Whine & Cheese

We Are The Champions

If you'll indulge me one more tennis post today... always enjoy seeing the Grand Slam champions touring the town the day after their big wins... and always a bit disconcerting to see them in "normal" clothes!

I am thinking Serena Williams was definitely stopping traffic in Times Square on Monday!

While Roger Federer took his trophy photo shoot to the top of the Empire State Building on Tuesday!

I was sorta wondering how they got such a clear shot of the city... well, not clear as in the weather... but without that quite necessary observation deck protective fencing... but this next shot shows, that Roger (and I'm thinking just one photographer!) got to go where nary a tourist gets to go (I would think!)...

Yikes! 

Top Ranked, Bottoms Up

Definitely in "event" hangover mode this morning.  It is hard to believe that one month ago we were in Beijing for the big day... it seems like all that was eons ago... and our Olympic experience was really divided in two... being there... and then watching it at home for the second week.  That was followed by the back-to-back political conventions conventions and in the middle of that over 100 hours of US Open coverage... no, I didn't watch it all... but probably pretty darn close. 

So it is pretty bizarre to see that our TiVo isn't recording all that much ... or at least nothing compared to the 4+ hour chunks of HD programming it was churning out over the past month. 

I was thrilled with outcome of the US Open.  As the younger sibling, I have always had a soft spot for Serena Williams and it was cool to see her get so excited, despite all of her previous successes, over her win at the Open... and with that a return to the #1 ranking.  The 5+ years it took her to get back up there is the longest stretch in WTA history between stints at #1... and it also marked 6 years since her last win at Flushing.  Pretty amazing since many thought (myself included) that both Venus and Serena would long be gone from tennis way before their now-retired peers Hingis, Clijsters, and Henin.

On the men's side, while I was hoping for yet another meeting between my two favorites - Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal - it didn't quite happen... but it was hard to be mad at Andy Murray for raining on my parade as I was very impressed with the manner at which he took out Rafa in the semis. 

The silver lining is that Rafa should end the year with the #1 ranking ... and Roger did go on to win the Open, scoring a historic double consecutive quintet (5 in at a row at both Wimbledon and the US) and his 13th Grand Slam, now just one short of tying Sampras' record... and saved his "disastrous" year - which could only maybe kinda sorta be considered a "bad" year vs. what Nadal accomplished this year.

I don't think I have ever been pretty much 50/50 fans of the Top 2 ranked players, especially in the heat of their rivalry.  I warmed up to the likes of Navratilova and Graf towards the end of their careers, but rooted for Evert or Seles.  I respected Sampras' accomplishments but never was a devoted follower and again didn't warm up to Agassi until the end... so this is a bit unusual...

Though it has absolutely nothing to do with how they celebrate after their big wins (Rafa at the Olympics, Roger at the Open).... hello!

Express Lane: Issue 35

Marshall Confirms Cast for "Nine" - A pretty impressive cast for 'Chicago' director Rob Marshall's film version (Dec 2008 release) of the musical "Nine"... Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Sophia Loren. (9/7/07)

Edie Falco Rolls to '30 Rock' - The 'Sopranos' star will appear in three episodes... perhaps I'll have to get over my dislike of Alec Baldwin and give the sitcom another shot. (9/6/07)

'Office' Star Jenna Fischer, Filmmaker Husband Split - Sad 'real world' news for our Pam... but this has got to be the most adorable joint divorce press announcement ever. (9/6/07)

Open-American media turn on "classless" Serena Williams - The NY Times uses the "C"-word on Serena, who gave typical credit to her vanquisher, Justine Henin, saying "she made a lot of lucky shots"... yes, it takes A LOT of VERY lucky shots to win a 6-1 final set. (9/5/07)

NBC Downloads Get Unboxed - After failing to reach an agreement with iTunes, NBC moves its shows over to Amazon... no change in the $1.99 price per episode.  (9/5/07)

Changing the world one loan at a time - The weekend edition of 'Today' had a very nice piece on Kiva.org, here's the accompanying online version. (9/4/07)

'Dancing' Partners Get Hitched - I get quite a few search hits asking about this one, and now it's official. Congrats to Edyta Sliwinska and Alec Mazo, married in San Francisco over Labor Day weekend! (9/4/07)

CBS defends decision to cancel all BB8 interviews until after the finale -  Ironically it's a "good person" like Amber -- thanks to some not so nice in-house anti-Semitic chatter -- that halts pre-sequester press interviews for the first time ever in BB history.  (8/31/07)

Time right for Garofalo on "24" - The former Air America host stays in TV politics but  moves from left to right, "The West Wing" to joining forces with Jack "What Geneva Convention?" Bauer. (8/21/07)

"Grease" Revival Is Not The One That We Want - Laura ("fine singing voice and sweet charm") is fairing a bit better than Max ("singularly lacking in magnetism") but early reviews of the NBC cast Broadway show are not very electrifyin'... this one is not much better... and here's more. (8/20/07)

Serena On Her Humps

Over Friday night dinner, Todd asked me what I expected from our post-dinner activity... that being, of course, watching the women's final at the Australian Open.  I said that Maria Sharapova should (and likely would) win, but that you just never know with Serena Williams.  I added that it was a testament to Serena's talent that she even reached the final given that to me (and many others, including "professionals") she did not appear in great physical shape.

