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2.28.2003
Everyone Wants To Protest at the Masters: At first it was the women. Then it was Jesse Jackson's Rainbow/PUSH Coalition. Now, the Ku Klux Klan is getting in on the hippest new act in sports: protesting at the Masters. Yes, those guys in white hoods will stand opposite Reverend Jackson and Martha Burke in their show of support for Augusta National's policy to only allow male members at their club. Joining the KKK in support of the Masters, and no, we did not make this up, will be WAMB, or Women Against Martha Burk.
Cats Looking Very Good: With a trip to the Bay Area as their last real competition before the Pac-10 and NCAA Tournaments, the Arizona Wildcats looked good in their victory at Berkeley, beating the #23 Golden Bears, 88-75. Arizona can put away the regular season Pac-10 title on Saturday by beating Stanford - a team to whom they lost at home four weeks ago.
2.27.2003
Gay Rumors Haunt Ugandan Soccer Team: "Homosexuality is bad. It destroys even stars and we must fight it by whatever means. We condemn it in the strongest terms possible."
Those are the words of Haruna Mawanda, Secretary of the Ugandan Football Association (FUFA) commenting on the notion that has stirred up in Uganda that one of the teams in the League, SC Villa, is performing badly because the players on the team are gay.
The Monitor in Kampala is reporting that an unnamed club official "induces the players into homosexuality", targeting players "who like a high lifestyle and have no responsibilities". That official, Sports Club Villa official Chris Mubiru, told the Monitor, "This thing has been investigated before but I am telling you from the bottom of my heart that I am not gay." When asked why this same rumor continues to surface, Mubiru said he didn?t know. Mubiru is not married, but has two children.
The coach of the team, Sredojevic Milutin, popularly known as 'Micho', said of the allegations: "my players, like their coach, like nothing better than football and women."
SC Villa last week sent a strong statement to the rest of the continent by dispatching their opponent in the African Champions League, Muzinga of Burundi, by a the score of 4-1.
It Doesn?t Pay to be Hot: Ernie Els was the hottest golfer; Oklahoma was the hottest college basketball team. WAS is the operative word here.
Els suffered a first-round loss in the Match Play Championship to 16th-seeded Phil Tataurangi on the third playoff hole of their match. Third-ranked Oklahoma took it hard on the chin against Missouri, losing 67-52 after beating Kansas several days earlier.
2.26.2003
A Good Night to Stay Home: It was not a good night to be an underdog on the road. Three teams had to play Top 25 teams in men's basketball on Tuesday; those three teams lost by an average of almost 33 points. The fact that the visitors - South Carolina, Clemson and Indiana - all were .500 or better before the game made the victories - by Florida, Maryland and Illinois - that much more impressive.
Try this hole: Jim was mentioned in a story on a straight but not narrow Web site the name of which he said had the word "hole" in it. In doing an internet search for "hole sports," low and behold, we stumbled across Glory Hole Sports. Think they know the other meaning?
2.25.2003
Fantasy Sports: After reading about Sandy Koufax severing ties with the Dodgers over a gay gossip item, a reader wrote us upset at Koufax?s reaction. And it has even affected his fantasy. The DC-area reader wrote:
?We have a local gay paper here in D.C. called Metro
Weekly that routinely interviews a different local gay citizen each week, asking provocative questions including ?If you could travel through time and have a chance to see a historical figure naked, whom would you choose?? My immediate answer was always Sandy Koufax. But his current actions have made me lose a lot of respect for him, so I think I'll switch over to Steve McQueen.?
Now, is this the ?Great Escape? McQueen or the ?Papillon? version?
NHL Doings:Welcome back to Steve Yzerman, the Detroit Red Wings star, who played in his first game of the season Monday after recovering from knee surgery. ? On Sunday, Joe Nieuwendyk became the 65th player in NHL history to reach 1,000 points with a third-period goal in New Jersey's 4-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Nieuwendyk had 616 points with Calgary and 340 with Dallas before joining the Devils last season. This is also the sixth out of seven matches this season the Devils have edged the Penguins.
2.22.2003
New York Post Retracts Story: The story that Sandy Koufax resurrected Thursday has now been retracted. The New York Post apologized for the two-line story inferring that Sandy Koufax is gay, which they published in December, and which led Koufax to "boycott" the Los Angeles Dodgers, owned by the same parent company as the Post. Interestingly, other than the author of a biography on Koufax who said her agreement with the Hall of Famer was innacurately portrayed, no one has said that the assertion that he might be gay is incorrect. As Howard Kurtz of the Washington Post said, "Those 'blind' gossip items in tabloids, it seems, are not always so blind."
