Go, Robby!

My beloved Robby Ginepri takes on Novak Djokovic in the round of 16 at the French Open today! Go, Robby!!

LHK Tennis News

1) Rafa Nadal continues his domination on clay, winning yet another title today. He beat Novak Djokovic in the final of the Rome Masters. Even though I miss his sleeveless shirts, I'm really looking forward to seeing if he can win the French Open title again (it's only three weeks away)!

2) My two favorite female players, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Dinara Safina, met in the final of the Porsche Grand Prix in Stuttgart today, with Sveta ending up the victor. Congrats to them both!

3) My belovedEDs Jeremy Chardy and Marat Safin are also currently in Germany at the BMW Open in Munich.

LHK Tennis Update

1) Jeremy Chardy is seeded 4th at this week's US Men's Clay Court Championship tournament in Houston. Allez, Jeremy!

2) And, congrats to Andy Murray on beating Novak Djokovic in Miami yesterday.

LHK Tennis Update

The men's final of the SONY ERICSSON OPEN takes place today between Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray (on CBS at 10am PST).

P.S. Victoria Azarenka beat Serena Williams in the women's final yesterday. Brava, Victoria!

LHK Tennis Update

Defending Champion Novak Djokovic was upset by South African qualifier Kevin Anderson today in the second round of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami! I saw Kevin play at this year's Tennis Channel Open, and I'm not utterly shocked that he beat Novak. Kevin is very strong, tall and consistent. He also unfortunately beat my beloved Robby Ginepri at the Tennis Channel Open.

By the way, TV coverage of the Sony Ericsson Open starts tomorrow on FSN.

P.S. How cute is this tennis plaque that I just bought from the Coca-Cola store?!! I obviously dig tennis, and I love Coke products (especially Coke Zero). So, I scored with such an adorable tchotchke.

Until next year, i-Dub...

Just got back from Indian Wells...

For today's adventure, Lady Stacy and I drove down early (about 8:30am) and fortunately had no trouble with traffic or parking. We got into the grounds by 10:45am; had our cocktails in hand and were watching Rafael Nadal on the practice courts by 11am! Just a little while later, we saw Rafa's semi-final opponent, Novak Djokovic (aka Nole), practicing in a nearby court too! What a way to start the morning!

Eventually, we headed to our nose-bleed seats in the main stadium to catch the 2nd set and super 3rd set tiebreak of the women's doubles finals. By the way, the weather was quite hot today (about 90), but our seats were in the shade (which made the tennis viewing so pleasant all day). Excellent work, Lady Stacy, on picking great seats on the South side of the stadium!

Anyway, Dinara Safina (Marat Safin's younger sister) and her dubz partner ended up winning the women's doubles Pacific Life Open title, and I was very happy for them. After their match, we had a quick bite before seeing Nole beat Rafa in two sets in the first semi-final of the day.

But, the most exciting match of the day was the second semi-final between (#1 ranked) Roger Federer and American Mardy Fish (ranked #98). Although I'm not a Mardy Fish fanatic, I was completely rooting for him because he's pals with players I really dig (e.g. Robby Ginepri, James Blake), and I also always enjoying seeing Roger Federer upset. And upset he was; Mardy played brilliantly to beat Roger 6-3, 6-2!!! Wooh! Well, another March tennis season has come and gone for me, and I certainly had a blast! Vegas two weeks ago (met Robby Ginepri!); Indian Wells last weekend (met Robby Ginepri again!), and Indian Wells again this weekend (saw R-Fed upset). Life ain't too shabby! Now, I can't wait for July, when pro tennis comes back to the L.A. area!

LHK Sporting News

1) Wow, Chelsea beat Derby 6-1 yesterday! A very nice league win for us; now IF ONLY the Chelsea manager, Avram Grant, had used yesterday's line-up in our recent heart-breaking Cup losses....

2) Robby Ginepri takes on Vince Spadea today in the first round of the Pacific Life Open. Go Robby!

