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6428. wabbit - 9/12/2009 3:37:35 PM 17-year-old Melanie Oudin from Marietta, Ga., kept erasing big deficits and upsetting older, taller, higher-ranked players at the U.S. Open, generating more and more interest in her magical ride. Her gutsy play, aw-shucks approach and those pink-and-yellow sneakers with "BELIEVE" on the heels carried Oudin all the way to the quarterfinals at the American Grand Slam tournament. That's where her surprising story ended Wednesday night with a 6-2, 6-2 loss to No. 9-seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark. Wozniacki will play her first Grand Slam semifinal against another 19-year-old, Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium. The 50th-ranked Wickmayer -- never before past the second round at a major tournament -- beat Kateryna Bondarenko of Ukraine 7-5, 6-4. The other women's semifinal features two far more familiar names: defending champion Williams against 2005 champion Kim Clijsters.
Whenever the rain lets up, the men's semifinals will feature Roger Federer vs Novak Djokovic, and either Rafa Nadal or Fernando Gonzalez vs. Juan Martin del Potro. The Nadal-Gonzalez match is still on hold with Nadal up one set 7-6(4), 6-6(3). 6429. wabbit - 9/13/2009 12:32:38 AM Whatever respect I had for Michael Jordan as a basketball player will be forever tarnished by his "speech" at his induction into the NBA Hall of Fame. What a petty, small, bitter 'guy' he is. ...Worst of all, he flew his old high school teammate, Leroy Smith, to Springfield for the induction. Remember, Smith was the upperclassman his coach, Pop Herring, kept on varsity over him as a high school sophomore. He waggled to the old coach, “I wanted to make sure you understood: You made a mistake, dude.”... Jerk. He should never be in basketball again, in any capacity. Not the front office, certainly not in coaching and definitely not in PR. He may well have been the best basketball player ever, but what an asshole he is as a person. He was introduced as a role model — I sure hope not.6430. wabbit - 9/13/2009 2:45:44 PM Serena Williams turned what had been a scintillating US Open women’s match into an ugly and improbable spectacle that gave Kim Clijsters, an unseeded wild-card entry making a joyful return to Grand Slam tennis, a 6-4, 7-5 victory she could not even celebrate.
Clijsters, a 26-year-old from Belgium who is the mother of a toddler, had frustrated and dominated Williams all night. After Clijsters won the first set, Williams slammed her racket to the court twice, mangling the frame in disgust. She walked to her chair, whacking the net with her racket on the way, and earned a warning for racket abuse.
Clijsters stayed composed. She had a 6-5 lead in the second set, and Williams was serving to send the set into a tiebreaker. At 15-30, a lineswoman called Williams for a foot fault on her second serve. Williams argued angrily, then walked back to the baseline. But she could not let it rest. She approached the judge and appeared to threaten her, shaking a ball in her face, according to reporters courtside and television replays.
The chair umpire, Louise Engzell of Sweden, asked the lineswoman to approach and explain what happened. Engzell then assessed Williams a point penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct, with Brian Earley, the tournament referee, in agreement.
But Williams had no point to give — the penalty ended the match, and the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd, which was only about half-full after two days of rain delays, was stunned. So, too, was Clijsters, who had not even played in the Open since she won it in 2005. Suddenly, and strangely, she found herself in the final once again.
Clijsters will play ninth-seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, who romped over Belgium’s Yanina Wickmayer, 6-3, 6-3, in the other women’s semifinal, which was played simultaneously on Louis Armstrong Stadium before barely 300 fans... 6431. wabbit - 9/15/2009 9:20:03 PM Kim Clijsters made history Sunday night, capping a comeback from two years out of tennis to become the first unseeded woman to win the US Open -- and the first mom to win a major since 1980 -- with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over No. 9 Caroline Wozniacki. When it was over, Clijsters collapsed to the ground and started crying -- tears of joy, probably mixed in with a little bit of shock, too. Her 18-month-old daughter, Jada, watched from a suite with a pacifier in her mouth, but later came down to the court to take part in the celebration. Clijsters beat both Williams sisters and two players seeded in the teens. She matched Venus and Serena power shot for power shot and showed she could play Wozniacki's patient game -- and play it better. Clijsters didn't even have a ranking coming into this tournament because she hadn't played enough tournaments to get on the list. She'll come in at around No. 20 when the new rankings are released this week, but probably won't try to improve on that right away.
