Song of the Moment: Robert Downey Jr.- River

It's coming on Christmas, they're cutting down trees
They're putting up reindeer, singing songs of joy and peace
Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on


But it don't snow here, it stays pretty green
I'm going to make a lot of money
And then I'm gonna quit this crazy scene
Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on


I wish I had a river so long
I would teach my feet to fly
Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on
I made my baby cry


He tried hard to help me, you know, he put me at ease
And he loved me so naughty, made me weak in the knees
Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on


Well, I'm so hard to handle, I'm selfish and I'm sad
Now I've gone and lost the best baby that I ever had
Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on


Oh, I wish I had a river so long
I would teach my feet to fly
Oh, I wish I had a river that I could skate away on
I made my baby say goodbye


It's coming on Christmas, they're cutting down trees
They're putting up reindeer, singing songs of joy and peace
Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on

Probably my all time favourite cover (despite such sad lyrics).

Reminds me why I used to have a crush on this lovely man way back when (in the Ally McBeal days).

Damn good singer!.  Merry Christmas :).

Season's Greetings from the WTA!

Martina Hingis prefers Kvitova over Wozniacki

FORMER champion Martina Hingis has added early spice to the Australian Open, questioning the credentials of world No. 1 and Melbourne Park top seed Caroline Wozniacki.


Hingis, a triple Open champion, said Wozniacki was a fine athlete, but was too defensive.

And, with familiar bluntness, Hingis sheeted the blame for the Dane's shortcomings to her father and coach Piotr.

"(Wozniacki) may (be) moving better than the others, and she tries to go inside the court, but not often enough," Hingis told L'Equipe."

The fact that she does not win grand slams is not only her problem, but also that of her coach."

Wozniacki, 21, has spent 56 weeks at No. 1, but has so far failed to win a major despite owning 18 Women's Tennis Association Tour crowns.

She is a US Open finalist, Australian Open semi-finalist and French Open quarter-finalist, but doubts persist over whether she is good enough to win at the highest level.


Hingis, who coincidentally returns to grand slam competition for an invitational event at Melbourne Park from January 16-29, admires current world No. 2 Petra Kvitova.

She described the Wimbledon champion as "very solid, left-handed ... and is the only one I really like to watch. With others, it is monotonous."

Kvitova has been acclaimed as the Czech Republic's athlete of the year.It is the 21-year-old's latest accolade, following her surge in 2011 from No. 34 in the rankings.

The left-hander was recognised as the International Tennis Federation's world champion despite finishing behind Wozniacki in the rankings.

Kvitova was also hailed for being part of the Czech team of the year for her pivotal role in guiding its Fed Cup team to the title.

heraldsun.com.au

Martina Hingis tennis star turned coaching consultant

Former Grand Slam champ, Martina Hingis, will lend her talents to the


Mouratoglou academy and help train promising young girls looking 
to play professional tennis.

"I would like to give the girls some tactical and technical direction," 
she said of the move. 

"I'll try to teach them to attack and move to the net quickly, 
and not wait for the ball."

Hingis went on to say that the only player on today's circuit 
whose style she admires is Petra Kvitova, 
who won Wimbledon in 2011.

tennisworldusa.org

Kim Clijsters exhibition fun

  Imitation the sincerest form of flattery, or just plain hilarious?.



LMFAO!!

I wonder if some of the screaming players (we all know who they are) have seen this particular vid *snort*.

Alyson Hannigan expecting 2nd child

Alyson Hannigan is expecting her second child, her rep confirms to JustJared.com.

The 37-year-old How I Met Your Motherstar “is thrilled to be pregnant. 

She’s been wearing baggy clothes to cover the baby bump,” a source told Us Weekly, which first reported the news

.

Alyson - who already has a 2-year-old daughter, Satyana, with husband Alexis Denisof - was recently spotted showing off her growing belly in thin red crocheted sweater over a white shirt.

