Saturday Movie Review

The gang and I saw SEX AND THE CITY today, and we loved it! I don't know why it's not getting better reviews 'cause it was so fun! If you're a fan of the TV show, you're going to really enjoy the movie.

Friendship, fashion, laughter and love; you really can't go wrong!

Frenchie Open Update

1) Bravo to Robby Ginepri for advancing to the 4th round of the French Open!! He beat Florent Serra today in 3 straight sets and is the last American (man or woman) playing singles in the tourney. GO ROBBY!

2) Congrats to Dinara Safina and Svetlana Kuznetsova for advancing today as well!

3) Speaking of the Ladies, with the Williams sisters both knocked out already and no Justine Henin this year, there will actually be a brand new French Open women's champion this year!

Happy Birthday, Victoria!

CHEERS to YOU! I'll have a cocktail in your honour!

Bravo, Gineps!

Robby Ginepri moves on to the THIRD ROUND of the French Open after beating Igor Andreev today in 4 sets! Keep it up, Robby!

Unfortunately, my other beloved, Marat Safin, lost to Nikolay Davydenko today.

Bravo, JT!!

Bravo to John Terry for scoring in England's international friendly against the U.S. today!! He's BACK, Ladies & Gentlemen!

Frenchie Open Update

Bravo to Marat Safin and Robby Ginepri on winning their first round matches at Roland Garros!

England Friendly

Versus the United States today (live on ESPN Classic at 11:50am PST). I'll be rooting for England and my beloved John Terry!

P.S. Becks is supposed to be getting his 100th cap in the game too.

Couldn't Sleep

So, I decided to clean out my DVR. I had England's game versus Portugal from the 2006 World Cup on there. I don't mean to open an old wound, but I almost forgot that England lost on penalties! Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard AND Jamie Carragher ALL missed theirs! So, don't fret, John Terry, you're not the only one who's missed an important penalty in their career.

On a nicer note, I'll never forget JT's amazing save during the Trinidad & Tobago game in the same World Cup; he is and always will be my hero!

Here's hoping JT is getting over his CL-PK miss (like I am trying to do) and that England has a great game today against the U.S.

Happy Birthday, Lady Lorelei!

CHEERS to YOU!

P.S. Happy Birthday to my Cuzin Sheila too!

New Music Tuesday

JT to captain England again!

Fabio Capello is set to give the England captaincy back to John Terry for England's friendly against the U.S. this Wednesday at Wembley. JT deserves it, and here's hoping he'll be able to bounce back from everything with an even greater determination!

P.S. Happy Memorial Day.

The Frenchies

Well, I'm hoping that a tennis grand slam will take my mind off of CFC for a bit.

Roland Garros (aka The French Open) starts tomorrow (well, sort of tonight at 2am PST on Tennis Channel; with more coverage during the days on ESPN2).

Robby Ginepri (who actually made it to the quarters of the Hypo Group International recently) takes on fellow American, Donald Young, in the first round. And, my other beloved, Marat Safin, meets Jean-Rene Lisnard of Monaco (who?) in the first round.

JT's Letter to Fans

John Terry (and my hero) has written an open letter to Chelsea fans following the Champions League Final.

The Chelsea captain wrote:

'To all the Chelsea fans, all my team-mates, the manager and staff at the club.

I am so sorry for missing the penalty and denying you the fans, my team-mates, family and friends the chance to become European champions.

Many people have told me I don't need to say that but I feel I need to, that's just me. I have relived that moment every minute since it happened. I have only slept a few hours and wake up every time hoping it's all been a bad dream.

I have had some amazing support from fans, current and ex-players, family and friends and I need to thank everyone for that. But I am a big man and I take responsibility for us not winning.

I am and ALWAYS will be Chelsea through and through. I will give my all on and off the pitch to win this trophy as a player and one day as a manager. And I am sure we will win it.

That night in Moscow will haunt me forever and I feel I have let everybody down and this hurts me more than anything. I am not ashamed about crying. This is a trophy I have tried so hard year after year to win and it was just an uncontrollable reaction, I wear my heart on my sleeve, everybody knows that.

The road to Rome starts here, we have to try and turn this experience to our advantage. I am very proud of how far we have come this season with everything that has gone on.

Thank you for all your support for the team this season.'

THIS GOES WITHOUT SAYING, BUT: I love you, John!

Thanks anyway, Avram.

