NBey6's Blog

"To be without some of the things you want is an indispensable part of happiness."

- Bertrand Russell -

Sunday, April 4, 2010
Roddick beats Berdych in straight sets

Associated Press

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. -- Andy Roddick used a dominating serve and smart baseline game Sunday to beat Tomas Berdych 7-5, 6-4 and win the Sony Ericsson Open.

 

Roddick coaxed an errant backhand from Berdych on championship point, and responded to the crowd's cheers with a thumbs-up. He improved to 26-4 this year, best on the men's tour. He also won the tournament in 2004. This was his fifth Masters 1000 title, and his first since 2006.

 

 

Roddick, seeded sixth, varied the pace on his groundstrokes to keep Berdych off balance while committing only 16 unforced errors. He had 13 aces and never faced a break point. Roddick lost only seven points on his serve in the second set and dropped just two service games in the tournament.

 

 

 

Roddick's slice backhand repeatedly forced the 6-foot-5 Berdych to hit the ball at ankle level, robbing his forehand of power. While searching to find a rhythm with his strokes, Berdych also lost track of the score in the ninth game, lining up to serve from the wrong side.

 

 

 

The match turned two games later, when Roddick reached break point for the first time. He broke when Berdych hit a forehand out, then held at love to take the first set.

 

 

That was part of a streak where Roddick won five consecutive games. He broke again to start the second set when Berdych hit another errant forehand.

 

 

The No. 16-seeded Berdych, playing in only his second Masters 1000 final, made just 48 percent of his first serves. He reached deuce on Roddick's serve only once.

 

 

The net game that helped Roddick beat Rafael Nadal in the semifinals wasn't much of a factor. He won only 8 of 16 points at the net.

 

Roddick earned $605,500. Berdych received $295,500.

Sunday, April 4, 2010
Report: Malone, Pippen elected to Hall

---

ESPN.com news services

Karl Malone and Scottie Pippen will follow their comrades into the Naismith Hall of Fame.

 

A year after John Stockton and Michael Jordan were enshrined, the second-leading scorer in NBA history and the second-leading scorer in Chicago Bulls franchise history have been elected, according to a report in The Star-Ledger of Newark.

 

"Karl Malone deserves it," said Utah Jazz coach and 2009 inductee Jerry Sloan, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. "He worked every day as hard as any player you can have work, and when the games started he laid it out there on the line."

 

Joining them will be the late former Boston Celtics guard Dennis Johnson, sources confirmed to ESPNBoston.com, and ex-WNBA star Cynthia Cooper-Dyke, according KRIV-TV in Houston.

 

Longtime high school coach Bob Hurley Sr., will also be inducted Aug. 13 into the Hall in Springfield, Mass., according to The Star-Ledger.

 

An official announcement is expected Monday morning in Indianapolis, where the Final Four is being held. The five were among 19 finalists announced in February.

 

A 19-year veteran, Malone finished his career after one season in 2003-04 with the Los Angeles Lakers.

 

Malone, a 14-time All-Star who won two league MVPs, led the Jazz to the NBA Finals in 1997 and '98 against the Bulls of Jordan and Pippen.

 

Pippen finished with seven All-Star selections and eight appearances on the All-Defensive team. He also ranks second for the Bulls in all-time assists and steals. After 11 seasons with the Bulls, Pippen played a season with the Houston Rockets and four with the Portland Trail Blazers before retiring after one last season in Chicago.

 

Helping spur the WNBA's early success as her Houston Comets won the league's first four championships, Cooper-Dyke was a two-time MVP. She won an Olympic gold medal in 1988.

 

Cooper-Dyke has coached Prairie View A&M in Texas since 2005.

 

Hurley will be the third high school coach elected into the Naismith Hall.

 

He had 984 victories and 24 state titles at the diminutive St. Anthony High School in Jersey City, N.J., over 38 years.

 

Hurley is the father of former NBA veteran and Duke guard Bobby Hurley, who helped lead the Blue Devils to back-to-back national titles as a point guard in 1991 and '92.

 

Johnson, who Larry Bird called the best teammate he ever had, won three NBA titles -- with the Celtics in 1984 and '86 and the Sonics in '79. He finished with five All-Star nods and a 1979 NBA Finals MVP award.

 

Johnson died of a heart attack in February 2007 at the age of 52. He played 14 seasons in the NBA, the final seven with Boston. He was considered a defensive specialist and one of the top guards of his era.

 

"It really doesn't come as a surprise to me," said former Celtics general manager Jan Volk. "The surprise is that it took so long. Anyone who ever played with or against Dennis Johnson knew that no one competed harder. And the bigger the game, the better he played."

