December 30, 2008 - It looks like one of the most volatile pairings in mixed doubles history. Rising Russian star Dinara Safina will join older brother and former world No.1 Marat Safin when they team up  in the Hopman Cup, starting in Perth on Saturday.

Safina said: “It was my dream to play together with my brother one time and I always wanted to come here and play together.  I hope it is going to be fun for us.” Safin is known for his volatile temperament and although his sister is making a concerted effort to control her emotions on court, she said it was a shared family trait.

Safina had a poor start to 2008 and was a first-round loser to Hopman Cup rival Sabine Lisicki at the Australian Open. However, it is a different Safina almost 12 months on, winning four tournaments this year and reaching the French Open final.

With her growing confidence and improved fitness, Safina has set her sights on lasting into the second week of the Australian Open for the first time. She also hopes to complete a unique family double by claiming the top ranking in women’s tennis in 2009.

Should be a fun to watch - Safina is definitely on our list of players to keep an eye on next year - just wondering who will break more racquets during the tournament.

Filed under: General by jane
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December 30, 2008 - To end the year on an up note, we thought we’d look at the positive side of the economic meltdown. Across the nation as home builders are going bust, skaters are finding a surplus of deserted pools in which to perfect their acrobatic aerials.

The New York Times web site even has a feature about skateboarders capitalizing on the mortgage crisis by finding, draining, and skating pools of houses that are in foreclosure.

California officials estimate that there are tens of thousands of abandoned pools in the state, with as many as 5,000 in places like Sacramento County, where a building boom in the capital’s suburbs has gone bust.

Now, we’re not recommending that you trespass and/or take advantage of these deserted pools. Just pointing out the silver lining.  Happy New Year.

Filed under: Fun Stuff, General, Skateboard by jane
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December 30, 2008 - Just as we were getting stoked to see Maria Sharapova return to the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour,  news comes that her return has once again been delayed. 

The three-time Grand Slam champion, who hasn’t played since the first week of August when she pulled out of an event in Montreal, revealed via her Website that after 10 weeks of rehab in Arizona the pain in her shoulder remained and she underwent “minor arthroscopic surgery” in October to fix the problem.

The ninth-ranked Sharapova says that she is now pain-free but only began hitting 16 days ago. Although she is back playing, Sharapova feels she has not done sufficient training to compete at a high level. She has subsequently pulled out of the JB Group Classic exhibition event in Tokyo, scheduled to be held January 7-10, 2009.

“It’s with much disappointment that I have to withdraw from Hong Kong,” said Sharapova in a statement released by the tournament.

“I’ve been using this event for the last five years to get ready for the new season, in fact Hong Kong has been successful in preparing me for the Australian Open.”

The 21-year old Sharapova confirmed that she did not expect the injury to hamper her chances of defending her Australian Open crown.

 After waiting months for her return to the court, let’s hope that’s not the case. See you in Melbourne?

Filed under: Maria Sharapova, Tennis by jane
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December 29, 2009 - The year wraps up with some great news for veteran hoops player Katie Smith. The Detroit Shock forward was surprised to learn she has been named USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year.

The three-time Olympic gold medalist and co-captain of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team that captured the USA’s fourth consecutive gold medal Smith will also be nominated by USA Basketball for the U.S. Olympic Committee SportsWoman of the Year.

Smith’s shown an unrivaled commitment to the USA Basketball Women’s National Team Program, missing just one of the USA’s training camps over the past three years. She may not always put up the big numbers but her contribution to every team she’s been a part of is unparalled so it’s nice she gets the props.

College: No surprise here - Connecticut is the unanimous No. 1 choice for the fifth straight week in the women’s college basketball poll by the Associated Press.

Filed under: Basketball, College Basketball, WNBA by jane
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December 29, 2008 - The best female surfers in the world are locked in and the 2009 ASP Women’s World Tour looks to be one for the record books. Days after the conclusion of the Women’s ASP World Tour season in Maui the roster for next year’s Tour has been finalized. 

While the surfers on tour will include 11 Women’s World Title holders represented over four competitors - Stephanie Gilmore Layne Beachley, Sofia Mulanovich and Chelsea Hedges – there are also five rookies joining the vets — all teenagers.

Sally Fitzgibbons, 18, made history earlier this year by becoming the fastest surfer ever to qualify for the world tour in a season.  She will be joined by Brazil’s Bruna Schmitz, Kiwi Paige Hareb, Hawaiian Alana Blanchard (all 18) and Coco Ho, 17.

Aussies will dominate the tour, with Fitzgibbons and current world champ Stephanie Gilmore leading eight of their compatriots.

Seven-time world champ Layne Beachley remains on the tour, though she previously announced her retirement.  The move allows her to still compete at some events, though she will not participate in all events (there are eight total events).

The new season kicks off on Feb. 28, 2009 with the Roxy Pro Gold Coast.

