The men’s tennis world is ruled by the gritty Spaniard Rafael Nadal, the paramount Swiss Roger FedererJustine Henin and the possible season-ending shoulder injury to 2006 winner Maria Sharapova.
and the emerging Serb Novak Djokovic. The women’s world is a bit uncertain and less predictable, with the retirement of 2007 U.S. Open champ

The absence of Henin and Sharapova creates opportunities for many players, including Serena and Venus Williams, who won Wimbledon in July. Venus last won the Open in 2001.

“Serena to me is more dangerous on hard courts than Venus because she’s a little more well-rounded,” McEnroe said. “I think their motivation at the big events is there. The mistake people make is that if they play well, they are going to win. They aren’t as dominant as they were. The women’s game has gotten more athletic, the players are bigger, stronger, quicker and in many ways Venus and Serena set the tone for that. You look at [Ana] Ivanovic, the young Russians, and the Williamses aren’t so intimidating. They raised the bar for the women’s game.” [via Newsday]

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Natalie Coughlin

“I was just overwhelmed with emotion,” she said. “The whole team gained a lot of emotion from the men’s relay. It was probably the most amazing swim I’ve seen. I think it got a lot of us pumped up for the rest of the meet.”

It was Coughlin’s third career Olympic gold medal and confirmed her as the foremost backstroker in women’s swimming.

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Tina Thompson scored 13 of her 27 points during a 23-0 run in the first quarter.

Trailing by one midway through the first quarter, Thompson took over, hitting from everywhere. She made two 3-pointers, a jumper from the corner, two layups, and three free throws during the spurt.

Sylvia Fowles added 18 points, Candace Parker 12, and Leslie had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the U.S.

The women’s team took in the electric atmosphere the night before when the men’s team routed China 101-70. They were determined to take the crowd out of the game early. The Americans got off to a much better start than their first game, when they found themselves trailing 13-2 to the Czech Republic before turning the game into a rout.

The U.S. seemed focused to play the host country after losing to them in the gold medal game of the Good Luck Beijing tournament in April. However, that U.S. team only had four players from the current Olympic team on it.

China figured to be the toughest test for the Americans in their pool. Up next will be a matchup with Mali (0-2), which lost star player Hamchetou Maiga to an ankle injury in the third quarter of a 81-47 loss to the Czechs. (NYT)

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The seven women included Yelena Soboleva, the world’s top performer this year at 800 and 1,500 meters, and Tatyana Tomashova, who won a silver medal in the 1,500 at the 2004 Athens Olympics. The Russian women were suspended by track and field’s world governing body and were accused of fraudulently using substitute urine in an attempt to pass doping tests.

Five of the athletes were on the Russian team’s roster for the Beijing Olympics: Soboleva; Tomashova; Gulfiya Khanafeyeva (hammer throw); Darya Pishchalnikova (discus); and Yulia Fomenko (1,500-meters).

The governing body, known by its initials as the I.A.A.F., said it had been investigating the Russian women for more than a year. The athletes were caught when urine samples they had previously given, which had been stored, were compared with other samples, presumably provided at recent meets. [via NYT]

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Friday, this mother of a 2-year-old girl looked like a kid again herself — waving an American flag on the pool deck — in making an unprecedented fifth Olympic team, winning the 100-meter freestyle in 53.78 seconds at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials.

“I was shocked when I touched the wall,” Torres said. “I couldn’t see the scoreboard. What does that say? They need to make those numbers bigger for people my age. I’m shocked. I don’t think it’s hit me yet, a fifth Olympic team. . . . I don’t think it’s sunk in yet. I’m thrilled.”

With her victory, Torres has become the oldest American swimmer to qualify for the Olympic Games. She began her Olympic career at age 17, when she qualified for the 1984 Olympics and won a relay gold at the games. She then went on to qualify again in 1988 and 1992.

