#RF18 T-Shirt NowNot Available!

Nike announced a t-shirt celebrating Roger Federer's 18th grand slam singles win at the 2017 Australian Open but it looks like it now sold out.

I want one of these! Surely these will become a best-seller if they sell these at all the other major tournaments?

EYE CANDY: Simeon Panda (in black/white)

Simeon Panda is a bodybuilder and model who has appeared as Eye Candy multiple times (July 11, 2012; August 6, 2012, September 23, 2013; January 6, 2014). He is now an industry, with 2.8 million Instagram followers (@simeonpanda), his own website (simeonpanda.com) and brand: JustLift. Simeon was born May 28, 1986 and is 6-foot-1. His weight varies depending on whether he is in competition or not, but he is typically listed as 225 pounds. His Facebook page has over 5 million "Likes."

I think he is probably my favorite male model. Is he yours?

CELEBRITY FRIDAY: President Trump Nominates Neil Gorsuch for #SCOTUS

President Donald Trump nominated 10th Circuit Appellate Court judge Neil Gorsuch, 49(!) to the United States Supreme Court on Tuesday January 31st.

The New York Times reports:

While he has not written extensively on several issues of importance to many conservatives, including gun control and gay rights, Judge Gorsuch has taken strong stands in favor of religious freedom, earning him admiration from the right. 

In two prominent cases, both of which reached the Supreme Court, he sided with employers who had religious objections to providing some forms of contraception coverage to their female workers. 

He voted in favor of Hobby Lobby Stores, a family-owned company that objected to regulations under the Affordable Care Act requiring many employers to provide free contraception coverage. Similarly, he dissented from a decision not to rehear a ruling requiring the Little Sisters of the Poor, an order of nuns, to comply with an aspect of the regulations. 

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Hobby Lobby in 2014 and vacated the decision concerning the Little Sisters of the Poor in 2016.

And so it goes.

WATCH: The Epic 26-Stroke Rally In 9th Game of 5th Set #Fedal35

Watch this 26-stroke rally won by  Roger Federer is one reason he won his 18th major over his longtime rival Rafael Nadal by winning a 5-set thriller. This rally occurred at a pivotal point in the match with Nadal serving 3-4 deuce (40-all) which means winning the point gave Federer a break point which would lead to him serving for the championship. Notice the way Federer is hitting his one-handed backhand flat cross-court with extreme pace and depth.

2017 AUS OPEN: Federer Wins 18th Major Over Nadal In 5-Sets #Fedal35

As I predicted, 35-year-old Roger Federer defeated 30-year-old Rafael Nadal in the finals of the 2017 Australian Open to win his 18th major title (5th Aussie Open), extending his lead at the top of the all-time men's grand slam singles leaderboard.

Playing for the 35th time and a record 9th major final, Federer's win over Nadal brought his record to 3-6 (3-2 in non-clay major finals) and changed the overall head-to-head to 23-12. It was the first time Federer had beaten Nadal at the Australian Open in four matches played and the first time he had won a major final since the 2012 Wimbledon, a drought of nearly four-and-a-half years after losing 3 consecutive major finals (2014 Wimbledon, 2015 Wimbledon, 2015 U.S. Open) to Novak Djokovic. It was the first time Federer won a 5th set in a major final since the 2009 Wimbledon win over Andy Roddick and the first time he had won a 5th set in a major final against Nadal since the 2007 Wimbledon final.

Men's Final Review: How The Title Was Won
R. Federer (SUI) [17] d. R. Nadal (ESP) [9] 6-4 3-6 6-1 3-6 6-3 in 3 hours and 38 minutes. 
Federer had more than twice as many winners than Nadal (73 to 35) and nearly twice as many unforced errors as well (57 to 28). However, the match was of a very high quality, with Federer at +16 and Nadal at +7. The match was primarily played on Federer's terrain, he was forcing things by going for more although, somewhat surprisingly, this was not because  of frequent serve-and-volley, although he was effective when he approached the net (29/40). The big difference in the match was Federer's backhand, which he hit flatter and with more pace and almost completely avoided his slice backhand entirely. He had 14 backhand winners for the match (to just 3 for Nadal). Forehand winners were closer, but again Federer had the edge there, 26 to 19. Clearly, Federer had learned some strategy from watching his fellow one-handed backhand players like Stan Wawrinka and Grigor Dimitrov had handled Nadal recently.

