Lopez v Pablo Andujar
(30) Fabio Fognini v Tim Smyczek
(31) Jack Sock v Sam Groth
(32) Dominic Thiem v Dudi Sela
Lleyton Hewitt v Jarko Nieminen
Radek Stepanek v Aljaz Bedene
Fernando Verdasco v Martin Klizan
Sam Querrey v Igor Sijsling
Marcos Baghdatis v Donald Young
Jerzy Janowicz v Marcel Ilhan
Juan Monaco v Fernando Mayer
Tommy Haas v Dusan Lajovic
Nicolas Mahut v Filip Krajinovic
Jarko Tipsarevic v Marcel Granollers
Tomaz Gabashvili v Alexander Zverev
Joao Souza v Santiago Giraldo
Adrian Mannarino v Michael Berrer
Matos Matosevic v Liam Broady
Ben Becker v Victor Estrella Burgos
Steve Johnson v Lucas Lacko
Alex Dolgopolov v Kenneth Edmund
Vasek Pospisil v Vincent Millot
Ernests Gulbis v Lukas Rosol
Denis Istomin v Albert Ramos Vinolas
Sergey Stakhovsky v Borna Coric
Kenny de Schepper v John Patrick Smith
Jiri Vesely v Paolo Lorenzi
Dustin Brown v Yun Hsieh Lu
Robin Haase v Alejandro Falla
Mikhail Youzhny v Benoit Paire
James Duckworth v Malek Jaziri

LADIES SINGLES
First round matches of interest
(1) Serena Williams v Margarita Gasparyan
(2) Petra Kvitova v Kiki Bertens
(3) Simona Halep v Jana Cepelova
(4) Maria Sharapova v Johanna Konta
(5) Caroline Wozniacki v Shuai Zheng
(6) Lucie Safarova v Allison Riske
(7) Ana Ivanovic v Yi Fan Xu
(8) Ekaterina Makarova v Sachia Vickery
(9) Venus Williams v Madison Brengle
(10) Angelique Kerber v Christine Witthoeft
(11) Karolina Pliskova v Irina Falconi
(12) Eugenie Bouchard v Ying Ying Duan
(13) Aga Radwanska v Lucie Hradecka
(14) Andrea Petkovic v Shelby Rogers
(15) Timea Bacsinsky v Julia Goerges
(16) Carla Suarez Navarro v Jelena Ostapenko
(17) Elina Svitolina v Misaki Doi
(18) Sabine Lisicki v Jarmila Gadjosova
(19) Sara Errani v Francesca Schiavone
(20) Garbine Muguruza v Varvara Lepchenko
(21) Madison Keys v Stefanie Voegele
(22) Sam Stosur v Davina Kovinic
(23) Victoria Azarenka v Anett Kontaveit
(24) Flavia Pennetta v Zarina Diyas
(25) Alize Cornet v Ana Konjuh
(26) Svetlana Kuznetsova v Laura Siegemund
(27) Barbora Zahlavova Strycova v Sloane Stephens
(28) Jelena Jankovic v Elena Vesnina  
(29) Irina Camelia Begu v Daniela Gavrilova
(30) Belinda Bencic v Tsvetana Pironkova
(31) Camilia Giorgi v Teliana Pereira
(32) Caroline Garcia v Heather Watson
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova v Mona Barthel
Tamira Paszek v Casey Dellacqua
Dominika Cibulkova v Daniela Hantuchova
Roberta Vinci v Aleksandra Krunic
Kirsten Flipkens v Annika Beck
Bojana Jovanovski v Tatjana Maria
Bethanie Mattek Sands v Alison van Uytvanck
Urszula Radwanska v Edina Gallovits Hall
Karin Knapp v  Magdalena Rybarikova
Kristina Mladenovic v Aleksandra Dulgheru
Christina McHale v Johanna Larsson
Kaia Kanepi v Su Wei Hsieh
Yanina Wickmayer v Elizaveta Kulichkova
Mirjana Lucic Baroni v Yaroslava Shvedova
Timea Babos v Petra Cetkovska
Marina Erakovic v Yulia Putintseva
Laura Robson v Elena Rodina
Silvia Soler Espinosa v Sesil Karatantcheva
Kristyna Pliskova v Tereza Smitkova
Monica Puig v Monica Niculescu
Anna Karolina Schmiedlova v Coco Vandeweghe
Nicole Gibbs v Lucia Tsurenko
Laura Davis v Polona Hercog
Lara Arruabarrena v Pauline Parmentier
Olga Govortsova v Anna Mitu
Ajla Tomljanovic v Klara Koukalova

In the US, every match from Monday to next Sunday's gentlemen's singles finals will be exclusive to ESPN. Also try Radio Wimbledon with good commentary as well.

