NBey6's Blog

"If you want to see what children can do, you must stop giving them things."

- Norman Douglas -

Thursday 4-1-10 Thursday

574, 845, 048, 842, 735, 467, 536, 510

478, 466, 872, 518, 336, 363, 344, 532

133, 256, 443, 307, 095, 950, 580, 783

112, 511, 099, 568, 362, 367, 111, 666

777, 4567, 4339, 2339, 3948, 3893, 0716

Palin's show drops LL Cool J after he complains

By FRAZIER MOORE, AP Television Writer

Frazier Moore, Ap Television Writer

56 mins ago

NEW YORK – An upcoming Fox News Channel special hosted by Sarah Palin is titled "Real American Stories."

But rapper-actor LL Cool J says his participation in the show was bogus.

In response, the network has snipped him from the program.

In a Twitter posting late Tuesday, the entertainer wrote that Fox "lifted an old interview I gave in 2008 to someone else & are misrepresenting to the public in order to promote Sarah Palins Show. WOW."

Country singer Toby Keith was similarly caught by surprise, his publicist said Wednesday.

Elaine Schock said a radio reporter contacted her Tuesday seeking details about Keith's announced appearance on Palin's Fox News program.

"I said, 'You're wrong. There is no Sarah Palin special with Toby Keith on it on Fox,'" Schock said.

She said the reporter then e-mailed her the press release issued by Fox News, which said Keith would "explain the inspiration behind his song 'Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue.'"

Schock said she believed the interview was conducted in January 2009 in Las Vegas but she had received no e-mail or phone call from Fox News informing her it would air on Palin's show this week.

She said Keith would not request that the footage be removed. She would not comment on his reaction to it being used on the show.

"Real American Stories," which debuts Thursday at 10 p.m. EDT, is hosted by Palin, the former Alaska governor and vice presidential candidate, who joined Fox News Channel as a regular contributor in January. The one-hour program is described by Fox News as "the first installment of a new series" that features "real-life tales of overcoming adversity throughout the American landscape."

Fox News says the episode, which was not available for preview, will feature a Marine Medal of Honor recipient "who gave his life to save his comrades" and a wealthy stockbroker who helps underprivileged students pay for college.

Originally listed as part of the show were former General Electric boss Jack Welch and LL Cool J in a segment called "In Their Own Words."

The LL Cool J interview was from 2008, his spokesman said.

"Contrary to what was reported, LL Cool J was never scheduled to be a guest on 'Real American Stories' with Sarah Palin this week," spokesman Rhett Usry said in a statement Wednesday. "The show had planned to use an interview from 2008 that was being repurposed without LL's permission.

"This statement is not a reflection of any feelings LL has toward Fox News or Ms. Palin, whom he has never met, rather a clarification of what we have seen published in the media."

Fox News Channel did not respond to numerous calls and e-mails from The Associated Press inquiring about the status of the segment with LL Cool J, who was born James Todd Smith.

But in a statement released to other media outlets, the network said: "'Real American Stories' features uplifting tales about overcoming adversity and we believe Mr. Smith's interview fits that criteria. However, as it appears that Mr. Smith does not want to be associated with a program that could serve as an inspiration to others, we are cutting his interview from the special and wish him the best with his fledgling acting career."

Credits for the 42-year-old actor include a starring role in the hit CBS freshman series "NCIS: Los Angeles" and several films such as "Last Holiday" and "S.W.A.T."

It was unclear when or if future editions of "Real American Stories" will appear on Fox News. Thursday's airing pre-empts "On the Record With Greta Van Susteren."

Palin's ongoing relationship with Fox News Channel as a host and news analyst accounts for only part of her television activities. Last week, the TLC cable network announced "Sarah Palin's Alaska," an eight-part series about Palin's home state that is set to start production this summer.

"And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures."

- 1 Corinthians 15:4 -

Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Henin, Clijsters to meet in semifinals

---

Associated Press

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. -- Once roommates on grade-school tennis trips, Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin became Grand Slam champions, claimed the No. 1 ranking and played each other nearly two dozen times before calling it a career.