I woke up at 3:15am EST and watched the entire match, was completely riveting. Each of the first four sets began with early service breaks which ended up being determinative, with the third set being extremely notable because Federer was able to end the set with a consolidated second service break (something Nadal was not able to do in the 2nd set, despite being up 4-0 at one point). So when the fifth set began with an early service break for Nadal things did not look good for our hero. Then when despite having multiple breakpoints in Nadal's first two service games Federer failed to break, memories of previous Fedal matches where Federer would go 1/10 or 3/20 on break points came to mind. Eventually, Nadal built up a 3-1 lead in the fifth set. Amazingly, Federer was able to win the last five games in a row to close out the match. How did that happen? In the sixth game Federer was finally able to get the service break back and he held serve easily to go up 3-4 in the deciding set. In the epic 8th game Federer went up 40-0 on Nadal's serve but incredibly Nadal was able to save three consecutive breakpoints and get back to deuce. Amazingly, it took 2 more breakpoints (the 10th and 11th of the set!) before Nadal finally succumbed and Federer went up 5-3 to serve for the championship. That game did not start well with Nadal blistering a service return winner on the backhand side and another forced error, eventually led to a 5-3,15-40 situation for Federer. Down the stretch his serve bailed him out of trouble and two first serves got him back to deuce and on his first championship point Federer sent a forehand long. Happily, he was able to again serve an ace to earn a second championship point and this time he hit a forehand smack on the line which Nadal immediately challenged (even though the linesman called it good) so there was a brief pause until the computer could confirm that the ball was indeed in and the match was over!

Significance
Federer had (finally) won his 18th major title, doing it the hard way as the #17 seed by beating four Top 10 seeds (#10 Tomas Berdych, #5 Kei Nishikori, #3 Stan Wawrinka and #9 Rafael Nadal) and winning 3 five set matches along the way (Nishikori, Wawrinka and Nadal). He finally defeated his arch-nemesis at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in nearly a decade  (the 2007 Wimbledon final). Amazingly, Federer achieved all this while playing in his first tournament since the 2016 Wimbledon, a injury-induced layoff of over 6 months. By increasing his lead in major singles titles over Nadal (and Pete Sampras) to four (18 to 14) Federer cements his status as the G.O.A.T. (greatest of all time) and makes it more likely this record will outlast the Big Four era since World #1 Andy Murray currently has 3 major titles and World #2 Novak Djokovic has 12.

Happy Federer Wins Day!

2017 AUS OPEN: Men's Final Preview (and Semifinals Review) #Fedal

Rafael Nadal (ESP) [9] vs Roger Federer (SUI) [17]

This is my prediction post for the men's singles final at the 2017 Australian Open. Last year, I correctly predicted Novak Djokovic would beat Andy Murray in the men's final and incorrectly predicted Serena Williams would beat Angelique Kerber in the women's final. This year, I predicted 1 of 2 men's semifinals, 2 of 2 women's semifinals, and also correctly predicted Serena Williams would beat Venus Williams in the women's final.

Men's Semifinals Review: How The Finalists Got Here
Roger Federer (SUI) [17] d. Stan Wawrinka (SUI) [4] 7-5 6-3 1-6 4-6 6-3.  Matchups do matter. Despite being ranked 13 places lower and not having played a tournament in over six months, the end result was that Roger's 18-3 head-to-head advantage was the decisive factor in the 35-year-old winning this match against his countryman, despite blowing a 2-0 sets advantage and ending up needing too outwit Stan in the fifth set. He had never lost to Stan on a hard court and this streak continued. Stan is a notoriously slow starter, but even I was surprised by how much better he got as the match progressed. Despite (or maybe because) the fact that I am a huge Federer fan, I was actually rooting for the younger Swiss to win this match because Wawrinka has already demonstrated that he can beat Nadal in a major final (just three years ago) while Federer has never beaten Nadal in Australia despite playing three times in big matches (2014 and 2012 semifinals and 2009 final).

Rafael Nadal (ESP) [9] d. Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) [15] 6-3 5-7 7-6(5) 6-7(4) 6-4.  This was another match where the overall head-to-head of 7-1 in favor of Nadal might have been determinative but simultaneously did not reflect how close the overall contest was. This was 4 minutes shy of nearly 5 hours of high-quality tennis from both players. In the fifth set, Dimitrov was in trouble in multiple service games but he also forced Nadal on the defensive as well. The key moment was in the 8th game when Nadal went down 15-40. Dimitrov was too passive on these breakpoints, deciding to play solid tennis instead of go-for-broke (although, to be honest, it is not clear if the result would have been any different because Nadal played these points as if they were match points, which they effectively were.) After failing to break, Nadal was able to break Dimitrov in the 9th game and served out the win, needing three match points to do so.

Men's Final Preview: Who Will Win
Although I am very excited that Federer is in his 28th major final (17-10) the fact is he is playing against someone who he has not beaten in a 5-set major in over 6 years and has never beaten in Melbourne. The two are playing in their 9th major final and Nadal leads 6-2, with the two losses coming on grass at Wimbledon. While Nadal is playing in his 21st (14-6) major final it must be noted that in non-clay major finals he is 5-6. In fact much of the overwhelming 23-11 head-to-head lead the Spaniard enjoys is because nearly half the matches the two have played (15) have occurred on his best surface, clay. That being said, Nadal still leads Federer 9-7 in outdoor hard-courts. The only surface where Federer leads Nadal is indoor hard-courts, so hopefully the roof gets closed (this is unlikely to happen). Federer is trying to (finally) win his 18th major, while Nadal is trying to win his 15th and become the first man in the open era to win each Grand slam twice.

