Today was the day.

I thought Andy Roddick had finally done it. (And, from reading about the match, it seems he was closer than I had even realized at first … 6-1 in the tiebreak? Sheesh). I thought he had finally fulfilled that “promise” we had always seen in him. He was going to beat Roger Federer in the Wimbledon final.

It was going to be the talk of the sports world. A watershed moment. The breakthrough Americans had been waiting for.

And then we all got ahead of ourselves. It was just the second set. And he was playing the world’s best.

Just like we did with soccer two weeks ago. On the cusp of a real breakthrough, we forgot that sports are heartbreaking. And breathtaking. And cruel. And beautiful.

So, we wait another year for that “one big win.” It has to come sometime, right?

Story from Saturday at the CWS …

We walked into the stadium and immediately noticed the giant contingent of Arkansas fans. And of course they’re all standing, waving their arms doing that damn hog call.

“Woooooooooo. Pig sooey!”

Had a good laugh remembering how uncomfortable Dana Altman looked at the press conference when he was introduced as the Razorbacks’ basketball coach back in 2007.

Later on, Mom and Dad are killing some time between games, having a beer at the house-formerly-known-as-the-Stander-residence (Ron’s gone now). Guess who walks up the street? It’s Dana!

Dad doesn’t miss a beat.

“Hey there, Dana. I’m surprised you weren’t here for the first game today to see the Razorbacks.”

He’s joking of course, but he said Altman just froze. I’m sure he was half confused (“Who IS this guy?”) and half horrified (“Arkansas … huh? … HEY!”)

“I’m just kidding, Coach. We’re glad you decided to come back to Omaha.”

I just wish they would have offered Altman a beer. A couple Bud Lights and who knows, maybe he would have done the hog call again.

In honor of the start of another College World Series, let’s all take some time to remember Omaha’s favorite parking lot pastime:

Beat the meat!

[old Omaha.com -- Beat the meat video]

A woman at work is always giving me a hard time because I play golf all the time but have never gotten a hole in one. She writes a weekly story about an Omahan with an interesting ace story, and she’s always asking, “Did you get one yet?”

Yesterday was my chance for a pretty sweet story and I failed. Since my Sunday Publinks match was canceled, I got a raincheck at Benson Park, which I used yesterday. I thought I was going to get to play by myself (always preferable to the inevitable five-hour round when playing with others).

Instead I got paired with actor John Beasley and his wife.

Alas, no hole in one. There’s only one par 3 on the front nine and I stopped it about 20 feet right of the flag. I think I just got a little too excited about listing an Omaha celebrity as a witness on my scorecard.

After taking a pretty bad beating in last year’s Publinks first round (Omaha’s match play golf tournament), I had to try and redeem myelf. So I signed up again, hoping to avoid another 8 and 7 disaster.

Publinks is kinda crazy to begin with … The pairings are printed in the paper, and it’s the responsibility of the players to call each other, arrange a tee time and report their score before the deadline.

After scheduling and rescheduling twice already this week, (first he was busy, then I was busy, then he had to work) Sunday was our last possible chance to get the round in before the deadline.

I got to the course a little early, determined not to lose because of bad putting. “Hi, I’m here for my Publinks match. So, when the other guy shows up, tell him I’m out on the green.”

Tee time comes and goes, opponent hasn’t shown up. They called me back into the clubhouse and said he called to say he was going to be late. Fine. No big deal.

When the guy finally shows up, he forfeits. Something about not having enough time or not having enough money to play all 18 holes. So instead he’s going to just go out and play 9 with his daughter. Huh?!

Anyway, I have advanced to round 2. Next opponent? A World-Herald co-worker. Now it’s about bragging rights.

The Cavs are the best team in basketball AND they have the most fun. It’s pretty hard to imagine Kobe and the boys pulling this off: