Serena Williams Outburst on Foot Fault Hands Clijsters Victory

By Danielle Rossingh

Sept. 13 (Bloomberg) — An outburst by defending champion Serena Williams over a foot fault capped her loss to Kim Clijsters in the women’s semifinals at the U.S. Open.

Clijsters, the 2005 champion who came out of a two-year retirement a month ago, will play Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark for the title tonight at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

“Played probably the best match of my career tonight and it was the craziest too!” the Belgian wrote last night on her Twitter social networking site.

Serving to stay in last night’s match at a set down and trailing 6-5 in the second, Williams was called for a foot fault by a line judge on her second serve at 15-30, handing Clijsters two match points. A player’s feet cannot touch the baseline during a serve.

Williams turned to get another ball and seemed ready to serve when she changed her mind and walked over to the line judge, shouting and pointing her racket. As Williams walked back to start serving, the line judge reported the incident to chair umpire Louise Engzell.

The Associated Press reported that Williams told the line judge: “If I could, I would take this … ball and shove it down your … throat.”

After speaking to Williams and tournament referee Brian Earley, who had walked onto court after the clash, the umpire gave the American a point penalty because she had received a warning after breaking her racket on the court at the end of the first set. Tennis rules dictate that a player’s second code violation is a point penalty, according to the Web site of the U.S. Tennis Association, and this infraction handed the reigning Wimbledon and Australian Open champion a 6-4, 7-5 loss.

Williams then walked over to a stunned Clijsters to shake hands, and walked off the court.

‘Unsportsmanlike’

“She was called for a foot fault, and a point later, she said something to a line umpire, and it was reported to the chair, and that resulted in a point penalty,” Earley said in a television interview after the match. “And it just happened that point penalty was match point. It was a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct.”

Williams, the second seed, appeared composed at a news conference after the match. She declined to say what she told the line judge.

“What did I say? You didn’t hear?” Williams said. She denied threatening the official, saying: “I’ve never been in a fight in my whole life, so I don’t know why she would have felt threatened.”

Williams, who was full of praise for the way Clijsters played the match, didn’t apologize for her behavior.

“How many people yell at linespeople?” she said. “If you look at all the people that kind of yell at linespeople — players, athletes get frustrated. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen that happen.”

‘Unfortunate’ Timing

Clijsters said the incident made it difficult for her to celebrate. As a wild-card entrant, she will be playing for her second major title tonight in just her third tournament since coming out of retirement, during which she had her first child.

“The timing is unfortunate,” Clijsters, who is friends with Williams, said at a news conference. “To get a point penalty at the time, it’s unfortunate. But there are rules. It’s just unfortunate that it has to happen on a match point.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Danielle Rossingh at the U.S. Open through the New York sports desk.

Read more here.

Adam LaRoche Versus Matt Holliday – Bats Blog – NYTimes.com

With a nine-game hitting streak to start his tenure with the Cardinals, including two four-hit games, Matt Holliday was an instant success in St. Louis after being traded from the Oakland Athletics. As the biggest name to be dealt before the nonwaiver deadline, and the holder of a .376 batting average since the trade, he would be easy to label as the biggest find of the 2009 trading season. But without nearly as much fanfare, Adam LaRoche of the Braves has been perhaps even better.

LaRoche was traded to the Red Sox from the Pirates on July 23, and then to the Braves from the Red Sox on July 31. He had not done much for his first two teams this season, hitting .247 in 87 games for Pittsburgh and .263 in six games for Boston. But his return to the Braves, whom he played for from 2004 to 2006, seems to have awakened his bat. He has a .372 average, .461 on-base percentage, .674 slugging percentage, 8 home runs and 18 R.B.I. for the Braves. Since each has joined his new team, LaRoche has the same number of home runs as Holliday in eight fewer games and has a better on-base percentage.

Those totals may seem out of line for a player with a .273 career batting average, but he has produced two similar months in his career. In July 2008, LaRoche hit .390 with 7 home runs and 18 R.B.I., and in August 2006 he hit .375 with 7 home runs and 21 R.B.I.

Read original post here:  Adam LaRoche Versus Matt Holliday – Bats Blog – NYTimes.com.

Cardinals and Yankees World Series

It’s coming down to the wire and unless some crazy wild card team ruins everything, there is a good chance that the Cardinals and Yankees could play each other in the World Series.

Both teams have some of the best fans in baseball and it would surely be a crowd pleaser. The Cardinals addition of Matt Holliday has solidified the lineup. Carpenter has proved to be one of the best pitchers in baseball. The Cardinals better watch him like a hawk and put 24 hour a day guards on him. He is a very big key to some big playoff and series wins. Pujols…need I say more.

