Andy Roddick throws out the first pitch at the Braves vs Padres game.

TP’s Golden Ball Movie Film Festival! From RafaFan. Thanks.

RAFAFAN

TP’s Golden Ball Movie Film Festival!

Now that the GOATS are on vacation we have time to read good books and watch interesting movies, no?
After TP’s Food Inc I proudly present another amazing film:

The Way Things Go (from Fischli & Weiss 1987, two Swiss performer artists).

Enjoy!

Poll puts Tiger, Kobe, Serena and Venus on top.

Click here.

Shaq, Kobe vs Federer, Sampras.

With a career spanning 18 years, Shaq has earned – just a salary – of $290 million. Federer: $56 million over 12 years. Sampras: $43 million over 14 years.

Shaq earned Federer’s salary (12 years) in about 3 1/2 years. Sampras’s: (14 years) 2 1/2 years.

And Shaq is not even close to being the GOAT of basketball. Kobe gets there in two years.

The 50 highest-earning American athletes.

Click here.

I just got finished watching this movie. If you love yourself and your kids, you HAVE to freaking watch it freaking NOW.

It’s called Food Inc. Sure you may have heard about it, like I did, but bet you haven’t seen it, like me – until now.

Go to your village video store and rent it today. Or you can watch it on You-Tube. Here’s part 1 of 11. Just keep going.

Photos.

So the shave because he is getting bald.

Can you envision anyone other than a serial killer with this look and hair-do?

Spain’s tennis champ Rafael Nadal shows off his skills in the other beautiful game. From jett09. Thanks.

JETT09

Rafa enjoying a well deserved break

Multi-talented: Rafael Nadal shows off his football finesse on holiday in Form
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1296465/Rafael-Nadal-shows-skills-beautiful-game.html#ixzz0uLfEnxG2

Grip (on the racket, geeezzzz!!!!) photos. From Phil. Thanks.

PHIL

To illustrate it a bit more graphically, here are some photo links:

Fed: http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/09uA4415Rq0VX/800x.jpg
Delpo: http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/0d8bfLs6p51hR/610x.jpg
Djokovic: http://www3.pictures.gi.zimbio.com/Olympics+Day+3+Tennis+cthzUuV5iGWl.jpg

A good indicator as to how extreme a grip is, is to look at the position of the thumb. With Fed you can see that his thumb is almost gripping around the racquet towards the bottom. With Delpo and Djokovic the thumb is pretty much at the top of the racquet. They use the full Western grip (as does pretty much everybody else).

Happy birthday to Tennis Nut – July 21.

Who is this? Hint: Actress.

Oh, thanks so much for covering up.

Start doing this TODAY and every facet of your life WILL improve instantly.

Click here.

Unseen Photos: Brando Prepares for His First Film.

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Black Parents Shocked to Give Birth to White Baby Girl.

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See Lindsay Lohan’s Depressing Jail Cell.

Click here.

Possible explanation to Soderling’s anger at recent losses – Wimbledon / Bastad…..

It’s a syndrome that usually sits on the shoulder of most defending champions. Have a clue? No, you don’t!!!!!!!

Soldering has progressively improved his showing on the tour catapulting him as a Slam contender nearly overnight. His career high No. 5 ranking right behind the big four is a good reflection of his recent efforts. Just last year he was ranked as low as No. 26. He started this season at No. 8. Besides, he has reached three (OK two, Geeeezzz!!!) Slam finals. Before reaching the finals at Roland Garros last year, Soderling was eliminated in the second or the third round at ALL previous majors. But since then he not only made it to another final at Roland Garros this season, he has reached the quarters of all others with AO the only exception (opening round).

Additionally, the ONLY two players he has lost to in the majors since his first FO finals last year have been Nadal and Federer. AO being the only exception. While on this run, he has defeated Nadal, Federer, Davydenko, Berdych, Cilic among others – mind you this is only at the majors now.

That is quite a steep rise for a guy who was ranked as low as 59 just two years ago. With this rise comes expectations – not just from your own psyche but from fans and pundits too. But along with all that flows another juice just to test your mettle. It’s that feeling within you that takes all this brilliance and adds two and two resulting in an automatic and ‘taken for granted’ progression to the next step. Did you get that? No, you didn’t!!!!!!!!!!!!

The next step may have some roots in what you have done in the past but that’s not the ‘end all’. There are a host of other factors you have to rein in before reaching the next notch on the rope. These factors outweigh and out-muscle what you have achieved in the past so dramatically that relying on them disproportionately to expect a northward journey will not only result in massive disappointment it will actually force you to take two steps back past the frontier you have already conquered.

All that gets even more magnified and exacerbated when you are talking about moving from No. 5 to No 4 compared to the far easier jump from say No. 20 to No. 12 – under near-similar conditions. This is typically also the time when your appreciation of current and former greats of the game gets massively heightened – as knowledge of the intricacies and subtle stages their journey to the top entailed reveals itself to you through this painful process.

