August 31, 2008 - After winning back-to-back gold medals at the Olympics and going more than 100 matches without a loss, beach volleyball stars Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh found themselves on the wrong side of the leaderboard on Sunday. The duo lost for the first time in more than a year, dropping a 21-19, 10-21, 25-23 decision to #3 seed Elaine Youngs and Nicole Branagh in The AVP Crocs Cup Shootout.

With the loss, the two-time Olympic champions’ historic winning streak ended at 112 consecutive match victories and 19 consecutive titles. They last lost on Aug. 19, 2007, also to Branagh and Youngs who now earn some much deserved respect for beating the seemingly unbeatable pair.

The final took 1 hours, 45 minutes, making it the second longest women’s match in AVP history, missing the record by just a minute. May-Treanor and Walsh dropped to 10-2 in finals matches against Branagh and Youngs.

Off the sand, be sure to catch Misty May-Treanor competing on one of our fave guilty pleasure TV shows -  “Dancing with the Stars” which has it’s season premiere Sept. 22nd.

Filed under: Beach Volleyball by jane
No Comments »

August 29, 2008 - New from Zazzle - decks featuring the perfect competition shape and construction for all terrains. These boards got supreme pop! The best quality hard-rock maple decks and an unrivaled patent-pending printing process make this the best skateboard available in the world. Check out the latest Pretty Tough versions!

Filed under: Skateboard by jane
No Comments »

August 29, 2008 - Sweat. Tears. Wins. Losses. Goals. Upsets. Strength. Determination. Heart. Each year, The Women’s Sports Foundation gives you a chance to help recognize those superhuman efforts as they select two champion athletes (one individual, one team) for the Sportswoman of the Year Award. 

Individual athletes up for the award include figure skater Mao Asado, swimmer Natalie Coughlin, golfer Lorena Ochoa,  fencer Rebecca Ward. Team athletes include paralympian Patty Cisneros, doubles partners Venus and Serena Williams, basketball player Candace Parker, beach volleyball Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh.

Cast your vote by midnight, September 2, and you’ll be entered in a drawing to win one of five items autographed by your favorite sportswomen. 

And the nominees are:

Filed under: Charity/Cause, Events, General, News Bytes by admin
No Comments »

August 28, 2008 - Shawn Johnson, fresh from Beijing with four Olympic medals and looking like your average sixteen year old, leads the Pledge at Invesco Field. Added bonus, the phenomenal Jennifer Hudson sings the National Anthem.

Filed under: Gymnastics, News Bytes by jane
No Comments »

August 28, 2008 - The last Grand Slam of the season - the US Open - is upon us and a number of our favorite ladies - Venus, Serena and Lindsay - are there.  Two star attractions, however, are missing.  Last year’s champion Justine Henin retired and Russian Maria Sharapova has an injury.

Still, there are a number of quality players vying for the title. It may be Venus’ for the taking but younger sis Serena Williams is hungry for a championship after her loss at Wimbledon.

The New York draw unfortunately has Venus potentially in a quarterfinal match-up with Serena.  Serena won the title in 1999 and 2002 and Venus won it 2000 and 2001 following Wimbledon wins in those years so it’s anyone’s guess who will advance.

Russia’s Dinara Safina, one of the hottest players on the tour, is also a potential finalist as is her compatriot, the Beijing gold medalist Elena Dementieva, who should go through to at least the semi round.

And don’t count Serb Jelena Jankovic.  JJ is probably the best player in the Top 10 never to have reached a Slam final.

Fellow Serb Ana Ivanovic was upset by qualifier Julie Coin of France in the second round marking the earliest exit by a female No. 1 seed in the tournament’s 40-year history. Coin will play Amelie Mauresmo in round three.

Who do you think will win the US Open this year?

Match Scores

CBS Sports and the USA Network will broadcast the US Open in the United States. The women’s final will be aired live on CBS at 8:00 pm on Saturday, September 6 so don’t miss it.