Now let’s dig a little deeper and see what this could actually mean to my home life. My husband is a Yankee fan to the nth degree and I, of course, am a fan of the greatest team ever: the Cardinals. As posted earlier I am a Yankees fan by marriage but when it comes to them playing each other in the World Series all bets are off. The two of us are already talking about how we are going to handle this. Since both of us usually change the channel when our team is losing (we can’t bare to watch it) and just check back every once in a while to see if anything miraculous has happened, this could present a major problem. My biggest concern is that we don’t end up in DC (divorce court) but I am taking some precautions to make sure that doesn’t happen (most pertain to my husband).

Following are the set of rules to be abided by during this sacred series:

1. The channel may not be changed if  (I mean when) the Yankees are losing.
2. Yellow tape will surround my husband’s area on the couch and he will not be allowed out of that area.
3. When the Cardinals get a homerun no groaning will be allowed.
4. When Albert Pujols is up to bat and I say how cute he is there will be no negative responses allowed.
5. When Matt Holliday is up to bat…see number four above.
6. Everyday after the Cardinals win we will call each of my three sons in St. Louis and my husband will tell them “good game”.
7. At the end of the series when the Cardinals win (remember 1964) my husband will wear a Cardinal shirt for a month.
8. Watching on separate TVs in separate rooms will only be allowed under extreme circumstances: such as I have a knife to my throat.

I’m so looking forward to this Cardinals vs. Yankees World Series and implementing my special set of rules. Any other suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Labor Day: A Salute to Moms

Labor Day weekend is finally here. We often see this holiday as an end to summer and back to the old grindstone. But we should solemnly take a look at what this holiday means to us as Americans.

Looking at the end result we often ignore the harrowing efforts that mothers have exerted to become a mother to their glorious offspring. LABOR!!! As we celebrate this holiday let’s take a closer look at what it is really all about. Let’s examine and delve into what mother’s really go through to give birth to a child. Even though there is a special holiday for labor pains I don’t think we (or do I mean men?) appreciate the agony that expectant mothers go through.

When pregnancy reaches it’s end and labor looms closer and closer, fun activities, that disguise the excruciating pain that will soon ensue, pop up all over the place. Baby showers are attended and cute little toys and even cuter little outfits are received with joy. Baby Car seats are purchased with total safety in mind and fancy teethers are acquired to satisfy the little bundle of joy.. Doctor visits are accompanied with ultrasound pictures that are proudly framed and shown to anyone that will take the slightest notice of them. This is all a trick people! It’s all a conspiracy to make mothers think it is a breeze to delivery a baby.

Labor is hell. Let’s face the facts here. If I had to do it over again I would ask for every drug imaginable to eliminate any and all pain. I would beg for mercy and promise my doctor that I would be his slave for the rest of my life. This simple use of drugs would eliminate cursing at the father, cursing at the nurses, cursing at the doctors and screaming like a maniac.

Let us all pause for a moment and honor our mothers who have lovingly gone through labor to populate our world full of little rugrats. Greet expectant mothers with a hug and tell them you are so proud of them for undertaking the nine months it takes to get to the point of being in labor and suffering such pain. I’m certain the response will be taken well.

Let’s give a special nod to all you mothers out there that actually have your child on Labor Day. I am proposing that special legislation be put in place to give these mothers a lifetime supply of valium and their children will have a nanny till age 48.

It is Labor Day isn’t it…not April Fool’s Day?

Desserts: Heavenly Favorites

Just the thought of desserts quickens my pulse and makes my mouth start to water. I’m a firm believer in starting my meals with a tasty piece of cake just to make sure I don’t get full and have to forfeit the best part of any meal. For that matter, most of the time I could just go straight to dessert and forget about the rest.

I love all foods. I don’t think there is anything that I really don’t like or won’t try. But desserts top my list by far.

Ice Cream Dinner

Dinner tonight was (notice past tense) going to be baked chicken, rice, and zucchini. A slight problem developed around 3:00PM. I had been working on the front yard with my trusty hedgetrimmer and hadn’t eaten much all day. So a little snack was in order for my empty stomach. The last of the leftovers from last night’s dinner were consumed in short order and I settled into some work on the computer.

My daughter and granddaughter called and that brightened up my day and took close to an hour. Finding no reason to cook (why would one cook if not hungry?) I continued on with my late afternoon feeling pretty damn good. Time passed even further till it was obvious I was not cooking anything for dinner. Frank, the good husband that he is, said nothing but I knew he must be hungry. Around 6:30 he mentioned Dairy Queen so off we went.

