Hip Young Things

Millions of people will be looking for french open scores over the next few weeks. Instead of having to wait for their favorite tennis magazine to go to print or hoping that their local newspaper will somehow publish tennis results this time around, they can be proactive and find scores from other sources.

Here are just a few options for finding tennis scores in the digital age:

Cable sports networks are likely to post updates of scores as well as broadcast individual matches. Turning to a favorite cable network will likely reveal scores on the scrolling tickers even if they aren’t broadcasting live play.

These same networks and news companies have their own websites as well. Fans can view nearly real time scores as well as watch video of games, post-match interviews, and expert analysis.

Blogs and social media are another good source of up-to-the-minute reports. Those lucky fans who are courtside may decide to live blog matches with their own personal commentary or simply post final scores to their twitter or facebook account once play ends. The problem with these sources is they will be extremely individualized and scattered all over the net.

In this age of apps, there are definitely apps available to provide updates to cell phones, tablets, and even to pop up on computer screens.

There are plenty of good reasons to consider getting a golf degree if you love the game . Degrees in Golf Management can help you obtain a variety of jobs throughout the growing golf industry. In addition to finding jobs at the hundreds of public courses and private golf clubs around the country, there are positions available producing tournaments, running golf tours, and even working for equipment manufacturers. Jobs encompass hospitality, accounting, marketing, management, and sales.

Choosing the right golf program can be a more difficult decision. You want to find a program that offers an accredited degree, usually two or four years. It should have a good mix of general business courses as well as landscaping, hospitality, and actual golf skills. The latter is important for those who want to teach or coach as well as those who want to become pro players. However, anyone who plans to work in the industry should appreciate the opportunity to master new techniques and skills.

It is also important that the program have connections with professional players and associations. This will ensure that they have expert staff teaching the courses. A good program will also require students to complete a business internship as part of their studies. This will allow them to begin putting their knowledge into practice and start making connections for future jobs.

On Saturday, 17-year Australian Jessica Watson arrived home after 210 days at sea. Even though her accomplishment will not be considered a recored by the World Speed Sailing Record Council, she is still the youngest person to circumnavigate the world unassisted. Her perserverance, determination, and willingness to take risks has inspired people not only in Australia but around the world. She is a true role model for young girls to look up to. For more of the story, click here.

For the last couple of years the NBA playoffs have been bittersweet for Suns fans. The initial excitement over a great season and moving on to the next round is quickly overshadowed by defeat as the Spurs achieve victory once again. But not this year! On Sunday, the Spurs and the Suns played one of the closest games of the series. It was a close game until the very end and the Suns were able to hold on to their narrow lead. The Suns will now have 7 days off to rest before they have to face the Lakers and the Western Conference Finals. It won’t be easy but they can do it. To read more about the history between the Suns and the Spurs, visit the ESPN website.

Ladies Day in any race holds a special place, but there is no comparison in great events than Ladies Day at the Aintree John Smith Grand National horse races. The prizes for the fashion show are great and include packages such as a trip to London where you will spend the night at a luxury hotel, a photo shoot with Jeff Banks who will also give you his advise to help you spend the £500 Matalan voucher, handpicking a new wardrobe just for you, and dinner at the Ivy where you will meet a number of celebrities, or another package which includes an all-inclusive 10 night stay for two at your choice of Almond Resorts. There are also smaller prizes like a Boodles Raindance Diamond Ring, or one pair of Christian Louboutin shoes. Needles to say there will be a number of women competing for the chance at any of these great prizes. You will need to register with them, and they have not made it clear yet if there will be fashion scouts looking about for lovely women who look lost. There are a limited number of spots in the competition, so you will want to head to the table as soon as you get there. Below is a video of some of the contestants from a few years ago.

There are a few tips on how to win the competition, but there is no way to guarantee you are the winner unless you absolutely look your best. The thing to remember here is that spring has now come, with the start of these races and the best outfits to wear should match accordingly. This means that it is up to you to determine the new spring fashions, coming in your trendiest clothing. Keep the outfit to spring colors, pastel yellows, blues may want to be the focus of your dress, but don’t forget the vibrant reds and greens in your accessories. If you dress down the main part of your clothing, you can show off the accessories better.

Tennis is actually quite an old game.  It has roots in history that go back thousands of years.  Initially made up by some bored monks in Europe, tennis was for entertainment in religious practices and celebrations.  Perhaps one of the most interesting facts about tennis is that the racket did not exist; instead players used their hand to hit the ball.  Naturally, a glove made out of leather came to being employed.  However, as soon as this invention came along, the racket finally got created as hitting a ball with your hands is not an especially effective way of playing tennis.

The racket has had many alterations throughout the years to make it better and better, and as the racket improved, so did the ball.  Much like the first incarnation of the racket, the first incarnation of the ball was not terribly efficient, being made out of wood.  Other versions after it gave it the bounciness it is now known for and expected.  Leather and cellulose were used to create it.

