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Conan's put up a podcast episode to entertain fans during the coronavirus shutdowns. I haven't been able to listen to much yet, just throwing out the news. I did like his podcasts with Stephen Colbert and Bob Newhart, going back a ways I know. I should catch up on some of the others.

I guess they will have to make an executive decision about freezing points. My understanding is that in the ATP at least, the best 12 tournament results are used to summarize the *ranking*, going back 12 months and which determine the player's seeding in most events. The *points* start over with each tournament, and go by the current year to qualify for the year end event in London. So it's conceivable that they could let them drop off if they resume after 6 weeks though that's certainly not a given. Or they could freeze the points and/or rankings? which I would guess is more likely if the players will be voting on it. It seems to me that they may just freeze the rankings since no events are played? It's clearly an unprecedented situation although I can't help remembering that after Monica Seles was stabbed by a crazed Steffi Graff fan, her fellow top players (with the exception of Sabatini who abstained) voted against freezing her number one ranking. It's also worth noting that some tournaments (Wimbledon mainly) seed the players as they see fit, and don't always rely on the rankings.

The BBC is now reporting that the ATP and WTA tours may close down until at least the Madrid Open on May 3: https://www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/51841130

I think part of the reason this has gotten so complicated so quickly, apart from the obvious uncertainty about how long the virus will last, is due to local laws and insurance issues. The Guardian summed it up this way in part: "The Guardian understands that tournaments and the game’s main governing bodies – ITF, ATP, WTA, and the grand slam tournament directors – will be heavily influenced not just by public opinion but regional and global politics, as well as the constrictions of insurance policies." In other words IW may have feared not only for the safety of all involved but for the possibility of being sued by anyone who fell seriously ill over the 2 weeks and/or not being covered by insurance after the warnings. On a lesser note - if IW and Miami (if the latter also cancels, which is not certain yet) have to to try to make up their place in the schedule later, why on earth don't they play their events over a single week like any other non-slam, five round event? I've always found it questionable that they both waste an extra week of the calendar that could be used for some other event in this crowded sport.

Best for all concerned. One thing I hope the tennis community does for the foreseeable future, if/when they have events, is to have adult "ball kids". I think it's only right to not put children in the situation of having to decide whether they want to be possibly exposed to the germs of strangers.

Thanks @novhappy. I just watched ep 3 of Season 9 - the one that begins with the young woman found in the water alongside a yacht (and ends with that scene of Vera having bought the "new old" outfit and removing the tag) and I thought that one was excellent. Nice changeup in subject matter as well.

I happened to read a post - from a site that's rather tabloid-y so I'm not sure how accurate it is - that Fabio Fognini indicated that he didn't think he'd be allowed in the US for the Sunshine Double as he'd be coming from Italy. This may only be the beginning of a lot of changes though of course we all hope everything in general will improve.

Yes, this is sticking in my mind right now. I'm currently watching Seasons 8 and 9 on Britbox and it's reached the point where - not to give too much away - the reveal of the killer is getting not very credible in most of the episodes I've seen lately. Not to get too specific, but I think the pattern is too obvious at this point. I don't mind mysteries or detective shows that have a certain structure, whether it's Perry Mason or Law and Order, but when I keep thinking "not that person"...I think the writers are trying too hard to be clever with the final twist. That said, I have been watching various episodes of the show on Acorn and Britbox the last several weeks and overall really enjoy it. Brenda B. is a wonderful actress - I first saw her years ago in the film Secrets and Lies where she was great as well - and I enjoy the rest of the cast. I also really love the landscape, the music and the overall feeling of almost existential sadness of the northern rural setting, and Vera's rather solitary life. I just wish the "reveal" would be a little more believable in these Season 8 - 9 eps so far (I am halfway through 9). I guess I should see what follows these, though.

Maybe they will have to move the games to the fall for safety, but If they have to, I don't see how the US basketball team could compete. Or most of the (worldwide) tennis players. You'd think Olympic Tennis wouldn't be considered important by the players due to its relatively short history but most of them seem to take it very seriously.

