Andy Murray finally managed to break the United Kingdom's jinx at grand slam title victories, by finally winning the 2012 US Open!
Murray had been on a hot streak lately, after securing a gold medal at the London Olympics by thrashing the great Roger Federer.
IN the US Open final, the Scottish Murray faced another tennis champ on a hot streak, Novak Djokovic, and took down the Serb 7-6,7-5, 2-6, 3-6, 6-2 after a titanic battle.
Djokovic was the defending champion, and when Murray finally triumphed, the appreciative New York crowd must have been thinking: "The King is dead. Long live the King!"
I'm sure there are many worthy candidates who would be classified as the hottest Olympic athlete for 2012.
However, everyone would have their pick, and mine would be Jessica Ennis. She represents Great Britain, and she recently won gold for the heptathlon event in front of her adoring home crowd in London.
Anyhow Jessica defintely has a charming smile, a great personality and most importantly, a super sexy athletic body!
It was the battle for the badminton ages. The world's best two badminton players in the world China's Lin Dan and Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei faced each other again at the Olympic 2012 Badminton Singles Final, in a repeat of the 2008 Beijing Olympics final 4 years ago. Back then, Lin Dan bossed Chong Wei around and won easily, giving the shattered Malaysian a torrid time.
Unbeatable
This time, a fired up Lee Chong Wei put up a much better performance, at time matching the fearsome Lin Dan stroke for stroke, smash for smash. But it still was not enough to knock out the defending champion, as the Chinese shuttler won 15-21, 21-10, 21-19.
Maybe he should not retire just yet...
I must admit, the final set was really a nail biting affair, with the points going touch and go until the end. At one stage, it actually seemed that Chong Wei would finally end the gold medal draught for Malaysia when he led 18-16. But Lin Dan broke Malaysian hearts when he levelled, and went ahead and finally secured the winning gold medal point when Chong Wei hit long.
Lin Dan had proven that he is THE greatest badminton player of ALL time. There is no more doubt about it. He is simply the best ever.
As for Chong Wei, he can stand tall and proud. He gave it his all and had matched the best player in the world blow for blow. He can now choose to retire (as he indicated earlier) with his head held high.
The world's greatest sporting event is underway, and Serena Williams has just won gold for USA. easily trouncing another tennis royalty, the beautiful blonde Russian babe Maria Sharapova 6-0, 6-1 in less than an hour.
Bloody hell, mate! She did it!
After being out of action for the better part of 2011, Serena Williams has made a remarkable comeback. Winning the Wimbledon crown (also in England) just barely a month ago, Serena suddenly became the hot favorite to win the gold medal at the 2012 London Olympic Games.
Well, Serena proved to everyone that she was able to cement her position as one of the greatest women tennis players and should now be known as the Queen of London, as she soundly thrashed Maria Sharapova, giving the Russian no chance at all. In fact, the Russian was lucky to even win one game as Serena hardly made any mistakes.
Now with two major titles in the bag this year, who is to say that the resurgent Serena Williams won't be able to also win at the French and US Opens? I certainly would not bet against her!
In recent times, Kate Upton, one of the world's most delicious looking lingerie and bikini models in the world, was considered to be "fat" by the fashion critics.
It was probably one of the most insane things I have ever heard. I mean, come on! This is Kate Upton we are talking about. Could Kate Upton be fat? I certainly do not think so! How can I say this? We only have to examine some of Kate's glorious pics to see how "fat" she really is.
Take a look at her and tell me if you think she is fat! (If you ask me, a couple more pounds on Kate would make her look even hotter)
No, I see no belly fat...
Nice bikini top, but no fat
I still see no fat on Kate
Beautiful view of Kate, but fat is nowhere to be found
Well, news on the grapevine is that the world famous Linsanity will be leaving New York Knicks for the Houston Rockets. According to the news, the Knicks are not willing to match the contract offered by the Rockets for Jeremy Lin.
So it looks like the player who made headlines for the Knicks less than a year ago will be playing for another team in the upcoming NBA season.
But there's still time for the Knicks to keep Linsanity if they come up with the money. We'll jst have to wait and see...
For those who haven't heard of Linsanity, check out the story about him below:
If you follow basketball at all, you have most
certainly heard of the young phenom, Jeremy Lin. Playing for the Knicks, he
attracted a flood of attention and had an immediate following of young players
admiring him; as well as older players in awe of him. But who is this young man
and where did he come from? It seems he just appeared out of nowhere... but
that's not the case.
Born in Los Angeles in August of 1988, his
parents had come from Taiwan to the US in the mid 1970's. They settled in
Virginia, and then moved to Indiana where they both attended college. Now,
since they were not especially tall, Jeremy's height was unique. His
grandmother's family was tall and his mother encouraged him to play basketball.
Even forming a junior program in Palo Alto when they moved there. Academics
were number one, but basketball was very important to Lin.
Lin's high school basketball experience was
stellar. He was the team captain at Palo Alto high and in his senior year they
won the CIF Division II state title. He was named first-team All-State and
Northern CA Division II player of the year. He averaged 15 points, 7 assists, 6
rebounds and 5 steals when his senior year came to an end. With great attention
poured on him in CA, athletic scholarships were the next goal.
Lin put together a resume and DVD of highlights
of his high school play to all Ivy League schools, U of C, Berkley, Stanford
and UCLA. The PAC 10 schools wanted him to walk-on... they didn't want to
recruit him or offer a scholarship. Harvard and Brown would guarantee a spot on
the basketball team, and Ivy League schools don't offer athletic scholarships.
