Magnificent Seven? 2012 French Open - Rafa Round of 16

(Demolition Man. Monaco doesn't know what hit him after he loses handily to Rafa in the 4th Round.)

Rafa: Any shot you can hit, I can hit better! I can hit any shot better than you.
Monaco: No you can't.
Rafa: Yes I can!
Monaco: No you can't!
Rafa: Yes I can!
Monaco: No you can't... yes you can! yes you can!

Damn. Rafa just annihilated Juan Monaco this afternoon in their Round of 16 match at the French Open. Our Hero took down his opponent in blistering fashion - 6-2, 6-0, 6-0. I mean...seriously? Monaco wasn't even playing badly! Rafa still handed him a double bagel. Monaco's game played into all of Rafa's strengths, so even though he was playing well, he couldn't get Nadal out of rhythm. Things just got better and better for him as the match progressed. Rafa's too strong and feeling too confident to be threatened by Monaco's game. It was brutal. Rafa was merciless as he fought his way into the quarterfinals.

Next up, Rafa faces Nicolas Almagro. A fellow Spaniard who - like Ferrer - has been playing very good clay court tennis this Spring. Will it matter? Is he playing anywhere near the level at which Nadal is currently playing? He's not. Rafa currently looks unstoppable. But every day in tennis is a new day. The outcome is never set in stone. Still, Rafa is the heavy favorite. Let's hope he gets through quickly. VAMOS!

Magnificent Seven? 2012 French Open - Rafa Round 3

(Rafa's last win as a 25 year old!) 

Today Our Hero Rafael Nadal won his third round match against Eduardo Schwank 6-1, 6-3, 6-4 at Roland Garros. It was another example of Rafa's dominance, and his ability to save the occasional that pops up when he momentarily gets bored of beating people so handily. Next up in the Round of 16, he'll play Juan Monaco - a player he likes very much and has practiced with and played against many times. This should be another very winnable match for Nadal.

(a super special cake for a super special guy!) 

But before he gets to that, Rafa has a birthday to celebrate on Sunday! Happy Birthday, RAFA! Our guy is turning 26 - my favorite number! Hopefully, it will be a very successful year for him on and off the court. VAMOS!

Magnificent Seven? 2012 French Open - Rafa Round 2

(just another day at the office...)

It's almost not worth mentioning in its lack of eventfulness, but for consistency's sake let me mention that Our Hero, Rafael Nadal, won his second round match at the French Open against Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan, 6-2, 6-2, 6-0. Rafa was in control throughout. Istomin never had a chance. Good job, Rafa!

Later today Nadal plays his third round match against Argentinean qualifier Eduardo Schwank. Love the name, don't know the player. They have never met before on the tour. He should not pose a threat to Rafa advancing to the 4th Round though. Fingers crossed nothing extremely crazy happens! VAMOS!

Comics Are So Gay.

(GL Alan Scott gets a boyfriend. The world astonishingly keeps turning!)

DC Comics said they would announce which of their super heroes was coming out of the closet in June. It's June 1st and they've wasted no time in making the announcement - The New Super Gay is Alan Scott! Green Lantern on Earth-2! That's right. He's not in the main continuity, but I guess an alternative lifestyle befits an alternative DC Universe.


Not to be out-gayed, best-frenemy comic publishing house Marvel is taking the opportunity this month to marry off its most visible gay Super Dude, Northstar, to his not-super-powered boyfriend. The gay gene and the mutant gene are not the same gene, and the bf only has one of the two activated. Mazel Tov, boys! Everybody loves a June wedding in NYC!

(you are cordially invited to the interracial mutant/non-mutant gay nuptials of the year!)

