The World Cup is set to kick off in only two days. The USA National Team will kick off one day after, this Saturday vs. England. However, there’s a question mark over star defender Oguchi Onyewu and our goal scorer Jozy Altidore. Both of them just coming off injuries and American fans are wondering if they’ll be ready to rock vs. England?

Jozy Altidore turned an ankle less than 2 weeks before the opening day of the World Cup. This was a complete scare. Onyewu ruptured his patellar tendon, which most thought would end his chances of returning in time for the World Cup.

Onyewu, also known as Gooch is ready to face England. He’s recent statements sound promising as he’s assured American fans that he’s fit enough to start and go for 90 minutes.

He’s only had a couple of games to test it out, but he’s been involved in all activities during practice. His first game back against Turkey he did seem rusty, but at least he got to shake off the rust (that’s what the fans are hoping!).

On Wednesday, June 09, Altidore is back in training. He’s also mentioned that he’s feeling great and the ankle is fine. However, it was a bit sore after training. Jozy and American fans are hoping that his ankle can hold up for 90 minutes as he’s a key player up top.

Over the past years, the American back line has been extremely strong and consistent. Gooch was a huge part of this back line, but considering he hasn’t played a full 90 minutes in 8 month, there’s going to be a question mark on the American defense. As confident as he is about his health, it’s still going to take time to get to full form.

Gooch’s experience in the back has put him up against some of the best in the World. Now it’s time to see if he’s ready to match up with Wayne Rooney and Peter Crouch. If he can hold his own against England, then he should be fine through the group stage.

If the American team comes out like they did in the Confederations Cup last summer, then they will make some noise. Anything less than a run to the quarterfinals (like in 2002), will be considered a let down for this team. One things for sure, without Jozy and Gooch feeling good it won’t be the same team!

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Is Albert Pujols the best hitter that we’ve ever known? That is a question that has been asked hundreds of times, and the debate doesn’t look like it’s going to go away any time soon.

To save time and even more confusion, I’m only going to do comparisons with players from the last three decades.

Going back even further doesn’t give a very fair debate, as the whole nature of the game was different; equipment and fields etc. Ok, Willie Mays and Ted Williams were great in their day; to compare them with Pujols is unfair to all three of them.

How would Pujols have played in past eras? That’s a question nobody can answer so the debate is pointless. He has enough going for him for us to consider him to be the best in the modern game, so why bother with comparisons with players from the past?

His standard of play now is awesome, and the prospect that Pujols could improve even more is mouth watering. Just shy of his 30th birthday, there are seasons ahead for Pujols to keep up his consistent form and establish himself as one of the modern day greats.

When you consider that you have to go way back to find a low average of .312 in the second year of his career, and his lowest since has been .327, this really is a guy to be reckoned with.

Pujols is an MLB player and has now played 9 seasons in this league. During 5 of those he has hit 40 home runs. The lowest amount he has ever hit in a season is 32; this is an outstanding stat by anyone’s standards.

The stats speak for themselves, you can’t argue with the figures. Every season Pujols proves himself time and time again. No one can dispute he is a great hitter. He has a long career still ahead of him, and its hard to imagine that when he does retire, we won’t be considering our greatest batsman.

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If you are a tennis fan and actually play yourself, you may well have experienced a game on a clay court. This is the very old, red surface that has been used in countries like France and Spain since the game originated.

If you ever have the opportunity to play on clay; grab it with both hands! It really is a unique experience and one you will never forget. Just stepping on that stunning red surface is a thrill!

If you have never had the pleasure of playing on red clay, and would like to know a little more about it, here’s a few interesting facts.

The serve and volley players who regularly record wins on other surfaces will often struggle on the red clay. To win on this surface you will be playing from the baseline with punishing ground strokes.

If you do ever see a player approach the net while playing on clay, it is a very rare thing indeed. Those who rely on their booming serve will also find that it hasn’t the effect on this surface as it does on others.

So why is the strategy for this game so different? Well, it is very simple, the clay is a thick and heavy surface which sticks to the ball and therefore slows it Down considerably.

Where as on other surfaces such as hard courts the ball skids along the surface at speed, on clay courts it is slowed right down by the thickness of the surface.

As the ball has been slowed down; it will bounce a lot higher than on other surfaces, so the players have more time to get to the ball and return it. It is due to this that clay can claim to have some of tennis’ longest matches played on it.

The games are generally a lot closer on clay as the points go on a lot longer with the slower ball being easier to reach.

Although the ball is easier to reach, the faster player will always have the advantage over their slower opponents.

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The Indiana Pacers had a very mediocre season in 08′-09′ season finishing 36-46. The bright spot for the Pacers was their home record, 25 -26. The Pacers were terrible on the road, 11-30.

With Reggie Miller now gone the state of Indiana looks to Danny Granger to help create a perennial playoff team, once again like in the 1990’s.

The 26 year old Granger made serious waves during his 4th season in the NBA. Always known to be a player with tremendous upside, Granger flirted with this potential during his first few seasons in the league. The 2008-2009 season, however, was a different story altogether.

Granger was a one man show in Indiana, single handedly responsible for many of the team’s 36 wins. His 25.8 points per game were the fifth highest in the NBA, and he was one of the only players in the league to average over one block and one steal per game.

His three point shooting was exceptional, as Granger averaged 2.7 three pointers made per game, and shot at a percentage that exceeded 40 percent. The Indiana Pacers were thrilled with this production and made it clear throughout the course of the season.

The Pacers will have to improve on their 36 win season if they expect to make the playoffs. The Pacers did draft A.J. Price and Tyler Hansbrough – what playing time they will see should probably be limited in the beginning of the season but increase as the season moves forward. Unless you are an outstanding rookie, rookies see little action their first season.

The last time the Pacers finished with a record above .500 was in the 04′-05′ season – Pacers fans would hope to avoid another sub .500 season for the fifth straight year.

Their draft this year looks like it could potentially solve this problem, but not right off the bat. Tyler Hansbrough has proven that he can play defense, but that’s at the NCAA level. It will take time to develop into a star in the NBA, but he’s got the potential.

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