Be sure to keep updated as we pass into June with next month’s Obscure Sports Calendar courtesy of A Non-Traditional Sports Fan in America! 
 

Memorial Day has passed in America with the oh-so-traditional Indianapolis 500 with Helio Castroneves taking his third title at the Brickyard, the ninth driver in the race’s long history to taste the victor’s milk thrice. Detroit and Pittsburgh look set on a collision course for a rematch to determine this year’s heroes who will hoist the Stanley Cup. Interleague play makes its return to Major League Baseball. And I made my return to the wilderness for the year on a Memorial Day camping trip... 

Clad in my decade-old Magpies jersey all weekend, I went without any tie to the world of sports. Set up just a short stroll from a swimming hole along a clear mountain-fed creek, I kept vigil and thought good thoughts for the Toon Army. But unfortunately for me, upon my return to home and reality, I found out that my worst fears had come to fruition. Newcastle United were relegated, a Damien Duff own goal just before halftime sealing the fate for the woeful Tyneside squad. Aston Villa, already assured of a spot in next year’s Europa League -- the revamped replacement for the UEFA Cup debuting next year -- took the gift and converted it into one last victory for the home supporters at Villa Park in Birmingham. 

But that can’t dull the veneer of a wonderful weekend in the wild, the Weyerhaeuser clear-cut en route notwithstanding. “Weyerhaeuser creates sustainable solutions to the world's challenges through the development of innovative forest products that are essential...” Yeah, sure. All I know is that I was left with that cute little billboard staring at me, framed by a clear-cut. Thank goodness it got prettier along the way, but it sure is a shame to see such blatant blight of our natural heritage on leased public lands. But I digress... enough proselytizing for now. 

The full weight of summertime is hovering just off in the distance, and -- just as the world of our traditional sports is opening up -- we get to enjoy the spoils of the springtime fever pitch in world sport. The French Open has begun at Roland Garros in Paris, where 127 challengers will try to best defending champions Ana Ivanovic and Rafael Nadal. The Giro d’Italia enters a tense final week, with five riders still holding a legitimate chance of wresting the maglia rosa from current leader Denis Menchov before the finale in Rome on the final day of May. The Champions League ended in resplendent fashion with Barcelona besting defending champion Manchester United in the Stadio Olimpico in Rome; the FA Cup final pits Chelsea against Everton at Wembley on Saturday in the finale of the English season; and, as I learned belatedly, Newcastle prepares for the drop to the Football League. It’s been a hell of a week for this non-traditional sports fan, so let’s get to it! 
 

Springtime in Paris is the perfect time for the quirkiest of the Grand Slam tournaments. Roland Garros is the only of the four facilities to still play on a clay surface, guaranteeing a unique experience. It is the only tournament where the umpire’s first language is not English. It is a place where a specialist can become a Grand Slam champion where they would otherwise falter on grass or hardcourt surfaces. 

For a long time, that’s exactly what Rafael Nadal appeared to be. And for all his newfound dominance on the lawns of Wimbledon and the Plexicushion of Melbourne, Nadal is still a player defined by his continued streak of dominance on the red clay of the venerable Parisien club. Should he continue his run of perfection at Roland Garros, the man from Mallorca will extend his record unbeaten streak on the clay to thirty-five matches and five consecutive titles and surpass Bjorn Borg as the man with the greatest streak ever in Paris. 

Few of the male favorites have been tested. Nadal went through in straight sets against Marcos Daniel of Brazil and Teimuraz Gabashvili of Russia, coasting through with ease and taking the record for most consecutive matches won at Roland Garros by a male with thirty. Roger Federer polished off Alberto Martin in an equally-decisive fashion. Novak Djokovic didn’t even get to finish his match against Nicolas Lapentti, who abandoned while down 3-1 in the second set. Andy Murray, Juan Martin Del Potro, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Nicolas Almagro, Andy Roddick... all went through with ease to the second round. The bracket whittles down with relative reliability. 