Despite Nadal being the favorite I still believe that if Federer plays his best tennis and Nadal plays his, Federer will win. I think it is unlikely that we will get the best tennis out of them, and perhaps the 2008 Wimbledon final is a refutation of my belief, but that is why I'm a Fedfan and now Rafanatic. Regardless, I know that sleep be damned, I will be up at 3:30am EST watching the match rooting for #TeamFed.

MadProfessah's pick: Federer in four sets.

2017 AUS OPEN: Serena Beats Venus For Record 23rd Major

As I predicted, Serena Williams, 35, defeated her older sister, Venus Williams, 36, to win her record 7th Australian Open and record 23rd major title. The score was a surprisingly close 6-4 6-4.

Serena's win means that she has won the most grand slam singles titles in the Open era, the traditional measure of tennis greatness. She surpasses Steffi Graf's 22 and is one behind the all-time leader Margaret Court. (Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert finished with 18 majors each.) And she reclaims the World #1 ranking from Angelique Kerber, who beat her in last year's Aussie Open final.
And there's no indication Serena Williams will stop winning major titles any time soon. My prediction is at least 25, but I do not think she will be playing in 2019. Venus Williams is starting to make noises about playing the Tokyo Olympics in 2020! For Venus, reaching a major final after being diagnosed with Sjogren's Syndrome in 2011 and waiting more than six years between her last major final (2009 Wimbledon) is simply a jaw-dropping achievement which adds to her legacy.

How the Final Was Won
It was the 28th meeting between the sisters (9th in a major final) and Serena improved to a 17-11 head-to-head lead, as well as a 7-2 lead in major finals. (The only Venus wins in major finals came in the 2008 Wimbledon and 2001 US Open.) As with most of their matches, the quality of play was somewhat erratic. It began with four consecutive breaks of service, until Venus became the first to hold to edge ahead 3-2. Serena followed suit and followed up that hold with a break, which she consolidated to go up 5-3. Venus was able to hold serve to force Serena to serve for the set which he did with the help of two aces, including on set point. In the second set the quality of play went up considerably, as Serena calmed down and as both players made fewer errors and the winners were either even (Venus, 10 all) or slightly ahead (Serena, 11-9). The final mini-drama came in the 10th game of the second set (which overall followed the first set, minus the scratchy beginning) after Serena had broken and consolidated her advantage she was serving for the match but fell behind 15-30. But her serve returned and she hit two consecutive good serves (not aces) to go up 40-30 and won on her first championship point due to a Venus backhand error.

2017 AUS OPEN: Women's Final Preview (and Semifinals Review)

Serena Williams (USA) [2] vs Venus Williams (USA) [13]

The women's final is now set at the 2017 Australian Open. Last year, I predicted 2 of 4 women's quarterfinals correctly and 3 of 4 men's quarterfinals correctly. This year I correctly predicted 2 of 2 women's semifinals and correctly predicted 1 of 2 men's semifinals.

Women's Semifinals Review: How They Got Here

Serena Williams (USA) [2] d. Mirjana Lucic-Baroni (CRO) 6-2 6-1. As expected, Serena was barely troubled by the power of her Croat opponent. Lucic-Baroni had been able to overpower the World #3 Agnieska Radwanska and out(b)last the World #5 Karolina Pliskova during her fairytale run to her second major semifinal and six-figure paycheck down in Melbourne. However, against Serena although she was able to blast 10 winners she also made 23 unforced errors. Basically, Lucic-Baroni was simply too erratic to be able to survive the encounter with someone who has as much power and defensive skills as Serena and the result of the match was never really in doubt.

 Venus Williams (USA) [13] d. Coco Vandeweghe (USA) 6-7(3) 6-2 6-3. The result of this match was very much in doubt for its entire duration. Vandeweghe began the match with a break but Venus was able to save three breakpoints before succumbing in that very first service game. This defense ended up characterizing her play for most of the match. Although, Coco was often successful in winning a particular point, Venus made it as difficult as possible, and when she had an opportunity she seized them. It wasn't until late in the third set that Venus failed to convert a breakpoint. The key point in the match was the first set tiebreaker which was won by CoCo when Venus made numerous unforced errors to allow the 25-year-old to win 4 points in a row. But it was Venus' reaction to the first set loss that was extraordinary. She had a look on her face that we had never seen before and suddenly her serve started clicking and her error count dramatically decreased. She raced out to a 5-1 lead in the second set and served it out with an ace to in 6-2. In the third set Venus saved the two break points she faced and she broke CoCo twice to win 6-3 and improbably reach her second Australian Open final fourteen years after her first one, as the oldest player in the 128-player draw.

Women's Final Preview: Who Will Win

Venus and Serena have played 27 times before and Serena leads 16-11 in their head-to-head. More importantly they have played each other 8 times in major finals and Serena leads there 6-2. Of course Serena has 23 major titles and Venus has "only" 7. 

Now, 36 and 35, respectively, Venus and Serena are playing in a major final 7 years after their last one, which was the 2009 Wimbledon won by Serena. Many people feel uncomfortable watching the two sisters play each other in major finals because many of us are fans of them both and we don't want either of them to lose. I am not one of those fans; I am happy when they play because I know that a Williams will be winning another major final.

