Safin v. Sampras!

Marat Safin will play Pete Sampras in an exhibition match in San Jose on Feb. 18th (my Brosef's b-day BTW). I really hope this re-match of the 2000 U.S. Open final will be televised!

Speaking of Marat, I'm sad to see that (according to his website's calendar) he won't be at the Tennis Channel Open in Vegas this March. I was hoping to re-unite with him at the scene of our first (and only) in-person meeting from last year. Oh well, hopefully, I'll be able to catch him in Indian Wells.

New on TV

ABC is premiering a new show tonight called ELI STONE (at 10pm), starring the gorgeous Jonny Lee Miller, as a lawyer who starts to have prophetic visions. Now, aside from JLM and a cameo by George Michael (singing "Faith" of course), I'm not too sure about the show. But, I plan to tune in nonetheless. I did, after all, see Jonny at my local Trader Joe's a few months ago. So, I should be supportive of eye-candy from my neighborhood.

P.S. Becks has a new tattoo (of Posh!) on his forearm, and former U.S. Women's National Soccer Team player, Lorrie Fair, has joined Chelsea Ladies! I have a combo-comment to both: Argh; I'm jealous!

More Important But...

I know there are more important things in the world, but...

1) Chelsea takes on Reading today in EPL action (on FSC at 11:30am PST). I think I still loathe Reading for their violence against BOTH of our top goalkeepers last year. I don't forgive and forget very easily.

2) There's a cool exhibition at the Ben Maltz Gallery called SHAOLIN: TEMPLE OF ZEN. I gotta see if my Brosef wants to check this out with me. Growing up, I was his martial arts dummy after all.

3) Check out David Beckham multi-tasking in Brazil.

4) I can't tell you how much I miss my beloved Tower Records on Sunset Blvd. I wish they'd re-open it.

New Music Tuesday

I'm very excited about these cool, new music releases!

Happy Birthday, Sofia!

Happy 4th Birthday to my beloved niece, Sofia! I love you, cupcake!

LHK Tennis Update

Wow, except for my favz not advancing as far as I would have liked, I pretty much got what I wished for at the Aussie Open. I wanted someone to de-throne Roger Federer, and the first man from Serbia to ever win a Grand Slam, Novak Djokovic, did just that; bravo to Nole; I'm so happy for him! Also, I wanted someone other than Justine Henin or the Williams sisters to win on the Ladys (sic) side, and Maria Sharapova obliged on that end. I'm not a huge fan of hers, but I gotz to give her props on winning her 3rd slam.

Overall, it was a fabulous Grand Slam tourney, and a great way to start 2008! But, of course, now I have to deal with the tennis withdrawal. It's a good thing I have some of the great matches on my DVR and that FED CUP is this coming weekend.

P.S. HAPPY 28th BIRTHDAY to Marat Safin! With lots of Lady Hooligan love from Los Angeles!

More Important But...

I know there are more important things in the world, but...

1) YAY!! Bravo to Novak Djokovic for beating and unreigning Roger Federer at the Aussie Open! Amazing!!

2) Speaking of tennis, the Aussie Open Women's FINAL is tonight on ESPN2 at 6:30pm PST!!

3) Also, Robby Ginepri has actually won a 1st round match! Well, I should hope so since it's the 1st round of a challenger event in Hawaii. Here's hoping Robby gets some wins and some confidence back; go, Robby!

4) I'm digging this song "Middle of the Sea" by a London band called SEQUOIA.

5) Boo! Mr. French is apparently dating Rosario Dawson.

6) Let's not forget about Olympic swimmer, Michael Phelps. Can't wait to see him swim this summer in Beijing!

7) Bacon Cocktails?!? Wha??

P.S. Just wanted to send a little random shout-out to Mrs. S!

Happy Birthday, Lady Doc!

A very special birthday greeting to our very own Lady Doc!

P.S. Happy Birthday to Peachy-E in DC too!

Bravo, Becks!

Bravo to Sweet Cheeks Becks on his recent tour of Sierra Leone promoting UNICEF.

Oscar Picks!

Honey(s), the nominations for the 80th Academy Awards were announced on Tuesday, and here are my (tardy) picks (for the categories I have clear favz in):

BEST ACTRESS: Marion Cotillard (La Vie En Rose)

BEST ACTOR: tie b/t Johnny Depp (Sweeney Todd) and Viggo Mortensen (Eastern Promises)

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE: Persepolis!!!!!!

