Have you seen the new commercial for Gatorade called “What’s G?”

The spot features Serena Williams, Misty May Treanor & Kerri Walsh, Candace Parker,  the legendary Muhammad Ali, and a bevy of other celebrity-athletes. It’s pretty cool though you’d never know they were selling a sports drink.

This latest comes shortly after Gatorade scored with the amazing ball girl video, easily the best viral marketing campaign of 2008.

In other beverage news, Gatorade is expanding into action sports  and has announced the addition of 17-year-old snowboarder Ellery Hollingsworth to their elite team roster.

What do you think of the latest spot?

Filed under: Candace Parker, Entertainment, Fun Stuff, General, Serena Williams, Training 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 16, 2008 - As the tennis world gears up for the first Grand Slam of 2009, here’s what our fave female ballers have been up to…

• Maria Sharapova is on the cover of January’s Women’s Health magazine - Masha is recuperating well and on target to resume her career next month but in the meantime, she remains busy as a cover girl.  She’s also been spotted at Tiffany events in Los Angeles and NYC.
• Serena Williams is  on the cover of Vibe magazine’s annual “Tabloid Issue” for January ‘09 featuring the Best and Worst of 2008. Serena, along with rap star Nelly, is shown above the category of “Hottest Bodies”.
•  Serb beauty Ana Ivanovic continues her modeling career appearing in a 2009 limited edition calendar. for sponsor Verano Motors.  Ana has been busy on a myriad of fronts. She is also on the cover of the new issue of L’Equipe Sport & Style magazine, has just bought a house in Mallorca and has been traveling the world with hot boyfriend Fernando Verdasco.
• Retired world number one Justine Henin received a lifetime career achievement award in Belgium at her nation’s most prestigious sporting occasion, the Sports Gala. The seven-time Grand Slammer was reunited with compatriot Kim Clijsters and received videotaped congratulatory messages from tennis legends Pete Sampras + Stefan Edberg.
• World No.1 Jelena Jankovic,  Maria Sharapova, Venus Williams and Zheng Jie will all warm up for the Australian Open at the JB Group Classic exhibition in Hong Kong January 7th-10th.
• Former world number 4 Jelena Dokic won her first round today in Australian Open wildcard competition by defeating Sophie Letcher but was upset on the second day of the round-robin play-off.
• Three-time Grand Slam champion Lindsay Davenport has decided to continue playing professional tennis in 2009 and has entered the Australian Open.
• Visitors to the Tennis Channel site can now pick the best match of 2008  Polls will remain open until Dec. 19.
• Wimbledon has their own line of tennis gear out including the elegant High Street Racer Tank ($48) + Flounce Skirt ($39). The tank features a beautiful racer back and v-neck wrap front while skirt has contrast detailing and an elastic waistband.

Did we miss anything?

Filed under: Events, Fashion, Fun Stuff, General, Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, Tennis, Venus Williams by jane
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December 10, 2008 - Make it a Christmas to remember. If you’re looking for that perfect holiday gift,  Maria Sharapova is auctioning off an autographed Nike duffle bag to support her Foundation. According to her site, the bag is “a soft gold color accented by shimmery gold trim. The bag has been personally used by Maria and is gently worn.”  Bid here.

Looking for more ideas? How about a signed Justine Henin visor or apparel from some of your favorite 2008 Olympians?

Right To Play - the international humanitarian organization that promotes health, developing life skills and peace for disadvantaged communities and children - is offering a variety of items donated by athletic superstars such as Venus and Serena Williams, Chemmy Alcott, Paula Radcliffe and numerous 2008 Beijing Olympians. Bid for these items through December 15th on eBay ebay.com/righttoplay.

Filed under: Charity/Cause, General, Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, Tennis, Venus Williams by jane
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December 9, 2008  - The year-end lists continue.

Polls are now open for the 2008 United States Sports Academy (USSA) Athletes of the Year awards presented by USAToday and NBC Sports. The USSA Athlete of the Year ballot is the culmination of the Academy’s year long Athlete of the Month program, which recognizes the accomplishments of men and women in any sport around the globe.