Midday & Evening

** until 4-5-10 **

013, 311, 123, 331, 431, 531, 613, 317, 813, 193

068, 168, 628, 683, 684, 568, 866, 768, 688, 986

 

Updated: April 3, 2010, 3:49 PM ET

Irish recruit, 17, dies after fall in Florida

ESPN.com news services

Notre Dame recruit Matt James died Friday in Panama City, Fla., after falling from a hotel balcony, a high school spokesman has confirmed.

 James, 17, was vacationing in Florida for spring break.

A 6-foot-6, 291-pound offensive tackle, James was named USA Today first-team All-American after leading Cincinnati's St. Xavier to a No. 4 ranking in the final state poll.

 

 

 

James' former teammates from the football and basketball teams gathered for a private prayer service in the school's chapel on Saturday, led by chaplain Paul Rieselman.

 

"His message was that we have to take care of one another," spokesman Mark Motz said.

 

James apparently died instantly after he fell from the Days Inn Motel at about 6:30 p.m. ET, police told WJHG-TV in Panama City.

 

Students at St. Xavier High School had gathered on its football field Friday night to remember James.

 

James was the second St. Xavier athlete to die during the school year. Junior wrestler Kevin Le was struck by a car and killed in September. The football team -- including James -- wore his initials on their helmet for the next home football game.

 

Grief counselors will be available when classes resume April 12 after spring break.

 

Police had not confirmed James' identity as of Saturday morning, but Motz said the school was "devastated" by the news. Motz said the impromptu vigil was organized as word of James' death spread through social-networking sites such as Facebook.

 

"When one of their own is in trouble, they band together," Motz said.

 

 

The mother of St. Xavier quarterback and fellow Notre Dame recruit Luke Massa said she heard James was pretending he was going to fall and lost his balance.

 

"It was an accidental fall. Nobody pushed him, there wasn't anything like that," Mary Massa said.

 

 

Massa's father told the Cincinnati Enquirer the teammates were among several dozen students on vacation together.

 

 

"Luke is devastated," Gary Massa told the newspaper. "He lost one of his best friends."

 

Gary Massa fondly remembered James.

 

"One of the visions I have in my mind is after football games at St. X he was like the Pied Piper, all the little kids, everybody's little brothers and sisters would follow him around. He was just a gentle giant, that's the best way to describe him," Massa said, according to The Associated Press.

 

 

James, a senior, chose Notre Dame over Ohio State, committing on Feb. 3 on national signing day.

 

"It was a really tough decision," James said then, according to the Enquirer report. "... I like the situation of being in the first class with Coach [Brian] Kelly there."

 

 

James' family learned of his death during a family gathering for the 50th birthday party for one of James' uncles, according to the Chicago Tribune.

 

 

“

Matt was an extremely talented person who was very bright and possessed a great dry sense of humor. He could not wait to join the Notre Dame family.

 

” -- Irish coach Brian Kelly

 

"His mom and dad were here when they got the call," said Dan Rudolph, father of Irish tight end Kyle Rudolph, according to the Tribune. "The whole James family was here. I can't believe that happened."

 

Whit Majors, a forensic investigator with the Florida State Medical Examiner's District 14 office, said the person who died was on spring break but did not release his name. The cause of the fall was being investigated, and officials planned to do toxicology tests, Majors said.

 

James was an all-city and all-state football player for St. Xavier. He also was a member of the high school's varsity basketball team.

 

"The Notre Dame football program is in a state of disbelief and incredible sadness with the news of this tragic event," Kelly said in a statement.

 

Kelly and his staff recruited James to go to Cincinnati, where Kelly coached the past three years. James decided to follow him to Notre Dame when Kelly was hired in December.

 

"Matt was an extremely talented person who was very bright and possessed a great dry sense of humor," Kelly said. "He could not wait to join the Notre Dame family."

 

James isn't the first spring breaker to die from a balcony fall this year. Brandon Kohler, a 19-year-old from Winder, Ga., died March 24 when he fell from a fifth-floor balcony at the Holiday Terrace Motel in Panama City Beach.

 

Funeral arrangements were pending. Motz said the school would take its cues from James' family.

Updated: April 3, 2010, 2:56 PM ET

Clijsters wins final in 58 minutes

Associated Press

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. -- Kim Clijsters claimed another trophy in her career comeback Saturday, winning 17 consecutive points in the second set and beating Venus Williams 6-2, 6-1 in the final of the Sony Ericsson Open.

Williams struggled to keep the ball in play, and Clijsters completed the shockingly lopsided victory in 58 minutes. When Williams hit one final errant forehand on match point, Clijsters raised her arms in triumph. 

"I felt like from the beginning I was ready to go and really seeing the ball well," Clijsters said.

After retiring in 2007, Clijsters married and became a mother before returning to the tour last August. The title is her third since her comeback.

Williams repeatedly was bested from the baseline, where she won nine points to 37 for Clijsters.

