US OPEN 2008: Men's Final Preview

Andy Murray (GBR) [6] vs. Roger Federer (SUI) [2]. The 4-time defending champion Roger Federer has not lost here since the fourth round in 2002 (to his former arch-nemesis David Nalbandian) and has been in 16 previous finals (12-4) while the 21-year-old Scot Andy Murray is in his first major final, one day after winning his first major semi-final against the World #1. Almost no one wins their first major final, except the truly great (Federer, Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams) but Murray may just be able to break that jinx.

As Matt Cronin puts it, today's rain-delayed men's final (at 2pm PDT, streamed live at USOpen.org and on CBS) will come down to "Federer's wile versus Murray's guile." On paper, you would have to give the edge to Murray. He loves hard-courts, all of his titles coming on that surface and he has won three titles this year on that surface while Federer has none. He is even one of the three players on the ATP tour who own a career advantage over Federer, having beaten him two of the three times they played, including in January this year when Federer was coming off a shocking (at the time) straight set loss to Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open.

However, I really think the correct lens to view this match is as a rematch of last year's final: the skillful experienced defending champion facing a challenge from a very talented youg upstart with an all-court game. Federer won that showdown by escaping with the first two sets in two tiebreak sets despite being set point down repeatedly in the first two sets. Djokovic folded soon afterwards and Federer celebrated with his 12th title. This year I believe, will be similar, but I do believe that Murray will be able to convert at least one of those set points, but Federer will still prevail in four sets.

I have previously correctly predicted the results of five of the seven final matches on the women's side at this year's open, and five of six final matches on the men's side.

PREDICTION: Federer in 4 sets.

US OPEN 2008: Serena Wins 9th Major Over Jankovic

Serena Williams won her ninth major title on Sunday night, by defeating World #2 Jelena Jankovic 6-4 7-5 in a 2 hour 4 minute match that was filled with very long points and very close games. With the win, Serena will again become #1 in the WTA Tour rankings, more than 5 years after she last held the ranking for 57 consecutive weeks.

Serena did not serve well, having 3 aces (same as her opponent) and 3 double faults, and her average second serve was even slower than Jankovic's, whose serve is considered one of the glaring weaknesses in her game.

The TV commentators characterized the match-up as "the puncher versus the counter-puncher" but really it was more about offense versus defense. In that respect, Serena gave us a very different look at her game. She was extremely patient, pretty much content to keep hitting with Jankovic until she sense an opening and then she would unleash a punishing groundstroke to get her opponent off balance and put away the weak reply at the net.

In both sets Serena was down a pretty early break. In the first set she came out attempting to blast the ball past Jankovic and made 10 unforced errors in the first 2 games, finding herself down 1-2. She then calmed down and won 3 games in a row but Jankovic broke back and held until she was serving 4-5 when she lost her serve and the first set on Serena's first set point.

In the second set, Serena had numerous chances to break Jankovic's serve, but the Serb kept winning the breakpoints, eventually forcing Serena to go 0-for-10 and broke Serena instead in the seventh game and held to be up 5-3. Serena seemed out of sorts and was quickly down 0-40 facing three consecutive breakpoints that were set points. She somehow managed to win that game, saved two more set points and won every game for the rest of the match--four in a row.

She is now tied with Monica Seles on the Grand Slam singles list, and (more importantly to her, I think) still maintains her edge of two more titles than her big sister. It is the third year since they both had their career nadirs in 2004 that both Williams sisters have won major titles in the same year, 2005, 2007 and 2008. And Serena Williams is back on top of Women's tennis, with her sister Venus relatively close behind at #8. Right where they should be.

US OPEN 2008: Women's Final Preview

Serena Williams USA (4)	vs. Jelena Jankovic SRB (2)

The World #1 ranking is on the line. The 2008 US Open title is on the line. Bragging rights are on the line. 8-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams is facing first-time Grand Slam finalist Jelena Jankovic in a weather-postponed Women's Final at 6pm PDT (9pm EDT) on CBS.

Interestingly, the two have played each other six times head-to-head in their careers, splitting the matches 3-3 (all on hard courts). They have even played twice this year, with Jankovic winning at the Australian Open in straight sets when Serena was strangely flat while Williams won in Miami in three sets after blowing a large second set lead.

However, here in New York Serena has not lost more than three games in a set to anyone except her sister Venus and has also refused to lose a set, despite facing (count 'em!) ten set points in that magical quarterfinal. Jankovic is very hungry for a title, she wants to match her Serbian countrywoman's French Open title with one of her own, to confirm her #1 ranking with the concomitant major title. Serena has won this title twice before and has been working extremely hard all year long. She has been #1 before for 57 weeks in a row from 2002-2003 and by returning to the #1 spot she would complete a historical achievement by winning her 9th major championship and bring her one step closer to the extreme heights of tennis greatness of holding a double digit number of major titles.

PREDICTION: Williams in 2 sets.

More People Watch McCain Speech Than Watched Obama's

Apparently Barack Obama's Democratic presidential nomination acceptance speech and Sarah Palin's "pitbull with lipstick" speech were just lead-ins to John McCain's Republican presidential nomination acceptance speech:

Nearly 39 million people watched Republican presidential candidate John McCain’s acceptance speech on the closing night of the GOP convention Thursday in St. Paul, Minn. That broke the week-old convention record of upwards of 38 million viewers set by Sen. Barack Obama only the week before.

Sen. McCain amassed an audience of 38.9 million viewers for his speech on two fewer channels than were carrying Sen. Obama’s speech Aug. 28 to 38.38 million viewers, according to data from Nielsen Media Research.

Interestingly, Josh Marshall notes that more women watched Obama's speech (19.9 million) than McCain's speech (19.5 million).

Federer Beats Djokovic; Murray Leads Nadal by 2 Sets

As predicted by Mad Professah, World #2 Roger Federer defeated World #3 Novak Djokovic in four sets on Saturday, 6-3 5-7 7-5 6-2 to reach his third major final of the year and fifth consecutive US Open. At times, Federer played at a level reminiscent of his 2005-2007 greatness, with 3 unforced errors in the first set and 1 in the fourth. The Swiss 27-year-old ended with 51 winners to 28 errors overall, compared to 43 winners but 47 errors for the 21-year-old Serb.