It’s 9:30 at night now and I’m still stuffed from my Peanut Butter Parfait (man, they put a lot of peanuts and chocolate in those things). Sunday night dinner of ice cream can not be beat. Hmmm, maybe tomorrow we’ll have popcorn.

Shoes: Comfort or Style

Jaycee Lee Dugard

As the news is breaking about the eleven year old Jaycee Lee Dugard and her remarkable reappearance back into the world of her family and loved ones, it makes me look at what has become of this planet where we reside.

My husband says I live in “lollipop land”. He is very protective and does not want me going anywhere by myself. Even the grocery store I seldom go to by myself. If I even mention doing so he says the grocery store rapist will get me. I laugh and then he goes with me for any errand that need to be run. I am, of course, a grown woman with children and grandchildren but the world can be a scary place for all ages. There are evil, despicable people out there that prey on all types of people. My husband is correct in his assumption that you can never be too careful. When will our society punish these people that prey on the children? When will their punishment be commensurate with the crime that they have committed? When will they suffer as they have made their victims suffer?

This poor girl, Jaycee, who at eleven years old was stolen from her family surely deserves some justice. The news is coming out more and more of the pain and suffering that she was subject to with these monsters. Eleven years old people! A child, with years ahead of her full of innocence and fun. The outrage should be enormous. The punishment should be swift and just. My fear is this will drag on in court matters and plea agreements. They will never receive the just payment for their crime.

These sick criminals need to know that whatever sick and evil thoughts they have, if they are acted upon, will pay dearly and with suffering and pain. Not just with their life (which probably won’t happen) but with a punishment appropriate to the crime they have committed.

My thoughts and prayers go out to this girl. Thank God she has been rescued. God be with her as she starts her new journey.

Online Games Addiction

The word addiction has several synonyms: habit, compulsion, dependence, need, obsession, craving, infatuation etc. Looking at all these words makes me realize I meet the standards and qualify to be a member of the “Online Game Addiction Club”, hereafter referred to as OGAC.

Some people have learned the hard way that I am not a morning person. I do wake up at a reasonably early hour, usually between 6:00a.m. and 7:00a.m. However, I am not available to the world for quite some time after that. Rising from bed I stumble into the kitchen and feed the cat. This is done purely from the standpoint that if I didn’t Mr. Kitty would harass me till that task was completed. Coffee is next of course and that is taken straight to my computer and this is where the OGAC enters the picture. Literati is first. Literati is a Yahoo word game similar to Scrabble but the letters are not the same every game and the letter gods can play some nasty tricks on you. I’ve been playing this game for over six years now almost every morning. I believe my admission to this is the first step in my comprehension of just how deeply I am entrenched in my addiction.

My day proceeds normally after an hour or so of playing Literati. Work is completed, deadlines are met and thoughts do not stray to playing any games. I do some networking on Facebook and this has led to another game addiction. I am now a proud member of the Mafia. Yes, my Italian heritage has led me to be a gun-toting, crime performing member of Mafia Wars. I am compelled to check in the morning to see if I have been robbed, assisted any members of my Mafia in performing any illegal operations or earned any money with my Cuban connections. My Mafia members grow everyday and I believe I have gained some well-earned respect.

So now there are two online games that I play religiously. My quaint little life would not be complete without playing. My mornings would be even tougher for those surrounding me (sympathy to my husband) if I was not able to imbibe in these online joys. If an addiction means a cure is necessary, count me out. I admit my dependence. I acknowledge my obsession. I crave with no guilt. I see no need to stop my compulsion to satisfy my infatuation. I comprehend my addiction but seek no cure.

Food Crimes: A Marketing Dream

A 13-year old girl in Milwaukee allegedly stabbed her step-grandfather in the neck after he allegedly dumped her milk out that she wanted for her cereal. 

What’s missing here is just what type of cereal this young teen was going to pour her milk over. Was it Fruit Loops? Could it have been Frosted Flakes? Was she a health nut (I think we can assume the “nut” part)? 

This could be a marketing and advertising dream come true. I can see it now. We’ll use a fictitious name here. Frosted Loops, the cereal kids will stab for! The re-enacting could be sensational. Picture a cute little girl sitting at the kitchen table in her pink pajamas with little kittens on them. She has a box of her favorite cereal in front of her and a bowl of dry cereal (with little cartoon pictures on it) just waiting for her Grandpa to pour her milk. At this moment Gramps pours the remaining milk down the drain. The little girl changes from cute and passive to a raving lunatic (this might be an opportunity for her to grow horns). She runs to Grandpa, grabs a steak knife and forcefully stabs him as he stands at the sink. Cut to soothing music and just the words “Don’t mess with my Frosted Loops”. What parent would not keep an ample supply of cereal and milk in the house?