Monzanator

Pays-Bas beats Poland 1-0. They had this game under total control, the score doesn't tell the story. We are totally useless without Lewandowski

Kontaveit beats Linette in 6-3 6-2.

W/UE ratio says it all. Kontaveit +2, Linette -11.

5 minutes ago, Gianlu33 said:

According to ESPN Mannarino-Zverev will start in 30 minutes.

This looks like someone lost track of the quarantine rules indeed. Since Gasquet, Flipkens, Paire & co. are still locked in I wouldn't be surprised if someone tried to prevent Mannarino from leaving the hotel OR Mannarino himself was doing something stupid...

Some French & Belgian players who are out of USO must stay in their hotel rooms for quarantine but Mannarino & Mladenovic (doubles) who are still alive in the draw are allowed to go out & practice. Seems like the quarantine rules are a tota shitshow. Kirsten Flipkens admitted she hang out with Paire already after he was diagnosed with COVID. That's downright stupid.

8 minutes ago, heywoodu said:

Good luck having a World Cup in tiny Arber even without spectators. 

Since they held alpine skiing World Cup in Zwiesel which is like 10 km from Arber then I see no problem with biathlon

Sorana Cirstea dumped out Johanna Konta in three sets.

At least Konta didn't cry on court this time

12 hours ago, RobtheAggie said:

I wonder if provisions would be made if no fans in the stands, would they be willing to go to smaller venues, that do not have an A license, to stay closer together.

 

Norway has a bunch of biathlon venues.  Germany as well.  Italy has at least 3.  Austria has at least two.  So maybe you could do it in groups of two races, then travel to the next group.

 

I am jsut throwing out ideas here.  

Sjusjoen's B-license is supposed to run out after this season IIRC. As for Germany, if Oberhof/Ruhpolding get cancelled there's no way Arber can replace them since the ban will impact the whole country most likely. The most probable replacement venues would be in Russia/Belarus but there's a different problem with them.

The most likely replacement option is Ostersund given how Sweden has approached the COVID completely different to the rest of Europe. Kontiolahti would be my second best pick here.

Ja Morant has been voted rookie of the year with 99 first place votes (out of 100).

Thankfully even the media hype didn't help Zion Williamson this time.

Pironkova takes out Muguruza

12 minutes ago, Federer91 said:

I still remember better Gaudio and Coria than 80% of slams in the last 10 years. 

Yes, that comes from the fact the Slams in the last decade have been hijacked by the same 3-4 names all the time and it's impossible to tell a difference which Nadal RG victory or Djokovic AO victory was which

It's like in F1, everyone remembers Johnny Herbert's 1999 European GP victory but people don't remember 80 of 85 Hamilton's wins (one can argue the most memorable Hamilton moment was when Glock let him through in Brazil for 5th place  ).

22 minutes ago, thepharoah said:

I can't call Gaudio a clay specialist , i mean ofc it was his best surface but he wasn't as good as even Coria on Clay and he was just lucky that Coria got injured back in this final , anyway my point that winning an Olympic gold or a GS in tennis alone doesn't really make u a very famous figure but it writes your name in the history of the sport and btw it's even the 1st time for me that i hear about a GS winner from Ecuador thanks for the info 

Gaudio was a clay speciallist - like most Spanish & Latin players of the time. In 2005 only Nadal had more wins on clay than Gaudio. After that he had like one healthy season and soon fell into obscurity.

Nalbandian was the only Argentine non-clay speciallist at the time, he excelled in the now largely defunct indoor carpet events but Gaudio, Coria, Puerta, Monaco & Chela were all clay speciallists.

PS. You never heard about Andres Gomez before my post?

Have you heard about Virginia Ruzici winning Roland Garros? (just so people know Halep wasn't the first Romanian to do it)

Back when Andre Agassi still had his 1980s hair!

5 minutes ago, RobtheAggie said:

Yep, it seems like that might be in the cards.  If that were to happen, my bet would be Kontiolahti or Ostersund.

Yeah, mine too with Russia still on the IBU black list. Khanty-Mansiysk is as isolated as it gets but no chance for that one.

If Belarus wasn't so troubled with the elections backlash I'd expect Raubichi to make a great run at the World Cup too - then again if Lukashenka survives for the  next two months we can still see that happen.

2 minutes ago, thepharoah said:

Today we'll have a really good match between Azarenka and Sabalenka really a match that i look forward to seeing it 

AKA 58 winners and 75 unforced errors

1 minute ago, thepharoah said:

Winning a gold medal for a country like Puerto Rico and outside Athletics is an achivement to be written in books by itself , but whom history or people would remember him more Monica Puig for winning Olympic hold and doing shit in other tournanents or Gastin Gaudio winning RG in 2004 and doing shit in his entire career i think both are going to be forgotten , but they'll always be mentioned as Olympic gold medalist or a grand slam winner right now people remember Puig more actually 

Anders Gomez is probably the most obscure Grand Slam winner in the last 30 years. However clay speciallists are a different kind of breed, even tennis fans admit some players have a GS shot if only on a certain surface. All things considered Gaudio vs Coria Roland Garros final wasn't as surprising as Bartoli vs Lisicki Wimbledon final (mainly because there are fewer events on grass these days).