In the other semifinal, current World #6 Andy Murray shocked most observers (but not this one!) by easily winning the first set from current World #1 Rafael Nadal 6-2 when the match was moved (during the Federer-Djokovic match!) to the Louis Armstrong Court in order to try to have both semifinals completed before inclement weather arrived. Murray also won the second set 7-6(5) despite Nadal saving a handful of breakpoints and then promptly gave Nadal his first break points of the match to begin the third, which the Spaniard was able to convert. Play was suspended for the day at Murray leading 6-2, 7-6(5), 2-3 up two sets but still down a break in the third set. It will resume at 1pm Pacific time on CBS today, while the Women's Final will be at 6pm Pacific time on CBS today.

US OPEN 2008: Men's Semifinals Preview

The 2008 US Open Men' s semifinals are now set. Mad Professah correctly predicted the results of three of the four quarterfinals in both the Men's and Women's draws. Here are ,y predictions for the semis.

Rafael Nadal ESP (1) vs. Andy Murray GBR (6). At Wimbledon the match-up between Nadal and Murray was much hyped and did not live up to the buzz, with Nadal winning their quarterfinal in straight sets. In fact, Nadal has never lost to the Scotsman in 5 matches on multiple surfaces. The current World #1 has beaten the soon-to-be World #4 three times this year. However, I feel that this will cause Murray to be extra motivated to at least make this match competitive--he has nothing to lose and could gain his first major final if he wins. However, Nadal is in the middle of one of the all-time great tennis years and has only lost one match (to Djokovic) since early May. The wild card is the New York weather, if the wind gets as bad as it was for yesterday's women's semis I think that Nadal will be able to handle the conditions better and will make it to his third consecutive major final. PREDICTION: Murray in 5 sets.

Novak Djokovic SRB (3) vs. Roger Federer SUI (2). This match is a replay of last year's US Open final, won by the Swiss former #1. Then, the Serbian youngster was the up and coming potential challenger to the Federer-Nadal duopoly at the top of men's tennis. Now he is the reigning Australian Open champion and where he defeated the defending champion (Federer) in the semifinal. Will history repeat itself? I doubt it. Head-to-head Federer still leads Djokovic 6-2, although those two losses have come in the last 15 months. Federer has now made it to an incredible eighteen consecutive Grand Slam semifinals, a record unlikely to be reached by anyone else anytime soon. Federer is the 4-time defending champion but it is clear that he is not playing as well in 2008 as he did in 2007. He seems somewhat energized by his Olympic doubles Gold medal while Djokovic has had a series of tough matches to get to this point and has a history of succumbing to fatigue in big matches. PREDICTION: Federer in 4 sets.

VIDEO: Trailer for "Milk"

The trailer for the Gus Van Sant-directed film Milk on the life of gay icon Harvey Milk (played by Oscar-winning actor Sean Penn) is now available online. (hat/tip Towleroad.)

Eye Candy: Michael Keute

Pictures of model Michael Keute are courtesy the guys at the Queerty blog. Enjoy!

US OPEN 2008: Women's Semifinals Preview

The 2008 US Open Women's semifinals are now set. Mad Professah correctly predicted 3 of the 4 women's quarterfinal match results.

Elena Dementieva RUS (5) vs. Jelena Jankovic SRB (2). Dementieva has always had her best Grand Slam sucess at the US Open, having reached the finals once (2004) and the semifinals four times (2000, 2004, 2005 and 2008). Jankovic was the #1 player in the World for one week during the Beijing Olympics while Dementieva was winning her second Olympic singles medal, a Gold eight years after winning the Silver in Sydney. The two have played each other seven times, with Jankovic holding the edge 4-3 overall, and 3-2 on hardcourts. They have split the matches they played this year, with Dementieva retiring hurt in Miami and Jankovic losing on her best surface of clay in Berlin. Dementieva's problematic serve has been surprisingly solid, and is currently a more effective weapon than Jankovic's. She has long had some of the best groundstrokes of any woman on the tour AND she moves well--her central weakness had been mental fortitude and a cringe-inducing service toss and motion. Jankovic is incredibly consistent and probably a slightly better mover, but I believe that Dementieva is on a roll that will get her to her third Grand Slam final, where, if she wins she will become the second Russian player to reach the top of the WTA rankings. PREDICTION: Dementieva in 3 sets.

Dinara Safina RUS (6) vs. Serena Williams USA (4). Although many people feel that Wednesday night's amazing quarterfinal match between Venus and Serena was the deciding showdown for who would win the 2008 US Open title, there are at least two other people who will try their best to not let that happen. The hottest player on tour, Dinara Safina, has made it to the final of the 6 of the last 7 tournaments she entered. Safina easily won the USTA's gimmicky US Open series of warm-up tournaments to the year's final major tournament in New York for the chance to win an extra $1 million dollars if she wins this title. In addition, if the Russian will become the #1 player in the world if she wins the 2008 US Open title. Unfortunately, she is playing 8-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams, who is playing some of her best tennis and is in better shape than she has been in nearly 5 years when she dominated women's tennis completely. Head-to-head Safina has only beaten Serena once in four tries, but that victory came from the last time they played, on clay in Berlin in May. There Safina had an amazing run of beating World #1 Justine Henin in her final professional match, Serena in a 3rd set tiebreak, and then Elena Dementieva to win her first Tier 1 title. In fact, Safina is the first player to beat three WTA Tour #1 players in one calendar year (Henin in Berlin, Sharapova in Paris and Jankovic in Beijing) this summer.

Although prior to the start of the tournament I predicted Venus Williams would be in this semifinal and lose to Safina who would then defeat Dementieva for the title, after Wednesday's match I can not see how any of the three players remaining in the tournament can deny Serena Williams her 9th Grand Slam title. If anyone can do it, it will be Safina playing at her best, and it will be because Serena has a letdown after beating her sister, but I believe that Serena will try and honor her sister by finding a way to get to the final, where she will be the heavy favorite against Dementieva or Jankovic.

PREDICTION: Williams in 3 sets.

Cindy McCain Wore $300,000 Outfit to Republican Convention

Hat/tip John Aravosis at AmericaBlog.