 

Now the friendly rivalry is out of retirement, and the two Belgians will meet once more Thursday night in the semifinals of the Sony Ericsson Open.

 

"It has always been special, and it will always be special," Henin said. "Because Kim and I grew up together; we arrived on the tour almost at the same time; we played good at the same time; we retired at the same time; and we came back at the same time."

 

Henin is only four tournaments into her return from a 20-month retirement, yet there's scant evidence of rust. She earned a berth in the semifinals by overtaking No. 2-seeded Caroline Wozniacki on Wednesday, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4.

 

Clijsters retired, married and became a mother before returning to the tour last August. She advanced to the semifinals by beating No. 9 Samantha Stosur 6-3, 7-5.

 

"Fun to see the two comebacks doing well," Clijsters said.

 

Three-time champion Venus Williams will play No. 13-seeded Marion Bartoli in the other semifinal.

 

Henin leads her rivalry with Clijsters 12-11. They've met only once since 2006 -- at Brisbane in January, which marked Henin's return to the tour. Clijsters saved two match points and won.

 

"That was one of the funnest, most exciting matches I think that I've played in my career," Clijsters said. "Hopefully we can both play the same kind of match level and intensity."

 

With top-ranked Roger Federer no longer looming in the men's draw, Andy Roddick will face Rafael Nadal in the semifinals Friday. Roddick advanced by beating No. 33-seeded Nicolas Almagro 6-3, 6-3, while Nadal eliminated No. 8 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-3, 6-2.

 

Nadal, seeded fourth, saved all eight break points he faced. Roddick, seeded sixth, committed only 10 unforced errors in 110 points, and he has yet to drop a set in four rounds.

 

"When you play a lot of matches and kind of play a high level, it feels like everything kind of slows down a little bit," Roddick said. "Muscle memory takes over a little bit more. I think I'm at that stage right now. Unfortunately with tennis, you have to start over every day."

 

Federer lost to No. 16-seeded Tomas Berdych 6-4, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (6) in a fourth-round match that ended at 12:16 a.m. Wednesday. The upset could be a break for Roddick, who is 2-19 against Federer.

 

"Obviously you're surprised any time he loses," Roddick said. "But that's tennis. That's why you play."

 

Roddick trails Nadal 5-2 but has split their four matches on hard courts.

 

Henin was ranked No. 1 when she quit the tour in May 2008. She announced her comeback last September, soon after Clijsters won the U.S. Open, her third tournament following more than two years in retirement.

 

Henin received a wild card to enter Key Biscayne, and she has negotiated a tough path to the semifinals, beating four seeded players in a row. That makes her 16-3 since coming back, and she'll move back into the top 30 in next week's rankings.

 

"I enjoy my game much more than in the past," she said. "Every win has a very sweet taste at the moment."

 

The latest was sweet because Henin had to rally. She received treatment for soreness in her back midway through the second set but said the injury wasn't serious, and she summoned her best tennis down the stretch.

 

Henin lost only two of 22 service points in the final set, closing out the 2-hour, 45-minute match with a love game.

 

"I didn't play for two years, so it's good to be on the court a little bit longer," she said with a smile.

 

Clijsters took less than half as long to win her quarterfinal, and she has yet to lose a set in the tournament. She improved to 7-2 against top 10 players since her return.

 

"I'm going to try to hopefully raise my game a little bit more, because I know that I have to play some of my best tennis if I want to beat Justine," she said.

 

A two-time Grand Slam champion, Clijsters won Key Biscayne in 2005. Henin, the winner of seven major championships, seeks her first Key Biscayne title.

Report: Jordan taught Tiger how to womanize

 ‘"I told him, ‘Stay away from that son of a b----,’ golfer's ex-lawyer says

updated 10:15 a.m. ET, Wed., March. 31, 2010

 

During the 1990s everyone wanted to be like Mike.

 

During the 2000s Tiger Woods was like Mike.

 

But Woods emulated the high-flying, opponent crushing superstar in more ways than just athletic dominance, friends say.