Kobe Continues to Streak: Kobe Bryant continued his march to a League MVP Award with his eighth straight game scoring 40+ points. A streak longer than eight games has only been done four times - once by Michael Jordan (9) and three times by Wilt Chamberlain (14, 14, 10). This time, he lead the Lakers to a 92-84 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.
2.21.2003
Boycott Over Gay Rumors: Sandy Koufax, the dominant Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher from the 1960s, has broken all ties with the team after 48 years, the Los Angeles Times reports today. The reason? Koufax is angry that the New York Post?owned, like the Dodgers, by Rupert Murdoch's Newscorp?insinuated he is gay.
Koufax, a Hall of Famer who has led a very private life since retiring, ?recently informed the Dodgers he would no longer attend spring training here at Dodgertown, visit Dodger Stadium or participate in activities while they are owned by the media conglomerate,? the Times said.
In December, the Post in a gossip column said that a ?Hall of Fame baseball hero? had ?cooperated with a best-selling biography only because the author promised to keep it secret that he is gay. The author kept her word, but big mouths at the publishing house can?t keep from flapping.? Koufax was not specifically named by the paper. ?Sandy Koufax: A Lefty?s Legacy,? written by Jane Leavey, was published last September.
Leavey told the Times the Post report was ?thoroughly erroneous on all counts. [The item] was blatantly unfair, scandalous and contemptible.?
In January, the New York Daily News fired back at its New York rival in Michael Gross? ?The Word? gossip column: ?Gay? ? Nothing wrong with that - but no way! The Word easily confirmed that Koufax lives in Greenwich Village and in Bucks County, Pa., with a woman he met on Tortola, where they both often spend time. She bears an uncanny resemblance to Carly Simon.? On Friday, the Post retracted its item and apologized "for getting it wrong."
This seems like a total overreaction on Koufax's part to an article that came and went without notice. He has now made it a national story, and people everywhere are hearing "Sandy Koufax and gay" in the same sentence, a connection 99.9% of sports fans would not have made before.
2.20.2003
Kobe Stays Hot: Kobe Bryant continues his mad run at the NBA?s Most Valuable Player award, as the Los Angeles Lakers superstar scored 40 once again on Wednesday.
Bryant scored 11 of the Lakers? last 17 points as Los Angeles won at Utah. Bryant has now scored at least 40 points in his last seven games as the Lakers are making a playoff run. The last person to accomplish this feat was Michael Jordan in the 1986-87 season.
Yawn: We can agree on one thing?our male readers find the annual Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition and hoopla incredibly boring. Our female readers would beg to disagree.
2.19.2003
Breaking the Bank: Oh, to be Greg Maddux. The Atlanta Braves pitcher signed for $14.75 million, the largest one-year deal in baseball history. If we ever have a son, we want him to grow up to be a big-league pitcher.
Bad New Look:ESPN.com unveiled a new design that sucks. It?s aimed mainly at selling you its ESPN Motion services, which offers streaming video or some such thing. If you have certain system requirements, you get this annoying music pushing the service. To get the actual lead story, you now need to click on a link. The design is intrusive and annoying and we can say that ESPN will get much fewer page views from us as long as this design stays.
2.18.2003
Pitcher Dies From Heatstroke: Steve Bechler, a pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles, died of heatstroke during training camp in Florida after his temperature reached 108 degrees.
Bechler was pale and dizzy following a workout Sunday. He was admitted to a local hospital but was unable to overcome multiple organ failure from heatstroke. The Broward County medical examiner confirmed that a bottle of ephedrine, which has been linked to heatstroke and heart attacks, was found in Bechler?s locker. Officials will not make any connection to the supplement and his death until an autopsy is held.
Bechler was overweight at 6-2, 239 pounds and the Orioles said he was not in top physical condition. His wife of a year was expecting their first child in April.
Ephedrine is banned by the NCAA and the NFL but not Major League Baseball.
2.17.2003
Yep, he's back: It was rumored that Tiger took a couple months off from golf. He came back this weekend to dispell the rumor. In shooting a 16-under 272 at the Buick Invitational for the weekend, Tiger sent a clear message to the rest of the golf world: 2003 will be much more of other golfers playing for second. Bigmouth, Majorless rival Phil Mickelson choked on a par performance on the final day to finish six shots back and tied for fourth.
