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5654. wabbit - 7/8/2007 7:09:36 PM  Roger Federer won his fifth consecutive Wimbledon title Sunday, beating nemesis Rafael Nadal in a five-set epic and taking his place in tennis history beside Bjorn Borg. The top-ranked Swiss player was pushed to the limit in a Grand Slam final for the first time, but he held on to win 7-6 (7), 4-6, 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-2 for his 11th major title. Federer is the first man to win five straight titles at the All England Club since Borg did it from 1976-80. The Swede watched the match from the Royal Box with other past champions, and applauded as Federer fell to the ground after an overhead smash on match point.
"It was such a close match," Federer said. "I told Rafa at the net he deserved it as well. I'm the lucky one today." Federer beat Nadal for only the fifth time in 13 meetings. The Spaniard has defeated Federer in the past two French Open finals to spoil his bid to complete a career Grand Slam.
Federer stretched his record grass-court winning streak to 53 and his Wimbledon winning streak to 34. He is now tied for third on the career list with Borg and Rod Laver at 11 major titles, trailing Pete Sampras' 14 and Roy Emerson's 12.
Wimbledon
5655. alistairConnor - 7/10/2007 6:16:54 PM Great stage today!
Longest of the Tour - 236 km - and the SLOWEST in ten years! That's what's great about it. The guys have got sore legs, and they have worked out that they aren't going to make it through the three weeks at 50 km/h, without... whatever it was they aren't taking this year.
This is the clearest indication so far that dope is on the decline.
Oh and Cancellara pulled off a great move, beat the sprinters with panache! 5656. iiibbb - 7/10/2007 6:34:22 PM Great stage today. 5657. jexster - 7/10/2007 6:55:59 PM Went by the Moscone Centers yesterday where they're holding All-Star Game Fan Fest in Moscone West. I can't recall ever seeing Downtown SF so crowded. Of course little of this is "new money" to the City - most people come from the Bay Area and are just spending the same entertainment $$ they would have spent elsewhere. Still the downtown businesses must have been pleased but for the life of me I can't figure out why anyone would stand in line with literally thousands to pay 22 bucks to move shoulder to shoulder through four floors of baseball whatevers.... 5658. wabbit - 7/11/2007 2:45:04 PM  On a night of tricky hops, Ichiro Suzuki and the American League also bounced back to win. Instead of a Barry Bonds splash shot, the defining hit at Tuesday's All-Star game was Suzuki's inside-the-park home run, the first in the game's history. Suzuki lined a go-ahead, two-run drive off the right-field wall in the fifth inning, Carl Crawford and Victor Martinez later hit conventional shots and the Americans made it 10 straight over the Nationals, holding on for a 5-4 victory.
After Alfonso Soriano's two-out, two-run homer in the ninth that made it 5-4, the NL loaded the bases on three walks before Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez retired Aaron Rowand on a routine fly to right for a save.
Willie Mays, Bonds' godfather, was honored with a touching tribute before the game. In the Say Hey Kid's day, the NL ruled All-Star games but not anymore. The AL closed to 40-36-2 and improved to 5-0 since the All-Star winner received homefield advantage in the World Series. In a decade of dominance, the notorious 2002 tie at Milwaukee was all that interrupted the AL's run. The only longer streak was when the NL took 11 in a row from 1972-82.
5659. iiibbb - 7/12/2007 7:41:02 PM I'm bummed for Vino today. Kloden may be out as well. Not a good day for Astana.
Levi is looking good. 5660. robertjayb - 7/17/2007 9:43:56 PM Gotta love those Aussies...
BRISBANE, Australia — Rugby player Ben Czislowski kept competing for more than three months despite the headaches that started after a clash with an opponent.
Czislowski was playing for Brisbane team Wynnum during the April 1 incident involving Tweed Heads forward Matt Austin. He had a head wound stitched up afterward, the Australian Associated Press reported today.
Czislowski later suffered an eye infection and complained of lethargy and shooting pains in his head.
Then last week, his doctor found a tooth imbedded in Czislowski's head.
"I can laugh about it now, but the doctor told me it could have been serious, with teeth carrying germs," Czislowski said.
"I've got the tooth at home, sitting on the bedside table," he said. "If he (Austin) wants it back he can have it. I'm keeping it at the moment as proof that it actually happened."
5661. robertjayb - 7/18/2007 4:45:01 PM Geezers denied javelin throw...
MILAN (Reuters) - Italian officials said Tuesday that javelin throwing would be kept away from the track during the Masters athletics world championships in September, which will include competitors up to 90 years old.