 

Tiger also learned from Mike how to womanize like a pro, according to Woods’ former lawyer and adviser John Merchant.

 

"I told him, ‘Stay away from that son of a b---- [Jordan], because he doesn't have anything to offer to the f---ing world in which he lives except playing basketball," Merchant told Vanity Fair in a bombshell interview hitting newsstands today.

 

Quoting Merchant and self-professed Tiger ladies Jamie Jungers, Mindy Lawton and Loredana Jolie Ferriolo, the article paints a picture of the world's top golfer as a sex-crazed, high-stakes gambler who felt no remorse about the double life that shamed his family.

 

It’s not an unfamiliar story. Jordan went through one of the most expensive divorces in history in 2007 when he and wife Juanita split after years of rumored infidelity.

 

But Tiger wasn’t just imitating Air Jordon. The basketball star played a role in his affairs, the magazine says.

 

Michelle Braun, a "matchmaker" who claims to have procured girls for Woods, said she steered Ferriolo to Woods while he was at a Bahamas casino. Ferriolo said that Jordan, who was also there, sent a bodyguard to try to intercept her.

 

"I walked over to him and he grabbed my hand. I walked away, and he kind of gave chase. He goes, 'I'm Michael Jordan. I will find you.'"

 

But Woods had plunked down $15,000 for the meeting with Ferriolo, according to Braun. Ferriolo, who claims to be writing a book about her affair with Woods, claims she fell hard for the golf superstar.

 

"He made me fall in love," Ferriolo said. "I couldn't believe that he would turn out to be such a playboy."

 

Woods, whose once pristine image has been in the deep rough since an ugly Thanksgiving night incident and subsequent revelations of philandering, is planning to make his big return to competitive golf at the Masters, from April 8-11. But while Woods can still swing a club better than anyone on the planet, the prestigious tournament comes as he battles to save his marriage.

 

Jungers said that after a 2005 assignation with Woods in Las Vegas, she asked him about his home life.

 

"How's your marriage?" Jungers said she asked Woods.

 

"Good," Woods allegedly replied, adding that Nordegren was in her native Sweden "with her sister."

These puppets look retarded and I mean that in a respectful way. (not trying to offend anyone)

Midday 3-31-10 Midday

** until 4-6-10 **

3  1  5 

4  2  6 

5  3  7 

Take a number from each row to make a pick 3.

Here's a few:

345, 343, 347, 325, 323, 327, 365, 363, 367 etc....

Midday 3-31-10 Evening

** until 4-3-10 **

3990, 3991, 3992, 3993, 3994, 3995, 3996, 3997, 3998, 3999

0830, 0831, 0832, 0833, 0834, 0835, 0836, 0837, 0838, 0839

2490, 2491, 2492, 2493, 2494, 2495, 2496, 2497, 2498, 2499

1030, 1031, 1032, 1033, 1034, 1035, 1036, 1037, 1038, 1036

LL Cool J upset with Palin, Fox

  Posted: March 31st, 2010 09:11 AM ET

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LL Cool J is taking aim at Fox and Sarah Palin.

(CNN) - Rapper LL Cool J appears to be upset with Sarah Palin and Fox news for using footage of a 2008 interview in its promotion for the former Alaska governor's upcoming television special.

"Fox lifted an old interview I gave in 2008 to someone else & are misrepresenting to the public in order to promote Sarah Palins Show. WOW," the musician Tweeted on Tuesday night.

A promotion for the show - called "Real American Stories: Hosted by Sarah Palin" - features an announcer saying, "They're famous faces. Now hear the real story behind their incredible lives."

In addition to LL Cool J, country music star Toby Keith and former General Electric CEO Jack Welch are pictured.

Why Internet connections are fastest in South Korea

By John D. Sutter, CNN

• South Korea has the world's fastest Internet speeds
• The U.S. Internet lags far behind for a number of reasons
• South Korea has more competition; it's also more dense, which makes for shorter lines
• Korea's culture may also contribute; the country has helped breed demand for fast speeds

• Broadband Internet
• Asia
• U.S. Government

Editor's Note: Which 17 countries have faster Internet connections than the United States? See our Internet speed map.