The Daytona 273?: How does one of the (if not THE) most prestigious auto races in the world crown a champion after racing only 109 of the 200 scheduled laps? Michael Waltrip doesn't much care how, as he won the rain-shortened race in Daytona on Sunday for the second time in three years. Can you imagine Major League Baseball just calling off the World Series after five games when one team leads three games to two? Daytona should take a lesson from the golfing world who makes up rained out rounds the following day - and often even extends the event to Monday when necessary.
Knicks Get Revenge: After a failed fourth quarter comeback two weeks ago against the Lakers, the Knicks didn't need it against them in Los Angeles Sunday. With Shaq out, Allan Houston scored a League season-high 53 points and led the Knicks to victory, 117-110. It was the Lakers' second straight home loss. Four Outsports members - CanMark, Pat125, RJinHuntingtonbeach, and NoSteroidz - all got VIP seats at Staples Center for the game for winning a drawing at the Outsports Convention held in L.A. this weekend.
2.15.2003
Gay Movies in Big D: We wanted to share this e-mail from Theo, a reader in the Dallas area:
?I was driving to work this morning and listening to sports talk radio per usual. The Musers, aka Dunham and Miller, from The Ticket. The Ticket did a promo billing the upcoming segment as the gayest segment in The Ticket history.
?When they came back from commercial break, they opened talking about gay sports lovers. They went on to mention Outsports and apparently one of the guys was just 'surfing' the web and came across it. To make a very long story short, they ran down the list of some "gay guy's" 10 favorite sports movies and the reasons he loved them (which obviously kept them entertained for a while). The moral of their story was basically that "we" are a lot like "straight" men and enjoy the same things they do.
I thought it was kind of neat and that I would share with both of you the fact that Outsports was mentioned here in Dallas by one of the most listened to radio stations.?
Regardless of the mention of us, we were glad to hear that a sports talk radio show would treat gays and sports in what sounds like a proper spirit?fun and not sniggering. It is a rare thing in the media.
2.14.2003
A Coach?s Decision: Iraq?s national soccer coach, a German, told his team he planned to leave the country because of fear of a war. Stange told the Berlin newspaper Tageszeitung that his players understood he wanted to return to his wife and children in Germany. The coach wrote a letter to each of them, saying: "I pray to God that he guards you and your family.''
History Made: Teresa Phillips, who Thursday became the first woman to coach a major college basketball game, lost her debut with Tennessee State, 71-56, to Austin Peay. She will return to her job as the school?s athletic director after coach Hosea Lewis comes back from a one-game suspension. According to Associated Press: "Tennessee State (2-21, 0-12 Ohio Valley Conference) looked much better than its record indicated. Nine days earlier, the Tigers lost on their home court to Austin Peay by 25 points.?
2.13.2003
A First For Women's Coaching: For the first time in NCAA history, a woman will be the head coach of a men's Division I basketball team - for a night. Tennessee State Athletic Director Teresa Phillips will step in for one game after she suspended interim head coach Hosea Lewis for the brawl that saw 19 players ejected from the Tigers' game against Eastern Kentucky. While she had a very good record as the Tigers' women's coach in the 1990s, don't expect Phillips' coaching debut on the men's side to be a great success - she may be without all but four of the team's players as Conference rules may force the players ejected in Monday's game to sit out one extra game.
Nebraska May Be Cleared to Pay Football Players: If Nebraska Governor Mike Johanns gets his wish, Nebraska will start paying its football players - something Tom Osborne probably wished he had for years. Legislation proposed by State Senator Ernie Chambers would require paying Corhusker players a stipend. The law can only take effect if three of the other states with Big 12 teams pass similar laws.
2.12.2003
The Good Ol' Boy Gets the Job: In case you thought the NFL was making strides, think again. After heavy interviewing of hot black defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell, the San Francisco 49ers decided to go back to the well of mediocre white coaches and signed Oregon State head coach Dennis Erickson to a five-year contract at $2.5 million per year.
Before taking the Oregon State job, Erickson had been the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks. He led the team to a 31-33 record in his four years there, without a single playoff appearance.
After it had seemed the 49ers were ready to take a real stand for opportunity in the NFL - with their same-sex partner benefits and the impending hiring of a black coach - they decided to go down the same road almost every other team has gone down in the past: hire the white guy who sucked previously as a head coach and hope he won't suck this time. A real disappointment - we were hoping for more from the Niners.
