04/19/24
June 09, 2003
Anna K cries, and don't we have anything better to do?: As a media member, this kind of stuff sickens me. Does anyone else think we go a bit too far in trying to make something out of nothing sometimes?
?? Maybe I'm missing something, but all I see is a story about the new inductees into the basketball HOF...Someone, fix my eyes!
posted by bcb2k2 at 12:12 PM on June 09, 2003
wfrazerjr, while I am pretty quick to criticize the press for the way some things get handled, this doesn't seem like too egregious a violation. Anna K was crying not because of the behavior of the press or paparazzi (which is what I expected to read - that she was made to cry by difficult and pointed questions) but because (in my opinion) she realizes the clock is ticking on her 15 minutes. Is she beautiful? Yes. But there are millions and millions of women more beautiful than her. What makes her unique is that she's one of the 100 best tennis players in the world (supposedly she is, or was at any rate). She won't be a celebrity on her looks alone, she needs an A-level tennis game, and she doesn't seem to have it any more, and that's newsworthy and certainly frustrating to her. She doesn't want it bad enough. Oh...and...Where is the obligatory pic of her in mid-swing dammit!
posted by vito90 at 12:31 PM on June 09, 2003
She won't be a celebrity on her looks alone, she needs an A-level tennis game, and she doesn't seem to have it any more, and that's newsworthy and certainly frustrating to her. She doesn't want it bad enough. All of this is certainly true, although she may wind up a B- or C-list celebrity in a few years if she doesn't get her game back. Watch for her on Fox's Celebrity Boxing in 2008.
posted by Ufez Jones at 12:38 PM on June 09, 2003
(and much more here!) And just in case Anna hasn't thought about it, maybe she should follow French Open champ Justine Henin's example:
Henin had found her home and in December visited legendary trainer Pat Etcheberry in Orlando, Fla. Etcheberry had once grinded Jim Courier and Pete Sampras into shape, and Henin knew that if she didn't bulk up, big players like Serena, Venus and Kim were nearly untouchable. "I remember the work in December when I was almost crying with Pat and he said to me, 'Remember these moments when you hold the trophy,'" she said. "He was right and I want to thank him." ... There's nothing about Henin's game not to like now. Her high-variety game has been a bag full of eye candy since she reached the semifinals here in 2001, but she has immensely improved. Last year, her forehand was erratic. Now it's arguably her best shot. You could go back to the year's outset and criticize her serve, but during the May and June, it has become arguably the hardest, most wicked weapon ever to come off the racket of a woman 5-foot-6 or shorter. Henin has without question the sweetest drop shot on clay and tripped up the super-fast Clijsters with a number of well-disguised forays Sunday. Her one-handed backhand is a thing of utter beauty: She can roll it, slice it low, flatten it out and has complete confidence that it won't break down in crunch time. She's 126 pounds dripping wet and is without an ounce of fat on her body. Henin is quick and fit and now, after winning her first Grand Slam title, can finally be called a big-time player.
posted by worldcup2002 at 01:37 PM on June 09, 2003
Man, I'm going to just stop posting. Everytime I try to put up a link, something goes screwy. I never even SAW the story that the link up there is referring to. Thanks for the quick pick-up, bcb2k2. As for the obligatory picture, can't help you. I still can't do crap from my Mac at work. What follows is the original story I saw, which doesn't say a damn thing about injuries or withdrawing. It's just a story about someone sitting in a locker room crying. Anna Kournikova, who hasn't played a WTA Tour event in two months, was in tears after a practice session today for the DFS Classic, a grass-court Wimbledon warmup event. Kournikova, a former Wimbledon semifinalist, sat on a chair in the clubhouse after a 45-minute session with American coach Harold Solomon. Tears were openly visible running down her cheeks. It wasn't clear why the Russian-born Kournikova was crying. She has been bothered by recurrent injuries. She declined to comment. "Anna Kournikova is not prepared to make any comment about any matter prior to her first-round match," WTA spokeswoman Sally Bradfield said. Kournikova is scheduled to play Tuesday or Wednesday against Dally Randriantefy of Madagascar. Kournikova has won only WTA tour match this year and slipped to No.79 in the world rankings. She has pulled out of several tournaments, citing persistent thigh and back injuries. She hasn't played in tour-level tournament since retiring from her opening round match at the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina, on April 9. Since then Kournikova entered lower-tier events in the United States. She lost to Bruna Colosio, a Brazilian ranked 384th, in the first round in Charlottesville, Virginia. Granted, once it became clear she was pulling out, that's a story, and you can report on her crying. Is it fair to write something based just around tears, though?
