THE DWIGHT GOODEN POSTER

This past weekend was the biggest of the year so far. With the US Open, week one of the NFL, week two of NCAA football and the final event of the FedEx Cup before the Tour Championship, a lot was going on, and much of it note-worthy. Therefore, I present you here my notes on the weekend that was:

1) The US Open

This weekend of the US Open was one of the more memorable ones since the epic Agassi-Sampras battles of yore. The biggest story of all is Kim Clijsters’ ascent back to the top of the tennis world, capturing her second Gram Slam, this time as an unranked player, barely back from baby-induced retirement. Had she not received a wild-card, she would not have even qualified for the event. She becomes only the third woman to have a child and win a Slam thereafter. A truly remarkable run, especially considering she had the tougher road to the championship match. As an unranked player, Clijsters faced tougher competition the whole way, and in the last three rounds pre-finals, she got Wiliiams-Na-Williams. Wozniacki got Kouznetsova-Oudin-Wickmayer. Clijsters predictably overmatched Wozniacki, a defensive player who relies on her opponents to beat themselves. On the Men’s side, Nadal was housed by Argentina’s Del Porto, and Federer fought off a game Novac Djokovic. Wrap up no 16 for Federer Express.

Of course, the story most are talking about is Serena Williams’ shocking outburst at the line judge and subsequent default to lose to Clijsters in the Semis. Without a doubt, Serena was way out of line, and she had to be penalized the point. If she had not already received a warning for smashing her racket, perhaps things might have been different; however, given that Serena threatened to shove a ball down the lines-woman’s throat, I think the point had to be docked, and I hope she gets suspended. In any other sport, threatening an official equals instant ousting. Let’s hope Serena’s stature does not save her.

Serena: "She says I threatened her? No, I simply asked if she ever thought of swallowing a tennis ball-- as a lark."

Bonus Nostrapossumus prediction: Wozniacki just reached her last Slam final, barring a game re-fit. She simply has no weapons, just consistent play. A storm of upsets and a weak draw helped her to get to this final. That won’t happen again.

2) NFL!

The biggest beatdown of the week was in Philly, where Carolina QB Jake Delhomme looked like he was reliving last year’s playoff game where he threw 5 picks and lost a fumble; this year, he threw 4 picks and lost a fumble… IN THE FIRST HALF! Because of the weak QB play, 2008’s best running game in the NFL suffered, and Philly rolled to victory. Of course, McNabb went down with a rub injury, so it is not all roses for Eagles fans.

Delhomme is the early favorite already for Benefector of the Year... for his exceedingly giving ways.

The other things I want to recognize are the incredible plays in the NO-Det and Cinci-Den games. In the New Orleans affair, Drew Brees went Tecmo Super Bowl on the hapless Lions, throwing for 6 TDs and a million yards. Quite a validation of last year’s monster year. In the Cinci game, the Bengals took a one-point lead with about :30 left and looked to be on the road to victory. However, they did not count on a 87-yd tip-drill TD from Orton to Stokely with :20 left to win the game. An amazing, extremely lucky outcome for the Broncs.

Bonus Nostrapossumus Prediction: If McNabb misses any significant time, Kolb will struggle and Vick will replace him as starter (after week 3).

3) NCAA Football.

For me, the most heart-wrenching game was technically not on the weekend, as Ga Tech used a late score Thursday to push past Clemson, yet again. However, the most important games nationally were Michigan’s narrow win over Notre Dame and USC’s comeback win at Ohio St. It looks like both Michigan and Notre Dame are going to be much better teams this year, and it looks like Ohio State still is still finding ways to lose the big games. OK State also lost in a shocker. Pair that with the loss of Bradford in Oklahoma, and the Big 12 is not looking as strong as it was last year. Look for the SEC to reassert itself as THE power conference.

Bonus Nostrapossumus Prediction: Bama finds a way this year against Jesus Jones and the Florida Gators.

This outfit belies Nick Saban's ability to out-evil Florida.

4) PGA Tour Playoffs.

As I predicted after Tiger’s loss at the PGA, the world’s number one fixed his putting stroke and torched the field at this week’s BMW Championship. He basically played not to DQ on Sunday and beat the field by 8. 2010 will be an uber-2000 for Woods, who may win every major.

The better part of Sunday’s round for me was the finish for the rest of the field. Many were on the bubble of the top 30 (only 30 get into next week’s money-rich Tour Championship). Especially notable was Brandt Snedeker, who, playing with Tiger on the last hole of the tourney, needed a bogey to crack the top 30 and assure a big payday next week, no matter his finish. BS was errant off the tee and had to lay up his second on the par four… but still, he was OK. His third landed just over 12 feet from the cup. 2 putts for the 30 spot. But Snedeker could not handle the pressure, pushing his first putt 3 feet by, and lipping out his second. He was so flustered, he missed the third putt from a foot and made a triple bogey. Thrill of victory-agony of defeat moment.

Bonus Nostrapossumus Prediction: Despite my prediction of Woods’ dominance, he will not catch Federer’s major total by the end of next year. He’s really put himself behind the 8-ball in that regard, and will have to wait at least 2-3 years to catch his friend.

The King of Majors-- for now.