Ellen is hosting the Oscars next year...Rosie has doubled ratings for "The View" in her first week...Martina has made it to the U.S. Open mixed doubles final and plays for the title today - a month shy of her 50th birthday!

Three of our lesbian icons were really on their game this week and it should make everyone, gay or straight, extremely proud. While Navratilova has been an out champion for more than 25 years, I'm so glad she came out of retirement six years ago to play some doubles and to continue to be an intelligent and articulate presence in the sports world. This woman has always had such amazing courage and I will be watching on Saturday and be rooting for her to win the mixed championship (with Bob Bryan) in what is her last U.S. Open and last pro tournament as she steps into retirement (from tennis) again.

Rosie O'Donnell began her new job on "The View" and while I haven't been able catch her yet, I do know that theratings are way, way up. And on her first day, a feature introduced the audience to her partner Kelly O'Donnell and their kids. Rosie is starting this stinit as an out and proud lesbian...What a difference from a decade ago when she made her debut as "The Queen of Nice" on her solo talk show. Go Rosie!

And finally, the wonderful Ellen DeGeneres. It's a changing world fior the better when this out and proud entertainment, in a relationship with the beautiful actress Portia DeRossi, is named host of the 2007 Academy Awards and, as far as I know, no one is freaking out about it. It's great!

These three women, Ellen, Rosie and Martina, just get better and better and they show the world how amazing people in the LGBT community can be on the mainstream stage.