Well... not everyone. The Not Even Close to One Million Moms group is complaining again! First they didn't like Ellen being a spokesperson for JC Penney and now the gays are taking over the funny pages. I think their official quote is hilarious. Here it goes:

“Can you imagine little boys saying, ‘I want a boyfriend or husband like X-Men?’” the organization wrote in a statement. “This is ridiculous! Why do adult gay men need comic superheroes as role models? They want to indoctrinate impressionable young minds by placing these gay characters on pedestals in a positive light. These companies are heavily influencing our youth by using children’s superheroes to desensitize and brainwash them into thinking that a gay lifestyle choice is normal and desirable. As Christians, we know that homosexuality is a sin.” They go on to reference a passage in Romans.

Would someone please point out to these people that they only believe homosexuality is a sin because they are INDOCTRINATED to think so? Every time they cry out about the "gay agenda" and "indoctrination" it just blows my mind, because it's quite plain that people do not choose their sexuality, but they certainly do choose what religion to practice and what values within it to emphasize. Children and Adults do not scholastically learn who they should be attracted to or who to fall in love with, but they do learn religious teachings, and rituals and practices. These homophobes suspect the gay community of using indoctrination because that's the tool they use to live within their own beliefs. Nothing in the naturally existing world is allowed to threaten that philosophy. Let me be clear, I'm not talking about all religious people. I'm talking about those who aggressively pursue the persecution of others and want the laws we live under to reflect only their own moral code.

And OMM really has no idea how to pick its battles. Even though these two gay moments are happening now, it's not like their haven't been gay characters floating around the comic book world for a long long time. They've been in the independent comic book world for decades, and although he's just getting hitched now, Northstar's been out in Marvel for 20 years! And DC has Batwoman who was re-introduced to the continuity as a lesbian in 2006 and Bunker who was introduced in 2011 as a gay Teen Titan. Archie Comics has had the very popular, very gay, Kevin Keller since 2010 and he just got hitched as well! There are probably a bunch others that don't immediately jump to mind. (You can insert your joke about Aquaman here, but personally I've always thought that he and Mera were legitimately hot for each other.)

(Can you believe the Northstar marriage isn't even the first interracial gay cartoon wedding on the stands? That cutting edge book "Life With Archie beat them to it!)

And to the Not Even Close to One Million Moms' statement. If one of your little boys says ‘I want a boyfriend or husband like X-Men' correcting their grammar should take priority over correcting their sexual orientation. And adult gay men are free to have comic superheroes as role models if they want them. There's nothing wrong with adults liking comics regardless of their sexual orientation. I'm sure more adults visit Comic-Con than belong to One Million Moms anyway.

Magnificent Seven? 2012 French Open - Rafa Round 1

(Playing Pretty In Pink!)

Ladies and Gentlemen, Our Hero, Rafael Nadal, has begun his quest for a record seventh French Open title this week. He looks to be in great physical and mental shape and he is he favorite coming in to the tournament. Being the favorite doesn't always mean much. Serena was the favorite on the women's side and she sadly was bounced in the first round. Shocking! This year Rafa is back wearing a pink shirt and pink shoelaces as part of his ensemble. The last time he wore pink here was the only year he lost. The superstitious fool in me is wondering what the superstitious fool in him is thinking. Maybe he truly doesn't care, but it makes me NERVOUS.

Luckily his first round match did not prove a horrible challenge for him. He took out Simone Bolelli of Italy 6-2, 6-2, 6-1. Rafa raced out to a 6-2, 4-0 lead and then suddenly lost a little focus. It can happen when playing a long match, especially when your opponent is not really threatening you. Bolelli broke Rafa during that lapse and them held serve. Then he had 4 break point chances to bring it to 4-3 on Rafa's next service game, Bolelli couldn't convert them though, and Rafa held. Then Nadal just ran away with the rest of it. One match down, six to go until he is Champion once more!

Next up he gets Denis Istomin from Uzbekistan. Shouldn't present a big challenge, but I'm sure Rafa will take nothing for granted. As the saying goes, you can't win a Grand Slam in the first week, but you can definitely lose it. I believe Rafa will persevere! VAMOS!

Rafa's Road to Paris Leads Through Rome!

(Rafa and Rome: Two great tastes that taste great together!)

