Monday, January 30, 2006

Sports update

Tiger. All about Tiger. He wins his first title this year at the Buick Invitational. From seven off the leaderboard going into the last day, he makes a birdie on the 18th (his first on the 18th in four tries), for a play-off with Olazabal and Green. It ended in the 2nd play-off hole.

Fed Express won in four sets over Baghdatis in the Australian Open, after losing the first set. Mauresmo on Saturday won her first Slam against Justine, who retired down 2-0 in the second set. Justine had stomach cramps. She lost the first set 1-6. The press scathing of Justine's retirement in the finals has not let down. One writer called it "disgraceful". Martina Hingis won the Aussie mixed doubles 6-3, 6-3.

Oh, Masha is seeded #1 at the Toray Pan Pacific in Tokyo, where she is defending champion.

Thursday, January 26, 2006

Bye Kim

It's bye-bye Kim Clijsters at the Australian Open. She was forced to withdraw because of an ankle injury while down 2-3 in the third set against Amelie Mauresmo. So it's Justine vs. Amelie.

Masha loses

Maria Gruntapova loses to Justine Henin in three sets after taking the first set 6-4. If Kim wins against Amelie in the other semifinal, Australian Open '06 will be the 45th Grand Slam where the two women finalists come from the same nation (in this case Belgium). Win or lose, Kim gets the #1 ranking again.

He says, She says

Former Sen. Sonny OsmeƱa described Gov. Garcia’s move (meet with barangay captains) as “ilad” (deception) and her trips to the different towns as “paigat-igat.”

Kay kadtong meeting niya kagahapon, ilad kadto kay si Governor Garcia maghisgut man ug projects apan mangutana ko, hasta karon unsa may iyang projects gyud nga matudlo nga iyang nahimo, pulos man lang yaw-yaw, wa man gihimo (That meeting was a sham. She would have kept talking about projects when, to date, she has not done anything).

Wa gyu’y bili. Yawyaw-yawyaw, yawyaw-yawyaw, unya paigat-igat, unya larga. Unya inig larga niya, saad ug mga projects.
Unya unsa ma’y nahitabo? Wala.

But then, Gov. Garcia says:

“I had not realized nga ang akong paigat-igat dunay nasakit nga laing igat. Naanad na man ta nianang iyang outlandish remarks. I will not even dignify the ranting of this lonely man."

Then again:

“It takes one (igat) to know one. Ang mga tawo ang pasulti-a, dili siya.”

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Tennis updates

Unseeded seed-killer Marcos Baghdatis continues on to the semis against David Nalbandian.

No. 1 seed Lindsay Davenport lost to Justine Henin-Hardenne in three sets at the Australian Open. This loss could jeopardize her #1 ranking. Justine goes up against grunt-queen Masha in the first semifinals match (Maria won in two sets -- 1st set tie-break -- against Petrova).

Swiss miss Martina Hingis plays Kim Clijsters and Patty Schnyder goes up against Amelie Mauresmo today. Kim and Amelie may get the number one ranking if they win this tournament.

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

In my book she's a hero, but a little weird. They ought to change the way they do things.


Texas Firefighter Gives Birth, Takes Exam
By PAM EASTON, Associated Press Writer Tue Jan 17, 11:05 PM ET

HOUSTON - A firefighter took a promotion exam just 12 hours after giving birth because of a state law requiring all promotion candidates to be tested at once.
Beda Kent gave birth Jan. 10, slept for a little more than two hours and popped some painkillers before taking the exam. She scored 104 out of 110 and expects to return from maternity leave in March as a captain with a $6,000 raise.

"I wanted that promotion," Kent said of the job she had sought for two years. "I feel I was overdue for this promotion."
When she was six months' pregnant, Kent learned the test would be given on Jan. 11 — just four days after her due date.

She asked if a proctor could administer the exam at the hospital if necessary, but was told there could be no exceptions, except for firefighters on active military duty.

Kent's doctor tried to induce labor on Jan. 4, but discovered doing so could cause complications and force a Caesarean birth, with a longer recovery that would take away from Kent's time to study.

After her daughter was born, Kent left the infant named Brina Sue at the hospital within hours.
Houston Fire Chief Phil Boriskie had an ambulance on standby at the test site in case Kent needed it, she said. "After a while, it did get to be uncomfortable, and thank God they did give us 2 1/2 hours to take the test because I had to readjust and refocus," Kent said.
After the exam, Kent's insurance did not allow her to be readmitted to the hospital so she and her husband returned every four to five hours to nurse the new baby.
"We made the best of it for the next 36 hours," Kent said.
"It was tough."
Houston Fire Capt. Gilbert Bennett said the rules are intended to ensure that firefighters don't gain an unfair advantage by learning about the exam from test-takers, then taking it later.
But Bennett said the fire department would likely evaluate the regulation. "By all means, we want what is best for the child and the mom," he said.

Terese Floren, executive director of Women in the Fire Service Inc., acknowledged that the fire department was probably powerless because of the law, but said women shouldn't be forced to choose between having a family and a career.

Kent, who has worked for the Houston Fire Department for 12 years, opted to take the test because missing it would have meant waiting at least two years before the next promotion exam.
But, she said, the department should accommodate those with legitimate medical excuses.
"The law said that they didn't have to, but they could have sent a proctor," Kent said. "The test is in a sealed envelope. It shouldn't have been a problem."


--http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060118/ap_on_re_us/firefighter_childbirth

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Hurray Petra Schneider!

Craig Neff in "Inside Olympic Sports" at SI.com says:

"... former East German swimmer Petra Schneider, an Olympic champion in 1980, recently told a German TV network that she wants her national record in the 400-meter individual medley nullified because it was aided by doping. How about some applause for Schneider for a show of integrity?

--http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/craig_neff/01/16/hot.list/index.html

Friday, January 13, 2006

Golf update

Last week, Stuart Appleby went to win his third straight victory in the Mercedes Championships, this time around in a play-off with still-putting disaster Vijay Singh (he actually led one shot going into the last three holes). Tiger Woods did not play.

Michelle Wie shot a 79 at the first round of the Sony Open, happening in Hawaii, leaving her with very little hope of making the cut in his 4th attempt in the PGA. If she misses the cut, then she'll have more time to prepare for her first LPGA tournament in 2006, the Kraft Nabisco, which will be played March 30-April 2 at Mission Hills Country Club. Morgan Pressel gets to play too.