Over the last two weeks, I got to watch a fair number of matches from the Sony Ericsson Open - another big tournament near a wealthy enclave, combining both the men's (ATP) and women's (WTA) tours. It has had a number of different sponsors and names - Lipton, Ericsson, and now Sony Ericsson - but is also known as the Miami Masters, or just Key Biscayne. CBS commentators called Key Biscayne the unofficial fifth major today, but the Tennis Channel called Indian Wells the fifth major a few weeks ago, so enough of that. There are only four majors, but there are other big tournaments with a lot of prestige, and Key Biscayne is one of them. [Read more]

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Q: What do the NBA, Major League Baseball, PGA Tour, NFL, Major League Soccer and NHL have in common?

A: Spacious closets.

Yes, friends, the six biggest male professional sports leagues in America share one major thing – not a single one its athletes is openly gay. Not one.

Which makes English cricketer Steven Davies admission that he is a gay male all the more brave. From Towleroad: [Read more]

In between the Wisconsin protest coverage, Pale Rider and A Fistful of Dollars, I watched the ATP Marseille final, in which world #4 Robin Söderling came back from losing a close first set tiebreak to defeat world #21 Marin Čilić 6-7 (8-10), 6-3, 6-3. I know sportswriters try to vary the terminology, but I was surprised to read this headline in the UK Mirror:

Robin Söderling too smart for Čilić
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Already set to reclaim the #1 world ranking from Kim Clijsters, Caroline Wozniacki easily won the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship today, winning in the final 6-1, 6-3 over Svetlana Kuznetsova. [Read more]

Here we have a short tale on Twitter of how professional NFL Player Reggie Bush handles a fire at his neighbor’s house.

Reggie Bush - @reggie_bush

Damn my neighbors house is on fire!!!!! Whoa!!

about 1 hour ago 

Brand new house he couldn’t have been living in it more than a month! This is crazy!!!!

about 1 hour ago  [Read more]

Critics of higher education in America generally present themselves as modernizing reformers. They claim America's universities are hidebound, outmoded, and fundamentally inefficient. Maybe, maybe not. It's an easy charge to make about an institution, like the Western university, which is several centuries old, and tends to sound plausible no matter the merits of the particular case. "It's the 21st century," the standard argument goes, "so it's time to get rid of anachronisms like tenured faculty/four-year bachelor's degrees/foreign language departments/semesters/public funding for state universities." This "out with the old, in with the new" argument sounds logical when it actually is logical, but also when it's not. [Read more]

We must stop all leaks. [Read more]

The TSA got the touch. They've got the power.

News/Politics

A Time of Cholera: When Cholera deaths explode in Haiti, no one will have been able to anticipate it. [Read more]

Let the fiddling begin.

Wolfrum's Word

Congress is back! In other news, Fiddle companies announce they plan for record profits.

News/Politics

A Time of Cholera: Cholera Outbreak reaches Port au Prince. Death toll closing in on 1,000.   [Read more]

Ok, I'm back.

News/Politics

Obama in India: The President wheels and deals in India, as Right-wing remains unsure if India is an enemy state or not. Oh, and while he's there, First Lady Michelle Obama is showcasing the awesome ... [Read more]

It's just a Kiss.

News/Politics

Indonesia: The death toll rises.  [Read more]

No touching!!!

News/Politics

Boy Scouts: Firing of Gay troop leader continues a fine history of discrimination [Read more]

These guys are truly All About Beards. [Read more]

I feel a little Kinky.

News/Politics

Travel Alert for Europe!: Screw it, I’m going anyway.

Pakistan: Death.

America’s Elite Media: Broder and Woodward Still on Lecture Circuit. [Read more]

It’s Wolfrum Wednesday. What should I wear? [Read more]

Here’s to lighting a fire under your ass on a Monday.

News/Politics

Peace Between Palestine & Israel: Well, not quite yet. Feel free to hold breath.

There Hugo: The opposition takes another small bite out of Hugo Chavez’s hold on Venezuela.

Can’t Bank On It: Banks are still failing, left and right. [Read more]

David Beckham cheated on Victoria with a hooker!!!

Now, before you jump on me for sensationalizing this, remember, I was, and still occasionally am a sports writer. It's a position I take seriously. It's an honorable profession.

And David Beckham corner-kicked Posh Spice for a busty hooker! [Read more]

The NFL and its players have a reputation problem. It seems that every 10 minutes or so, an NFL player or former NFL player is being accused of assaulting a woman or worse. As problem’s go, it’s not a good one. But with the incredible popularity of the game, thus far things like rape and domestic abuse have barely made a dent in the game.

New York Jets reporter Ines Sainz has a reputation problem as well. She’s just too damned hot. She’s so hot, in fact, that any type of sexual harassment against her must be her fault. Combine a misogynistic landscape with a sexy woman and what do you expect, anyway? [Read more]

Tommy Maddox turns 39 today. He may not have been one of the better quarterbacks in Pittsburgh Steelers history, but he never raped anyone, and that’s a good thing.

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