Faulkner

Petkovic knocks out Sloane in DC.

Agreed. I can understand why a few lower-ranked clay court specialists would play on the surface this way in the year to make some cash, but Thiem should have earned enough money and technically should be a contender on all surfaces. He’s doing himself no favors.

Very few in the tennis press have acknowledged that story as a possible factor in Serena’s loss. I really hate the media.

This is funny if true. He lost in three sets to Istomin in Austria.

The British press is being obnoxious about Konta’s win. They are the worst. They are in for a rude awakening when an in-form, dialed-in Serena spanks that ass as she did in Melbourne last year.

That came up for me when I did a search on Serena too. I do wonder... She did press afterwards, but that would be a tough topic to broach. This quote is telling, though:

WTF is going on with this Konta match? Serena is getting destroyed. Is she injured? This might be the worst match of Serena’s entire career. She looks near tears. The entire crowd seems shellshocked. Yeah, something’s not right with Serena. Konta didn’t even celebrate because she can’t take pride in that victory.

I have had zero interest in any post-BH HW series. DC seemed cool because it might include politics. Miami just didn’t grab me, I’m not that interested in Dallas or Potomac as backdrops, and the older series becoming more hit-or-miss didn’t compel me to take on any other franchises. I only watch ATL, NY, sometimes BH, and sometimes OC because I like certain HWs. I gave up on NJ because I just had no one to root for anymore.

Steven Moffat has lined up his next gig: adapting The Time Traveler’s Wife as a series for HBO. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/time-travelers-wife-drama-steven-moffat-scores-hbo-green-light-1131042

A very good article about what’s at stake for CBS and Moonves right now: https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/leslie-moonves-future-cbs-viacom-sexual-misconduct-1202889777/

That’s cute. They’re an attractive couple.

At least Colbert addressed things a touch more forcefully. But, again, expected for his brand.

Yeah, JFP really disillusioned me with OLTL. I stopped watching after a while as well. I came back for Tomlin’s version, which was fun, and the first few months of Carlivati’s, but her disdain for anything that happened before her tenure was palpable, and it really killed any love I had for the show. Not dissimilar to what she did to GL ultimately. Yeah, Grant is just... Philip to me, and I only first saw him after his post-AMC return. There is zero buddy chemistry between Bolger and MOL.

Sykes was a smug, sanctimonious jerk and like all of JFP creations (the gazillion Rappaports), he completely took over the show. Just a very smarmy, unlikable presence.

I had such a crush on Bolger on AW, and I saw Parting Glances in college, which gave me a whole new respect for him, but Sykes just killed it for me. Just hated that guy. Somehow it makes it harder to appreciate him here, even though he’s gorgeous and his voice was incredible.

Who were the Swedish players you thought were hot? Borg (both then and now) is the gold standard, I know. Enqvist was pretty attractive. I guess Edberg might have looked better without the dumb hair. But can’t think of anyone else of note. Soderling? Sheesh.

The notable Italian men (aside from Lorenzi) are pretty much all great-looking. Berrettini is a looker and is starting to build in confidence. Maybe he’ll find the consistency that Fognini lacked? The jury is out. Cecchinato is 10th in the race to London currently, which is insane. The women? Hmmm. Flavia’s cute and does seem nice. Good riddance to Roberta Vinci. Schiavone seemed ok, but her grunt is up there with the most annoying in tennis. Errani is only notable for the “Why you say ‘Vamos’? Say ‘Allez’!” comment to Cornet. Giorgi is, like Jon Wertheim says, “See ball, hit ball,” which can be enough to beat great players if she’s having a good day. But none of them are really rootable.