Happy July 4th, America

     This weekend is HOT!! It is the beginning of July and the water in swimming pools might become acceptable, now that temperatures have soared. The Atlantic Ocean water temperature is near or above 70 degrees in many locales. July 4 is approaching--our nation's 228th birthday celebration.

     There will be fireworks. Whether it is local towns or galas like in New York courtesy of Macy's or at the Capitol in D.C., the significance is the same. We Americans love to commemorate our country's birth with a blast and barbecues. One thing for sure, we know how to hold a grand party when the time is right for one. Or even when it isn't.

     There will be sports galore. Wimbledon starts this week. Rafael Nadal, fresh off his vanquishing the field at the French Open, will have his sights set on a second straight major title in 2018. Roger Federer, top seed in the tournament and second in the ATP rankings, will try to stop the Nadal machine if he, or anyone else, is capable of such a feat.

     Federer is rested, having skipped the two weeks in Paris. Will he be showing any rust from his layoff? And will his age be a factor--when will Roger Federer start acting like he is nearer to retirement than his 25th birthday?

     What about Andy Murray? The British favourite, a champion of the London fortnight, will have heavy pressure on him to win the men's crown again. But Murray still is not right from a hip injury which ultimately reared surgery. I doubted that he would be a factor, and late on Sunday, Murray withdrew from the tournament.

     Novak Djokovic is another former no. 1 ranked player who is trying to regain his form (and swagger). Although Djokovic has shown flashes of his prior brilliance, he, like Murray, is older and not a threat to win Wimbledon. His no. 12 seed is an absolute gift.

     The winner may ultimately come from the remainder of the field. Marin Cilic, Juan Martin del Potro and Dominic Thiem all seem poised to make a splash on grass. Unless Nadal and Federer demonstrate why they are among the all-time greats and win the trophy one more time.

     On the women's side, is it time for Sloane Stephens, the no. 4 seed, or Madison Keys, the no. 10 seed, to win it all? Is no. 1 seed Simona Halep at the top of her game? Why does the All England Club have Caroline Wozniacki as the no. 2 seed when she isn't of championship mettle?

     Let's also give a shout out to sentimentality with the no. 10 ranking to Venus Williams, who will be lucky to survive the first week; her sister, Serena, still recovering from a pectoral muscle issue which forced her to the sidelines in France, is at no. 23; and Maria Sharapova, who comes in at no. 24 when she has shown us very little to be positive about.

     The 2018 Wimbledon showdown will be rife with upsets on both the men's and women's draws. There will be rain, but at least Centre Court will be covered. And for the British aristocracy and wannabes, there will be strawberries and cream. Plus some royalty sightings.

     Speaking of royalty, Lebron James has opted out of his contract with Cleveland. His market was believed to be with the Lakers, the Sixers, maybe Boston and a return to Cleveland. Houston and Oklahoma City became  non-players for his services when they exceeded the luxury tax significantly.

     A lot supposedly depended on the Kawhai Leonard situation as far as James' next stop is.  As much as San Antonio has attempted to repair the damage from comment by management and players like Tony Parker about playing with the quad injury that Leonard suffered, pundits swore that he was destined to arrive in Los Angeles with the Lakers, and if not there, then with Boston or Philadelphia.

     I liked the speculation that James was headed to speak with the Lakers when he arrived at Van Nuys Airport on a private jet after his Caribbean vacation. Coupled with his son enrolling in a California school to play basketball, these are supposed hints as to his being headed straight to Magic Johnson and the Lakers. Except that Lebron lives in LA in the off season.

     At least it was believed that James did not want his free agency to linger too long. Which could be why many experts thought he would take a 1 year deal in Cleveland and start the process over again next off season. Unless the lure of the palm trees and the warm California breezes sprinkled with a lot of bucks is what James is about...to the tune of 4 years and $154 million.

     Meanwhile, the Bay Area, the Warriors are signing Coach Steve Kerr to a very sweet deal and have found a way to retain free agent Kevin Durant on a 1 year deal with a player option for a second season. Plus they may find a big man and another shooting guard to augment their championship core. It is nice to be in their shoes...again...even with a new challenge lurking in Southern California.

     One hockey note--Islanders center John Tavares inked a free agent contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs for 5 years and $55 million. New Islanders Head Coach must be wondering if he really made the right choice abandoning the Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals for the money that New York waived at him.

     The World Cup is in its knockout phase. Argentina went home on Saturday. Portugal too. Germany didn't even make it that far. Brazil is still alive. France, Croatia, Sweden, Spain and upstart Uruguay seemed to be pretty potent. Denmark, Colombia and Belgium all can make it to the finals. It is a wide open World Cup. Until Vladimir Putin has his hackers get Russia into the championship game. Unlikely, but then again, who knows? After Sunday, Russia defeated Spain on penalty kicks and Denmark was sent packing.

     The Yankees and Red Sox finished their series in New York on Sunday night. Both have put up lopsided wins thus far. The only certainty from this weekend is that one team will emerge with a 2-1 advantage. Should Boston win, the 1 1/2 game lead is far from insurmountable. Should the Yankees prevail, then a 1/2 game lead is nothing. It appears that the Yankees home run machine and Luis Severino will make the series end in favor of the Bombers.

     Both teams end the season in Fenway Park. Those games will determine who wins the AL East and who has the one game knockout in the Wild Card. New York needs some more pitching and has plenty of prospects to trade for it; Sonny Gray was putrid on Saturday night. Boston has some injured players who might make an impact later in the season.

     The Yankees reach the halfway mark tonight with at least 53 wins. Two teams threatening to rack up 105 regular season wins. Is this good for baseball, or are the rivals going to wear themselves out and the Astros, with their vaunted pitching, will repeat as champs? Plenty to think about on July 1.

     Returning to July 4th, there will be 15 MLB games on tap. There are some good inter league matchups with the Red Sox hosted by the Nationals and the NL East front-running Atlanta Braves visiting the Yankees. San Diego plays at Oakland. Houston is in Arlington to play the Rangers in an AL Central pairing.

     It is what is not happening on July 4th which has become the norm on this holiday as well as Memorial Day and Labor Day. No doubleheaders. Huge crowds were always the case when there was  a July 4th twin bill. I thought it was a great way to traditionally celebrate major dates in our calendar.

     Too much money can be made on one game to warrant losing that revenue if there was a doubleheader. Call it greed or simply escalating salaries (today is the annual payout by the New York Mets to former slugger Bobby Bonilla of $1,193,248.20 in deferred money--which will continue through 2035--an incredible contract only a team like the Mets could so bungle) or maybe that the teams don't travel by train anymore, but there is no outcry to restore what was inexorably sacred. Such a shame.

     So enjoy the 4th and he fireworks. have a second hamburger, another helping of potato salad and a healthy slice of apple pie. Watch the games of our choice on local TV, ESPN or MLB Network. And shed a tear for the demise of an American tradition on this July 4th holiday with the loss of the doubleheader.

     I wonder what Connie Mack, Casey Stengel and the Babe would think?