Isner out

Last report on John Isner, I promise.

The American, seeded 23rd in the Wimbledon tournament, lost today to Thiemo de Bakker, an unranked player. The match lasted 75 minutes which compared to his last match, was a blink of the eye.

Isner had difficulty during the match requiring a trainere which can only spell bad news. Isner never looked like he had his momentum going.

And to be honest, I expected this. After such an effort by the 25-year-old North Carolinan to defeat Frenchman Nicolas Mahut, also unranked, he was probably out of gas, physically and mentally.

Despite being knocked out of the tournament, Isner has won the respect of many of his peers and the world audience. And he has the longest Tennis Match ever played, some are even calling it the Greatest, to call his own.

FINALLY!! It ends!

At Busted Raquet, a Tennis blog, this morning it read:

After ten hours, 153 games and almost 1,000 points, American John Isner and Frenchman Nicolas Mahut were locked at 59-59 in the fifth-set of their historic first-round match at Wimbledon when play was suspended for the second straight day due to darkness. You read the score correctly: 59-59. When the Wimbledon final had a 16-14 final set last year, that seemed like a marathon. In comparison, this match was like running to the moon.

The match that threatened to make the War in Afghanistan look short, has ended at 11 hours, five minutes.

After three days of a single Tennis match at Wimbledon, John Isner of the United States has won a first round match against Nicolas Mahut of France 3-2. The match was fiercely contested by both men who were both applauded and awarded for their perseverance.

The match broke records during its second day of play, so the figures as they stood at the end at the records. It is likely that they will stand for a very, VERY long time.

The records are thus: longest match: 11 hours, 5 minutes; longest set: the fifth set required 8 hours, 11 minutes; most games in a set: 138 in the fifth set; most games in a match: 183; most aces in a match by one player: Isner, 112; and total aces in a match: Mahut's 103 aces brought the total to 215.
The match set the record for most games played in a match both before and since the introduction of the tie-break. The previous records were the 2003 Australian Open quarter-final match, in which it took Andy Roddick 83 games to defeat Younes El Aynaoui 4–6, 7–6(5), 4–6, 6–4, 21–19, and the 112 games it took Pancho Gonzales in 1969 to defeat Charlie Pasarell in the first round 22–24, 1–6, 16–14, 6–3, 11–9 prior to the introduction of a tie-break.

The match set the record for the longest match by time. The previous official record (6 hours, 33 minutes) was set at the 2004 French Open when Fabrice Santoro defeated Arnaud Clément 6–4, 6–3, 6–7(5), 3–6, 16–14. It also passed the unofficial record of 6 hours and 40 minutes set on 25 February 2009, when Chris Eaton defeated James Ward 6–3, 6–2, 6–7(3), 2–6, 21–19 in a playoff match to represent the United Kingdom in the Davis Cup.

The fifth set alone lasted longer than the previous longest match. John Isner served his 79th ace to take the lead, 39–38 in the match. This passed Ivo Karlović's 78 aces that he served on 18 September 2009 in a Davis Cup match against Radek Štěpánek. He finished on a total of 112. Mahut also passed the previous record with 103 aces.

The first crack in Mahut's service game had come on the second point of the final game when he made a forehand error. On the next point, Mahut tried a delicate drop shot but was only able to make the ball nestle into the net on his side of the court. Mahut won the next point with a volley but then, once again, Isner got a swing at a second serve and it paid off.

The 6-foot-9 American cracked a forehand winner to give himself a fifth match point in this longest-ever set. As the crowd on Court 18 roared, Isner swung all-out with that backhand.

After the ball landed, Isner dropped to his knees and Mahut hung his head for a moment. At the net, Isner hugged his beaten opponent. There was an immediate on-court ceremony in which each player and chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani received special awards that came in boxes that seemed too heavy for the exhausted players to hold.

Isner told the crowd, "I got a little bit tired. When you come out and play and the atmosphere is like this, you don't feel tired even though we were. This crowd was fantastic."

And to his opponent, Isner said, "What more can you say? To share this day was an absolute honor."

Mahut also was given a chance to speak. He had to put down his award box first.

"At this moment, it is just really painful," he said. "Thanks to you guys, you were completely fantastic. John deserved to win. He served unbelievable. It was an honor to play. We played the greatest match ever, and Wimbledon is the greatest place to play."

