Wednesday, August 31, 2011
WATCH: EQCA Responds To FRC Lies About FAIR Education Act
US OPEN 2011: Venus Withdraws in 2nd Round!
Oh no!! Just minutes before she was scheduled to play her 2nd round match against 2011 Wimbledon semifinalist Sabine Lisicki (which I did not believe she would win) 7-time major champion Venus Williams, 31, withdrew from the tournament, claiming an "unspecified illness."
Venus had won her first round match relatively handily 6-3 6-4 no Monday night and looked sharp. Still, she has only played 11 matches all year long, and will fall out of the Top 100, since she reached the 2010 US Open semifinals and will fail to defend those ranking points. Already her sister Serena Williams, the favorite to win her 14th major in New York, has stated that she would probably continue playing even if Venus were to retire. She reiterated that neither sister has any plans to retire any time soon.
Earlier this year Venus Williams retired for the first time ever during a Grand Slam match, in the 3rd round in Australia versus Andrea Petkovic.
In other news, my pre-tournament pick for the women's final, Marion Bartoli, was upset by American teenager Christina McHale.
UPDATE 05:28PM EDT
Venus has released a statement which says that she has been disgnosed with Sjogren's Syndrome. ESPN has the deets:
"I enjoyed playing my first match here, and wish I could continue but right now I am unable to," Williams said in a statement released by the tournament. "I am thankful I finally have a diagnosis and am now focused on getting better and returning to the court soon."
According to the Sjogren's Syndrome Foundation website, the disease is a chronic autoimmune illness in which people's white blood cells attack their moisture-producing glands. Common symptoms include dry eyes and dry mouth. As many as 4 million Americans have the disease.
Williams arrived at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Wednesday hours before her match was scheduled to begin and tried warming up by hitting balls.
When Williams left the site shortly before 5 p.m., wearing a white sweater and purple shorts, she was asked by reporters whether she would say anything. She smiled and waved and shook her head to indicate, "No," then climbed into the back of a tournament transportation car and rode away.
"All of us came with the full expectation she'd be playing today. She was geared up to play her match," said Williams' agent, Carlos Fleming.
"I just hope she's OK," Fleming added, "and I hope she's healthy and going to be fine."
Despite having won seven Grand Slam singles titles, Williams was unseeded at the U.S. Open because her ranking has fallen to 36th after a year of little action. Since reaching the semifinals at last year's U.S. Open, Williams has played only 11 matches, and the WTA projects that her ranking will slide out of the top 100.
Goodwin Liu Likely To Join CA Sup Ct For Perry
Next Tuesday, September 6 oral arguments will be held before the California Supreme Court in a very important case which will determine who exactly has "judicial standing" under California law to defend a voter-approved initiative (like Proposition 8) when the executive branch officers (Governor and Attorney General) have declined to do so.
Happily, Governor Brown recently nominated marriage-equality supporting University of California, Berkeley law professor Goodwin Liu to the California Supreme Court. It looks very likely that Professor Liu will join the court before Tuesday and participate in the oral arguments in the Perry v Brown case. There is no Republican neanderthal filibuster to prevent Liu from joining this court, unlike his unsuccessful path to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Instead he just needs to get the approval of the 3-member Commission on Judicial Appointments, and then he will be up for election for a 12-year term at the next statewide general election.
US OPEN 2011: Li Na Upset, Serena, Nole, Rafa Through
Following yesterday's surprising exit of Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, 2011 French Open champion Li Na also lost in the first round, leaving no reigning grand slam champion left in the tournament after its second day. Li lost to Simona Halep in straight sets, 6-3 7-5. Reigning Australian Open champ (and defending US Open champ) Kim Clijsters is not playing in New York due to an injury. The losses by Li and Kvitova are disappointing follow-ups to their breakthroughs into the upper echelons of tennis earlier this year.
That basically leaves Serena Williams, despite being seeded #28, as the player most people want to talk about as the most likely player to win the tournament. She looked fabulous in her 6-1 6-1 beatdown of Bojana Jovanovski, a dangerous, hard-hitting youngster from Serbia.
Also, #1 seed Novak Djokovic won his 58th match of the year (against only 2 losses) when he was up 6-1 5-0 and his opponent retired.
#6 seed Robin Soderling suddenly withdrew from the tournament, citing an illness on Wednesday. Soderling was in #4 seed Andy Murray's quarter of the draw.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Bloomberg Is Endorsing Lesbian For NYC Mayor
This week comes word that Bloomberg is privately endorsing Quinn's bid as his successor.
The New York Times reports:
It is the worst-kept secret in City Hall. Michael R. Bloomberg has told almost everyone who asks — but only privately, so far — that he hopes the City Council speaker, Christine C. Quinn, will succeed him as mayor in 2013.
While Mr. Bloomberg brings unprecedented personal resources to his political agenda, few other New York City mayors have succeeded in anointing a successor.
Mr. Bloomberg, in fact, was the only mayoral candidate in recent memory for whom an endorsement by the incumbent proved instrumental, even if it was a begrudging, last-minute nudge from Rudolph W. Giuliani.
Mr. Bloomberg, an independent, has refrained from specifying an heir publicly, since he seems to prefer to keep Ms. Quinn, a Democrat, and other prospective candidates as compliant as possible in the two years remaining before the next mayoral election.
Jamie McShane, a spokesman for Ms. Quinn, said, “She has never asked for nor has he offered his support.”
A spokesman for Mr. Bloomberg said the same.
Still, the mayor has made it plain in private conversations with other politicians and civic leaders that he prefers the City Council speaker.
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Monday, August 29, 2011
US OPEN 2011: Kvitova Upset 1st Round, Sharapova Survives Scare
#3 seed Maria Sharapova gutted out her 12th consecutive 3-set match of 2011 against British phenom Heather Watson who seemed unfazed by the 3-time major champ's firepower. Sharapova won 3-6 7-5 6-3.
Venus Williams won her 1st round match winning 6-4 6-2 hitting 1 more winner than unforced errors, looking in pretty good form even though she had not played a single hardcourt tour match this summer.
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