Who’s on the ballot this year?

Rebecca Adlington (United Kingdom - Swimming)
Kirsty Coventry (Zimbabwe - Swimming)
Tirunesh Dibaba (Ethiopia - Track and Field)
Yalena Isinbayeva (Russian Federation - Track and Field)
Guo Jingjing (China - Diving)
Nastia Liukin (United States - Gymnastics)
Lorena Ochoa (Mexico - Golf)
Candace Parker (United States - Basketball)
Paula Radcliffe (United Kingdom - Marathon)
Lindsey Vonn (United States - Skiing)
Chrissie Wellington (United Kingdom - Triathlon)
Serena Williams(United States - Tennis)

Cast your ballot at http://vote.ussa.edu/aoy.

Filed under: Candace Parker, Contest, Lindsey Vonn, Serena Williams, Ski, Tennis by jane
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December 8, 2008 - As ESPN Magazine says goodbye to 2008,  Chris Jones recounts the best storylines of the entire year in one massive yarn. “The Things We Forget” is a chronicle of 2008 in sports presented in 11 parts. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, but most of all, you’ll remember.

In particular, check out Part 4 on Annika Sorenstam:

In May, Annika Sorenstam announced that 2008 would be her last year on the LPGA Tour. One of the most dominant athletes of the past decade had decided to disappear. She had known she would retire since the previous winter, when she peeked at her watch on the driving range and wondered if it was time to go home. “I stopped and thought, Wait a minute, I used to love this,” she said. “All of a sudden, I’m watching the clock. That’s when I knew this would be my last year.”

And Part 6 on Venus and Serena Williams:

Of all the great stories of this year, the resurgence of Venus and Serena Williams was the most overlooked. After their domination at the All England Club—the first time they had met in a Grand Slam final since 2003 and the fifth time Venus had won Wimbledon—they snagged doubles gold together in Beijing. Serena then went to New York and won the U.S. Open without losing a set. (Her toughest opponent was Venus in the quarters.) After being ranked as low as 140 two years ago, Serena was once again the best women’s player on the planet. In almost any other year, the Williams sisters might have basked in a long glow. Instead, even for them, 2008 was a flash that was doused too soon.

Filed under: Golf, Serena Williams, Tennis, Venus Williams by jane
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December 8, 2008 - Here’s a quick update on some of what happened over the weekend in women’s sports.

Tennis:
Serena Williams withdraws from Australia’s Hopman Cup with hamstring injury

Soccer:
UNC soccer team wins Women’s College Cup adding to dynasty

The U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team captured the 2008 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup with a 2-1 victory against Korea DPR.

Golf:
Michelle Wie earns LPGA card as Lewis wins Q-School

Hoops:
Connecticut remains atop AP poll. North Carolina is second followed by Stanford, Texas A&M, OU and Texas.

TCU shocks California and ends school-record winning streak

No. 8 Notre Dame stays perfect, knocks off No. 20 Purdue 62-51

No. 9 Texas knocks Ole Miss from unbeaten ranks

The #1 girls high school team in the country is upset

Volleyball:
Penn State sweeps Yale, advances to regional semis

Swimming:
Dagny Knutson breaks American Record at 2008 USA Swimming Short Course Nats
Mary DeScenza wins twice at USA Swimming Short Course Nationals

Worth reading:
Michael Wilbon on the end of the Houston Comets

Filed under: Basketball, College Athletics, College Basketball, General, Golf, Serena Williams, Swim, WNBA by jane
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December 1, 2008 - The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour just released a list of the fastest women’s servers and it’s no surprise that Venus Williams tops both the 2008  list as well as the all-time one and that sister Serena is in the top three.

With increased intensity of off-court training among over the last few decades, the increase in physicality is clearly reflected in serve speed. The six fastest servers of all time have all emerged over the last three years.

