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Wimbledon glow hops Atlantic

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Times Staff Writer

The Wimbledon final between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer is still getting rave notices all-around, with many admirers dangerously close to pulling muscles in their extreme appreciation.

It might have been the best final ever at Wimbledon, but as good as it was, it didn’t totally lock up Andy Roddick.

“I watched the first part of it,” Roddick said during a conference call for the Countrywide Classic, which begins Aug. 4 at UCLA.

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Roddick did wind up getting caught up in the match, but later. He explained that he had to catch a plane after the first set and a half, and said he watched the last part of it at the airport after he landed.

“I rushed off the plane and had about 20 text messages on updates from the match,” Roddick said. “I kind of just ran to the TV and settled in and watched the end of it.”

Roddick said he knew it was something special the next morning, when he got his bagel and coffee and many wanted to discuss the match.

“That’s never really been the case before. It really was different,” Roddick said. “I was long gone, but to have people excited about it outwardly was pretty cool.”

All-Star wrap-up

Sure, the 79th All-Star game was a marathon, at 4 hours 50 minutes the longest ever, and they were probably an inning away from running out of pitchers, which would have made the whole thing laughable. That’s not what Dan Uggla of the Florida Marlins will remember. Although he’s probably hoping everyone else forgets.

According to baseball statistics guru Bill Arnold and the Elias Sports Bureau, Uggla became the first major leaguer since 1940 to make three errors, strike out three times and hit into a double play in a regular-season game, All-Star game or postseason game.

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Trivia time

What was the shortest nine-inning All-Star game?

A ‘friendly’

A scuffle broke out at halftime of the West Ham United-MLS Crew international friendly at Columbus, Ohio, on Sunday. Some West Ham fans held up a banner that read: “ICF, 30 Years Undefeated.” That refers to the Inner City Firm, rowdy fans from the English Premier League.

They may have just figured out a way to make Major League Soccer interesting.

Inflation package

Wanna get away? Wanna get a second job?

Next year, the full-season package for four regular-season box seats and parking at the New York Mets’ new ballpark, Citi Field, will cost $60,000.

In 1993, the same package cost $5,837.

Yeah, but you had to watch Dave Telgheder, Tim Bogar and Butch Huskey.

Shark bait

Greg Norman is on a first-name basis with heartache in the last round of golf’s majors, so his closing 77 at the British Open is hardly new ground.

But at age 53, Norman is unfailingly professional about his problems closing.

For instance, here is what he said when asked whether he had a good time Sunday:

“Today, no. The whole week, yes.”

Babe-calling

Not that there’s anything to this, but . . . the All-Star game’s home run derby was held at Yankee Stadium on July 14, or 7/14.

The career home run total of the most famous New York Yankee, Babe Ruth, was 714.

Trivia answer

The National League’s 4-0 victory over the American League in 1940, lasting 1 hour 53 minutes.

And finally

The 1983 throwback jerseys the Chicago White Sox put on for Sunday’s game against Kansas City brought back memories for White Sox Manager Ozzie Guillen, who wore the same look in 1985 when he started his big league career:

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“This is the first time,” he said, “I’ve worn this uniform that I wasn’t hung over.”

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thomas.bonk@latimes.com

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