BEST DIRECTING: Julian Schnabel (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly)

BEST DOCUMENTARY: Sicko

BEST ART DIRECTION: Atonement

BEST ORIGINAL SONG: Falling Slowly (Once)

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Ronald Hardwood (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Diablo Cody (Juno)

LHK Sporting News

1) Yowza! There was some major tennis action last night at the Aussie Open. Maria Sharapova beat an injured Jelena Jankovic and is heading to the final. She'll meet Ana Ivanaovic there, who came back from a bagel in the 1st set to beat Daniela Hantuchova in 3 sets! But even crazier than that, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga UPSET Rafa Nadal by beating him in a convincing 3 set win and is headed to the men's final!

The big match tonight is the 2nd men's semi-final between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. (I don't want to jinx it but) here's hoping for another upset and redemption for Djokovic, who almost beat Federer at the 2007 U.S. Open championship match (and also maybe even a little redemption for Novak's countryman, Janko Tipsarevic, who almost took Roger out in the 3rd round of this tournament).

2) Ooh-OOH! Chelsea beat Everton yesterday and are headed to Wembley for the final of the Carling Cup against Tottenham. So at least, we have a shot at one trophy this season.

Happy Birthday, MichaelAllen!

Yes, that's right, his first and last names have (unofficially) merged.

Come on, Chelsea!

Chelsea takes on Everton today (at noon on Setanta) in the 2nd leg of the English League Cup semi-final. Go Blues!

P.S. R.I.P. Heath Ledger

New Music Tuesday

My pick for today is Cat Power's "Jukebox"; Chan Marshall's 2nd collection of unique covers. She's backed by the Dirty Delta Blues, which includes LHK pal, Erik Papparazzi, on bass.

Brava, Jelena!

Jelena Jankovic just beat Serena Williams in the quarters of the Australian Open. Go, Lady!

LHK Sporting News

1) We have Round of 16 action today at the Australian Open with coverage on ESPN2 and Tennis Channel.

2) In American football action, the New England Patriots are taking on the San Diego Chargers (at 12pm PST on CBS). I'll be rooting for the EYE-CANDY aka Tom Brady, QB for the Patriots. I know that I probably should root for the Chargers since they're a So. Cal. team, but I have no solid NFL affiliations since L.A. lost our beloved Raiders....

Movie Update

I finally saw THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY last night, and it certainly is deserving of all the praise it's been getting... Julian Schnabel's direction is so interesting; the acting is wonderful; the soundtrack is quite cool; and above all, the story is AMAZING! You gotta love a film (or anything really) that gives you a kick in the arse and reminds you to appreciate your life.

Congrats, HilLADY!

Hillary Clinton has won the Democratic caucuses in Nevada! Go, Lady!

She's got my vote, with or without her keen sense of humor!

Ooh-OOH!

Chelsea gets a last minute 1-0 win against Birmingham City! We'll take it, and thanks to Yahoo! Eurosport UK for the online coverage!

Happy Birthday, Dolly!

It's Dolly Parton's 62nd birthday today! She's a goddess!

So, what's your favorite Dolly tune? Tell me and/or fredflare (they're having a contest). My fav is HERE YOU COME AGAIN!


Speaking of that song, check out how one Lady has her own interpretation of the song and uses it as her meditation theme song.

LHK Sporting News

1) Now that my favz (Marat Safin and Svetlana Kuznetsova) are unfortunately out of the Australian Open, whom do I root for? Well, the simple answer is anyone but Roger Federer and Justine Henin; their brilliance bores me. Also, (dare I say) the attitude of the Williams sisters bugs me a bit. But, I guess I sort of dig and will root for the Serbs/Croats, James Blake, and Rafa Nadal. Oh, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is pretty fun too.

2) Chelsea takes on Birmingham City tomorrow morning (on Setanta Xtra - BOO! I don't get that channel - at 7am PST). GO BLUES! Let's see how our new Serbian defender, Branislav Ivanovic, does.

3) Women's pro soccer is coming BACK! Go, LADYs!

4) Okay, I could be crazy, but I think Robby Ginepri is planning to play a challenger event in Hawaii?!

Oh, Marat!

What a match between Marat Safin and Marcos Baghdatis last night! I kept waking up in the middle of the night to watch parts of it as my DVR was recording it. It was so crazy! First, Marat's down 2 sets; then he won 2 sets and they're on to a fifth. I woke up this morning to find that unfortunately Marat lost in the 5th set; just heart-breaking! I feel your pain, Marat!

During my patchy sleep last night, I did actually have a dream about Marat. I vaguely remember it, but I think he and I were about to make-out in some (seemingly) secluded spot at a party, but then his wandering eye messed things up, and I was upset. Oh, Marat! You can melt and break my heart with that smile!

No, but seriously, when I met him at the Tennis Channel Open last year (see pic below), he couldn't have been sweeter to me and all the other fans.

Match of the Day

I'm looking forward to Marat Safin taking on Marcos Baghdatis in 2nd round Australian Open action later tonight (well, early tomorrow morning at 12:30am on ESPN2, following the Ivanovic v. Garbin match). Go Marat!