That being said, this is a more important match for Serena than for Venus. If she wins, she reclaims the #1 ranking, will finally supersede Steffi Graf's total of 22 major titles and will be one away from getting to Margaret Court's 24 majors (but many of those were won in Australia before the Open era began). She will also have won 7 Australian Open titles, the most of any man or woman in the Open era (Court won 12.) There is no one who has beaten Serena more times and the two know each other's games intimately. That being said, their matches are very unpredictable, and usually not very high quality. Interestingly, most people point to their 2003 Australian Open (won 6-4 in the 3rd by Serena) as perhaps their highest quality match. It would be awesome if history repeats itself again.

MadProfessah's pick: Serena in 3 sets.

2017 AUS OPEN: Men's Semifinals Preview

The men's semifinals are now set at the 2017 Australian Open. Last year, I predicted 2 of 4 women's quarterfinals correctly and 3 of 4 men's quarterfinals correctly. This year I was unable to predict the quarterfinals due to my vacation travel but I am excited to continue my practice of predicting the results of the latter stages of Grand Slams. I have already written a blog post predicting the women's semifinals.

Roger Federer (SUI) [17] vs Stan Wawrinka (SUI) [4]. After not playing a match for more than six months due to a freak injury very few people expected Roger Federer to be able to defend his semifinal ranking points from the 2016 Australian Open. The 17-time major champion is playing in his 41st major semifinal and he is facing his countryman Stan Wawrinka, who is now a 3-time major champion himself and the reigning U.S. Open champion. Although Federer's now the lower ranked of the two Swiss players, he does have an overwhelming 18-3 head-to-head (only 5-2 since Wawrinka won his first major at the 2014 Australian Open) and has never lost to Stan on a hard court. Federer fans like myself are starting to get excited again now that the Greatest of all time is (again) a mere 6 sets from finally winning his 18th major singles title. However, since his arch nemesis Rafael Nadal is still in the tournament there is no guarantee that even seizing this opportunity will be enough to make it happen. I am not one of the millions of tennis fans hoping for another #Fedal final, but I do want to see the GOAT play his record 28th (17-10 record).  Mad Professah's pick: Federer in 4 sets.

Rafael Nadal (ESP) [9] Milos Raonic (CAN) [3] vs. Novak Djokovic (SRB) [2] Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) [15].  When the draw came out this was expected to be a blockbuster semifinal between the new World #3 and the defending champion. However, quite surprisingly neither of htem made it this far, with Djokovic losing to Denis Istomin in the 2nd round and Raonic losing to former champion Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals. Dimitrov is having something of a career resurgence, and is currently on a 10-match wining streak in 2017, having won the Brisbane warm-up tournament by slicing through the highly ranked field like a deadly scythe (he defeated three Top 10 players on the way ti winning that title: Dominic Thiem, Raonic and Kei Nishikori). Nadal has surprised many of his naysayers by reaching this far in the tournament, especially a hard court major. This is probably the best match-up hat the Spaniard could have hoped for, since he has a commanding 7-1 career head-to-head lead over Dimitrov, including a tough quarterfinal win at the 2014 Australian Open on his way to reaching the final in Melbourne that year. Will history repeat itself so that Nadal beats Dimitrov on the way to reaching the final (where he suffered a shock loss to Wawrinka). I'm not so sure, I was very impressed with the way that Dimitrov dismissed David Goffin in straight sets to reach his second major semifinal. Then again, Nadal is playing in his twenty-fourth. What will win out, age and experience or youth and desire? Mad Professah's pick: Dimitrov in 5 sets.

2017 AUS OPEN: Women's Semifinals Preview

The women's semifinals are now set at the 2017 Australian Open. Last year, I predicted 2 of 4 women's quarterfinals correctly and 3 of 4 men's quarterfinals correctly. This year I was unable to predict the quarterfinals due to my vacation travel but I am excited to predict the semifinals.

 Angelique Kerber (GER) [1] Coco Vandeweghe (USA) vs Venus Williams (USA) [13]. This is a surprising (and rare) all-American major semifinal. Unsurprisingly at least one of the players is a Williams, but the real surprise is that the other American is Coco Vandweghe, who joins Venus and Serena and Sloane Stephens and Madison Keys as the only American women to reach this far into a Grand Slam draw in the last decade. Vandeweghe is coasting on a tsunami of confidence sourced by her demolition of two of the top players in the game who are both reigning Grand Slam champions. The 25-year-old Coco blasted the World #1 Angie Kerber off the court 6-2 6-3 to reach her 2nd career major quarterfinal and then followed up that huge victory by only losing four games (including a rare second set bagel) in defeating 2016 French open champion Garbine Muguruza to reach her first major semifinal. She will face Venus Williams who is in her first major semifinal in Melbourne since 2003, when she made the final and lost to her sister. Could she possibly replicate this feat 14 years later? Just by reaching the semifinal at 36 years 221 days Venus is the oldest woman to reach a major final since Martina Navratilova was 38 days older when she reached the Wimbledon final in 1993. Somewhat unusually, the two Americans have only played each other once on the WTA tour, on clay last year and Venus won in straight sets. This Coco is a very different player from that player. However, Venus has been doing a pretty good job in recent years in generally beating players ranked lower than she is, and while Vandeweghe has won 6 of the last matches against Top 10 players she has faced, Venus is no longer in the Top 10. I think the fact that many people now expect Vandeweghe to win will complicate things for her. Mad Professah's pick: Venus in 3 sets.