By the way, I don't know if anyone else here saw this, but Chris Evert's sister, the former pro Jeanne Evert Dubin, passed away on the 24th from ovarian cancer. Here is the NY Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/24/sports/tennis/jeanne-evert-dubin-dies-at-62-tennis-pro-in-sisters-shadow.html Very sad.

I dropped in to see comments on Sharapova and Roger. I read a commentary on Maria in the Guardian that I thought treated her with kid gloves, even though they admitted her best days were long behind her and she wasn't known for "flair" (no kidding). I can't imagine that a male athlete, or even a female one without Sharapova's bankable looks, would get such a pass for blatantly breaking the rules for years on end. Of course, the tennis establishment, particularly the US Open, thought nothing of putting her on show courts after her suspension, even to the detriment of more deserving players. I know she won 5 slams but whatever tennis decides to do in the future, I agree that her career is tainted. Roger's second knee surgery doesn't look good. I think maybe we all have to start thinking that he may officially retire in the next 12 months. I could see him showing up at Wimbledon in the future to play fun doubles, perhaps with countrywoman Belinda Bencic, but to seriously grind away all year at age 38 plus, with a family and let's face it nothing to prove, is questionable. There won't be another player like him, that's for sure. 🙂

I don't mind spoilers either! I used to work at a film society which did a yearly tribute to famous film actors/directors, and they would show clips from the person's career. That's when I came to realize that no matter how frightening the film in question might be, it was the tension and buildup that was the hardest to take. Just a scene or two isn't always that bad ... though I can't watch realistic violence in the movies either way. I can watch mysteries on TV, as long as they follow the typical "Law and Order" pattern, and have the already dead body discovered right at the beginning. Less tension!

I was doubly stunned yesterday for exactly this reason, having seen both Hidden Figures and several of Baby Peggy's early films (and the fine documentary from 2012). Katherine Johnson has died at 101 - then Baby Peggy (Diana Serra Cary) has died at 101 - it was a double shock. I am glad though as mentioned that both lived long enough to receive the recognition they deserved, and enjoyed loving families, odd though the coincidence is. Rest in peace to both admirable women. By the way the New York Times had a fine piece on Ms. Cary today.

I just mentioned this over on the famous deaths thread, but I too wanted to mention the passing of Baby Peggy/Diana Sera Cary at age 101. She had clearly a difficult childhood, not just from the abnormality of being a child star, but a child star during the silent era, when there were no rules in place to prevent her being subjected to being held underwater or forced to jump from a burning building for dramatic effect. Thankfully, and it's no doubt a tribute to her character, she was able to move on to a long and happy adult life with a loving family and newfound respect as a writer and a rediscovered silent star - the last I am also sure, at least among Americans although I don't think anyone else would qualify at this point. Rest in peace Diana/Peggy.

I will go to the TCM page as well, but it's great to see remembrances of the late Diana Cary/Baby Peggy, I only saw her death notice via the nitrateville.com website today, I have yet to see it mentioned in the New York Times, Washington Post or NPR...Variety had a good tribute at least. She has to be the last living American silent star. She had a tough childhood but lived to see her work re-appreciated and had a long and happy life with her own family. Rest in peace Ms. Cary.

@LisaM, Roy is back in the Season 4 finale which aired tonight. I'll wait on commenting until more people have seen it 🙂

I thought this was by far the best of this season's episodes, maybe the fact that they did something about the impending breakup between Agatha and James, and actually involved James in the story in the process, helped it, but compared to Haunted House and the Dance one, it had a lot more going on, even though I thought the solution to the drug subplot was signaled pretty early on. I think Bill and Toni are turning out to be a cute couple even if he seems a little old for her? though I'm not sure how old Toni is supposed to be. Anyway it's better than the weird will they or won't they they had going between Bill and Gemma I thought. I'm not very good at figuring things out so I didn't see Mrs. Boggle's complaints about the teenagers figuring into the final whodunit. Good episode. I guess there is one more coming?

I wonder if they are setting up for a breakup between Agatha and James. The way the last episode ended with her leaving without him and him staring into space...it might help the show. It's almost that they are dumbing James down, though he was never the most interesting character to start with. It may have been that I was having a bad day, but I watched both parts of the new episode and later kind of thought, what happened there? The dance setup had not much to do with the eventual main mystery being solved, it was almost like an extended red herring I thought.