However, the Church disliked tennis very much.  It did not fit with their ideal of serious monasteries and pious monks.  It was the 14th century version of football, either United States or United Kingdom style.  Most adored in France, it was known as the game of the palm.  French nobility thought much of the game.  In fact, the French actually provided modern day tennis with its name.  Fans of the game would shout out the word tenez or play in English.  Tenez slowly became tennis.

Rules and regulations for the game came in the 1800s with Walter Wingfield, a major in the military.  He soon organized the game into what it looks like today.  The actually tennis court initially started in the United States, which was more similar in shape to an hourglass and had much length in comparison to the courts of our modern tennis.    For aficionados of tennis, such information and trivia helps deepen their appreciation for tennis opens, the most recent of which is the Australian Open Tennis.

I thought when I first watched the X-games on ESPN that I was witnessing what I thought were young men trying really hard to break every bone in their body or actually attempt to die in front of a live audience. Fortunately, none of that happened. At least, the first time I watched. Later, I did get to see many bone crunching moments, but not deaths.

But, then I read about a new kind of extreme sport called Banzai Skydiving. And no, you can’t buy X-treme Sports Tickets for it yet, but who knows, maybe someday. It’s more of a YouTube phenomena which Japan started. But, I doubt any of the participants will live long enough to relish how many hits their video gets. Japanese must be x-tremely bored with the X-games. The X-game must seem a bit drool and overly cautions for them, because the rules for Banzai Skydiving are the following:

One, you do need a plane that will fly you up to 3000 meters. Second, you toss your parachute out of the plane. Third, wait a few moments before you decide it’s time to go jumping after it. Fourth, and this is optional, catch up with your parachute and deploy it before you become a bloody pancake.

I’m not sure why Japanese feel the need to publicly commit suicide. But, believe it or not, there is a Guinness world record held by Yauhiro Kubo who waited a whole 50 seconds before he jumped out after his chute. There’s even a quote made by him once he touched earth safely, ‘I fly like mighty dragon with nothing but the wind of my ancestors to protect me. Drink Kirin Beer.’ Now, I wonder who put him up to that? So, Banzai Skydiving even has sponsors. For me, knowing who the sponsor is, is enough to make me not purchase any of their product.

Being a sports enthuiast, I find cheating to be a not so good thing, but to be honest, losing can be worse. I remember hearing the old adage ‘playing for the love of the game,’ and I always figured that every professional sports team and the individual players lived by this. I mean, really, they get paid enough, right?  Why not enjoy the sport?

But, today’s sports, I’ve come to notice more and more athletes now have a ‘win no matter what,’ mindset. I think it’s because they want to attain some kind of celebrity. This in turn plays into the price of Sports Tickets; they have become so expensive, because of the high salaries of certain ‘celebrity’ athletes that it seems only the rich can afford to go see a game. Winning has become close associates with superstardom status, glory and all the financial incentives called endorsements.

I’m just an average die-hard fan and when I went to watch the New England Patriots stomp on the New York Jets, I was thrilled, even deliriously giddy. But, it was shortly lived, because later on that evening detail allegations about the Patriots might have cheated. Something about stealing secret signals from the Jets via videotapes. Of course, at first, I was indignant and outraged. Then, I felt betrayed. But, then I had to figure out why this super strong team felt the need to cheat. But, then I realized that they aren’t the only ones. Just read any sports page and there’s so much illegal activities being done by, what seems like, all athletes. The sports page almost reads like a police blotter. Doping, perfomance-enhancers, dog-fighting, wife beating…the list goes on. Nothing is sacred anymore when it comes to professional sports. Theres too much money at stake, it seems.

There has been a lot of focus on men’s tennis recently. With the Rafael Nadal/Roger Federer constant battle for world number one, the ladies have been pushed aside a little bit. It was however, not always this way. Tennis is one of the few sports where the women’s side is paid equal amount of attention to as the men. Here’s a look at how the ladies are shaping up for Wimbledon 2009.

The winner of this year’s French Open on the ladies side was Svetlana Kuznetsova. She is ranked the number seven player in the world.  She beat the winner from last year Dinara Safina of Russia. Kuznetsova is also out of Russia, which made for an interesting match. Due to her win Kuznetsova now sits ranked at number five in the world on the WTA tennis polls. Safina has retained her number one ranking.

The Williams sisters, Venus and Serena are two of three American women even ranked in the top 100 of the poll. Serena currently sits at number two in the world, with her sister Venus right behind her at number three.

Venus Williams was knocked out of the French Open in the third round by Agnes Szavay. Serena lost in the quarter finals of the French Open to eventual champion Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Wimbledon will be an interesting place this year for the ladies. Both Williams sisters have prospered there in previous years. The sisters have played each other for the Championship before. This always makes for an interesting time.

Yes, Wimbledon this year seems to be a battle of the Williams sisters versus the rest of the world. Perhaps Kuznetsova will have the good fortune of momentum coming off her French Open win, or Dinara Safina will remind everyone why she is number one.

The only promise that can be kept is that it will all be some fierce competition!