 Karolina Pliskova (CZE) [5] Mirjana Lucic-Baroni (CRO) vs Serena Williams (USA) [2]. Karolina Pliskova had doled out three bagel sets on the way to reaching only her second major quarterfinal but she ran into a player whose story is absolutely irresistible. Lucic-Baroni is playing in her second major semifinal which is happening an astonishing 18 years after her first. As Mirjana Lucic she was a teenage phenom, and now at age 34 as Mirjana Lucic-Baroni she is a seasoned veteran who is renowned for her longevity and perseverance with the sport. Lucic is one of the original purveyors of "Big Babe Tennis" and even among the modern game's big hitters she has power which distinguishes her from the rest. She exploited Pliskova's lack of mobility to outlast the 2016 US Open finalist in three tight sets. The book on Lucic-Baroni is that she can go off mentally in high pressure situations but that it did not happen in her biggest match in nearly two decades is remarkable. Amazingly, Serena and Mirjana have only played each other once before--at the 1998 Wimbledon (won by Serena). Since both of them are 34 years old now they both understand the significance of this moment. I am confident that it will be the mentally tougher player who will reach the final. Mad Professah's pick: Serena in 2 sets.

2017 OSCARS: Nominations Announced! #OscarNotSoWhite

The 2017 Oscar nominations just came out! La La Land leads with 14 nominations (tying the record set by Titanic and All About Eve) but little movies like Hidde Figures, Moonlight and Manchester by the Sea did very well. There are NUMEROUS nominees of color this year.

NPR called it "Oscars Slightly Less White":

Call it Oscars Slightly Less White: Unlike last year, when no people of color managed to secure acting or directing nominations, the Academy nominated Denzel Washington for lead actor in Fences, Mahershala Ali and Dev Patel for supporting actor in Moonlight and Lion, respectively, Loving's Ruth Negga in the lead actress category, and Viola Davis (Fences), Naomie Harris (Moonlight) and Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures) were nominated for best supporting actress. Moonlight's Barry Jenkins was also nominated for best director.

The big nominations are:

Picture 

• “Arrival” 
• “Fences” 
• “Hacksaw Ridge”
• “Hell or High Water”
• “Hidden Figures”
• “La La Land”
• “Lion”
• “Manchester by the Sea”
• “Moonlight”

Directing

• Denis Villeneuve, “Arrival”
• Mel Gibsion, "Hacksaw Ridge"
• Damien Chazelle, “La La Land”
• Barry Jenkins, “Moonlight”
• Kenneth Lonergan, “Manchester by the Sea”

Adapted Screenplay

•  “Lion,” by Luke Davis
•  “Arrival,” by Eric Heisserer
•  “Moonlight,” by Barry Jenkins
•  “Hidden Figures,” by Theodore Melfi and Allison Schroeder
•  “Fences,” by August Wilson

Original Screenplay

•  “Manchester by the Sea,” by Kenneth Lonergan,
•  “Hell or High Water,” by Taylor Sheridan
•  “La La Land,” by Damien Chazelle
•  "20th Century Women," Mike Mills
•  “The Lobster,” by Efthymis Filippou and Yorgos Lanthimos

Actress in a leading role:

• Emma Stone, “La La Land”
• Natalie Portman, “Jackie”
• Amy Adams, “Arrival” Ruth Negga, “Loving”
• Meryl Streep, “Florence Foster Jenkins”
• Isabelle Huppert, “Elle”

Actor in a Leading Role

• Casey Affleck, “Manchester by the Sea”
• Andrew Garfield, “Hacksaw Ridge”
• Ryan Gosling, “La La Land”
• Viggo Mortensen, “Captain Fantastic”
• Denzel Washington, “Fences”

More analysis later. 

2017 AUS OPEN: World #1 Murray and Kerber Lose On Same Day

Wow! I am back from vacation and just as I was going to bed I heard the news that World #1 Andy Murray, who was now the presumptive favorite at the 2017 Australian Open due to 6-time champion Novak Djokovic's shock exit in the 2nd round, had lost to Mischa Zverev, the older brother of #NextGen Sascha Zverev. 19-year-old Sascha had thrilled the crowd the day before by taking Rafael Nadal to 5-sets, eventually running out of gas despite winning the first and third sets.

Murray lost in 4-sets to the 29-year-old Zverev 7-5 5-7 6-2 6-4, continuing his disappointments in Melbourne where he has lost in the final (a record) 5 times.

World #1 and defending champion Angelique Kerber lost to a red-hot Coco Vandewghe who basically bludgeoned the counterpunching German off the court 6-2 6-3. Kerber had looked a little shaky in her first two rounds (dropping a set both times) but she had a 2-0 head-to-head against the American so this result was a surprise, but I agree with others who would not call it a huge upset.

