But boy, tennis sure was fun, huh? I watched Oprah for the first time in my life (thanks, Serena!), hoped an old lady would get a little beat up (thanks, US Open fighters!), saw Roger Federer cry (or, I guess that was a while ago, but boy does it still feel fresh to me!), witnessed Andy Murray fail to amount to any of the hype that has been created around him in the past years, debased bunk trick videos and generally got to set the standard to unbiased, well-crafted tennis writing. I’d say it’s been a good year. 
 

But next year will be even better. And let me tell you why: everything that’s exciting has already happened. That will mean I have a lot more time to play Black Ops my dad swore he would buy for me and walk the puppies my mom had better be getting me for Christmas. I can’t really imagine any thing more exciting happening this next year that hasn’t already happened. And for that I’m thankful. I’m glad that there will be no more upsets and nothing to raise my blood pressure to un-surmountable heights. I’ll finally have some time to reflect on my young life and realize that everything doesn’t revolve around tennis and what company just sponsored Roger Federer or what color nail polish Serena Williams is coming out with next.
 

(Though I hear its Irish potatoes and neon green, respectively.)

 

Wait, who am I kidding?? It’s too exciting!!

While I certainly do not support violence of this sort, I must admit that it certainly makes things more interesting. Granted, the “g’day”, “cherrio old chap” tennis act is certainly respectable – it’s little more than a façade for the brutality that has come to engulf the sport of tennis. No longer is it the “well shot, mate!” sport of yesteryears, but rather the racquet-smashing xtreme-this, hyper-that sport embraced by heavy hitting grunters.

In essentially crafting younger players to emulate the attitude that bigger, stronger and faster is better, tennis has created its own evil – complete with teenage punks that like to cuss and fight. I can’t say that I didn’t partake in such exciting acts as a youngster – it certainly seems as modern society is geared toward such predispositioned angst.
 

So while I certainly do frown upon such immature behavior, the impression that society (and tennis culture!) has made on our youth should not be ignored. Actions such as these are reprimandable, but not surprising. They are the product of a violent culture. And as we have undoubtedly learned over the past thousands of years, violence begets violence (MLK Jr.). So start now to create a better tomorrow. And treat everyone kindly. 
 

I will leave you with these wise words by Confucius:  “It is easy to hate and it is difficult to love. This is how the whole scheme of things works. All good things are difficult to achieve; and bad things are very easy to get.”

 

There’s something to be said for having the most intense tennis website ever. I’ve got to hand it to the design team – it’s empowering to see someone take an idea so far and execute it perfectly. For those of you unwilling to actually click on the link, the website loads with Bethanie Mattek amid totally black and red clouds, wearing matte black oversize sunglasses and a black velour hoodie. Her hair is styled into what my mother what consider a “poof” and she is adorned in giant gold hoop earrings, a gold necklace with a twinkling cross, and in her hand she holds her racket. This is the light source for the image – a brightly sparkling sterling silver racquet. I know what you’re thinking – it can’t get any better than this. Oh, but it can. And does. A scrawled signature leads to a charred cement background with the tennis star swinging a flaming racquet and posing beside a rather hungry looking alligator. You are now my new favorite tennis player, Bethanie Mattek-Sands. Kudos.
 

Personally, I enjoyed an aesthetic of minimalistic simplicity. And Richard Gasquet takes us there. Using a pretty straight-forward template that seems to have been around since the days of Geocities, the website is great. Simple text leads you here, takes you back there – you see a photo, click it and it pops up, like it should. For an example of a website that is basic and to the point, look no further than this one.
 

 Yvonne Meusburger

This is almost the exact opposite of Richard Gasquet’s website. It’s intense with dark purple explosions and streams running over the entire website. Unlike Gasquet’s HTML-based website, this is 100-percent Flash-based and flaunts every bit of the format – things sliding, flipping, flashing, counting up and down for loads. It’s over-indulgence at its greatest and its pretty fun to cruise around on. The only downside here is that the entire thing is in German and I can’t really understand where I’m going or what I’m looking at. All I know is that I really like Bilder and don’t like Steckbrief. Go figure.
 

While the site unfortunately doesn’t have a forum, it’s a very well-designed website that is a collection of aesthetically pleasing text documents and photographs. What the site lacks with its reluctance to allow users to communicate, it makes up for in being beautifully and succinctly designed. As a pretty major player in men’s tennis in America, much of his website is directed towards the buying of his apparel and the promotion of his sponsors. All in all – a beautiful website that just needs a bit more user input like the length of Isner's record breaking Wimbledon match.
 

This website feels like I’m back in 1999 and getting ready for the oncoming apocalypse of Y2K. Things are flashing and buzzing and I’m aboard a Matrix ship, cruising through a web of information. It’s a beautiful thing and Filippo Volandri has captured it perfectly. A personal favorite is the section titled “Top Secret” (I wish I could tell you what it contains, but then Filippio would hunt me down and kill me). Check it out and feel like The Chosen One. 
 