Friday Jukebox 6.26.15

With the popularity of 'Renegades' (thanks Jeep!), the X Ambassadors also had a great piece called "Shining", from The Reason EP, released last year.

BELLATOR MMA 139: Kongo Versus Volkov and More

BELLATOR MMA back for another week, as if last week was enough!

Alex Volkov takes on Cheick Kongo in the main event, while David Rickels, Pat Curran and kickboxing veteran Joe Schilling will also be in action in the main card. Bubba Jenkins will be in action in preliminaries.

LIVE on SPIKE Friday night!

ONE Dynasty of Champions 2015 Saturday!

ONE Championship is back with excellence in Asian Mixed Martial Arts, as Dynasty of Champions takes place Saturday. The best and future stars in MMA collide on one card.

For more, visit ONEfc.com! The #1 promotion (currently) in Asia!

Friday Jukebox 6.19.15

Something nice and touching for this Father's Day weekend. This music was heard on the old FX network series Sons of Anarchy, as Curtis Stigers wrote and performed the theme "This Life," here's "John the Revelator," a gospel story.

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!

BELLATOR MMA 138: Featherweight Title Fight, Plus Kimbo Slice v Ken Shamrock

BELLATOR MMA returns Friday night with another blockbuster card from the Scottrade Center!

The headliner is the featherweight championship fight as Patricio 'Pitbull' Freire defends his title against Daniel Weichel.

In addition, Daniel Straus, Bobby Lashley and Michael Chandler is on action. Also, two returning superstars of MMA collide as Ken Shamrock takes on Kimbo Slice!

CARD

Featherweight Championship

(145 lb/65.25 kg)

Patricio Freire (c) v Daniel Weichel

LIVE on Spike Friday night! 

US Open Golf 2015: Heading West

At Pinehurst last year, in the heat of the weekend, Martin Kaymer put on a performance no one could never forget. This year, he is back as the Open shifts out west to Chambers Bay in Washington State. Yet another great field of players in the best major in men's golf.

NOTABLE TEE TIMES
Times local (PT) to course.
(First round/second round)
Phil Mickelson 7:33am/1:33pm
Bubba Watson 7:33am/1:33pm
Angel Cabrera 7:33am/1:33pm
Gary Woodland 7:33am/1:33pm
Victor Dubuisson 7:33am/1:33pm
John Senden 7:33am/1:33pm
Bernd Wiesberger 7:44am/1:44pm
Hideki Matsuyama 8:06am/2:06pm
Graeme McDowell 8:06am/2:06pm
Matt Kuchar 8:06am/2:06pm
Henrik Stenson 8:17am/2:17pm
Francesco Molinari 8:17am/2:17pm
Brandt Snedeker 8:17am/2:17pm
Dustin Johnson 8:17am/2:17pm
Adam Scott 8:17am/2:17pm
Sergio Garcia 8:17am/2:17pm
Jim Furyk 8:28am/2:28pm
Colin Montgomerie 8:28am/2:28pm
Miguel Angel Jimenez 8:28am/2:28pm
Martin Kaymer 8:28am/2:28pm
Rory McIlroy 8:28am/2:28pm
Brooks Koepka 8:39am/2:39pm
Jason Dufner 8:50am/2:50pm
Webb Simpson 8:50am/2:50pm
Keegan Bradley 8:50am/2:50pm
Kevin Na 8:50am/2:50pm
DA Points 1:11pm/7:11am
Shiv Kapur 1:11pm/7:11am
Luke Donald 1:22pm/7:22am
Ernie Els 1:33pm/7:33am
Retief Goossen 1:33pm/7:33am
Geoff Ogilvy 1:33pm/7:33am
Lucas Glover 1:33pm/7:33am
Bo van Pelt 1:44pm/7:44am
Ryan Palmer 1:44pm/7:44am
Joost Luiten 1:44pm/7:44am
Lee Janzen 1:55pm/7:55am
Darren Clarke 1:55pm/7:55am
George Coetzee 1:55pm/7:55am
Daniel Summerhays 2:06pm/8:06am
Jordan Spieth 2:17pm/8:17am
Jason Day 2:17pm/8:17am
Justin Rose 2:17pm/8:17am
Billy Horschel 2:17pm/8:17am
Paul Casey 2:17pm/8:17am
Lee Westwood 2:17pm/8:17am
Rickie Fowler 2:28pm/8:28am
Louis Oosthuizen 2:28pm/8:28am
Tiger Woods 2:28pm/8:28am
Charl Schwartzel 2:28pm/8:28am
Hunter Mahan 2:28pm/8:28am
Bill Haas 2:28pm/8:28am
Jimmy Walker 2:39pm/8:39am
Zach Johnson 2:39pm/8:39am
Ian Poulter 2:39pm/8:39am
Ryan Moore 2:50pm/8:50am
Erik Compton 2:50pm/8:50am
Camilo Villegas 2:50pm/8:50am

