Monzanator

Aryna Sabalenka beats Elena Rybakina in three sets and advances into SF alongside Jessica Pegula.

Looks like Świątek vs Sabalenka SF for the YEC #1 (Iga needs to win the whole tournament though).

The weather has been a joke with the wind & rain and well, WTA gets rightfully blasted for the terrible YEC schedule for the second year running after the Fort Worth ghost town last season.

Oleg Protopopov (2x Olympic Champion in pairs) died at the age of 91.

IOC really wants to prevent pro-Palestine protests during 2024 SOG? Yeah, good luck with that especially with France having one of the largest Muslim populations in Europe (if not THE largest?)

China will jump all over this hypocrisy right away too IMO

https://www.dailysabah.com/sports/ioc-warns-protests-at-paris-2024-games-amid-ongoing-gaza-conflict/news/amp

Texas Rangers won the World Series 4-1.

Diamondbacks blowing that Game 1 lead proved to be quite critical even though they won game two.

Well, at least there is no bribery among the selection vote anymore  Once Saudi Arabia decided to bid die Sache war gegessen

Like the Oprah meme, everyone gets to host a World Cup these days, from Paraguay to Saudi Arabia. It's all about the money and football is business more than a sport. Welcome to XXI century.

49ers lost three in a row so Brock Purdy started looking like a human again and now Seahawks have traded for Giants DL Leonard Williams. Guess they believe they can still win the division with 49ers looking vulnerable out of nowhere.

Giants season is basically a wash after they mustered -9 net passing yards vs Jets last night being forced to play Tommy DeVito at QB

WTA Linz has upgraded to 500 status next season. It was to be predicted given how WTA changed the rules and made entry into 250 even less possible for Top 30 players instead of just Top 10 players. There won't be many 250s who make this upgrade but Linz was always tipped to be among them.

The only problem is the tournament will be held in late January/February so right after Australian Open.

WTA Elite Trophy final

Beatriz Haddad Maia def. Zheng Qinwen 7-6(11) 7-6 (4)

YEC Day 1:

Jessica Pegula def. Elena Rybakina 7-5 6-2

Aryna Sabalenka def. Maria Sakkari 6-0 6-1

Lucas Braathen (alpine skiing) has retired at the age of 23.

2 hours ago, rafalgorka said:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news
 

US hits sites in Syria as Gaza aid 'barely trickles in

 

World War Three in the making or Just Another Day in the Middle East ??? 

More like Russia diverting attention away from Ukraine IF they supplied arms to Hamas before this attack.

Meanwhile it looks like Alexandria Loutitt has signed a deal with Red Bull so finally some extra money for at least one Canadian ski jumper

12 hours ago, rafalgorka said:

Who was the last center "kryptonite" before Jokic in your opinion? Can't think of any at the moment. Hard to say imo.

Other than Shaq and his backside shake it was probably Tim Duncan's spin & fade off the glass

1 hour ago, rafalgorka said:

Jokic triple double after being drunk all summer. Respect. Is this game that easy? Really???

It's just a 3-pt shooting contest most of the time and moreover, everyone is still more or less playing small ball. A center who can pass the ball is kryptonite in the modern NBA. And most opponents just want to outscore the other team than play genuine defense.

Celtics vs Bucks is the popular East choice. Have the US media finally given up on the Sixers? They ain't winning anything over there.

West should be Nuggets, Warriors and Suns with the usual Lakers hype mixed in.

Craig Kimbrel basically blew it for the Phillies when they had the early series lead and the bats went cold in the deciding games as well.

WTA Elite Trophy has kicked off in Zhuhai.

Meanwhile Karolina Muchova has WD from YEC due to a wrist injury (she didn't play since USO anyway) and will be replaced by Maria Sakkari @Makedonas

This season is as predictable as it goes but a minor plot twist as Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were DQ from USA GP results due to excessive skid plank wear.

That guy from Pays Bas with a Belgian mother won the 50th Grand Prix of his career

Yeah, I noticed the name coincidence and her age

Arguably both Mesikova and Kapustikova made the correct decision to train in Polish clubs. After Karpiel and Rajda threw a tantrum and packed their bags retired our women's roster is extremely thin with almost no hope expected. Twardosz is slooowly getting back to quasi form after her injury but Przybyła looks miles off after her knee injury.

Polish teams are training in snow tunnel in Oberhof and well, Monika Hojnisz's "don't call it a retirement competition pause" has been extended to TBA

Polish national championships were held this weekend and claimed 1-2 in the women's competition

@hckošice See, who says Slovakia sucks in ski jumping?

Alexander Shevchenko (aka Anastasia Potapova's fiancee) wants to switch to ?

Whoa! England blew it big time!

Well, the post-season was hardly a classic (especially for Dodgers & Braves) but the CS series look promising. Astros lost two games at home but then beat Rangers on the road three times and have the edge again. Phillies were 2-0 on Dbacks but Craig Kimbrel blew it twice and the series is tied instead of a sweep

  Anfisa Reztsova - Olympic champion in biathlon - passed away at the age of 58.