I abosoutely agree @shapeshifter! I love it whenever Jon gets his own segments and it's even better when it's music-centered like this.

Congrats to John Oliver as a new citizen as well. I was a little surprised that Stephen seemed surprised that John could be a dual citizen, since I would have thought that Stephen would be well aware that many of his fellow Irish Americans can apply for dual citizenship if they have a grandparent born in Ireland (I do remember from Finding Your Roots though that Stephen's ancestry in the US goes back farther than that and was in fact very hard to trace as is often typical in Ireland sadly). I've been catching up over Youtube and it was great to see Dick Cavett coming on, I had heard that he and Stephen were friendly though at one point Cavett was quoted as saying they only communicated over email. That interview between Stephen and John Mulaney where they suddenly veered into exploring their own anxieties was something else, and fascinating.

I feel kind of torn, I guess, I understand why people are sorry for her and think that Mike should be more forthcoming, but I also kind of feel that Gina is too smart to not realize deep down that Mike is not really interested in her, it's almost that she's deliberately deluding herself for whatever reason, or trying to force him to care about her. Maybe they are carrying it too far in this latest episode though, what with the dinner ending. However, Sims did lie that Mike wanted to invite Gina over in order to get her to speed up her work. In other matters, who else has the feeling that sooner or later we will see for some reason or another? That's if the show is being renewed, which I hope it is. I do agree with @LisaM that it is great at veering from comedy to near tragedy as in Episode 3. And we certainly had a classic scene with in that episode with Frodo convinced of his non-existent guilt. After all, as Mrs. Marlowe notes, Frodo does have bad luck!

Sorry for the late response to your question @aradia22, but though I've never seen Mack and Mabel, I will suggest that if you are interested in learning more about Mabel Normand, you may wish to see this site: looking-for-mabel which was run by the late Marilyn Slater and provides a lot of contemporary information on Mabel Normand. I do know she was a beloved star who also directed some of her own films. Here's a link to an early film of hers, rediscovered in New Zealand, Won in a Cupboard.* As far as substance abuse issues are concerned, I believe she was said to have had them - though possibly that was only a contemporary rumour and there are those who believe today there is no evidence she was an addict - though her sad early death was due to tuberculosis. *Actually the copy of the film here (also known as Won in a Closet) has added narration and I can't find a version that doesn't. Anyway it's a fun film.

Haha, that's right Harry it was a great chat room! But I still gawk at all the awful outfits they somehow coax these players into wearing. The latest is a weird type of oversize spotty op art type thing - I think it's a Nike outfit? - that both the men and women have on...I think Kyrgios was wearing it? I couldn't figure out if the men's or the women's was worse.

HI Harry! I'm also really happy for Sascha. If I had a dollar for every time I've heard "he's never made a semi of a Slam"...snarky commentary, thy name is tennis. He's only 22! I think between getting practically no attention from the media, and perhaps also his pledge to donate to the Bush Fire Relief with every win in the tournament, he was better able to keep his mind on the tennis and not on why-aren't-you-in-the-semis. I've liked his game since I first noticed him playing against Krygios in Miami I think it was three years ago and it all seems to be coming together again for him. I'm very sad for Petra, I wanted to see her win another Slam after her misfortune, but maybe at Wimbledon, it's her best surface. I am happy for Garbine and her surprising comeback though. Too bad she and Simona are playing in the semis and not the final. So glad Roger pulled out the win over Sandgren (ugh). I have to wonder if he will have anything left against Novak though...hope so but it sounds tough.

Actually he has or has had several (I kind of agree on the latest one though). One identified herself as such to Simms in the first episode (I think she does publicity or something in the big city?). Also, it seemed to me to be implied, though never stated, that the woman he knew to be in witness protection in Season One - "Tanya" I think? - was also one of his exes? Did everyone else come to that conclusion? I wondered at the time if her kids were also his. Or maybe it was all speculation on my part but he seemed very close to her.