Will the United States finally win the Davis Cup after more than a decade of coming up short? If it does, much of the credit must go to top-ranked American Andy Roddick who won both his matches this weekend over Sweden in the semifinals. It would help salvage a subpar year for Andy who won some tournaments, but came up short in the majors.
We all know that tennis stud Novak Djokovic of Serbia likes to take his shirt off after or a win or during practice. We like it! But this is a first: during a Davis Cup match against Australia Friday in Belgrade, Djokovic (seen here with fellow player Boris Pasanski), Novak lifted his shirt to support teamate Janko Tipsarevic who ended up losing to Lleyton Hewitt.
It's Davis Cup weekend. Does that not mean anything to you? It's the annual tennis competition that pits teams from various countries against each other. The USA dominated in the days of John McEnroe then again in the Agassi-Sampras era. But it's been more than 10 years since we've won the cup.
American hearthrobs Andy Roddick and James Blake are competing starting today in the semifinals to try and put an end to this long Davis Cup drought...
Good luck guys!
If this had happened in Europe, no one would have thought twice. But a Florida Gator football player kisses his teamate (and roomate) on the cheek after a touchdown pass completion and it's caused something of a furor. The kisser, Tony Joiner, didn't freak out when he was asked about giving Tim Tebow a congratulatory smooch: "That's my roommate. I love him. We've grown close," he told the Florida Times-Union.
Said Tebow: "I got teased a lot about it [over the weekend]. "When it happened, I didn't even really think about it. That's Tony."
It's still so silly how homophobic the sports world remains in this day and age. If these guys were gay and they wanted to kiss each other, they'd have plenty of opportunity behind closed doors. That such a sweet gesture - a peck on the cheek - would become such a big deal is just plain stupid.
Grow up football fans.
Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic didn't win the U.S. Open on Sunday but the number three player in the world won a lot of fans not only for himself, but for tennis as well. He's fun and appealing and cute. He received a hero's welcome this week at the Belgrade airport. Meanwhile, the man who beat Djokovic, Roger Federer, posted with his fourth U.S. Open trophy on a street in Manhattan. He looks terrific in tennis attire butr cleans up pretty damned well too.
Hopefully, we'll see lots more head-to-head matches between these two...
I should have known better. I felt that Roger Federer was ripe for a loss today in the finals of the U.S. Open with Novak Djosovic primed for a major breakthrough. But Federer fought off tons of set points in the first and second sets to prevail 7-6, 7-6, 6-4. He has now won four consecutive U.S. Opens to go along with the five consecutive Wimbledons. It just doesn't get any better. Still, Novak established himself as a legitimate challenger to the throne and a popular player with the fans who gave him a bigger ovation that they gave Federer during the awards ceremony. My friend, Henry, is very happy right now and never lost faith in his Roger...
Roger Federer (above) reached another U.S. Open final Saturday and Sunday afternoon, will face Novak Djosovic (below) as he tries to win a fourth straight men's title...If he wins, it will give him 12 grand slam titles - two short of the all-time record set by Pete Sampras.
Not only is Novak one heckuva player, he is also an exhibitionist who has made a tradition of taking his shirt off after a win...MORE AFTER THE JUMP...
Could there be a better way to lead up to a ladies final? The great Carole King, whose "Tapestry" album I could still listen to all damned day, performed for the crowed at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center Saturday night. And speaking of Bille Jean, she took in the final with former doubles partner Martina Navratilova. Each of the ladies won four U.S. Open singles titles in their careers and teamed up to win the 1978 and 1980 doubles crowns together.
...and finally, here is the 2007 ladies champion, Justine Henin. The world's top-ranked player won her seventh grand slam title and on her way to the final round, beat both Serena Williams and Venus Williams. It was a well-deserved win for this small but mighty battler from Belgium...
This kid, this Novak Djokovic, is a force to be reckoned with. A tennis force on the court, and a comic force off of it. First things first. The Serbian is ranked third in the world and reached his third grand slam semifinal of 2007 on Thursday night when he defeated Carlos Moya (below) in straight sets at the U.S. Open. If he and Roger Federer both wins their matches on Saturday, as expected, it is very possible that Djokovic could beat Federer. He did it last month in the final of the Canadian Open and is the real deal. My friend, Henry, might kill me, but I'm going on the record saying I think Djokovic will win the men's title on Sunday.