One day after the biggest win of Juan Martin del Potro's career, the 20-year-old Argentine managed to one-up himself. With a shocking 3-6, 7-6(5), 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-2 victory Monday night, del Potro snapped Roger Federer's streak of five straight U.S. Open titles in dramatic fashion. Federer, who had lost just one match since April, was trying to become the first man to win six consecutive American championships since Bill Tilden in 1920-25. The top-ranked Swiss had won 40 consecutive matches here, dating back to a semifinal loss to David Nalbandian in 2003. But with a thunderous serve and punishing forehand, the 6-foot-6 del Potro pounded both streaks into history. Having upset third-ranked Rafael Nadal in straight sets in Sunday's semifinal, Del Potro became the first player to defeat both Federer and Nadal -- the era's two most decorated players -- in the same Grand Slam tournament...At four hours and six minutes, Monday's match was the second-longest final in U.S. Open history after John McEnroe's classic five-set victory over Bjorn Borg in 1980. 6432. wabbit - 10/4/2009 12:58:04 AM For weeks, the United States Olympic Committee and the national sports governing bodies it oversees had settled into an uncomfortable truce. Despite a year of upheaval and conflict, the parties had agreed to set aside their differences in solidarity for Chicago’s bid to win the 2016 Summer Games.
The truce ended as quickly as Chicago was dispatched from the race won by Rio de Janeiro. In surprisingly frank terms, a number of influential people in American Olympic sports questioned the performance of the U.S.O.C.’s new management team and said its two top executives were ill-equipped to navigate the insular world of international sports.
Chicago’s last-place finish in the I.O.C. voting on Friday in Copenhagen was the latest blow in a year marked by the departure of major sponsors, layoffs at U.S.O.C. headquarters, controversy over the salary of the acting chief executive, and the failed plan for an Olympic television network... So did we not pay off someone who needed their palm greased? Did we insult someone who had a lot of influence? If the IOC votes based on favoritism, or on whose Olympic Committee they like the best, then maybe the USA should stop wasting money trying to get the Olymipics held in the USA. If it was more that the people of the US are lukewarm at best to having the Olympics held here, then we deserved to lose.
There was a lot of doubt about having the Olympics held in Athens, and there were some problems, but maybe Rio will have learned a thing or two. If they can get their crime problem under control, at least to the point of making travel on the roads from the airport reasonably safe, then good for them. I think they'll put on quite a show.6433. wabbit - 11/8/2009 5:40:07 PM  ZENYATTA!! I know I wasn't the only one watching at home who was on my feet when Zenyatte came down the stretch. If she doesn't get Horse of the Year, all the voters should be investigated. There is no way Rachel Alexandra, good as she is, deserves it more than Zenyatta. RA's connections have avoided every opportunity they had to run against Zenyatta, and that says it all for me. RA is 8 for 8 and has beaten the boys three times this year - great, fantastic, but not good enough. Zenyatta's people took a chance yesterday, risking her perfect record to give her the chance to prove she really is all that she seems. She would have won the Distaff without question. They put her in the Classic, a race at a distance she had never run, against a loaded international field of colts and stallions she had never run against (and that RA will probably never meet). Despite some drama at the start, she mowed them down. She beat Gio Ponti, a colt who has been getting some HotY support. If that isn't Horse of the Year material, I don't know what is.
With Zenyatta out of the race, her stablemate Life Is Sweet got her chance to shine, and she won the Distaff. The little filly She Be Wild, who's owners kept her when they were unable to sell her for $19,000 at the Ocala Breeders' Sales spring 2-year-old in training sale, won the Juvenile Fillies and may end up as the 2-year-old Filly of the Year.
Goldikova scored her second victory against the boys in the BC Mile. Her trainer, Freddy Head, won this same race two years in a row as a jockey on Miesque, a filly who was the first to win the same race in consecutive years in the BC. I don't usually pick favorites to win, but I had the exacta in this race, with Courageous Cat as my place horse.
It was a good year at the Breeder's Cup. No horses were injured, discounting Quality Road cutting himself a bit at the gate for the Classic and being withdrawn. The Sprint had a four-way photo finish, with 25-1 shot Dancing in Silks getting the win. Dancing in Silks was one of three geldings to win a big race. Favorite California Flag won the $1 million Turf Sprint, and longshot Furthest Land won the $1 million Dirt Mile a year after being claimed for $35,000 at Belmont Park. Never underestimate the eye of a handicapper when he decides to put his money down to actually buy a horse!
6434. alistairconnor - 11/14/2009 3:50:31 PM 
Unexpectedly, New Zealand have qualified for the World Cup in South Africa next year (the one that counts : soccer, my dears.) They beat Bahrein 1-0 for the privilege. The last time, indeed the only other time they qualified, was Spain in 1982.
