Lindsey following Ivanovic. From Ricky. Thanks.

RICKY

by the way she is following Ana Ivanovic’s trend:

http://www.wat.tv/video/eurosport-lindsey-vonn-l-echauffement-27n8f_1qn1g_.html

and here her role model Ana:

Rafa at his yummiest. From KC C-P. Thanks.

KC C-P

Has someone posted this already? What a teaser!!! See Rafa at his yummiest.

Physically, which couple looks most matched?

What will stick the most with Federer?

Lindsey Vonn gives Nadal a lesson?

For rock people, Lindsey Vonn is the US skier who was plagued with a shin injury before her event at the winter Olympics. What she did made her gold medal win even sweeter.

What did she do? Unlike most athletes who try not to talk about their injuries to avoid providing competition any edge or to offer it as excuse for not winning, Lindsey Vonn talked it up big freaking time.

She virtually sought the media to harp on it over and over freaking again. As if all that wasn’t enough she even went as far as to say that she may not be able to compete forget about winning a medal.

What did that achieve? It took away all the pressure and maybe ‘allowed’ the competition to relax just enough for her to win gold.

More importantly it removed all expectations making the win a pleasant surprise instead of being in a no-win situation – win or lose – considering how strong of a favorite she was going in. If she had won under existing conditions, it was just no big deal, even with the injury, while a loss would have put her in a hole.

With this orchestration of the media, she ensured a win either way – boosting her chances both from within and from the outside.

Bottom line: Her win received far stronger accolades.

So Nadal…………

Listen to Frazier talk (last week) about Ali and more. Can you understand him?

Click here.

Next Wall Of Fame contest…..

…..will pop on Tuesday Feb 23rd @ 12:00 noon Los Angeles time.

Is Roland Garros the problem?

The only two players to conquer Mount Roland Garros appear to have shortened careers while Wimbledon has taken off in the other direction with the only two players to win over five titles among GOAT discussions.

For rock people, Borg won the FO six freaking times (four of them in succession) and Nadal four straight times. And Sampras won Wimbledon seven times. Federer six.

Roddick should like his chances for the future on this, don’t you think?

Latest Nadal knee injury was not a flare up of the previous one. Is that good or bad?

B…..A…..D. Duh!!!!!!!!!!!

Building is breaking down one brick at a time.

And the best part is this: Despite existence of the most experienced line up of coaches etc. on his payroll, the root cause(s) are being ignored over and over again.

The steps to being healthy and viable on the tour again are so freaking ‘on the freaking wall’ that Aunt Tony needs to be charged criminally for not taking bold corrective action.

The breaks he has taken cannot possibly justify the pounding due to his style of play exacerbated with no change in course.

It will truly be a sad day to one day learn of the abrupt end of Nadal’s tennis career despite being a foregone conclusion.

Who appears least prepared to handle life’s crap after retirement?

Who has done what at Dubai over the years?

Player	Played no of Xs	Titles	Lost in finals	To whom
Federer	7	4	1	Nadal
Djokovic	3	1	0	-
Nadal	4	1	0	-
Murray	2	0	0	-
Delpo	0	0	0	-

Kournikova’s mom charged with felony child neglect.

The 46-year-old left her 5-year-old son home alone while she ran errands, but he escaped the house. Someone passing by found the boy and called police.

What I want to know is this: Who is freaking doing her past forty and Kournikova is freaking nearly 30 years old? Why such a huge gap? Some malfunctioning instalment factory in existence?

And I thought ‘slutiness’ was not genetic. Wonder what Paris Hilton’s, Lohan’s and Britney’s moms are upto?

And I need to know complete details on that errand too – urgently – to not go against my grain and accuse anybody without proof.

Click here for more.

Federer named 2009 player of the year. From Claire. Thanks.

CLAIRE

Federer named 2009 player of the year
2/17/10 5:42 PM | Cheryl Murray
The ATP announced player awards for the 2009 season. Big winners include Roger Federer, John Isner and Bob and Mike Bryan.

World No. 1 Roger Federer has once again collected an armful of awards as the ATP handed out their “best of 2009” nods. The Wimbledon and French Open champion was named the 2009 player of the year. The award is based on ATP rankings. Federer is the first player since Ivan Lendl to regain the No. 1 ranking after losing it.

Federer also collected awards for Fan Favourite, voted on by visitors to atpworldtour.com website and the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award, a nod given to the Swiss man by his fellow players.

In a statement, Federer said, “It was a great achievement to once again finish the season at No. 1, especially in a year that was so special for me off the court with my marriage and birth of my daughters. It is also very humbling to be awarded the sportsmanship award again by my fellow ATP players, many of whom I have known for a long time.”

American John Isner nabbed the award for most improved player and Bob and Mike Bryan won doubles team of the year as well as Fan Favourite doubles team. Other winners include Horacio Zeballos of Argentina for newcomer of the year and Marco Chiudinelli for the comeback player of 2009.

Photos.

