Have to take a break from hoops to get into this Madonna/A-Rod story, which is too juicy to pass up. A-Rod’s wife, Cynthia Rodriguez, is filing for divorce because of his extramarital affairs. While she has been linked to rocker Lenny Kravitz, A-Rod has been keeping company with Madonna, who claims they are just friends.
“My husband and I are not planning on getting a divorce,” Madonna said. “I know Alex Rodriguez through Guy Oseary, who manages both of us. I brought my kids to a Yankee game. I am not romantically involved in any way with Alex Rodriguez. I have nothing to do with the state of his marriage or what spiritual path he may choose to study.”
A-Rod, by the way, hit his 536th career homer tonight against the Red Sox, tying him with Mickey Mantle for 13th on the all-time list.
And I hope many of you got to watch that epic Roger Federer-Rafael Nadal five-set Wimbledon final today won by the Spaniard at 9-7 in the fifth. I have been playing and watching tennis all my life, and this may well have been the greatest match I’ve ever seen. The 1980 Wimby final between Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe is the only one that comes close.
Nadal became the first man since Borg in ’80 to win both the French Open (on the red dirt) and Wimbledon (on grass) in the same year. He also prevented Fed from breaking Borg’s modern-day mark of five straight Wimbledon titles.
How about this stat? These guys have already met in more Slam finals (6) than any duo ever, and Fed is only 26 and Nadal 22. Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi squared off in five Slam finals, as did Mats Wilander and Ivan Lendl. Borg faced Jimmy Connors four times, and Borg and Mac also met in four finals.