US OPEN 2008: Venus Squanders 10 Set Points In Loss To Serena

Serena Williams defeated her sister Venus Williams in the quarterfinals of the 2008 U.S. Open 7-6(6) 7-6(7) despite being down 3-5 in both sets as well as down 4-6 in both tiebreaks!
All in all, Venus squandered 10 set points, 2 in the first set tiebreak and 8 in the second set (she was up 5-3, 40-0 in the second set when she made a number of unforced errors and attempted winners to lose that game.) Notably, Serena had only two set points and she won both of them.

It just seemed to me that when she had a set point Venus got more tentative and sloppy with her technique. A number of those set points were on her own serve, and she should have been able to figure out a way to win. With that being said, when Serena was down she never ever gave up and started hitting the ball harder and moving incredibly. She made some "gets" that no other player on the tour (probably not even Venus) could have gotten their racquet on, numerous times.

All in all, it was a (relatively) high-quality, exciting match that took nearly two and a half hours.

Serena will face Dinara Safina in a semifinal match on Friday night for a chance to play in the US Open final for the fourth time.

Happy 227th Birthday, Los Angeles!

September 4, 1781 was the day that the city of Los Angeles was founded, 227 years ago. Happy Birthday, L.A., you look fabulous for your age!

Poll on Vice-Presidential Selections

Daily Kos is publicizing a poll of Clinton voters on their impression of Vice Presidential candidates Sarah Palin and Joe Biden.

McCain Spokesperson Disembowelled in Live CNN Interview

US OPEN 2008: Men's Quarterfinals Preview

Here are my predictions for the last major's men's quarterfinals of the year.

Rafael Nadal ESP (1) vs. Mardy Fish USA. Mardy Fish is replacing fellow American James Blake who went out to his "good friend" with nary a whimper in the third round 6-3 6-3 7-6(4). Fish has had some surprising results, beating former World #1 Roger Federer earlier this year at the Indian Wells semifinals in straight sets, but no result would be more surpising than beating the current World #1 (who happens to have lost one match since early May!). However, it is definitely possible, since Fish has the game to beat anyone when he is "in the zone" and Nadal has never made it past the quarterfinals in New York, where he has lost in this very round in the last two years. However, I think the third time will be the charm for the Spaniard, despite the New York crowd. PREDICTION: Nadal in 4 sets.

Juan Martin Del Potro ARG (17) vs. Andy Murray GBR (6). What happens when an immovable object meets an irresistible force? The 19-year old Del Potro has been the second hottest player all summer, having won the last four (relatively small) tournaments he entered while most of the world's elite players were at the Olympics. Murray is at his career high, having won his first ATP Masters shield over Djokovic in Cincinatti and will be ranked #4 in the world (thanks to Davydenko's upset) on Monday for the first time. The two have only played once, with Murray winning on clay in Rome earlier this year. I actually would be interested to see Del Potro win because I want to see what would happen when the two hottest players meet in the semis, but I really think this is Murray's time, and he is itching for revenge for his loss to Nadal at Wimbledon. PREDICTION: Murray in 4 sets.

Andy Roddick USA (8) vs. Novak Djokovic SRB (3).This will probably be the best match of the four men's quarterfinals. The two have only played twice before, both times on hard courts in the last year or so and they have exchanged wins. Djokovic has been having a difficult time in the last few rounds, barely winning 4-6 6-2 6-3 5-7 6-3 against the pulchritudinous Tommy Robredo in the fourth round as well as a very tough 4-setter against the young, hard-hitting, very tall Maran Cilic 6-7(7) 7-5 6-4 7-6(0) in the third round. Roddick on the other hand swept past the very talented Fernando Gonzalez 6-4 6-2 6-1 to get to this quarterfinal and really only had a difficult match against the young, hard-hitting, very tall Ernest Gulbis 6-3 5-7 6-2 7-5. I had initially predicted that Djokovic would win this quarter but I have seen a lot of Roddick matches and I believe if he is the fresher, with a New York crowd behind him late at night, he may just come through. However, Djokovic loves playing against a hostile crowd and he will have nearly two days to recover from his near death experience against Robredo. PREDICTION: Roddick in 5 sets.

Nikolay Davydenko RUS (5) Gilles Muller LUX vs. Roger Federer SUI (2). This might have been the journeyman quarterfinal if Igor Andreev had kept on playing the way he did for the first two sets the entire match. Even so, Federer was pushed to the brink, only winning 6-7(5) 7-6(5) 6-3 3-6 6-3. Andreev had 54 winners to 42 errors compared to Federer's 66 winners to 60 errors(!). In the round before, Federer had 9 unforced errors in 3 sets of flawless tennis against the decidedly un-pulchritudinous Radek Stepanek. Muller is a hard-hitting lefty who gave Davydenko fits in the fourth round, pulling out a 4-set win 6-4 4-6 6-3 7-6(10), saving a handful of set points in the 4th. Federer would probably have preferred to play Davydenko who he has beaten 12 times in a row (and never lost to) since Muller is someone he has only beaten twice (and never lost to). However, he hasn't faced the player from Luxembourg since 2005 and probably has no idea how Muller plays. Still, Federer is on an incredible record-setting streak of 17 consecutive Grand Slam semifinals and I doubt the 130-ranked player in the world will prevent the World #2 from extending that streak to 18. PREDICTION: Federer in 3 sets.

Exactly Nine Weeks Until Election Day

It is exactly 9 weeks (63 days) until election day. If you had a choice between having Barack Obama win the presidency or Proposition 8 go down to defeat, which would you pick (you can only have one)?

The Dark Knight Breaks $500m Barrier (in 45 Days)

Nikki Finke is reporting that The Dark Knight has broken the $500 million barrier in a record 45 days this past weekend. It now owns 14 box-office records:

1. LARGEST NUMBER OF OPENING THEATRES WITH 4,366 (MORE THAN THE 4,362 DEBUT THEATRES OF PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD'S END IN 2007).

2. BIGGEST MIDNIGHT PREVIEW GROSS WITH $18.489 MILLION IN 3,040 THEATRES (THIS BEATS STAR WARS EPISODE III: REVENGE OF THE SITH AT $16.9 MILLION IN 2,915 THEATRES IN 2005).

3. BIGGEST IMAX MIDNIGHT PREVIEWS SET AN NEW RECORD WITH $640,000 (THIS AMOUNT WAS APPROPRIATELY INCLUDED IN THE $18.489 MILLION PREVIEW NUMBER).