2017 AUS OPEN: 6-time Champ Djokovic Loses To Istomin (#117) In Shocking Upset

Wow! I'm still on vacation in Hawaii but I feel compelled to blog about one of the biggest upsets in recent history that happened last night. I caught about an hour of the 2nd round match of the Australian Open match between Dennis Istomin (ranked #117in the world) and the current World #2 Novak Djokovic. Amazingly, the 6-time Aussie Open champion lost to the hard-hitting guy from Uzbekistan in a high-quality 5-set match that was well over 4 1/2 hours long. The score was 7-6(8), 5-7, 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-4. Djokovic was so dominant in Australia that he had rarely lost a set in the first week of the tournament, let alone three, especially to someone outside of the Top100.

Istomin's defeat of Djokovic in Melbourne ranks up there with recent shocking upsets such as Djokovic's loss to Sam Querrey in the 3rd round of Wimbledon in 2016 and Rafael Nadal's loss to Lukas Rosol in the 2nd round of Wimbledon in 2012.

#vacay2017: Kauai, Hawaii (01.11.2017-01.18.2017)

The Other Half and I are leaving Kauai today after spending 7 days and nights on the oldest Hawaiian island. See my feeds on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for more information on what we have been up to.

The vacation continues (in Hawaii); we are returning to the Big Island of Hawaii for the next three days or so.

MadProfessah is on vacation in Kauai, Hawaii

Sunrise in Kauai on my 26th anniversary with The Other Half.

EYE CANDY: Justin Jasper

Justin Jasper is a model who is on Instagram (@justinjasper22).

Hat/tip to Pop Glitz

The View Outside My Window

Where in the world is MadProfessah today?

EYE CANDY: Aaron Turner (reprise)

Aaron Turner (a.k.a. D. Arnez) has appeared as Eye Candy before (November 14, 2016). He's another hottie from Pop Glitz. I was saving this next set of pictures for next month but I think this is a good way to start off the new year!

WATCH: Awesome review of TV and Movies in 2016

Hat/tip to Gizmodo

My Favorite Books Read In 2015 (Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery and Thriller)

The headline is not a typo; it has taken me almost an entire year to finally summarize my best reads of the last year. In 2015 I read 74 books; almost all of these were novels, primarily in the genres of mystery/thriller and fantasy/science fiction. By far the biggest fraction of books that I read in 2015 were in the categories of science fiction and fantasy (in 2014 mystery/thriller predominated my reading list) were mystery/thrillers. I made it through all six of Karin Slaughter's Grant County mysteries, continued reading Jussi Adler-Olsen's Department Q series and finished making my way through Michael Connelly's Detective Harry Bosch series and Jo Nesbø's Harry Hole thrillers.

Overall, although most of my favorite reads in 2015 were from authors familiar to me (James S.A. Corey, Louise Penny, Peter Brett, Jo Nesbø) whom I had read before I was also introduced to several new authors who I am confident will become some of my favorites for years to come: Brian Staveley, Cixin Liu, Ben Winters and Karin Slaughter.

I'm always looking for more good books and authors to start reading! Feel free to make suggestions of books or authors you think I would like in the comments after seeing what books have resonated with me previously.

Below are my favorite reads for 2015 in the genres Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery and Thriller.

Favorite Science Fiction Novel Read In 2015: Nemesis Games (The Expanse, #5) by James S.A. Corey

Nemesis Games is the fifth book in the best-selling space opera series known as The Expanse. Each of the four previous books have been some of my favorites (Leviathan Wakes, Caliban's War, Abaddon's Gate, Cibola Burn) in the year it was published and, happily, the trend continues with Book 5: Nemesis Games. The authors (James SA Corey is the nom de plume of Ty Franck and Daniel Abraham) boldly move the story of a visionary future for humanity combined with non-stop action, political intrigue between planetary powers and intense peril for some of my favorite characters (Holden, Naomi, Amos and Avarasala). In Nemesis Games Corey introduces some new characters and resolves some plot points which have been developing since the very first book in the series (Leviathan Wakes). This was my favorite novel (of any genre) that I read in 2015. I totally expected that Book 6 in The Expanse, Babylon's Ashes, would be my favorite science fiction and overall read in 2016. However, since the 6th book has been postponed from it's June release to December I have decided to postpone my reading of Babylon's Ashes until January 2017.



Runner-Up Favorite Science Fiction: The Three-Body Problem and The Dark Forest by Cixin Liu.

