KEY BISCAYNE '12: Venus, Serena, Azarenka Win!

Venus Williams won the 602nd match of her stellar career by defeating former #1 Ana Ivanovic, 6-7(4) 6-2 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals of the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, which she has won 3 times and her sister Serena Williams has won 5 times. Venus is know only the 14th player in WTA history to reach the 600-win landmark, with an overall win-loss record of 602-147.

World #1 Victoria Azarenka staged an(other) epic comeback from 6-1 5-1 down against Dominique Cibulkova when she came back to extend her 2012 winning streak to 26 matches by gutting out the win 1-6 7-6(7) 7-5. Last year, Azarenka had come back to beat Cibulkova despite being down 6-3 3-1 down at this very same tournament!

Serena Williams rocketed a career high 20 aces in this rematch of the 2011 US Open women's final to defeat Samantha Stosur 7-5 6-3 despite being a break down in both sets.

In the quarterfinals, Serena will face former World #1 Caroline Wozniacki , while Venus will face World #5 Agnieska Radwanska and Azarenka will play Marion Bartoli. The last quarterfnal will feature Li Na versus Maria Sharapova.

KEY BISCAYNE '12: Roddick Beats Federer!

Well, well! Former World #1 Andy Roddick shocked almost all observers by defeating World #3 Roger Federer 7-6(5) 1-6 6-4 in the 4th round of the Sony Ericsson Open, almost exactly 4 years after he had last beaten the Greatest of All Time in an ATP tour match (coincidentally) at this same tournament.

Federer came into the match sporting a  record of 40 wins, 2 losses since his heartbreaking semifinal loss to Novak Djokovic in the 2011US Open Semifinals and had won last week's ATP Masters Series tournament in Indian Wells for a record 4th timehttp://buckmire.blogspot.com/2012/03/indian-wells-12-raja-wins-73rd-atp.html, defeating arch-nemesis Rafael Nadal in the process. The Swiss Maestro was on a 16 matches winning streak and had won 77 consecutive matches against players outside the Top 20.

But Monday night belonged to the American, who served a bucketful of aces and exhibited uncharacteristic aggression on his return games coupled with surprisingly tenacious defense. Both were pivotal to Roddick's win Monday night. In the first set tiebreaker Roddick returned a surprisingly weak Federer ovehead on a sitter and tracked down an angle volley to hit a winner and clinch a mini-break which he nursed to claim a razor-thin 7-6(7-5) first set. In the 2nd game of the 3rd set, after losing 7 consecutive games, Roddick was down 0-40 on his serve when he suddenly stopped missing first serves and was able to save 4 break points and hold serve. Roddick followed up the momentum change by forcing 0-40 in Federer's very next service game by playing the most aggressive return game of his career I have ever seen, hitting four forehand winners to break serve. With his win, Roddick improved to 3 wins and 21 losses against Federer, but showed the rest of the field that even though the former top American is now over 30 and his ranking is in the 20s he can still string together enough strong points to make an impact at any tournament.

Ho-Hum: Another Day, Another Black Boy Murdered

Trayvon Martin was shot at point blank range by a
white guy who said he felt "threatened" by the 17-year old

Ugh, here we go again. There's another case of an unarmed Black male being shot dead by a non-Black person (what a shocker, it's a white guy!). The twist in this case is that the Black male was carrying an ice tea and a bag of Skittles while the shooter is 28-years-old and not a cop, but a "neighborhood watch" vigilante with a 9mm gun.

Charles Blow of the New York Times recounts the facts of the case:

Trayvon had left the house he and his father were visiting to walk to the local 7-Eleven. On his way back, he caught the attention of George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old neighborhood watch captain, who was in a sport-utility vehicle. Zimmerman called the police because the boy looked “real suspicious,” according to a 911 call released late Friday. The operator told Zimmerman that officers were being dispatched and not to pursue the boy. 

Zimmerman apparently pursued him anyway, at some point getting out of his car and confronting the boy. Trayvon had a bag of Skittles and a can of iced tea. Zimmerman had a 9 millimeter handgun.The two allegedly engaged in a physical altercation. There was yelling, and then a gunshot. 