4. BIGGEST SINGLE-DAY GROSS IN BOX-OFFICE HISTORY WITH $67,165,092 (THIS BEATS THE $59,841,919 SET BY SPIDER-MAN 3 IN 2007).

5. BIGGEST OPENING WEEKEND GROSS IN BOX-OFFICE HISTORY WITH $158,411,483 MILLION (THIS BEATS THE $151,116,516 SET BY SPIDER-MAN 3 IN 2007).

6. BIGGEST OPENING WEEKEND GROSS FOR AN IMAX RELEASE IN BOX-OFFICE HISTORY WITH $6,214,061 MILLION IN 94 THEATRES ($66,107 PER-THEATRE!) (THIS BEATS THE $4.7 MILLION SET BY SPIDER-MAN 3 IN 2007) - IMAX SHOWING AT FULL CAPACITY $1.9 MILLION ON SATURDAY ALONE.

7. BIGGEST SINGLE-DAY SUNDAY GROSS WITH $43,596,151 (THIS BEATS THE $39,937,865 SET BY SPIDER-MAN 3 ON ITS DEBUT WEEKEND).

8. FASTEST SPRINT TO $200 MILLION DOMESTICALLY IN JUST FIVE DAYS (BEATING PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST, SPIDER-MAN 2, AND STAR WARS EPISODE III: REVENGE OF THE SITH WHICH EACH TOOK 8 DAYS TO REACH $200 MILLION).

9. POSTS THE BEST SECOND WEEKEND GROSS EVER AT $75,166,446 (BEATING SHREK 2 AND ITS $72,170,363 SECOND WEEKEND GROSS).

10. CROSSES THE $300 MILLION MARK IN JUST 10 DAYS (BEATING 2006's PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST WHICH TOOK 16 DAYS).

11. THE FILM IN IMAX WORLDWIDE CROSSED THE $20 MILLION MARK IN JUST 11 DAYS (BEATING HARRY POTTER 5 WHICH TOOK 16 DAYS).

12. THE FILM CROSSED THE $400 MILLION MARK IN JUST 18 DAYS (BEATS SHREK 2 WHICH TOOK 43 DAYS TO DO IT)

13. BECAME THE SECOND-HIGHEST GROSSING FILM OF ALL-TIME DOMESTICALLY IN JUST 30 DAYS OF RELEASE SURPASSING THE ORIGINAL STAR WARS ON SATURDAY, AUGUST 16, 2008 (ON THAT DAY IT HIT $466,365,174 BEATING STAR WARS ($461 MILLION)

Of course many of these records are silly because Hollywood doesn't adjust box-office records for inflation. So, Titanic's $600 million domestic gross from 1997-1998 is significantly more than that amount in 2008 dollars. But, still, $500 million is still a LOT of money, even in Hollywood.

I wonder how long it takes before we start hearing about fights between Christopher Nolan (and/or his brother) who wrote, produced and directed the movie and Warner Brothers over a fair share of the profits? 1, 2, 3, 4, ....

US OPEN 2008: Women's Quarterfinals Preview

The 2008 US Women's Quarterfinals are now set. After correctly predicting all four of the 2008 French Open Women's quarterfinals but only two of the four 2008 Wimbledon Ladies quarterfinals here are my predictions for the last major women's quarterfinals of the year.

Amelie Mauresmo FRA (32) Flavia Pennetta ITA (16) vs. Dinara Safina RUS (6). This should have been an opportunity for former #1 Frenchwomanto show that she could still be a force to be reckoned with at a major but instead she committed 40 unforced errors (including 14 double faults) as she lost 6-3 6-0 to the Italian player who clinched her first major quarterfinal. Safina, who has made it to the final in six of the last seven events that she entered, has been the hottest player on the WTA Tour all summer long but has recently been complaining of extreme exhaustion.Pennetta is playing the best tennis of her long career but so is Safina. There's nothing that the Italian does that the Russian does better and that should be enough to get "Marat's little sister" to her second major semifinal of the year. PREDICTION: Safina in 2 sets.

Serena Williams USA (4) vs.Venus Williams USA (7). This should be the best match of the tournament. Even though I predicted before the tournament that it was unlikely to occur, I'm thrilled that it has. Hopefully, the match will be a reprise of their intense Wimbledon Ladies' final this summer won by Venus(or the still unseen third-set tiebreak thriller in the Banagalore semis never shown on American won by Serena). However, it should be remembered that their first several matches were very ugly affairs. It should also be remembered that the sisters are currently tied 8-8 in their career head-to-head, although Serena beat Venus in 5 consecutive meetings at Grand Slams, she has not been able to do so since. I'm not sure if these statistics are known by either of the players but it does give us insight into how closely matched the two sisters are. Regardless, I do think that Venus will have a slight mental edge, although Serena is probably playing slightly better. In the end I think that tennis is at least fifty percent mental, and tennis between siblings must be even more so. I'm just happy to see a Williams in a major semifinal for more than a single time in a calendar year. PREDICTION: (Venus) Williams in 3 sets.

Elena Dementieva RUS (5) vs. Patty Schnyder SUI (15). This will probably be the ugliest quarterfinal of the four. Patty Schnyder has the game to drive anyone crazy, but Dementieva is coming off winning the Gold Medal in Singles at the Beijing Olympics and has already beaten the Swiss player twice already in 2008. Unless someone tells her that Jankovic has already lost and that she has an open path to her second US Open final in five years, Dementieva should be able to advance to her fourth career US Open semifinal surprisingly easily. PREDICTION: Dementieva in 2 sets.

Jelena Jankovic SRB (2) vs. Sybille Bammer AUT (29). Despite having the #1 ranking almost within her grasp thanks to the disturbing collapse of her countrywoman Ana Ivanovic, Jankovic barely got past the hard-hitting young Dane Caroline Wozniacki in the fourth round, advancing 3-6 6-2 6-1. Sybille Bammer is one of the few mothers on the tour and has a rare serve and volley game. However, Jankovic has only lost to Bammer in 7 matches, including a tough 3-set match at last year's US Open in the 4th round. This year, Jankovic will be prepared to get the job done in two. PREDICTION: Jankovic in 2 sets.

