Whine & Cheese

Rafa Shirt Change

Do I need an excuse for another Rafael Nadal shirt change post?!  I think not!  

I did include one shot of him in his official Australian Open clothes, just so I can mention how much I don't like it.  While I have come to terms that the days of the sleeveless shirts are likely over, I am still not sure why Nike is putting him in some ugly clothing.  This latest outfit looks like some neon-ized sherbet exploded all over him... orange, pink, yellow?!   Then, they're putting him in these plaid-shorts (he wore a navy version of them late last year) that look more like pajamas.

Granted if anyone can pull it off, it is Rafa.  But I can't imagine this is translating into a lot of sales.  Then again, most folks couldn't pull of the sleeveless shirts and capri pants either, so maybe it just doesn't matter... though it does look quite good when it's half-on/half-off!

As always, Rafa fans can peruse all my posts (and pictures) here.

Rafa Down Under 2010

The Australian Open is already underway, but over this past weekend we already had our first shirtless Rafael Nadal shirtless photo sightings of the year. 

Before we get to the shirtless pic, the other two pix are from an exhibition that some top tennis players participated in to raise money for the victims of the Haiti earthquake. It looks like all involved were having some fun with a lot of smiles and laughs... and while Rafa's bod is certainly impressive, his smile is quite adorable as well... though lucky Kim Clijsters, in the middle pic, had the chance to give Rafa a bit of a massage (and we'll just leave any other thoughts in the gutter where they belong, ha!)

Finally, we have the shirtless pic.  It just cracked me up that it was described as follows:

"Defending Australian Open Champion Rafael Nadal of Spain watches the ball during a hot practice session in the lead-up to the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne."

I am sure pretty sure they were talking about the outdoor temps when the mention "hot," but it certainly applies to Mr. Nadal as well.

Rafa's Back!

It seems like Rafael Nadal has been away from tennis forever... but it's only been since the end of May when he suffered his first loss ever at Roland Garros and then could not defend his Wimbledon title due to a knee injury.

Rafa is back this week in Montreal.  While I think it will take him awhile to get back his game ... not helping is that the North American hard-court season (and in general, the last quarter of the year) has never been kind to him... but he's still looking good!

He's still sporting his short sleeves that he has been doing since the beginning of this year ... but I was pleasantly surprised to see that he's return to the sleeveless look in doubles...

... and I have to say that still makes my <ahem!> heart just pitter-patter a bit more... though I don't know what he's doing to that racket... though the torso and that arm provides quite the distraction as well! <sigh!>

As always, if this isn't enough Rafa for you... browse thru all my Rafa posts!

Love All

Wimbledon starts on Monday... yes, yes I know what you are thinking... didn't  I just survived Ed's "can't talk about anything else" chatter?... well, yes you did... but this is one of the "what were they thinking?" times on the tennis schedule where two of the biggest crowns on the tennis calendar are contested just a few weeks apart.

It's a pretty interesting time in men's tennis... particularly (some would say, exclusively) among the top two players and two of my favorites (as you know!), Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer.  Just when it looked like Roger was on the decline with Rafa powering past him with last year's Wimbledon, the Olympic gold, and this year's Australian that dissolved Roger to post-match tears... the seemingly impossible happened, Rafa losing at Roland Garros for the first time in 5 years and Roger going on to win the only Slam title missing on his resume.

Now it seems that Rafa is the one reeling... both emotionally and physically, so much so that as I write this the tennis world is waiting for the Spaniard to withdraw from Wimbledon.  The draw was announced earlier this morning and Rafa would have a tough road regardless... so I'm guessing it is the proverbial "rock and hard place" ... better to compete and lose not playing anywhere near 100% or not defend arguably the most prestigious title in tennis at all. 

There is an excellent article about Nadal in this weekend's New York Times Magazine.  While it is pretty much a love-letter to Nadal (one can hardly blame Cynthia Gorney, IMHO), she really was able to communicate the reasons why I seem to love both of the players/men fairly equally (though I'll admit to favoring Rog more since Rafa is his Achilles)... it is strange to feel that way in a rivalry like this... it tends to be "love" one/"hate" (or maybe, "respect but not love") the other.

