careers in sports

Today has been an exciting day for many of us sports enthusiasts. So much has gone on, much to do with the rising or falling of careers; some are beginning (or at least they're now on the radar), some are ending.

The most exciting sports extravaganza for me this weekend came when I caught a few sets of both of James Blake's tennis matches on Saturday and today. He's just fun and exciting to watch (unlike watching Venus and Serena play each other, which is neither fun nor exciting - and normally I like them; I'm also a fan of Lindsay Davenport, but who isn't?). And Blake's story is very compelling as well:

"In a span of five weeks in 2004, he broke his neck when he ran into a net post in Rome, suffered the loss of his father Thomas to cancer and contracted a virus that paralyzed part of his face, left his vision blurred and caused debilitating dizziness. His ranking plummeted to No. 210 back in April, but he has rallied famously. In the third round, he stunned No. 2 seed Rafael Nadal -- the first time he has ever beaten a top 10 player in a Grand Slam -- in the biggest match of his life."

And now he's in the quaterfinals. I don't know who I'll be rooting for on Wednesday night - Agassi or Blake.

We shan't even speak of the Twins tonight...but instead shall skip over to Big Ten football and the fact that all teams won their opening games this weekend (not like they're all playing really great teams, necessarily, but hey! a win's a win, and a record's a record).

And finally, Jerry Rice retired today. I agree wholeheartedly with Gene Wozjklasd'hojk;gfhajkl..."I'd rather remember that [he retired out of respect to the game and, better yet, to himself] than remember his days as good ol' No. 19." Far too often, too many players, like blog posts, hang on a bit past their prime.