This has got to be one of my favorite tennis videos. Like, ever. Thanks to the very creative YouTube uploader.

First, the subtitles are completely false (except perhaps for a few things, like names mentioned). The commentator sounds like he is cheering for Federer and someone thought to make his own interpretations of the rather overly enthusiastic comments about our hgh (his greatest-of-all-time highness) Federer.

Roger Federer’s fans, rather expectedly, range from the average tennis spectator, his colleagues, journalists,  fellow athletes, and fellow sporting heroes. I’ll never forget the late David Foster Wallace’s New York Times piece “Federer as a Religious Experience.” Take it as you will, but it was written with such passion for both the sport and the talent of the man who accomplished enough to transcend it.

Then there’s this interview with Olympic gold medalist Lindsey Vonn (alpine skier). What got my attention is this part (because I’ve always wondered about it):

You got to meet him after this year’s French Open final. What was your first impression when you met him?
I thought he was a lot taller. On TV, he looks a little bit skinny. You can’t really see his height. When I saw him in person, he really had a big presence. He had a much bigger presence than I was anticipating. He was a tall guy, had broad shoulders, and didn’t look small at all.

Seeing Roger Federer on TV, you’d think sports build muscle but apparently not tennis. Time to rethink that theory. It’s scary to think, in this context, how bulky Rafa looks then.

Speaking of badminton, here’s Maria Sharapova for Cole Haan.

A friend wondered what’s the deal about the shoes. We wondered about the outfit, too. And the racket on the left hand of the right-handed Russian. Well, I guess it’s just for pose. They’re trying to sell the shoes (which she helped design, I gather), not really the sport. Not even her sport – tennis. It’s a good thing they didn’t put a bag on her, though.

Prince William was touring Victoria, Australia, and decided to drop by to watch some tennis in Melbourne at the end of his 3-day visit to the country. He arrived just in time to see Roger Federer complete his 2nd-round match and stayed to watch the ladies match between Australian Casey Dellacqua and Croatian Karolina Sprem. Too bad all British players will be playing tomorrow.

In the post-match interview, Federer was asked to welcome the prince. A bit shyly, he said, “Your royal highness, from the tennis world, thanks for coming.”

Well, it’s hard not to be excited by the sight of royalty, just like the cameras pan to every celebrity tennis fan. I remember watching a video of Steffi Graf’s old championship match where William and Princess Diana was present. Seems like a long time ago; he was just a small boy, then. I can only imagine the life of someone born to privilege, like that. It’s not some title you get from Craigslist or a position you find from sites like Seattle job search. But as they say, with privilege comes great responsibility. Or something to that effect.

Another bit of news from Melbourne, at the upcoming Australian Open. Maria Sharapova recently signed an eight-year $70 million deal with Nike. Wow. That means Nike will still be sponsoring her way after she retires, because I can’t see her still playing pro tennis eight years into the future.  A lot can be said about this girl – like she’s more suited to the glitz and glamor of the fashion scene than the tennis courts or that she’s an ice queen, or that her ear-splitting screams while playing are beyond annoying – but they don’t take away from the fact that when she’s at the top of her game, she’s a very formidable tennis player. Her powerful game took out Serena Williams in Wimbledon 2004 for her first Slam. Her accomplishments off the court are astonishing as well. She must be the highest-paid female athlete of all time now. She may be all sorts of out on the tennis circuit recently because of her nagging shoulder injury, but she remains the most bankable of all the pretty tennis WTA stars. Somehow, tennis as a commercial sport cannot do without her yet.

And here’s something that she’ll be wearing, aside from her Nike gear, at the tournament next week. Bet you won’t find those in promotional bags anywhere else.

Those stunning earrings are designed by Paloma Picasso for Tiffany & Co, and Maria  will be wearing them (while playing!) at the Australian Open.  Lucky girl.

On the eve of the first Grand Slam of the year, some of the highest ranking tennis stars (Serena Williams, Kim Clijsters, Andy Roddick, Novak Djokovic, among others) decided to give up their last day of preparation to join in an exhibition for a cause.

Roger Federer, the world’s no. 1 tennis player and the top seed at this year’s tournament, spearheaded a campaign to help the victims of the recent earthquake in Haiti, which has claimed so many lives and is continuing to be a harrowing experience for the people of the country.

They say Federer’s the quintessential Swiss. He’s a quintessential European. He makes me want to pack my bags, call cross country movers, and move to Europe right now.  In 2005, Federer also gathered his fellow players to help raise funds for the victims of the tsunami in Southeast Asia. It’s really heart-warming to see that people are trying to help the best way they can.

It’s a last-minute effort, and hopefully the people of Melbourne will make this event a success. Knowing how superstitious tennis players are – for example, a lot of them profess not to do anything out of habit during tournaments, like staying in the same hotels or eating the same kind of food – changing their schedules to make this happen really counts for something.

Update: Rafael Nadal is joining, too, even if he’s playing his first round on Monday. Vamos, Rafa!

A celebrity gossip site commented that either Heidi Klum is hiding a super secret diet regimen or she must be an alien. Because she looks like this just five weeks after giving birth to her fourth child:

This photo was taken on November 21 during the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in New York. She was supposed to be hosting the show but reportedly became the biggest crowd-pleaser when she made a surprise runway appearance.