Here are the 2009 World Tour Surfers:
1 – Stephanie Gilmore (AUS)
2 – Silvana Lima (BRA)
3 – Sofia Mulanovich (PER)
4 – Layne Beachley (AUS)
5 – Amee Donohoe (AUS)
6 – Samantha Cornish (AUS)
7 – Melanie Bartels (HAW)
8 – Rebecca Woods (AUS)
9 – Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS)
10 – Jacqueline Silva (BRA)
11 – Chelsea Hedges (AUS)
12 – Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS)
13 – Rosanne Hodge (ZAF)
14 – Bruna Schmitz (BRA)
15 – Paige Hareb (NZL)

Filed under: Stephanie Gilmore, Surfing by jane
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Season’s Greetings.
Glad Tidings.
Merry Christmas.
Happy Chanukkah.
Yuletide Blessings.
Buon Natale.
Joyeux Noël.
Feliz Navidad
Mele Kalikimaka.
Meri Kurisumasu
Happy Kwanzaa.
Merry Chrismakkuh.
Happy Festivus for the rest of us.
Warmest thoughts and best wishes.
Goodwill to all women (and men).
Have a yule that’s cool.
Happy Holidays.
Happy New Year.
Peace on Earth.

Filed under: Entertainment, General by jane
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December 23, 2008 -  She led Tennessee to a second straight national championship in women’s basketball, was the first pick in the WNBA Draft, took the league’s MVP and rookie of the year awards, helped the U.S. win a fourth-straight Olympic gold medal and, oh she got married last month.

Now Candace Parker has been selected Female Athlete of the Year by members of the Associated Press.  She is only the third basketball player to win the women’s award, joining Sheryl Swoopes in 1993 and Rebecca Lobo in 1995.

Golfer Lorena Ochoa finished one vote shy of becoming only the fourth three-time winner of the award. Rounding out the top five were gymnast Nastia Liukin, swimmer Dara Torres, and gymnast Shawn Johnson. 

And who won the Male Athlete of the Year? Michael Phelps of course!

Filed under: Basketball, Candace Parker, News Bytes by jane
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December 23, 2008 - Lookin’ good. The former no. 1 Serena Williams did a photo shoot for this month’s celeb/style mag h monthly.  The pictures are accompanied by a conversation with Serena in which she discusses her recent travels, her new concepts in fashion and her continuing charitable endeavors.

Fab Serena just returned from Africa with news of her charitable work with B.A.S. (Build African Schools). Together they opened a secondary school named after her in the village of Matooni, about 70 miles southeast of Nairobi, Kenya, with state-of-the-art solar panels for power and computers donated from Hewlett-Packard. Her credo? ‘To whom much is given, much is required.’ Good for you, girl.  Can’t wait to see what 2009 brings (besides your memoir).

(via Tennis Served Fresh & Women’s Tennis Blog)

Filed under: Charity/Cause, Profiles, Serena Williams, Tennis by jane
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December 22, 2008 - The big news of the weekend was No. 11 Tennessee upset No. 4 Stanford in overtime 79-69.

South Dakota State joined the Associated Press women’s basketball poll for the first time entering the rankings at No. 25. UConn was No. 1 for the 113th time in school history, matching Tennessee as the all-time leader of appearances atop the poll.

Maryland defeated Old Dominion 74 - 65.

No. 3 Texas A&M continued its unbeaten streak with a win over TCU 64-50.

No. 24 Florida upset No. 19 Pitt. 90-83.The Gators (11-1) won their 11th consecutive game and snapped Pitt’s nine-game winning streak.

Oklahoma 94 Tulsa 42 The Paris twins and Danielle Robinson contribute double-doubles to OU’s rout of Tulsa.

No. 21 Arizona State tops Xavier 75-57  Briann January scored 16 points to lead Arizona State to the win.

Undefeated UConn over Florida State 83 -71. Will the perfect season continue?

Filed under: College Athletics, College Basketball by jane
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December 21, 2008 - Olympic silver medalist Gretchen Bleiler topped the women’s field Sunday to conclude the first stop of the Winter Dew Tour. The Tour has been embraced by the world’s top snowboarders and free-skiers making this weekend at Breck the place to be.

The twenty-six year old Bleiler took a new approach to her run by choosing not to start it off with her signature crippler trick.

“I definitely want to switch it up this season and work on my different tricks and never really have the stock run just because it’s more satisfying to switch it up,” Bleiler said.

“This pipe is great and the setup is great,” Bleiler said. “Being live on TV is huge and it’s definitely raising the profile of the sport so I’m backing it.”

Her winning run included a frontside 900 to a backside air crippler, a backside 540 to finish with a frontside 720. She finished with a score of 90.25.

Kelly Clark of West Dover, Vermont was second at 86.75 and Elena Hight of South Lake Tahoe, Calif. was third at 82.00.

Similar to the Dew Tour’s summer competition structure, the Winter Dew Tour is based on a cumulative points system as the top snow athletes battle it out for a piece of the $1.5 million prize purse and the chance to take home the Dew Cup at the conclusion of the season in February.

The four-day competition is the first of three stops of the Winter Dew Tour which features men’s and women’s freeskiing and snowboarding disciplines. Just over 17,000 fans enjoyed the Winter Dew Tour experience at Breckenridge Ski Resort in Colorado. The tour will visit Mount Snow Resort in Vermont in January and conclude in February at Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort in California.

While there are lots of women who go big on boards, there are not yet enough women freeskiers who throw down well enough to contest for the best at the Winter Dew, so while there are women freeskiing pipe and slopestyle exhibitions, they’re not part of the official contests  - yet.

Women’s Snowboard Superpipe Finals
1. Gretchen Bleiler - 90.25
2. Kelly Clark - 86.75
3. Elena Hight - 82.00

Filed under: Action, Events, Snowboard by jane
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