Mahut had to serve to stay in the match 65 times, but he said he wasn't thinking about that.

"I was just thinking about the point and playing it," he said.

The final set alone lasted 491 minutes. Isner finished with 112 aces and Mahut had 103.

Isner, the 23rd seed, must now look ahead to his second-round match against Thiemo De Bakker of the Netherlands. De Bakker won his first-round match by the routine score of 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-3, 5-7, 16-14.

Immediately after the end of the match, both players and chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani were presented a special award from the AELTC by Tim Henman and Ann Haydon-Jones, followed by a photo taken showing the result on one of the two Court 18 scoreboards.

On Day 2 there had been a scoreboard failure at Court 18 where the historic match was played. The scoreboard froze at 47 all then went dark. IBM worked until 11:45 PM on the issue that evening and after a hotfix, was up and working today, accurately presenting the record scores.

The website lastly only a little longer. At 50 all, it reset to zero. Visitors were kindly asked to add 50 to the scores.

Reaction around the world has been admiration and awe. Some have tried to put perspective on a the match calling it the aforementioned "Marathon Match" and "The Neverending Story". The match was at first being called an Epic Match but after the suspension on Day 2, it drifted into Marathon territory.

Seriously, how could anyone have anything but admiration for the two men?

In addition, the Queen also visited Wimbledon today. She was at Centre Court, however, and did not see the match at Court 18. And who could blame her. No one could say for sure how long it would go.

This was the Queen's first visit to Wimbledon in 33 years. She met with some players including Roger Federer, Andy Roddick, Venus and Serena Williams, and some former winners here, including Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova.

Busted Racquet put this best so I will quote them:

While it was great to see the queen making her way around the grounds at Wimbledon, she informed everyone that she isn't that big of a tennis fan. That couldn't have been more evident than a humorous exchange she had with Navratilova that ESPN reported during its coverage of the event.

According to Hannah Storm, the queen asked Navratilova if she had played Wimbledon often, to which the former nine-time champion humbly answered yes.

Honestly, you can't blame the queen for not knowing everything about the tennis world. She has worn the crown for 58 years, so it isn't like we're dealing with a spring chicken here.

Well, it was an all around historic day at Wimbledon and for Tennis. And it's only the 4th day of a 14 day tournament. Oy vey!

Wimbledon Update!

Isner and Mahut continue to be locked in contest at 50 apiece in the fifth set.

Wimbledon scoreboard breaks at court 18 where they are staging this epic battle. Good freaking God!!!

It is approaching 9 hours. Isner has 81 aces!

Sports are good for you!

Some sports are seeing historic events today.

First, the US side won against the Algerian side scoring a single goal in the 91st minute. American Landon Donovan scored on rebound off the Algerian keeper during the four minutes of stoppage time.

Early in the match, there was a US goal that was not counted due to a call of offsides. The Algerians played rough and made the US really work for their single goal.

The US not only won their match but also won the Group. England also scored a single goal in its match against Slovenia. It was enough to put both through to the Knockout round. The Us will play the runner up for Group D. At the moment, Germany and Ghana are leading Group D and they are playing each other currently - as in RIGHT NOW!

Secondly, Wimbledon.

Two men: an American named John Isner and a Frenchman named Nicolas Mahut have been locked in an epic battle at Wimbledon, one stretching over two days. In a match that began Tuesday night and was suspended because of darkness after four sets, Isner and Mahut have now played the longest tennis match in history.

As I type this, they are still locked in this contest with their fifth set approaching the 50's!

It's amazing how methodical this match has been. No controversy, no close calls. Just rhythmic, incessant tennis. Not unlike Chinese Water Torture!

Sir Prince William!

Oddly enough, there's lots of news. For a Tuesday.

Hamas and Israel agree to a cease fire according to the Beeb. CNN reports that a truce is near completion and would go into affect in as little as three days. The article on the BBC notes that Israel is still "looking to see if this is serious".

Hamas came to power after elections in January 2006 displacing Fatah. In June of the same year, Corporal Galid Shalit. a dual French-Israeli citizen, was abducted. After this, Israel threatened the Palestinians by saying that the "sky will fall" if he was harmed. Many negotiations have been made over the past two years. Even the Catholic Church of Gaza and former U.S. President Jimmy Carter have tried to negotiate for Shalit's release.

