Humble Star of the Week (Part 1): Kim Clijsters

Kim Clijsters of Belgium, acknowledged as one of the nicest women on the pro tennis tournament, won the U.S. Open tournament last night.

Clijsters, winner of this grand slam back in 2005, had taken several years off to have a baby. She became one of the few mothers to win a grand slam in tennis history.

Her daughter, Jada Clijsters Lynch, gave her mother’s trophy a gentle tap on court after the match, then toddled off down the service line of Arthur Ashe Stadium while jiggling her 18-month-old legs for the benefit of the photographers.

Congratulations, Kim It's nice to know that nice people don't always finish last!

Egotistical A$$holes of the Week (Part 1): Serena Williams

I'm going to start this post by admitting that Serena Williams has been my favorite tennis pro for years and years. My only beef with her up until this point is when she starts her on-court interviews with "I'd like to thank my God Jehovah" which drives me crazy.

Anyhoo, I've been intently following the U.S. Open. Over the summer, I'd even planned on going down and catching some matches but I couldn't interest anyone to join me.

On Saturday, in a match against comeback mother of the year Kim Clijsters, she tore into a line judge when she made a foot fault call.

I swear to God, I'll fucking take this ball and shove it down your fucking throat.

She said more but it's hard to hear much more on the tape. Here are my thoughts:

• The lines person is a human being and doing a job. No one has the right to abuse an employee like that. Maybe this job was the culmination of a life long career of being a judge and you stole the highpoint of her life.

• Serena had been called for foot faults earlier in the tournament although not in this match.

• Serena stole the moment of victory from Clijsters.

• Serena was unrepentant in the press conference after the match. Her new-found apology is damage control and I don't think she really means it. She knows she's in very deep trouble and doing what it takes to get out of the hole she's dug.

* This was her second violation of the match. The first, a warning, came after she demolished her racket in the first set in a temper tantrum. It is her responsibility to remember that any further conduct problems would result in a point.

• Her behavior was enough to default the match, not just the penalization of a point.

Serena Williams was fined $10,000 for the inexcusable behavior and another $500 for the racket abuse. That is the maximum at this stage. However, she could be banned from future tournaments and face larger fines as the WTA performs further investigations. It will be interesting to see if the take away her $350K prize money for reaching the semifinals and if they allow her to play in the women's doubles final with Venus today. It would be a shame to punish Venus for Serena's behavior.

It doesn't matter if the line call was in error or not. (There is some conjecture here.) The responsibility is on the professional to behave within the rules.

She is supposed to be a role model. She represents tennis and the U.S. to the world. She acted more like a member of Congress.

Hunk-A-Lot Hump Day: Tommy Robredo

Original photo from Elle Spain magazine.

130˚F At Australian Open

What the fuck is up with the officials at the Australian Open?

I was up all night watching. The defending champion, Novak Djokovic, had to retire from the heat in his match against Andy Roddick. The needle on the thermometer on the court went past the top temperature of 60˚C. They were playing in a multi-million dollar stadium with a retractable roof...that they refused to close! How fucked up is that? I thought the purpose of a roof is to protect occupants from unbearable weather.

The Open isn't about who's playing the best tennis, rather who can withstand the heat.

Hunk-A-Lot Hump Day: Nicolas Kiefer

Hunk-A-Lot Hump Day: Robby Ginepri

Sunday Morning Levity: Novak Djokovic

Novak will be playing in today's final of the U.S. Open. Early in the tournament, a commentator for USA Network convinced him to do a couple of his "famous" imitations of fellow players after a late night match in Arthur Ashe Stadium. If you follow tennis and/or know Maria Sharapova and Rafa Nadal, you'll get a kick out of this.

At 20 years old, you can already tell this guy is going to be a star on and off the court. I originally posted photos of him after Wimbledon.

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Two Great Reasons To Watch Tennis

Both of these guys lost in the semi-finals at Wimbledon this year. Richard Gasquet from France (top); and Serbian Novak Djokovic (below) is handsome and sports some awesome abs.

If I Were A Rich Man

If I were a person of unlimited financial means, I would combine my love of travel with my joy of watching the Olympics and professional tennis. I would go to everyone one, getting all the best seats to the best Olympic events and sit courtside at the four major tennis tournaments.

Well Saturday is 7/7/7, so I'm off to by my Lotto ticket. I just hope it isn't a lucky day for anyone but me!

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The International Olympic Committee (IOC) awarded the 2014 Winter Olympic games to Sochi, Russia, a Black Sea "Russian Riviera" resort where the snow-capped Caucasus mountains rise from some of Russia's warmest beaches.

Russia, an Olympic power which has won 293 Winter Games medals, has never hosted the Winter Games. That was a strong point in Sochi's favor with the IOC, which likes to spread the Olympics to new host countries. Moscow hosted the 1980 Summer Games, which were hit by the U.S.-led boycott following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

Russian President Vladimir Putin praised Sochi's natural setting, saying, "On the seashore you can enjoy a fine spring day, but up in the mountains, it's winter ... a real snow is guaranteed."

Salzburg -- once considered the favorite -- finished third among the final three as it did in bidding for the 2010 games that went to Vancouver, British Columbia. Pyeongchang, South Korea led the first-round vote, as it did four years ago, but was narrowly defeated in the final round.
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