She forgot to wear the shirt over the bra. What’s a bra? Heck, what’s a panty?

It’s that forcep’s fault at birth – on Mars.

This is just showing off – shamelessly.

How come the see-through part stops at critical points?

Artist currently named ‘Thundering thighs”.

Who is the biggest hurdle to Fed’s calendar Slam dreams this year?

Federer turning Nadal into Frazier?

Not any Frazier. The Frazier who knocked Ali to the canvas Frazier.

Federer’s latest jab (Nadal not having the drive) irrespective of how unintentional or other BS it may have been (Federer’s previous record would disprove that), it nevertheless DID hit Nadal exactly where Federer should NOT want.

You see, when you are down and out even a compliment seems like a camouflaged insult unless clarified down to the last T and I.

And that’s coming after Nadal stood by Federer in his lean times when everyone was piling on.

So it has sharp edges all over it bound to hit the very spot Ali’s berating of Frazier reached before that fight Ali will never forget.

Have you ever been in a street fight when you didn’t even care what happens to you? You were willing to take limitless punishment just to get your revenge. It didn’t really matter what you lost. It was do or die. Rocky against that Russian boxer? It’s like you couldn’t face humanity without making a statement.

Most of above scenarios recorded in the annals of history since the beginning of time have resulted in untold pain for the incumbent regardless of obvious advantage in size, talent, power, skill, you name it.

All that besides the fact that with this he has again tilted the equation in favor of Nadal by bestowing the underdog status which was starting to shift with advancing age.

Nadal has got to be seething with anger and hurt reminiscent to what drove Frazier into a wild animalistic frenzy for revenge in that memorable fight.

Considering you are publicly admitting to Nadal being your only real threat, how can provoking a sleeping giant now be a good idea?

Federer cannot ABSOLUTELY lose to Nadal now for more than obvious reasons. That would not only just validate all that’s happened in the past to tarnish his GOAT status, it could also lead to resurrection of a career to the detriment of a journey about to move into stratospheric proportions.

Wavrinka’ is presenting his daughter Alexia to the world. From Ricky. Thanks.

RICKY

Wavrinka’ is presenting his daughter Alexia to the world: (in french)

Click here.

Stressful life events rated. From chipnputt. Thanks.

CHIPNPUTT

No idea where TP gets his information from, but here is one “scientific” source on stressful life events. This is on a scale of 1-100, with Death of Spouse being 100. This is an average ranking and does not mean that each person will have the same ranking of stressful events.

STRESSFULNESS LIFE EVENT
100 Death of spouse
73 Divorce
65 Marital separation
63 Jail term
63 Death of close family member (except spouse)
53 Major personal injury or illness
50 Marriage
47 Being fired from work
45 Marital reconciliation
45 Retirement
44 Change in health of family member (not self)
40 Pregnancy
39 Sex difficulties
39 Gain of new family member
39 Business readjustment
38 Change in financial state
37 Death of close friend
36 Change to different occupation
35 Change in number of arguments with spouse
31 Mortgage over $40,000
30 Foreclosure of mortgage or loan
29 Change in responsibilities at work
29 Son or daughter leaving home
29 Trouble with in-laws
28 Outstanding personal achievement
26 Spouse begins or stops work
26 Begin or end school
25 Change in living conditions
24 Change in personal habits (self or family)
23 Trouble with boss
20 Change in work hours or conditions
20 Change in residence
20 Change in schools
19 Change in recreation
19 Change in church activities
18 Change in social activities
17 Mortgage or loan less than $40,000
16 Change in sleeping habits
15 Change in number of family get-togethers
13 Change in eating habits
13 Vacation
12 Christmas
11 Minor violations of the law

Slams played vs finals vs titles.

Player	Slams played	Lost in Finals	Titles
Borg	1+8+9+9=27	0+0+1+4=5	11
Sampras	11+13+14+14=52	1+0+0+3=4	14
Federer	11+11+11+10=43	1+3+1+1=6	16

Which country has the world’s fastest broadband (internet speed – Geeezzzzz!!!!)?

Have a clue? No, you don’t!!!!!

USA? Not even close.

Click here for the top 20 countries.

Photos.

What makes Federer’s psyche self destructing?

Unless there is some massive cover up, Federer has lived a charmed life so far – from privileged childhood to current state of bliss professionally and personally.

There have been a few moderate bumps along the road which alarmingly have evoked a disproportionate response from him – over and over again – to now form a well grooved pattern.

In short, life has really not intervened in a way that’s typical.

Contrast that to a highly emotional make-up Federer is carrying. I mean the guy gives crying a bad name. He cries when he wins, loses, gets married, has babies, is at a charity event, in missionary position, on Wawrinka’s marriage, has to pay for hair cut – you freaking name it.

Historically there are three main events in our lives that cause the most stress and derailment:

1. Retirement.

2. Moving.

3. Divorce.

Others like losing a loved one, serious injury or illness etc. are close behind.