Eye Candy: Shirtless Pictures of ATP Tennis Stars

Fernando Verdasco

Dmitry Tursunov

Paradorn Srichapan

Tommy Haas

The guys at Queerty found out about a 2009 calendar of shirtless photos of male professional tennis players being promoted by the ATP.

Barack Obama is to John McCain As ______ is to ______?

An amusing contest over at Daily Kos:

Barack Obama is to John McCain as _____ is to ________.

The winners were:

Barack Obama is John McCain as Jay-Z is to Vanilla Ice.

and

Barack Obama is to John McCain as Lando Calrissian is to [The] Emperor.

Personally, I think my Obama-McCain analogy is " Barack Obama is to John McCain as Superman is to Supertramp" but these are also pretty good:

Barack Obama is to John McCain as...

as a roller coaster is to a nap.
as Superman is to Grumpy Old Men.
as Today is to Yesterday.
as new hotness is to old and busted.
as Surprise birthday party is to a funeral.
as a Wii is to shuffleboard.
as expanding prosperity is to expanding prostate.
as the glass is half full to the glass is half empty.
as the Terminator is the to the Terminex guy.
as the Wire is to JAG.
as a PhD is to a GED.
as indoor plumbing is to a chamber pot.
as Michael Phelps is to Mike Wallace.
as superman is to Mr. Magoo.
as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces is to Commander-in-Chief of the Arm Chair.

Barack Obama is to John McCain...

as a CAT scan is to bloodletting.
as the iPhone is to a tin can and string.
as Alec Baldwin is to Daniel Baldwin.
as Robin Hood is to a robber baron.
as orange juice is to metamucil.
as Groundhog Day is to Osmosis Jones.
as Sears is to Reobucks.
as Electric Mail ("e-mail") is to the pony express.
as Jet Blue is to the old union carbide.
as John F. Kennedy is to Richard M. Nixon.
as G.O.A.T. cheese is to musty, rotten old cheese.
as the next President is to the next runner up.
as Ronald Reagan in 1980 is to Ronald Reagan in 1988.
as Prozac is to Ambien.
as my new bicycle is to my jalopy.
as my favorite cousin is to my crazy uncle.
as "yes we can" is to "get off my lawn!"
as arugula is to cabbage.

What's yours?

BOOK REVIEW: Robert Charles Wilson's AXIS

Robert Charles Wilson's Axis (2007) is the sequel to 2005's Spin, (see MadProfessah's review) which was the winner of the 2006 Hugo Award for Best Science Fiction novel, and one of my 2007 Chrismakwanzakkuh presents. It has recently been released in paperback.

For some reason it is quite difficult to blog about books soon after one has read them.

I have been meaning to put down my thoughts about this book for quite awhile. Unfortunately, my impressions are not as favorable towards Axis as they were towards Spin.

Necessarily, most of the characters that animated the story in Spin are not present in Axis, but the story does again revolve around the presence of a gigantic physical anomaly which affects the world.

However, in addition to demonstrating how society would react to another cataclysmic event, Wilson has also included a major storyline involving genetic engineering and communication with implacable alien intelligences.

The main problem I had with the book is that the main characters of Lise Adams and Turk Finley are really not compelling enough to sustain a reader's emotional connection, which reduces the overall impact of the novel as a whole despite the brilliance of the central concept.
Hopefully, the next (last?) book in the series, called Vortex will return to the nuanced characters of the first book without losing Wilson's trademark creativity.

GRADE: B.

What Music Barack Obama Listens To

The Chicago Tribune asked several politicians what was on their Ipods and this was Barack Obama's response:

Aretha Franklin, "Think"
U2, "City of Blinding Lights"
Rolling Stones, "Gimme Shelter"
Sheryl Crow, "The Book"
Bob Dylan, "Maggie's Farm"
Frank Sinatra, "You'd be so Easy to Love"
Nina Simone, "Sinnerman"
Marvin Gaye, "What's Going On"
Howlin Wolf, "Wang Dang Doodle"
John Coltrane, "Spiritual";

Huge Ratings For Obama Acceptance Speech

Apparently the overnight ratings are in for Barack Obama's acceptace speech in front of 80,000 people at Invesco Field in Denver, Colorado and the numbers are huge:

Barack Obama accepted the Democratic nomination for president on Thursday as an estimated 38 million viewers watched on television, setting a new record for convention viewership, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Mr. Obama's speech -- a historic one given his status as the first African American nominee of a major political party -- reached significantly more viewers than the comparable addresses in 2004. Coverage of John Kerry's acceptance speech in 2004 had 24.4 million viewers; coverage of George W. Bush's convention speech that same year drew 27.5 million.

The audience estimate of 38.3 million means that Mr. Obama's speech reached more viewers than the Olympics opening ceremony in Beijing, the final "American Idol" or the Academy Awards this year, the Associated Press notes.

Furthermore, the four-night Democratic convention ranks as the most-watched convention of either party, Democratic or Republican, since Nielsen began measuring conventions in 1960.

Almost 24.5% of all televisions on at the time were tuned to television coverage of Obama's speech. It was the 5th most watched event in African-American households, in the last 11 years.

On 72nd Birthday, McCain Picks 44-Year-Old Former Beauty Queen For Veep

John McCain has picked current first-term Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to be his running mate, the first woman to be on a Republican ticket, 24 years after it happened on a Democratic ticket. He is thus completely undermining his argument that 46-year-old Barack Obama is too young to be President, since he is picking someone 44-years-old (on his 72nd birthday!) to serve as his vice-presidential pick.

I now feel much better about our chances of the Democrats retaking the White House.

Barack Obama Accepts Historical Nomination

POLL: Prop 8 Losing 40-54% Of Likely Voters

A poll released today from the Public Policy Institute of California shows that voters are still equally divided on support for marriages for same-sex couples but are also rejecting amending the Constitution to remove that fundamental freedom.

A majority of likely voters, 54 percent, oppose Proposition 8, which would amend the state Constitution to prohibit same-sex marriage, compared to 40 percent who support it, according to the Public Policy Institute of California survey.

The result is similar to the findings of a survey released in July by the Field Poll, which found that 51 percent of likely California voters opposed Proposition 8 while 42 percent said they would vote for it.

[...]

