Can you guess which country she would compete for?

Let's see if you can guess where this guy's from!

As an Islander fan, I know it is dangerous to even go here, but you MUST check this out this video...especially you ladies out there who aren't into hockey. Good enough reason to get into the game?

As jeers of "Let's-Go-Ran-gers!" roared through our section of the Coliseum, we Islander fans held our heads down in respect AND embarrassment when the Canadiens came back to score all 4 goals in the 3rd period on Sat night. Not sure what was goin on, all we could do was smile and laugh with the Habs fans, dressed up as Montreal superheros in tights, speedos, capes, and face paint. Canada's definitely more fun. They were all in town cuz they had gotten a sports package: for $500 they get the bus ride down, hotel, and tix to the Isle game, Devil game, and NY Giant game. Least Streit scored against his previous team, even though the Habs' Kovalev scored 2 min into the game. This is what's called "Le Pa-thay-teek!"

The Chicago Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings will soar wearing retro team jerseys on January 1, 2009 while playing outdoors at Wrigley Field. They say the idea is to bring the game back to its roots and the event's going to be what makes every true hockey fan salivate. Maybe it won't snow so much this year, since last year they had the zamboni and shovels out every 5 minutes! Hopefully we won't drink too much on NYE; don't wanna miss this!

While most people were watching the Rays take it to the Red Sox (well, for the 1st 7 innings), the Islanders quietly trumped the Lightning 4-3 with an OT goal 51 sec in, by Asst Captain Trent Hunter, his 2nd goal of the night. Comrie and Weight had the other 2 goals. The Isles confuse me: I'm not sure if they'll be pathetic this year or if they'll be the next big thing. What do you think?

Peca's not in the news for contributing to a game, he detracted from it. " Columbus Blue Jackets center Michael Peca has been suspended indefinitely by the NHL for making contact with an on-ice official. The team and league announced the suspension on Saturday. Peca was automatically suspended per Rule 41, Physical Abuse of Officials, Category 2." Anyone have footage of this? I wonder if it was like in "Slapshot."

Isles actually scored one today, nice job Trent Hunter. BUT YOU JUST LOST SEVEN-TO-ONE!! So, he was the youthful AHL Coach of the Year, but can Scotty Gordon handle the big league? Their 1st game, the Isles were aight losing just 2-1 against the Devils. Sat, they won 5-2 against the Blues. But just now they were given a clinic by the Sabres, losing 7-1. Are the Isles playing at Coach Gordon's old AHL level (rather, below) or will Gordy prove to have an impact on the Fish Stix? THIS WAS PATHETIC!

Belarusian Max Mirnyi, aka "The Beast" is now an international lawyer! After 5 years of studying, he's got his degree working on the International Protection of Children's Rights.The Beast will be back on the court this week. His former doubles partner, Swede Jonas Bjorkman, is moving forward in his life as well, retiring after 16 years on the court. Jag alskar dig, Jonas!

Should Real Madrid give Raul the boot? Many say he's past his prime and want him off the team to make room for young, faster blood but yesterday he popped in both of Real Madrid's goal against rival Espanyol. Unfortunately not able to get the hat trick, the teams ended in a tie. "8 goals away from becoming Real Madrid's all-time top-scorer in the league, five more strikes would make Raul Gonzalez the team's all-time top-scorer in any competition." But is that enough to let him stay?

They say that of the 3 Djokovic brothers, the youngest one, Djordje Djokovic, is the best. Novak already won the Aussie Open this year and now the middle brother, 17-year-old Marko Djokovic, "will make his ATP debut in Bangkok this week after receiving a wild card into the main draw of the Thailand Open." Novak, or "Nole" as he's called, and Marko will play doubles in Thailand against Frenchmen Fabrice "The Magician" Santoro and JDubz Tsonga in the first round. Marko's only ranked No. 1734 so he's got a ways to go to catch up to big brother, who's #3.

Great site for juicy gossip! "Here is part one, of my exclusive interview, with a trusted member of the Cincy staff. In exchange for me paying the tab, as we chatted in the hotel bar of the Marriott Northeast, as well as a promise to keep the conversation "off the record," my source was eager to tell me what he has experienced, during his tenure as part of the Western & Southern Financial tournament elite.