It's a new era as all USGA championships are on Fox Sports family, with every round on Fox and Fox Sports 1 throughout the weekend, for US viewers. Plus the DIRECTV mix channels.

Hawks Clinch Cup on Home Ice; First Time Since '38

77 years!

Ultimate Warriors

That 40 year drought...

Also it was on the birthday of the now-deceased Dingo (Ultimate) Warrior. How ironic.

"The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, 69

Link.

Remember this promo?

Sir Christopher Lee, 93

Link.

24 Heures du Mans 2015: Saturday is the 83rd Race

The annual race which brings 56 cars across four classes is here!

LeMans 2015, like in the past years, have been full of diversity, the drivers, the manufacturers, you name it. After all, it is the world's greatest race.

Here in the states, you better wake up, because the green flag is at 8am Eastern (3pm local/CET). Fox Sports 1 and 2 with live coverage throughout the 24 hour race.

Friday Jukebox 6.12.15

Heard this as the 'radio classic' on A State of Trance 717 yesterday, but being so young, it is still a classic. Plastic Boy with "Chocolate Infusion" from 2011. 

The Drought is Over: American Pharoah Wins Triple Crown!

Amazing run, and happy for Bob Baffert, who finally has a Triple Crown horse.

It's Here: FIFA Women's World Cup 2015 Canada (Featuring Rio 2016 Qualifying)!

All the bullshit within FIFA are gone, and now we have football, at the moment.

FIFA Women's World Cup 2015 is in North America this year, and the action kicks off on Saturday as Canada (host nation) is in action in Group A play at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton.

Defending World Cup champions Japan and US Soccer are back this year, and will start play later in the week.

As far as the groups go, here are the 24 in this year's field:

GROUP A
Canada (host)
China
Netherlands
New Zealand

GROUP B
Germany
Norway
Ivory Coast
Thailand

GROUP C
Japan
Switzerland
Cameroon
Ecuador

GROUP D
United States
Sweden
Nigeria
Australia

GROUP E
Brazil
Republic of Korea
Costa Rica
Spain

GROUP F
England
France
Mexico
Colombia

And yes, the field is to 24 for the first time ever, up from Germany 2011. Amazing.

This is also a new era of FIFA TV in the US, as Fox Sports and NBCU's Telemundo Deportes (free to air) service will take over coverage of all things FIFA in the US. The Bell consortium (mainly CTV and TSN networks) will be host broadcasters in Canada.

There are also some spots available for the Rio 2016 women's football tournament, mainly for some of the top finishers amongst the UEFA representatives in this tournament.

147th Belmont Stakes: Will it Finally Happen (in 37 years)?

The final piece of thoroughbred racing's Triple Crown will fit on Saturday.

It's been 37 years since a thoroughbred has won at Belmont, Pimlico and Churchill. It has been a cursed moment in animal-related sports. American Pharaoh is currently the favorite, but there's Frosted (6) and Materiality (8) which can prove them wrong.

Always remember, bet wisely if you're either at Belmont or at an OTB facility. Also watch the race, whose post time is at 6:50pm ET on NBC (in the states).

Friday Jukebox 6.5.15

Amid the scandal, it's time for football! Saturday will mark the first day of the FIFA Women's World Cup 2015(TM) and here is the official anthem, "Beautiful Life" by Nick Fradiani.

Enjoy!

