Forty Deuce

Robbie Watch '09

Fourth round, bitches!

Shocker

Forget Melanie Oudin.  Who had these two in their bracket?

Congrats to Travis Parrott and Carly Gullickson, who demolished the #2 team of Leander and Cara Black, 62 64, to win the mixed doubles title.

I mean, seriously, that's a pretty shocking result.  They were unseeded wildcards.  Good on ya, kids.

Pic This: Book 'Em, Danno.

 

Please don't get ass-raped by Fed.  Not sure I could take another one of those.

Weird.  My boyfriend has that distant look in his eyes when I give him a handjob, too.

*whispers*

That's not Sanowa, Richard.

Fairly certain my abs would snap in two attempting this.

 

You know, it's a good thing that my blog is way classier than Perez Hilton's, because I could MS Paint a pretty awesome lollipop there.

Air Quotes: Don't Trust A Ho

Q. You come from a small country. Wickmayer, too. Yet this afternoon she has 2,000 boyfriends. How many do you have in Denmark now?

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: I don’t know. I haven’t read the newspapers in Denmark, but I’m sure they can find a boyfriend for me. (laughter.)

Q. And real boyfriends, how many do you have?

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: I don’t have any real boyfriends right now, so ‑‑ and usually I keep to one (laughter.)

Air Quotes: American Idol

Q. And the most strange, most odd thing that’s happened during this whole run that was a little surprising to you?

MELANIE OUDIN: Well, I never thought that I’d play Maria Sharapova on Arthur Ashe Stadium at the US Open this year. Definitely did not see that coming. So that whole match, just getting to play her and beating her, I’ve never met her before, so shaking her hand after the match was the first time I met her. It was crazy. The whole thing, though, I loved it.

Q. We heard Roger Federer introduced himself to you. What was that like?

MELANIE OUDIN: It was really nice. His agent actually introduced us, and he told me congratulations. I was going to tell him congratulations too, and I totally forgot about that he just had, you know, twin girls and all that stuff. My mind just kind of froze getting to meet him.

He told me good job at Fed Cup and everything. He knew how I did here and everything. It was pretty cool getting to meet him.

Sausage Cup Teams

 

(I ran a search for "davis cup" and this came up.  Obviously I couldn't resist.)

Weird to think Davis Cup is only a week away.  Here are the World Group nominations:

CROATIA v CZECH REPUBLIC
Venue: Sportska Dvorana 'Zatika', Porec, Croatia (clay – indoors)

CROATIA
Marin Cilic
Ivo Karlovic
Roko Karanusic
Lovro Zovko
Captain: Goran Prpic

CZECH REPUBLIC
Radek Stepanek
Tomas Berdych
Jan Hernych
Lukas Dlouhy
Captain: Jaroslav Navratil

SPAIN v ISRAEL
Venue: Polaris World la Torre Golf Resort, Murcia (clay – outdoors)

SPAIN
Rafa Nadal
David Ferrer
Tommy Robredo
Feliciano López
Captain: Albert Costa

ISRAEL
Dudi Sela
Harel Levy
Jonathan Erlich
Andy Ram
Captain: Eyal Ran

The Croatia/Czech tie should be really interesting.  Hard to pick one there but I'd have to give the edge to the Czech Republic if Steps and Dlouhy play dubs together.  As for Spain and Israel, Fernando wanted a break and is obviously struggling with injuries so he's out.  Not that they really need him.  Have fun on the clay, Israel.

The lineups for the World Group Playoff ties after the jump.

Air Quotes: Get The KY Out...

Q. Is there one specific area, besides the mental game, but one thing that perhaps even you're surprised he's (Todd Martin) helped with?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I don't think you can always ‑‑ you can ever get your game to the perfection, you know. Only if you're Federer. (laughter.)

Small Gestures

I hinted at this on my twitter feed, but Nole has been hosting children of 9/11 victims in his box during matches.  And before everyone gets at PR-cynic on him, here's his presser:

Q. I understand you’ve been hosting children of 9/11 victims in your box. Can you talk about that, what that means to you, how it got started.

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Yeah, well, I mean, we had this idea before the tournament, and I didn’t want to talk about it, obviously. I think it’s ‑‑ well, it’s a gesture that I hope it means for them. I’ve been meeting, you know, four different guys, you know, in these two weeks.