Chelsea has fired manager Avram Grant. Not really a surprise. He seemed like a nice gent though. But, no trophies = no job!

A nice article...

to help ease the pain a little: THE FALL AND RISE OF JOHN TERRY AND CFC

Special thanks to:

1) Ivan, my fellow Chelsea fanatic, for making every game so much fun to watch.

2) My Brosef for driving me home yesterday.

3) Mike C. for being a pretty decent good luck charm.

4) Laddie McFresh for rooting against Man U; for taking my Liverpool trash-talk; and for the quote "Today's news is tomorrow's fish and chips wrapping paper!"

5) Lady Lorelei for trying to join us for the final and for always being so lovely and neutral.

6) Last but not least to Tony, the Birmingham City fan, who was so kind to me during yesterday's tense and ultimately devastating game.

No words...

can truly express yesterday. Chelsea lost to Man U on penalty kicks. My beloved John Terry had a chance to win it all for us, but he slipped and missed his penalty. It's completely surreal, and I've been unbelievably sad, sick and heart-broken. And knowing that John, our Captain, is taking the loss harder than ANY Chelsea fan makes me feel even worse.

John: I'm sending all of my love and support from Los Angeles. It's in the past now. Please keep your head up FOR US!


P.S. On another note, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my Pops and to AJ. I'm sorry your birthday wishes are a part of this sad post, but I didn't have the energy to post anything until now.

The Champions!

IT'S THE BIG DAY!!!!!!

CHELSEA V. MAN U in the Champions League FINAL!!!! I am beyond excited!

If you're in the Santa Monica area, come support Chelsea with me at the King's Head.

COME ON, CHELSEA!

P.S. I love you, John Terry!

New Music (&DVD) Tuesday

Happy Birthday, Brien!

Cheers to you, BT!

Happy Birthday, Rob!

Cheers to you, RD!

P.S. Happy 1st Anniversary to Kara and Brad too!

Missed exhibit

It's a bummer when I miss an interesting art exhibit, and Jason Martin's OCEANIA at the LA Louver (which ended yesterday) looked quite cool. Oh well; c'est la vie...

LHK Sporting News

1) Only RAFA! How does one come back from being down 1-5 in the first set to Roger Federer?!? Only Rafa Nadal could possibly do it, and he did when he beat Federer in 3 sets in the final of the Hamburg Master Series today.

2) Congrats to Jelena Jankovic on winning the Italian Open today! Go, Lady!

3) (And though I'm slightly more of a AC Milan fan) Congrats to Inter Milan for winning the Serie A league title!

4) My beloved Robby Ginepri is finally back in action this week at the Hypo Group International (in a Portschach, Austria; a city my Parents used to visit when they were newlyweds living in Graz!). Unfortunately, Robby meets (Croatian ace) Mario Ancic in the first round; hmm...

5) The 2nd Grand Slam of the tennis season, Roland Garros (aka the French Open), starts a week from today!

6) Last but least, I can't tell you how excited (and nervous) I am about the Champions League Final between Chelsea and Manchester United this Wednesday (on ESPN2 at 11:30am PST). I'm taking the day off from work because it's probably the biggest day in Chelsea's history!

COME ON, CHELSEA!

Pompey

Congrats to Portsmouth (and hottie Croatian, Niko Kranjcar) on winning the FA Cup today against Cardiff City!

Happy Birthday, Cris!

Cheers to you Cristobal (aka Crystal Ball)!

Music Update

1) RANDOM! Donna Summer is back with new music. It's been 14 years since she's released any new music. Check it out for yourself...

2) I've also been digging Keep Colorby The Republic Tigers, especially the song "The Nerve" (which has such a lovely and haunting melody in the chorus). Thanks to fellow Chelsea fan, Jonesy, for introducing me to another great band.

LHK Tennis Update

1) Marat Safin (who qualified for the Hamburg Masters) has notched another win and is now on his way to the 3rd round.

2) World #1, Justine Henin, has RETIRED today!?!?! Wha??? She's only 25!

New Music Tuesday

There's some great stuff out today!




There are also some cool new singles available on iTunes too; check out Coldplay's "Viva La Vida" and The Cure's "The Only One"

Rockwood

Just had dinner with my old pal, Rockwood, and his wife Becky. They're visiting from Hawaii, where they run Big Island Tattoo; check it out IF you're ever in Kona...

