US in good mood on Women's World Cup field by winning 3-0 over Colombia

The U.S. advanced to the quarterfinals of the Women’s World Cup by routing Colombia 3-0 with goals from Heather O’Reilly, Megan Rapinoe and Carli Lloyd on Saturday.

The two-time World Cup champions advanced to the last eight with Sweden, which beat North Korea 1-0 in the early Group C match.

The U.S. and Sweden, one of two teams to beat the Americans this year, meet on Wednesday in Wolfsburg to determine the group winner.“I’m just really proud of this team,” O’Reilly said. “I think we did some great stuff today.”

Colombia is a team on the rise, finishing fourth at the Under-20 World Cup last year. But the youngsters were no match for the more experienced Americans. The U.S. harassed goalkeeper Sandra Sepulveda relentlessly, and she didn’t get much help from her defenders, who were shredded by the speedy O’Reilly time and again—and set up O’Reilly’s goal in the 12th minute.

Colombia was trying to clear a botched goal kick, but it bounced off Liana Salazar and fell to O’Reilly. She took a few steps and then blasted a right-footed shot from 25 meters (yards) that Sepulveda had no chance to stop. It was O’Reilly’s third World Cup goal, and 30th overall.

“Pia’s always saying, `If you have space in front of you, just take it,”’ O’Reilly said. “I took a couple of touches and just let it fly.”

The sellout crowd of 25,475, made up mostly of U.S. fans, erupted in cheers, and the players lined up to give a salute to American military members. There is a U.S. Army base in nearby Mannheim, and about 350 service members and their families turned out to watch the team practice on Thursday.Champion Sports Extreme Tie Dye

The Americans could have had another four or five goals just in the first half alone. But, just as they have much of the year, they struggled to finish.adidas Men's F10 TRX FG Soccer Shoe

“It still was OK because we were creating chances,” U.S. coach Pia Sundhage said.

The U.S. quickly put the game out of reach in the second half, with Rapinoe scoring in the 50th and Lloyd in the 57th.

Rapinoe, who replaced Amy Rodriguez at halftime, took a throw-in for the U.S. that Cheney collected. She dished off to Rapinoe, who made a thunderous shot from just inside the penalty box. Sepulveda managed to get a hand on Lloyd’s shot from point-blank range, but couldn’t stop it.Disney Toy Story Soccer Ball

Colombia’s best chance came in the 54th off substitute Orianica Velasquez, whose shot had to be punched away by Hope Solo.

Danica Patrick return in NASCAR with uncertain future

Danica Patrick remains unaffected by the swirl of speculation that trails her everywhere, saying she has no timetable for making a decision about her racing future.
Patrick reiterated Thursday at Daytona International Speedway that she's in no hurry to chose between IndyCar and NASCAR.

"These things, as I've said from the beginning of the year, are complicated and they take time," Patrick said before the Nationwide Series practice. "Whether I'm coming here or not has yet to be signed, sealed and delivered. I might not be. Only time will tell. That timeline on my side of things, I'm really not sure. All I know is that I'm told I have a job to do in the car and you do your job and we'll do our job and they fill me in from time to time. But it's only July."
Patrick's pending decision has been a major topic of conversation all season, much of it coming as she jumped from NASCAR to the IndyCar Series and back again.True Blood: The Complete Third Season
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Finding success in both series could make her choice even tougher. She was fourth in a Nationwide race at Las Vegas in March, the best finish for a female driver in NASCAR history, and has posted four top-10s in her last five IndyCar events. She also led 10 laps in the Indianapolis 500, a brief stint out front that left her hungry for another shot at open-wheel's showcase event.

So what will sway her?

"It comes down to my gut and my desire and where I feel like I'll be the happiest and where I feel like I'll be able to have the most success," she said. "And then from those thoughts my team explores the options. But it always starts with where I want to be."

Patrick expressed little concern about reports her primary sponsor, GoDaddy.com, is being sold and said it would have no affect on her future.

The domain-name registration company known for its racy Super Bowl ads is reportedly close to being bought by two private investment firms for up to $2.5 billion. Patrick said GoDaddy CEO Bob Parsons hasn't said anything about a pending deal.

"It hasn't affected my day," Patrick said. "Still working with all the same people. I don't know if it's true. ... Unless I hear from Bob and he tells me it's been sold, it's all speculation till that point. For me, it's all status quo."

Parsons nixed rumors about a potential sale earlier in the year, Patrick said, but has been mum in recent weeks.

"I remember this came up in the early part of the year," Patrick said. "He called and told me that it wasn't true, and that was it. I haven't heard from him about it. I don't know if that means it's being done or if it's not going to be done. Perhaps they don't know that answer either.