With couple of them approaching fast for Federer given the infractions already committed (living together and out-0f-wedlock babies), Federer’s psyche appears most incapable to handle it – maturely. Mama’s boys do not tend to fair too good in the game of life.

For me the biggest test will be when marriage begins to fall apart. Oh, yeah – it WILL. Those days of golden or silver wedding anniversaries are gone and lost – forever. Don’t believe it. Just look around to find people in their twenties on their third marriage – with his, mine and our kids.

Not enough? Look around for tennis players – of this generation.

Either that or this: When you are elevated so far up the totem pole as the nicest human on earth, even a seemingly slightest or insignificant breach makes the fall that much harder and painful. Heard of that coward called Tiger freaking pussy Woods?

You will remember this BS post when it happens – that’s for sure.

Who is hit hardest with a drop shot?

If Delpo fails to reach a drop shot it’s no big deal for obvious reasons. But there are certain clowns who when trumped with that shot take it on the chin among other obscure and not-so-obscure places.

Delpo equivalent to that would be a well placed return on his bullet forehand. Getting the freaking picture?

Drop shot makes the failure a little more conspicuous and humiliating for the cheesy element involved. If you add the player’s reputation or claim to being quick the inability to reach and execute an equally strong rebuttal hits the bull’s-eye from the opponent’s perspective.

It’s the most humiliating shot right after that lob when you are at the net.

So who are these clowns? Aren’t they so freaking obvious?

Federer.

Murray.

Djokovic.

Bartoli.

List of TP cheap lazy freaking freaks who managed to meet – personally.

First one: DEE AND JETT09 in Australia. When? Feb 2010.

The smugness and skill of ‘super’ Swiss stands out. From Monique. Thanks.

MONIQUE

Click here.

Rafa’s uncle in the Spanish version of Dancing With The Stars. From Adrian. Thanks.

ADRIAN

Did you guys see Rafa’s uncle in the Spanish version of Dancing With The Stars?

Starace vs Nalbandian 2010. From Jenny. Thanks.

JENNY

Female fans explain why they love Nadal.

Click here.

Soderling interview after Rotterdam win.

Click here.

Federer’s delimma.

Now that he has practically everything anyone would desire – professionally and personally – the limit to which he can go to express his graciousness may be tempered by how he behaved when things were moving in the opposite direction.

With a pattern already established on how much of a bad loser he has been over and over again – any added stress to act gracious now will only highlight the gulf between two extremes.

That’s one of the main reasons most greats work to maintain an even keel to keep the disparity at its barest minimum.

With Federer, there’s probably not ONE loss that didn’t bring out the worst in him further exacerbating the effect of his overly gracious and magnanimous acts now.

For rock people here are some jewels:

AO loss to Nadal: Cries.

Cincy loss to Djokovic: Long face at award ceremony.

Loss to Murray: Makes snide comment on his game.

Loss to Davydenko: Hand shake at the net gives it away.

FO loss to Nadal: Refuses to talk to press etc. etc.

Contrast all that to the extra friendliness displayed to the opponent every time he wins. While that level is not expected at a loss, the complete drop to the bottom opens up the debate on what kind of person he really is.

If that’s not enough, just look at other tennis players – some in the current era – who have endured much greater setbacks – professionally and personally – with lot more fortitude and grace.

‘Real measure of a person is ONLY when times get tough’ seals the deal. All that charity and being gracious to your colleagues starts to appear like a facade devoid of content and substance.

ANY time you judge a person at any other time, you will NEVER get close to the real deal.

That’s why, in my opinion, there are only three ways to find out who is who:

1. Be a neighbor.

2. Travel on a long tedious journey with a person.

3. Be in business for sometime.

Everything else from how religious a person is to how much charity he does to how sweet he talks to how good he looks to how much of a family man someone is to how considerate he is……. is all blah blah blabaty blah.

If you fail the ‘tough time’ test, you are just fooling the people with the mask since the perception of who you really are on any other barometer is not only inaccurate, it’s downright criminal.

Bottom line: This John Edwards-like obsession at being portrayed as a nice man lacks the basic ingredient leaving the effort fruitless if not deceiving.

Did you know?

……that every ten years you get a whole new body? Yeah, the process is on right now – old cells  dying new ones taking birth.

I use this every time someone asks me to repay a loan – I’m not the person you loaned the money to.

Photos.

Federer says he has more drive than Nadal…huh! From arbit. Thanks.

ARBIT

Federer says he has more drive than Nadal…huh!

Click here.

Tournament director in Marseill calms down. From Jenny. Thanks.

JENNY

Here is the latest audio interview with Francois Caujolle, tournament director in Marseille. He does not want Andy suspended, he’s calmed down from a previous report in the Daily Express, and now merely pointing out a player’s responsibility to a tournament, which I think is reasonable under the circumstances.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/8516971.stm

Andy Murray should be suspended from ATP tour, says French tennis official. From Sol / Monique. Thanks.

SOL/MONIQUE

Click here.