With his latest performance at the 2009 French Open, Roger Federer tied Pete Sampras’ record of 14 major singles titles and became the sixth man to complete a career Grand Slam. Federer was at his best, completely outplaying No. 23-seeded Robin Soderling of Sweden en route to a 6-1, 7-6 (1), 6-4 victory in the French Open final.

“Maybe my greatest victory _ or certainly the one that takes the most pressure off my shoulders,” Federer said in French, moments after dropping to his knees, caking them with clay, as his 127 mph service winner ended the match. “I think that now, and until the end of my career, I can really play with my mind at peace and no longer hear that I’ve never won at Roland Garros.”

Rafael Nadal, the four-time defending champion lost to Robin Soderling of Sweden 6-2, 6-7 (2), 6-4, 7-6 (2) in the fourth round Sunday, ending his record 31-match winning streak at Roland Garros.

“When one player plays bad, [he] must lose,” Nadal said. “[It] was my fault. … I didn’t play my best tennis and for that reason I lose.”

Soderling, who was seeded 23rd at this year’s tournament, ran Nadal off his feet on center court with a hard serve and amazing forehand. “I played well today, but I think I played some even better matches in my career,” said the 24-year-old Soderling, who called Nadal “the greatest clay-court player of all time.”

The world was watching on Wednesday night when Barcelona dominated Manchester United, 2-0, to win the European Champions League title, Europe’s most prestigious club soccer tournament.

“We are not the best team of history, but we have played the best season in history to win three titles and the way we won,” said Guardiola, 38, who has won a European championship both as a Barcelona player and coach.

In the end, though, Barcelona did win, primarily by getting the ball and refusing to give it back. “For us, we are a horrible team, a disaster team, when we don’t have the ball,” Guardiola said. “We need the ball. We got it.”

The “best swimmer in the world” Michael Phelps was beaten, for the second time, at the Charlotte UltraSwim, losing to French star in the 100-meter freestyle Sunday night.

Phelps touched nearly a full second behind Bousquet, world-record holder in the 50 free, after losing his first final in nearly a year the previous night. Aaron Peirsol beat Phelps in the 100 backstroke.

Bousquet went out strong, ensuring he had a big enough lead to hold off Phelps at the end, even as the the man who has won more Olympic medals than anyone experimented with a new straight-arm stroke that is supposed to provide more speed.

The French swimmer touched in 48.22 seconds, while Phelps finished second in 49.04.

“The biggest thing that killed me were my turns and my finishes,” said Phelps, who holds the American record in the 100 free at 47.51. “I’m not disappointed with that time, but the finish was awful. There’s small things I need to work on. But overall, it was a good meet.”

NBA betting odds have the LA Lakers -12 at home in NBA odds for Game 5 against the Rockets with a betting total of 198. Aaron Brooks scored a career-high 34 points in Game 4 while Shane Battier added 23 points to help the Rockets demolish the spread as 7.5 point NBA betting underdogs.

“I think everyone but us got the memo that we weren’t supposed to show up today without Yao,” Battier said.

The Rockets led by as many as 29 points and the Lakers looked nothing like a potential NBA champ. Pau Gasol scored 30 points and Kobe Bryant had 15 for a Lakers team that looked disinterested. Head coach Phil Jackson had warned his players but they didn’t listen.

“They didn’t anticipate the energy that they were going to come with,” Jackson said. “But you say as much as you can as a coach and then the players have to execute and do it on the floor.”

The Lakers could be facing more difficulty on Tuesday as forward Lamar Odom was injured in Game 4 and did not return. He missed practice on Monday but still may play on Tuesday. If you are looking to see who will win Game 5 you might only need to watch the first quarter. The team that has led at the end of the first quarter has won all 10 of Houston’s playoff games.

Top 5 Point Guards
1. Chris Paul
2. Deron Williams
3. Chauncey Billups
4. Gilbert Arenas
5. Steve Nash

Top 5 Shooting Guards
1. Kobe Bryant
2. Dwyane Wade
3. Tracy McGrady
4. Vince Carter
5. Manu Ginobli

Top 5 Small Forwards
1. LeBron James
2. Carmelo Anthony
3. Paul Pierce
4. Caron Butler
5. Andre Iguodala

Top 5 Power Forwards
1. Kevin Garnett
2. Chris Bosh
3. Dirk Nowitski
4. Carlos Boozer
5. Pau Gasol

Manny Ramirez has tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs and will be suspended 50 games starting today. The suspension will cost Ramirez $7.7 million, or roughly 31% of his $25-million salary. Players in violation of baseball’s drug policy are not paid during suspensions. Ramirez is expected to attribute the test results to medication received from a doctor for a personal medical issue, according to a source familiar with matter but not authorized to speak publicly.
With the suspension taking effect with tonight’s game against the Washington Nationals at Dodger Stadium, Ramirez will not be eligible to return to the team until July 3.

This 2009 win is the second time in three years that Calvin Borel has ridden the winner of the Kentucky Derby; his first win came when he rode Street Sense in 2007.

Mine That Bird, a 3-year-old gelding, was a huge upset winner, with most betting placing him with 50-1 odds. Calvin Borel held him back, biding his time in last place until room opened along the rail, then passed passing horse after horse down the stretch. Mine That Bird won leading by 6 3/4 lengths, and became the second biggest longshot in Derby history, only Donerail in 1913 won at longer odds.

John Madden’s last game as a football announcer was the 2009 Super Bowl which was decided in the final moments of the game. Madden worked at CBS until 1994 when the network lost rights to broadcast NFL games, leading him to switch to Fox. He left Fox in 2002 to become the lead analyst for ABC’s “Monday Night Football” and joined NBC in 2006 when that network inaugurated a prime-time Sunday game.

Madden said his health is fine, but at the age of 73, he wants to spend more time with his family. His 50th wedding anniversary is this year, and his five grandchildren are old enough to notice when he’s gone.

“The thing that made it hard is not because I’m second guessing: ‘Is it the right decision?’ But I enjoyed it so damn much,” Madden said. “I enjoyed the game and the players and the coaches and the film and the travel and everything.”

Boston Celtics head coach Doc Rivers has announced that star forward Kevin Garnett might not be available to play for the entire playoffs.

The Boston Globe is reporting that Rivers stated in an interview this morning that “there’s no way he can play,” but did leave open the chance that he might return at some point in the postseason.

Unfortunately, that return is unlikely as Garnett was having trouble running in Wednesday morning’s practice due to his injured right knee. Rivers said that Garnett will continue to get treatment and if it goes well he might be able to return to play at a later date in the playoffs.

The All-Star had already missed a full month of action due to a posterior muscle strain of his right knee, but he returned on March 20 and played the next four games. However, after playing at Orlando on March 25, he has sat out Boston’s final nine games of the season.