Faulkner

56 minutes ago, ChitHappens said:

 

I don't think it's fatigue. Vee is still playing some of the best tennis of her career and many others. She made some wrong moves on critical points. I was happy to see her go toe to toe with a 20 year old power hitter. Vee still got it!  

I think she’s playing great. But every time she’s close to a trophy, there’s just something that can’t get her over the line these days, which is why I’m wondering if it’s fatigue.

I fell asleep before Halep/Osaka, but wow. After how Naomi handled Pliskova and now Halep, I think she’s going to be a handful for Dasha. Sascha has really helped Naomi develop rather quickly.

Ugh. Why does Venus always have to make things so hard for herself? She had been playing so beautifully and was two points away from taking Dasha out.

So angry. She could have won this *entire* tournament. 

Is it just fatigue? She has come so close in so many tournaments over the past couple of years.

This Venus/Kasatkina match is BANANAS.

24 minutes ago, Soapsuds said:

And is anyone playing Miami next week? All the top players are dropping like flies. No one is playing it.... Poor James Blake....no one wants to go to his tournament.....LOL  Although he did get roasted on Twitter by Vickers for not getting a wild card.

 

And to think they already had Serena and Pimp Mama playing the night session on Wednesday...not going to happen now.

Wow, now that you say it...

And Pouille debuts in the Top 10 on Monday. I know he’s won a title and made two other finals so far this year, but his Indian Wells performance was less than stellar. Yet there’s a vacuum at the top of the game, and Federer’s partying like it’s 2004-07.

Maybe Andy Roddick should come out of retirement...

15 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

 

Jennifer Garner and Lena Dunham? Talk about a black hole. It may be a big success for him for all I know, but other than Jessica Jones he really has picked some odd choices in his American career.

Hey, for whatever reason, HBO likes being in the Lena Dunham business, so unless the show really tanks, he’ll get at least 2-3 seasons out of it and something to pad the resume. 

Then again, it could be disastrous, and he’ll be back in the U.K. where he’ll get steady work until he croaks...

4 minutes ago, Soapsuds said:

Yes I did and thought it was horrible but she's never been known for her fashion or great hair on the court. I feel bad for her. She needs Venus or Serena to help her out with her fashion sense.

Yeah. It’s sad because she seems very nice, and she’s talented. Just could use a bit of a makeover.

Oh and this:

David Tennant has signed on to play Jennifer Garner’s husband in Camping, the new HBO comedy from Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner. (The show itself is a remake of the Julia Davis Britcom.)

After some false starts with the never-aired NBC pilot and the failed Broadchurch remake, Tennant is finally making inroads into American TV between this and Jessica Jones.

http://www.vulture.com/2018/03/david-tennant-joins-jennifer-garner-in-new-hbo-comedy.html

7 hours ago, ChitHappens said:

Well, Venus continues to defy all that makes sense in tennis. She beat Ralph Macchio yesterday!  

Ha. I always thought CSN resembled Alfred E. Neuman from Mad magazine. In any case, I’m glad Venus is still in great form. She looked totally out of sorts at that MSG match and her form late last year was not up to standard.

I see Raonic got past Querrey. I normally thought Milos was just a servebot, but I saw things in the Sousa match that looked promising. EDIT: I heard Querrey choked the match away.

Here’s to hoping that Coric has a gear that can test Roger. I dunno. I don’t think Fed looks invincible. Chung had him going for a while but collapsed in the 2nd set. As others have said, if Chung works on his subpar serve, I think he could get multiple Slam titles.

Man, that was a lethargic first set for Delpo against Kohlschreiber.

Speaking of Oscars:

16 minutes ago, Soapsuds said:

So now they have an hour left till the men's match with Borna vs Anderson. I am assuming they will replay the Serena vs Venus match which did really well in the ratings. Oops...nope they are going to show Federer.

 

Btw...just saw the ratings for the men's final of the Aussie Open and they were awful. Almost 50% off from last year's final between Rafa and Roger. These Cilics and Andersons making the finals has not been good for tennis ratings. They have no fans....LOLOL

I mean, it still had Roger. I think there’s some Fed fatigue as well, at least when he’s not being challenged by an equal. When the result is a foregone conclusion, why bother watching?

5 minutes ago, Soapsuds said:

The match was a blowout!  Kerber didn't have the fight in her today.

The match didn't last an hour.

