Roger Federer vs Robin Soderling: French Open final 2009

Head to head: Federer leads Soderling 9-0, which includes a 2-0 mark when matches are played on clay.

Here is my problem with tomorrow's final everyone: Federer should win this thing no doubt, but when the factor of pressure is put into play, the outcome may not be as clear cut as once thought.

Roger has undoubtedly proven his ability to deal with all the obstacles that have been thrown at him (except Rafa Nadal of course), during his long and illustrious career.

But the one missing achievement which has haunted the 13-time grand slam champ up until this point has been his faux pas in France.

Although losing to Nadal in four consecutive French finals, is nothing to be ashamed of ...losing to Robin Soderling (regardless of his current level of play) would be catastrophic.

The favorite role is often times the most difficult card to play; because if you win, you were expected to; lose, and the scrutiny begins.

Soderling has one huge element going for him in the tomorrow's final, which is he has nothing to lose. He has exceeded all expectations to the highest degree, and anything from here on in, is well... gravy.

He may never get another chance like he has on Sunday (see Martin Verkerk), and must optimize his efforts and execution. He has lived and died with his go-for-broke game style thus far, and one has to think that tomorrow will be no different.

In terms of strictly a match up, Federer's domination over Soderling has primarily consisted of the exact same advantage he had in his most recent victory over del Potro: movement.

Soderling at times looks like a laboring duck trying to cover court on Chatrier; with Federer's liquid and graceful strides having no close second.

The good news for Soderling is that he does one or two up Federer in many categories. He gets a check for brute power factor, with his backhand being far superior.

The Swede can also hit thunderous serves at will; eclipsing Roger's mph averages by a wide margin. So why has this guy lost nine in a row to Federer?

Well simply put Roger loves pace; he eats it up frankly. Federer has always dealt well with the likes of Roddick, Blake and Karlovic, because they play perfectly into the strike-zone of the Swiss.

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Glorious night of TV on the Radio

It's hard to know, exactly, where to begin when talking about everything TV on the Radio did right at a sold-out House of Blues Thursday night. Or why the Brooklyn quintet's breathless cross-pollination of rock, funk, electro-pop, and soul worked so wonderfully, seamlessly, well.

Was it the band's gritty energy and brash command of groove that hit you not just in the legs and solar-plexus (where it should), but also the head? Was it the outfit's internalized mastery of older sounds wrapped in new sonic threads - the nimble keyboards and Prince-ly falsettos that made "Crying" gallop gleefully as dance music for the indie-rock set?

Could it have been frontman Tunde Adebimpe's old-school soul revue showmanship - his feverish shimmies across the stage, arms twisting toward, and beckoning the audience on "The Wrong Way"? Or, with a jerking thrust of his arm, punctuating a satisfying guitar riff from the epically bearded Kyp Malone on "Wolf Like Me"? Or perhaps it was David Sitek's pedal-pushing electric architecture, coaxing squalls and walls of feedback from his guitar like the Jesus & Mary Chain crashing a P-Funk party on "Halfway Home"?

The fact that drummer Jaleel Bunton, in perpetual motion, and bassist Gerard Smith, who lent a marvelous thrum and thump to every song he touched, were greased cogs at the core of TVOTR's polyglot mix of machinery goes without saying.

Ultimately, what made the band's 80-minute performance Thursday so brightly and brilliantly charged with electricity was all of the above elements, hard-wired to connect through, and to, multiple outlets. When a band makes you think of Sly Stone and Gnarls Barkley ("Red Dress") as easily as it does Phil Spector and sleigh bells ( "Family Tree" and "Young Liars"), you've got a unique group on your hands.

The last time TVOTR was in Boston, playing the Wilbur Theatre in October, it brought a horn section. This time, stripped back to the formidable essentials, the band sounded like a glorious street symphony, an orchestra unto itself.

"Well, there's a golden age comin' round," sang Adebimpe in his fluttering tenor, repeating the last two words like a mantra, as if willing the promise real. Meanwhile, the tune's dancing melody bopped infectiously around him, engulfing him and enveloping us. "Let it move right in. Let it kiss your face. Let it sow your skin in perpetual embrace. . . . The age of miracles. The age of sound . . . Comin' round, comin' round, comin' round."

Suddenly in that instant, in the glorious sway and bend of sound, the waiting was over. The moment - golden and gleaming - had finally, fully arrived

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David Carradine Death Photo - David Carradine Hanging Photos

An American Hollywood Actor David Carradine recently death in June 3, 2009. He was body found in his room at the Swissotel Nai Lert Park Hotel on Wireless Road, in central Bangkok, Thailand on June 4, 2009.

The BBC reports that a hotel maid discovered the American actor in a closet with a rope around his neck and body. A Thailand police official said he was found hanging by a rope in the room's closet and the Bangkok Post reported that his body was found curled up in the wardrobe with a shoelace tied around his genitals and neck.

Carradine 72-years-old actor famous for his work in the 1970's television series Kung Fu and recently in the Kill Bill films. He workedmoe than 100 films and he was nominated four times for a Golden Globe Award.

David Carradine’s family is horrified that a photo has been published that shows the dead actor hanging, according to a RadarOnline.com report.

A tabloid newspaper in Thailand published Carradine photo Saturday, shadowing much of the body, but still showing explicit details of the death scene.

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