51 years and the Williams name will remain in name only (for the time being). Obviously the Williams Grand Prix Engineering was founded in 1977 but there was Frank Williams Racing Cars that entered F1 in 1969 already.

After the purchase was announced a couple of weeks ago this comes as no surprise. I suppose the new owners will keep the Williams name for 2-3 years to pretend they care about the legacy but then it will be gone just like Sauber after Alfa Romeo takeover lately.

https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/54014306

@RobtheAggie We can still have a proper season with one venue hosting like half of the schedule if neccessary (see 2000/01 season and Anterselva hosting four rounds).

6 hours ago, Olympian1010 said:

Great, she’s making it worse. Her response should be “I made a big fricken mistake. It was hypocritical of me. I apologize.” Instead, it’s just a bunch of excuses. 

 

Becuase what we need right now is the main opposition party shooting itself in the foot months before the election 

Nancy Pelosi is the most powerful female in US politics, she's been there when Hilary Clinton was still only Bill's wife. Of course that makes her one of the most arrogant people in US politics. Presidents come and go after 10-12 years in prime time politics but Pelosi has long outlived that span. There is no way she's gonna apologize for this, this is the kind of arrogance people spoiled by power are displaying every single day.

I'm supposed to believe the hair salloon has called her personally rather than her assistant has made the appointment? Not only she's arrogant but she thinks people are actually that stupid? I won't be surprised if the hair salloon owner votes for Trump now.

7 hours ago, Olympian1010 said:

I know, but it’s not like that many tennis players get an Olympic gold medal in their career. 

 

Her medal sure meant a lot for Puerto Rico too.

I'd say this gold medal might be one reason that prevents Puerto Rico from becoming an official US state? It is an US territory for over 100 years and a little more important than Saipan or Guam since Cuba remains a bigger US enemy than Japan these days, right?

34 minutes ago, bmo said:

I would add Football, Basketball & Baseball to that list. Maybe Hockey as well.

I had individual sports in mind but football is basically U-23 tournament with three senior players, basketball & hockey without NBA or NHL stars is second-tier by default so I was kinda short cutting the evident but obviously you're right

1 hour ago, Olympian1010 said:

Hell of thing to be remembered for though.

Any Grand Slam winner means more in tennis tbh. That's one of maybe two Olympic sports - golf being the other - where an Olympic gold medal isn't the pinnacle of the sport.

25 minutes ago, Olympian1010 said:

Trump is failed businessmen who only looks after his own interest. He runs this country, like he ran his businesses, for his own profit. Any policy he makes is to advance his name or gain profit, not to improve or strengthen the country in any way.

 

Trump loves white collar criminals and strongmen. Just look at how many he’s hung out with. Of course he loves Netanyahu! Not only is Netanyahu a criminal, but he’s also a strongman. Plus, Netanyahu acts like he’s protecting Western interests against Muslims, when all he’s doing is stoking further conflict with them for personal gain, or to satisfy a personal vendetta. 
 

Trump has never been a leader, politician, or businessmen. He’s failed miserably at all three.

He hasn't exactly failed at taking advantage of how divided the USA is in the last decade. The same way Boris Johnson took advantage of the Brexit division in the UK society when it seemed like Labour is gonna win back power based on how chaotic Tories looked after the referendum. You don't have to be a leader to become a leader in the modern times. You just have to play the divided cards right and the whole progressive vs moderate campaign among the Democrats is making Trump's job a lot easier. If he wins the second term it won't show how strong he is but rather how weak the Democrats are. If Trump has failed miserably then I can't even say how pathetic Hilary Clinton looks like right now tbh.

15 minutes ago, LDOG said:

Yes you can.  

  

One thing are personal beliefs, another is defending the geopolitical interests of the nation.   

You also can't be pro-saudi at the same time if it was like you say. But he has to be because those are the interests of the nation. 

10 minutes ago, Olympian1010 said:

No, setting up an embassy in Jerusalem only proves that you are loyal to a certain unpopular Israeli Prime Minister. Plus, he definitely only did it as a vanity project so that his name would be praised.

Well he’s both a fascist and a white supremacist, so make of that what you will.

 

Trump is a businessman, first and foremost. He treats politics like business. USA has bankrolled Israel for the last 60 years, I suppose Trump wants the Jewish lobby in USA to give him some of that money back. Muslim countries are traditionally against USA, you've lost Iran, Turkey and Saudi Arabia isn't as US-friendly anymore either? No wonder Trump has picked the Jewish businesses over the Muslim.

I'm shocked that after all those years you guys still judge Trump by political measures. He's not a politician and never will be - even though he was voted into a political office.

.... aaaand she's can't! Vintage Linette who can't close it out in straight sets.

Serving for the match but still lost it in the tie-break

Off to set #3...

Just now, Olympian1010 said:

Like I said, an election between spoiled milk and arsenic. Both are bad options. I argued strongly against both. Unfortunately, we have to chose one now. I won’t be choosing a NAZI, so it is, what it is.

You can't be a Nazi and pro-Jewish at the same time Trump is the most Jewish-friendly US President in history and setting up the embassy in Jerusalem proves that after all

Linette takes first set vs Kovinic 6-1. Let's see if she can avoid the drama in the second