What's in a name? The answer lies in the letters before your eyes, but it has nothing to do with wizardry, illusion or the supernatural. Deception is another matter altogether. Love, after all, conquers all.
American Bethanie Mattek lost Monday to fellow compatriot Serena Williams in straight sets in the fourth round at Wimbledon. Equally disappointing was the lack of photos available from this match. This is what I found from today's match:
If you click to get the larger image, the beads of sweat become more pronounced:
She's kinda got the crazy eyes in this one:
But I guess perhaps it's not that big of a deal since Bethanie isn't only about making fashion statements anymore and is actually taking her tennis more seriously. She told the Sun of London: “It’s not that I didn’t take my career seriously or even myself. But I wanted the tennis to come through. I still like to show my personality. But I have toned down some of my outfits for this tournament.” And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the shame of it all.
Another loss suffered Monday was Lleyton Hewitt bowing out to Roger Federer. So now, no more pictures of Hewitt's wife, Bec Cartwright.
Sorry for the delay, but I just couldn't get to the Euro photos of the day until now. Yeah, I know, I know, it was only the final, but hey, what can I say. Well, in case you missed it, Spain ended a 44-year drought and won its first major international title since 1964 with a thrilling 1-0 victory over Germany in Vienna on Sunday. Here are some final images:
First, ze Germans:
That's a flaggy dress:
Nice hair in front:
The reality of the loss is setting in:
Have we seen her before? Click this link to compare (third photo down):
This is an interesting clip. Now stick with me here. This is from the ABC prime-time game show "Duel," which is hosted by Mike Greenberg of ESPN. I don't really understand the concept of the game but that doesn't matter in this context. The blonde female contestant is Courtney and she apparently has locked in her answer but her opponent is a little slower. So listen to what Courtney says to urge her opponent to hurry the hell up.
Now, when I heard her say "Daddy's comin' down the hall," I have to admit that at first I had no idea what she meant, or at least it didn't hit me. But then Greenberg persisted and asked her about it, and when she gave her answer as "it means hurry up," it was obvious to me: This girl was using this expression as reference to her days as a teenager sneaking boys into her room and pushing her partner to finish while they were engaged in intimate relations, shall we say. Am I right? I could definitely see it. Anyone agree or have a different opinion? This is actually hilarious when you think about it that some network sensor let this get on the air.
So even though Ana Ivanovic lost today at Wimbledon, there's still Bethanie Mattek, an American who beat Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli. Mattek is known for her fashion statements though she seems to have toned it down since things like this and this. And is this a coincidence: Click this link to check of Bethanie's current ranking.
After a close call in the second round, top-seeded Ana Ivanovic was bounced from Wimbledon a day after No. 3 Maria Sharapova suffered the same fate. Ana lost to China's Zheng Jie, 6-1, 6-4, to take a huge step backward after having broken through only a few weeks ago to win the French Open, her first Grand Slam victory. Perhaps a couple too many baguettes on the Champs-Elysees during the aftermath. Whatever the reason, Wimbledon just got a little less exciting at EM so we will mourn for the rest of the day. At least Ana had the guts to face the media afterward.
This is Maria Jose Uribe. Now, she's not a hottie, hottie, but she's cute I think, and I'd never heard about her until today. Maria is two shots off the lead after the first round of the U.S. Women's Open at Edina, Minn. It also helps that she's from Bucaramanga, Colombia, which is the hometown of the sister-in-law and the country of origin of my family. Scoring even more points is that Maria will be a sophomore at UCLA in the fall. Another Bruin comes to the family. How nice.
This shot below is an interesting pose (a little thickly) as she watches if this putt will go down or not:
This is Maria after she won the U.S. Amateur last summer:
Here are some fans who are rooting on Britain's Chris Eaton during his second-round match against Russia's Dmitry Tursunov. Didn't help though as Eaton lost 7-6 (2), 6-2, 6-4. All of the women are wearing T-shirts that have "Get Beaten By Eaton" on the front. Actually none of them are that hot.