The Three-Body Problem is the first book originally written in a foreign language to win the most prestigious award in science fiction and fantasy (the Hugo award). Cixin Liu has been described as the Chinese Isaac Asimov and  The Three-Body Problem and The Dark Forest are definitely space opera in the classic tradition of the most well-known Grandmaster of Science Fiction. Both books have ideas which are so original they are unlike anything I have read in other books. These original ideas come from the setting, which include multiple time periods set in China, including Maoist China is not only the setting, but also the story itself, which involves a slow-motion invasion of the Earth by an alien race who live on  planet called Trisolaris located hundreds of light years away in an improbable and unstable trinary star system.  There are far more details of the story which I don't want to give away here.  Basically, the tension in the plot(s) revolve around how specific people respond to the knowledge that we are not alone in the Universe by (1) collaborating with our future alien overlords and (2) coming up with brilliant strategies to defend Earth despite being technologically outmatched by the Trisolarians. The Three-Body Problem is primarily about the discovery of the Trisolarians and is dominated by the idea that there exist humans who would willingly collaborate with beings who are devoted to their species' extinction. The Dark Forest is primarily about humanity's realization that the Galaxy is a dangerous place for species once they reach a level of technology that allows them to perceive and interact with other civilizations on interstellar scales.

Honorable Mention (Science Fiction): The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell.
One of the most engrossing reading experiences I had all year was with the David Mitchell's The Bone Clocks. Mitchell is most well-known for his award-winning Cloud Atlas which was adapted into a gloriously disappointing movie starring Oscar winners Tom Hanks and Halle Berry directed by the Wachoski siblings. Cloud Atlas was also one of my favorite books of the first decade of the 21st century. I will not be surprised if Mitchell's The Bone Clocks makes the list of my favorites for this decade. Bizarrely, it is one of two books I read in 2015 which has the idea of consciousness shifting between bodies (the other is Claire North's Touch). Like Cloud Atlas, The Bone Clocks is written as a series of interlocking chapters, some of which are long enough to be considered novellas or novellettes. Part of the delight of the book is trying to figure out the connections between the characters in the consecutive chapters as the story continues to move forward in time. However, The Bone Clocks is memorable for much more than any one particular plot device or literary trope it deploys; it is memorable because it is a stunningly original story brimming with mordant social commentary all in the service of a captivating SFnal plot.

Favorite Fantasy Novel Read In 2015: The Emperor's Blades (The Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne, #1) by Brian Staveley

I had seen multiple references to Brian Staveley and his epic fantasy series The Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne on Goodreads and Amazon due to my positive reactions to the work of Brent Weeks, Peter Brett and Daniel Abraham. In 2015, I finally got around to reading The Emperor's Blades, the first book in the series after seeing very positive reviews for its sequel, The Providence of Fire. However, what I didn't realize is that if you start a trilogy and discover that the first two books are awesome before the third book comes out then you will have months (and possibly years) of anxious anticipation ahead of you.  This is precisely what happened with The Emperor's Blades. It is the story of three siblings, Adare (the eldest daughter), Kaden (the heir) and Valyn (the spare) who are the children of the Annurian Emperor, Sanlitun Malkeenian, who has been assassinated as the story begins. We are thrust into a maelstrom of power struggles while simultaneously being introduced to three very different main characters and a well-crafted world full of magic and mayhem. This is epic fantasy operating at the very highest level of effectiveness and excellence.

Runner-Up Favorite Fantasy: The Skull Throne (The Demon Cycle, #4) by Peter V. Brett 

I think of myself as someone who likes fantasy novels, but a review of my reading list in 2014 reveals I'm much pickier about titles in the fantasy genre than in the others that I consume. If I don't get caught up by a fantasy book early I am far more likely to give up on it than I would be if it were a mystery or science fiction book. One of my favorite fantasy authors that I have discovered in recent years is Peter Brett, and the bestselling series that he is known for is The Demon Cycle, which began with The Warded Man (back in 2009) and is now up to Book 4 with The Skull Throne. The Demon Cycle is set in a world where humanity is in a state of pre-industrial technology (i.e. flintlock rifles and no electricity) terrorized by the nightly appearance of various deadly creatures (called Demons) which materialize out of the ground but can be deflected by intricately drawn symbols, called Wards. This latest book shows how rich the story has become, having expanded far beyond the confines of Leesa, Rojer and Arlen from their small town of Tibett's Brook. Now we have an entirely new set of characters from the Muslim-inspired Krasian desert: Ahmann Jardir, Inevera and Abban. In The Skull Throne the stakes are raised as high as possible as the clash between the two competing civilizations comes to fruition.  Brett surprised me (and shocked fans) by killing off one of the main characters in this latest book, while simultaneously removing the titular Warded Man for most of the story. I can't wait to see how Brett will resolve the entire tale in The Core (scheduled for release in 2017).

Favorite Mystery Novel Read In 2015: World of Trouble (The Last Policeman, #3) by Ben H. Winters.

