For all intents and purposes, it started on Saturday night for me. I stayed up to watch the entire Roger Federer-Rafael Nadal Australian Open final. Yes, I was awake at 8:30 AM to watch Federer bawl his Swiss eyes out. I knew I had time to sleep before the American part of the day, and I’m glad I was able to watch Federer turn into a massive vagina on live television.

Up until the 5th set, this may have been the best match I’ve seen between the two, even better than the Wimbledon final last year. There were so many rallies that totally blew my mind, and most of them were won by Nadal. But then the fifth set was a massive letdown, with Federer totally pussying out. The 22-year-old Spaniard just wanted the title more. Nadal had played a 5+ hour match two nights before — while Federer had a extra day of rest — and after playing 4 and a half hours, Nadal was the one who looked like he could play another 5 sets. Federer, after getting broken in the that final set, just gave up. And then in the aftermath, he cried, making Nadal feel he needed to apologize again for being the better player.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Euc2Zve69qg

After this match, I feel safe in saying this: I have never been so enthralled watching tennis as I am when I watch Rafael Nadal play. I’ve never seen a player so absolutely relentless, so mentally tough. As incredible as it is to watch Federer totally embarrass and dismantle his opponents, he just always makes it look too easy. Obviously he cares, and has immense passion for the sport, but Nadal just leaves his heart out on the court every. single. match. Every single point, even. He’s a goddamn madman who plays with total abandon and with no regard for his knees, which may explode at any moment. What happened to Federer in that fifth set would never happen to Nadal, and that’s why he has a shot at winning the Grand Slam this year. He has conquered every court now, and he owns the one man who could possibly stand in his way.

Now on to the biggest unofficial American holiday. I feel pretty un-American that I was more excited for the AO final than the Super Bowl, but come on, the Cardinals? And actually, I probably can’t type any more about the Super Bowl than I just did for the AO final. I missed the first quarter due to getting lost in an epic fashion, then missed the first 8 minutes of the third quarter due to the halftime Rock Band sesh going on too long. And even when i did watch, I was only half paying attention. Except for the 4th quarter, of course.

Why did it take Kurt Warner so long to start throwing to Larry Fitzgerald? The dude is an absolute beast. I feel like Arnold needs to kill him at some point. Predator was the MVP of the game, easily — it’s just a shame that Roethlisberger survived slamming his head through that windshield to come back and manufacture that winning drive. On a final note, that 100-yard INT return by Harrison was hilarious shit. There was no way that should’ve happened.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDeboVmambo

That’s clay court shit right there. Two crazy Spaniards running and spinning around, blasting the ball at every corner of the court, ending with Rafael Nadal winning. Fernando Verdasco, as relentless as he was the entire match, as brutal as his forehand blasts were, Nadal was his usual unbreakable (not in a service game kind of way) self.

I woke up this morning around 6:00 AM, and the semifinal match in which this absurd point took place had been going on for over two hours already. When I arrived at work at 9:00 AM, the match was still going. Luckily for my productivity, only a few minutes later, Verdasco double-faulted in the 10th game of the 5th set to end the match. That was after 5 hours of some of the most high-octane tennis ever played. It was more anti-climactic than the ending to No Country for Old Men.

Roger Federer ate dinner and no doubt slept while the match was going on, comfortable knowing that whoever he faced would have one less day of rest. If there’s anyone that can come back from such an epic match in less than two days, it’s Nadal. But I doubt it.

Australian Open Semifinal – 7-5, 6-3. 7-6 (7-5)

First Halo 3 falls to Call of Duty 4, and now this! Can the Patriots be far behind?!?

I just woke up and saw this and have to go to work, so I can’t write much. I just felt like I NEEDED to post this. I woke up in the middle of the night right around when the match started over in Australia. Maybe that was God giving me the chance to see Federer’s Grand Slam Final streak end. And I blew it. It also broke a 40-match hard court winning streak. Man, this is so awesome.

FEDERBOT IS HUMAN!