I'd recommend reading the entire piece, Ripped (Or Torn Up?): Can Rafael Nadal Survive His Own Grueling Style of Tennis?... but it is fairly lengthy and likely for tennis die-hards... but here are some quotes from Gorney that I think perfectly sum up why it is easy to love both these guys:

"He (Nadal) thrills people. Federer thrills people, too, but the Nadal thrill is so different from the Federer thrill that studying the two of them is like a gorgeous immersion course in the varieties of athletic possibility. Federer is elegant and fluid and cerebral, so that his best tennis looks effortless even when he is making shots that ought to be physically impossible. Nadal is muscled-up and explosive and relentless, so that his best tennis looks not like a gift from heaven but instead like the product of ferocious will."

"That Nadal now has the capacity to outplay Federer on multiple surfaces ­ that the signature game of the world’s highest-ranked tennis player is not a beautiful ballet unto victory but an imperfect, bruising, savage refusal to yield ­ this is why Nadal thrills people. This and the biceps. “Every tennis lover would like, someday, to play like Federer,” Philippe Bouin (French writer, covering tennis for 30 years for the sports paper L’Équipe) told me. “But every man wants to be Rafael Nadal. Which is different.”"

UPDATE:  Rafa has withdrawn from Wimbledon.  After reading those quote, you can see why not having these two guys in the draw is a bit sad.. but go Roger!  Time to break Sampras' all-time Slam record with a win at the AELTC!

Butt First

I am off getting the MINI Cooper its annual maintenance (when you only average 5,000 miles/year - that's apparently all it needs)... but was browsing through the Yahoo Tennis Gallery yesterday and this caught my eye:

As someone who has experience in being mesmerized by staring at admiring ... errr... ummm... familiarity with Rafael Nadal's gluteus maximus... well, send me an application to be a "trainer" a.s.a.p. please! 

I Love The Smell Of Rafa In the Morning

If I keep on posting pictures like this one and the one from yesterday, you may never want me to come back with a "real" blog entry.  Though that will very likely happen tomorrow as I can't imagine my obsession with IDOL would wane enough to not want me to rip into some musical performances.  So that means basically a picture!

Now this one I did "borrow" from the website that rhymes with RowleToad... it's not like I have any real issue with that blog, but pretty much once it's on there EVERYONE knows about... so it becomes a big 'ole case of "why bother!?"  But by "everyone," I mean gay men... so while the Bamber PETA pic was uber-predictable in becoming a raging wildfire in the gay blogosphere, I still felt the need to share this one here, since it involves the unofficial W&C mascot, Rafa Nadal!

So it looks like the fairly new-ish #1 tennis player in the world is finally getting some good endorsement action outside of tennis equipment and clothing... and now the  face of a fragrance. 

Me?  I just would have called the fragrance "Rafa" (make sure to roll your R) ... and could have still gone with this ad which is pretty much ready-to-go as a cover a Harlequin romance novel! 

Express Lane: Issue 60

Springsteen Calls Wal-Mart Deal A Mistake - Glad to hear The Boss, and champion of the working man (and woman!), express regret and take responsibility for the exclusive deal made with the retail beheamoth for an upcoming greatest hits album release. (1/30/09)

Comeback Kid Kelly Clarkson Makes History - The inaugural Idol is the first person to ever hit #1 with a song with "suck" in the title - also, the largest jump in Hot 100 history (96 spots) and, perhaps most surprisingly, the first Idol to score a second #1. (1/29/09)

Donny Osmond Won't be on DWTS, At Least Not Until Fall - Seems like Mr. Little Bit Rock 'n Roll got caught in a lie! (1/28/09)

More of London From Above, At Night - The Big Picture - It figures the day I go back and post a re-working of one of my London pix, TBP comes out with an amazing set of night pix of London! (1/28/09)

Donny Osmond to Follow in Marie's Dancing Shoes? - Alas the first substantive (if somewhat predictable) casting rumor for the upcoming DWTS season. (1/27/09)

Chinese New Year: Welcoming the Ox - The Big Picture - I've become semi-obsessed with China since our trip to Beijing, so was wow'd by this collection (I even have a very similar - well w/out the Qing Dynasty characters - to photo #21). (1/26/09)

Is This Nadal's "Wardrobe Malfunction?" - Nike hoping to increase clothing sales appears to be the reason behind Nadal's on-court wardrobe change this year... the belief being the "average" person is not going to wear sleeveless shirts and pirate pants. (1/26/09)

The Thrill Of Victory

WARNING:  SPOILER ALERT of Nadal/Verdasco Aussie Open Semifinal Match

(Ok, that takes care of possibly the 2 or 3 people that may care/be potentially affected)

I was (and well, wasn't surprised) to see that the Aussie Open semifinal match between Spaniards Rafael Nadal and Fernando Verdasco was still going on when I checked into the home office this morning.  It was on serve in the 4th set, so while I sometimes go back to bed (particularly this time of the year when it's still not light out) if this is no urgent work (like today), I decided to stay awake and watch the rest of the match... and I am certainly glad I did!