I love this picture (above) of Novak consoling his drop-dead gorgeous victim, Moya, who still has plenty of game left at 31. Then, posted below is a video of Novak in the locker room doing impersonations of players ranging from Andy Roddick to Rafael Nadal to...get this...Maria Sharapova! He's brilliant at it.
Enjoy!
p.s. I have no idea who the guy in the towel is. If anyone does, please lemme know...
The outcome was somewhat expected with three-time defending champ Roger Federer beating 2003 champ Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open last night. But what was really cool was that both players showed up in cool black clothes...I love Federer's look because, like his play, it is very elegant. Meanwhile, all Andy has to do is lift up his shirt and the photogs kn0w they have their Out In Hollywood money shot!
Came in from the pool late yesterday afternoon and flipped on the U.S. Open. My timing was perfect. There was a tribute to the late Althea Gibson, the great black player who broke the color barriers in tennis back in the 50s winning the U.S. Open for the first time exactly 50 years ago. It was an amazing ceremony which included words from my hero, Billie Jean King, who broke quite a few barriers of her own. They had a parade of black women who had accomplished firsts including the evening's hostess Phylicia Rashad, the first to win the Tony Award for best leading actress in a play. After a few dozen of incredible women like Roberta Flack and Jackie Joyner-Kersee walked onto the court, out strolled the Queen, Aretha. She launched into "R-E-S-P-E-C-T" and everyone boogied. I wished I were there. After the ceremony, the resurgent Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, each played a match on Arthur Ashe Stadium...and won.
And finally, even though he had nothing to do with the evening festivities, I love this picture (below) taken of top-ranked Roger Federer who won his 22nd consecutive match at the U.S. Open on Monday...
Look at the beautiful head of hair Brady Quinn used to have...below is Brady with his new look. I miss the locks!
If I can't be in New York City watching the U.S. Open, I'm cool with watching some of it on this giant screen TV in my air conditioned room at La Dolce Vita Resort in Palm Springs.
I love vacation.
Anyway, some of the top players were at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York today for the annual Arthur Ashe Kids Day. It's always fun to see the top seeds relaxed and interacting before they shift into tennis playing assassins. Serena Williams (pictured above with fellow players) cannot be counted out - ever. She is gunning for a third U.S. Open but trying to stop her will be her sister Venus who is the reigning Wimbledon champ as well as top seed Justine Henin and defending champion Maria Sharapova.
There is much hope for a Roger Federer-Rafael Nadal final. They've already met in the finals of the French Open and Wimbledon the past two years and are 2-2 so this would be a good tie-breaker. Says Federer of the rivalry: "We're totally different types, you know? He's a lefty, I'm a righty. He's got a double-handed backhand, I've got the one-handed backhand. Two different characters -- that always works well in the game of tennis. The dress code is different: He's got that long hair, mine is a bit shorter. He's young, I'm kind of, you know, the experienced type. So I think it's got great potential."
Andy Roddick, now ranked fifth, will have to beat Federer in the quarterfinals if he is to win his second U.S. Open. It's a tall order but Roddick (above) has the desire and the game.
Meanwhile, you cannot count out the chance of Novak Djokovoc (right) who is widely considered to be tennis' next superstar. He beat Federer, Nadal and Roddick in a row to win the Canadian Open earlier this month. This could be his breakthrough.
I don't see anyone other than these four players winning the men's title.
TOMORROW: Greg's list of the top 10 hottest guys competing in the U.S. Open. (photos too, of course)...
I'll be rooting for Tim Henman to do well at the U.S. Open which starts Monday.
The British tennis player, long one of my favorite players, announced this week that he is retiring from the game at the end of September. Henman was the top-ranked male player in the Britain for ages. He is a great sportsman and a joy to watch with that wonderful serve-and-volley game of his that got him to the semifinals of Wimbledon four times and once at the U.S. Open and the French Open.. He won 11 tour titles overall and achieched his highest ranking of number four in the world in July 2002.
