“Leaving on a Jet Plane”

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Globetrotting abroad, covering sports, that’s where I’d like to be.

Away from the 104-degree broiler temperatures in my driveway, the awful rains in the Northeast, and the record setting heat indexes stretching from Arizona to Mississippi.

What a couple of weeks of great play abroad do we have?

Have you paid attention:

WIMBLEDON..That was something at Center Court at the All England Lawn & Tennis Club..the changing of the guard now official, Carlos Alcaraz’s phenomenal 5-set, nearly 5-hour win over Novak Djokovic.

The last of the dominant great ones, now gone from the podium, with the upstart win by the fiery 20-year old Spaniard.  What a great one Djokovic has been, 5-Wimbledon wins in a row, 7-in his career, and 23-Grand Slam victories.

Alcaraz was relentless, with every type of shot possible in coming back from being down 1-6, to power his way to victory.  And how about that second set game, that lasted 27-minutes, contained 32-points, had 13-deuces and 6-break points, that Alcaraz won that broke Djokovic’s spirit and stranglehold.

The new breed is upon us.  There is no Serena nor Venus, replaced by Iga Swiatek from Poland, but she never got to the finals.  This might be the most balanced women’s side on the tour since pre Williams’ sisters.

The men, Djokovic will be back, but we have marched beyond the the legacy of Agassi, Nadal, Federer and maybe Novak too.

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BRITISH OPEN…It’s the 151st anniversary of ole Tom Moore and the game he founded in the mid 1820s as they have teed off in the rain at Royal Liverpool.

What a place to hold a legendary tourney, in the winds, on the links, with the open fairways buffeted by the seas, the sunshine, the storm clouds and the drastic time change.

Oh if those courses could talk, Turnberry, Royal Lytham, Troon, Carnoustie  and so many more, could they tell stories about the greateness of the Royal & Ancient..

We will watch McIlroy, DJ, Phil, Koepka, Xander and so much more.  We should appreciate what Tiger did, and back in the day the greatness that was the Golden Bear, Arnie’s Army, Tom Waston and so much more.

Take a break from the PGA-LIV war over blood dollars.  Appreciate the history  of the event, its breathtaking scenery, and its impact on the global game.

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WORLD CUP SOCCER…You can stay up at midnight and watch the opening games, or you can get up in the middle of the night to catch some games.

Here comes the World’s Women’s Cup, the first time in the Southern Hemisphere, via Australia and New Zealand..

Expanded to 32-teams, now the challenge, can Team USA, going thru transition with so many greats retired, continue to be dominant as young stars join Megan Rapinoe  and Alex Morgan.  Watch tiny Ireland for the first time ever.  See Vietnam playing for the first time ever.  You wonder if Brazil is about to do what it’s men’s team this time of the year, forge to the forefront in women’s soccer?

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Time out from the Padres crisis.  We await the opening of NFL training camps.  We have finished the off season deals in the NBA and NHL.

Leaving on a jet plane, it’s worth seeing what’s next in England, Austraila, New Zealand.  What a couple of weekends we have infront of us right now.

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