FYI: Alyson’s HIMYM character, Lily, is also currently pregnant!

http://justjared.buzznet.com/2011/12/16/alyson-hannigan-pregnant-with-second-child/

Congrats to the happy couple on their expending family! :)

Kim Clijsters exhibition fun turns dangerous

Kim Clijsters and her sister Elke were playing a recent doubles exhibition against Caroline Wozniacki and Yanina Wickmayer when Clijsters made an unusual offer to soem fans in attendance.


 "To all the men here," Clijsters said into the chair umpire's microphone, "the one who kisses Yanina first, wins that white car over there."

The four-time Grand Slam champion then pointed to a promotional vehicle parked on the side of the court and watched as two men lept out of the crowd and aggressively made their way to the 22-year-old Wickmayer.

Security took the men away, Wickmayer laughed off the incident and the doubles match resumed, with the Clijsters sisters winning an easy victory in their native Belgium. No word on whether either of the kissers got the car.

Nice job security *rolls eyes*.

http://sports.yahoo.com/tennis/blog/busted_racquet/post/Video-Clijsters-offers-car-to-first-fan-who-kis?urn=ten-wp3976

Martina Hingis & Jennifer Capriati play and mentor at Cayman

When international tennis stars rolled into Cayman last month, they brought much more than their racquets and best shots; they took time to mould Cayman’s future tennis players. 

A plethora of international stars from the last two decades headlined the 2011 edition of the KPMG Legends Tennis tournament at the Residences of the Ritz Carlton in Grand Cayman. 

Swiss sensation Martina Hingis and her American counterpart Jennifer Capriati headlined the three day tournament which raised thousands for junior tennis and the Cayman Crisis Centre. Jimmy Arias, the perennial favourite, came again, Chanda Rubin for the first time and it was nice to see Nick Bollettieri inspiring the kids as he always does. Credit should go to Ritz-Carlton developer Michael Ryan for meshing it all together again. 

Local juniors like Simon Butler, James Priaulx, Callum Theaker and Daniel Reid also got a chance to play in a big tournament atmosphere. It was also nice to see Panav Jha, the stand-out teenager hoping to pursue a career as a pro, playing in the singles here. 

Hingis teamed up with Australian heavy hitter Mark Philippoussis and claimed the mixed doubles title, a new feature to the tournament, while veteran Wayne Ferreira was the singles winner. The extremely skilful Hingis was a perfect compliment to the power of Philippoussis, who at times during the competition unleashed his trademark serve. 

When the pros weren’t on court they took time out to work with several students and for the first time in the tournament’s ten year history more than 1,350 students got the chance to the watch tournament action for free; a master stroke by the tournament organisers to include more of the Cayman community in the sport.

Dan Kneipp, the tournament director, said: “The interest in this year’s competition was evident in each evening session with thousands of locals soaking in the top level tennis and the theatrics of Murphy Jensen and Arias who were guest umpires when not playing. 

“Not lost in the lively atmosphere was the need for the competition to have a charitable element - and again the Cayman Crisis Centre benefitted from the proceeds of a silent auction. 

“So while the big name tennis stars drew the crowds and changed the lives of the juniors the KPMG Legends Tennis tournament left another indelible mark with its community service.”

businessinsider

Hingis Fed Cup rumors untrue, no hope for Swiss Olympic pairing

Martina Hingis' representatives have denied reports that the former world No. 1 intends to play a Fed Cup tie for Switzerland in February. 

Hingis, who has never officially retired, has been linked with a mouthwatering doubles reunion with Roger Federer for the London 2012 Olympics. 

With a Fed Cup appearance part of the qualifying requirements for Olympic selection, Hingis was reported to be preparing for Switzerland's Fed Cup clash against Australia in February. 

Rene Stammbach, the president of the Swiss Tennis Federation, told the Swiss press that he hopes "to get Hingis' commitment within the next few days." 