Nearly two thirds of the books I read in 2015 were science fiction or fantasy which is much higher than it was in 2014, when about half the books I read were mysteries or thrillers. What I have been looking for for years is a really good book that combines both genres (mystery/thriller and science fiction/fantasy). Amazingly, this year I finally discovered not one but four books that meet this standard. Three of them are part of Ben H. Winters' Last Policeman trilogy, which consists of The Last Policeman, Countdown City and World of Trouble. The entire trilogy is astonishingly good, but the third and final book is (literally) earth-shattering. The situation is that these are murder-mystery police procedural books with the twist that the Earth is about to be destroyed by a collision with an asteroid in the next six months. It was a complete eye-opener to me that a pre-apocalyptic work of fiction could be just as compelling as much of the post-apocalyptic work that has pervaded popular media. All good genre works force the reader to confront questions and the questions raised by Winters' The Last Policeman trilogy are devastating. Why are people still killing each other when there are only 6 months for every human being to live? Why should the police still try to find and punish evildoers? The very nature of responsibility and the usually hidden rules and protocols by which civilization functions are exposed by the imminent end of everything. And through it all we follow Hank Palace, a tall, geeky young police detective in Concord, New Hampshire as he lives, loves and sleuths before the world is destroyed in a final fireball. It is incredibly compelling, with both the mystery/thriller (Hank is originally called to the scene of yet another suicide and realizes it is actually a murder) and the science fiction (the way Winters portrays the many little details of how civilization falls apart as the asteroid gets closer feels very realistic) aspects executed with great flair and panache.

Runner-Up Favorite Mystery: The Ark by Patrick S. Tomlinson.

After years of searching for mysteries that successfully include science fiction elements and failing repeatedly, I actually found more than one in 2015.  Following my discovery of Ben Winters' The Last Policeman trilogy and enjoying it so much I redoubled my efforts to find other mystery-scifi hybrids. I ran into Patrick Tomlinson's The Ark and took a chance on it despite the limited number of reviews and ratings it had received. However, I was blown away by how much fun it is. The setting is on an arkship containing 20, 000 survivors of an Earth that was destroyed by a collision with a black hole 200 years ago. The protagonist is Bryan Benson, a former sporting hero who is now the police chief on the ship. He finds a dead body and has to grapple with the fact that there is someone on a ship containing the last vestiges of humanity who is a murderer. And that they have a secret so important to them they are willing to kill one of the few remaining humans to keep it. The story becomes quite thrilling as the stakes are incredibly high since the ship contains all of humanity.

Honorable Mention (Mystery):  The Nature of the Beast (Chief Inspector Gamache, #11) by Louise Penny.
The mysteries of Louise Penny have been some of my favorite reads for quite awhile. They are rather traditional: set in the mythical small town of Three Pines, with a cast of quirky characters that we have slowly been learning more and more about as the series progresses. The main protagonist is Armand Gamache who is a (former) Chief Inspector of the Sûreté du Québec but the attraction of these books is the familiar rhythm of the interactions between the characters, which are complemented by the deviousness of the murders.

Favorite Thriller Novel Read In 2015: Natchez Burning by Greg Iles.

One of the great author finds I made in 2014 was Greg Iles, whose The Quiet Game  was an Honorable Mention for my Favorite Thriller Read in 2014. That is the first book of Iles' Penn Cage  thrillers set in Natchez, Mississippi.  I devoured all the available books in the series (Turning Angel, The Devil's Punchbowl, Natchez Burning) very quickly. Cage is a former prosecutor who becomes a best-selling author who returns to his hometown of Natchez and eventually is elected mayor. Natchez Burning is the beginning of a new trilogy featuring Penn Cage and includes a parallel time line set in the civil rights era when Penn's dad Tom Cage was a family practice doctor in Natchez who had black and white patients. There is almost non-stop action in both time lines as the race-based hate crimes, murders and other events that happened in the 1960s influence what people do and think decades later. There are so many extremely dangerous situations that Penn and his fiancee Caitlin Masters (publisher of the local newspaper) are placed in as they seek to unearth secrets and crimes that lots of people will go to extreme lengths to prevent them from being revealed.

Runner-Up Favorite Thriller Read in 2015: Phantom (Harry Hole, #10) by Jo Nesbø.

Jo Nesbø was another one of the great author finds I made in 2014, after his books were recommended to me by Amazon and Goodreads because of my positive reaction to the Kurt Wallander books by Henning Mankell (all 10 books which I have previously read). Nesbø, Mankell and Jussi Adler-Olsen are all purveyors of Nordic Noir which is starting to become one of my favorite sub-genres. For example, The Snowman (Harry Hole, #7) and The Keeper of Lost Causes (Department Q, #1) were both some of the best thrillers I read in 2014. Phantom (Harry Hole, #10) is the latest (and some think possibly, the last) Harry Hole book to be published. The significant emotional wallop that Phantom has is heightened by the fact that it is the 10th book in a series where we have followed these characters over years of fictional developments. One of the key relationships that Harry Hole has is with Oleg, the young son of the love of his life, Rakel. Harry has basically retired from being a police detective and is in exile in Hong Kong when he discovers that Oleg (now a teenager) has been arrested for murder and accused of being involved with a heroin ring. What follows next is an incredibly complex and exciting series of events which had me gasping for breath at it its (very satisfying) conclusion.

Honorable Mention (Thriller): Blindsighted (Grant County, #1) by Karin Slaughter.
Another one of the great  author discoveries I made in 2015 was Karin Slaughter. In some ways her Grant County series has a lot in common with Greg Iles' Penn Cage series: they both involve a married couple living in a small southern town trying to investigate murderous and other criminal behavior. Slaughter, like Iles, does an excellent job of placing her central characters in extremely dangerous situations which are very harrowing to the reader.