Short trip ideations

     This past weekend we traveled to Pittsburgh to visit our daughter who is deeply engrossed in the small but profitable film industry that comes to Western PA. While driving a racing speeds, dashing in and out of downpours on the PA Turnpike and I-81, to get to Pittsburgh and return back home, I managed to see some sports and one hellacious fast car thriller, Baby Driver.

     I admit that I missed the Gentlemen's semi-finals at Wimbledon on Friday. America's new tennis darling, Sam Querry, who had not come close to a major semis before, lost in 4 sets to Marin Cilic. Meanwhile, ageless Roger Federer, he of the record 18 Grand Slam singles titles, kept on going by winning his match in 3 sets.

     On Sunday, Federer flew by Cilic, winning his now record 19th Grand Slam  and record 8th Wimbledon crown. Federer did this by winning all of his matches without losing a set. Now he has won the Australian and British titles in 2017-- a remarkable resurrection from injury and the doubts that even if he returned, Federer would not have enough to win a title at his robust age of 35 (he turns 36 on August 8th). I think that the naysayers have receded. Federer is undoubtedly the greatest player of my lifetime. The chances of his winning the US Open the way he is playing are outstanding. Stay tuned.

     What I did see on Friday night was another meltdown by the Yankees, this time in Fenway Park. The Yanks have been on a downward slump for most of June and into July, which had seen them plummet into 2nd place in the A.L. East behind Boston. They needed to jump start the remainder of the season by going up north and taking a series from the Red Sox.

     New York had a 4-3 lead heading to the bottom of the 9th inning, courtesy of a fine game pitched by relievers Chad Green, Adam Warren and the embattled Dellin Betances, who hopefully has fixed the mechanical flaw in his pitching motion. Ace closer Aroldis Chapman was brought in to finish the deal. Except that he didn't. Walking 2 batters, giving up 2 hits and hurt by a costly fielding error on a routine grounder to second base, Chapman blew his 3rd save of the year in spectacular fashion and lost his 1st game of the year.

     The Yankees somehow managed to win a marathon 16 inning game on Saturday. Boston still claims that an interference call was blown by the umpires in the 11th inning, which would have resulted in a Sox victory.

     On Sunday, the teams faced off in a split doubleheader. New York won the first game. This presented the Yankees an opportunity to win their first series out of the last 9 by taking the Sunday night game. Shut out for 7 innings, New York mounted a mini-threat in the top of the 8th inning. Up to the plate stepped Aaron Judge, the sensational rookie coming off of his first All Star game and a thumping of the competition in the Home Run Derby.

     Judge laced into a pitch and sent it rocketing towards the deepest part of Fenway Park. It sounded like and looked like a sure homer, which would catapult the Yankees back into a game they were losing 3-0.  It was then that Boston center fielder Jackie Bradley, Jr. became an instant hero. Racing to the side of the bullpen wall, he leaped up and over the fence and by a railing to snare Judge's drive and, in essence, extinguish the Yanks' hopes for a rally.

     A fine play indeed . A metaphor for how the New York season has been.

     We did attend the St. Louis-Pittsburgh game Saturday night at my favorite ballpark, PNC Park along the shores of the Allegheny River. The two teams were fighting for their seasons, mired below .500 and chasing the Brewers and Cubs in the N.L. Central. A sub-capacity but nonetheless spirited crowd on a T-Shirt Saturday tried to exhort the Pirates to a victory. However, Cardinals starter Lance Lynn and 3 relievers shut out the Pirates on 9 hits, causing the Bucs to strand 8 base runners. No home runs were hit and the game was devoid of really spectacular play. The best things about the game were: 1) delicious mushroom pizza from Slice on Broadway; 2) the great suite seats our daughter's friend bestowed on us; 3) after the game, we walked back to the hotel 15 minutes away on a beautiful night alongside the river; and 4) the Pirates' T-shirt.

     One other thing I briefly watched on TV was Martina Hingis playing in the Mixed Doubles championship match at Wimbledon. The 36 year old holder of 23 overall Grand Slam titles and who is currently ranked 3rd in the world in women's doubles, was a winner yesterday with her male playing partner, Jamie Murray, an accomplished doubles and mixed doubles player as well as the brother of the top-ranked men's singles player, Andy Murray. Hingis is an absolute joy to watch, to see how much she enjoys tennis, free of the pressure of being the number one female tennis player in the world, a spot she held for 203 weeks, as well as the martinet-like presence of her mother during that time. Her checkered love life and ITF suspension for cocaine sediments in her urine along with serious ankle injuries and other aliments which forced her to retire for a time seemingly are in the rear view mirror.

     I missed the U.S. Women's Open in golf on Sunday at President Trump's course in nearby Bedminster. I didn't watch the Mets win 2 of 3 over Colorado. Nor did I see the Dodgers continue their resurgence against the Marlins, which included rookie Cody Bellinger hitting for the cycle. So be it. Plenty of other sporting events were missed along the way this weekend.

     But I close this edition with the running exploits of Julia Hawkins this Saturday in Baton Rouge, LA in the USA Track & Field masters outdoor championships. Her time of 40.l2 seconds in the 100 meters was exceptional. For Julia "Hurricane" Hawkins is 101 years old.  When asked about her great run, Ms. Hawkins calmly related--"I missed my nap for this."

     That wraps it up. In a nutshell.