It's that time of year again:)

To all readers of my blog:). You can click on the image to see a larger version;).

Rain drops falling on my head...

We've had some bad weather this weekend extremely windy and wet, as has been the case for many other parts of the world. Generally I like rain. It's perfect if you don't have anywhere to go, you can just curl up in a comfy chair and read or just stare mindlessly at the tv. Whatever the case may be.

Can't say I've been loving the amount of rain we got this weekend though, little too much for my taste. But I guess I'll be happy as long as the dreaded white stuff stays away at least until December. Which of course living in Canada is highly unlikely lol. Hope the kiddies get decent weather on Tuesday for trick or treating.

Martina is in Madrid!!

It has finally been confirmed Kim Clijsters and Martina Hingis were the last 2 players to grab the remaining spots in the season-ending WTA Championships in Madrid. Hingis received her spot after fellow Swiss country woman Patty Schnyder lost to Maria Sharapova in the semi-finals of the Linz tournament yesterday.

So congrats to her, I hope she goes far and I wish her nothing but the best. It'll be a tough road for her to win, but you never know Martina has been having a spectacular year thus far.

Here is an article confirming the news:
http://thestar.com.my/sports/story.asp?file=/2006/10/29/sports/15858911&sec=sports

Hanson at the Hollywood Film Festival

Zac Hanson with wife Kate

Isaac Hanson with wife Nicole

Taylor Hanson with wife Natalie

Hanson brothers were spotted at the Hollywood Film Festival showing their documentary "Strong Enough to Break".

All 3 arrived with their respective wives (I feel weird even writing that lol). Still can't believe they're all married. Anyway the above pics are from the event.

Pics taken from itsincredible.com

Another small update

I have just added a wedding photo of Isaac Hanson and his wife Nikki
(I was waiting for a good one to surface :D). It's in the October 4th post. I didn't feel like making a separate one since the photo fits perfectly with the wedding announcement.

So for all interested go check it out it's a very nice photo, gotta say Ike knows how to pick them. But then again his wife is a model so I guess it's a no brainer lol. Also Hanson's official site has been re-vamped and I'm loving the new look:), props to whoever does their graphic design.

Still waiting...

For a word on whether Martina will make it into Madrid. Patty Schnyder hasn't played in Linz yet this week, hopefully she'll lose early on. Which will give Martina the last spot in Madrid.

I know I haven't written much lately, there hasn't been anything interesting to write about really but hopefully things will pick up after this week. And I won't bother writing about my life because it's too boring at the moment lol.

WTA and ATP to combine events

http://www.tsn.ca/tennis/news_story/?ID=181178&hubname=tennis

I really hope this happens, even though I'm not really a huge fan of the men's game. It would be great because I would actually get to see some of the other women's tournaments besides the 4 major grand slams.

Hingis quarter final pics from Zurich Open

Pics from hingis.org

Sad pics but hopefully there will be some good ones from Madrid in a couple of weeks if she makes it.

Kuznetsova prevails over Hingis in the quarters at Zurich Open

Well it was a tough battle from what I read (haven't had a chance to see the match yet). But even though Martina lost it was a high quality match. She managed to get it into a third set that's usually quite hard to do with Kuznetsova.

It's too bad she didn't make it into the semi's but she can definitely be proud of her performance in this match. Hopefully she'll still qualify for Madrid.

Here is a great article summery of the match:
http://sport.guardian.co.uk/breakingnews/feedstory/0,,-6160570,00.html

Hingis 2nd round Zurich Open pics

Pics from hingis.org


And here are some pics from the match, now I am off to bed since I didn't realize it was this late lol.

Martina moves on to the quarters in Zurich

Well, thanks to a member on hingis.org I was able to watch all of Martina's matches so far. So thanks again for the upload;). Anyway I'll get on with the summery now. The best way I can describe this match is in two words totally weird . And you'll understand why I say that later on.

The first set started out ok, if not a bit sluggish with no long rallies and both players slowly finding their rhythm. There were no breaks in the first 4 games of the match. Though surprisingly it was Dechy who won the opening point, it's usually the opposite.

At 2 all Natalie Dechy made a bunch of unforced errors giving Hingis the break, Martina followed up with some unforced errors of her own (on her serve) allowing Dechy to even things out at 3 games a piece. There was a sea-saw effect through out the first set actually.

Hingis finally got the break on the 3rd deuce (lost a 40/0 lead). She then held her serve and went up to 5/3 closing the set out at 6/3.

I was actually really surprised how little she came to the net in the first set, especially since Dechy is not great in that area. It's something that she remedied in the second set along with mixing up her game a lot more which she also wasn't doing before. The second set is when things really got going.

