Harry24

Sorry to hear about Serena. I'm home sick and was looking forward to seeing Maria get her annoying, condescending, screeching ass handed to her by Serena. Again. Oh, well. But wtf, Tennis Channel? Cilic/Fognini and Kerber/Garcia (who I was hoping might pull it out for the French fans) are playing, and we're seeing Rafa kill this cute German guy on replay?

Yeah, I was at that game. I've been to two Angels games at the stadium in recent years, and I don't think Trout has made an out yet. Little known fact that he shares the same first name as Altuve*: "F%*&-ing". *At least in this household.

The moment he turns to them and addresses them, "Fellas, ..." One of the great moments in TV history.

I haven't thought of that film in years, even though it's one of my favorites. Did not expect to see it quoted in the MLB thread on Previously TV, though! Brava, Attica.

I think it was "I Was a Male War Bride."

The one mundane thing I MUST see before the series ends, however, is "Carrie bleaches her hair."

Naomi Osaka played so well today in taking out Serena in the first round. Serena is still clearly way short of her usual form, but it was nonetheless an impressive achievement. I thought surely Naomi would have a mental letdown after winning in Indian Wells. I find her absolutely delightful. She said in her victory speech that it was probably one of the worst victory speeches ever, but I thought it was one of the best! So cute. Today in her on-court interview she said that one of her goals in playing Serena was to play well enough to prompt Serena to yell a patented "Come on!" at least once.

THIS!!!!! Whatever the choice of narrative, the relentless pumping of it is so exhausting and headache-inducing. You have (mostly) articulate, (mostly) interesting people calling the matches. Let them respond to the moment. Sure, plan out some possible themes they might refer to, but don't effing story-board a live event!!! The spontaneity of live sports is one of the things that makes them potentially so exciting. (This is one of the things that makes the Fed tongue-baths truthaboutluv complained of so enervating. And this is coming from a HUGE Fed fan. If the announcers are GENUINELY moved to praise him, namaste. Just stop beating us over the head with it already!)

I will miss Kenny S behind the mike very, very much. I feel his excellence has always been under-appreciated. He's conspicuously far better prepared for each of his games than the other "color" guys (cough, Paul O'Neill!, cough). I also really appreciate his mature, avuncular style. Plus the puns. I just wish he had somehow found a better-looking rug, though. He's so handsome, and the obvious rug diminished his dignified, older-gent beauty.

This Week in God. Awesome.

Yeah, there are inconsistencies there. But the big story is Francis "F*&^-ing" Tiafoe! Wow. I thought the technical flaws in his game would keep him from becoming a top player, but ... maybe not. He seems like such a great guy. The future is definitely starting to look much brighter for the post Rafa-Roger-Nole era.

The costume is a new one for this competition. And IMO the shame of it is not merely embarrassment at one's body being exposed but that this performance that they've been working their entire careers towards suddenly becomes all about the costume malfunction. Nobody's talking about their wonderful skating. Everyone's talking about the wardrobe problem and how they were unfairly held up in the scoring. It's a shame, and I feel terrible for them. I hope they can do a performance in the FD that will make everyone forget tonight and think of them as superb skaters and artists first.

I am just gutted for the lovely French team. I hope they can keep their spirits up and do a beautiful job in the FD.

Why do you think the judges are doing this, herbz? Simple bribery? Something more complicated? And I gather you think this started with P/C's first World Championship win, and that the Shibs should have won that free dance. I'm a big fan of Papadakis/Cizeron. Their skating brought me back to enjoying ice dance again. I find their best dances absolutely mesmerizing. I love their fluidity and soulful expression. I don't really enjoy the aesthetics of the more ballroom/athletic dance styles that have been in vogue since Annisina/Peizerat left the scene (the last dance team I really enjoyed). I'm definitely hoping P/C win, but not because some sort of fix is in.

With Papadakis/Cizeron not doing the team event, I think the US is favored to get 2nd place in dance. I really like CW too, but I think Ben Agosto is much better, livelier, more articulate. I don't know if he's doing any of the O's broadcasts or not.

Well, it was a pretty ugly final, and Roger got really lucky, but I'm so happy he pulled it out. Now that I'm relieved and Roger has won, I can be magnanimous and say I'm happy that Marin made it a match. It was looking REALLY ugly there in that first set. Once Roger has retired, I hope Marin can win some more majors. He seems like a great guy, and I always find it impressive when really good players can, relatively late in their careers, find that new gear and ascend to greatness.

That would be funny. I mean, I'm totally rooting for Roger, who's my guy, but the worship is really OTT. I can absolutely see Chung pulling off the upset, if only because Roger has been pretty forthright in the past saying that he finds it difficult to play someone for the first time. And this isn't going to be some dude who's been toiling in the minors for ten years, but a brilliant, young potential champion. That said, I can also see Chung struggling when facing the full Fed arsenal. It should be a cool match. I also think if Cilic makes it to the final, he will be absolutely AMPED to do well considering his crushing disappointment at last Wimbledon. And, I'm sorry, but I have to roll my eyes hard at the idea that Rafa only came up with an injury because Cilic was playing so well. Come on. Yes, he's had a horrible run of injury-related luck at Oz over the years, but he's endured many a tough loss (six-hour final against Djoker ring a bell?), and has probably had more stellar comebacks than any other player, short of Serena. You may not like him, but, please.

What in the hell is Rafa wearing? It looks like he's wearing weeks old underwear. Well, given that Roger was wearing the most hideous kit of his career when he won last year, maybe this augers well for Rafa. Sure is playing great, though. What an American bloodbath. Yikes.

Didn't some of them look related?

Thanks, biakbiak.

I haven't watched this show in years but popped in to see what the discussion was about Batali and the sexual assault/impropriety allegations against him ... but nobody's mentioned it. Is the show on hiatus? (BTW, the article in today's NYT about Ken Friedman's restaurant's "Rape Room" contains accounts of really appalling behavior on Batali's part.) Interesting article.

What word do you think he actually meant? I'm at a loss.

Too bad NBC didn't show us more of Papadakis-Cizeron's exquisite free dance.

As I was watching the beginning of her long program, the thought flashed through my mind that she might be pregnant* (she just looks a little thicker in the waist than the last time I saw her). And then of course she had that appalling fall right on her stomach and I'm praying that she's just a little heavier. Honestly, though, it really does take a lot of courage to put herself out there like that when she has the very reasonable fear of such disastrous meltdowns. I hope she can come back from this. *Based on absolutely no evidence.

Actually, I've read that the Cubs are the biggest ratings draw, hence why the LA-Cubs games are the late games when both series are going.