DramatistDreamer

I can't dismiss the history of tennis at the Olympic Games, for the simple reason of the list of players who have won in the past: Steffi, Capriati, Lindsey, Venus, Serena, Becker, Nadal, Federer, etc. all easily HOF. I can't speak to what it means this year or what significance it will have in years to come but if you asked those players and others who won gold medals in tennis, I think they would say it meant a hell of a lot to them. As to that other situation, the ATP had always maintained that without charges, they felt there was nothing else to go on. The brief amount of time they spent investigating the incident at the Masters tournament in Shanghai yielded nothing (my guess is that no one would talk since they all worked for the tournament and resolved to keep it hush hush). Unfair as it is, the burden of proof is on the accuser in legal matters, so unless she comes forward or there is something more revealed that prompts a revisited investigation, well, I see the ATP continuing on this path. Maybe there are some new revelations coming?

Even before the allegations against Zverev, if it were a match between them, I have always preferred Khachanov. Just saw the score and oh well, I'm glad that I wasn't invested in the tennis this time around.

One of the reasons why I had wished MM had just decided to leave Y&R behind and make a concerted effort to get into prime time. Yes, I understand that the seeming stability of Y&R could have lured her back, but things are more liable to get stale on Y&R than for her to get truly compelling material. Looking at what happened to Loren Lott, Y&R likely did her a favor, she is already getting far more compelling material than what she could ever have hoped for on Y&R. From what I am reading, MM is not getting such great material this time around, even compared to what she had as Hilary. JMO but it seems like such a waste of a charismatic actress.

Unfortunately, it has only become more arduous to keep up. The ITF/ATP/WTA and the broadcast agreements they have made over the recent years have fragmented the viewing audience. Perhaps, it is mostly in the U.S. where this happens, but there are definite times where there is confusion over tournament starts and broadcast and streaming platforms. I don't remember being as frustrated as in the past four years or so, but pandemic viewing really takes the cake.

According to her agent, MM had not had a raise in any of the five years that she had been on the show at that time. A new contract was requested, with an increase in salary. The terms were not met, so MM left and who could blame her? She had been shouldering one of the most active storylines on the show at that time. And, much like they were known to do with Sharon Case, MM's Hilary was popping up in other storylines to prop up flailing stories. It was a lot of screen time, a lot more hours on set, a lot more lines to memorize. Considering she hadn't ever had a raise up to that point, I don't think it was unreasonable to ask for one. I don't care what anyone wants to say, killing the character off was retribution, especially seeing that MM didn't win an Emmy for it, nor did anyone else involved in the storyline, if memory serves me correctly. A waste, just to inflate Sony and Mal Young's over-inflated egos, imo.

Has an Olympic medal ever before been awarded via walkover?

That was total domination by the Jamaican women in the 100m and I am elated for Elaine, Shelly Ann and Shericka!!!

If only they would stop showing his horrid image, but it is the story that is important.

Not gonna pretend that I had been watching tennis in the last two weeks, but 6-1 in the 3rd? That seems like succumbing to pressure to me.🤷🏾‍♀️

And Sjogren's but who's counting.

Will Smith's company pitched and executive produced this movie. He is pretty much the reason it got made in the first place. Personally I had hoped he would have relegated himself to the producer but I also know that has never been Smith's way of doing things.

This probably belongs in the COVID-19 thread but it impacts Japan and the Olympic Games the most. This is pretty much a daily occurrence now.

I just had this V.O. in my head with a daytime soaps type announcer declare, "Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the role of _____ will now be played by..."

Practically too messy for words.

Hopefully Smith, who is likely to be the weak link, comes through on this one.

Did you hear her say that she didn't know where she was landing on her vault? She was flying blind. Having only done back walkovers, I am not in a position to judge someone in a sport where, if you land wrong, you can actually maim yourself. Speaking of accountability, Biles is the only gymnast on Team USA competing as a sexual assault victim for a gymnastics program that failed to take full accountability for wrecking tens if young girl's lives. I am not comparing these women against each at all. Both Venus and Serena have had mental health episodes, that cost them big. They suffered in silence for years. I wouldn't wish that on anyone. I'm just saying appreciate these women. They are extraordinarily talented. They are also human, not robots.

George P. Bush looks like he's just withering on the vine these days, so to speak. I'm old enough to remember when some people were fawning all over him, like he were the conservative answer to 'John John', which I didn't understand, as he seemed fairly vacuous to me, with no ideas of his own. I guess he had hoped that he could be one of Orange Menace's favored vacuous politicians. No such luck for him, I guess. He humiliated himself and disparaged his family for nothing. Oh well.

Also, the lack of consideration for the fact that, along with the weight of expectations, in a city experiencing daily highs of infection rates for COVID-19, without her usual support system of her parents, and being the lone sexual assault survivor of Larry Nassar's "program" expected to compete for Team USA, a team that didn't protect her. F*CK these people who believe she asked for this because she's great at what she does. The discourse around these Black women athletes at this Olympic Games is disgusting and I just want to punch every single person who thinks he or she has the right to disparage them for being human.

After they had chair umpires (who are always right, haven't you heard?🙄) tell players that they don't believe them when the player complains of health problems being caused by excessive heat. After they throw players under the bus for 'poor performance', now they care.

Are we just going to pretend that the worst years for Lily and Holden weren't the last twelve or so years??

I never stopped wearing a mask. The CDC had a choice. They could have treated adult people like grown ups and laid it out, straight, no chaser about the choice between life and death. It's like last year, when they told people not to wear masks, instead of just being honest and saying that the national stockpile was low and that they needed those for hospital workers, care providers and essential workers and advise people to make their own. Yet they delayed.

Meanwhile, the ROC, which was created ostensibly, as a means for Russia to send a contingent of players to compete, despite a sports program that engaged in prolific doping for years, is scooping up medals, despite a supposed ban.

I don't see her playing to that age, but I could say the same of most of the WTA. Venus has played with an autoimmune disease since being diagnosed in 2011 (undiagnosed since 2006). Wozniacki retired about a year and a half after being diagnosed with RA. It's a bit unfair to all, to expect Osaka and the rest to live up to the standard that the Williams Sisters set. There is no one like either of them. Ashleigh Barty took nearly two years off from tennis to deal with her mental health struggles. When Venus and Serena's sister was gunned down, everybody in the tennis pundit-sphere practically had an opinion on how they thought both should be managing their careers and personal lives. I don't think Osaka asked the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Committee to make her the torch-lighter, but there was no way she was going to turn down what is essentially an honor. And Japan got plenty of buzz and to look less racist for a few days, when everyone knows what problems they have with xenophobia and monoculture.

It makes what Venus and Serena did over decades even more incredible. The fact that there are no Americans left in singles (are there any left in doubles?) makes it clear how much the Williams were carrying the U.S. tennis on their backs, even during the Olympics. Venus, at damn near 40, still managed a silver medal in MXD and might have gotten gold with a higher caliber partner.

The CDC should never have told people that they could stop wearing masks in the first place. I know that organizations are mad up of people, and people are only human, but a health organization needs to be more clear on the guidance they give, or risk losing credibility.