 

(CNN) -- People in the United States basically invented the Internet. So U.S. connections must be the fastest and cheapest in the world, right?

 

Not so much.

 

Broadband Internet speeds in the United States are only about one-fourth as fast as those in South Korea, the world leader, according to the Internet monitoring firm Akamai.

 

And, as if to add insult to injury, U.S. Internet connections are more expensive than those in South Korea, too.

 

The slower connection here in the U.S. costs about $45.50 per month on average, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. In South Korea, the much-faster hook-up costs $17 per month less. An average broadband bill there runs about $28.50.

 

So why is U.S. Internet so much slower and pricier than broadband connections in South Korea? The question is timely, as the U.S. government pushes forward with a "broadband plan" that aims to speed up connections, reduce costs and increase access to the Internet, especially in rural areas.

 

Map: U.S. Internet is slower than Slovakia's?

 

The comparison between South Korea and the United States is not perfectly instructive, especially since "we probably won't ever be South Korea," said Robert Faris, research director at Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet & Society.

 

"The whole political and social climate is so different, the geography is different, the history is so different," he said. "It's all pretty different."

 

With those caveats in mind, here are the five potential reasons U.S. Internet speeds are slower and more expensive than those in South Korea. This list was gleaned from interviews with broadband experts and from policy papers:

 

Korean competition

 

Countries with fast, cheap Internet connections tend to have more competition.

 

In the U.S., competition among companies that provide broadband connections is relatively slim. Most people choose between a cable company and a telephone company when they sign up for Internet service.

 

In other countries, including South Korea, the choices are more varied.

 

While there isn't good data on how many broadband carriers the average consumer has access to, "I think we can infer that South Korea has more [competition in broadband] than the United States," Faris said. "In fact, most countries have more than the United States."

 

Some academics, including Yochai Benkler, co-director of the Berkman Center, have criticized the U.S. government's broadband plan as not doing enough to create the kind of competition that is present in other countries.

 

In a New York Times editorial, Benkler says competition will reduce costs for broadband consumers.

 

"Without a major policy shift to increase competition, broadband service in the United States will continue to lag far behind the rest of the developed world," he writes.

 

Culture and politics

 

There are stark cultural differences between hyper-connected Korea, where more than 94 percent of people have high-speed connections, according to the OECD, and the United States, where only about 65 percent of people are plugged into broadband, according to an FCC survey.

 

The South Korean government has encouraged its citizens to get computers and to hook up to high-speed Internet connections by subsidizing the price of connections for low-income and traditionally unconnected people.

 

One program, for example, hooked up housewives with broadband and taught them how to make use of the Web in their everyday lives.

 

Parents in Korea, who tend to place high value on education, see such connections as necessities for their children's educations, said Rob Atkinson, president of the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation.

 

These cultural differences mean Korea has a more insatiable demand for fast Internet connections, he said. That demand, in turn, encourages telecommunications companies to provide those connections.

 

Faris, of the Berkman Center, said no one society has a stronger appetite for Internet connectivity than another. Korea's government simply has whetted that appetite, and provided the incentives to make high-speed connections accessible to a large segment of society.

 

Political culture has more to do with it, he said.

 

"The United States is a more litigious culture than others, and the power of the FCC [Federal Communications Commission] to regulate is not as strong here as it is in other countries," which means its less likely that the U.S. will pass policies to promote the growth of ultra-fast broadband.

 

Open versus closed networks

 

There is vigorous debate in the telecommunications world about the role "open networks" have in creating fast, cheap Internet connections.

 

The idea behind an "open" system is essentially that, for a fee, broadband providers must share the cables that carry Internet signals into people's homes.

 

Companies that build those lines typically oppose this sharing. A number of governments, including South Korea and Japan and several European countries, have experimented with or embraced infrastructure-sharing as a way to get new companies to compete in the broadband market.