GLORY 22: Heavyweight Championship & Lightweight Tournament Semifinals

GLORY returns Friday with another great card!

GLORY 22 in Lille, France will be headlined by a title fight as Rico Verhoeven will defend his heavyweight title against Benjamin Adegbuyi. In addition, a lightweight semifinal tournament featuring Davit Kiria, will tell us who is #1 contender in that division. Also Zach Mwekassa in action.

CARD
Heavyweight championship

(265 lb/119.25 kg)

Rico Verhoeven (c) v Benjamin Adegbuyi

Lightweight tournament

Semifinals

(155 lb/69.75 kg)

Davit Kiria v Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong

Josh Jauncey v Djime Coulibaly 

Fight card is on Spike in the states, but taped for primetime viewing. GloryWorldSeries.com will probably offer live streaming content. 

MMA World Series of Fighting 21: Featherweight & Heavyweight Title Fights

MMA World Series of Fighting is back! Two title fights headline the card in Edmonton, the night before the first day of the FIFA Women's World Cup begins (and the first match is at Commonwealth Stadium on Saturday).

Lance Palmer defends his WSOF featherweight title against Chris Horodecki, while Smealinho Rama will defend his heavyweight title against former BELLATOR heavyweight Blagoi Ivanov.

The card is live in the states on NBCSN Friday night.

The Finals 2015: Somebody's Drought is On the Line

That's right folks. The Finals is back. Someone will end a drought in this series. The Warriors haven't won an NBA title in nearly 44 years. Cleveland haven't won a major sports title in 54 years. Oh yeah, Klay Thompson is cleared for game 1. Team Splash are the favorites in my opinion.

THE FINALS 2015
(best of seven)
(1W) Warriors v (2E) Cavaliers
Game 1: Thursday
Game 2: Sunday
Game 3: Tuesday
Game 4: 6/11
Game 5: 6/14*
Game 6: 6/16*
Game 7: 6/19*
*-if necessary.

Every game is on ABC throughout North America throughout the series.

The Ongoing Drama at FIFA: Bribery Arrests, Now Blatter Resigns!

Over the past week, FIFA has been involved in scandal. That's right. Scandal. Just on the eve of the Women's World Cup, to kick off Saturday afternoon with the first match at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton.

First, the arrest of FIFA personnel, including vice president Jeffrey Webb, who is the president of CONCACAF. CONCACAF is one of six confederations of football in the world, and serves North America, Central America and the Caribbean. US Soccer is among the participating federations, as well as Canada. This comes after an investigation over money laundering and bribery. In response, CONCACAF, as well as two other confederations--COMNEBOL and UEFA--made statements regarding those arrests.

Second, the election of FIFA President. Joseph Blatter (pictured) has been the president for over a decade of FIFA. With no one to challenge, Blatter was unanimously elected. And today, Blatter resigned despite the investigation, which is the right thing. We knew he might be a part of this. We know that as a result, sponsors might lose interest with the governing body. Yes, the likes of Coke, AB InBev, Kia, Hyundai, Sony, McDonalds, and more.

Finally, the vacancy. Whoever is FIFA president in the long term, please maintain from bribery for good. At 78, Blatter's move is a good one because who knows? He might die in office. Time for someone fresh who know what football is all about. That's my two cents.

#FreeUAB: Football Reinstated in Birmingham

Link.

Great news! Hopefully they won't have to leave C-USA altogether!

Stanley Cup Final Starts Wednesday!

It is that time.

But first, congrats to the Oshawa Generals on the thrilling OT win to win the 97th CHL Memorial Cup. CHL. Canadian Hockey League. Not Central Hockey League.

And now, to the Stanley Cup Final, where the Lightning are back in it for the first time since 2004. Remember that series? We all do. The last one before the lockout season in which the entire season was wiped out. Jon Cooper, the Bolts coach, won championships in various levels, and now this could be that chance. The Blackhawks are in their third Cup final in five years. The won in six against the Bruins in 2013.

STANLEY CUP FINAL
(best of seven)
(A2) Lightning v (C3) Blackhawks
Game 1 Wednesday
Game 2 Saturday
Game 3 Monday
Game 4 6/10
Game 5 6/13*
Game 6 6/15*
Game 7 6/17*
*-If necessary.

All games on CBC in Canada (and northern US!). All but the first two Chicago games are on NBC; those games-3 and 4-are on NBCSN.