Speechless in the Rain

Hey, I got a lot of real-world crap to do today, so I'll be brief. 

I know this is a sports weather blog, but you may want to know that President Barack Obama's primetime speech at the Democratic National Convention Thursday night has been moved indoors to the Time Warner Center in Charlotte. 

Obama campaign officials had been saying for weeks the speech would take place outdoors "rain or shine," but a strong threat of thunderstorms forced the move. (And, perhaps a lack of confidence by campaign officials to fill the 75,000-seat Bank of America Stadium.) 

Here's where'd I'd like to throw in a joke about the cluelessness of Mitt Romney, but I just can't make it fit. This is a not-quite-ready-for-primetime-blog, ya know.

Ok, moving forward to the sports stuff. It's been raining like hell at the U.S. Open in New York, and it appears the weather will be a menace again today. Only two  matches reached completion Tuesday. One being Victoria Azarenka's three-set win over Sam Stosur under glooming skies. I love Azarenak, but I really wish she stop with the post-match dances, unless she's dancing in a downpour. I'll make that exception.

Maria Sharapova, speaking of someone I'd like to see dancing in the rain, and Marion Bartoli pick up their suspended match today at 11 a.m.

Oh, and you may have heard, Andy Roddick will try to stave off career elimination tonight. His match was rained out Tuesday night. It's sort of a big deal to a bunch of tennis pundits. I love tennis, but I've never been a Roddick fan. 

I keep hearing how great he is, but it seems every time I look at tournaments results, Roddick has lost in the second round. The excuse I keep hearing is he played in a tough era. Big deal. If he really were great, the era wouldn't matter. To be truly great, you have to get the job done no matter the competition.

Wow, I really went off on a tangent there.

Didn't I say I was going to be brief? Oh, well.

One more thing: The NFL season kicks off tonight, and there's a strong chance of rain and thunderstorms for the Cowboys-Giants matchup at MetLife Stadium. Awesome!

I know I said more thing, but I got another "one more thing." Ok? Did you hear there was a rain delay in Toronto for the Blue Jays-Orioles game Tuesday night? That's right. A brief, unofficial rain delay at the indoor Rogers Centre. Apparently the retractable roof was moving a bit slowly… like Robinson Cano moving toward a ground ball.

Ok, that's it. Good night, everybody. I wish the real world would just stop hassling me. We're have I heard that before?

Warning: Expect Delays

While everyone is finding their seats on the Rockies bandwagon, it seems that other League Championship Series has been pushed to the backburner a bit, except in Cleveland and Boston. In case you missed it last night, the Indians grabbed a 2-1 series lead at Jacobs Field. Tonight in Cleveland is Game 4 of the ALCS between the Tribe and Red Sox, and if you're going to the game or just checking it out on your high-def TV, you should expect some delays. The temps forecasted to dip to the high 50s with a 40 percent chance of rain and, my favorite, scatted thunderstorms. (High 50s equals about 15 degrees Celsius for those two or three of you from Malaysia who occasionally visit this blog.)

While we're visiting Cleveland, take a look this Plain Dealer time-lapse video that zips us through the Opening Day snow storm that hit the ballpark as the Indians were hosting the Mariners.

Lightning Strikes and Jayhawks and Bears

Heavy thunderstorms and lightning in Lawrence delayed the start of today's gridiron clash between homestanding Kansas and visiting Baylor. Kickoff was pushed back two hours. The game is now underway with the Jayhawks leading 10-3 late in the first quarter. So, this is what it has come to -- me writing about a rain delay at a Kansas versus Baylor football game. I'm really bored.