Live Streaming

Finally. A useful and simple live streaming aggregator. Yes, it's free. There are occasional ads but otherwise it's good.

http://www.fromsportcom.com/

Roland Garros starts in a a few days and it seems like the King of Clay has to get ready for a coup d'etat. I don't usually play favorites but yes I am biased. I mostly bet on Rafa, but I like Nole as well. I just don't like the implication that when Rafa loses this year's French, it means so much more than losing any other Grand Slam.

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While searching for a real live stream, I stumbled upon this site. Interesting. http://www.glogster.com/

Wow

Nole defeated Roger! Straight sets. OMG!

Two top seeds out of the running. Amazing upsets. Haha

I need to watch the replays. 

Andy Murray FTW. He deserves a Grand Slam.

Na Li is my bet for the women's title. It'd be so awesome to have a champion from our part of the world.

UPDATE: I'm watching the replay of the Djokovic-Federer match, and I can categorically say that one won because he's playing really well and the other lost because he's playing badly. Hmm, badly for someone called Roger Federer at least. I guess that explains the three set victory, but of course everyone knows Nole is fit enough to defeat Federer. Maybe Roger was having a bad hair day or something, that's why he lost more easily. Hehe

Bluuuuuuudgh

I'd like to thank Jane for introducing me to this video. Still can't get enough. :p

And oh, the 2011 Australian Open starts today, Jan 17! Too bad our new cable service does not include a channel that has coverage of the event. Live Scores it is.

UPDATE: Apparently Star Sports and ESPN HD has coverage. Last year, Star Sports didn't have AO coverage as far as I recall so I only watched in BallsTV.

Rafa FTW

Roger Federer is the best. He plays ever so gracefully, hardly gets injured, and speaks a handful of languages. But of course, there's no point in being too good when there's no one to challenge you. I guess that's why I like Rafa, because he can really stand up against Roger. Well, at least that's how I came to like Rafa at first. Now I know he will be written down as one of the best players ever, and not just the King of Clay. He's the simple, family-oriented guy from Spain who actually happens to be a marvelous sportsman.

This is a little treat I got from YouTube, springing after reading a recent article from the US Open website. It's a footage of the Australian Open 2009 awarding ceremony, which I haven't seen until just now. The awesome part starts at around 3:38. :)

I don't how accurate this quotation is, but from the same article I found this gem:

"I go to practice every day not to practice; I go to practice every day to try to learn something and to keep improving my level," Nadal said after his throttling of Mikhail Youzhny in the semifinal.

Incredible.

Last First Sem

My Form 5A now bears the ever red and ever powerful word, Graduating. My enrollment took about four hours yesterday, which was a bit of a downer since I wanted to be finished in two hours. However, my Adviser was not yet in UP and was not available until yesterday afternoon. Good thing Dr. Bantang came around 10 am and I got him to sign my enrollment materials. Yahoo for that!

First Sem 2010-2011

For all I know, this could be my last first sem here in UP, or at least last first sem as an undergraduate. Being in a Graduating status feels nice, makes the enrollment process quite easier too.

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In Roland Garros news, Robin Soderling has defeated yet again another World No. 1 and defending champion, this time being Roger Federer. Too bad I missed the match, I'll download it later. Now, I want a Soderling Rafa final. Hmmf.

Roland Garros Bets

Woosh. I don't actually play, but I call tennis my sport. After all, I do watch live matches in the wee hours of the morning. Hehehe

Of all the Grand Slams, I like Roland Garros best. For one thing it's in France, which among the four is the one richest in culture and history as I'd like to think. Another is that clay is a novel surface, not the usual hard court. And lastly, it's quite easy to watch live French Open matches here in the Philippines, with a time difference of only six hours.

The draws for this year have been laid down yesterday. I hear that the women's draw has very interesting match ups even early on, in the first round. I'm not a fan of the decibel wars particularly in the women's games, one of the reasons why I like watching men's games more. I like Maria and I admire Serena but I just think that it's a big distraction to grunt that much. I am glad that former World No. 1 Justine Henin is back on tour, a non-grunter if I may add. I kinda think she's the female Roger Federer: very refined and composed, and hits effortlessly. That and for so many reasons, I'd like to see Henin win the title this year. If not, perhaps Ana? 

Now, I prefer Rafa over Roger especially on clay. I know that Federer is the best, I do not contest that. The man is The One, I don't think he ever got injured! Rafa is his biggest threat, the only person who can actually beat the king, and that is perhaps the main thing that I like about him. This is probably the same reason why I like Agassi over Sampras, aside from the fact that I find Agassi super cool. Last year was such a disappointment and the finals between Federer and Soderling was so anti-climactic. I hope this year Rafa and Roger meet in the finals again, however tricky Roger's draw may be.

As of this posting, it is a day before the slam starts. Allez!

Roger and Rafa in the RG 2006 final.

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Photos from Wiki Commons.