Hingis won her service game and the break to go up 2/0. After that she totally got into a groove and cruised to a 5/0 lead. But instead of closing the match out, she made a bunch of unforced errors and seemed to have lost a lot of her concentration. Which allowed her opponent to break and win back 3 games. She had trouble closing out the 2nd set, but was finally able to do it on the 3rd match point. Winning the whole thing in two 6/3 6/3.

So a shaky performance at the end but a win is a win and she moves on. Her next real challenge could be Svetlana Kuznetsova. That should be a hell of a match if it happens.

Also I don't think I have mentioned this yet, but as I was watching the match I noticed some key changes between Martina circa 1990's and the Martina of now. Her ground strokes have gotten a lot deeper and when she wants to she can use a lot more power on them. Her serve (at least her 1st serve) has also improved slightly, I've noticed she bends her knees a lot more now. Those are just little things I forgot to mention so I thought I would just throw it in here;).

I have to also add that I am a bit concerned she's still having these lapses in concentration, and is unable to close out matches cleanly. Hopefully we won't see that in her next match because frankly that's something she cannot afford against any of the remaining players. I do think however that part of it is the lack of challenge so far in this tournament.

I know that when she's pressured from the get go she does a lot better and doesn't have these lapses. I can't wait to see her play someone like Kuznetsova because I'm certain that's when she'll really raise her game. It's something she always does the bigger the challenge the better her game.

I'm wishing her all the luck in her next one, should be a lot more entertaining then these 2 have been.

Martina Hingis' Zurich Blog

Found this through hingis.org apparently it's something Sony Ericsson does for all the players playing in their home country. I had no idea, but I'll be checking it out regularly from now on. It's a very interesting read about Martina's daily routine and life in general. Also another piece of good news is that Patty Snyder and Nicole Vaidesova are out of Zurich, they lost in their first rounds on Tuesday.

Which of course increases Martina's chances of winning and of qualifying for the Madrid tournament coming up. I should have a summery of Martina's second round match up sometime tomorrow or the day after.

Click here to read her blog.

I've also added it to the links section under Martina's Blog.

Hingis successful in first round at Zurich Open

Pics from hingis.org


Very impressive performance for her first time back in Zurich after 6 years. She beat German Anna-Lena Greonefeld in 75 minutes. The first set she won easily 6/0. But her opponent raised her game in the second and evened things out at 3 all. She had trouble closing out the match at 5/4 but was finally able to do it in the 12th game winning it 7/5. Next Martina will face either Nathalie Dechy or Jarmila Gajdosova.

Things have really opened up with people like Williams, Ivanovic, Safina and Chakvetadze withdrawing. I'm not saying it'll be easy because there are still lots of good players left but I think Martina's chances have greatly increased. Especially since many of the remaining players are suffering from injuries All in all I hope this win is a sign of good things to come.

Oh, and I love that the orange outfit is back again that seems to be her good luck charm.

Here are a couple of articles on the match:
http://www.eurosport.com/tennis/wta-zurich/2006/sport_sto986983.shtml

http://www.sportsline.com/tennis/story/9732739

Happy Birthday Julius Tapert!!

I couldn't call myself much of a Xena fan if I didn't remember all the important dates. In this case it's the Birthday of Lucy Lawless 's oldest son Julius Tapert. Julius turns 7 today so a very Happy Birthday to him!!. All the best to the proud parents as well. Time really flies I still remember him as a cute chubby little toddler lol.

Pics of Martina in Zurich

All pics are from hingis.org


I'm guessing she's either laughing at the ridiculous size of the cup she's drawing names from or laughing at the name she drew. Or maybe she's just really happy to be back in Switzerland lol.

From what I read the first name she drew was Anna-Lena Groenefeld, who's not a tough opponent so things should go pretty smoothly. Her 2nd opponent Dechy or Chankvetadze could prove to be a little tougher but we shall see.

Friday the 13th

Ok, I will admit I am a total superstitious person, and I thread very carefully on this day lol. Oddly enough though since I came to Canada this day has a reverse effect instead of bad luck I have good luck. Go figure lol.

White stuff in October!

What the hell!. Crazy Canadian weather, it's snowing outside right now. The good news is it's not the type of snow that sticks it's more a combination of snow mixed with rain and gusty winds. Even the best meteorologists couldn't predict this crazy weather. Either way I am so glad I don't have to be anywhere today.

ETA: And now it's sunny outside again lol, you'd think after living in Canada for 12 years I'd be used to these kinds of things. But after 12 years it still surprises me lol.