DdV= Dani DeVine

CSI= Cincy Staff Insider

DdV: Which tour player is the easiest to work with?

CSI: Many of them are a pleasure to work with, like James Blake and Roger Federer. Andy Murray has always been low maintenance, despite his public persona. The best, in terms of sheer friendliness, and a total absence of that "I'm-a-huge-star," attitude, is Rafael Nadal. We all really like the guy, from the top tournament organizers, all the way down to the ballkids. No acting for the cameras with him; he is a genuine person.

DdV: You know I have to ask- who is the most difficult to work with?

CSI: (Laughing) Getting me into trouble early, here. Only a few players are a real pain in the **** to deal with. Haas and Clement are not the nicest guys around, and Safin can drive a sane person crazy. If I have to answer, I go with Nicolas Kiefer. He is the Big Three: unfriendly, uncooperative, and difficult.

DdV: Best sense of humour?

CSI: On a good day, Marat Safin can be a lot of fun. If we are talking about someone who is naturally funny, as a general rule, then it has to be Novak Djokovic. He's a good guy. (smiles)

DdV: Which player is the most likely to hook up with a groupie, or a fan?

CSI: (Laughing) How did I know this question would be on your list? I will not admit to knowing anything, but if I had to guess, it would be Safin. I have heard stories about Feliciano Lopez, Tommy Haas, and Mario Ancic as well. If the walls of the rooms in this hotel could talk....

DdV: Who do your female coworkers like the most?

CSI: You mean looks-wise?

DdV: Yes. That question was intended to be shallow. ;)

CSI: Roddick, on the American side. Verdasco, on the Euro side. I hear about that guy a lot. Roddick doesn't bother me, though. I'm better looking than he is, right? If I were insecure, Verdasco might make me feel a little bit bad about myself. (laughs)

Stay tuned for Part two! Until next time..." THERE'S MUCH MORE AT THE LINK!

Federer lost tonight to Sunday's Indianapolis Champ, Gilles Simon. I remember the commentators saying during Simon's Finals match against Dmitry Tursunov that Simon will play Federer in the 1st Rd in Toronto, and I thought, "Well, this guy's in the Finals now, and Feds is pretty off right now...let's see what happens!" If Nadal wins the Rogers Cup this week, he'd have the chance at next week's Cincy tourney to dethrone Feds, who's held #1for 234 consecutive weeks (since February 2004)." You have it folks. The dawn of a new era.

The Leafs discard Coach Paul Maurice, the Sharks donate Ronny Wilson to the Leafs, then the Isles ditch Nolan, and now Paul Maurice interviews with the Isles? The Leafs are the only ones lucking out. OR is it just that these teams' players need new leaders? There are a total of 7 candidates vying for the position of Islanders' Head Coach, including former Tampa Bay coach John Tortorella (replaced by Mr. Hockey, Barry Melrose) and his assistant, Mike Sullivan, possibly former Atlanta coach Bob Hartley, and current Providence Bruins coach Scott Gordon in Boston's organization. Former Colorado coach Joel Quenneville is also available. Finally, the current Islanders assistant Gerard Gallant, who previously coached Columbus, will interview. Who should get the job? Tortorella and Hartley have Stanley Cups.

At the end of the day, are the Williams sisters better players than Rafa and Rog, who only play singles? And if Rafa and Rog *did* play doubles often, would their singles careers suffer or would they also thrive in doubles (whether they played together or with other partners)? Attached is an old article describing a time when Rafa played against Feds, in doubles! This year, both of the Williams sisters could not win singles, but one did and the other was runner-up. Additionally, they did win the Ladies' Doubles. And get this, one of the losers of Ladies' Doubles, Sam Stosur, did win in Mixed Doubles with Bob Bryan, who made it to the Men's Doubles semi's with twin Mike. Usually you're a doubles specialist or a singles player. Rafa does play doubles here and there, usually paired with his buddies Feli Lopez, Tommy Robredo or Carlos "Moyini" Moya, but Roger rarely plays doubles. Is Feds just selfish? Most of the top male singles players do not really play doubles, or succeed in both. Interesting that there are generally more top female singles players who play both singles and doubles than men. Why is that?