 

The U.S. does not require broadband providers to share their lines, and some experts cite Korea's relative openness as one reason the Internet there is so much faster and cheaper than it is here.

 

The most important thing is that countries create a way for companies to enter the broadband market without having to pay for huge amounts of infrastructure, said Faris.

 

Population density

 

South Korea, with more than 1,200 people per square mile, is a lot denser than the United States, where 88 people live in the same amount of space, and where rural areas and suburbs are large.

 

The result for broadband? It costs less to set up Internet infrastructure in a tightly populated place filled with high-rise-apartments, such as South Korea, than it does in the United States, where rural homes can be great distances apart.

 

In both countries, copper wires tend to carry broadband signals from fiber optic cables and into the home. Data can travel fast on copper wire, but it slows down the farther it goes. 

 

In South Korea, that's usually just from the base of an apartment building to a particular unit. In the U.S., copper wire may have to link a home with a fiber optic cable that's a mile away.

 

Korea had a plan ... a decade ago

 

In the 1990s, South Korea set a priority that it would be a highly connected country with a high degree of Internet literacy.

 

"They made this a priority 10 years ago and they've really executed on it," said Atkinson, from ITIF, the Internet policy think tank.

 

The country is still four to five years ahead of the U.S. when it comes to broadband policy, even as the United States tries to catch up, said Taylor Reynolds, an economist at OECD.

 

"Korea has long been a leader in broadband and in very fast broadband," he said. "And, in fact, the technology that Korea has used for probably the past four to five years is VDSL, and that's a technology that's now being put in by AT&T" in the United States.

 

Meanwhile, Korea is abandoning that technology in favor of the next big thing, Reynolds said. That likely involves bringing super-fast fiber optic cables straight into homes. And, according a recent report by the Berkman Center, that could make South Korean Internet 10 times faster than it is now.

 

Faris said Korea's clear-cut plan helped lead to its faster broadband speeds.

 

"A big difference is that Korea made a decisive move to expand Internet in the country," he said. "They said we want to be very good at connecting to the Internet. A lot of government money was thrown at it ...

 

"The U.S. has taken a fairly hands-off approach to the sector. They've left it to the private sector. There's been some money put into it, but not that much, on a per capita basis. We just haven't taken it that seriously."

Heels escape Rams, aim to be first to follow NCAA title with NIT one

Photo Wire

NEW YORK -- North Carolina wrapped up last season by cutting down the nets during a championship celebration, and the goal all along has been to do it again this year.

 

The Tar Heels will have their chance Thursday night, under much different circumstances.

 

Deon Thompson had 16 points and 13 rebounds, helping North Carolina survive a frantic final few seconds and defeat Rhode Island 68-67 in overtime Thursday night in the NIT semifinals.

 

Fast Facts

• North Carolina advanced to the NIT finals for the first time since 1971, the only other time it has made the finals.

• The Tar Heels have won four straight, their longest win streak since starting the season 4-0.

• The Tar Heels are 2-1 at Madison Square Garden this season, also beating Ohio State and losing to Syracuse.

• Rhode Island is 7-18 all time against ACC teams and 0-8 at the current Madison Square Garden.

-- ESPN Stats & Information

 

 

 

 Will Graves added 14 points and Tyler Zeller had 13 for the Tar Heels (20-16), who will try to make bittersweet history against Dayton by becoming the first school to follow a national title with an NIT championship at Madison Square Garden.

 

"We enjoyed playing the last Monday night last year, and you know, we play the last Thursday night this year," coach Roy Williams said. "Playing the last Monday night is better, there's no question about that. But I do believe that if you're playing -- if they keep playing until there's only one team standing -- it's very important to be that one team."

 

The Tar Heels have played with a sense of desperation during the NIT, almost as if they have a chip on their shoulder, and that was borne out when they scored the final five points of regulation to force overtime.

 

In the extra session, North Carolina had possession with about 5 seconds left and the shot clock about to expire when Larry Drew II forced up a shot. The rebound eventually wound up in the hands of Rhode Island's Lamonte Ulmer, who lost control of the ball as he rushed up court moments before the buzzer sounded, never coming close to getting off a shot.