I have been giving them some presents after the matches. Obviously we don’t want to talk about the past and what happened. It’s something that I have been going through, as well, something similar in my past, you know, through the war and all these things.

So I know what it feels like, so I just try to bring some smiles and make them enjoy. I hope that’s what I did.

Q. Do they know who you are and what you’ve done on the court? Do they know you for your impressions or more for your tennis?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, I haven’t asked them that. (laughter.)

I think that’s ‑‑ the main thing is that they enjoy it. I think that the guy I met today was first‑time watching live tennis match. It was quarterfinal of US Open, and certainly it was a fantastic feeling for him.

About the impressions, I don’t know if they have seen it. But it’s going on on the Internet for a while.

Q. When you say that you don’t want to talk about it or you haven’t wanted to talk about it, do you mean you don’t want to make it seem like it’s a publicity thing, make it genuine from the heart?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: About what?

Q. I think when you responded to that question you said, you know, I obviously haven’t wanted to talk about it.

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, just because this is something that is negative to talk about, and I think it’s a sad story from their side and from my side. So I guess in this moment we have no reason to talk about sad things, because, you know, we are here. We’re trying to enjoy. We’re young. They’re young. They’re trying to enjoy their life, and they came to tennis.

So this is the positive message. We don’t want to, you know, get back in the past. What already happened, happened. It’s life.

Much love, Falcon.

Condolences

From JJ's blog:

Hello Everyone,

I started the US Open really well and was pretty excited about my chances, but the day before my second round match I got very bad news, that my grandmother passed away. I was very sad. I didn’t even feel like going on the court. Mentally and physically, I wasn’t there. I was a shadow of myself.

My mother came to New York to watch me play and my father was already here, so I had everyone here supporting me, and it was great. But my mom left the day before my match to be with my grandmother. Today was the funeral. My whole family was there. I’m at the airport now, and I’m going back to Serbia.

She was my only grandmother… I was very close to her and loved her a lot. She always told me she liked my red tennis dress, that it was the color of happiness and luck. I wanted her to be happy and I wanted to do well at the US Open, so I wore it. I was hoping it would bring luck to both of us. But unfortunately it didn’t help this time. She dedicated her whole life to family, to all of us. She was an unbelievable person, beautiful on the inside and out. She was always supporting me and watching me play. Hopefully she was proud of me.

I was calling every day to see how she was doing.. I was praying every day she would be okay. This is especially hard on my mom… she was her mom. My mom is recovering from surgery herself and it’s not easy for her.

I’m going to take some days off from tennis to just be there with my family. We’re all very sad but we’re trying to stay as positive as possible. I’m not thinking about tennis at the moment. I have some time before I play my next tournament so I want to heal from this and go from there. When something like this happens, tennis seems like just a game. There are more important things.

I want to thank all of you for your support right now. I am thankful for you all and I will be back soon.

JJ

If JJ's relationship with her grandmother was anything like my relationship with my grandmother, then we all owe Grandma JJ a huge debt.  She probably played a huge role in shaping and creating the Glitter Queen that we all know and love.  Much love and condolences to her family. 

The Thing About Being Famous...

...is that any and all skeletons will be dragged out of the closet.

Leave.

The train stops here.

 

Hell of a run, Kid.  So much to be proud of.  But it was inevitable.  When you're elevated to America's Sweetheart status only one thing can happen.  You crash under the weight of expectation, particularly when you've got a captive audience.  Call 1800 BRITNEY for further insight.

Also, the world ran out of "Believe" puns.  So the jig was up.

Congrats to Caro, who played a really solid and professional match to finally break through and make her first Slam semifinal.  Let's face it, she hasn't had to face *that* stiff of competition, but she's taking advantage of the situation and will most likely, barring a complete meltdown, make her first Slam final appearance. And she will do it the same way that counterpunchers have done it in the past: playing steady, absorbing power, and waiting for the other guy to fuck up.  Hell, JJ did it last year.

 

Shit the pants, kid.  You've earned it.

 

Well Hello, Semis. It's Been Awhile. Have You Lost Weight?

Orange you glad I didn't eat your banana?

 

Tough luck for FeVer.  He did well to take the second set after fighting in the first, but towards the end of the third he started struggling with an ab injury.  Apparently his cut and paste tape job wasn't helping things.