It was a high-quality match to the end... and the longest ever Australian Open match, 5 hours and 14 minutes with #1 ranked Rafa advancing to the final by a score of 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 6-7, 6-4!

Thanks to this "bringing sexy back" match-up between the two Spaniards, I am getting a ton of search hits thanks to my long-term obsession admiration of Rafa and my more recent stalking appreciation of Fernando.  I had over 400+ hits before 7am, which is what I usually what I pull in on a typical day!

Of course, most folks are looking for them naked (which surprisingly enough I kinda sorta have for both Rafa and Fernando) and shirtless, which I have plenty for Rafa (I point folks to peruse my Rafa category)... but I still be nice and post each player here during a changeover during this match:

I can't really explain the expression on Verdasco's face other than I'm guessing a lot of us have funny expressions when we are pulling a shirt over our head.

When Rafa reached triple-match point (and it would take 3 of them), I awaited his "I gutted it out" post-match celebration.  Rafa is definitely Obsessive Compulsive a creature of habit, so I suspected he would exuberantly tumble onto the court, and he didn't disappoint me... and kudos to the photographers from catching the moment from every conceivable angle!

After sorting through these pictures, I think the only thing that was missing was one from Rafa's perspective!

But as often the case in sports, "the thrill of victory" that I mention in the title is coupled with "the agony of defeat"... and likewise, a commentator will more often than not utter the obvious "it's a shame there has to be a loser."   And while the crowd roared over Rafa's win and celebration, I think this picture of Verdasco captures the solitude, despair, exhaustion on the other side of the net:

Rafa, Donde estan los guns?

I was planning on a book post today (I am currently on my 3rd book of 2009!), but work has intervened... and as I quite smartly entitled part of this blog "whine"... it allows for the occasional rant before getting to the "cheese" portion of this post... begin... my job continues to be a drag on my overall satisfaction / happiness / mental well-being... either due to sudden disappearance shortly after all this economic turmoil began (pre-Thanksgiving??) or else the new reality that what work we are now getting is of the ugly / intense / miserable / head-exploding / no one else wants to do it variety. 

So there I said it!  Out there in the universe!  Perhaps, I can start letting it go... internalizing it... etc!

That said, I am grateful to have a job (even at a 20%+ pay cut for the last 3 months) and health-care insurance, even if it is highway robbery and I never use it (again, thankfully!).   End.

Anyyyyyyhowwwww....

One thing that did make me smile this morning was this sign in the crowd at last night's Aussie Open quarterfinal match between Rafa Nadal and Gilles Simon.

As I mentioned earlier this year (and with some shock and dismay), Rafa has moved away from his on-court sleeveless look (this "express lane" item suggests that Nike is hoping more "normal" folks would buy Rafa clothing if it wasn't the flashy sleeveless and pirate pants look)... so I got a real kick over these signs... the Spanglish... and mostly that it was guys holding up the signs!  Ha!

So yea, while I was enamored with the sleeveless look, I think Rafa is still rockin' the sleeves... what do you think?!

Sleeves? Really?!?

I was trying to remain optimistic that 2009 was going to be a better year than 2008, but here on Day 2 there is already this discouraging sign...

Rafael Nadal is wearing a tennis shirt that has sleeves!!!  WTF?!!

Now before I contact my doctor to see if Zoloft is right for me, I will wait and see if this may just be temporary ensemble.  These pix are from an exhibition in Abu Dhabi, so there is a still a chance that he is waiting to debut his official tennis attire at the Australian Open in a few weeks.  Though I had heard rumblings that the powers-that-be wase pushing for a more mature/"serious" fashion make-over for Rafa now that he is ranked #1 in the world.

But even if this outfit does stick, in the good news department it appears that his shorts are a bit shorter... Rafa showin' us some knee!