Golf   

The biggest news of the weekend (not that we’re too surprised) was Tiger Woods winning the 13^th Major Title of his career. (Golf has four professional majors.) Tiger might lose a tournament here or there just to prove his human, but he has never lost a Major when he’s been in the lead or shared the lead. This is one true sign of greatness. There are certainly other “great” golfers out there, but very few have the mental toughness of Tiger. Only Jack Nicklaus (with 18) has more Major Titles than Tiger.

Watercooler Discussion: Would you consider Tiger one of the greatest athletes of all time or just one of the greatest golfers?

Nascar   

Race car drivers and their fans are normally pretty well behaved…not like other sports (think hockey), but this weekend was a bit unusual. At Watkins Glen, NY, Juan Pablo Montoya and Kevin Harvick got into a huge fight toward the end of the race when another driver, Martin Truex Jr, hit Montoya who then hit Harvick sending both of them in a spin with 15 laps to go. Harvick thought Montoya hit him (not Truex) so he climbed out of his car and started up a fight. And then, oddly enough, a fan jumped the fence during this red flag delay and rushed over to Matt Kenseth with a hat and sharpie and asked for an autograph. By the way, Tony Stewart won the race (third win in four weeks) and is looking like he could be the one to beat when the Chase for the coveted Nextel Cup begins in five weeks. 

Watercooler Discussion: Should Drivers be fined for getting into fights during a race?

Football 

Did anyone see Pacman Jones’ wrestling debut. I saw a clip then read the story and am still confused. Pacman is suspended from his team, the Tennessee Titans, for the season for violating personal conduct rules including 6 arrests. The most recent of these arrests occurred in  February in Las Vegas where he is under indictment for coercion in a fight that caused the bouncer of the club to become paralyzed. Ok, so by all accounts, this man has some “issues”. Why then did he agree to go on a wrestling show when the Tennessee Titans got a court order prohibiting him from wrestling. Apparently he did not fight on screen but had policmen who were actors tackling him off stage.

Watercooler Discussion: Obviously the Pacman wrestling thing was some kind of publicity stunt, but is it just me or is this kind of a strange thing for someone who is already under a lot of scrutiny for being a “hoodlum”?

On to the news of the weekend……

Tennis

After a tense 3 hour, 45 minute 5 set match, was there really any doubt that Roger Federer would pull out the win over Rafael Nadal? This is Federer’s 5th straight Wimbledon title, which ties the record set back in 1980 by Bjorn Borg. At only 25 years old, Federer is considered by many to be the best men’s player EVER. Even John McEnroe said on ESPN recently that he’s never seen a player like him.

Talking about best players EVER, Venus Williams won the women’s final (big surprise) for her 4th all time Wimbledon title. She beat Marion Bartoli 6-4, 61. Venus just makes this all seem so easy.

Indy Car Flare up

Scott Dixon won the Indy Car (open wheel) race at Watkins Glen Grand Prix, but that’s not what everyone was talking about this weekend. After the race, Tony Kanaan came over to “talk” to Sam Hornish Jr because he was upset that he bumped his car. Hornish Sr pushed Kanaan and then the fracas began as Kanaan’s team knocked the father over. According to Kanaan, he was only approaching Hornish Jr to talk about the race and never intended to get into a fight.

Tour de France

The biggest bike race has begun. I can’t really watch this on TV, but I do like to hear about who’s in the lead and every time I get on a bike, I completely appreciate and am marveled by the endurance of this grueling race. The Tour de France lasts 20 stages (plus the prologue which is a 4.9 mile race through downtown London) for a total of 2, 206 miles. Don’t worry if you missed the fact that the race is already underway. We won’t even crown a winner until the race ends on July 29th.

Floyd Landis, last year’s champ, is still trying to defend his 2006 title against claims that he used illegal drugs to win.