Perhaps the most noteworthy result of the 2008 season was Venus Williams equalling her all-time record of 129 mph, which she first served at the US Open last year but repeated at Wimbledon this year. 

Top 15 Fastest Servers - 2008
  1. Williams, Venus (129.0 mph - Wimbledon)
  2. Groenefeld, Anna-Lena (128.0 mph - US Open)
  3. Williams, Serena (125.0 mph - Miami)
  4. Lisicki, Sabine (124.0 mph - Cincinnati)
  5. Brémond, Severine (121.8 mph - Australian Open)
  6. Bychkova, Ekaterina (121.2 mph - Roland Garros)
      Petrova, Nadia (121.2 mph - Roland Garros)
  8. Stosur, Samantha (121.0 mph - US Open)
  9. Fedossova, Youlia (119.3 mph - Roland Garros)
10. Sprem, Karolina (119.0 mph - Amelia Island)
11. Ivanovic, Ana (118.1 mph - Roland Garros)
      Tulyaganova, Iroda (118.1 mph - Australian Open)
13. Amanmuradova, Akgul (118.0 mph - Amelia Island)
      Cavaday, Naomi (118.0 mph - Wimbledon)
      Kleybanova, Alisa (118.0 mph - Wimbledon)

Top 15 Fastest Servers - all-time
  1. Williams, Venus (129.0 mph - 2007 US Open, 2008 Wimbledon)
  2. Groenefeld, Anna-Lena (128.0 mph - 2008 Wimbledon)
  3. Williams, Serena (127.0 mph - 2006 Cincinnati)
  4. Schultz-McCarthy, Brenda (126.0 mph - 2007 Indian Wells, 2007 Cincinnati)
  5. Ivanovic, Ana (124.9 mph - 2007 Roland Garros)
  6. Lisicki, Sabine (124.0 mph - 2008 Cincinnati)
  7. Granville, Laura (123.0 mph - 2003 Memphis)
      Gullickson, Carly (123.0 mph - 2003 Memphis)
      Stevenson, Alexandra (123.0 mph - 2003 Memphis)
      Taylor, Sarah (123.0 mph - 2003 Memphis)
11. Petrova, Nadia (122.4 mph - 2005 Australian Open)
12. Henin, Justine (122.0 mph - 2005 Charleston)
13. Brémond, Severine (121.8 mph - 2008 Australian Open)
      Molik, Alicia (121.8 mph - 2005 Australian Open)
      Sánchez Lorenzo, María (121.8 mph - 2004 Acapulco)

Filed under: Serena Williams, Tennis, Venus Williams by jane
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November 24, 2008 - Thanks to Women’s Tennis Blog for pointing out this YouTube video of Venus and Serena Williams taking part in a quiz during Wimbledon 2008. The sisters answered multiple choice questions meant to test how well they really know each other (a la the Newlywed Game) and they didn’t disappoint. Enjoy!

Filed under: Entertainment, Fun Stuff, Quiz, Serena Williams, Tennis, Venus Williams by jane
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November 17, 2008 - This month’s issue of Harper’s Bazaar features the swinging sisters of tennis.

Serena and Venus Williams took part in a high-fashion editorial shoot in Flushing Meadow, home to the US Open, posing for photog Terry Richardson. The girls wore an array of designers including Donna Karan, Oscar de la Renta, Versace, Ralph Lauren, Sonia Rykiel, Diane von Furstenberg, Celine, and Herve Leger by Max Azria.

In the top right shot, Serena reaches for a serve while sporting a $695 Diane von Furstenberg dress, a $380,000 De Beers bracelet and a $148,000 Tiffany necklace.

The sisters went to great lengths for the shoot including wearing stilettos to practice.

“High heels kind of hurt on the court, but fashion is pain.” —Venus told Harpers.

Serena felt the fashion accessories gave her a view of the court from a whole new angle.

Asked who would win a fashion match, Serena said she would because she’s a little quicker in her heels! 

Check out this vid of the shoot.

Filed under: Fashion, Serena Williams, Tennis, Venus Williams by jane
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