2.11.2003
Big NHL Trade: For the New York Rangers, it was another piece in what they hope is a playoff team. For the Pittsburgh Penguins, it was a chance to get rid of a large salary. That?s the upshot of the big NHL trade Monday that saw the Rangers acquire Alexei Kovalev (left) as part of an eight-player trade. As part of the deal, the money-tight Penguins received $4 million from the Rangers. Wrote ESPN?s Darren Pang: ?The Rangers got one of the elite players in the league and a world-class offensive talent, while the Penguins got four guys who will probably be fringe players for them.? The trade is a big boost to the Rangers, who are six points out of a playoff spot. It remains to be seen whether this is just a short-term fix.
In on-ice NHL news, Brett Hull scored a goal against the San Jose Sharks, making him the sixth player in history to score 700 goals. His dad, Bobby, scored 610 in his Hall of Fame career.
4 On 3: What happens when 19 players get ejected from a basketball game? Other than a big-time investigation by their conference, they also get to play shorthanded. That's exactly what happened Monday night when a brawl led to double-digit ejections in Eastern Kentucky's 89-72 win over Tennessee State. After the ejections, a 20th player fouled out, leaving Tennessee State to play the rest of the game down shorthanded, four on three.
2.10.2003
NBA Doings: We remember when the NBA All-Star meant something. But like most of these events in all sports, these games have long stopped being interesting. This year?s pro basketball ?classic? was even less high-profile because it was moved off of network TV and onto cable (TNT). The number of viewers will certainly go way down (for example, only 75% of the homes in Los Angeles get TNT) and with it interest despite the West's double-overtime win on Sunday. Why not can these phony games, give the players five days off to get their batteries recharged for the playoff push?
The NBA also announced that the first-round playoff series will now be best-of-seven instead of best-of-five. This means that to win the title, a team has to win 16 games (four series) and play potentially 28 games; this amounts to 34% of the games in the regular season. The season is long enough already and this change makes the regular season even more meaningless.
2.8.2003
Hazing Days in Utah: Two high school wrestlers in central Utah were suspended after being accused of removing the pants of a male cheerleader in the school locker room and trying to shave his pubic hair. The cheerleader weighed 120 pounds, one of the wrestlers 275 pounds, according to the Deseret News.
Amazingly, the high school principal ? let the wrestlers off with a warning, telling them if anything similar happened again, they would be in serious trouble,? the paper reported. It was only after the parents of the cheerleader and others raised a stink that the wrestlers were suspended. A local judge refused to lift the suspensions, which means one of the wrestlers is not allowed to compete in a regional tournament.
2.7.2003
Some Girls Have All The Luck: Maybe she had some insider information - what we do know for a fact, however, is that J-Lo is $400,000 richer. According to the Las Vegas Sun, the pop princess put down $250,000 on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to win Super Bowl XXXVII the week before the game. With the money line, her return (with the initial bet) was around $650,000. Does this mean she's moved past Ben Affleck and on to John Lynch?
2.6.2003
Hoop News: Two basketball personalities were totally sick of made news Wednesday.
First, the obnoxious Bobby Knight became the sixth coach in NCAA Division I history (male and female) to win 800 career games, as his Texas Tech Raiders beat Nebraska. Knight is a totally unappealing person, but one must give him this: He can coach.
In Ohio, prep basketball star LeBron James was cleared by a judge to continue his high school career. James was declared ineligible last week for accepting two jerseys from a sporting goods store. We?re sick of all the attention given James, and can?t wait until he turns pro and becomes just another millionaire.
2.5.2003
'Cocks call Wildcats "Gay": As the Kentucky Wildcats pounded the South Carolina Gamecocks into the hardwood floor on Saturday, the hometown crowd in Columbia, SC, decided to get vocal. In addition to vocalizing their hope that Kentucky star Keith Bogans would break his leg or have a brain aneurysm, the crowd chanted, "Bogans is gay." South Carolina Athletic Director Mike McGee apologized for the fans' behavior and said that future similar behavior could result in expulsion from the arena. Bogans scored 16 points and had 7 rebounds in leading Kentucky to the 87-69 victory. Why is it that the losers are always calling the winners "gay"
2.4.2003
In Full Bloom: Two-sport standout Jeremy Bloom continues to excel. Bloom, who also plays college football for the University of Colorado, won his first World Freestyle Championships gold medal this weekend by capturing the dual-moguls competition. He had won a silver medal in individual moguls earlier in the competition.
Robbins? Medical Condition:Barrett Robbins, the Oakland Raiders center who missed the Super Bowl, has a bipolar disorder, his agent disclosed. "Barret would like to express his remorse and deep sadness for the events surrounding the Super Bowl," the statement issued by Drew Pittman said. "He knows many people have been hurt by his actions, including his family, his teammates, the Raider organization, the Raider Nation, and the game of football."