And so Nole books a spot in the semis of a Slam for the first time this year.

 

Soar, Falcon.  Be free.

She's Grrrrrrreat!

Yanni (yup, new nickname) took out K-Bond 75 64 to book he spot in the semis. 

And to think I was actually rooting for a Bondarenko sister here.  So the only person in the WTA world to possibly be pissier than than the Bondos advances.  It kills me that this was Ana's quarter.

Don't know much about Yanni?  Here are some highlights:

• She convinced her dad to pick up and move to the States after her mom died of cancer when she was nine.
• She started playing tennis right around that age.
• In her spare time she likes to maim lineswomen.

So there you go.  Could we get an All-Belgian final?  Meh, worse things have happened.

Bye Bye, Ai?

Aww...sad sauce.  Looks like Ai might retire at the end of the season. 

I'm gonna miss the best smile in tennis.  I have so much respect for her.  

Love Is A Universal Language

Rafa gets some love from a crazy fan. Can't blame the dude but if you're breaching security at any public event in NYC something has gone horribly wrong.

Rafa, of course, was adorable about it:

Q. What did you think when the man came out of the stands and came up to you?

RAFAEL NADAL: No, for me it wasn't the problem. The guy was really nice (laughter.)

Q. Did he say anything?

RAFAEL NADAL: Yes. He was a great fan. He said, I love you, and he kiss me. (laughter.)

Q. Was he speaking Spanish?

RAFAEL NADAL: No, in English, but I understand that. (laughter.)

Pic This: Crazy Times

 

Another day in the books.  The men's draw is happily shaping up with some intrigue.

 

It must be love.

 

I mean, they're even pimping the Dolphins?  Stop the madness, ladies.

 

Fucking idiot.

 

Sexy.

 

Awesome shot.  Sad to see you go, Jo.

 

There is so much going on in this picture and all of it is awesome.

 

Oh, be nice. 

Yeah, I couldn't believe my eyes either, Kim.

Two.

Vamos, Rafa!  With his comeback win over Gael he'll recapture the #2 ranking, which is pretty damn remarkable considering all the points he lost in the second half of the season.

Good on ya, Bull Boy.  He'll play Gonzo in the quarterfinals.

 

Serna Wns!

64 63 over Flavs. 

She served really well and Flavia looked like that three setter the other day left her tank a bit empty.  But credit to Serena.  She looked untouchable.

 

A nice tournament from Flavia.  She'll get some bonus money from the USO series and hopefully she walks away with more fans.  She is awesome and she deserves it.

 

Delicous.

Tall and Lanky Takes The Day

 

So that happened.

Congrats to my favorite non-mono'd Croatian for salvaging what has been a lackluster season by booking himself into the quarterfinals with the win over THE GREATEST TENNIS PLAYER WHO EVER LIVED (according to the British press).  He executed his gameplan to perfection, serving big and crushing the no-pace sitters that Andy kept throwing back at him.  Tuxedo really didn't let Muzz get away with any of that.  All credit to him.

 

It came out after the match that Muzz has been suffering from a wrist injury for the past few weeks.  In a nice and very professional presser, he refused to talk about it and reiterated that Marin served well and he didn't return well.  That's gotta be tough on the kid though. 

 

I salute you.

 

Tuxedo will take on the quiet giant, who is ever so silently making his way through the draw.

Don't Worry, Dinara, It'll All Be Over Soon.

The WTA has confirmed that if Serena makes the final she'll become #1 a week after the Open. 

I find it a little odd that I read this yesterday, yet James Martin, Editor in Chief of Tennis Magazine just tweeted this: "If Serena wins the Open, she'll still be ranked No. 2. Can someone explain this to me?"

Creepy Stalker Roaming The USO Grounds

Love All made time out of her busy Alias The Musical understudy schedule to roam the hallowed grounds of the BJKERJLCMAKNTC on Sunday.  Given the grounds pass and a camera, of course she made a beeline for Conchita Martinez.

 

Seriously, dude?

 

Goth Bols and Seppi checking out Fiona's fine breeder hips.

 

Oh come on.  Like you need me to identify that arm.

Robbie Watch '09

L-Rob came back from a set down and 4-1 in the third to advance to the third round.

Phew.

Mom On A Mission

Bring. It.

Kim demolishes Nails 62 64 and books her spot in the semis. 

