When assessing sports, June and July are generally referred to as the dog days. After seeing the performances of Kobe Bryant, Roger Federer and Tiger Woods, I would say you are doggone wrong in that statement, at least in 2009.

Let's start with the most deserving of the winners, and thats Federer. Last July he lost in what could be the greatest match of all time to Raphael Nadel in the Wimbledon Final. With the way Federer struggles on clay, some saw this match as a changing of the guard. I am sure Federer was questioning if he was no longer the best in the world. Looks like he didnt question himself too long, as he won the US Open the following month to become the first player ever to win five consecutive Wimbeldons and five consecutive US Opens. Remarkable. So what does he do in his next grand slam, he has the intestinal fortitude to eek out two 5 set wins and claim his first ever French Open title. Now he is tied with Pete Sampras with 14 career slams. I cant wait till Wimbledon man.

Kobe Bryant is probably the most misunderstood guy playing in the NBA right now. Growing up, he had to travel all the time overseas until he was 13, so that has to be tough on him to develop socially. Based on that I can see why he keeps a low profile for himself and his loved ones. We take this guy for granted, partially because he's been the best player in the game over the past 10 years. Kobe has been stellar so far in Finals, getting his teammates involved early, and taking over in crunch time when it matters. Lets not worry so much about why he doesnt have a big posse at the game, and give this guy credit for having the best work ethic and desire in the game today.

Tiger Woods, just a couple days after winning the 2008 U.S. Open announced that he would have ACL surgery on this left knee. The procedure kept him out of The Open Championship and PGA Championship. Here's a guy that has the competitive fire even more than the two guys I just mentioned so you know if anyone can come back from a surgery like this, its Tiger. So far he hasnt disappointed. He has not one but two remarkable comeback wins this season. He came back from 5 strokes down and sunk a 15 foot putt to beat Sean O'Hair by one stroke. Then this past weekend he wins the Memorial by shooting a 65 on Sunday, after trailing by 4 shots after 3 rounds.

I just want to thank each of these guys for making this past weekend a whole heckuva lot more exciting than it usually is this time in the sports season.

Michael Perry is an oddsmaker with Logans.com.