COMMERICAL

-- ESPN on-screen announcement on January 30, 2009

The above photos were taken at 5:59am, during the fifth set of the Australian Open men's semifinal match between Rafael Nadal and Fernando Verdasco. I was tired from lack of sleep but staying up to watch this incredible tennis display was well worth it. As tired as I was, though, my mind could still detect the error. I missed capturing it the first time it appeared, but I got my camera ready, started hoping that they wouldn't have fixed it, and a few minutes later, click click.

I'm competing in ESPN's Streak for the Cash and the recent Australian Open tennis matches have me reeling. After correctly picking 22 games or more in the S.Williams/Kuznetsova match, I picked Roddick to win a set against Federer (he didn't) and that Nadal would win 3-0 against Verdasco (Verdasco won the first set, then the fourth). For this morning's Nadal/Federer final, I picked Federer. Think about it.. Federer, attempting to take Pete Sampras' Grand Slam titles record away, had beaten Roddick 3-0 a full day before Nadal hustled his ass off in a five-set match (the longest in Australian Open history at five hours and fourteen minutes) against Verdasco. Nadal had been known as a one-trick pony, winning the title only on the French Open's clay surface, until he beat Federer in the epic Wimbledon final last year. This was the first meeting of the two top seeds in the final of a hardcourt Grand Slam. Of course, because I picked Federer, Nadal won. At least I managed to correctly pick S.Williams to win 2-0! My streak is currently at two losses. Go Steelers.

[The label TSN is on this post because I was watching TSN's feed of ESPN's airing of the match.]