Meeting a Minor Celebrity

On August 1, Trevan and I celebrated our 5-year anniversary! Yes, we are very proud of ourselves for making it this far and decided to celebrate by going to the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Maryland on Sunday and Monday.

It was really cool because you could walk around to the practice courts and see all these great players doing their warm-ups, and then they would walk right by you on their way out. This is how my magical brush with a minor celebrity started . . . As I turned to walk away from a court I almost bumped into Ernests Gulbis, one of my favorite players. I have been a fan of his for a year now, and although he has not had his big breakthrough yet, he has tons of potential. A huge grin broke out on my face and I felt like a fool for being so excited. We watched him warm up with other players, and as he started to leave the court I gathered up all my courage and asked him if he would take a picture with me . . . he said YES!! Isn't he cute? Aren't I short?

As a rule I am a very self-conscious person and hate drawing attention to myself, so this was a great accomplishment for me to actually ask someone to take a picture with me. He was all sweaty from practicing but I did not care!

I had a chance to get pictures with two other players that are way more popular and higher ranked than Gulbis is, but I just could not muster-up the courage to inconvenience them for a picture. Trevan was very disappointed in my lack of "go-getterness" (made-up word) and is taking me to the classic again next year in the hopes that I will be more bold.

Me? I am so excited about my picture with Gulbis you would think I won the lottery!

Congratulations Roger!!

Venus and Serena

I really appreciate these two women, and what they are doing with their lives.

They are classy when on the court, courteous with the media, and seem to keep it real. While some have accused them of not giving enough credit to their competition, they are quite secure in who they are. They believe, along with many others, that if they play their best, no one can beat them. I would argue that even if they are not playing their best they can still beat the majority of people out there.

It was a pleasure to watch Venus defend hers and Serena's work ethic when someone questioned the authenticity of their matches against each other. It was a tasteful answer to a nasty question.

Another thing I appreciate about them is that, unlike a lot of top players these days, Venus and Serena do not look up to their box after every point to get moral support, or to get advice on whether to challenge a call. They just play their game, stay focused, and deal with the consequences of their decisions.

The Wimbledon final on Saturday was really great to watch, even if Serena did a mini-baby-sister-pout after she lost (It is totally fare to hate on siblings that beat you, it's in the Bible I believe). Venus said that she took her job as a big sister very seriously, therefore she did not rub her win in Serena's face. That's really nice of her, I am pretty sure my brother would have made fun of me on the spot. Sibling rivalry is stronger in some families more than in others. I hope the sisters continue playing for many more years.

And for those of you that think they spend too much time away from the tennis courts...Don't hate on a sister's entrepreneurial skills!

On Wimbledon 2008

This has been a great tournament so far. Loving the fact that Djokovic and Sharapova are out. Really happy with the way Gulbis challenged Nadal.

Now if someone can take out Ivanovic it would be just about perfect.

The Things I do for Love

This weekend Trevan and I drove up to Maryland in order to attend, not one, but two baseball games on two consecutive days. Yes, it was Trevan's idea.

Trevan really loves going to baseball games, so I agreed to go with him to the Nats vs. Brewers game on Sunday (Nats won!!! Go Nats), then the Orioles vd. Yankees game on Monday.

The Sunday game was great. We went with Trevan's cousin Kim, and her fiancé Paul. We were all rooting for the Nats, so it was great to have them win in the bottom of the ninth.

Unfortunately, Trevan is an Orioles fan and I am a Yankees fan, so the Monday game was a bit less fun because the Yankees loss, and I had to endure Trevan being extra loud about the Orioles winning.

All things considered, it was a great weekend and I have the sun-burn to prove it.

French Open

Tennis is back! The French Open starts this Sunday and drama is definitely in the forecast at this point.

With Henin's retirement, the field seems open for Sharapova to clench her first French Open title.

The drama on the men's side is even bigger. Flashy, new-comer Djokavic, and three-time French Open champion Nadal ended up on the same side of the draw, which leaves #1 Federer with little competition to make it to the finals. With rumors circulating that Nadal is not in top-shape, this seems to be the year for Federer to finally win the French tittle for the first time.

But I am not buying into the hype. I love Federer, and I sincerely wish I am wrong on this, but he has had a less-than-stellar season so far, and I don't really see Nadal folding and giving up the chance at a fourth consecutive French Open tittle.

I pick Nadal to win this one.

She's Retired?

This piece of news has totally shocked me... Justine Henin is leaving tennis? That is so unbelievable I cannot even explain how confused I am.

It makes sense to leave while you are at the top of the game, but still, she is so good. I guess there are more important things in life after all!