Pittman acknowledged that alcohol was a factor in Robbins? strange behavior the day before the Super Bowl. The All-Pro center suffers from depression and had apparently stopped taking his medicine. His Raider teammates, who had condemned him initially, thinking he just flaked out, have since changed their attitudes after hearing of his medical/emotional problems. ?I would love to see him back, but most importantly, I want to see him feel better,? said quarterback Rich Gannon.
2.3.2003
Manning Calls His Kicker an Idiot: Thank you Peyton Manning for enlivening an otherwise dull sports Sunday (face it, does anybody really care about the NFL Pro Bowl, the NHL All-Star Game or Arena League football?) Manning, the Indianapolis Colts quarterback, fired back at his team?s kicker Mike Vanderjagt (left), who last week said Manning and Colts coach Tony Dungy didn?t have what it took to win a championship. Vanderjagt later apologized, but Manning was having none of it. He called Vanderjagt?s comments ?idiotic? and went on:
"Here we are," he told ABC?s Lynn Swann during the Pro Bowl in Hawaii, "I'm out at my third Pro Bowl, I'm about to go in and throw a touchdown to Jerry Rice, we're honoring the Hall of Fame, and we're talking about our idiot kicker who got liquored up and ran his mouth off. . . . What has the sports world come to? We are talking about idiot kickers. He has ruined kickers for life. The sad thing is, he's a good kicker. He's a good kicker. But he's an idiot."
"When I get home, I'll deal with it," Manning added. "If he is still a teammate, we'll deal with it. That remains to be seen." Whether one agrees with what Vanderjagt said, he was totally wrong to air his comments in a television interview instead of in private to Manning and Dungy. Calling a teammate out publicly just isn?t cool or the right thing to do.
2.2.2003
Lady Huskies Roll: The University of Connecticut Lady Huskies showed they?re still the baddest dogs in the land by beating top-ranked Duke in a surprisingly easy 77-65 win. The Huskies, ranked No. 2, have now won 59 consecutive games. What was most impressive about their win was that they went into Duke?s home arena and built a lead that streched to 28 points at one time.
On the men?s side, No. 2 Pittsburgh lost a chance to take the top spot in the polls by losing a thriller at No. 24 Syracuse, 67-65. Look for No. 3 Texas to jump into No. 1, not always an enviable spot in college basketball.
2.1.2003
No More School Ball for James: High school basketball sensation LeBron James? next meaningful game will be in the NBA. The celebrated Ohio prep star was stripped of his eligibility after he received $845 worth of sportswear for free from an Akron sporting goods store. Accepting such gifts is against Ohio high school rules, so James can?t play prep ball any more.
The incident will do nothing to alter James? status in this year?s NBA draft. ?It won?t affect his status one iota,? a scout for a Western Conference team told the Los Angeles Times. ?Prior to this incident he was going to be the first pick in the draft, and now, he?ll be ? guess what? ? the first pick in the draft. Let?s face it, the NBA draft is about talent. Certainly, other factors come into play, but you?re not talking about major character issues here. It?s just bad judgment. He should have known better.?
James received for free two retro jerseys--replicas of those worn by former Chicago Bears running back Gale Sayers and former Washington Bullets center Wes Unseld. What leaps out is the price, $845. For two lousy jerseys?
1.31.2003
Wilccats Knocked Off Perch: There will almost certainly be a new No. 1 in men?s
college basketball after Stanford knocked off Arizona, 82-77. It was the third year in a row that Stanford has gone into Arizona and knocked off the Wildcats. If Pittsburgh wins its game this weekend, the Panthers stand to become top dog for the first time in their history. The beauty of college basketball?unlike in football?is that rankings are pretty meaningless thanks to there being a tournament.
1.30.2003
Sloan to Sit: The NBA lowered the boom on Utah coach, suspending him seven games for pushing referee Courtney Kirkland in the chest Tuesday night. "Obviously his behavior was out of line, and the message is clear that that type of behavior cannot be tolerated," NBA vice president Stu Jackson said. It was one of the longest NBA suspensions of recent years and one totally deserved.
Rangers Fire Coach: Bryan Trottier was a star for the New York Islanders, but he?s now a fired coach of the New York Rangers. Trottier was canned only 54 games into his rookie season as the Rangers are mired in last place in their division despite a $70 million payroll. The Rangers had won five of six, which makes Trottier?s dismissal all the more puzzling.