But Hingis' camp has dismissed the latest rumours as a gimmick to sell tickets for the World Group II tie in Fribourg.

"They have a big arena to fill and no active players to fill it," a spokesman told Tennis.com. "We want to avoid their creating hype, rumours, gimmicks to sell tickets." 


With the recent retirement of Patty Schnyder, Switzerland's top two players are No. 138 Stefanie Voegele and No. 243 Timea Bacsinszky who has not played since March after under going surgery on a foot injury. 

Hingis, 31, had been involved in tentative talks with Federer's camp over the possibility of an Olympic match-up. However, the five-time major champion is yet to meet a series of requirements, including a Fed Cup appearance and a comeback on the WTA Tour. 

espn.co.uk

Martina Hingis & hubby Thibault Hutin at Gucci Masters

Martina Hingis and Thibault Hutin, both horse riders, competing in the Gucci Masters. International Gucci Masters is a a jumping competition held at the Palais des Expositions in Villepinte. 

More pics here and here

Clijsters staying cautious in 2012

With injuries throughout 2011, Belgian Kim Clijsters opted out of some important tournaments this year including Wimbledon and the US Open where she was the double defending champion.

“The start of 2011 was really good. But after that I made some decisions I no longer would make now. 

After a physically and psychologically very strenuous Australian Open, the indoor tournament in Paris was the one event too much. Now, I'll be listening to my body much better,” commented Clijsters on her injuries in 2011.

The Belgian starts of her 2012 campaign at the Brisbane International before moving to defend her title at the Australian Open. 

When asked about her targets for 2012 Clijsters added, “I will take things one tournament at a time, but above all I would like to improve my game. I have been working really hard at my service, because that often did not go well in the past year.”

Clijsters also showed a certain level of uncertainty when asked about her Fed Cup and Olympic aspirations.

“I have spoken to team captain Ann Devries, but I have not decided anything yet. The year will be very busy already with the sequence of Wimbledon and the Olympics. I'll see how things are after the Australian Open. Should I do as well as last year it might all be a bit much, but should things go not too well Down Under the Fed Cup might be an appropriate challenge.”

It seems like we will see a new and improved Clijsters in 2012 and lets hope she bedazzles us with her scintillating tennis that we are used to!.

tennisearth.com

Funny Church signs

Kim Clijsters successful in 1st exhibition after long break

(CNN) -- Four-time grand slam champion Kim Clijsters made a successful return from injury by defeating world number one Caroline Wozniacki in an exhibition match in Antwerp, Belgium.

Clijsters, U.S. Open champion in 2005, 2009 and 2010, has been out for almost four months after sustaining a stomach muscle injury in August.

"So far, and today, everything felt really great," the 28-year-old said told the 10,000-strong crowd after winning 6-2 7-6 (7-5) at the Antwerp Sports Palace on Thursday.

The Belgian will now focus on preparing to defend her Australian Open crown in Melbourne in January after securing victory in one hour and 35 minutes.

Clijsters climbed to the top of the world rankings in February before sustaining shoulder and ankle injuries in April. She injured her stomach while attempting to recover in time to challenge for a fourth U.S. Open title and is only now regaining full fitness.

"I am happy to have played a match and break the rhythm of daily training," the 41-time WTA Tour winner said.

Clijsters initially retired from tennis in 2007 to concentrate on raising her daughter, but in 2009 she performed a u-turn and announced she would return to sport.

It was a spectacular comeback as Clijsters gained wild-card entry to the U.S. Open before going on to win the title at Flushing Meadows two years in a row.

CNN International Edition

Song of the Moment: Ingrid Michealson & Sara Bareilles-Winter Song

With the snow falling on the ground the last few days the song seems very appropriate.  I love the very subtle melody and lyrics perfect for sitting and relaxing around this time of year.

I fell in love with Ingrid Michaelson after hearing a bunch of her songs on Grey's Anatomy.  And I must say I'm really starting to enjoy Sara Bareilles as well.