AP - Two-time Grand Slam champion Amelie Mauresmo retired from tennis Thursday, saying she no longer had a burning desire for competition.
On 12/03/2009, In Sports, Sports News, By Yahoo! News: Sports News
On 12/02/2009, In College Basketball, By ACC Men's Basketball news
The Big Ten/ACC Challenge wound down on Wednesday with the ACC getting victories from Miami and Boston College. The Hurricanes stayed undefeated by beating Minnesota, 63-58. Boston College took down Michigan, 62-58. For the first time in the 11 years, the Big Ten won the Big Ten/ACC Challenge by a 6-5 margin.
On 12/02/2009, In College Basketball, By ACC Women's Basketball news
The ACC got off to good start with a pair of victories on the first day of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. Twenty-third ranked Georgia Tech took down Penn State, 64-60. Boston College went into Carver-Hawkeye Arena to defeat Iowa, 72-67.
On 12/02/2009, In College Basketball, By ACC Men's Basketball news
Georgia Tech head coach Paul Hewitt was less than hospitable to his alma mater. His Yellow Jackets downed Siena, 74-61, on Wednesday night. Georgia Tech was led by freshman Mfon Udofia, who scored 26 points.
On 12/02/2009, In Sports News, By Chris Chase
Game Point is Busted Racquet's roundup of facts, figures and links about the tennis world.
Love -- Nikolay Davydenko beat each of the 2009 Grand Slam champs (Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Juan Martin del Potro) en route to the ATP Tour final championship last weekend in London. He's a consistent top five player (finishing 5-3-4-5-6 in the last five year-end rankings, respectively) and should be considered a contender for 2010 Slams (even at his ripe ol' age of 28). So doesn't he get more love?
I have a theory about it: Davydekno doesn't get more respect because of what is (or isn't, at it were) on the top of his head. Yes, that's right: I think Davydenko is a victim of bald-ism. Larry David knows what I'm talking about. Because he looks like a guy who wears short sleeve shirts with ties, Davydenko doesn't get the respect he deserves.
15 -- Some Australian tennis officials were upset Serena Williams escaped with a "meager fine" for her outburst against a lineswoman at the U.S. Open. The Courier Mail anonymously quoted officials who said they wanted Williams banned from the Australian Open. Clearly these officials aren't the ones responsible for selling tickets.
30 -- Thanks to "economics", the ATP Tour stop in Indianapolis will be moving next year. Atlanta tried to buy the 80-year old tournament, but was rebuffed by the men's tour for reasons that aren't quite clear yet.
40 -- In honor of the Bryan brothers' victory at the ATP Tour finals, we took a listen to clips from their new album "Let It Rip". It sounds like Rascal Flatts meets Vanilla Ice circa 1997.
Game -- And to the dozens who wrote me an email criticizing my list of top 10 women's players of the decade, I appreciate your comments and tried to respond to each of them. (Except for those select few who wrote to tell me I was guilty of an -ism much more serious than bald-ism. I chose to ignore those.) Two quick notes though: The Grand Slam totals were for the decade, which is why Lindsay Davenport only had one and Serena Williams 10. And I stand by my ranking of Sharapova ahead of Venus. There are dozens of reasons Venus could have been higher (more Grand Slams, more tournaments won), but there are dozens of reasons Sharapova should be too (more year-end top 5s, didn't squander talent).
On 12/02/2009, In NHL, Sports News, By Greg Wyshynski
Now that's a proper mustache.
The problem with the otherwise wonderful "Movember" charity fundraisers for men's health awareness -- the hair-raising effort that featured teams like the Minnesota Wild, the Edmonton Oilers and the Atlanta Thrashers this season -- is that too many players took the cheap way out with soul-patches or near-goatees to offset the 70's porn-star glory of a caterpillar on the top lip.
Edmonton's Sam Gagner(notes)? Cheater. Atlanta's Zach Bogosian(notes)? Hero. Kudos to those brave souls who rocked the proper Magnum, P.I. for the month.
The Minnesota Wild have put together a musical tribute to the many mustaches of their players, which range from impressive (Kyle Brodziak(notes)) to invisible (Mikko Koivu(notes)) to whatever the hell Greg Zanon(notes) had on his mug. Watch and weep:
We were hoping the clip would build to a dramatic Clutterbuckian crescendo; we weren't disappointed.
Alas, Star Tribune beat writer Michael Russo tells us over Twitter that most of the Wild players have shorn their 'staches as December has arrived. So in true Minnesota Wild fashion, we all wait 'till next year.
Check out the official Movember site for more charity opportunities.
On 12/02/2009, In Soccer, By Brian Straus
Filed under: FIFA World Cup, US Soccer, U.S. Men's National Team
FIFA's World Cup organizing committee met Wednesday in some smoke-filled room in Cape Town and, in between bites of caviar and peeled grapes and just after confirming the delivery of a lifetime supply of Coca-Cola products to Jack Warner's compound in Trinidad, announced the procedures and seeding for Friday's World Cup draw (Noon, ESPN2).The decision to base the eight top seeds (including the host) on FIFA's monthly soda-sponsored national team rankings, ignoring past World Cup performance, means the U.S. came tantalizingly close to landing in the first pot -- closer than any of us may have expected when seeding was mentioned as a motivation following October's draw with Costa Rica. If FIFA and Coke want to promote their ranking, all the better for the Americans, who probably always will be higher than they deserve. But the pots announced Wednesday were anything but a favor. The road to next summer's second round will be treacherous.
More Coverage: Final Seeds Revealed for Draw