Week 2 should be interesting, folks.

Pic This: Why Is Nike Letting Serena Spell Out Her Own Shirts?

(Image from Buzzfeed)

Pic This: Work It

Today was Labor Day in the states, which means no working, lots of out of towning, and, if you're in the Bay Area, lots of trying to figure out how the hell you're supposed to get to a BBQ in the East Bay when the Bay Bridge is shut down.  Let's just say Tommy wasn't the only one with that look this weekend.

But while we were being lazy bums, the action in NYC kept rolling.

 

Doesn't this look like a "Pic This" pic?  But I can't think of the perfect caption, even though it's begging for one.  Kinda like how Caro's begging to get f'd in the a. 

Oh, look!  Caption!

Smug little bastard.

 

The Sex expert.

 

This is Yanina Wickmayer.  She is a quarterfinalist.  Or something.

Back To Good

Nole beat The Sex easily.  But that's not the point.

Genius move by Nole to get back into the good graces of the NYC crowd by sending up J-Mac. And much love to J-Mac for coming down and sealing the deal on the 2009 Nole-Is-Not-A-Little-Shit campaign. So great to see the kid smiling again on court.

 

Much love.

No American Hero.

While The Kid and Serena are flying the flag for the ladies, the American men got stumped.  Hard.

With Halpert's loss to Fernando, no American men remain in the draw.  This is the first time in the history of the USO that no American men made the quarterfinals.  I find that to be a pretty nutty stat.

Last American Hero

Well holy shit.

 

Four matches, four Russians.  And if Caro didn't go ahead and bounce Kuz, Mel would have had a chance to scalp  fifth.  The funny thing about this match is that even though Nads took the first 61, you just kind of knew this kid wasn't going out like that.  And sure enough, once she regrouped and was able to pressure Nads and get the crowd into the match, Nads went all Nadsy and we had ourselves a match.

 

Poor Nads.  There was no reason she should have lost this match.  Then again, there's no reason she should have won it either.  The Russian headcasiness continues.  As much as these matches have been won with The Kid's tennis skills, even more so it's been her competitiveness that seal the deal.  She's able to put just enough pressure on them to get those doubts flowing.  Serious props to her.

 

So The Kid will play The Boots for a shot at the USO semis, and really, a REAAAAALLY good shot at the USO finals.  Boots came back from dropping the first set to battle Kuz to a 46 76 76 win.  More importantly she has torpedoed anymore Stella McCartney jokes.  I can honestly say I'm sadder about the latter.

So with Wickmayer and K-Bond making up the other quarterfinal in this half (yes, you read that right), we have ZERO Russians or Serbs in the quarters of a Slam. 

What.  Happened.

McEnvic

The tighter the shorts, the happier the me.

Pic This: It Must Be Love.

You knew today was going to be all about the love when Nico and Rafa took some time out of their busy work schedules to enjoy a little couples massage.  That's love, people.

Yes, Flavia.  Your balls are *that* big.

SuperJo.

I didn't know you could call an MTO for a hug.  I wish Bepa called one.

Why is Elf *always* whacking off during matches?  It's poor form, dude.

Coach Nole

Awesome sauce.

"Oh my God."

That was Flavia's reaction when Corina told her she had saved six match points on the way to her comeback win over Bepa, 46 76 60, in what was the match of the tournament so far for the women.  The first two sets were high quality and off the charts competitive.  

In the end, it all came down to the 15+ minute game on Flavia's serve at 5-6 in the second set. Flavia would play huge, HUGE, on the four match points that she would have to save.  Bepa on the other hand played way too conservatively (though she played well) on those points, waiting for Flavia to give her the match. 

Yeah, Flavia don't play that.  She would go on to hold serve *and* save two more match points in the tiebreak to take the second set and destroy Bepa's spirit.

"I think we broke her brain."

I don't think I can really do justice describing the Bepa breakdown that occurred in that third set.  First she left the court to change and was reportedly crying hysterically as she left the court.  Then she angrily started ripping off her tape a few points into the third set.  Then she yelled at Lynn for not letting her cut off the tape between the first and second game of the set because it wasn't a changeover.  Then she fell down and violently slapped herself 5 times.  The dropped about 4 F-bombs.  And then she cracked her racquet into the net post.  I'm sure there was other stuff.  But as I was telling my cousins who had never seen her before, "Yeah, um...this happens."

