Hello everyone and welcome to today's "The Stack" with me, Nathan Stacken.  Today is the last day of June and we enter the dawg days of summer soon.  We have several topics to get into today so let's get right to it and see what made "The Stack":

1. Federer out at Wimbledon.

Up two sets to nothing, it seemed like a foregone conclusion.  Roger Federer was 178-0 when up two sets in Grand Slam matches.  He had Jo-Wilfried Tsonga right where he wanted him.  Then, something unexpected happen.  Tsonga won the third set 6-4 and it appeared that Federer was either out of gas or disinterested.  The fourth set came, and Tsonga won 6-4.  All the momentum was clearly Tsonga's side. Same result in the fifth.  Tsonga won 6-4 to take the match 3-6, 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 and move on to the semifinals where he will face Novak Djokovic.  This was a really stunning match to watch.  Great tennis all-around.  But to see Federer play the way he did the last three sets was really amazing.  He is the best tennis player in the last fifteen to twenty years.  He will turn 30 in August so age plays a role, but to see him crumble and not have "it" so fast makes you question and wonder how much he has left in the tank.  I think Federer does have a little gas left and he is going to have a chip on his shoulder.  He will make one more Wimbledon final.   Not saying he will win it, but he will be back.  Either way, congrats to Tsonga.  He played hard, he did not get scared and now he is rewarded by making it to the semifinals.   The men's semifinals are:

#12 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. #2 Novak Djokovic

#4 Andy Murray vs. #1 Rafael Nadal

Both matches are tomorrow.

2. Women's world cup.

Yesterday, Group D, the last group to see the pitch in the women's world cup, played their first matces yesterday.  Norway got by Equatorial Guinea 1-0 and Brazil beat Australia 1-0.  The second matches start today for group A and that means that folks in Germany will be cheering on their country, the host, Germany.   They take Nigeria at 2:45 ET.  The match before that is Canada vs. France at noon ET.  Both matches are on ESPN.  Germany and France each have three points so it is critical that Nigeria and Canada get at least a tie and give themselves a chance to move on to the second round.  We'll have more on the women's world cup tomorrow.

3. NFL owners, players meeting in Minneapolis.

As the NFL lockout continues to stretch out into triple digits into the summer, there is a greater sense of urgency now to get a new CBA done to avoid having to miss preseason games.  Don't know what took so long, but it's about time.  NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith have been talking a lot over the last few days and weeks and spending a lot of time with each other, even going to talk to the rookies at the rookie symposium yesterday.  There is still much work to be done and it would seem highly unlikely that a new deal gets done by July 4th.  But, at least they are continue to talk and as they continue to meet in Minnesota for the fourth straight day, progress, slowly but surely, is being made.  Not all owners will be meeting in Minnesota, just a few including New York Giants owner John Mara and Indianapolis Colts center Jeff Saturday.  Let's hope they can hammer out a deal soon and get his lockout lifted so football can start as close to on time as possible.

A couple of other notes to pass along.  The NBA's current CBA expires tonight and both sides are very far apart.  The NBA could be headed for a long lockout, even longer than the NFL's.  There is a legit chance their season could be missed....The women's Wimbledon final will be Maria Sharapova vs. Petra Kvitova.  I picked Sharapova at the start of the tournament.  Let's see if she can do it...The Philadelphia Phillies won last night 2-1 over the Boston Red Sox.  Adrian Gonzalez played right field for the Red Sox so the team could get David Ortiz into the lineup....And Charlie Sheen says he used steroids in filming Major League.  Not surprising and who cares what Sheen has to say at this point.  He is a clown. 

That does it for me today.  Check back tomorrow for another edition of "The Stack".  Until then, have a great day and we'll see you tomorrow.