P.S. Wait, who's that in the picture with Marat?

New Music (&DVD) Tuesday

Here are a few new releases that look good:



P.S. 1) Fingers-crossed that John Terry's foot scan comes out positive; love you, John!

2) Golden Globe winner Johnny Depp is not only amazingly talented and gorgeous, but he's got a big heart too...

And the Golden Globe goes too...

(Among others) Atonement, Sweeney Todd, Johnny Depp, Marion Cotillard and TINA FEY! Go Tina! I heart 30 Rock! Full list of winners HERE.

P.S. My picks weren't too terrible, and now I really want to see THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY.

More Important But...

I know there are more important things in the world, but...

1) The Australian Open starts here TODAY (well, it's actually already tomorrow Jan. 14th in Australia)! TV coverage will be on ESPN2 and TENNIS CHANNEL; check your listings and set your DVRs (coverage starts this afternoon on ESPN2 at 4pm PST).

2) *revised* Barry Gibb?!? It sounds like he's a featured vocalist on a track called "Electric Feel" by MGMT. Speaking of MGMT, they have a free single on iTunes this week. Thanks to Rob/BT for the BG tip (and to "Webster" for the comment)!


3) Check out the Feb. '08 issue of ELLE magazine (with Jessica Alba on the cover). There's an interesting article on page 214 called "How to Date a Male Model". Hmm...

4) ELLE also mentions this movie called MY BLUEBERRY NIGHTS (starring Jude Law and Norah Jones, believe it or not) that sounds quite intriguing; not sure if it'll come to the States though...

Biggies of the Day

1) My friend John Blevins' show HARRISON, TEXAS starts today and runs through Feb. 17th. Please check it out, and support the L.A. theater scene!

2) Jamie Oliver's new show on the Food Network JAMIE AT HOME premieres today (on the Food Network at 9:30am PST). Set your TiVo's, and thanks for the tip, Bill.

3) Chelsea beat Tottenham today! Yay Blues!

We'll take him!

Chelsea signed striker (and Frenchie) Nicolas Anelka today! Thank goodness 'cause we certainly need him!

LHK Tennis Update

1) Oh lawd! Robby Ginepri lost yet another match. This time he lost in the 1st ROUND! of the qualies of the Aussie Open.

2) The new issue of the ATP's DEUCE magazine is due out soon.

3) When it comes to women's tennis (court) shoes, a big gripe of mine is that most of them are WHITE; unattractive (like ugly nurse-shoes) and heavy. So when Venus Williams came out with her line of cute and inexpensive tennis attire called EleVen, I immediately bought a pair of the RELAY tennis shoes from the line (in BLACK/LILAC).
Well, first of all, the shoes fit great (true to size and very light-weight). But at about $16./pair, I must admit that I was apprehensive about their actual support and quality on the court. So, I finally tested them out last night during a casual game of Australian doubles (my weekly class had fallen through unfortunately).

Although the shoes looked good, the shock absorption just wasn't there. I don't know how much of it was my own paranoia, but they sort of felt cheap. I'd only recommend the shoes to a very casual player. Since I don't need any added risk of injury, I probably won't wear them very much. But they're a cute extra pair of tennis shoes to have around as a back-up.

Erwin, my endless search for the perfect tennis court shoes continues...

Court #8

My weekly tennis class (I mean, practice/training) resumes tonight, and I can't wait!

By the way, Tennis Channel has started airing coverage from the Medibank International tournament in Sydney. Oooh; that means that the Aussie Open is right around the corner!

Speaking of Australia, Marat Safin beat Andy Murray in the first round of the AAMI Kooyong Classic in Melbourne. Yay; go Marat! Now that's a match I wouldn't have minded seeing, especially since Andy Murray has apparently been doing lots of yoga lately; hey now!

Go, Hillary!

(The other) Hillzie won in New Hampshire! Go, Lady!

P.S. Check out this random "Hillary" song:

Carling Cup

Chelsea won their Carling Cup game today against Everton in a very dramatic fashion; with only 10 men and a winning goal in injury time! Shaun Wright-Phillips was no doubt the man of the match.

New Music Tuesday

I'm SO excited about the new music releases by Sia and Kate Nash that both come out today! You can't beat the title of Sia's new cd "Some People Have Real Problems", and Kate Nash's track "Pumpkin Soup" will definitely be on repeat in the LHK world. Please check them both out!





P.S. 1) Chelsea takes on Everton today in the first leg of the English League Cup semi-final (at 11:30am PST on Setanta); GO BLUES!

2) The People's Choice Awards airs on CBS tonight at 9pm.

Happy Birthday, Elvis!

Love you, Elvis!