1.29.2003
Jazz Still Kicking: The Utah Jazz may be old, but they still have some fight. They proved it with a 102-92 win at Sacramento, a tough venue to play. The game was marred when Utah coach Jerry Sloan shoved official Courtney Kirkland in the chest and was ejected in the first quarter. Expect Sloan to be suspended since pushing a ref is a no-no.
Hoosiers Stumble: In men?s college basketball, No. 19 Indiana was upset by Michigan State, a game after the Hoosiers were blown out by Purdue. It doesn?t get better for Indiana, which next plays Louisville, winners of 13 in a row.
1.28.2003
Homophobia on the Bench: The Washington Post addressed an issue in women?s college basketball recruiting that everyone knows exists, but few talk about?smearing a rival coach by playing the gay card.
``As women's college basketball has grown,? the Post's Greg Sandoval reports, ?so too has negative recruiting, a practice previously associated with the men's game. By implying that a rival coach is gay, opposing schools are preying on what Helen Carroll, athletic diversity specialist for the San Francisco-based National Center for Lesbian Rights, calls the fear of a gay "boogeywoman" who will make their daughters choose a lesbian sexual orientation.?
``It's difficult to know how often this kind of recruiting tactic occurs. James Nichols, 43, the founder of Team Unique, a District youth-league squad that has sent 20 players to Division I schools, says recruiters discreetly raise the subject of sexual preference. ?None of it is on the table,? said Nichols, who often helps families navigate the recruiting process. ?It's whispered quietly into the ears of parents.? But according to Tennessee Coach Pat Summitt, winner of six national championships and a record 802 games, the practice is ?at an all-time high.? "
The story also took note of the decreasing number of female coaches , with a record low 44% holding the job of coaching other women. It?s unclear how much of this decline stems from homophobia. The Post should be commended for casting a light on this disgusting practice that plays to the worst fears of parents by perpetuating negative, harmful and false stereotypes.
1.27.2003
No Stopping the Bucs: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who started 0-26 as an expansion franchise in the 1970s, reached the pinnacle of the NFL with a dominating 48-21 win over the Oakland Raiders. The Bucs top-ranked defense was utterly dominant over the Raiders? top-ranked offense, recording five sacks and intercepting league MVP Rich Gannon a record five times; three of the interceptions were returned for touchdowns.
Tampa shed its image of an underachieving team with a lot of individual stars by playing a complete team game. No names like running back Michael Pittman (124 yards rushing), receiver Joe Jurevicius (four catches) and defensive back Dwight Smith (two interceptions returned for touchdowns) shined alongside stars Warren Sapp and Simeon Rice. The Raiders picked the worst time for their worst game of the season. They lost by their largest margin of the season and allowed more points than in their last three games combined.
1.26.2003
History Down Under: There was a bit of history made at the Australian Open by two legends who are senior citizens by tennis standards.
Andre Agassi dominated German Rainer Schuettler in straight sets to win the men?s singles crown. Agassi?s 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 blowout made him the oldest player to win a Grand Slam singles event since 1971. Agassi?s all of 32.
Earlier, Martina Navratilova, 46, became the oldest person to ever win a Grand Slam title when she teamed up with Leander Paes to win the mixed doubles. ?This goes beyond any wildest dream,'' said Navratilova, who now has at least one title each in singles, doubles and mixed doubles at all four major tournaments.
1.25.2003
A Serena Slam: Serena Williams did it again, winning her fourth consecutive tennis Grand Slam event. And for the fourth time in a row she beat sister Venus, this time with a three-set win at the Australian Open. In a match plated indoors because of the Melbourne heat, Serena made fewer errors in winning the first and third sets. She is the ninth woman to have won all four majors. She is so dominant that the women?s game risks becoming a bit boring; if Serena is not in a tournament, does it count?
1.24.2003
Landmark Scholarship: Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays will grant the first-ever college scholarships for incoming gay student-athletes and they will be named after Esera Tuaolo, the ex-NFL player who came out in October.
The scholarship will go to a GLBT student who plays on a high school team, PFLAG Executive Director David Tseng told the Gay.com / Planetout.com network. The amount of the scholarship hasn't been set yet. "I didn't expect all or any of this, but the response in this country has been so supportive," Tuaolo told network. "It's not about me anymore. It's not about my family. It's something bigger than I am. My story adds another dimension to the fight for gay rights."
We hope other organizations follow the lead of PFLAG and hope there is never a dearth of applicants.