 

Rhode Island coach Jim Baron thought he had been tripped and a foul should have been called, an opinion that North Carolina coach Roy Williams readily supported.

 

"We got the rebound and we were aiming to push it down the other end," Baron said. "I thought there was some contact and he tripped."

 

Ulmer finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds for Rhode Island (26-10), which was trying to reach the NIT championship game for the first time since the 1945-46 season. Keith Cothran scored 23 points and Delroy James finished with 13.

 

"Those guys played with a tremendous amount of heart," Baron said. "That's why I told them how proud I was, they put it all out there."

 

The final seconds of overtime mirrored a frenetic end to regulation.

 

The game was tied 59-all when James missed two free throws with 28.6 seconds left. North Carolina tracked down the rebound and, after a timeout, Drew allowed the shot clock to run down to 6 seconds before taking a closely guarded 3-pointer that never had a chance.

 

"One of the players said in the locker room, 'Sometimes it helps to win ugly,'" Williams said, "and we did win ugly today."

 

Defense played a big part in it.

 

The Tar Heels ended up with 27 offensive rebounds and 60 total, compared to 45 for the Rams. Rhode Island also turned the ball over 18 times, including that critical miscue with the seconds ticking down in overtime.

 

"We didn't execute very well and you hate to end the game like that in such an ugly way," Drew said, "but sometimes that's how it is in the game of basketball."

 

It sure was a strange sight to see North Carolina, the bluest of the bluebloods, playing on a Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden -- especially when the most important games are being played at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

 

Injuries and inexperience combined to send the Tar Heels' season spiraling out of control, and they didn't recover until their chances of making the NCAA tournament -- and defending the title they earned by beating Michigan State last March -- had disappeared entirely.

 

Relegated to playing in a tournament for also-rans, the Tar Heels went on the road to defeat Mississippi State and Alabama-Birmingham before knocking off a Rhode Island team that had the best RPI of any program that failed to make the NCAA tournament.

 

The season still ended up being a success for Rhode Island, which could have matched the school record for wins in a season had it won the NIT championship.

 

The Rams' faithful certainly turned out in droves for the semifinals, easily outnumbering the Tar Heels fans clad in baby blue. They kept cheering until the final turnover in overtime, imploring a veteran team for one more night in the spotlight.

 

Instead, it will be North Carolina playing for yet another championship.

 

Even if it's not what anybody expected.

 

"You know, I have a great appreciation of this tournament, I have a great appreciation of the tradition, the history of the NIT," Williams said. "If you win this tournament, you have to feel good about it."

Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Updated: March 31, 10:32 AM ET
Federer out; Roddick, Venus advance

---

Associated Press

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. -- Some fans in the packed stadium shouted encouragement at Roger Federer in Spanish, which is not one of the six languages he speaks.

 

One man hollered in English, "I love you, Roger!" Another barked, "Get it together."

 

Words failed to help. In a ragged performance that still produced plenty of drama Tuesday night, Federer lost to Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic in the fourth round of the Sony Ericsson Open, 6-4, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (6).

 

"I fought as much as I could," Federer said. "My game has issues at the moment. I'm definitely lacking timing. I don't know where that comes from."

 

With the upset, the No. 16-seeded Berdych ended a streak of eight consecutive losses against Federer. The 6-foot-5 Berdych also had lost 11 matches in a row against top-10 opponents.

 

Others advancing to the quarterfinals included Andy Roddick and Rafael Nadal, who could meet in the semifinals.

 

Roddick beat Benjamin Becker 7-6 (4), 6-3. Nadal defeated fellow Spaniard David Ferrer 7-6 (5), 6-4.

 

Three-time champion Venus Williams reached the semifinals by defeating No. 6-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska 6-3, 6-1.

 

The top-ranked Federer won a succession of spectacular rallies to salvage the second set, but he converted only two of 10 breakpoint chances in the match and committed a whopping 62 unforced errors, many on an unreliable backhand.