Do y'all have a favorite Elvis Presley song? It's really hard to narrow down, but ONE of my favz is definitely "Suspicious Minds".

Awards; yeah? no!

It's official! The Golden Globes awards show has been cancelled due to the WGA strike. Boo! The winners will now be announced during an NBC News press conference (on Sat. June 13th at 6pm PST) instead.

At least, the Critics' Choice Awards are on VH1 tonight.

Chuck

Although it had a rough start, I really began to dig the somewhat cheezy show CHUCK (Mondays on NBC at 8pm). I actually sort of miss it now that it's not on air due to the WGA strike. There's nothing much to watch on Monday nights now, so if you're sort of jonesing for a little Chuck, check out this interview with the show's star, the adorable Zachary Levi.


P.S. Happy Anniversary to my 'RENTS!

MILK

The crew and I went back to TERRONI for dinner last night. Even though it was packed, we got a great table right away. I highly recommend the pappardelle alla iosa, and Bill and Amanda swear by the lemon spaghetti.

Afterwards we went to MILK for dessert, which is open until 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays and is just a few blocks East of Terroni. Bill and I were looking forward to trying their infamous BLUE velvet cake, but we were really disappointed with it. It was dry, not very tasty and had raisins in it!? I'll stick with my DOUGHBOYS red velvet (aka red robin) cake; thank you! BUT nonetheless, I highly recommend the cookies at MILK; they're delicious and only a $1 each; a yummy little treat!

P.S. In LHK sporting news:

- Chelsea beat QPR yesterday 1-0 and have advanced to the 4th round of the English FA Cup; thank goodness!

- Robby Ginepri retired AGAIN in a 2nd-round qualifying match in Australia. This time it was during the Medibank International in Sydney. Wha happen?!? Poor baby!

Boo!

I've woken this morning to find that there's NO telecast of the Chelsea v. QPR game (and soccerTV.com has confirmed this lame and unexpected change). Wha happen?!? Boooo! I guess I'll have to go online to try and follow the action...

More Important But...

Now, I know there are more important things in the world, but...

1) Chelsea takes on QPR tomorrow in the 3rd round of the English FA Cup (Sat. Jan 5th on FSC at 7am PST). Unfortunately, John Terry and several other key Chelski players are still injured.


2) Speaking of English soccer, Becks is officially training with Arsenal BUT only as an avenue to get fit (for English national team duty and also for the upcoming MLS season). It's so weird to see him in an Arsenal kit, and I'm not terribly fond of the platinum hair either.

3) In tennis news,

- The U.S. beat Serbia to win the Hopman Cup!

- Martina Hingis has been banned for two years after a independent tribunal confirmed her positive test for COCAINE! Sniff, sniff...

- Count-down to the Aussie Open (the first Grand Slam of the year)! It starts on Jan. 14th; can't wait!

4) Due to the WGA strike, I've been without some major appointment television lately. So, to get my Michael Urie (from Ugly Betty) fix, I may actually tune into MISS AMERICA REALITY CHECK tonight (on TLC at 10pm). Marc, I mean, Michael is hosting. Hmm; we'll see..

5) Finally, in honor of this crazy L.A. rain (and my pals Amanda & Bill), I'd like to leave you with a hilarious quote from the movie Cold Mountain:
Ruby (played by Renne Zellweger): "They call this war a cloud over the land. But they made the weather and then they stand in the rain and say 'Shit, it's raining!'"

Happy Birthday, Simon!

Restaurant AND Movie Review(s)

Yesterday, on New Year's Day, I caught a screening of PERSEPOLIS and later dined at OSTERIA MOZZA. I'd recommend both!

Persepolis is an wonderfully done animated feature about a young girl growing up during the Iranian Revoltion, and I think it should win the Academy Award for Best Animated feature or possibly for Best Foreign Film (well, hopefully it will win a Golden Globe first).

Osteria Mozza is a fine dining (read: sorta pricey) establishment, and it's right next to Pizzeria Mozza (on Highland and Melrose). But it's easier to get reservations at the osteria, and the pastas and the service are first-rate!

Speaking of Italian food, if you're near the Grove, check out TERRONI. It's a newer restaurant that opened up where the Authentic Cafe used to be. They serve "traditional, Southern Italian food," and they have a strict no substitutions rule. But, the food is really delicious, and the vibe is much cooler and more casual (read: not as pricey) as Osteria Mozza.

P.S. In other news,

1) Having struck separate deals with the WGA, the late night talk-shows are finally back on the air tonight. The only one I care about, however, is my beloved Conan O'Brien!

2) Apparently, Robby Ginepri had to retire from his last match because he had/has the flu. Here's hoping he feels better soon, and kicks some ass at the Australian Open.

Happy New Year!

Happy 2008! Chelsea has started off the New Year with a win, so I can't complain...