The second semifinal between Spain and Russia is going on now, but unfortunately I don't have a lot of time to post though I did want to at least represent our Euro 2008 game day feature. I will try to update later if possible.
She has an eye for Espana:
This Russian girl kinda reminds me of Heather Locklear in her younger days:
Was just having a conversation with my brother and the subject of this photo came up so I thought I'd post it so he could see it. This is Paolo Di Canio of the Italian team Lazio when he was accused of making a fascist salute to fans after scoring a goal. Di Canio was suspended for doing this though he appealed. Here's an article about it back in late 2005.
I'm not planning to make this a daily feature, but I HAD to post this photo of a fan of the Ecuadorean team, Liga de Quito. That team is playing Brazil's Fluminense in the two-leg Copa Libertadores final. Wednesday was the first game at Quito, Ecuador.
The U.S. Women's Open is going on this weekend in Edina, Minn., so there figures to be decent photo coverage. Leading into the event, here are two favorites, though we are not breaking any new ground here. First, we have Natalie Gulbis, who is considered, by far, the hottest golfer on the LPGA Tour. She does look quite good in orange, but click here and here and you'll see what we really mean.
This is American player Ashley Harkleroad stretching for a forehand in her match against the handsome Amelie Mauresmo. Unfortunately, after winning the first set, Harkleroad lost her touch and subsequently the match to Mauresmo. Still, we can look forward to Ashley being in Playboy soon.
Top-seeded Ana Ivanovic survived quite a scare in her second-round match at Wimbledon, beating Nathalie Dechy of France, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (3), 10-8, to advance. Yes, you read right, 10-8. At Wimbledon (and other Grand Slams), if players are tied at 6-6 in the deciding set, instead of playing a tiebreaker the match continues until one player has a two-game advantage. Ana had to save two match points against the 97th-ranked Dechy and didn't clinch it until her fourth match point. In all, it took 3 hours 23 minutes to complete -- usually unheard of for a women's match. Hopefully, this was Ana's hiccup and she'll just get stronger from here.
The semifinals of Euro 2008 have arrived and in the first game today, Germany played Turkey. Spain plays Russia on Thursday. Anyway, it was hard to come across any good Turkey photos so I apologize that all these are from the German side.
Looking resplendid in sunglasses and tight-fitting shirt:
This photo reminds me of the scene in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" when Charlie Sheen is sitting in the police station talking to Ferris' sister played by Jennifer Grey. "You wear too much eye makeup.... My sister wears too much eye makeup.... People think she's a whore."
White T-shirts, water, women and a water cannon. What a combination!
For some reason, I couldn't NOT put this photo up. What's Germany without barbecued meats?
UPDATE: Turkey, which had been the master of the last-minute comeback during Euro 2008, got a little taste of its own medicine when Germany scored in the 90th minute for a 3-2 semfinal victory to clinch a spot in Sunday's final in Vienna. As mentioned, couldn't find any good pictures of Turks pregame, but here's one of two that need a hug.
And finally, one more of a German fan celebrating after the victory:
This is Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark lunging for a shot during her first-round match. I've had my eye on Caroline for a while now and she has potential. She does need to even out that tan on her legs (the left one especially) though.
George Carlin on death. He died Sunday night of heart failure at age 71. This clip was from his recent and final HBO special filmed in Santa Rosa. We will miss George tremendously.
Not quite taken at the precise moment I would have liked, but here's Marion Bartoli, on the left, congratulating Sabine Lisicki of Germany after Bartoli beat her.
I know this is a day late, but isn't it great to see players from North Carolina -- IN ANY SPORT -- looking dejected after a defeat? For me, there's nothing better than witnessing Carolina and Duke go down in flames, no matter the season. This picture is from the College World Series on Sunday night after Fresno State, a fourth-seeded team from its regional, knocked off the highly regarded Tar Heels for a berth in the championship series. Fresno is the first No. 4 seed to even make it to Omaha, let alone be in a position to play for a title. Come on Bulldogs! Represent Cali and the West Coast against those 'necks from Georgia.