3) Did you catch Novak Djokovic on The Tonight Show last night? I was just flipping through the channels and was happy to catch his interview. He's adorable.

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!

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.

LHK Tennis Update

Marat Safin beat qualifier Denis Matsukevitch in the first round of the Kremlin Cup. Marat, who's sporting a fuller 'do, takes on Igor Andreev or Nicolas Mahut next.

Robby Ginepri, on the other hand, lost in his first round match at the BA-CA TennisTrophy tournament. Unfortunately, he had drawn Novak Djokovic though; poor Gineps!


P.S. RANDOM ALERT! Here's a pic of the first Boston Terrier that I fell in love with, Buster:

More Important But...

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

1) Chelsea beat Bolton today!

2) At the risk of jinxing it, Sweet Cheeks Becks might actually grace us with his presence on the pitch this month.

3) Jimmy Fallon will most likely take over for Conan O'Brien when Conan moves to The Tonight Show in 2009. It sounds like the dream late-night line-up to me. Conan is hysterical, and can you then imagine the adorable Jimmy Fallon interviewing someone like the equally adorable John Krasinski?!?!? Pure heaven!

4) Amy Sedaris chats with Martha Stewart about bong water!

5) In men's tennis, Marat Safin is in Moscow this week for the Kremlin Cup. He'll take on a qualifier in the first round. Robby Ginepri, on the other hand, takes on Novak Djokovic in his first round of the BA-CA TennisTrophy (sic) tournament in Vienna!

More Important But...

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

1) Thankfully, England won their Euro 2008 qualifier against Israel yesterday (without Sweet Cheeks by the way). Perhaps now, they might actually qualify for the tourney!

2) Last night, I went to a gala for Farm Sanctuary. I was happy to support such a noble animal rights organization, but I was more thrilled to meet the amazing Paul Reubens (although I was too shy to get a pic with him; argh)!

3) Kathy Griffin won an deserved Emmy for her fab reality show ("Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List")! Sweet!

4) In U.S. Open news,

- Sveta Kuznetsova lost in the finals yesterday; boo!

- Bravo to Dinara Safina (Marat's younger sister) and Nathalie Dechy for winning the Women's Doubles title!

- Novak Djokovic takes on Roger Federer today in the men's final (today at 1pm PST on CBS)! Go Novak!

LHK U.S. Open update

- The David Ferrer vs. Rafa Nadal match on Tuesday night was amazing (especially the part when Rafa slowly changed his shirt; Johnny Mac even commented on Rafa's amazing shirtless physique).

- Nikolay Davydenko beat Tommy Haas again! Ha-ha! I'm still bitter towards Tommy Haas for beating Marat Safin and Robby Ginepri last year. His temper and the fact that he likes to lunch at Hooters also rub me the wrong way.

- I'm bummed that Jelena Jankovic lost to Venus Williams. But, at least, my other favz (Novak Djokovic and Svetlana Kuznetsova) are still in it.

- Roger Federer beat Andy Roddick AGAIN! How boring...

I had a bad feeling...

On Sunday morning, I woke up at 3am, unable to fall back sleep. I had a bad feeling about something; little did I know it was a foreshadowing of results to come. Both Chelsea and Robby Ginepri ended up losing that day. Normally, I would have been really depressed because of their results, but thank goodness my friends were over for a pool party and took my mind off of the sad LHK sporting results.

Basically, as with Bad News Becks (aka Break it Like Beckham) and to quote my friend's Grandmother, "Honey, you gotta laugh to keep from crying."

On that note, with Marat Safin and Robby Ginepri out of the U.S. Open (again), I guess (on the men's side) I'll root for Feliciano Lopez, James Blake, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, AND FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER, Juan Ignacio Chela. Chela takes on Stanislas Wawrinka (the Tommy Haas of last year, who beat both my beloved Safin and Gineps in succession).

P.S. Happy Labor Day!