When police arrived, Trayvon was face down in the grass with a fatal bullet wound to the chest. Zimmerman was standing with blood on his face and the back of his head and grass stains on his back, according to The Orlando Sentinel. 

Trayvon’s lifeless body was taken away, tagged and held. Zimmerman was taken into custody, questioned and released. Zimmerman said he was the one yelling for help. He said that he acted in self-defense. The police say that they have found no evidence to dispute Zimmerman’s claim.

 Zimmerman has not been charged with any crime more than 3 weeks after the incident. Of course this raises several questions in the head of most observers. Blow goes on to list just a few:

Why did Zimmerman find Trayvon suspicious? Why did he pursue the boy when the 911 operator instructed him not to? Why did he get out of the car, and why did he take his gun when he did? How is it self-defense when you are the one in pursuit? Who initiated the altercation? Who cried for help? Did Trayvon’s body show evidence of a struggle? What moved Zimmerman to use lethal force?

Another columnist, Leonard Pitts, Jr. writing in the Houston Chronicle lists some more questions:

How can you get out of your truck against police advice, instigate a fight, get your nose bloodied in said fight, shoot the person you were fighting with, and claim self-defense? If anyone was defending themselves, wasn't it Trayvon Martin? Would police have been so forbearing had Martin confronted and killed an unarmed George Zimmerman? 

Is this really a racial Rohrschach test? Do white people and black people see this case differently? If you wonder why Black people don't trust in "justice" in America, the names Amadou Diallo, Sean Bell, Oscar Grant and nowTrayvon Martin are just a few of the reasons.

Celebrity Friday: Ileana Ros-Lehtinen

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen made headlines recently when she became the first Republican co-sponsor of the Respect for Marriage Act, legislation which would repeal the so-called Defense of Marriage Act.

The Washington Blade reports:

“I’m pleased to join the Log Cabin Republicans in our fight for marriage equality,” Ros-Lehtinen said. “I co-sponsored the repeal of DOMA because I firmly believe that equality is enshrined in our constitution and in our great democracy.”

Ros-Lehtinen’s support means the DOMA repeal bill, which in the House was introduced by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), now has 125 co-sponsors. The House legislation now has more co-sponsors than it had in the 111th Congress when Democrats held a majority in the chamber.

In a statement, Nadler said he welcomes Ros-Lehtinen as a co-sponsor of the Respect for Marriage Act “with great joy.”

“And her support reminds us that the march to repeal the discriminatory DOMA is not a partisan issue,” Nadler said. “Just as New York showed the nation this summer in its bipartisan embrace of marriage equality, the drive to end DOMA is — and must be — a collective, nonpartisan effort that unites Americans behind a simple push for equality.”

Other pro-LGBT bills to which Ros-Lehtinen has signed on as a co-sponsor include the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and the Every Child Deserves a Family Act. In May 2010, Ros-Lehtinen was among five Republicans who voted for “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal even before the Pentagon report on the issue was published.

Of course the cynic would say the reason why there are more sponsors of the Respect for Marriage Act in this Congress is because the bill has almost no chance of actually passing the U.S. House with a Republican majority. Therefore, Congressmembers know they can get "credit" for co-sponsoring pro-LGBT legislation without even having to bite the bullet and actually vote in favor of pro-LGBT rights. But that would be cynical, wouldn't it?

Herman Cain Wins FL Straw Poll

Wowsa! Just when you thought things couldn't get any weirder in the Republican presidential nominating contest, comes  this:

Herman Cain: 37.11%
Rick Perry: 15.43%
Mitt Romney: 14.00%
Rick Santorum: 10.88%
Ron Paul: 10.39%
Newt Gingrich: 8.43%
Jon Huntsman: 2.26%
Michele Bachmann: 1.51%

Herman Cain, the former CEO of Godfather's pizza and only person of color in the crowded Republican field, placed first in the Florida straw poll. Michele Bachmann, a notable homophobe, placed dead last, with stupid AND homophobic Rick Santorum placing 4th, behind Mitt Romney and Rick Perry. Interesting!