Go, Lady!

Congrats to Dinara Safina for winning the German Open yesterday! Those drop shots were cray-zay, Lady!

JT's okay!

Phew! John Terry did not break his arm in today's last League game against Bolton (as I had feared). He apparently just dislocated his elbow and thinks he will be able to recover in time for the BIG game on May 21st!

Fingers crossed, JT! I love you!

Oh, Chelsea...

Chelsea just lost the EPL title to Manchester United. I'm not completely surprised, but nonetheless, I am very sad.

I gave up hope for the league title today (and almost puked) when my beloved John Terry left the game injured with a possible broken arm. I think Chelsea only gave up towards the very end of our game when they heard that Man U scored their 2nd goal against Wigan.

What can I say? Chelsea had another rough season (with so many injuries; a management shake-up; and players out on national team duty), BUT they still challenged for the title until the very last day. They're heroes to me for persevering through it all, and to quote journalist Ian Edwards "if titles were awarded on the basis of spirit alone, the Premier League trophy would already be decked out in blue and white ribbons."

Here's hoping that Chelsea can avenge this League title loss in Moscow on May 21st when they take on Man U in the Champions League final!

Come on, Chelsea!

Put on some blue and turn on Fox Soccer Channel RIGHT NOW!!! It's the last day of the English Premier League, and the league winner will be decided today!

COME ON CHELSEA!

And Wigan too!

P.S. I love you, John Terry!

Happy Mother's Day!

To my Mum and to my Sister-in-Law: I LOVE YOU!

Saturday Movie Review

After four of my co-workers raved about IRON MAN, I decided to drag Bill to it this afternoon, and I regret it now. I'm not a big action movie fan, but I was assured that this movie was really great. Although it was kind of nice to see Robert Downey, Jr. playing against type, the whole movie annoyed me because the lead character is a sexist playboy and the villains are Middle-Eastern. Argh!

By the way, did anyone else catch Tom Morello (guitarist from Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave) playing one of the "Middle-Eastern" guards? I did; he's even in the credits. Random!?

I've been a little preoccupied lately...

with the upcoming soccer games this weekend. The big EPL games are this Sunday at 7am. In order for Chelsea to win the league, Chelsea needs to win their game versus Bolton, and Manchester United needs to tie or lose theirs against Wigan. It's very stressful, but all I can say is

COME ON, CHELSEA!

In other LHK sporting news:

1) Rafa Nadal lost in the second round of Rome Masters earlier this week. I'm not surprised since his clay court schedule seems impossible; at least he lost to fellow Spaniard and hottie, Juan Carlos Ferrero...

2) Bravo to Dinara Safina (Marat's younger sister) for beating Justine Henin and then Serena Williams to make it to the semi-finals of the Berlin Open!

3) In other (potential) upsets, Roger Federer is currently trailing Radek Stepanek in the quarters of the Rome Masters (6-7, 3-4). But, Roger's on serve now and will probably switch to a higher gear. So, we'll see... But, it would be so nice to see someone other than Federer win the tournament now that Rafa's out.

New Music (&DVD) Tuesday

Some random ones today:

LHK Sporting News

1) The ATP Rome Masters Series starts today (with coverage on Tennis Channel starting at 4am PST).

2) The big game of the day is CHELSEA vs. Newcastle (on Setanta at 8am PST). It's another must-win game for our Blues:

COME ON, CHELSEA!

3) The 2008 Women's FA Cup Final between Arsenal LFC and Leeds United LFC should be cool too (on FSC at 2pm PST).

P.S. Happy Cinco de Mayo! I'll definitely have myself a margarita IF Chelsea wins today!

Chelsea Podcast!!

Surprise, surprise: I like listen to the Official Chelsea Podcast (via iTunes). I even sent in a silly, little e-mail several weeks ago, WHICH was read "on air" this week! What a surprise and honor!

Check it out if you like (the May 1, 2008 podcast; they mention me towards the end of the podcast when they read fans' e-mails):

P.S. I've already burned it to disc! :) Come on, Chelsea!

Happy Birthday, Amanda!

Lively, that is....

P.S. In other news:

1) Happy Birthday to Sweet Cheeks Becks too!

2) Congrats to Marat Safin for advancing to the quarters of the BMW Open!

3) Check out some foxy Spanish tennis players in an off-court fashion-spread HERE.