Mulder is back!

Well actually, the FOXy David Duchovny is back on TV that is; in the new Showtime series "Californication". The series premiere is tonight at 10:30pm. I'm craving some Diddy Riese cookies and a viewing party...

P.S. 1) HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Johnny B!!

and

2) In tennis news, Novak Djokovic DID amazingly upset Roger Federer yesterday in Montreal! Also, the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters tournament starts today. In the first round, Marat Safin will meet Nicolas Kiefer (yowza!); Robby Ginepri will meet Jonas Bjorkman (Gineps actually has a chance); and wild-card John Isner will meet David Ferrer (who knows?). According to the draw, Gineps could potentially meet Safin in the semi-final! Oh, a Lady Hooligan can dream...

Serb it up!

After winning impressive semi-final matches, two Serbian players are in Sunday tennis finals action today.

On the men's side, Novak Djokovic impressively beat Rafa Nadal in straight sets and thwarted the predicted Federer vs. Nadal final match-up in the Rogers Cup. I would love to see Djokovic upset Federer and get his first win against him.

On the women's side, Ana Ivanovic valiantly came back from a set down to beat her country-lady, Jelena Jankovic, en route to the final of the East West Bank Classic versus Russia's Nadia Petrova. I think Ana has a great chance of winning the title.

Let's wish them both luck! The matches will air on ESPN2 starting at noon PST today, with the Ladies' final following the Men's final.

(somewhat of an) Eye-Candy Alert

The ATP's Loverboy, Canadian Frank Dancevic, takes on Rafa Nadal tonight in the quarter-finals of the Rogers Cup. This match should air on ESPN2 at 4:30pm PST today.

UPDATE: Just heard that EPSN2 will air the Andy Roddick versus Novak Djokovic match in place of the above eye-candy match, which is a bit of a bummer. But, it's not that bad of an alternate match-up.

More Important But...

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

1) Now that my belovEDS Robby Ginepri and Marat Safin have made early exits from yet another tennis tournament, I need to figure out whom I shall be rooting for in their absences at the Rogers Cup. Hmm... I guess I'll go with Mario Ancic, Rafa Nadal, Frank Dancevic, and Novak Djokovic.

2) Will Sweet Cheeks Becks, who apparently hates the artificial turf we have in the U.S., make his MLS debut tonight in DC? Who can say?

3) Apparently, Nike hired the Emmy-nominated Rainn Wilson (who plays Dwight Schrute on The Office) to appear in a U.S. Women's National Soccer Team commercial. I can't wait to see it, but I haven't heard much else about it (aside from a blurb on last night's Daily 10 on E!).

4) In CHELSEA FC news:

- Frank Lampard has partnered with the Orange mobile network to launch FRANK TV. (Thanks to Victoria for the heads-up on it.)

- New Peruvian signing, Claudio Pizzaro, aims to be the #1 striker at Chelsea. I love Drogba, but Pizzaro can have his place, as long as WE WIN!

- Despite all of the injuries on the squad, captain John Terry is still aiming to a) get the Premier League title back from Man U and b) win the Champions League too. I'm on board, John! TASTE IT!! Man U and Liverpool can suck it! (Sorry, Laddie McFresh, but not really.)

Tennis Upsets

MARION BARTOLI (the surprise '07 Wimbledon finalist) was upset yesterday in the 2nd round of the Bank of the West Classic by 29-year-old unseeded American (and Stanford alum) Lilia Osterloh. Although Marion was getting over the flu and had a bit of an injury, you have to be happy for Osterloh's big win.

NOVAK DJOKOVIC was also upset by qualifier (and fellow Serbian) Viktor Troicki yesterday in the 2nd round of the Croatia Open. A big win for Troicki, but hopefully Djokovic will be back to his winning ways when he comes to the States for the U.S. Open Series.

P.S. I'll be playing in my league final tomorrow afternoon, and hopefully I'll get to upset my opponent too. Wish me luck!