posted by wfrazerjr at 01:53 PM on June 09, 2003
I think I have finally made it to the intended story. From past experience, and not to sound crass, but it sounds like Anna may have more than 'back' problems. 'Other areas' sounds like code for 'girl stuff', which has got to be tough, especially for a top 100 athlete, 77th according to said article.
posted by garfield at 04:28 PM on June 09, 2003
What makes her unique is that she's one of the 100 best tennis players in the world (supposedly she is, or was at any rate). I don't think Kournikova's celebrity really needs tennis success to sustain itself. If it does, she's never earned her rep from singles play -- her one claim to fame athletically is that she reached No. 4 in doubles and won several tournaments with Martina Hingis, including at least one Grand Slam event.
posted by rcade at 04:43 PM on June 09, 2003
Poor baby... I would really feel sorry for her if she was concentrating on tennis more and less on her "fame" as a starlet/model or whatever she is trying for... The fact that she hasn't called me yet doesn't help me sympathize either... And don't even get me started on the guys she chooses to date...Engrique Iglesias!??! Good Lord!
posted by StarFucker at 08:49 AM on June 10, 2003
I thought Enrique was gay?
posted by worldcup2002 at 09:59 AM on June 10, 2003
I thought Enrique was gay? He likes mixed doubles.
posted by vito90 at 10:48 AM on June 10, 2003
Kind of the same as Mancow's Ricky Martin line: Here we see Martin holding a Pepsi bottle at a press conference. Funny, I heard it liked it in the can.
posted by wfrazerjr at 12:53 PM on June 10, 2003
he, damn it, he! I have to stop posting on production day.
posted by wfrazerjr at 02:19 PM on June 10, 2003
Get this guy an editor!
posted by worldcup2002 at 02:37 PM on June 10, 2003
Do you know why Dr. Pepper comes in a can? (You might know it as Mr. Pibb east of the Rockies)
posted by vito90 at 03:06 PM on June 10, 2003
no, Vito, why?
posted by wfrazerjr at 04:08 PM on June 10, 2003
Because he's not married. thanks wfrazerjr, I.O.U. one.
posted by vito90 at 04:11 PM on June 10, 2003
*bah dump ching* Mr. Pibb east of the Rockies? I'm in Indiana, and we have Dr. Pepper here. I thought that was Coors or something that didn't make the trek east.
posted by wfrazerjr at 06:40 PM on June 10, 2003
I thought that was Coors or something that didn't make the trek east.
That used to be the case--in fact, smuggling Coors was the plot of Smokey and the Bandit--but you could get Coors on the East Coast by at least the early 80s. she realizes the clock is ticking on her 15 minutes
Next career: Anna Pournikova
posted by kirkaracha at 08:24 PM on June 10, 2003
Some possible titles for Anna P.: — "Up Your Ace" — "Real Mixed Doubles" — "The U.S. Wide Open" — "Gland Slam" — "Getting Wimbledone" — "Yes, Martina, I Do That Too"
posted by wfrazerjr at 09:38 PM on June 10, 2003
LOL. You are killing me, wfrazer. OK, I'll bite: - Forty to Love (Gang Bang #52) - Muff Shots - Down the Seam - Serve and Ballers - Switchover (Locker Rooms #78) - Me and the Ballboys - Humpires - Davis's Cup - I'm a Tennis Pro
posted by worldcup2002 at 11:29 PM on June 10, 2003
- Over the Net (cyberporn?) - Stroker Ace (oops, that was Burt Reynolds) - Stringing Her Along (bdsm) - From Russia For Love - Doubles Partners (all the scenes are foursomes, AK and some other actress are always paired but with different couples in each) - Hit the Showers, Ladies!
posted by billsaysthis at 11:45 PM on June 10, 2003
'Humpires' - That's great!
posted by garfield at 10:22 AM on June 11, 2003
Sorry, just got the paper finished and had a few more floating around this morning: — "Working On Da Groundstrokes" — "Put It In My Backcourt" — "Se-Deuce Me" — "Game, Set and Snatch" WC2k2, still dying on "Davis's Cup."
posted by wfrazerjr at 11:35 AM on June 11, 2003
Where is the obligatory pic of her in mid-swing dammit!