 

Grand Slam titles: Federer 16, Berdych 0. Total points in the match: Federer 119, Berdych 119. But Berdych won the last one when Federer sailed a forehand long at 12:16 a.m.

 

"After a match like that, the feeling is great," Berdych said. "I'm really happy the way I finish it."

 

Federer held a match point serving at 6-5 in the tiebreaker. But Berdych hit a forehand winner into the corner, then wagged his tongue in relief.

 

Federer had problems from the start, committing 18 errors to four by Berdych in the first nine games. In a stunning lapse, Federer lost the final eight points of the opening set, double-faulting on set point.

 

He was twice two points from defeat in the second set before pulling it out, but his shotmaking became more erratic again in the final set. He rallied from a break down before hitting five errant groundstrokes in the decisive tiebreaker.

 

"It fuels my desire to go to the practice courts, because I don't like to lose these type of matches," Federer said.

 

The No. 6-seeded Roddick rallied past Becker on the strength of his dominating serve. He dug out of a 1-4, love-40 hole in the first set and won 34 of his final 39 service points, including all six in the tiebreaker.

 

Roddick said experience helped with the turnaround.

 

"When things aren't going my way, I'm probably better now," he said. "Six years ago on the court my highs were a lot higher, and the lows were a lot lower. If I would have gotten down early, I don't know if I would have stayed the course."

 

A big serve helps, too. When Roddick found himself in another hole serving at 4-5, love-30, he responded with three service winners and an ace, all in the 133- to 135-mph range.

 

"It's nice at love-30 to be able to make some first serves," he said.

 

Roddick made another one on match point, closing out the victory with his seventh ace of the match and his 343rd of the year, second-most on the tour. He has been broken only once through three matches and on Wednesday plays No. 33-seeded Nicolas Almagro, who eliminated No. 27 Thomaz Bellucci 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (3).

 

The woman with the best chance to beat Venus Williams at Key Biscayne watched the women's quarterfinals from the photo pit. Serena Williams had no camera but used her connections to secure a front-row seat as she watched her sister beat Radwanska.

 

Top-ranked Serena has been sidelined by a knee injury since winning the Australian Open in January. In her absence, Venus has become the woman to beat as she bids for her fourth Key Biscayne title and her first since 2001.

 

"When I'm executing and playing my best, it's great," Venus said. "It feels good, and I feel like I'm definitely dictating the points and that I don't give my opponent as many chances to have a say."

 

The oldest women's quarterfinalist at 29, Venus is the hottest player on the WTA Tour. She has won 14 matches in a row, and two more would give her three consecutive tournament titles for the first time since 2002.

 

In the men's fourth round, American Mardy Fish retired with a sciatic nerve injury trailing Mikhail Youzhny 6-1, 1-0. The injury occurred when Fish took a tumble in the first set, causing discomfort from his back to his calf.

 

No. 8 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga earned a shot at Nadal on Wednesday night by beating No. 12 Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-2, 6-2. The fourth-seeded Nadal, seeking his first Key Biscayne championship and his first title anywhere in 10 months, punctuated his win over Ferrer with a nifty leg kick-uppercut combination.

 

The No. 3-seeded Williams hit eight aces and lost only five points on her first serve. She broke five times, including in the pivotal eighth game, when Radwanska had consecutive double-faults and then hit a 62-mph knuckleball serve that Williams pounced on to whack a winner.

 

Williams' opponent Thursday will be No. 13 Marion Bartoli, who beat No. 12 Yanina Wickmayer 6-4, 7-5.

Wednesday 3-31-10

163, 471, 652, 508, 330, 711, 283, 390, 833, 110

507, 509, 530, 782, 285, 262, 073, 601, 428, 952

378, 188, 973, 319, 959, 629, 678, 829, 000, 111

333, 444, 555, 666, 777, 888, 4100, 3737, 8822

"Dance like no one is watching. Sing like no one is listening. Love like you've never been hurt and live like it's heaven on Earth."

- Mark Twain -