Another German website that I enjoy cruising around. With top and side navigation, this site is very, very simple and easy to access (that is, if you speak German). And moreover, it’s packed with information about her. A lot of player websites seem nice, but really are pretty superficial and vacuous. When I go to a player’s website, I’m looking to find out information about she/he, not looking at how much money you can pay for web design. I now know way more than I ever thought I would know about Julia Görges.
 

With a meager front page and massive backend, Tommy Haas really knows how to treat his true fans and lure in the potential ones. His website employs massive amounts of reflective lettering to make it seem futuristic. The photos are organized, the text is interesting and the forums are bustling. Tommy Haas’ website is yet another great example of a straight-forward German-language tennis player portal. 
 

This is a really nice website. Big, bubbly buttons and text clearly delineates this from that and helps you navigate around this nice Belgian tennis player’s website. It successfully integrates all of her other communication platforms -on the sides are Twitter feeds, blog re-caps, and news. Also, the website nicely uses video to give fans a better perception of what the real Yanina is like. I like what I see.
 

The Spanish-star has a website that whisks me away to a Miami Vice-world of technological advancement and teal. It features fluid menus for photos, videos, an extensive biography and press articles. While it lacks a forum to interact, the sheer amount of information is enough to wrap you in Tommy and see what he’s all about. However, the most interesting feature is the tool that instantly converts from Spanish to Catalonian and English. Finally, a new world order.
 

One of the cutest players today deserves one of the best player websites. With a homepage that is a gigantic wall composed of picture of Andrea, things start off right. She packs a ton of information here and manages to be funny (in English and German!) and seem like a real person. She has a small section that is all about her friends and what they do. Twitter is well integrated and she has a feature that allows you to listen to her favorite music from the past year. Instead of a forum, she encourages people to use her Facebook and email her questions that she answers in her weekly video blog. Best website. I’m a huge fan. Maybe she’ll answer my question this week!

 

 

 

A girl let me do it
It literally just happened.
Havin’ sex can make a nice man out the meanest!
Never guess where I just came from - I had sex!
If I had to describe the feeling - it was the best!
When I had the sex, man my penis felt great!
And I called my parents right after I was done.

 

 

Bravo’s “Top Chef” has been having a special series featuring famous celebrities and athletes on the guest panel. Tomorrow, it will feature Top 100 tennis player Taylor Dent. He recently retired from playing tennis, so why not guest star on a hit television series that airs during primetime?

The show was filmed in the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, on the Louis Armstrong Stadium. Along with Taylor Dent, it will feature the creator of the U.S. Open Wine Bar Food, Tony Mantuano. The sport of tennis is really breaking outside of the tennis courts these days!

Sarah Thurmond got a chance to interview Taylor Dent about the show:

It is with a heavy heart that I inform you all that Anna Kournikova is now officially married. The former princess of tennis and her husband Enrique Iglesias have been publicly talking down on marriage and were strongly opposed to tying the knot, but they appeared to have contradicted themselves with a secret marriage.

Kournikova had said in an interview earlier this June:

The couple has recently been spotted with rings on their ring fingers, and sources say that they have privately gotten married. They had a very small, private wedding. Contrary to their characteristics, they didn’t want to have a whole bunch of media and tabloids there, so they kept it small to just their family and closest friends.

 

Congratulations to the couple, and Enrique, I hate you.
 

Nobody can argue that just about anything- a bullet being fired, explosions, someone with long hair running, a person sneezing, people hitting each other...etc. etc.- looks way cooler in slow motion. So why not see the sport of tennis in a speed way slower than it’s played?

This video feature matches that were played during the ATP World Tour finals and includes Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovich, Andy Murray, and much more. It's all played to Adagio for Strings from the String Quartet, Op. 11 by the New York Philharmonic. It’s absolutely mesmerizing to watch, although 9 minutes of it may be a little too long for people to take. Either way, it looks awesome and is really entertaining.

Awesome.

Entertainment legend Betty White, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, famous painter Wayne Thiebaud, country singer Merle Haggard, director James Cameron, and former Secretary of State George Schulz are among the 14 people that were inducted into the Golden State’s Hall of Fame by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger earlier this December.

Tennis diva Serena Williams was also one of the people inducted into California’s Hall of Fame. Her many singles and doubles titles qualifies her to be among the ranks of California’s proudest. In addition to playing professional tennis, she is also coming up with her own beauty line. Serena decorated her boot (her foot is still “broken”) with sparkly diamonds and sat next to Betty White.

There was also an exhibit that highlighted the inductees’ careers, such as a life-size Terminator from James Cameron’s blockbuster movie which, appropriately, starred Governor Schwarzenegger.

What do you think? Does Serena deserve to be named in California's Hall of Fame?