It's been a very rainy week here in NYC. It's been SEVERAL rainy weeks here in NYC, to be honest. Luckily, the weekends have been gorgeous, but the weekdays have been downpours. One thing that made this past Monday a little less soggy and gloomy was the fact that Our Hero, Rafael Nadal, won the Rome Masters Event over his most-recent greatest rival Novak Djokovic. Such news was brighter than sunshine!

Rafa took the championship match 7-5, 6-3. It was sweet revenge as Novak beat Rafa here last year. The win did a number of other things as well. It further reversed the trend of Rafa losing Finals to Novak. After having a dismaying 0-7 Final Record against Novak spanning back from 2011 (and including three Grand Slam Finals) Rafa has now beaten Novak 2 Finals in a row - Monte Carlo and Rome. Monte Carlo was an important test for Rafa, to be sure, but Novak was so emotionally and physically drained from the passing of his beloved grandfather, it wasn't the best indicator of what their match up on clay would look like in 2012. This convincing win gives Rafa the edge again on red clay. Physically and mentally he looks fantastic and is definitely in prime position to win his 7th French Open in the coming two weeks. 

It also bumped Rafa back up to No. 2 in the rankings, after Federer briefly climbed past him for winning Madrid last week on the blue clay. That will put him back as the No. 2 seed at the French. Open. Having him be the third seed when he's won the tournament 6 out of the last 7 years would be sorta absurd.

Winning the Rome Masters also makes Rafa the most winningest player at Masters 1000 events, now having won 21 tournaments - 1 more than Federer. He's cut into Novak's lead in the points race to No. 1 as well. He won't be able to overtake him at Rolland Garros, since Rafa won last year and has to win to defend all his points. Unless Novak falls unexpectedly early, he will probably retain all his points from the tournament this year as well as a former semi-finalist.

Still this has been a very good week to be a Rafa fan, basking in the glory of his victory as the heavens upon up around us. I wish him so much success next week in Paris. I hope he makes history winning his 7th trophy there. VAMOS!

Rafa Gets Smurfed in Madrid

(The slippery slope of converting to blue clay.)

Ahh, blue clay. Looks pretty on camera, no doubt. But after a week of controversy, and a lot of negativity and early exits from the game's top players, will we ever see it again? I wonder. I feel like the safety of the players should be paramount, not making the ball clearer for those watching on a TV screen. If they wanted to change to blue clay, why didn't they start fixing the courts well in advance so that people could play on them and adjust the court composition as needed? It just seems weird and rushed to me. I feel like I've been following the blue clay drama for a while, but the details and thought process behind the necessity for the change happening right now still seems muddled. Or maybe it's clear enough and I just don't think it was worth it.

The week in Madrid saw uncharacteristically early exits from both Our Hero, Rafeal Nadal, and World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, both of whom faced off in last year's final. Rafa suffered an astonishing collapse to Verdasco in the third round and Nole lost to Tipsarevic in the quarters. It was one of the rare times when I was actually frustrated with Rafa. I'm sure the court conditions were frustrating, but I felt like he (and Novak) just didn't want to be there. Usually competing and winning is most important to them and the way they went out, I felt like on at least a subconscious level, they just didn't want to be there. Demonstrating how bad the blue clay was seemed more important than winning the tournament on the surface. This was not a preoccupation for Federer, who won the tournament and moved passed Nadal to be ranked No. 2 in the world. With No. 1 ranking back in his sights.

Now we have already moved on to Rome, one my favorite cities in the world! The red clay is back and it seems Rafa and Novak are ready to put the blue clay fiasco behind them and get back to competing. I'm all for innovation and making the game more accessible for home viewers. But I think it's wrong to do it in a rushed way that is opposed by the players. I've been watching red clay tennis for years and I've never had a problem with it. Hopefully, tournament heads will consider more thoughtful approaches to court enhancements in the future. And here's hoping that Rafa can return to his winning ways on clay this week. VAMOS!