Wimbledon has arrived and that means, of course, more Ana Ivanovic. Fresh off her first Grand Slam victory at the French Open, Ana enters the tournament as the top-seeded player and won her opening match Monday. So this is just a warning that you will again see more Ana photos for the next two weeks (hopefully if she doesn't get upset before then). Below is a photo of a player who was eliminated Monday. Dominika Cibulkova, seeded 30th in the tournament, was upset by China's Jie Zheng, so this is the last we will see of Dominika though she seems to be one to keep an eye on.
Here's a shot of Dominika at the French Open (a little thick, but nothing wrong with that):
I've been out all afternoon and evening so I just heard the news that George Carlin, one of my heroes, has died tonight at the age of 71 of heart failure. I'm devasted. I'm feeling about as sad as I've felt in quite a long time about something that doesn't have to do with my family (though I always thought of George as a crazy uncle in a way). Carlin to me was the definitive comedian/entertainer and spoke to me and so many others on many different levels. He always made me think and made me question the things that so many of us take for granted in our daily lives, from the way we say hello to our religious beliefs. Now I know he could be preachy and sometimes simplistic in his approach to making his point, but that never made his views and opinions any less legitimate to me. I admired the way he spoke his mind and never allowed pressure from government, advertisers, the religious right or any other faction to stop him. I always looked forward to his HBO specials because he always had a new way of expressing himself and making me look at an issue perhaps in a way I hadn't thought of until I heard it come out of his mouth. I have all three of his books and read them from time to time if I need a kick in the tail or just want to smile. I can't deny the influence the man has had over my life when it comes to forming many of the opinions I hold dear to my heart to this very day. I remember becoming aware of Carlin when I was about 9 or 10 years old. I bought a cassette called "A Place For My Stuff" and I was transfixed at the notion that one person could make me laugh so hard. I still, to this day, remember many of the routines and could probably recite them from memory if I were asked. Of course, there's also the classic Baseball-Football routine, another of my all-time favorites.
From there, I followed Carlin's career as he went from anti-Establishment icon of the 1970s to the social commentator he continued to be until the day he died. I saw George in concert about four or five times in my life, and even saw him at UCLA when he came to visit for a speakers' series back in the late 1980s. The picture at the top of this post is one I took at that event and I've always loved it because of Carlin's eyes and the way he could communicate with nothing but a look. The one thing I regret is not seeing him earlier this year when I had the chance. My sister-in-law works at the Wells Fargo Center in Santa Rosa and had asked me if I was interested in seeing Carlin there. George was filming his latest, and what turned out to be his last, HBO special back in February. But because of work commitments and the general busy-ness of life, I couldn't find the time to make it up there and watch my hero in action one last time. I figured I'd go see him the next time he was in Los Angeles, or perhaps even in Vegas where he had made a habit of visiting fairly frequently and where I had seem him once before. But it wasn't to be I guess. I know I'm rambling and I hope this post makes some sense. It helps me immensely to let things out this way. There's so much more I could say, but let me wrap it up by writing that I will miss you George -- very much. You have helped shape me into the person I have become to this day and I hope that I, too, will stand up for my convictions and follow the example you have set for me and so many others. Rest in peace.
The last quarterfinal game is being played today between Spain and Italy so I thought there was some good potential, but alas I was incorrect. I mean it's not terrible, but I did expect better. Anyway ... let's start out with Italy fans above and below. The one above reminds me of someone, but I can't put my finger on it. The one below, well, pursed lips are always a big-time win.
Now, onto the Spain fans. You see, nothing special. Maybe things will get better later.
And as far as the one below, I'd say kept focused below the neck and above the stomach and things will be OK.
So what does Erratic Magic mean? It's a question often asked. As far as this blog is concerned, the "erratic" part comes from the idea that there's no real singular focus here and I like it that way -- never really knowing where the path might take you. Beyond that, all I can say about the blog's name is that when you love someone so much, they give you inspiration and Erratic Magic is a way for me to remember that special love, inspiration and completeness every time I log on. For that, I thank my beloved, who is the one responsible for the big blue letters you see at the top of this page.
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