Soderling now expects to make a break through just because he did this or that in the last few months failing to recognize the ceiling which now demands a tweaking of a highly intangible kind instead of the very real backhand or forehand Xs and Os which got him thus far. If he fails to recognize the price he has to pay – in a hurry – and continues to demand the booty without commensurate effort he will become just another stat.

BTW this is what most defending champions at ANY endeavor face making the effort to repeat back to back ANYWHERE that much more difficult.

Photos.

If eyes get any closer shouldn’t he be locked up in the zoo? Geeeeeezzzzzzzz!!!!!!!!

Is this for freaking real? Or is this that ‘Honey, I shrunk…’ BS? Geeezzzzz!!!!!

Andy Murray beginning his US Open preparation at the Atlantis resort in Nassau, with Kim Sears. From Stella. Thanks.

Lounging around: Andy Murray plays on his Nintendo DS as girlfriend Kim Sears reads her book on holiday in the Bahamas

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1296064/Murray-girl-swap-SW19-tropical-paradise-spends-time-gym.html#ixzz0uG6lxLKt

STELLA

Andy Murray beginning his US Open preparation at the Atlantis resort in Nassau, with Kim Sears.

Phil on Federer’s grip / wrist problems. Thanks.

PHIL

I might be in the minority here, but I reject the whole “his wrist fell apart because he’s so tall and hits so hard” theory. Delpo’s current situation is entirely his own fault. He had wrist problems after the US Open last year, and NEVER let it heal fully before playing again. He kept taking short breaks, letting the wrist rest for a few weeks, but it never was 100%. Wrist problems are fairly common for tennis players, and the solution is always to let it heal the second it starts. He didn’t, so this surgery was, in my opinion, preventable, and has nothing to do with his “brute power.”

JENNY

Interesting points about Fed’s grip and I bow to your expert knowledge on this, Phil. I agree about the careful scheduling, but as I recall, he played far more smaller tourneys when he was younger which would make sense as a young, ambitious player on the rise.. It would be interesting to back-track to say 1999/2000/2001/2002. Possibly our colleague Sergeant, or anyone else may find this of interest if they have time

PHIL

Well obviously his careful scheduling plays a large part, but I think it also has to do with his grip. I believe he uses more of an Eastern grip on his forehand, and he uses extreme “whip” on his wrist to get the top spin he needs. The impact is less strenuous and easier on the wrist than doing the same thing with a Western grip, which almost everyone else uses on the forehand side. (Actually, as far as I know Fed is the only one using this grip at the moment, at least of the top guys).

True, he did play much more when he was younger. He has been lucky on the whole.

PHIL

Very few people have pointed this out, but Federer’s grip is actually insanely difficult to play with in today’s game. I’ve tried to emulate it, and when you time it just right the ball really does fly beautifully, but the timing required to do so consistently is inhuman. The more traditional Western forehand is much more forgiving. This is why, when Fed is playing poorly, he frames a ton of balls, because there really isn’t that much margin for error on his shots.

At first I thought I was just not good enough to play with a grip like that, but after talking to many coaches and kids playing elite juniors, it is apparently just insanely difficult. It’s a shame that such a technical marvel isn’t highlighted by commentators more often.

SIR VIBHUDI AATMAPUDI

Great observations Phil. I use the semi-western forehand grip on a Wilson N-Code N Tour 85 simply because it seems more natural to me. No strain on the wrist. You are right about shanking forehands with this grip when the timing is off; especially with a smaller frame. I used to wonder why that happened, now I know. The only time I switch to eastern is when taking a high-looping ball on the half-volley near the baseline. Again, this is because it seems to be the best suited grip to effectively get the ball back in play.

PHIL

No worries Jenny. I think it’s good to get into the technical details sometimes. It just gives one a greater depth of appreciation for what these guys do.

@Sir Vibhudi Aatmapudi…Yeah it’s especially difficult with a heavy, small frame like that. Your timing just needs to be superb every time or you’ll shank the ball into the stands on a regular basis. It’s funny, but Fed seems to make his life as difficult as possible (small frame, difficult grip), but still makes it look so easy.

Soderling disappointed, angry after Bastad loss. From Blake. Thanks.

BLAKE

“I See Your True Colours Shining Through….”

from Tennis.com’s Ticker:

Soderling disappointed, angry after Bastad loss

Local favorite and defending champion Robin Soderling exited Bastad upset and angry after losing the final on Sunday. The Swedish No. 1 refused to acknowledge the umpire after the match or congratulate his victorious opponent Nicolas Almagro in his post-match speech, and he left the court before the trophy ceremony was over.

Swedish press reported that Soderling appeared to be close to tears. “I was so incredibly disappointed,” he said.

