The Sports Chick Blog

Basically my un-named day job is taking over my life, so here is one big, but kinda brief,  catch-up post!

• The Williams Sisters had another “who can grunt louder” match in Wimbledon on Saturday, and the modern day Wimbledon Queen, Venus, took Serena over.

• Also in Tennis, You know the swing-set playground saying, “first is the worst, second is the best, and third is the one with the hairy chest.”? Well, that proved true in the Gentlemen’s Singles Finals in Wimbledon yesterday as #2 Nadal beat #1 Federer. AND the match was the longest in history (4 hrs 48 minutes & 2 rain delays).

•  It was rivalry/Fourth of July weekend in MLB. You have Cubs-Cardinals, Dodgers-Giants, and of course Yankees-Red Sox, but the big story was the Brewers rental of C.C. Sabathia.

• The 2008 MLB All-Stars were announced:

  • Lonely A-Rod lead in overall numbers (3,934,518 votes), but his wife, Cynthia, wants no part of it!! C-ROD FILES FOR DIVORCE IN DADE COUNTY! 

  •  Jason Varitek (219 avg. 7 HR 27 RBI 19 assits) was voted in by the players and not AJ Pierzynski (299 avg 7 HR 32 RBI 29 assits) hmmmmmm Major League Diss?!?!

  • Mike Mussina (2nd in the AL with wins, 11) was cheated out of an All-Star game. But it’s OK, he rather be at the Lycoming County Fair in Hughesville, PA. Apparently the Moose loves their tractor pull!

  • THE STACHE’ & D-WRIGHT NEED YOUR VOTES … but don’t bother, the MLB will secretly find a way for Rays rookie, Evan “Don’t Call Me a Housewife” Longoria to win it!

  • 41 year old, Dara Torres, will make the US Olympic Swimming roster and Michael Phelps is a swim beast! US Sprinter, Tyson Gay, has a hamstring strain from an ugly fall, but will be OK for Beijing. Click here for ESPN’s US Olympic Trials coverage.

•  AND THE SPORTS CHICK HERSELF GOT A FOUL BALL AT HER LAST TRIP TO THE HOUSE THAT RUTH BUILT!!!!

check back later for more stuff that i can’t think of at the moment, and July’s 10 Questions w/ …

- Chick

 Ever since Danica Patrick entered Indy car racing she has been criticized. Too this, too that! But Danica finally shut all the critics up. Today Danica finished 5.8594 seconds ahead of Helio Castroneves in Japan for her first win. Not only was it a win for Danica, but it was the first win by any woman in Indy car history.

The funny thing is this. I spotted this article on People.com, and it is nowhere to be found on the ESPN.com homepage and it’s the eigth headline down on SportsIllustrated.com. Is the male dominated sports world shunning accomplishments in Women’s Sports again? Either way, Congrats Danica on you history making win!

(the pic above is me and my dad meeting danica at last year’s super bowl. She was sooooo tiny! :O).

Justin Timberlake is known for bringing Sexy Back, but according to ESPN.com, JT will be hosting a LPGA Tour event in Las Vegas in 2008. The singer is supposedly a golf enthusiast and is excited about the chance to work with the LPGA. “I couldn’t be more excited,” said Timberlake, who plays to a 6-handicap, according to a Golf Digest ranking that was released earlier this year. “We will make sure to make this event unique and memorable.”

The Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, part of the tour’s Fall Series, will be played Oct. 13-19, 2008, at TPC-Summerlin. As part of his involvement, Timberlake will play in the Wednesday celebrity pro-am and host a concert during tournament week.

Hopefully Justin can bring the LPGA’s golf swing back, just as good as he brings Sexy Back!

LPGA pro Michelle Wie’s agent, Greg Nared, had quit after only 1 1/2 of work. Nared was hired by the William Morris Agency to manage Wie’s career, if you want to call it a career.

Wie has been slowly heading in the direction of Anna Kournakova-ism. She has a pretty face, good and bad press, and an even worse game. Most recently Wie finished 19th in a 20 player field at the Samsung World Championship. And that event seemed to be the final straw for Nared.

Nared quietly endured the heavy criticism that followed Wie during her most tumultuous year. He was the in middle of her biggest controversy at the Ginn Tribute in South Carolina in the spring, conferring with her on the 16th tee moments before she withdrew. Wie was 14 over par through 16 holes when she quit, and it appeared as though she was trying to avoid the LPGA’s “Rule 88,” in which nonmembers are ineligible for one year if they shoot 88 or higher.

Wie then showed up at Bulle Rock two days later to practice for the McDonald’s LPGA Championship, and Annika Sorenstam harshly denounced the move as disrespectful. (more…)

Did you ever have history class in high school and the class clown made another joke about how bad the teacher was? Then the teacher heard, and everyone got another 250 pages to read about the History of Japan. But not you! You went to the teacher and explained how your good grades and studious behavior should get you out of the extra homework.

This is exactly how Passion Richardson feels. Richardson is one-fourth of the US relay team that won the Bronze medal in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. The team also included Marion Jones who just recently admitted to steroid use before the 2000 games. As a result of the Jones admission, the IOC has asked for all the medals back, including the Bronze relay medal.

Passion Richardson did not take steroids, and feels she should not have to give her medal back. Richardson is the “smart kid” in the class scenario above, but will the IOC be the passionate comparing teacher and let her skip the extra homework, or the stubborn-ass of a teacher and give her another 250 pages? Only time will tell. (more…)

I’m a woman, and I’m in the sports industry. The Breaking News today that New York Knicks GM Isiah Thomas was convicted of sexual harassment of a high ranking Knicks Executive is disturbing. More and more we hear about stories that female professionals in the sports industry are harassed, and that’s a scary realization. Whether accusations are true or not doesn’t matter; it’s the fact that in the year 2007 Harassment is still an issue and that needs to stop. Women in the sports industry are as equally qualified as men to do their job. Once that is realized by all, then maybe we can all move along with our lives. (more…)