"So I guess that why it's still in speculation mode as opposed to reported true or reported false. Will that affect my relationship with them? I don't know. It might not change anything. It might change everything. I'm not really sure. But like I said, right now for me it's still status quo. We're just trying to do a good job for them and represent them well."

Patrick finished 10th in her last Nationwide race in Chicago in early June, and will return to IndyCar next week in Toronto.

This weekend, though, she will try to hone her skills at Daytona. She was 14th at NASCAR's most famous track in the Nationwide season opener despite struggling with some aspects of the new tandem racing. She turned two laps in practice Thursday before scrapping the wall and returning to the garage.

"I need some practice," she said. "I want to be efficient at it, good at it, before the race starts."

New number 1 Vs old number 1, Novak and Nadal

From 1983 to 2003, the world’s top two players never met each other in the Wimbledon men’s final.

It’s about to happen for the seventh time in eight years—with a couple of twists.

Thanks mainly to a couple of guys named Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, No. 1 vs. No. 2 Grand Slam finals became something of a regular occurrence in recent years, at the All England Club and elsewhere. On Sunday, No. 1 Nadal will be involved in yet another 1-2 Wimbledon championship matchup, only it’ll be against No. 2 Novak Djokovic—and they’ll switch spots in the ATP rankings a day later.As of Monday, Djokovic will move up to No. 1, and Nadal will slide down to No. 2, regardless of Sunday’s outcome. Whichever man wins, it will be the sixth major title in a row that’s gone to Nadal (French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open in 2010, French Open in 2011) or Djokovic (2010 Australian Open).

“One guy played unbelievable the first half of the year, so he’s the new No. 1,” Nadal said. “We just can congratulate him, because what he did this first part of the season is something really impressive, really fantastic.”

That’s definitely the case.

Djokovic is 47-1 in 2011, including a 4-0 record against Nadal, beating him in two hard-court finals and two clay-court finals.“The four times I won against him this year can probably help me in some ways mentally prior to this match,” said Djokovic, who is 11-16 against Nadal overall, including 0-5 in Grand Slam tournaments.The 24-year-old Serb won the first seven tournaments he entered this season, before his 43-match winning streak, dating to the Davis Cup final in December, ended with a loss to Federer in the French Open semifinals.

“He’s the best player in the world (at) the moment,” Jo-Wilfried Tsonga said after losing to Djokovic in Saturday’s semifinals.That victory moved Djokovic into his first final at Wimbledon, and fifth at a Grand Slam tournament. He’s 2-2 so far, winning the Australian Open twice, and losing in two U.S. Open finals—to Federer in 2007 and to Nadal last year.This one carries the most significance to Djokovic, though.

“First time I watched tennis or anything related to tennis was Wimbledon … when I was 4, 5. I remember those days,” he said. “I remember always Wimbledon being ‘the one.”’Nadal, meanwhile, is seeking his third Wimbledon title and 11th Grand Slam trophy overall. A month past his 25th birthday, Nadal would be the second-youngest man to get to 11, barely behind Bjorn Borg.

And Nadal already would be tied for fourth-most Grand Slam titles in history, trailing only Federer (16), Pete Sampras (14) and Roy Emerson (12).Nadal refuses to talk about pursuing Federer’s record.“I think about the number ’10.’ That’s what I have at home. That’s what I’m able to see when I go back home, in my bedroom,” Nadal said. “I don’t have 11, I don’t have 12, I don’t have 15, or 16; 16 is very far. I believe the number is not going stop there. Roger will have more chances to win more.”

Others are more willing to assess Nadal’s chances of surpassing Federer.Sampras, for one, said this week he wouldn’t be surprised to see Nadal do it.Nadal has won 20 consecutive matches at Wimbledon and is 32-2 at the grass-court Grand Slam since the start of the 2006 tournament, reaching five finals in a row.

He lost to Federer in the 2006 and 2007 finals, and beat him for the 2008 title—those were three of their seven 1-vs.-2 major championship matches— then missed Wimbledon in 2009 because of tendinitis in his knees, before beating Tomas Berdych in last year’s final.Wilson Triumph Tennis Racquet without Cover (4 3/8)

John McEnroe was ranked No. 1 when he lost to No. 2 Jimmy Connors in the 1982 Wimbledon final. But there wasn’t another 1-2 title match at the All England Club until 2004, when No. 1 Federer beat No. 2 Andy Roddick. They repeated that matchup a year later, and then Federer and Nadal began their string of finals.adidas Men's BARRICADE Team Tennis Shoe,Running White/Metallic Silver/Navy,10.5 M US

Now Nadal and Djokovic meet in what might only wind up being the first top-two Grand Slam final between them.No matter what Monday’s rankings will say, McEnroe knows which of those he thinks is No. 1 for now: Nadal.“The guy’s one of the greats, no doubt about it,” McEnroe said, “and you can make an argument for him being the greatest.”