French long jumper Salim Sdiri was speared by a flying javelin during the Golden League meeting in Rome Friday after Finnish thrower Tero Pitkamaki slipped at the end of his run-up.
5662. wabbit - 7/18/2007 5:43:46 PM
It was Friday the 13th, after all. 5663. wabbit - 7/18/2007 5:56:38 PM The indictment handed down Tuesday against Falcons quarterback Michael Vick and three others describes in detail how they procured a property in Virginia for the purpose of staging dogfights, bought dogs and then fought them there, and in several other states, over a 6-year period. With at least three cooperating witnesses providing the details, federal authorities compiled a detailed case that traces the birth and rise of Bad Newz Kennels.
But not a single line in the 18-page indictment will generate more rage toward Vick and the others charged -- Purnell A. Peace, Quanis L. Phillips and Tony Taylor -- than a sentence near the end. It reads: "In or about April of 2007, Peace, Phillips and Vick executed approximately eight dogs that did not perform well in 'testing' sessions at 1915 Moonlight Road by various methods, including hanging, drowning and slamming at least one dog's body to the ground."...
The saddest thing is there are kids all over the country who will see these guys and think what they did is cool.5664. wabbit - 7/18/2007 6:09:34 PM  Cedric Vasseur became the first French rider to win this year at the Tour de France, sprinting to victory in the 10th stage Wednesday. Vasseur, who rides for the Quick Step team, narrowly outsprinted four other cyclists in a breakaway group to cross in 5 hours, 20 minutes, 24 seconds. It was his first win at cycling's biggest race since 1997. Vasseur beat Sandy Casar of France by inches across the finish line, while Swiss rider Michael Albasini was third in the 142.6-mile stage from Tallard to Marseille. Casar, Albasini and two other riders finished in the same time. Vasseur, who turns 37 in August, said this will be his last year in the sport.
T-Mobile rider Patrik Sinkewitz tested positive for high levels of testosterone before the Tour de France, but competed in the race until a crash forced him to drop out. Sinkewitz was tested June 8, a month before the start of the Tour, and the A sample came back positive, the German cycling federation said Wednesday. Sinkewitz participated in the Tour, which began in London on July 7, but dropped out after crashing into a spectator after stage 8 on Sunday. He has been provisionally suspended by his team, T-Mobile spokesman Stefan Wagner said. Sinkewitz has five days to decide whether to request a B sample test. If that also comes back positive, he faces a possible ban. He also would be fired by his team and have to pay back his annual salary.
Le Tour de France news
5665. jexster - 7/21/2007 6:27:18 PM Barry Mania!
San Francisco City Hall is bathed in orange light and a Giants flag flutters above the mayor's balcony to mark the run-up to Barry Bonds' 756th career homer 5666. jexster - 7/21/2007 11:19:48 PM Who said it was like Vietnam!
BAGHDAD, Iraq — Police danced at checkpoints and gunmen fired their weapons in celebration Saturday as thousands of jubilant Iraqis poured into the streets of Baghdad after their national soccer team's 2-0 victory over Vietnam in a quarterfinal match of the Asia Cup in Bangkok 5667. wonkers2 - 7/23/2007 4:38:49 AM Carnage on day one of Express 27 Nationals on San Francisco Bay.
(Not sure how the picture of the house (not mine) got into the act! And I'm not smart enough to remove it!) 5668. wabbit - 7/24/2007 1:08:38 PM Ouch! Some great photos there, wonkers2. 5669. wabbit - 7/24/2007 1:09:03 PM  The 18th hole at Carnoustie is a 499-yard par 4 called "Home." That name may be welcoming, but the hole is a brute lying in wait to break hearts and wreck Open championship dreams. It is the toughest closing hole in golf. Just ask Sergio Garcia, Andres Romero and a hugely relieved champion, Padraig Harrington. The Barry Burn, which snakes in and out to trap tee shots pushed right and approach shots that come up short, took its toll again on Sunday. In 1999, it was the scene of Jean Van de Velde's downfall, and for a while it looked like it had claimed another victim. Harrington arrived at the hole with a one-shot lead, but both his drive and his third shot found the Burn, and he had to scramble for a double bogey.
That meant Garcia had a one-shot lead when he arrived on the 18th tee. He was in the fairway, but he left his second shot in a greenside bunker and made bogey, which forced the playoff. A crestfallen Garcia complained later about having to wait on his second shot as the bunkers were raked in front of him. Harrington, whose bogey on 18 in the playoff was good enough for the win, was relieved that his double bogey the first time through didn't cost him the tournament.