It was at Wimbledon where Henman came closest to becoming the first British male since Fred Perry in 1936 to win. He reached the last four at Wimbledon four times from 1998 to 2002, and also reached the quarterfinals four others times. Each time Henman made the semifinals he lost to the eventual champion. Seven-time winner Pete Sampras was his opponent in 1998 and 1999, Goran Ivanisevic in 2001, then Lleyton Hewitt the following year.
He was good...but not quite good enough to knock off the champs.
Roger Federer is a champion in his prime. The world's top-ranked player won the ATP tournament in Cincinatti, Ohio today over ninth-ranked James Blake of the USA. Federer next heads into the U.S. Open where he is the three-times defending champion. The competition is getting tougher all the time but Federer seems to rise to the occasion on tennis' biggest stages winning this year's Wimbledon and Australian Open titles.
While writing today's story about the pro athletes gay men love for the Daily News' "Sex Appeal of Sports" package, it reminded me of a long ago crush I had on former pro baseball player Kevin Elster. He played for the New York Mets, Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Dodgers, among others teams, during his career.
As you can see by the photos, Kevin was movie star handsome during his playing days. But I met him before he made it to the big leagues: we were in the same chemistry class at Golden West College in Huntington Beach. He was. easily, the cutest guy in school with a body that took your breath away. He was pretty quiet and I was too shy then to even try and talk to him. I had a break between classes after chemistry and would sometimes walk behind Kevin on the way to his next class. He would often wear shorts and the view just could not be beat. It wasn't stalking in my mind then but seems kinda like it now.
Still, I have no regrets!
I knew Kevin played baseball but I didn't know how good he was until I got a press release from our sports information department (I was editor of the school newspaper at the time) which said Elster had been drafted by the New York Mets. My sports editor was quite surprised when I, who had never written a sports story, announced that I would writing a profile of Kevin! I called his coach, got some quotes and Elster's phone number. Called him up and we agreed to meet at the dugout at school the next day. I did a crash course on the New York Mets and Kevin's college career to get ready for our interview and wondered what the heck I had gotten myself into. The interview went smoothly and what I remember so well was how confident and excited Kevin was about his future. I got caught up in the enthusiasm and the story ran in the next issue with the headline: "Kevin Elster's Story Has Just Begun."
And it had. within two years of our interview, he had made it from the minors to the Mets and was part of the 1986 World Series winning team. A shortstop, he later set a record for the most errorless games in a row.
I followed Elster's career throughout the years as he had high highs and low lows that included injury and amazing comebacks. During one injury stretch, he actually appeared in the feature film "Little Big League" as, you guessed it, a pro baseball player. Hey, the cast also included Jason Robards so Elster was in good company.
When he was with the Dodgers, I saw him play several times but I was older now, and not about to pitch our sports editor a story. They had REAL sports writers for that. Besides, he woulda been onto me right away!
The LA Daily News features a series of stories on "The Sex Appeal of Sport." I was asked to contribute a story looking into the appeal of pro athletes to gay men. This was an assignment I gladly accepted. CLICK HERE to read my piece.
Among those I interviewed was Outsports.com CEO Jim Businski whose site runs a "King of the Hardwood" contest each year which has twice been won by former NFL player and Olympic skiier Jeremy Bloom.
“We did an interview with Bloom and he was flattered, but wanted to be thought of as more than a pretty face,” Buzinski says.
Still, Bloom’s website has a wide array of photos of the athlete and plenty of them feature him shirtless.
“He showed a lot of skin and was not bashful about it,” says Buzinski. “That is what is happening right now with Brady Quinn. It’s the guys who are well-known and the European and Australian athletes who tend to be less hung up. Beckham has said he is honored to be a big gay fan favorite. It’s the guys who show off their body, are
visible and in the public eye who get the attention.”
This seems like a good excuse to post a buncha pics of some of these hunky dudes we love to look at including football's Brady Quinn and tennis' Andy Roddick.
There are even more after the jiump! Enjoy...
Basketball stud Wally Szczrbiak
Sexy soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo
The one and only...Beckham!
