What an Independence Day Weekend in the sports world:

TENNIS

We had the Wimbledon championship, where the renowned Roger Federer was looking for his 15th Grand Slam Championship.  However, in order to get it, he would have to get past the American Andy Roddick.  Well, they played a hard fought battle, and in the longest Fifth Set of all time, Federer finally prevailed 16-14. It was an epic match that will be remembered for the ages.  And with the win, Federer moves into the lead with 15 championships, one more than Pete Sampras’ 14.   Among experts, many now consider Federer to be the greatest tennis player ever.

BASKETBALL

Elsewhere in the sports world, some more free agent news out of the NBA.  While the Detroit Pistons brought in two big free agents (Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva).  They also just lost one of their best players.  It looks like Rasheed Wallace will sign with none other than… The Boston Celtics.  Of course Rasheed is in his twilight years right now, but he will play an important role for the Celtics next season coming off the bench.  Plus if Kevin Garnett or Kendrick Perkins suffers an injury, this gives the Celtics a solid back-up to take their place in the line-up until they get healthy.

BASEBALL

Also, the starting line-ups for the Major League Baseball All-Star game were announced.  The St. Louis Cardinals Albert Pujols was the top vote-getter for the National League, as he is having an amazing year.  He is on pace for around 62 home runs, and his name has never been linked to steroids.  If he does hit more than 61 home runs this season (Roger Maris’ original record), many baseball purists will consider him to be the true record breaker (as Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds are infamous for being connected to steroids, and now many think that their accomplishments don’t count).  As for the American League, it was the Yankees Derek Jeter that led all vote-getters.  It should be a fantastic game.

FOOTBALL

Finally, some very sad news.  Former Tennessee Titan and Baltimore Raven quarterback, Steve McNair, was found shot-dead in his Nashville home on Saturday.  McNair led the Titans to the Super Bowl in 1999 (the same year they changed their name from the Oilers to the Titans and established a new hometown identity).  Therefore, McNair was a hero to the Nashville community, and his loss has hit the city pretty hard.  It appears that Steve McNair’s death was a homicide, and the police believe that his current girlfriend shot him and then killed herself.  It’s a very sad story, and both the state of Tennessee and the entire sports community will miss a fantastic athlete.