Faulkner

Interesting. I thought folks were saying Shanghai was playing faster than normal. Quite a feat for Novak to win repeatedly and decisively on all speeds of court over the years. Even I wasn’t getting up to watch Novak/Sascha, but that score line stunned me. Didn’t expect such a rout. I watched a replay, and Sascha’s attitude on court sucks. He’s just sullen and loses all confidence. Certainly Novak pummeled him, but that’s just disappointing to see. I don’t know how Lendl puts up with it, even after dealing with Andy. Federer has lost just seven times this year, but it feels like more because he’s played so little. His form has been not that great since last fall really. Even his three titles (AO, Rotterdam, Stuttgart) felt scratchy. The second serve and his ability to defend it have dropped precipitously, particularly around Indian Wells. Kei wasted a lot of opportunities yesterday, but he probably wouldn’t have beaten Borna in today’s form.

Jeff Lewis.

Speaking of Gaga...

The beard really works on Eric McCormack, dyed or not. The hair up top is looks a bit toupee-y/hair pluggy, though. In any case, I felt this episode was leagues better than last week’s. They never should have swapped them.

This is just wow.

Tangential to today’s festivities but hmmm.

Peter Porte (Ricky, Y&R) married his partner Jacob Villere in New Orleans over the weekend. A picture of the couple (Jacob is in the center) from a few months ago.

He is very hot. He has this kind of rugged, slightly weathered face with this swagger and don’t-fúck-with-me attitude. And the bod is a thing of wonder.

Naughtiben is back...

I know he’s done well in juniors, but Wu could be a real force on the ATP tour with some seasoning. He’s got star quality. It’s exciting for tennis. Novak vs. Cecchinato French Open rematch incoming...

The Aretha tribute at the AMAs was filled with good performances (Gladys’s “Amazing Grace” was moving and Ledisi and Mary Mary were wonderful and energetic), but it was an odd fit for that particular show. Almost every performer lip synced tonight before the Aretha medley, which felt extreme even in today’s pop music scene.

The BBCA afternoon premiere got a 0.45 18-49 rating and 1.367M viewers, a pretty decent start considering the odd airtime. Not a record for the channel, but it was up from the 2017 Christmas special by 0.05 in the demo and 200K viewers, and I’m sure it will get a significant delayed-viewing boost. (NOTE: the 8 pm airing added 0.15 18-49 and 515K, and there were other encore broadcasts throughout the day.) For comparison’s sake, Capaldi’s first episode on BBCA got a 0.85 18-49 rating and 2.2M viewers. ”The Time of the Doctor” (the regeneration from Smith to Capaldi) remains the record holder on BBCA with 2.47M viewers. Must be a tense atmosphere in the AMCN offices with The Walking Dead seeing ratings tumble and Doctor Who reaping the good press. (Same with BBCA’s Killing Eve breaking out while AMC’s Dietland tanked.)

The serve clock is a big flop so far. Instead of making the game faster, it’s made some players realize how much time they have to serve and use the 25 seconds more tactically. It’s made the pace of play slower if anything. And the clock doesn’t restart for second serves.

Why has Ashley Judd receded so much? She seemed like a respectable face early on.