Relishing our wide world of sport

The beautiful game / Relishing our wide world of sport.

What a week it's been to be an international sports fan.

Let's see: Between the FIFA World Cup in football, the Stanley Cup in ice hockey, the NBA Finals in American professional basketball, and the U.S. Open golf championship, which crowned its champion on Father's Day, there's been something for every sports fan to enjoy during the month of June. Add to the mix, Major League Baseball with its pennant races taking shape here in the U.S., and there's just not enough hours in the day to watch everything being shown on TV or now made available for viewing via our mobiles.

It's a beautiful game.

• Thanks to the worldwide interest in international football (known to American audiences as soccer), the quadrennial World Cup tournament in Brazil has become must-see viewing around the globe. Here in the U.S., ESPN (and its sister networks) is broadcasting all 64 matches in this year's tournament, which continues through July 13.

There's new "made for TV" drama unfolding with each match and curiosity is building day by day. It will be interesting to see if the Netherlands can continue its dominance after the Clockwork Oranje dealt Spain a shocking World Cup defeat last Friday with a 5-1 annihilation of La Furia Roja. Also, the Nationalmannschaft of Germany looked very solid as Thomas Müller scored a hat trick during a 4-0 shutout of the Ronaldo-led Portugal on Monday. And, three cheers for the Stars and Stripes as Clint Dempsey scored the fastest goal in U.S. World Cup history (29 seconds) and the Americans beat Ghana 2-1. Of course, host Brazil plays the sport dubbed the beautiful game oh so beautifully, and the Canarinho are a sentimental favorite of many worldwide fans.

• On Friday night in Los Angeles, the Kings became king of ice hockey as they skated to a 3-2 overtime victory over the New York Rangers to capture the NHL Stanley Cup for the second time in three years. It's always a thrill to see the players of the winning team kissing Lord Stanley's Cup and hoisting it proudly above their heads as they jubilantly skate around the rink in celebration. It's an experience every hockey player wants to enjoy at least once in their career.

The Spurs' Parker, Duncan, Ginobili.

• On Sunday night, the San Antonio Spurs showed that it's cool to be a team -- again -- and to play like a team, too. The Spurs beat the star-studded Miami Heat 104-87 to win their fifth NBA Finals championship, thanks to a total team effort from an eclectic roster filled with international flavor, including: Tim Duncan of the U.S. Virgin Islands, Tony Parker of France, Manu Ginobili of Argentina, Patty Mills of Australia, Tiago Splitter of Brazil, Cory Joseph of Canada and Kahwi Leonard of the U.S.

• With the weather heating up across America, the Major League Baseball pennant races are heating up, too. Here in the Bay Area, thanks to San Francisco Giants and Oakland A's compiling the best records in their respective leagues, interest in the Summer Game is filling ballparks on both sides of the Bay nearly every night.

• Lest we forget: The United States Open golf championship crowned a new champion Sunday in Pinehurst, N.C. as Martin Kaymer, a 29-year-old German, won an historic eight-stroke victory in a what many described as a totally dominating performance.

• Finally: The Wimbledon Championships fortnight start next Monday in London SW19 as Scotland's Andy Murray defends his gentlemen's singles title against the likes of Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in the world's premier grass-court tennis event. Break out the strawberries and cream.

Indeed, it's a time for relishing the spirit and passion of a truly wide world of sport.

Photographs courtesy of Google Images.

Relishing a wide world of sport

The Art of Sport / London 2012 Olympic Games
This poster by British artist Rachel Whiteread
will be on display at the Tate Britain
 as part of the London 2012 festival.

It's a great time to be a sports fan.

Let's see: Between the European Championships in football, the French Open in tennis, the Stanley Cup in ice hockey and the NBA Finals in American professional basketball, there's something for every sports fan during this second week in June. Add to the mix, Major League Baseball with its inter-league play and pennant races starting to formulate, and there's just not enough hours in the day to watch everything.

* Thanks to the worldwide interest in the World Cup, America's interest in the European Championships of football has grown, too. ESPN is broadcasting all of the matches in this year's tournament which continues through July 1. It will be interesting to see if Spain can live up to its pre-tournament billing as the favorite to win the Euro 2012 championship  ~ and, to see the merger of Barcelona and Real Madrid players, despite their differences at the club level during La Liga, can provide a spark of inventiveness and create enough chances for La Furia Roja to bring home the trophy.

* History was made in Monday's French Open final as Rafa Nadal, the undisputed "King of Clay" won a record seventh Roland Garros singles title by defeating the world's No. 1 player, Novak Djokovic, in four grueling sets. En route to Lucky No. 7, Nadal surpassed the record of six that was first set by the legendary Bjorn Borg a generation ago. He began his incredible string of fortune by winning his first French Open title in 2005 and, except for losing in the 2009 final, he's won it every year since while compiling a remarkable record of 52-1 on the red clay at Roland Garros.

* On Monday night in Los Angeles, the Kings became king of ice hockey by skating to a 6-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils to win the NHL Stanley Cup for the first time in the franchise's 45-year history. It's always a thrill to see the players of the winning team kissing Lord Stanley's Cup and hoisting it above their heads as they skate around the rink in jubilation. It's an experience every hockey player wants to experience.

* Tonight, the NBA season reaches its tipping point as "The Finals" between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Miami Heat begin. The best-of-seven series features two of pro basketball's biggest stars in Kevin Durant and LeBron James, neither whom have won a championship.

* With the weather heating up across America, expect the Major League Baseball pennant races to heat up, too. And, of course, there's the classic rivalries of baseball ~ Giants- Dodgers and Yankees-Red Sox come to mind ~ that make the Summer Game so enjoyable.

Lest we forget: The United States Open golf championship will be contested this week in San Francisco, and the Wimbledon Championships start in less than two weeks. Next month, it will be time for the London 2012 Olympics to romance us.

Indeed, it's a time for relishing a wide world of sport.