Sports Thread #1 for 5/29/09: Oy! Venus Williams Crashes Out Early In Paris.............AGAIN

Photo from Times Online

First, French Open news, especially the headline one:

Well, after giving her credit yesterday in gutting out a tough win against the dangerous Czech Lucie Safarova, it was the annual French Open horror show from Venus Williams today.

The 2002 finalist crashed out in very disappointing fashion today to former world number 13 Agnes Szavay, getting bagled in the first set in a 6-4, 6-0 defeat today. From the commencement of the match, the elder of the two Williams sisters have nothing today. No energy, no precision, and no tactics.

Funny enough, after losing to Szavay, Venus next opponent was still at Roland Garros? Huh? And that next opponent while you maybe scratching your head was..........Agnes Szavay. What you say, "What the hell" am I writing?"

Well, Venus had to play doubles with her sister later in the day, and their opponents were Szavay and her first time partner Gisela Dulko of Argentina. And once again, Szavay got the jump on Venus, winning the first set 6-2. But thankfully for the 5-time Wimbledon champion, her sister was right beside her, as they came back to beat Dulko/Szavay 2-6, 6-1, 6-2.

A weird day indeed. But it's also one day that made Maria Sharapova content after gutting out another long three set match, this time against little known qualifier Yaroslav Shvedova 1-6, 6-3, 6-4. Despite a languid first set and 11 double faults, the Shriester is into the second week. And with the draw opening up for her, she is very dangerous.

And speaking of Sharapova, read this one on one of tennis up and coming talents in her lost today to Frenchwoman Aravane Rezai:

Aravane Rezai complains about Michelle Larcher de Brito's grunting during their third-round match, won 7-6(3), 6-2 by Rezai.

"I said [to the umpire], 'She's shouting too loud, there's a limit. You can't really shout that way," said Rezai.

Rezai, who felt that the umpire did not respond strongly enough, also complained to the referee.

Responded de Brito, "I said to the umpire, you know, he doesn't tell Maria [Sharapova] to keep quiet. You know, when she was winning she never complained. Only when I started to get my game going, I started winning games, then all of a sudden my noise is a nuisance."

"She said, 'Sharapova has never been told that she was shouting too loud.' And I said, 'No, I have told her in a previous match,'" said Rezai, adding that she found de Brito's noises more distracting that Sharapova's. "It's different. She really shouts loud... That was just a tactic. She was trying to impress me with her shouts, and I managed to win the match all the same."

Like Sharapova, the level of de Brito's grunting has attracted attention ever since she began playing on tour. But de Brito said Rezai is the only player to make an official complaint during a match. "She's actually the first one. I guess that was a bit of her tactic to throw me off a little bit," said the 16-year-old.

Rezai said some players expressed support in the locker room afterwards

Rafael Nadal looked so good today in dismantling former world number one Lleyton Hewitt, that it wouldn't shock anyone if he does not drop a set there at Roland Garros for the second consecutive year.

Now, the non French Open news:
The NHL isn't featured much around The Whole Delivery's sports threads, and commissioner Gary Bettman has been heavily criticized for hockey possibly losing its big four sports league status in this country (certainly not Canada though). But his decision to start the Stanley Cup Finals much earlier than it was originally scheduled to begin was needed.

Still, the NHL is so powerless right now, that they had to abdicate to NBC's request, so the network could protect Jay Leno's show against the upcoming NBA Finals.

Sports Illustrated's Michael Farber gives the reason why:

While the NHL deserves moderate applause for taking smelling salts and reversing its original lunatic announcement that the final would start June 5 if either conference final went beyond four games -- hockey would have been harder to find than D.B. Cooper if it had disappeared for more than a week at this time of year -- the decision to hustle through the first two games to suit NBC's tastes is misguided.

The network pays the NHL in rights fees exactly the number of combined playoff wins by Montreal and St. Louis this spring -- yes, zero -- but it has a disproportionately loud voice in scheduling the league's showcase event. For the niche NHL, NBC represents exposure. (The network is televising Games 1 and 2, then 5 through 7 while Games 3 and 4 are on Versus, the league's subterranean cable partner.) The suspicion is that if NBC, which has not re-upped beyond this year, wanted the NHL to paint the crease area lavender instead of blue, Commissioner Gary Bettman would send out a minion with a watercolor set.

I didn't know who D.B. Cooper was by the way until I googled him, and after I did, I would say that Farber was an idiot for using that analogy.

While Tom Brady is happy, Peyton Manning is cranky.

I did not know Bob Costas was back to announcing baseball. Outside of Mitch Williams blockheadedness, the MLB Network is off to a fine start. Costas and Mark Vasgersian, yes!

But Vasgerian has had his share of terrible slip ups on the network so far, including this one:

HAHAHA

Two years after taking them to the World Series, Clint Hurdle will be fired as the Colorado Rockies manager.

And even when Kyle Busch is right, you just wish he still would shut up and just not be heard from.