Since the rise of Hamas and the kidnapping Shalit, Israel has restricted supplies of gasoline, diesel and electricity to Gaza, limited the amount of food and other goods entering the strip and made it virtually impossible for manufacturers and farmers in Gaza to export anything to the outside world.

Israeli officials have said these measures are intended to pressure Hamas to stop its members and other factions from firing mortars and rockets into Israel.

Prince William has been made a member of the Most Noble Order of the Garter. His official title will be Royal Knight Companion. The Order was established in 1348 by King Edward III. The numbers of the Order are limited. There are only 24 Companions.

William is in the midst of completing two months of intense Naval training. Next Week he will begin to serve on the HMS Iron Duke in its patrols of the Carribean.

The President of France, Nikolas Sarkozy, has announced that France will rejoin the Command of Nato. Then President Charles de Gaulle pulled France out of the Command structure in 1966 in a bid for independence from the US dominated Western treaty. With this announcement comes also the news that 50,000 defense jobs will be cut and the Intelligence community will be boosted.

Special Effects master Stan Winston died yesterday. He had struggled with Mulitple Myeloma for the past seven years. He recently worked on Iron Man and was also contributing to projects such as GI Joe, Avatar, and a forth coming chapter in the Terminator series of films. Stan Winston was known for intergrating practical effects (sometimes known as in-camera effects) with the the more recently developed Computer Generated Images, or CGI. He has been awarded four Academy Awards for his efforts in such projects as Aliens, Terminator 2: Judgement Day and Jurassic Park.

November 11th: Armistice Day

Today is Armistice Day. In the US, we call it Veterans Day. At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11the month, the war was over on the Western Front. That was 1918, 89 years ago.

At two minutes to 11 on that fateful day, the last casualty of the war was killed. Canadian Private George Lawrence Price, a conscript of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, was killed in the French town of Havre by a German sniper. He is buried in a cemetery in Belgium that contains both the first and last casualties of the First World War.

It is somewhat interesting that the last to die for the allies was killed in Havre. You may recognize it better if I called it Le Havre. The landing of D-Day and H-Hour was very near Le Havre some 26 years later during the Second World War.

On this day we honor those who fought to protect that which we hold dear: our home. Its a very exclusive club of men and women who put their lives on the line to defend our land, our liberties and our lives. Sometimes these selfless people were honored and celebrated and sometimes they were not. Regardless of how anyone may feel about a current war or situation... these people still deserve respect. They are doing the job so few of us would. When I say job, I do not refer to those who hold a rifle, stand a post and go on patrol. This means the guy who cooks the chow, swabs the deck and keeps the log. Everyone who puts on a uniform in the service of his or her country, in peace or in war, is a veteren and should be honored. Lets remember everyone.

And now, there are other things that happened today. In 1620, the Mayflower Compact was signed.

In 1778, Seneca Indians kill 40 people in what is called the Cherry Valley Massacre.

In 1831, Nat Turner is hung for starting a slave rebellion, in Jerusalem, Virginia.

In 1864, Genereal William Tecumseh Sherman begins to burn Atlanta during his march to the sea.

In 1889, Washingon became the 49th state.

In 1911, there was a record cold front that broke the records for many midwestern towns. It not only broke the highs and lows for the day but also the temperature difference itself. In Springfield, IL, for example, the high was recorded as 80°F. Two hours later it was 40° less with gusts of 40mph. By midnight the temperature was 13°F. The difference was 67°F. It is known as the Great Blue Norther. There was a similar incident of freakish temperature change in February 1999. Changes like this do happen in November, February and March.

In 1926, Route 66 was established.

Another freak weather incident occurred in 1940, in the midwest. s if the dust bowl of the last decade weren't already enough, a blizzard plowed through that left 144 dead.

In 1992, the Church of England voted to allow women to become priests.

And just three years ago in 2004, Yasser Arafat was confirmed dead.