I really don’t know her that much (meaning I don’t follow her career), despite watching her with Michael Kors and others in Project Runway, but she seems like a charming, well-grounded lady.  Not a lot of accomplished people in her profession share those qualities, or at least I don’t know that much.

The recent revelations in relation to the publication of Andre Agassi’s autobiography, Open: An Autobiography, has rocked the sporting world in a way that I didn’t imagine it would.

Eric Rasco/SI

BOOK EXCERPT HERE

Andre was known as the “punk” during the early parts of his career. He was a bit of a callous persona before he transformed into the “paragon” that he is now being touted for. So his admission of drug use is as much of a surprise to me as seeing a smoker scouting for an electronic cigarette. It didn’t diminish how I see him as an exemplary human being now.  That he perpetrated a lie to cover up his bad decisions is subject to much criticism, and maybe rightly so.  But I am reserving my judgment until at least I get to read the book in its entirety to understand why being that “open” was necessary. I, for one, don’t believe that he did it for the money. He’s got everything to lose and nothing to gain with his honesty. The Agassi (celebrity) I know has always been candid and verbose. That’s why I’m sure this book is something I’m going to lap up.

I grew up in a patriarchal family amidst a very patriarchal society, so I’m not certain as to the extent of the feminist advocate I have in me. Sure, I support equal social, political, and all other rights for men and women. But it’s an all-encompassing concept that can be highly controversial when radical tendencies set in. At the same time, I have to be honest and admit that if, in the future, I will decide [inner-dialogue translations: hopeless romantic - I'll find "the one"; realist - I'll get lucky; snarky - I'll get desperate] to start a family of my own, I’m hoping it will be with a guy who can make decisions that I can trust and wholly support (maybe even admire) because I don’t want to be the one who shoulders that responsibility. Is that anti-feminist? Or maybe just plain lazy (j/k)? Here’s a related article from PDI regarding the effects of gender mainstreaming on the emasculation of the fathers and, in effect, the teachings of Christianity.

I was just over at Whedonesque, and I chanced upon a heated discussion about footwear (of all things) in the new Joss Whedon show Dollhouse. A fan questioned the practicality of having a doctor on duty wear high-heeled shoes. Did the costume department do it on purpose to flaunt femininity and entice the male viewers? Was it to follow certain stereotypes? At one point, the main character was wearing a pretty mean-looking pair of boots (not sure if it’s UGG boots; maybe not), while another woman character was walking around barefoot. Somehow, it all meant something, and Joss Whedon himself chimed in to have his say on “the issue that is tearing at the very fabric of my fanbase: shoes.”  Hell, yes, Whedon fans are that passionate about details. And it’s not too much to say that people look to Joss to create strong female characters and role models because that is what he’s famous for, starting, of course, with Buffy (THE Vampire Slayer, duh!).

I will not dwell on the politics of it because I figured feminism is a highly volatile and debatable topic.  All I’ll say is that I do want to live in a world where I, as a member of the female population, can be “awesome” (*in my best Barney Stinson impression*) and not be resented upon (or hindered) by the other sex. All’s fair in all.

At the Buffy reunion during the 2008 Paley Festival this year (I saw the DVD), Marti Noxon, producer and writer from TV shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Grey’s Anatomy, and Private Practice, said that if Joss Whedon will call her one day to say that he’s building a rocket, she wouldn’t doubt him for a minute. Some people are just so talented they come up with unexpected things just by setting their minds onto it. Well, I believe such people only set their minds on things they know they can do; it just surprises others to finally see how much they really can.   

Another person in that panel who has been working a lot is Amber Benson. Her credits include actor, writer, director, producer, singer, and humanitarian. She’s only 31.

From left to right: Amber Benson, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Emma Caulfield (March 2008, PaleyFest)
 

I’ve been lurking around Buffy forums to read episode discussions and fans seem to love this girl even if she isn’t as well known as her costars, mostly because besides creating an endearing character on TV, she seems to be a genuinely nice person in real life. What impressed me is seeing the range of her work. The acting part seems to be the bread and butter (she’s been in some obscure movies I don’t think I’ll ever watch), but she’s also co-written comic books and books; wrote, directed, produced, and starred in two of her own independent films; cowrote and directed a cult animation called Ghosts of Albion for the British network BBC; written and presented her own stage play; composed and recorded two songs for her fans; and is about to release her first solo book series to be published by Penguin Books.

I would do anything to be able to have half of that. Well, anything that I can do, I mean, without having to pack a Zero Halliburton and travel the world to learn things. Anyway, I haven’t finished watching her first attempt at writing/directing – a movie called Chance (2002) – but I kinda like the opening monologue (voiceover):

All right, you live your life in a totally normal, full-on reality check kind of way. That’s good and cool. Things don’t get messed up. People you love hang around until you can’t stand them anymore. Things never change. But shit like that doesn’t happen in real life. Real life is just a movie with someone’s finger jammed on fast forward. The numbers change faster than you can count. When you’re a little kid, you never think you’re gonna die. I mean death is just some kind of esoteric thing you see on TV or read about it in a book. Then one day you realize what it really is, and nothing is ever the same again. From that day on, you’re f&*%ed.