At least I'm guaranteed a team to cheer for. France (champions 1998, lest we forget) aren't even qualified... yet. They have to knock out Ireland to make the cut. First leg in Dublin tonight, second in Paris next week.
6435. alistairConnor - 11/19/2009 12:11:15 AM Soccer again tonight. Lots of cars honking in the streets earlier, I look at the flags: it's Algeria who's qualified.
France won 1-0 in Dublin on Sunday. And now we have the return match : 1-0 to the Irish at full time, so now we're having extra time. Electric. From what I've seen, the Irish deserve to qualify... for balls and determination alone. 6436. alistairConnor - 11/19/2009 12:13:52 AM And while I was typing that... France scores! A head by captain Thierry Henry.
And the goal is contested... the Italian coach of the Irish is going ballistic...
But it's 1-1 for the moment, which qualifies France for the World Cup... but there's another quarter of an hour to go... 6437. alistairconnor - 11/19/2009 1:57:51 PM 
Well! I overlooked it last night (I was cooking dinner at the time), but Thierry Henry apparently took himself for God, or for Diego Maradona...
France's winning goal was set up by a deliberate handball by our national Titi... as depicted unequivocally above...
The Irish armed forces are rumoured to be mobilising, to come and teach us a lesson. Or more reliably :
The Irish justice minister demanded a rematch today after a blatant handball put France into the World Cup finals. Dermot Ahern lashed out at the governing body Fifa after the Republic of Ireland were beaten by a controversial extra-time goal illegally set up by the France captain, Thierry Henry.
Come on fellas. It's only a game, you know.
6438. vonKreedon - 11/19/2009 5:59:10 PM Any chance that they get a rematch? 6439. alistairConnor - 11/20/2009 1:10:22 AM Fifa told the Irish to get stuffed. They've got the result they wanted.
It hurts me to be cynical about the French football team. I don't know if you remember, I waxed lyrical about the 1998 team, I became French in identifying with them. Thierry Henry is the last survivor of that glorious era... 6440. wabbit - 11/21/2009 1:56:03 AM from SI: FIFA rejected Ireland's request to replay its World Cup qualifier against France on Friday, but Thierry Henry said a rematch would be "the fairest solution" to resolve the furor over his extra-time hand ball that set up the deciding goal.
Turning down an appeal by the Football Association of Ireland as well as pressure from lawmakers and football figures in both countries, FIFA said it could not interfere and the referee's decision to allow the goal stands.
"The result of the match cannot be changed and the match cannot be replayed," FIFA said in a statement. "As is clearly mentioned in the Laws of the Game, during matches, decisions are taken by the referee and these decisions are final."
Henry used his left hand to keep the ball from going out of play, then passed to William Gallas, who headed in the decisive goal. At the time of Henry's handball, which went unpunished by Swedish referee Martin Hansson despite fervent appeals by Ireland players, the match was 17 minutes from reaching a penalty shootout.
The 1-1 draw at Stade de France put the French through to next year's World Cup in South Africa 2-1 on aggregate... Henry should ask them to rewrite their statement so it reads WILL not, not CAN not.6441. wabbit - 11/21/2009 2:05:05 AM Ok, the Patriots screwed the pooch last Sunday. Tom Brady had to waste a time out because the wrong guys were on the field. But I'm not convinced Bill Belichick made the wrong call. He gambled, yes, but Brady might have pulled it out. Not the call I would have made, but it isn't my call to make. It didn't play out. Oh well. Nobody died, it's a FOOTBALL (American style) GAME, not brain surgery. We won't have home field advantage during the playoffs. Deal with it.
Week 10 recaps. 6442. wabbit - 11/21/2009 2:13:33 AM Good for her - the Michelle Wie era has, at long last, begun. After years of injury and controversy, too much hype and money and not enough birdies, Wie won her first pro tournament Sunday afternoon at the LPGA's Lorena Ochoa Invitational in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Typical of Wie's highly melodramatic career, the win didn't come easily, as she survived a final round dogfight with a half-dozen of the game's biggest names, ultimately making five straight nerve-jangling pars and then a gorgeous birdie on the final hole to close out a two-stroke victory over Paula Creamer.
Along the way Wie displayed both her awesome talent and her enduring star power, reminding everyone what all the fuss was about in the first place. It was a deeply personal triumph, capping a period of tremendous maturation on and off the golf course.
Padraig Harrington is an Irishman and a sportsman, so it's no surprise he has an opinion on France's controversial win over Ireland in the final World Cup qualifying match this week...