מזל טוב

China frees a Catholic Bishop

After 10 years, he walks free. Bishop An, a Chinese Roman Catholic Bishop, has been released. The Bishop is loyal to the Roman Catholic Church rather than the state-run church which does not recognize the pope. Despite his loyalty, the Vatican and China (中國) no longer have diplomatic relations. He is loyal to a Church that no longer views him as a Bishop let alone a member. Back in May, the Church excommunicated two bishops and those that ordained them because they were not sanctioned by Pope Benedict XVI. Considering that the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association (中国天主教爱国会) is state run and has no ties with the Vatican, who is there to care? Now that religion is beginning to flourish in China and with the release of Bishop An, there may be better days ahead for loyal Catholic Chinese clergy.

On this day back in 1883, Krakatoa began three days of several explosions. In the end, 25 cubic kilometers of rock, ash, and pumice were ejected and the "loudest sound historically reported."

Also on this day, back in 1346, the Battle of Crécy took place in Northern France. It was a part of the Hundred Years War that France was fighting with England. It established the supremacy of the English longbow over the French crossbow. It was also the beginning of the end of chivalry. Women everywhere weep for this cursed day.

That's all for now. I'm off to play a blood sucking vampire for 10 hours. WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

Plan B: OTC

So, the FDA has finally decided to make Plan B an over the counter medication. There's a catch. There's always a catch! You must be at least 18 and prove it. Well, thats not really surprising. No one should be self medicating under the age of 18.

On to more pressing matters. Lt. General Dan Halutz (דן חלוץ), the Chief of Staff for the IDF, admitted in a letter to his troops that he failed and "exposed shortcomings in the military's logistics, operations and command." I respect the man for making an apology to the IDF for the apparent loss in the recent conflict but it was like Vietnam. You could drop lots bombs, send mortars, missles and grenades over but Hezbollah ()حزب الله), just as the Viet Cong did. They fought using Guerrilla tactics. Evidently even Mossad(המוס למודיעין ולתפקידים מיוחדים) doesn't use those anymore. What happened to the days of yore when the IDF could lay waste to its enemies? What happened to the days when Israel could outsmart anyone? The possibilty exists that I srael may have gotten cocksure. The United States sure did. When we strut around and act like just because we liberated France from the Nazis, along with the British and Canadians, we deserve the world's thanks forever, we doom ourselves to being toppled; to being defeated. So heed this warning Israel: get your underdog stripes back. They serve you well. Swelled heads and a swagger do not. That may be the real cause behind a failure to "defang" Hezbollah, not a stock-selling leader.

Not to get on Israel's case, which apparently I am, but now it appears Israel has been accused of war crimes. Amnesty International has recently accused Israel of deliberately targetting civilian populations in its crusade to root out Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. Honestly, they can't go after the other combatant in this melee so Israel will likely take the brunt of the aftermath in the arena of public opinion. There may be other more serious consquences. In Israel's defence, there is little they could do not to target civilian areas. Hezbollah was firing their Katusha rockets from neighborhoods in Lebanon.

Now moving on to Israel's other conflict. "What other conflict?" you ask. Seriously, there is another one in Gaza(قطاع غزة). Gilad Shalit is still sitting in Gaza, still alive, God willing, and waiting to be rescued. Israel made an incursion in to Gaza again today. No one was killed.

Moving on to other fare, a headline at the BBC sparked my interest: "Communists join Wal-Mart's ranks". Wal-Mart, the nassive discount chain started by the late Sam Walton, is now in China with unions. Wal-Mart has never been overly keen on unions and China likes to have party-contolled ones. So what's the point of having them anyways if neither wants them and they will be useless? Note: It took 11 days for this to make it to the BBC.

One politically juicy bit. Republican Sentor and candidate George Allen of Virginia made a comment to DemocraticIndian-American volunteer S.R. Sidarth. Sidarth was videotaping the senator at a rally when the senator called him Macaca. in fact, here's some quotes:"This fellow over here with the yellow shirt -- Macaca or whatever his name is -- he's with my opponent," and "Let's give a welcome to Macaca here. Welcome to America and the real world of Virginia." He later tracked him down (through Google) at the University of Virginia where he is an engineering student and called to apologize. No word from Sidarth on how he took it. Apparently, he did ask for it and you get what you ask for...

News Flash! Pluto is demoted: Only 8 planets in our Solar System! Students, teachers, and Encyclopedia Writers everywhere tremble...

On this day back in 79 CE, Pompeii and Herculaneum were smothered and buried in volcanic ash from Mount Vesuvius. So if you think you're having a bad day...