PGA news
5670. wabbit - 7/24/2007 1:09:21 PM  Jon Lester, whose rookie season ended suddenly when he was diagnosed with a treatable form of lymphoma, pitched six innings to lead the Red Sox to a 6-2 win over the Cleveland Indians. Working to major leaguers while his parents sat on the edges of their seats near Boston's dugout, Lester allowed two runs and five hits to easily handle the Indians, the team with the AL's best home record. The 23-year-old left-hander had been in the midst of a stellar first season when a visit to the doctor for back pain resulted in a startling find that threatened his life and stunned Red Sox Nation. Lester was diagnosed with anaplastic large cell lymphoma just days after he improved to 7-2 with a win over the Los Angeles Angels on Aug. 23.
Chad Billingsley hasn't spent a lot of time thinking about pitching in the ninth inning. After all, he'd never lasted past seven innings in any of his first 22 career starts. That all changed Monday night. The right-hander threw a five-hitter for his first complete game, Jeff Kent had four hits and a pair of RBIs and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Houston Astros 10-2. Billingsley (7-0) allowed five hits with three walks and six strikeouts. He became the first Dodger to start the season 7-0 since Matt Herges started the 2000 season 8-0. Billingsley is 3-0 in seven starts since joining the rotation June 21. He was 4-0 in 23 relief appearances. Luis Gonzalez and James Loney had three RBIs each for the NL West-leading Dodgers, who came in having lost three of four.
Alex Rodriguez became the first player to reach 100 RBIs this season and the first player to reach the milestone in fewer than 100 team games since Manny Ramirez in 1999. The last time anyone in a Yankees uniform did it? That would be 1937. Couple of guys named Joe DiMaggio and Lou Gehrig. Rodriguez has 11 100-RBI seasons, including 10 in a row. Gehrig and Jimmie Foxx share the record of consecutive 100-RBI seasons with 13 each. On Monday, A-Rod was 1-for-3 with two walks. His RBI single off Ryan Braun ignited a five-run ninth. Roger Clemens (3-4) earned his 351st career victory, giving up two runs and four hits in seven innings, walking none and striking out three to raise his total to 4,641, second to Nolan Ryan on the career list. The Rocket improved to 6-0 against Kansas City in seven starts with the Yankees, and 25-12 versus the Royals overall.
MLB scores
5671. wabbit - 7/24/2007 1:09:45 PM  Alexandre Vinokourov won the 15th stage of the Tour de France on Monday with a gutsy performance that was overshadowed by the challenges facing overall leader Michael Rasmussen. The Dane weathered several attacks from main rival Alberto Contador to defend the yellow jersey in what is becoming a two-man race, but took an unexpected hit when the head of cycling's governing body said the doping speculation surrounding Rasmussen would make it bad for the sport if he won the Tour.
Vinokourov, a former race favorite whose faint hopes of a Tour victory vanished after he lost nearly 29 minutes to Rasmussen on Sunday, crossed the finish line alone in 5 hours, 34 minutes, 28 seconds.
Rasmussen has been dogged by the doping cloud that hangs over the sport. He was dropped from Denmark's national team last week for failing to tell anti-doping officials of his whereabouts for drug testing before the race began. He missed two drug tests by the Danish anti-doping agency in May and June, and failed to respond to two warnings from the International Cycling Union since April 2006. A third infraction with either the UCI or the Danish agency would be considered equivalent to a positive test and lead to a ban. Whitney Richards, a former amateur mountain bike racer from Boulder, Colo., said Rasmussen asked him to carry a pair of cycling shoes in March 2002 when Richards was moving to Italy. When he opened the box, Richards said he found 14 IV bags filled with human blood substitute, which he poured down the drain.
Le Tour de France news
5672. wabbit - 7/24/2007 1:22:06 PM Michael Vick was ordered by commissioner Roger Goodell on Monday to stay away from the Atlanta Falcons' training camp until the league reviews the dogfighting charges against him.
"While it is for the criminal justice system to determine your guilt or innocence, it is my responsibility as commissioner of the National Football League to determine whether your conduct, even if not criminal, nonetheless violated league policies, including the Personal Conduct Policy," Goodell said in a letter to the quarterback.
The NFL said Vick would still get his preseason pay and Goodell told the Falcons to withhold any disciplinary action of their own until the league's review was completed... 5673. iiibbb - 7/24/2007 3:23:34 PM Vino bounced oddly back after a very bad day; kind of like Landis bounced back after a bad day.
No one is calling him out on his obvious use of testosterone.
Still, it's been an exciting tour this year.
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