At the Euro Tour's Dubai World Championship finale, reporters asked Harrington how he felt about Henry's handball considering Harrington plays a sport where players routinely call penalties on themselves.
"Golf has a different attitude," Harrington said. "If somebody makes a mistake and ... putting your hand out as a reaction is a mistake, the great thing in golf is if we do do something wrong, we hold our hand up and say, 'Hey, hang on a second, didn't mean to do that, sorry.' You go back and you take your penalty."
Soccer is obviously a different sport and Harrington said he understood that players don't call penalties on themselves. (Although Henry did say a rematch would be "the fairest solution" to the controversy.) It was what happened after the game that really irked him.
"Celebration of the cheating was particularly galling, and that's as far as it goes," Harrington said.
6443. wabbit - 11/21/2009 2:18:11 AM RIP Bobby Frankel Bobby Frankel possessed a gift for coaxing top performances out of ornery, high-strung thoroughbreds, a gruff Hall of Fame trainer who was hard in his dealings with humans but gentle with the animals in his barn.
Frankel died of cancer Monday at his home in Pacific Palisades, jockey agent Ron Anderson said. He was 68.
Frankel had been running his stable by phone for most of the year while undergoing treatment and concealing details of his illness from most of his colleagues, a remarkable feat in an industry fueled by gossip.
"He was a secretive guy,'' Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert said from Santa Anita. "He's from the old school of training - nobody needs to know your business.''
Frankel began his career at Belmont Park and Aqueduct in New York, one of the cheap hired hands who walk horses around the barn after morning workouts. He took out his trainer's license in 1966 and won his first race with Double Dash at Aqueduct that November.
He built an early reputation as "King of the Claimers,'' taking the cheapest horses and turning them into high-priced stakes winners.
Frankel saddled 3,654 winners and earned $227,949,775 during his 43-year career, according to Equibase. He was second only to D. Wayne Lukas in money won, and they were the only trainers to earn more than $200 million...
6444. wabbit - 11/30/2009 7:30:26 PM  In what has already been a banner year for Derek Jeter, the New York Yankees shortstop can add another honor: Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year award. Jeter was chosen as the magazine's 56th honoree (the Dec. 7 issue will hit newsstands on Wednesday) and becomes the first Yankee to be named SI's Sportsman.
Jeter's selection caps another outstanding season for the 35-year-old team captain and future Hall of Famer. In 2009 he batted .334 while leading the Yankees to their fifth World Series title in his 14 full seasons, their first since 2000 and their record 27th in franchise history. On Sept. 11 he passed Lou Gehrig's franchise mark for base hits, which now stands at 2,747. In 2009 Jeter led the American League by reaching base 289 times, finished second in the league in hits (212), third in batting average and on-base percentage (.406), fourth in runs (107) and eighth in stolen bases (30). He was named an All-Star for the 10th time, including the sixth time as a starter, while winning his fourth AL Silver Slugger as the best hitting shortstop in the league and his fourth Gold Glove as the league's top defensive shortstop.
In 15 postseason games Jeter lived up to his reputation as a clutch player, batting .344 with a .432 on-base percentage, three home runs and six RBIs. He batted .407 in the World Series to lead the Yankees to a six-game victory over the defending world champion Philadelphia Phillies. During the Series, Jeter was named the American League recipient of the Hank Aaron Award, given to the best hitter in each league, and the winner of the Roberto Clemente Award, given to the player who best displays skill on the field while giving back to the community off it...
6445. wabbit - 11/30/2009 7:50:40 PM Hey Tiger, wtf? Like Jake Mariotti, I figured this was a late night 7-11 run and maybe you hit the brakes to avoid squashing a furperson. But maybe there was something else going on since he hasn't actually said that, or anything like that. Is TMZ right? Whoever Tiger's 'people' are, they are giving him terrible advice and he needs to find someone else who has a better handle on this kind of thing. Maybe he should call Letterman. 6446. judithathome - 12/2/2009 5:32:31 PM I can't stand schlock shows like TMZ...they take such delight in taking down the talented and famous and I tend to think it's because they resent anyone more talented than they...which is almost everyone.
That said, Tiger was an ass to rely on such bad advice. One need only look to Hillary Clinton's lousy presidential campaign to see what listening to the wrong people can get you.
It's just a shame that he will probably retire from the game on this ridiculously sour note.
And I suppose it's too much to ask that celebrities' private lives be kept moderatly private. 6447. iiibbb - 12/3/2009 5:04:11 AM As someone who doesn't give a flying flip about famous people... I can't understand why such a large proportion of our population does.
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