Really really gutsy stuff from Flavia today.  Let's be clear, Bepa played well enough to win for 1.99 sets.  Other than the fact that she didn't take any risks, Bepa played the match points well I thought.  But Flavia had courage.  And that was the difference.  Well that and Bepa's crazy.  

I just love you so much.  And yes, in a totally unnatural way.  

But my love cannot be denied.

Robbie Watch '09

L-Rob won her first round juniors match, 0 and 1.  Keep it going, kid.

This Little Frenchie Went To Market, This Little Frenchie Went Home

 

Jo and Gael move on to the Round of 16 with ease.  Jo with a straight set win over the Techno King, and Gael after Chucho retired in the third set.  Both highl entertaining guys who were made for NYC, but I have to put my money on Jo from here on out.  It's been fun, Gael, but for obvious reasons you need to go away now.

 

But all was not well for the Blue, White, and Red.  Gilly was forced to retire after dropping the third set because of a knee injury.  Now that France has caught on, it's official: Knee problems are the new black.  

Poor Gilles.  He was playing so well, too.

For Real.

Ok.  You got me Kim.

Fantastic win for Kimmy today, as she bageled Venus in the first and then rebounded from getting bageled in the second to take the match 64 in the third.  So America is denied its chance to see another glorious Williams v. Williams "real final" match.  Boo hoo.

It would be awesome if Kim could take out the Williams clan.  But she's gotta deal with Nails first, who took out Viko Killer Tranny in straights..  And that is never an easy task.

Belly Rub

75 64 64.  But Houston, we may have a problem.  Rafa's strained tummy required a call to the trainer.  Thankfully, it led to these pics.  So...I can live with it.

Nom nom nom.

Pic This: Upset Saturday

What weird Saturday at the Open.  

Didn't have time to post about it but nice win for Nole over Jesse Witten yesterday, and heck of a match from Witten to really push Nole and make us all think an upset was brewing.  Glad as hell that Nole made it through though and that he won't have to face A-Rod....

...thanks to this guy.  Love it.

As my best gay would say, "Uh, pass."

And The Mockery Continues

And so Coconut leaves North America with no titles, no respect, and no solace.  You know that monkey she and Marat had when they were kids?  It must be the same one that has set up shop right on her back.

I was little tipsy last night when I got home so I haven't watched the match yet.  But Kvitova has always been a dangerous player in my mind.  She's Kleyb-like insofar as when she's on, she can hit some crazy angles with flat hitting.  She was able to fight off match point in the third set, though let's face it, with Dina, "fighting off match point" basically means putting the ball in the middle of the court and waiting for her to freak out.

With Maria, Dina, Lena, and JJ out of the tournament, that half of the draw is COMPLETELY wide-open.  One of these players will make the final: Kvitova, Wickmayer, Dulko, Oudin, K-Bond, Nads, Kuz, or Boots.

Air Quotes: Bwah.

Q. After Melanie beat Jelena Jankovic in Wimbledon, Jelena Jankovic said she doesn't have many weapons and she wasn't too impressed.

MARIA SHARAPOVA: Shocking. Shocking that she said that. 

"Heeeeeere's, Johnny!"

Just when I thought Melanie's win would be the match of the day, Halpert brings it.

I honestly didn't think he had it in him.  After A-Rod took the third set I figured Big John would go away.  But he played a smart 5th set, focusing on holding serve and forcing a tiebreak.  Once in the tiebreak it came down to one shot: The cross-court passing shot that gave him the minibreak.  He had match point on his serve, the Bulldog stepped up and delivered despite cramping through most of the 5th set.

As for A-Rod I have no idea what to say.  But this is yet another close match that he's lost out of nowhere.  All credit to him for being able to fight back after being down 2-0, but once again he was stuck serving from behind in the 5th and in the tiebreak, too.  Deja vu can kinda suck.

Fightin' Fer

 

Fernando survived a 3 hour and 45 minute match that saw 101 unforced errors, untimely double faults, and just generally substandard play.  But again, survive and move on.  It would have really sucked if Fer got dumped early.

3 of 14

That was Lawnmower's break point conversion "success" rate.  That's enough to make a dude want to bust a racquet or 20.