Nice abs Andy! This is the summer hardcourt season in pro tennis and American hearthrob Andy Roddick, the 2003 U.S. Open champion and 2006 U.S. Open runner-up, is supossed to be one of the best players in the world on the surface. With the Open less than two weeks away, Roddick suffered what has become routine this season: an early round loss - this time at the ATP tournament in Cincinatti, Ohio where he was the defending champion.
He was beaten by the 15th-rankied David Ferrer of Spain 7-6, 6-4 (left) who, like Andy, is pretty easy on the eyes. But it's good for the game when telegenic, articulate players like Andy win or at least stick around until the final days of a tournament. Let's hope he's into the mix at the Open even if he doesn't go into the tourney riding a wave of confidence.
But Spanish stud Carlos Moya, who achieved a tough three-set win to reach the quarterfinals, remains in the hunt and is looking oh-so gorgeous during every win.
Maybe Novak Djokovic (above) should have taken the week off to rest on his laurels. The world's third-ranked player, who beat Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Roddick in successive rounds to win in Canada, crashed out of ATP event in Cincinnati on Wednesday, losing badly to 20th ranked Carlos Moya (below).
American Robby Ginepri (above) continued to be a beautiful loser. But the 2005 U.S. Open semifinalist did take the fifth seed to three sets....
Meanwhile, Spanish hunk Nadal suffered a wrist injury was was forced to retire from his match. This is not ideal preparation for the top players with the start of the U.S. Open less than two weeks away.
Posting pictures of Carlos Moya playing tennis just makes me happy. So here are two shots of the Spanish hearthrob during his win earlier today over David Nalbandian of Argentina during the ATP tour stop in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Roger Federer is a wonder to watch, probably the best player ever to grace a tennis court. On Friday, he beat Lleyton Hewitt to advance to the semifinals of the Canadian Open.
Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic was able to retain his number three world ranking with a win over fifth-seed Andy Roddick. Had Andy won, he would have moved up to the third spot. It seems like on all of the sports biggest stages this year, the 19-year-old Novak has fared better than Roddick and truly is the best player behind Federer and second-ranked Rafael Nadal. All he needs is a grand slam win...
World number one Roger Federer won his match at the Candadian Open on Wednesday then celebrated his 26th birthday on court. We all know that he already got his biggest present: a fifth straight Wimbledon title last month. Federer will be gunning for a fourth straight U.S. Open crown in a few weeks and I would not wanna bet against him!
Outsports.com has this cool article on French decathlete Romain Barras who doesn't mind one little bit that gay men look at his photos -- he actually welcomes it!
"It is lucky to have articles [about me] on the gay websites," the 27-year-old Barras said in an interview with the French gay blog "A Cause des Garcons" (translated as "Because of the Boys"). The blog had posted a bunch of photos, mostly shirtless, of Barras under the headline "Romain Barras: The body made in France."
He added: "I visited the sites, I saw the photographs, the galleries. I found it to be super flattering on these sites to be surrounded by very beautiful guys...I always had affinities with the gay community. This is a world which does not shock me."
American tennis hearthrob Andy Roddick, suffering through a subpar year, got back to the winner's circle Sunday with a win in the ATP tournament in Washington D.C. He beat John Isner 6-4, 7-6 for his second title of the year and 23rd overall. Roddick suffered a stunning loss at Wimbledon last month and has slipped to number five in the world (he was ranked first in 2003) and will be severely tested by the likes of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal as he seeks his second U.S. Open title beginning later this month. Tomorrow, play begins at the Canadian Open in Montreal where the top 23 men in the world are entered.
Go Andy!
It sure makes me want to go to Paris again! This new ad is meant to attract Londoners to Paris for the Rugby World Cup...Oh La La!!!
Do you think it works?
After they won the Wimbledon singles titles over the weekend, Roger Federer and Venus Williams got all dressed up for the Champion's dinner on Sunday night in London. Roger is holding the trophy as champion for the fifth time and was the favorite going in. But Venus, who with her victory jumped from 31 to 17 in the world rankings Monday, was not expected to add a fourth trophy to her impressive collection.