More Google/YouTube news

Well it seems that many people have mixed reactions about the Google/YouTube merge. Some are happy and think it'll be great for YouTube.

Some think the company has sold out, and it won't be the same. I still stand by my earlier statement I think this is good news I have faith in Google and I really don't think they'll change things as much as people think.

Here is an interesting Washingtonpost article on the issue:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/10/AR2006101001165.html

YouTube joins forces with Google!!

Very exciting news Google has announced this past weekend that it bought youtube.com. According to Google YouTube will operate independently.

Which basically means Google will not interfere and youtube will do their own thing. But the big difference is now they'll have Google's servers and resources making it 100 times better.

And I'm sure that they will no longer have to stop everything in order to do maintenance. I can't wait to see how this will work out and what improvements are in store.

The complete move or merge will not happen until December but I'm so excited!. I'm completely addicted to youtube and now that they're with Google my addiction won't stop anytime soon lol.

Here is a Google press release confirming the news:
http://www.google.com/press/pressrel/google_youtube.html

Well it's over

Well Thanksgiving came and went, it's gotta be one of the laziest holidays. I don't think anyone can move after stuffing themselves full of turkey lol. I'm so glad we skipped it.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

To all my fellow Canadian blog readers:). Happy Thanksgiving or Happy Turkey Day:). My family and I did Thanksgiving without turkey again this year. We had duck instead. Much tastier, more tender and you don't have that sleepiness effect that you usually get after eating turkey.

Kim Clijsters to return sooner then expected

Kim is hoping to return to the game a week earlier then she originally planned because her wrist injury is healing a lot faster. She initially planned to return at the Oct. 30-Nov. 5 Gaz de France tournament in her home city of Hasselt.

Now she may play at the Generali Ladies Linz event in Austria. I hope it happens, it's been a while and I've really missed watching her play. Although I know a lot of people would like her to come back later because they want Martina to continue winning and I guess not have to run into her. But I want her back because she's retiring in 2007 anyway so I want her to play a little more before she leaves.

Here is a Yahoo article confirming the news:
http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/news;_ylt=At2tw8RznZKkHxexzY8A3XM4v7YF?slug=ap-clijsters&prov=ap&type=lgns

Avril Lavigne spits on the paparazzi

Apparently this has happened twice at the Hyde nightclub in L.A. Avril has apologized for it but interestingly the apology was towards her fans and not the photographers. That's so Avril lol.

Although I do think spitting is a bit juvenile, I can't completely disagree with her course of action because the paparazzi have no shame or regard for safety when it comes to getting pictures. And I lost whatever respect I may have had for them after what happened to Princess Diana.

Also it's not like Avril is the only celebrity to lose it when it comes to the paparazzi. Plenty of other celebs have done much worse things, hey at least Avril didn't punch them or break their equipment lol.

This may be old news to some people, but I just thought I would mention it for those who haven't heard it.

Here is an article on the incident:
http://www.pr-inside.com/lavigne-apologizes-to-fans-but-not-to-photogs-she-spat-on-r20691.htm

Oldest Hanson brother finally gets hitched!!

Pic from Hanson.net Forum


Yep, 25 year old Isaac Hanson finally got married this past Saturday to his long time girlfriend model Nicole Dufresne. It's still hard to believe that his younger brothers got married before him but I guess it's better late then never.

So now all the Hanson brothers are officially off the market teenage girl around the world are crying their eyes out lol. Wonder who will be next to have kids will it be Ike, or Zac?. Or will Taylor beat them to it again? lol. All kidding aside though congrats to Isaac and his wife:).

Here is an article from People confirming the news:
http://people.aol.com/people/article/0,26334,1541194,00.html

What's good in music this week

Well the new Evanescence album "The Open Door" comes out today, I have listened to it courtesy of the AOL Full CD Listening Party.

And I have to say it is a really good album but not as good as their debut. My favourite songs are "Call Me When You're Sober" and "Weight of the World". I also like "All That I'm Living For" and "Lithium". For those of you who haven't heard it yet, you can listen to it on AOL's Listening Party:
http://music.aol.com/songs/new_releases_full_cds.adp

The album will only be available for listening till this Monday, after that the album selection changes to whatever happens to come out that week.

Anyways go take a listen if you haven't already got it, and judge for yourselves;).

Album cover from Amazon.com.

Happy Birthday to the Swiss Miss!

Forgot to post this earlier, Happy Birthday! to my all time favourite Tennis player Martina Hingis. Who turned 26 yesterday:).

Still hard to believe it wasn't that long ago that she was winning grand slams at the age of 15. And the scary thing is she's only a couple of years older then me lol. I guess it should be Happy Belated Birthday since it's after midnight.