But on the other side of the draw, questions still fly all about on the women’s side after the sudden retirement of Justine Henin at age 25 immediately before her own shot at a fifth French Open title. Dinara Safina, newly minted as the women’s number one, enters the tournament with Serena Williams -- who defeated Safina in the Australian Open final -- gunning for her as the two-seed on the other side of the draw. Defending champion Ana Ivanovic, who bested Safina in last year’s final in Paris, is looking to regain that form after dropping out of the world top ten. Any number of women could take this title... 

The early gem matchup to watch for so far as we start to learn the pairings in the third round looks to be Nadal taking on former U.S Open and Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt. There is also a Spanish duel of Nicolas Almagro and Fernando Verdasco, two up-and-coming young players on the rise who showcase the depth of talent coming out of Spain beyond the otherworldly Nadal, in which either has the potential to play their way into a fourth-round match against either Davydenko or Wawrinka in the other half of that third-round pod. 

On the women’s side, Safina will face compatriot Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova on a clear path to the quarterfinals. Victoria Azarenka will take on Carla Suarez Navarro; the winner takes on the victor in the Iveta Benesova-Ana Ivanovic tilt (take the odds on Ivanovic -- she’s looking good early in her title defense). Maria Sharapova should advance past Yaroslava Shevedova, but she’s had to gut out three-setters in each of her first two victories -- she needs to stop dropping second sets to her opponents. In her second-round match against Nadia Petrova, she faced a scare when the match went to extra games rather than the traditional tiebreak. Finishing 8-6, Sharapova has had to play a lot of tennis early in the tournament and might pay for her hard road later on. 

Frankly, though, I’m going to bank on Serena on the women’s side along with Nadal on the men’s to take care of business and triumph in their respective singles draws. No big favorite has been upset so far... but on both sides, it appears that potential landmines might provide some excitement along the way. We will doubtlessly see some drama as one high-ranked player or another tumbles from grace on the unforgiving clay of Roland Garros... 
 

Denis Menchov may have the maglia rosa on his shoulders now, but 2007 Giro champion Danilo Di Luca is bearing down on the top spot with a vengeance. Franco Pellizotti is still sitting in great position if either or both should falter, just over two minutes behind Menchov. Two other riders are within ninety seconds of Pellizotti for the final podium spot, and just four stages remain before the time trial finale through Rome. 

The race has proven to be quite the spectacle this year in its centenary edition. The riders showed their solidarity in nullifying the criterium through Milan due to obviously dangerous conditions. The general classification hopefuls have all been trading punches, with Di Luca taking two early mountain stages, Sastre taking his own summit at Monte Petrano in Stage 16, and Menchov besting the specialists in the Stage 12 time trial. Mark Cavendish has won three stages in addition to his maglia rosa conquest with his Team Columbia mates in the opening-stage team time trial. 

It looks right now as though the thirteen kilometers up legendary Mount Vesuvius, the still-active volcano which doomed the ancient Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum to a macabre place in the annals of archaeology. The final-day time trial through Rome will probably be too short to reshuffle the deck any further, and will amount to a ceremonial procession for the victor. But Vesuvius could prove the mark of glory for one lucky rider... or could bury another’s hopes of conquest in a Pompeian rain of bad luck. 

While the UCI ProTour might be crumbling all around as the grand tour organizers remain united against greater UCI control of their races, the mandate that the best teams race the most prestigious events has indeed lived on. The Giro, long a de facto national tour for the Italian riders in the peloton, now has a Russian leader. The rest of the top ten behind Menchov are, respectively: Italian, Spanish, Italian, Italian, American, Australian, Italian, Spanish, and Slovenian. With less than half the leaders riding on home soil, the Giro has regained its prominence as damn near the equal of the Tour de France -- with a diverse and international field belying its status and prestige. 

Which is why, in some ways, it is a pity that the sports world had to focus instead on Quick Step lifting the suspension on their cocaine-snorting cobblestone champion, Tom Boonen. Due to the fact that cocaine is not banned in out-of-competition testing, Boonen has ultimately received no suspension as yet from the UCI. Thus, Quick Step manager Patrick Lefevere did the only thing he could reasonably do and welcome Boonen back to the fold. The Paris-Roubaix champion will next compete at the Dauphine Libere in June, hoping to convince Tour de France organizer Amaury Sport Organization to let him race this year’s event. 