New Wimbledon Champion Petra Kvitova

Petra Kvitova won her first Grand Slam title Saturday by defeating Maria Sharapova 6-3, 6-4 at Wimbledon, finishing with an ace and dropping to her knees in disbelief.Kvitova was playing in her first major final, but it was three-time Grand Slam champion Sharapova who showed her nerves. The 2004 Wimbledon winner double-faulted six times, including twice to get broken to 4-2 in the first set.

The 21-year-old Kvitova is the first left-handed woman to win Wimbledon since Martina Navratilova in 1990. Using a fast and accurate forehand, Kvitova did little wrong on Centre Court as Czech greats Navratilova and Jana Novotna sat in the Royal Box with other former Wimbledon champions.
“It’s hard to find some words if I’m standing here with the trophy and see the great players in the Royal Box,” Kvitova said. “Well, I’m so happy that I won.”

Kvitova (pronounced kuh-VIT-uh-vuh) kept Sharapova on the run with 18 winners, and never seemed to lose confidence despite being broken three times.“Of course, I was nervous,” Kvitova said. “I thought I can win Wimbledon. But I had to focus on each point.”Sharapova was the clear favorite. Besides winning at the All England Club in 2004, she also won the U.S. Open in 2006 and the Australian Open in 2008. Shoulder surgery in October 2008 slowed her career, but she returned to the semifinals at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time since then at the French Open last month.

“I’ve had amazing support over so many years and to be back at this stage and holding the runner-up trophy this year is something. … Obviously I would have wanted that big one. It’s something I’m going to be back for and I’m hoping to get again,” Sharapova said.Sharapova had not lost a set heading into the final. But she struggled with her serve in the semifinals, double-faulting 13 times before beating German wild card Sabine Lisicki.

Sharapova won the toss at the net before the final and elected to receive, perhaps wanting time to settle in before testing her serve. Whatever the reason, it appeared a smart move because she broke for a 1-0 lead as Kvitova missed three forehands.Sharapova then served for the first time in the next game. Although she only had one fault in five attempts, she lost four of the points to make it 1-1.Smokin' Seventeen: A Stephanie Plum Novel
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Sharapova wasted her second chance at a break in the third game. A few games later, with the score 30-30, Sharapova produced her second double-fault of the match. The third came two swings later.Trailing 5-2, Sharapova double-faulted again to open the eighth game. But she did manage to hold and force Kvitova to serve out the set.

Kvitova broke Sharapova again in the opening game of the second set, with the Russian double-faulting for the fifth time to give the Czech a break point.The pair twice traded breaks later in the set, but Kvitova held to win the championship dish.

“Unfortunately in tennis there’s only one winner at the end of the day and that’s what makes this tournament so special,” Sharapova said before turning her attention to Kvitova. “So big congratulations on a wonderful victory, you played a wonderful tournament.”Kindle, Wi-Fi, Graphite, 6" Display with New E Ink Pearl Technology
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Novak Djokovic the new number one makes his first wimbledon final

Novak Djokovic reached the Wimbledon final for the first time and will take over as world number one after battling past France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in four sets Friday.Djokovic will top the global rankings ahead of Rafael Nadal whatever the result of Sunday's final against either the Spaniard or Britain's Andy Murray, who were playing in the second semifinal.

The Serbian secured a 7-6 6-2 6-7 6-3 win in just over three hours, snuffing out any hopes of a comeback for Tsonga, who saved two match points before claiming the third set on a tiebreak.Tsonga had fought back from two sets down to beat six-time champion Roger Federer in the quarterfinals, but there was to be no repeat.

Djokovic responded by breaking Tsonga in the second game of the fourth set and made no mistake when he served for victory for the second time."It's difficult to put into words," said Djokovic after his win."This is one of the best feelings I've had on a tennis court. My dreams are coming true -- into my first final at Wimbledon.

"I've been working all my life for this. I've been dreaming about playing the final in Wimbledon since I started playing tennis when I was four, so to be there in the final on Sunday will be fantastic."The 24-year-old Djokovic has reached the summit of the men's game after an incredible 2011, which has seen him beaten just once at the French Open by Federer.He claimed the Australian Open title in January and four Masters series crowns, beating Nadal in each of the finals.