The Public Policy Institute began asking voters how they feel about gay marriage in 2000, the year voters approved Proposition 22, which banned same-sex marriage but did not enshrine it in the Constitution. That year, the poll found 55 percent opposed to gay marriage and 38 percent in favor.

The poll released Wednesday found the state's likely voters are evenly split on the question—at 47 percent for and against—as they have been for the past three years.

As usual, there is a large partisan divide apparent in the poll, which has a margin of error +/- 3 percentage points. Democrats (66%) and Independents (59%) are opposed to Proposition 8, while Republicans (60%) support it.

Obama Becomes First Person Of Color To Win Presidential Nomination

Barack Obama became the first non-white person to head a major party's presidential ticket last night.

Obama Takes 6 Point Lead In Daily Tracking Poll

94% of Fortune 500 Companies Bar Sexual Orientation Bias

Joe.My.God has a very cool graphic up illustrating the 29 companies in the Fortune 500 that DO NOT ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The good news is that it means that Equality Forum has documented that over 94 percent of these companies do bar sexual orientation discrimination.

VIDEO: Trailer for "The Young and Evil"

I found this extended trailer at the very cool Black gay blog Living Out Loud with Darian for what looks like could be a very interesting (and controversial) short film called "The Young and Evil."

Lesbian Pioneer Del Martin Dies at Age 87

Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin (r)

87-year-old Del Martin, legally married wife of Phyllis Lyon died today less than three months after becoming the first same-sex couple to be married legally in California's history on June 16, 2008. Lyon and Martin had lived together for more than 55 years.

Equality California has an official obituary webpage for Del Martin which has many details of her activism and life and the National Center for Lesbian Rights is asking that in lieu of flowers, donations be sent to their No on Prop 8 fund.

NOAH'S ARC: JUMPING THE BROOM In Theaters Fri Oct 24

Wilson Cruz

Jensen Atwood

There are reports on the web that th release date for the upcoming Noah's Arc movie has ben set. Noah's Arc: Jumping The Broom will be released in movie theaters on Friday October 24th.

According to the IMDb page for the movie, Jensen Atwood who plays the incredibly attractive Wade (and Noah's on and off againlove interest) is NOT in the cast! Sadly, it appears as if hottie Wilson Cruz who plays HIV-positive doctor Junito will also not be appearing in the Noah's Arc movie.

Opponents of Prop 8 Double $1m Donation from Catholics

After reports of the Knights of Columbus one million dollar donation to the proponents of Proposition 8, Equality California sent out fundraising appeals. The good news is that donations flooded in and EQCA has made a TWO million dollar donation to NO ON PROP 8.

Dale Kelly Bankhead, Campaign manager for NO ON PROP 8, sent out this e-mail earlier today:

Last week, I told you about the Knights of Columbus donating $1 million to the Yes on 8 Campaign's efforts to eliminate the fundamental right to marriage for same sex couples. That's $10 million for our opponents before Labor Day in their attempt to eliminate the right for same sex couples to marry.

Well thanks to many of you and the support of our coalition partners Equality California and the ACLU, we were able to not only match the $1 million but double it, raising $2 million dollars in the last week to fight Prop 8. To each of you who helped make that possible, I am profoundly grateful. But we can't stop.

It is clear we are up against a well-organized and well-funded effort to hurt gay and lesbian families. If you haven't donated to fight Prop 8, please do so today!

https://secure.ga4.org/01/equalityforall/n972BUtYq7NDx?
Well, our opponents have now made their next move. We have just learned that they have made a multi-million dollar television ad buy in eight media markets across California. Not only that, they are going up on the air weeks earlier than most campaigns.

This is a critical time for our campaign. We must be able to respond. We must get our message out there as soon as possible. We have to compete on the television airwaves.

We need money now to buy the television ads that are so critical to winning campaigns in California. We simply cannot allow them to outspend us.
Please help us win the fight against Prop 8. Contribute to our campaign today!

http://www.NoOnProp8.com/contribute

After you've made a contribution, please forward this message to your friends and family. We can win if we all work together.
Thank you for everything.

Sincerely,
Dale Kelly Bankhead
Campaign Manager
No On 8, Equality For All

VIDEO: Funny Obama Ad

US OPEN 2008: Men's Top 10 Preview

Yesterday I posted my predictions for the Top 10 Women players at the 2008 US Open. Today is my prediction for the Top 10 Men.