That, though, will be a tough sell. Last year, again due to his post-Roubaix recreations, ASO barred Boonen from lining up at the start. With Boonen again taking heat after testing positive for cocaine, ASO will be unlikely to relent on its tougher stance against any semblance of scandal. So as the Giro warriors continue their cycle down the Italian peninsula, one eye already turns toward July... 
 

For the best two teams in Europe, this season culminated in Wednesday’s Champions League final. With clouds streaking the skies above the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Andrea Bocelli serenaded the squads from Barcelona and Manchester as they entered the stadium. Manchester United seemingly had everything going for them. Barcelona was playing with a sorely depleted back line, injuries and suspensions poaching some of their defensive stalwarts from Pep Guardiola’s roster. And then there was Guardiola himself. A longtime player at the club, Pep was in his rookie season as coach of the Catalan powerhouse. In contrast, Sir Alex Ferguson led the Red Devils on the field for his chance to take his third European Cup in twenty-two seasons at the helm at Old Trafford. 

It appeared from the opening kickoff that Manchester United was planning to bring the surge against that Barcelona backfield, with Cristiano Ronaldo taking no fewer than three brilliant chances which could not find net. Barcelona, though, was undaunted. Surging in counterattack, Andres Iniesta got the party started in the tenth minute as he found Samuel Eto’o for the close-range flick beyond Edwin van der Sar for the first goal. 

Barcelona had all the momentum after opening the floodgates. It all stemmed from the shrewd tactical maneuver of shifting Messi and Eto’o around. Once Samuel was front and center and Lionel was cutting in from all angles originating to the right of Eto’o, the vaunted Catalan goal machine was on the prowl. Messi missed with a laser from twenty-five yards out, just missing the top corner beyond the badly beaten van der Sar. Xavi had a chance which missed high in the twenty-sixth minute. Iniesta took a wicked shot at the Manchester keeper. 

United, hoping to capitalize on the same magic positional switch that rendered such dividends for Barcelona, switched around Rooney and Giggs, though it was Messi who was ahead of even his teammates in trying to best van der Sar. Halftime rang in the Stadio Olimpico, the Spanish champions up by a goal. 

Ferguson would switch up the United tactics again after halftime, a risky move which afforded the Barcelona attack a lot more space heading into the offensive zone. Thierry Henry nearly took advantage of yet another superb Iniesta pass, only the barest chunk of van der Sar’s leg preventing the second goal for the Spaniards. Messi gets a rough tackle -- some would argue a tug -- from O’Shea in the box, but there was no penalty. Xavi took a wicked free kick which smashed against the post and out to safety. And ten minutes hadn’t even elapsed in the second half... 

Manchester finally adjusted to the switches again about that time, though everyone seemed tight playing from behind. Passes were flying with little touch past their intended targets. Shots were not falling anywhere near goal. Crosses were missing heads altogether. And then an errant, sloppy clearance by Patrice Evra landed right at the feet of Xavi, who deftly found, of all things, the head of diminutive Argentine striker Lionel Messi. Short though he may be (5’7”), Messi defied gravity to find the ball and guide it past van der Sar for the 2-0 cushion. 

The final twenty minutes were a chippy affair, with Manchester getting increasingly desperate and Barcelona doing everything to disrupt their feeble advances. In the end, Manchester could stave the inevitable. They were not the team to break the now-nineteen year drought since AC Milan successfully defended their titleholder status by defeating Benfica at Prater Stadium in Vienna in the 1990 final. Barcelona, in Pep Guardiola’s first season as coach, performed their own treble -- taking their domestic league title, national cup and Champions League in a rare display of goalpoaching prowess. Can the Catalans conquer the curse and break the streak of failures by defending next year? 
 

We’ll just have to wait and see. That’s the beauty of it all... there’s history going on daily all around us. Be sure to take a good look at that calendar and stay apprised of all the grandeur of athleticism occurring across the globe. No matter what catches your fancy, there’s bound to be excitement all summer long. After all... as Ferris Bueller famously said, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you might miss it...”