Fun Facts:
With $22,087,173 Lindsay Davenport is currently No. 1 on the all-time career prize money list, having passed Steffi Graf after the 2008 Australian Open

Filed under: Tennis by jane
No Comments »

August 28, 2008 - The Olympic break is over and the U.S. women’s basketball team has a gold medal. Now it’s time for the WNBA to get back and finish its season.

When the league went on a monthlong hiatus at the end of July, three teams were vying for first place in the Eastern Conference and all seven teams in the West were in playoff contention.

The season schedule resumes tonight with five games, including the Seattle Storm hosting the Houston Comets and the Los Angeles Sparks hosting the Sacramento Monarchs.  Teams have from seven to nine games remaining over an 18-day stretch.

The Shock entered the break reeling from a skirmish with the Los Angeles Sparks. Cheryl Ford was lost for the season with a knee injury, and Plenette Pierson was suspended for four games — the longest penalty among the 10 players on both teams that were sanctioned.

Pierson still has to serve two games on her suspension, but the Shock bolstered its frontcourt by acquiring six-time All-Star Taj McWilliams-Franklin from the Washington Mystics.

Will the Shock and Sparks meet in the play-offs? Will the Storm make the play-offs sans Lauren Jackson? With the resumption of the WMBA season, find out what to watch for down the stretch.

Filed under: WNBA by jane
No Comments »

August 27, 2008 - The women’s professional golf tour, which in recent years has been dominated by foreign-born players, has warned its members that they must become conversant in English by 2009, according to the New York Times.

Deputy Commissioner of the tour, Libba Galloway, said: “We live in a sports-entertainment environment. For an athlete to be successful today in the sports entertainment world we live in, they need to be great performers on and off the course, and being able to communicate effectively with sponsors and fans is a big part of this.

“Being a US-based tour, and with the majority of our fan base, pro-am contestants, sponsors and participants being English speaking, we think it is important for our players to effectively communicate in English.”

Although Galloway insisted that ‘the vast majority’ of the 120 international players on the LPGA circuit already spoke enough English to get by, she declined to say how many did not. There are 26 countries represented on the LPGA Tour - South Korea, with 45 golfers, has the largest contingent.

In order for the circuit to be successful, golfers must entertain as well as shoot under par. They have to satisfy their sponsors and charm pro-am partners. Obviously, this is a business decision. Many of the foreign golfers who are members say they have no problem with it. But does the policy violate civil rights?  What do you think?

Filed under: Golf by admin
No Comments »

August 26, 2008 - You won’t find them at Ozzfest. They won’t be in the mosh pit or headbanging. But the U.S. Olympic team has a record number of medal heads. In fact, Americans won the overall count with 110 medals; more than half of those were won by women.

The way Olympic medals work is that a medal for a team sport - such as the golds won by each of the women on the U.S. soccer team  - counts as just one. If, instead, the medals awarded to each individual are counted, the totals underscore the American commitment to team sports. They read like this:

Americans: 315 medals
Chinese: 186

Notable medal heads include:

• Basketball: The U.S. team, led by Lisa Leslie, claimed a fourth straight Olympic gold medal with a 92-65 blowout of Australia.
• Beach Volleyball: Kerri Walsh and Misty Misty May-Treanor are the first pair, male or female, to repeat as Olympic champions in beach volleyball.
• Cycling/BMX: Two American women took home medals - Kristin Armstrong won gold and BMXer Jill Kintner captured bronze.
• Equestrian: A number of women from the U.S. team medaled including Laura Kraut,  Beezie Madden and Gina Miles.
• Fencing: Americans Mariel Zagunis, Sada Jacobson and Becca Ward swept women’s sabre.
• Gymnastics: Nastia Liukin became the third American woman to take the individual all-around in gymanstics and Shawn Johnson won a gold medal on the balance beam. The pair of gymnasts won five and four medals respectively.
• Pole Vault: Jenn Stuczynski, making her first Olympic appearance, captured a silver medal.
• Rowing: The U.S. women’s eight won gold for the first time since 1984.
• Soccer: In stellar fashion, and without injured striker Abby Wambach, the U.S. women took gold by beating arch rival Brazil.
• Softball: In their first Olympic loss, the U.S. team garnered a silver medal in what may be the last softball match played at the Summer Games.
• Swimming: Americans won 31 medals including six by Natalie Coughlin, the most by a U.S. woman in Beijing. Dara Torres, the oldest swimmer at the Olympic Games, won three medals as did Rebecca Soni, Margaret Hoelzer and Katie Hoff. Swimming Medals
• Taekwondo:  The Lopez family kicked its way into history as Diana Lopez captured a bronze medal.
• Tennis: Venus and Serena Williams won gold medals as doubles partners.
• Track & Field: Allyson Felix and Sanya Richards took home two medals each. Stephanie Brown-Trafton won a bronze medal for discus.
• Volleyball: The U.S. women’s team took home a silver medal after failing to upset Brazil in the gold medal match.
• Water Polo:  The women on the U.S. water polo team captured a silver medal.