Lin had a good understanding of the recruiting system and the NCAA rules and
regulations. And, he also understood that if a coach watched him play only
once, he would not see all of his skills and potential.
With doubts about Lin's ability some schools
interest waned. Many felt that Stanford would offer Lin a scholarship
and because it was close to his home, he would accept. But, with a 4.2 GPA Lin
had his eye fixed on Harvard. Coach Bill Holden was able to see Jeremy play in
a tough, competitive game and saw his killer instinct kick in. He definitely
wanted Lin. UCLA dropped the ball, too. Harvard got him!
On to the pros, agent Roger Montgomery and the
draft. In 2010 he went un-drafted. After a summer of play he was noticed and
some offers came his way. In July of 2010 he signed with the Golden State
Warriors. With that he added a contract with Nike. And here's a noteworthy
point... Lin became the first American of Chinese or Taiwanese descent to play
in the NBA. He was an immediate fan favorite as chant and cheers for him were
contagious.
As a professional, Lin didn't shine like he did
in high school and college. His teammates and opposing players were great
players... many better than he. So, he fit in but didn't stand out. There were
many ups and downs while he was with the Warriors. Although he was an attention
getter for the team he wasn't the star. He developed a huge fan following and
the "Linsanity" was played on by the media. Some faux pas by
reporters that bordered on racial slurs gained lots of attention. And many
uncomfortable moments occurred when well-known's tweeted, blogged and otherwise
put their foot in their mouths with inappropriate comments.
During the 2011 lockout, Lin rehabbed a knee
injury. He played for the Chinese Basketball Assoc. And was courted by Yao
Ming, former NBA player and Shanghai Sharks president. Once the lockout was
lifted and the NBA got cranking again, Lin found himself free and he was picked
up by the New York Knicks. He plays well, and has been an asset to the team.
How long he will be there is unknown. Another injury to the knee sidelined him
for the season and will limit his play.
His future is unknown at this point but with his
agents help and some wise
strategy he will shine again.
Note: See Linsanity's top 10 plays in the video below:
Pamela Anderson! What is the first thing that
comes to mind when you hear the name Pamela Anderson? Bimbo? Party Girl?
Bombshell? Well two out of three ain't bad! I don't think she's a bimbo...not
by any stretch of the imagination. For all of her partying image and all things
blonde, she is nonetheless a devoted humanitarian.
Sure, people know that Pam is closely associated
with the organization, PETA and does not wear fur. But surprise, surprise. Pam
wears UGGS, those horrible, big, floppy furry boots which are indeed made from
animal fur. To Pam's credit, once she realized this, she made a plea to her
fans, and everyone, to stop wearing them. No problem for me. I think they're
hideous in addition to supporting animal cruelty.
What a lot of people may not know about Pam
Anderson, in addition to her marriages to Tommy Lee, and Kid Rock and her
numerous affairs, is just how passionate she truly is about the welfare of
animals. This is not a new passion for her either. This is not phony Hollywood
hype. Apparently Pam has been a devoted animal lover and protector of animals
since early childhood.
Among Pam's other causes are the inhumane ways
that chickens are slaughtered by Kentucky Fried Chicken's suppliers. Pam
recently faxed a letter to the US Postal Service imploring them not to issue a
proposed new stamp in honor of Colonel Sanders. Pam's fax exposes the rampant
abuse taking place in slaughterhouses today and her impassioned plea for
kindness to these animals is one that should be echoed by all citizens.
Allegedly KFC refuses to take animal welfare seriously. Pam is trying to change
this.
Pam has also been instrumental in getting the
juice maker POM to call off its horribly inhumane testing practices. It was Pam
vs. POM and fortunately for the animals, Pam and PETA won.
Why bother to care about mice or other rodents
you might ask. Read the words of these noble humans and then ask yourself the
question again.
"The greatness of a nation and its moral
progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." Gandhi
"The question is not, can they reason? Nor,
can they talk? But can they suffer? Jeremy Bentham
"He who is cruel to animals becomes hard
also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment
of animals." Immanuel Kant
"Every year tens of thousands of animals
suffer and die in laboratory tests of cosmetics and household
products...despite the fact that the test results do not help prevent or treat
accidental or purposeful misuse of the products. Please join me in using your
voice for those whose cries are forever sealed behind the laboratory
doors." Woody Harrelson
Pamela Anderson deserves her place in history.
Not as a blonde bombshell, or the woman with the most Playboy covers, or
possibly the most downloaded beauty on the internet or for her failed
marriages. She deserves her place in history for her humanitarian efforts, for
speaking for those who have no voice, for her caring and compassion and for
being proactive in her beliefs.
We can all take a page out of Pamela's book. She
is an absolutely beautiful woman, both inside and out!
Sheryl Letzgus McGinnis is the author of four
books on drugs and addiction and other books in different genres.
She is a retired medical transcriptionist and
radio DJ who also did voiceovers for TV. Married with one living son, having
lost her youngest son Scott, who was a paramedic and an RN to the disease of
addiction. Happily married for 45 years to Jack, retired 8th grade science
teacher. Her oldest son Dale is an instructor at their local community college.
They live in Palm Bay, Florida. Sheryl is
originally from Brisbane, Queensland, Australia and is a citizen of both
Australia and the US. They are owned by two spoiled rotten cats and are active
in trying to prevent children from doing drugs. They also are animal rights
activists who spread the word about the importance of spaying and neutering
pets.