I'm so happy for them both. And so ends my Wimbledon coverage of 2007...
Wonder how it feels to win five Wimbledon singles titles in a row? Roger Federer does, becoming the first man in 27 years to accomplish the feat on Sunday. The world number one beat Rafael Nadal in a classic five-set match of superb quality, suspense and drama. Federer has now won 11 of tennis' four grand slam tournaments, three shy of the all-time record of 14 won by Pete Sampras. It was well worth waking up at 6 a.m. to watch - especially having my friend Henry call me from India after match point so we could celebrate Federer's historic win together...
"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."
After Federer left the court, he and Bjorn Borg (the last man to win five Wimbledons in a row) exchanged hugs and smiles in front of the board that lists tournament champions. Federer's name had already been added to the list for 2007. Federer stretched his record grass-court winning streak to 53 and his Wimbledon winning streak to 34.
I just love how affectionate tennis players are with each other...it's very sweet. In Saturday's men's semifinals, the very promising 20-year-old Serbian Novak Djokovic had to quit due to injury after splitting sets with Nadal who consoled the fourth-ranked player with a tender hug at the net.
The half-hug Nadal gave to arch-rival Roger Federer was not as warm but that's understandable: he lost to the Swiss star for the second-straight year in the finals of Wimbledon. Federer has now won five in a row.
And finally, men's doubles champions Amaud Clement and Michael Liodra were feeling the love after they upset the top-ranked team of Bob and Mike Bryan on Sunday.
I love looooooove Wimbledon.
XXX00
The women's singles final at Wimbledon was pretty much a forgone conclusion from the beginning with Venus Williams crushing a cute French gal named Marion Bartoli who somehow beat the world's top player, Justine Henin, in the semifinals a day earlier. Venus came into the tournament ranked 31st and largely written off as a threat - just like two years ago when she also came out of the lower ranks to win the tournament. She is now a four-time Wimbledon singles champion - only the fourth woman in the era of open tennis (since 1968) to have won at least that many times. Steffi Graf won 7 while Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King, who won 9 and 6 respectively, were on hand sitting in the Royal Box Saturday to watch Venus win. During her on-court interview, Venus showed what a great sense of history she has when she noted that she was getting prize money equal to the men for the first time and how much of the credit goes to Billie Jean, a trailblazer both on and off the court.
“Now we have equal prize-money. Billie Jean King fought for years and no one deserves this more than her,” she said. “She’s done so much for women’s tennis and I wouldn’t be here without her ? and thank you to the All England Club for playing under equal terms.”
I got goose bumps and was so glad to see this great advocate for equality get her due on really what was Venus' day.
All-American hearthrob Andy Roddick had a shocking loss at Wimbledon on Friday, losing to Richard Gasquet 8-6 in the fifth set. Ouch! He's gotta be so heartbroken over this...I know I am! Andy had been my pick to win simply because I thought it would finally be time for him to topple four-time defending champion Roger Federer who he would have played in the semifinals. Instead, Federer's road to a fifth straight Wimbledon crown just got a little easier. He'll play Gasquet, who is probably exhausted, tomorrow. Also in the semis is Rafael Nadal, the man with the muscles ranked second in the world who will play the wonderfully demonstrative Novak Djokovik who is pictured below in a series of shots from his five hour match against Marcos Baghdatis. Novak has climbed all the way to number four and I think has supplanted Roddick as the next big thing.
And you all know how much I like to post pics of Rafael Nadal (below)...he's showing that his trip to last year's Wimbledon final was no fluke. But Novak has beaten him before so his semifinal will be no cakewalk.
But in the end, there's a guy named Roger Federer (below) who is more than capable of beating any of the remaining players (including Nadal) on the grass of the All England Club where he has not lost a single match since the 2002 tournament.
Maybe Novak Djokovic is starting a new trend: win a match at Wimbledon, tear off your shirt! I think it could drive ratings up some - at least among heterosexual women and gay men! Rafael Nadal also won Thursday but, sadly kept his shirt on.
Novak is the real deal and destined to be a major champion. He reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals by beating former champion Lletyon Hewitt in four tight sets.