Fun Fact: The hardware handed out at the Beijing Games included a nod to the Olympics’ Greek roots and a ring of jade, representing honor and pride in Chinese culture. Each medal weighs about five ounces.

Filed under: Beijing Summer Games 2008, General by jane
No Comments »

August 26, 2008 - Miss the games? Then, check out some of NBC’s and USA Softball’s post Olympic games coverage.  

1. Check out eight things you might not know about Andrea Duran.  

2. Read this article about the player’s reactions to the IOC’s decision to keep softball out of the 2012 games.  

3.  View Vicky Galindo’s inspiring story about overcoming an injury here. 

4.  Check out player blogs, including Jennie Finch’s heartfelt reaction to the gold medal game. 

Filed under: Beijing Summer Games 2008, Olympics, Softball by keri mikulski
No Comments »

August 25, 2008 - Is it okay when six year old girls idolize Britney Spears or Paris Hilton? Or teenagers consider liposuction and plastic surgery to alter their looks? How about when girls trash-talk based on physical attributes and appearance?

Well, the YWCA wanted answers and they just released a new report revealing the impact of idealized, airbrushed beauty and body image obsession on the economic well-being, health and interpersonal relationships of American women and girls.

The report, Beauty at Any Cost, shows alarming new trends and money spent on cosmetic surgery alterations, including dramatic increases among young women, and other serious health risks.

Standards perpetuated by a youth-obsessed media culture literally send thousands of messages, 24 hours a day. “We believe that the obsession with idealized beauty and body image is a lifelong burden that takes a terrible toll on all young girls and women in this country,” said YWCA USA CEO, Dr. Lorraine Cole. 

Some highlights of the Beauty at Any Cost report:

•  Americans fork over nearly $7 billion a year to cosmetics, beauty supply and perfume stores, and nearly 11.7 million cosmetic surgical and nonsurgical procedures were performed — an almost 500% increase in such procedures from 1997.
• If women put the average amount of money they spent on monthly manicure-pedicures ($50) into an interest-bearing retirement account every year for 10 years, they would have almost $10,000 saved.
• Over half of teenage girls use unhealthy weight control behaviors such as skipping meals, fasting, smoking cigarettes, vomiting and taking laxatives.
• Forty percent of newly diagnosed cases of eating disorders are in girls 15 to 19 years old, but symptoms can occur as young as kindergarten. Girls who spent the most time and effort on their appearance suffered “the greatest loss of confidence.”
• In the U.S., cosmetics are not subject to testing by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Individual companies are responsible for substantiating the safety of their products.

“We felt the problem had reached such a crisis proportion that we needed to speak up and draw a line in the sand that this must stop,” said Nancy Loving, director of communications for YWCA USA who added that the group will use the report as a jumping-off point for educational programs in its 300 locations in the U.S.

To help raise awareness and start a national conversation about these issues, the YWCA USA has teamed up with documentary filmmaker Darryl Roberts to become the distribution partner of his new documentary film, “America the Beautiful.”  The film provides an in-depth look and critical analysis of the harm inflicted by beauty obsession on young women and girls.

What do you think? Does America have an unhealthy obsession with being beautiful? 

Filed under: Beauty, General by jane
No Comments »