I intended to watch more of the Australian Open than I have, and I really wanted to see the Roger Federer/Andy Roddick match. However, with Federer hammering Roddick 6-4, 6-0, 6-2, it doesn’t appear to have been that great of a match. Well, it was for Federer, I guess. Apparently he played nearly flawlessly, and all of the improvement Roddick showed late last year had no effect on the outcome. I was also disappointed to see that injury aided the exit of Raphael Nadal. A Federer-Nadal match, with both healthy, would have been worth watching again.

On the women’s side, Serena Williams has suprisingly made it to the final. Williams was unseeded and has not won a tournament since 2005, having been out much of last year due to injury. I’ve never been a fan of the Williams sisters, but they dominited women’s tennis for several years, and had they stayed healthy and focused, probably would have continued to until now. So, it’s not too surprising to see Serena back. She will face Maria Sharapova in the final. Despite Williams’ play during this “comeback” of sorts, I still have to pick Sharapova to win it.

Occasionally I suggest or predict something and it actually turns out to be accurate, or at least close. A few months ago, I wrote this:

I think some of the SEC teams - namely, LSU and Alabama - are somewhat overrated. LSU had a great run at the end of last year, but I don’t think they’re a top 10 team, especially without Thomas. Alabama, likewise, may not quite be a top 12 team, and Gottfried is just not a good coach.

I still don’t believe Gottfried is much of a coach, but it also seems that I may have been on target (or at least close) with regards to LSU and Alabama. Both teams have underwhelmed me in recent weeks, each losing 3 of their last 5 games.

LSU has lost back to back games - a 20-point loss at Arkansas where Steven Hill abused them (and there’s just no excuse for that), and a double-digit loss at home last night to Vanderbilt. They started the year ranked #7 (the reason I labeled them overrated) and are currently at #22, although I expect them to fall out of the top 25 next week, especially if they lose at Georgia this weekend, which is more than likely.

Alabama has looked worse, not only losing but losing big each time. In their 3 losses, the average margin has been 24 points (27 to Arkansas, 21 to Vanderbilt, 24 to Auburn). Also, at home last Saturday, they were down 15 at the half to Georgia before rallying to win by 2 in the final seconds, and avoiding losing 4 of 5 instead. Steele has not been completely healthy, I believe, but I’m not certain that losing regularly by 20+ can be blamed entirely on that.

I admit, even I’ve been surprised at some of what I’ve seen from both teams at times. I thought they weren’t quite as good as expected, but better than they’ve been of late. Of course, there’s still about 6 weeks to go in the regular season, and there’s plenty of time for these teams to turn it around. And, chances are, they will, if for no other reason than to spite me.