As for Fed it was a dicey match.  While I didn't think he was ever in danger of losing, his serve was off and his forehand was come and go throughout the match.  He was plagued by unforced errors during much of the tight third set.  

ZOMG!!!

Amazing.  Really amazing.

What can I say really?  The kid absolutely took this match to Maria, whose service woes finally caught up to her.  But even putting the serving problems aside, Oudin absolutely 100% punched her way through this match.  She outhit her and even more impressively, she stayed just as competitive.  The Kid (yeah, that's a capital K now) absolutely earned this one.

Maria called a MTO in the third for what looked like a right elbow/arm issue.  Augh.

This picture makes me happy.  Tough go, Masha.  Go heal that shoulder.

Pic This: Hangover Edition

A lovely lazy Saturday morning.  I actually wish I could say I was hungover.  Then I'd have an better excuse than normal to lie on the couch under a blanket and watch tennis all day.

Nice run by Dani into the Round of 16.  I hope she's happy.

Yes, you have long limbs.  We get it.

The magic Comp Kit runs out of gas.  But a fantastic run for MaKiri.

Flying Jo.

10% pasta, 90% win.

Stop, Drop, and Roll

Before yesterday, none of the top 10 had dropped a set.  Leave it to Muzz and Rafa to be the rebels.  Rafa took the first set over Colin with a bagel, only to drop the next one and close the match out in four.  I hear it was a pretty uneven match from Rafa, but again, I'm from Oakland so I'll just say it:  Just win, baby.

Earlier in the day Muzz had a similar experience, winning the first over Capdeville in dominant fashion, before dropping the second and closing out the next two sets.  Credit to Capdeville for picking up his game in the second set.  But Andy made the necessary adjustments.  Good boys.

Grinders

Some dudes have a tendency for the dramatic.  They just refuse to get it done quickly and cleanly.  They want the stage and the refuse to leave it.  These are those dudes.

These boys all had a 5 set workout today and in JCF and Marin's cases, they had to come back from 2 sets down to seal the win.

 Congrats to Taylor, Nico, and Nico.

Pic This: Old Dudes

Love that they rocked their old wood/composite racquets.

 

Have I ever mentioned I've always had a crush on Jimmy?  He's so dapper.

Pic This: "She looks like one of those rap guys' girlfriends."

"Move, bitch, get out the way, get out the way, get out the way..."

Is Italy the new Serbia?  No, it's not.  Just sounded like a cool thing to say.

Is there any player that looks more in-form than Flavia?  After dishing out a double bagel in her last match, she double 'sticked CanWoz today.  I always think it's so interesting that Flavs loves the clay but is able to translate the shot making and point construction skills to the hard courts with success.  Let that be a lesson to all.

But then came the big upset of the day as Tranny ousted #8 seed and FD fave Viko in three sets, taking the third 6-2.  Heck of an effort by Tranny.  You are boss.

I haven't seen the match yet so feel free to weigh in in the comments.  Did Viko play like crap?  Did Tranny take it too her?  Who outgrunted who?  Did Viko get woozy?  On a scale of 10 to 10, how much of a bitch was Viko being?

I have to say though, in all seriousness (well, 5% seriousness), what happened to Viko?  She came roaring out of the gates, taking Brisbane, almost beating Serena in AO, beating Dina at IW, and beating Serena for the Miami title.  At that point, I think we all began to accept that, whether we like it or not, Viko was going to make a run this year and she was going to break through.  That hasn't really happened though, and even though her losses have been to quality opponents (Dina at RG, Serena at SW19, Maria in LA, JJ in Cincy, and Kim in Toronto), her second half progress has been disappointing.  I wonder how much of it is a fitness issue.  Maybe her first full year of being a legitimate contender has taken its toll.

It'll be interesting to see what happens the rest of the year.  Given all the buzz around her during the first four months of the season, wouldn't it be weird if she didn't qualify for Doha? 

A Whale's Vagina Welcomes The WTA

I am SO ok with this.

The WTA has announced their 2010 calendar and the LA Open has been replaced by the San Diego Open, which will still be a Premier tournament.  They've also added two international tournaments in Kuala Lumpur and Copenhagen (you're welcome, Boots).  I cannot begin to tell you how much happier I will be attending a tourney in San Diego as opposed to Carson.  See ya later, Torrance Holiday Inn!