Soderling received a warning for smashing his racquet after losing the first set and got a point penalty for the same offense in the last game of the match.

“I bounced the racquet and caught it twice,” Soderling said. “If you’re supposed to give warnings and point penalties for such things, it would be 10 warnings in every match.”
———————————————————————-

And you wonder why Rafa fans (on the majority) hate Robin Soderling? Here’s a clue: It’s not just because of what happened at the 2009 French Open

Top 10 Militant Animals.

Click here.

Can Delpo return to his pre-injury form – ever?

Granted many tennis players and athletes have had injuries in the past. Some knuckleheads have even played through them just to be called a ‘maverick’. Kobe? Most however take a break, go through surgery / rehab etc. and return to form quite close to the one they left with – sometimes matching it if not exceeding it. Delpo has taken the first step – wisely / had no choice. But can he produce the brilliance even close to the US Open exploits? Under normal conditions it would be the ‘wait and see’ protocol – with heavy leaning towards ‘complete’ recovery.

But these aren’t regular conditions, are they? And what makes it so? Could it be the part ‘infected’? Wrist is not like most other body parts. It could easily qualify as the most fragile component of a tennis player’s anatomy. Unless you can switch hands on the fly, you are grounded until the thing heals like freaking totally. All that when there’s an injury which just requires some rest or TLC. But if it’s a surgery, you jump a whole new chariot. Not enough? How about if your bread and butter IS crushing the ball to nth degree? Now, not only are you on that chariot but Ben Hur is running his sharp wedgie into your spokes to bring you down like yesterday.

Translation: For Delpo to produce the ‘US Open’ magic, he needs his extreme power from both wings just as badly as Nadal needs his picking – from one wing (that we know of). Lame.

It’s hard to imagine ANYONE duplicating that kind of brute force after ANY surgery – leave alone one involving the wrist. Maybe Delpo needs to switch to soccer now until the wrist of that sport – ankle – goes under the knife. Either that or he has to improve the rest of his game so drastically that it more than compensates for the void. If he stupidly continues as if nothing ever happened, look for another Nalbandian – with a Slam – to emerge.

So what’s the best option? Hire Aunt Tony and switch hands instead – in return for never standing in the way of his nephew – until the left wrist breaks, that is. I know we have wheel chair event but is there something with the ankle – yet? It can happen.

Whether all this actually happens or not, it certainly must be the focus of intense debate at the Nadal camp at least for the US Open prospects if not for the rest of his career. With the lop sided destruction of Soderling, Murray and Berdych, Delpo is indisputably the ONLY hurdle on Nadal’s highway leading to the castle named GOAT – on any surface – yeah including that dirt.

Chelsea Clinton: Through The Years.

Click here.

Photos.

‘Girl’ Roddick is leaving Brooklyn bridge for to continue the ‘Stepanek’ wave.

I think WTA needs to have separate budget to promote sumo wrestling to make sure that sport is not deserted.

It just keeps getting better.

If it’s a Wilson racket why does it say ‘B’ on it? If you even tried to answer that you need to drown yourself in the kitchen sink before answering. Geeeeeeezzzzzzz!!!!!!

World’s happiest countries.

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President on vacation.

What can you safely predict about some tennis players 10-20 years from now?

Nadal:

-Will be bald – Ljubicic+Agassi bald.

-That pinky finger will break away as pay back for being kept so far away from other fingers all these years.

Federer:

-Will HAVE to grow a mustache to minimize the effect of the ever extending and drooping nose.

-Elton John will be his best friend.

Djokovic:

-Breathing through just the nose and the mouth will not be the only option. All available holes will ‘participate’.

Murray:

-All kids will have to go through intensive therapy before and after meeting him.

Roddick:

-Will have attempted two suicides to pass Borg.

Del Potro:

-Vaseline and power tools will have to compensate for broken wrists and shrunk ‘out of their freaking mind’ lips.

You got more? No, you don’t!!!!!!!

Did you know……….

…………….that Microsoft sends out security patches second Tuesday of every month. If you own a PC it’s vital you get them ASAP to not let the bad guys get in and ruin your computer. Best is to activate the ‘automatic’ download for patches on your PC.

Photos.

Nadal’s nightmare? Socks, bottles……….

Why do you have to freaking press your lips so freaking hard against each other? Is that how you attract a mate as dimples pop up? Geeeeeezzzzzzzzz!!!!!!!!!!

That’s the best ATP can do for backpack? Criminal. My goats enjoy better perks.

Serena steps on broken glass at restaurant – needs surgery. From Dee. Thanks.

DEE

She needs surgery

Click here.

Wonder how many tennis players have the skills to do this? From Extranjera. Thanks.

EXTRANJERA

I wonder how many tennis players have the skills to do this?

Click here.

Q&A with Rafael Nadal. From Chicago Fan. Thanks.

CHICAGO FAN

There is an interview with Rafa on si.com.

Click here.