Wow. These young girls are coming for the crown.

I’m not watching the match, but what on earth is going on with Angelique Kerber? She’s been playing so well this year, absolutely smothered Caroline Garcia, and gets bageled by Daria Kasatkina?

Naomi Osaka demolished Karolina Pliskova. She’s looking fierce.

Baghdatis pulled out so Raonic gets a walkover to face Querrey in the QFs.

I feel like Milos is sort of flying under the radar. His movement looks MUCH improved. 

3 hours ago, ChitHappens said:

 

+1

 

Roger gonna take all the big trophies this year!  

Yep. The only possibility is that Roger sees the vast opportunities and overextends himself, like the rumors of him playing the French. 

Delpo is down a set to Leonardo Mayer of all people. If he doesn’t pull things around, there goes the sole person left in the draw with a track record of threatening Roger day in and day out.

We will see what Hyeon Chung can do uninjured against Roger. He has the tenacious Djokovic-like game that can challenge him. But that brain fart of a second set today where Chung was up 5-0 on Cuevas and almost let the guy back into the match... not promising.

32 minutes ago, Soaplovers said:

Bonnie Hunt (Davis Rules, The Building, The Bonnie Hunt Show, and Life with Bonnie.. which lasted two seasons and netted her a post cancellation emmy nom.)

You know, I never really GOT Bonnie Hunt as a kid. I never understood what was so special about her. Jeff Jarvis from TV Guide stanned for her something hard.

What a sad state for ATP tennis. Almost all of the top players are injured. 

7 hours ago, Cat said:

Not just her fangurl. He "co-wrote' Erika's very-soon-to-be-released book and is with her on all promotional interviews for it. He is basically her new Mikey. 

Oh that’s lame that he’s the Vulture recapper with such an obvious bias, but at least the readers take that into account and call him on it. He’s a “journalist” who likes to insert himself into the story. See his handling of his interview with Lee Pace.

18 minutes ago, Nothin'ButAttitude said:

 

It just warms my heart reading all the shade being tossed at her tonight on Twitter. 

 

Finally, the audience was awakened to her bulls--t. At least Dorit is good for something. Latching onto Erika, she's finally tanked her stock with the audience. 

Erika Jayne fangurl and Vulture recapper Brian Moylan has tried to spin it as TEDDI’s fault. Thankfully, the commenters aren’t having it.

http://www.vulture.com/2018/03/rhobh-recap-season-8-episode-13.html

Kasatkina keeps snatching wigs of GS champions.

12 minutes ago, DramatistDreamer said:

Make no mistake, Netflix, Amazon, Hulu crave accolades.  Accolades means greater legitimacy, greater legitimacy draws in more top level talent.

 

There was a time in the recent past where Scorcese would've balked at working with a streamer . He now has a project in the works with Netflix.

 

I must be the only person on earth who knew of Claire Foy but not Matt Smith before The Crown. 

Yeah,  I get it...Dr. Who and all that but there is literally no show without the Queen.  A tough agent would likely have driven home the point, especially after the first season.  

Totally. And it’s certainly not a good look right now, especially when your average viewer doesn’t see the behind-the-scenes economics (and in film, the big-money investors) that influence all the decision-making. All people read is, “Female star makes less money than her male supporting actor.” Which IS sort of bonkers on the face of it.

I have no idea what kind of deal they signed, though. If Netflix committed to two seasons upfront, Claire may not have had a chance to renegotiate. She certainly has come out of the show as a VERY valuable and sought-after commodity. So has Matt, but not nearly as much.

Just now, DRW50 said:

 

I guess I wonder how much accolades are worth in terms of what generates revenue for Netflix. I heard a lot of hype in season 1 but season 2 I mostly saw people talking about historical inaccuracies, that there was much more focus on Philip than Elizabeth, etc. 

I think they like anything that drives buzz and/or “conversation.” Beyond quantifiable viewership measurements, it also helps lend Netflix prestige to attract high-level talent. 

Just now, DRW50 said:

 

Wouldn't they still have about the same level of fame? I also read a lot of complaints about the second season...

 

They probably had her on a contract which she couldn't renegotiate. 

She (and John Lithgow) got the accolades that drew attention to the show, and he didn’t. It’s possible they had her on a contract she couldn’t renegotiate since they only signed on for a couple seasons before handing things over to Olivia Colman et al.