Torres has won nine Olympic medals in her career, including the gold in 1984, a bronze and silver in 1988, a gold medal in 1992, and two gold medals and three bronze medals in the Sydney Olympics in 2000 where she was the eldest member on the team at 33 years old.

She was the first American swimmer to attend four Olympics and as of Friday, will become the first to attend five.  We will be watching and cheering. You go girl!

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Danica Patrick is a petite and an attractive 26-year-old woman who began racing go karts at a young age. She moved on to open-wheel racing in Europe where she was discovered by former Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal, who gave her the opportunity to join his Indy Racing League.

This year on April 20th, Patrick won at Twin Ring Motegi in the Indy Japan 300 becoming the first woman to win an IndyCar race, joining the ranks of drag racer Shirley Muldowney, who won three NHRA Top Fuel Championships as a “first female” winner in the top tier of American motorsports. Patrick took the Indy Japan 300 after the race leaders were forced to pit for fuel in the final laps. She finished 5.8594 seconds ahead of the Brazilian pole-sitter Helio Castroneves on the 1.5-mile (2.4 km) Twin Ring Motegi oval.

The pressure is on! If she wins this Sunday, she will be making history as the first woman to win the Indianapolis 500.

Several male drivers have made negative comments about Patrick’s ability as a woman, to race successfully. In May 2006, after Danica appeared on ESPN SportsCenter’s Budweiser Hot Seat, Richard Petty stated, “I just don’t think it’s a sport for women, and so far, it’s proved out. It’s really not. It’s good for them to come in. It gives us a lot of publicity, it gives them publicity. But as far as being a real true racer, making a living out of it, it’s kind of tough.” Yeah right. Ladies start your engines!!

Catch the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday 12 noon on ABC

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Unfortunately, I lost my bike to a creepy landlord who let me store my bike in his basement then essentially locked me out when he decided to sell the building. Typical.

Not wanting to waste another sunny moment, I did a little research and discovered a host of shops that rent bicycles by the hour or by the day. Fabulous!

My partner and I hoofed it over to Chelsea Bicycles and got a couple of “standard” bikes for 6 bucks an hour plus the requisite helmet (don’t leave home without it ). The bikes were well maintained, in great working order and the service was super friendly and speedy. Off we went.

After a two hour trek along the Hudson River bike path maneuvering around strollers, vendors, protesters, and other cyclist, we dropped off our wheels and did not have to worry about someone cutting our lock or having to schlep them up some stairs. It was a pleasure. Next week, Central Park!

Where to Go:
New York City Bike Path Map

Where to Rent:
Chelsea Bicycles
212 727 7278
info@chelseabicycles.net
130 West 26th Street (between Sixth and Seventh Avenues)
Hours: Mon-Sat 10 AM-8 PM, Sun 11 AM-7 PM
Price: $35/24 hrs, $6/hr; helmet $5
Type of Rentals: road, hybrid, mountain

Bike and Roll
866 RENT-A-BIKE or 212 260 0400
nyc@bikeandroll.com
Pier 84, Hudson River Park (12th Avenue at West 43rd Street)
Hours: 9 AM-7 PM
Price: $30-$99/day, $8-$15/hour
Type of Rentals: cruiser, comfort, mountain, hybrid, road, tandem, kids

Bike Heaven
212 230 1919
mybikeheaven@yahoo.com
348 East 62nd Street (between First and Second Avenues)
Hours: Mon-Fri 10 AM-7 PM, Sat-Sun 9 AM-5 PM
Price: $35/24 hrs, $25/day, $5/hour; helmet $5
Type of Rentals: hybrid, mountain

Champion Bicycles
212 662 2690
896 Amsterdam Avenue (between West 103rd and West 104th Streets)
Hours: Mon-Fri 10 AM-7 PM, Sat-Sun 10:30 AM-6 PM
Price: $40/24 hrs, $30/day, $7/hr; helmet $5
Type of Rentals: hybrid, mountain

image: BeRadley via flickr

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