"It wasn't my best day," Williams said. "She played extremely solid, but it's not like I was blown off the court. Unfortunately I was my own worst enemy."

She won only nine points in the second set, when Clijsters' roll gave her a 4-love lead.

Top-ranked Serena Williams sat in the photographers' pit and shouted encouragement to her sister, but it failed to help. Of the 55 points Clijsters won, 30 came on unforced errors by Venus.

Serena has been sidelined with a left knee injury since winning the Australian Open two months ago. In her absence, Venus had been the hottest player on the tour with 15 consecutive wins, her longest streak since 2004.

Venus took the court for the final with her right thigh wrapped, as it had been for every previous match in the tournament. She also wore a wrap on her left knee for the first time, and said she may have made a mistake by practicing too much.

"Today wasn't my best day physically," she said. "To fight errors and not feel your best, it's a mental battle."

As the match slipped away, and the crowd groaned with each Williams error, she remained impassive. After losing the 17th point in a row she slowly bent over, flexed her knees and shook her head several times, as if trying to shake out cobwebs.

She swept the next four points to trail 4-1 in the second set, but there would be no rally. Clijsters won eight of the next nine points to close out the victory.

"Venus is a great competitor, a great athlete, and one of the best women's tennis has ever had," Clijsters said. "I knew I had to come out here and play well."

While Williams struggled, Clijsters committed only 12 unforced errors.

"She played smart to just get the ball in play," Williams said.

Clijsters, who also won the Key Biscayne title in 2005, earned $700,000. She'll climb to 10th next week, the highest ranking for the former No. 1 since she returned to the tour.

Williams received $350,000.

"Pick battles big enough to matter, small enough to win."

- Jonathan Kozol -

Saturday 4-3-10

907, 251, 905, 327, 715, 073, 087, 257, 176

208, 506, 317, 370, 814, 212, 219, 812, 440

071, 802, 303, 201, 1216, 3800, 6222, 4511

0516, 3748, 3750, 0821, 0828, 0923, 1956

Evening 4-3-10 Evening

** until 4-4-10 **

015 019 024 028 037 046 069 078 123 127 136 145 159 168 235 249 258 267 289 348 357 379 456 469 478 568 789 001 006 114 118 226 033 334 339 244 447 055 559 366 667 177 577 388 199 699 222 555 888

Tennis at its best!!!

It didn't count though!!

"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."       - Socrates -

The POTUS is approximately 1 mile away from me right now at Celgard Inc., a company that manufactures Lithium Batteries. Here are the numbers that may see come out across America:

Celgard (name): 320, 325

Celgard's address: 13800 & 15230

Phone Number: 704, 588, 6222

Stimulus dollars received: $49M (490)

Speech time: 1200, 1202

Amount of employees listening to speech: 300

Departure time: 130

Longitude/Latitude: 80.8, 35.2

Enjoy and make that money!!!

Marla Maples -- Trump This!

Posted Apr 1st 2010 2:21PM by TMZ Staff

 

She divorced Donald Trump eleven years ago, but Marla Maples has finally gone two-pieces.



The super sexy 46-year-old rocked an orange bikini in the freezing Pacific on Wednesday.

Despite the temperature, Marla managed to make it one hot body of water.

Updated: April 1, 2010, 3:39 PM ET

Williams beats Bartoli to reach final

Associated Press

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. -- Venus Williams' longest winning streak since 2004 has advanced her to the final at the Sony Ericsson Open.

Williams won her 15th consecutive match Thursday by beating Marion Bartoli 6-3, 6-4 in the semifinals.

"I'm very pleased to be in the final, but it's not enough," Williams said. "I want to take the title."

Her opponent Saturday will be the winner of Thursday night's match between Belgians Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin, both back from retirement.

Seeded No. 3, Williams took charge from the start against the No. 13-seeded Bartoli, needing only 11 strokes to win the first eight points. A shaky Bartoli double-faulted four times to lose the sixth game.

Bartoli's play steadied as the match progressed, and her two-handed forehand did some damage. Williams fell behind 3-1 in the second set but then began to move forward more aggressively. She went eight for eight on points at the net in the second set.

Williams hit eight winners to sweep the final three games and served out the match at love, helped by a pair of aces.

"That's my game -- to take control and be aggressive," she said. "Hopefully, the fans find it really exciting."

Sister Serena again watched from the photo pit. She missed the tournament with a knee injury that has sidelined her since she won the Australian Open.

The Williams sisters consider Key Biscayne their home event, because they live only 90 minutes up Interstate 95 in Palm Beach Gardens. The berth in the tournament final is Venus' first since 2001, when she won Key Biscayne for the third time.

Now 19-1 this year, Venus is bidding for her third consecutive title after winning at Dubai and Acapulco in February.

"Success on the court is what I expect from myself," she said.