After taking the first two sets from Nadal, Mikhail Youzhny had to get medical assistance then lost the next three sets and the match. Below, Nadal celebrates...
This makes me sad. Defending Wimbledon champion Amelie Mauresmo was beaten in the fourth round of this year's tournament on Tuesday. The openly-gay Mauresmo, has had a subpar season in 2007 which has to be attributed, at least in part, to injuries and recently having her appendix removed. I'll be rooting for her at the U.S. Open. Last year, Amelie won her first grand slam tournament in Australia then followed it up with the Wimbledon win. She was also ranked number one in the world for much of the year. She is now number four.
World number two Rafael Nadal had squandered a two set lead on Monday and how finds himself in a fifth set in his quest to reach the last 16 (quarterfinals) on Wimbledon where he was runner-up last year. Rain forced the match to be postponed until tomorrow.
The rain is really screwing things up at Wimbledon 2007. But defending champion Amelie Mauresemo, an open lesbian since she made her debut on the tennis tour a decade ago, made quick minced meat out of her opponent and made it to the fourth round. She is seeking her second Wimbledon title. I think she is a lovely and well-spoken champion.
But the rain and slippery grass prevented second-seed Rafael Nadal from even getting past his warm-up so he'll have to wait until Monday to play for a spot in the quarterfinals. His arch-rival Roger Federer is already there: his opponent, Tommy Haas (pictured below) had to withdraw due to a torn stomach muscle. Ouch!
Any photos of Andy Roddick seem to be very popular with readers...so here are a few more!
Tommy Haas in action...the German stud was again a winner...
Roger Federer won his 51st consecutive match on grass...and looked quite dapper in doing so...
Hunky Russian Marat Safin has beaten Federer on big occasions in the past...but Friday at Wimbledon was not one of them...
Also losing was fifth seed Fernando Gonzalez who was kind enough to give us a peak at his abs before leaving the tournament...
Andy Roddick won hos second match at Wimbledon Tuesday...only five more wins to go and the title is his! He's diving for every shot and playing with a lot of heart. And, he looks gorgeous doing all of it...
GO ANDY!!!
Marat Safin makes me swoon. He is such a tall drink of water. If he could just get his head together, he can beat anyone in the world.
Forner Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt may have slipped out of the top 10, but he's still a gritty fighter and a hottie. Reminds me of Heath Ledger a bit. They're both Aussies, after all.
Novak Djokovic is my favorite young player with a real chance to become a top champion. At 19, he can still do thge splits without incident.
Rafael Nadal won his first-round match and trying to match his 2006 march to the final. He looks so good in white.
Tim Henman is the sentimental favorite and Britian's best hope. His best years are behind him but he wants to go far in this tournament. He's a gentleman and a cutie and I wish him well.And finally, even though Carlos Moya (below) lost his first round match to Henman in a heartbreaker (13-11 in the fifth!), it just doesn't seem right not to include such a beautiful man in our little gallery here.
Ah, Wimbledon. I love Wimbledon. Of the three grand slam tournaments I've been to, my week spent watching matches played on the grass courts of the All England Club ranks at the top of my tennis memories - and my life memories. But enough about me!
Andy Roddick sure looks cute even when he slips and falls as he did earlier today in his first-round match. But the fourth-seeded American, my pick to win, managed to pick himself up, dust himself off, and go on to win the match in straight sets. Also back in action and looking so comfortable and elegant on the grass was four-time defending champion Roger Federer who Roddick will likely have to take out in the semifinals if my out-on-a-limb prediction is to come true. Federer easily advanced to the second round at the tournament where he has not lost a match since 2002...
OK, if you look in the upper left corner of this picture, you will see French Open champion Rafael Nadal! He watched David Beckham and Real Madrid triumph over Mallorca in the last Spanish league football match of the season. Nadal is stil a resident of Mallorca where he grew up. Oh yeah, there are a few other people in this picture: Tom Cruise and a newly-shorn Katie Holmes (I like to new haircut!) and then there is that scary Mrs. Beckman. I wanna know if Posh Spice owns a mirror because if she does, why does she leave th house looking like a scarecrow. Her hubby, however, looks splendid.
Meow.
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