Fast-forward... Serena demolishes Sharapova 6-1, 6-2 in just over an hour, ending a two-year title drought after winning the 2005 Aussie Open.  During the match, I admit to re-evaluating my "fitness" comment.  Let's just say, Serena looked a whole lot better when she was trouncing the soon to be #1 ranked player off the court vs. the matches where she struggled against some non-household names.

I couldn't help but smile when I read her response to this particular criticism... it is classic Serena...

"I'm definitely in better shape than I get credit for. Just because I have large bosoms and I have a big ass. I swear my waist is 29-30 inches. I swear I have the smallest waist. And just because I have those two 'assets' it looks like I'm not fit. I was just in the locker room staring at my body and I'm like, 'Am I not fit? Am I really not fit? Or is it just because I have all these extra assets that I look not fit.' I think if I were not to eat for two years I still wouldn't be a size 2. No matter how slim I am, I always have this [points] and that [points]. We're living in a Mary-Kate Olsen world. I'm just not built that way. I'm bootylicious and that's how it's always going to be."

(The above quote was shamelessly borrowed from SI's Jon Wertheim Parting Shots from the 2007 Australian Open column)

Take That Mr. Blackwell

Serena Williams has unveiled her latest on-court ensemble -- similar to the outfit that she debuted at last year's US Open... this reincarnation for the 2005 Australian Open (starting Monday) is a bit softer than the biker-gal original. Instead of denim and black leather, Serena lightened things up with whites and lime green.  The knee-high Nike boots are back though with some mesh paneling this time around.  No word yet on whether she will be allowed to wear the boots during match play.  However, given the often blistering conditions in Melbourne this time of the year, her legs probably will not need any further warming up.

The skirt also comes off to reveal Serena's trademark booty-hugging "hot pants" shorts.  After a 2004 season rife with injury, Serena is seeded #7 at the Open and looking to regain the top spot in women's tennis.

Serena was seeded higher on another list.  A part-time fashion designer (and responsible for many of her own outfits) -- I am sure Ms. Williams was not pleased to be one of Mr. Blackwell's Worst Dressed of 2004 (though who cares, and after all these years who the heck is this guy anway?).  Blackwell's little ditty about Serena went something like this:

Courting disaster with every style-free serve,
Black leather at the Open takes a lot of nerve!
From the Queen of Tennis to Fatal Fashion Menace — non-stop!

Well, in the still kind of stodgy world of tennis - I think Serena's outfits are a breath of fresh air.  While sometimes questionable, they are always worthy of a second look and plenty of talk.  Now Serena's outfits off the court... there Mr. Blackwell might have something to talk about.   

Miss Williams If You're Nasty

Well I got my first Google hit for serena williams outfit that had a near-topless effect without ever writing of the actual outfit in question.

So, in the spirit of public service I will help out this Googler (and perhaps the dozens that will now inevitably follow)...and since we rarely discuss breasts here at W&C, I thought it would be a nice change of pace.

The former #1 tennis player in the world caused quite the stir at the London premiere of After The Sunset - a movie directed by her current boyfrienc Brett Ratner.  The red dress she wore left not much to the imagination.  It had sheer strips of fabric, but the sheer parts were in all the wrong (or depending on your opinion...right!) places to provide any significant coverage.  Although Serena has always had a penchant for splashy outfits, this one is definitely not your father's Jehovah Witness... and I can only imagine what Papa Williams thinks!

Here is a link the Getty Images from the red carpet.  Scroll down the page a bit and look for the red dress.  Just a gentle warning though... despite the fact that she is wearing a dress, the pix may still not particularly "work friendly."  Some of the pix with her posing with one of the stars of the film, Pierce Brosnan, are kinda funny.  Pierce appears to not quite know where to look.

UPDATE:  The above link to the Getty Images no longer works... try this new one below:

Picture Link #1

Picture Link #2

Catwoman Takes The Court

You gotta love Serena Williams! She loves to make an entrance ... especially at the Grand Slams... and she is doing that this week at US Open. I am guessing she is taking some attentiion away from the Republican National Convention. She knows how to get people talking and folks are buzzing over this year's ensembles...let's call it "Biker Babe meets Catwoman.".

For her first match, she wore pretty much the outfit you see above...but paired it with a short blue denim skirt. As you see, today the skirt was replaced with tight black spandex short-shorts. [Click on the picture for a better view] The "boots" are just glorified leggings that wrap around her sneakers. The quickly unzip for match play (for some reason the full boot look is not allowed during the match). Beneath the jacket (which comically has her name emblazoned across the back... like we wouldn't know who she was?!), is a studded black tank top that shows off her pierced navel. After winning her second round match, Serena called this outfit her favorite of the bunch...

Yes, there is more... Serena promises "another surprise" for her next match. I (and the world) will be watching!