1. Rafael Nadal, Spain. The new #1 player in the world comes into the final Grand Slam of the year having one of the all-time best years on tour, having won three ATP Masters Series titles, the French Open, Wimbledon and an Olympic Gold medal (singles). Nadal has a pretty good draw (except for a possible 4th Round match-up with Ivo Karlovic) and is clearly playing with confidence since he has only lost one match in a Grand Slam tournament all year long (to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the Australian Open semifinals). Nadal has historically underperformed in New York, having lost in the quarterfinals the last two years. This year as long as he can get past Karlovic, James Blake and Andy Murray he should make his first US Open final. PREDICTION: Finalist.
2. Roger Federer, Switzerland. The once and future #1 player in the world has been having an incredibly disappointing year (for him) despite having been in two Grand Slam finals and winning an Olympic Gold medal (doubles). For the first time, since 2003 he has arrived in New York not as the #1 seed and this time he has Novak Djokovic in his half of the draw. Despite having won this tournament for the past four year in a row, he can not be considered the favorite, considering his performance this year and his difficult draw. (Radek Stepanek could be problematic in the early rounds.) I believe the tournament will be decided in the semifinal clash between Federer and Djokovic on Saturday September 6th and until we see how the Serbian and Swiss are playing in New York it's difficult to predict the winner of that showdown. PREDICTION: Semifinalist or Champion.
3. Novak Djokovic, Serbia. The third member of the triumvirate at the head of men's tennis is the only other player besides Nadal and Federer to have won a major title since May 2005. Although he lost (in a 3-set match) to Nadal in Beijing, I believe that if Djokovic or Federer gets to the final, they will be able to figure out a way to win. Really, Djokovic should have won the title last year, it was only through a series of unlucky breaks that he was down two sets instead of up two sets in his final against Federer, which ended soon afterwards. This year Djokovic has played some excellent matches against Nadal, losing a very close final at Queens and having his revenge in the Cincinnati semis. It is true Djokovic beat Federer at the Australian Open but we know now that was not Federer at his best although with his confidence shaken I think the Federer-Djokovic semifinal is currently too close to call, but I am confident that person will be the 2008 US Open Champion. PREDICTION: Semifinalist or Champion.
4. David Ferrer, Spain. Got to the semis last year by defeating a hobbled Nadal. Doubtful the incredibly fit Spaniard will be able to repeat that feat this year if he faces a much improved Andy Murray in the quarters. PREDICTION: Quarterfinalist.
5. Nikolay Davydenko, Russia. The Russian is in a weak part of the draw but it doesn't take much to defeat him on hardcourts. It's doubtful he will be around long enough for a quarterfinal match-up with Federer--unfortunately for Federer. Possible replacements are Dmitry Tursunov, Jarko Tipsarevic and Richard Gasquet (or Tommy Haas). PREDICTION: 3rd Round.
6. Andy Murray, Great Britain. I think this US Open is a great opportunity for Murray to show that his first ATP Masters Series title (in Cincinatti over Djokovic) was no fluke and that he is coming into his own a bit later after his contemporaries Novak Djokovic and Gael Monfils have made large noises at major tournaments. Murray wants to do more than make a large noise, he wants to win and some people think he can. I would be surprised to NOT see him deep into the second week. PREDICTION: Semifinalist.
7. David Nalbandian, Argentina. Oh, what can you say about an hombre like David? He's in Nadal's quarter but I'd be shocked if he gets through the gauntlet of Monfils, Paul-Henri Mathieu and James Blake. He is still one of the great ball-strikers in the game with impeccable timing, however his fitness (both mental and physical) are always annotated with a question mark. PREDICTION: 3rd or 4th Round.
8. Andy Roddick, U.S. Roddick is in Djokovic's quarter and Federer's semi. If (and its a big if!) he gets through some tricky first round matches (Fabrice Santoro, Ernest Gulbis and Andreas Seppi) he might make it to a quarterfinal blowout by Djokovic. But I doubt it. And so does he, and that's the problem. PREDICTION: Quarterfinalist.
9. James Blake, U.S. Blake finally got another monkey off his back by defeating Federer in Beijing on a(nother) bad day for Federer. Has the skills and weapons to beat anyone else in the Top 10 on the right day, hopefully (for him) that could happen in a quarterfinal against Nadal but he'll have to go through another American player in Mardy Fish as well another Black player in Gael Monfils. PREDICTION: Quarterfinalist.
10. Stanislas Wawrinka, Switzerland. The other Top 10 player from Switzerland (and lympic Gold Medalist in doubles) is in the Ferrer/Murray quarter and will probably not prevent that match-up from occurring. If Murray loses early Wawrinka could be a shock semifinalist by beating Ferrer in the quarters. Yeah, right. PREDICTION: 4th Round.

Pro-Marriage Equality Print Ad Features CA NAACP Head

As part of the Let California Ring campaign

VIDEO: Michelle and the Obama Girls

My Letter to the Editor on Prop 8

Mad Professah wrote and sent the following letter to the editors of my local newspapers:

Although it seems early to be thinking of the November election in August, since this is a year in which we elect a president, we are forced to do so.

However, in addition to voting for Barack Obama for president, in California there are several important ballot propositions to cast an informed vote on.

Proposition 8 would amend the California Constitution to prevent a single class of people from accessing a fundamental freedom, the freedom to marry. Think about that. There are people out there who think that by a simple majority vote, the people of California should single out a group of people to deny them equal treatment under the law.

As a Black person in America who is aware (and proud of) the history of people who look like me I urge everyone to vote NO on this cynical (and disturbingly familiar) attempt to eliminate basic fairness.

Oh, by the way, I haven't told you what Proposition 8 is about. It's about prohibiting gay and lesbian couples from getting married. Regardless of how you feel about that issue, it's simply wrong and un-Californian to change the highest law in our land to treat people differently.

In the same election in which Californians will embrace the future by electing President Barack Obama and voting for change in our nation's government, let us not repeat the mistakes of the past.

Vote No on Prop 8.

What do you think? Now, go write your own!

US OPEN 2008: Women's Seeds Preview

Here are Mad Professah's predictions for the Top 10 seeds at the 2008 US Open:

1. Ana Ivanovic, Serbia. The past, current and future World #1 has not made it past the fourth round at the glitziest Slam in three previous attempts. In order to do equal her previous major performances this year she will have to get past the hottest player on the tour, Dinara Safina, (who Ivanovic defeated to win her first major title in Paris earlier this summer) as well as either Nathalie Dechy, Flavia Penetta or Nadia Petrova in the early rounds. However, I think that the Serbian's performance in New York will be closer to her London form than her Paris form. Fourth Round.
2. Jelena Jankovic, Serbia. The best player in the Top 10 never to have reached a Slam final had her major breakthrough in New York a mere two years ago by reaching the 2006 semis but despite having achieved numerical superiority over the rest of the field Jankovic still has not been able to get deeper in a major tournament than that. She has a pretty good draw this year, but Caroline Wozniacki, Victoria Azarenka, Marion Bartoli and Vera Zvonareva will all be competing for that semifinal slot. I think Jankovic will make it that far, but not any further. Semifinalist.
3. Svetlana Kuznetsova, Russia. The 2004 Champion clearly has the game to win the title again but does she have the head (and the heart)? Sveta could make it to the semifinal against Jankovic or lose to a qualifier in the first round. I'll split the difference: Third Round.
4. Serena Williams, United States. The 8-time Grand Slam champion looked great in London until she lost to her big sister in the Wimbledon final and not so great in the hard court season or in Beijing. In New York the draw unfortunately has Serena in a quarterfinal match-up with Venus. Somehow I doubt that this clash will actually occur, I think that one of them will fail to make the fifth round. I'm just not sure which one it will be. Serena won this title in 1999 and 2002 and Venus won it 2000 and 2001 following Wimbledon wins in those years. I do think that Venus win makes Serena hungrier for another major title--but 2008 will not be that year. Fourth Round.
5. Elena Dementieva, Russia. Oh, Elena! The Beijing Gold Medalist has always done well on hard courts and in New York especially. This year she has a particularly friendly draw and should make it all the way to the final if she is able to make it past fellow Russians Anna Chakvetadze and Svetlana Kuznetsova, possibly the only other Russians who are more mentally fragile than she is. Finalist.
6. Dinara Safina, Russia. The hottest player on the tour somehow was unable to win the Gold Medal match against Dementieva due to a sudden return of pre-2008 form (14 double faults?!) but it is doubtful a similar lapse will happen at a major that the Safin family has previously won. In order to do so, Safina will have to go through the World #1 who beat her in Paris as well as a Williams sister--and that's just to get to a final against the person who denied her the Gold Medal. Champion.
7. Venus Williams, United States. The reigning Wimbledon champion reached the semifinals last year and then wilted against the eventual champion Justine Henin. This year she she finally defeated her sister at Wimbledon to win the title and I believe that she will get further in the tournament than her younger sister, although probably not any further than last year. Semifinalist.
8. Vera Zvonareva, Russia. Zvonareva has been playing well this year, winning a title. She's in Jankovic's quarter but I doubt she will make it past Bartoli, Lindsay Davenport or Jankovic herself. Fourth Round.
9. Agnieszka Radwanska, Poland. Last year Aggie Radwanska surprised some by taking out the defending Champion Maria Sharapova in the third round. This year she is firmly ensconced in the Top 10 but unforunately she is likely to face Venus Williams in the fourth round. It's possible that Aggie might make it two consecutive US Opens with huge upsets, but I doubt it. Fourth Round.
10. Anna Chakvetadze, Russia. Last year Chakvetadze broke through to her first major semifinal and then played one of the most hideous matches of the year against Svetlana Kuznetsova for the right to lose the US Open final to Henin. After being horribly victimized by criminals in the 2007 off-season she has not been the same player since, but hopefully she will be able to regain some of her confidence by again playing well in New York. However, it is likely her tournament will be ended by another Russian, this time Dementieva on her way to the final weekend. Fourth Round.

San Jose Mercury News Opposes Prop 8

The San Jose Mercury News has editorialized against Proposition 8:

Of all the reasons people give for banning gay marriage - the purpose of Proposition 8 on the November ballot - the most difficult for us to fathom is that a marriage between two people of the same sex somehow diminishes the institution of marriage between a man and a woman.

Marriage is the most personal of commitments, and it already means different things to different couples. Some marry for love, others expediency. Some have children, others don't, or couldn't if they wanted to. There is no merit test; people marry despite histories of domestic violence, rape or child abuse. Why would couples determine the value of their own vows based on who else is allowed to take them?

[...]

All couples who exchange vows know, in their own hearts, the depth and spiritual meaning of their union. That is for them, not others, to determine. The law should not discriminate in marriage. And Californians should not amend their constitution to take away a human right it now confers. Vote no on Proposition 8.

Openly Gay Aussie Wins Diving Gold; Ignored By NBC

Openly gay Australian diver Matthew Mitcham scored an incredible upset at the Beijing Olympics and won the gold medal in the 10m platform diving event, preventing the Chinese from winning gold medals in all eight Olympic diving events. The 20-year-old was behind Chinese diver Zhou Luxin by over 30 points going into the final dive and was assured of at least silver. When the Chinese diver slightly messed up his entry, the door was opened slightly for an upset by the Australian, who nailed his dive, and edged Zhou by 4.8 points for the gold.

NBC covered the event but never mentioned or showed Mitcham's mother or partner. This slight has not gone unnoticed. NBC had previously aired coverage of Michael Phelps' mother and sisters in the stands as well as endless mentions of Kerri Walsh losing (and recovering) her wedding ring during beach volleyball competition.

Outsports.com has a great Youtube video of Mitcham talking to the media, flanked by his mom Vivienne and his partner Lachlan.

Mitcham was the only openly gay male athlete out of 10,078 athletes who competed in Beijing, according to Outsports, who said that there were 10 out athletes total at the start of the Games. During the games,

Obama-Biden 2008

Barack Obama has chosen Joe Biden as his running mate.

Republican Louisiana Governor Allows Sexual Orientation Discrimination

This is just sick. Republican wunderkind Bobby Jindal, the Republican Governor of Louisiana who John McCain allegedly is considering for his running mate, has decided to let an executive order prohibiting sexual orientation discrimination in state employment issued by former Democratic Governor Kathleen Blanco expire today. What's worse is that as he does so, he is intentionally lying about the legal implications of his actions:

The order - enacted by Blanco on Dec. 6, 2004 - bars state agencies and contractors from various sorts of harassment and discrimination by race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, political affiliation or disabilities.

[...]

“The reason for allowing the order to lapse is that I don’t think it is necessary to create additional special categories or special rights,” Jindal said. State and federal law already prohibits discrimination, he said.

“We are firmly and strongly committed to fair treatment of all of our people and certainly don’t condone discrimination in any form,” Jindal said in an interview Wednesday.

Jindal is Louisiana's first non-white Governor and the nation's youngest. If sexual orientation discrimination was illegal in Louisiana then why has that state's legislature refused to enact legislation to prohibit sexual orientation discrimination? Why do you think the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act is even necessary?

I think it's significant that Jindal is using the language of "special categories or special rights" which is heterosexual supremacists code language for equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals.

Of course he doesn't "condone discrimination" but he hasn't done anything (which is within his power) to prevent it from occurring. Even The Current Occupant has continued Bill Clinton's Executive Order which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in federal employment. Jindal is simply being intellectually dishonest, and he knows it.

Starting tomorrow, if you work for the state in Louisiana you can be fired without any legal recourse simply for being gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. And that's simply wrong.

EYE CANDY: U.S. Men's Gymnastic Team

Thanks to the fun site Hunk du Jour.com

VIDEO: Obama Attack Ad On Economy

Usain Bolt Wins Olympic 200m in World Record Time

Jamaican track and field phenom Usain Bolt won the 200 meter dash at the Beijing Olympics in world record time of 19.30secs, a few days after winning the 100m in a world record of 9.69secs. He becomes the first man to win the 100-200 double since the legendary Carl Lewis did it at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, and the first to do so with world record times in both events.

In the 200m he broke Michael Johnson's 1996 Atlanta record of 19.32secs which many people had thought would last longer than a mere 12 years.

VIDEO: Obama Ad On McCain's SEVEN Houses