Episodes
Friday Mar 30, 2012
Episode 6
Friday Mar 30, 2012
Friday Mar 30, 2012
Ben and Courtney recap the action in Miami, where up until an hour ago, the women of the WTA offered the more compelling storyline (Rafael Nadal has since withdrawn from the tournament due to a left knee injury). We talk about Venus Williams’ incredible comeback to competitive tennis, why Marion Bartoli was the perfect woman to end Victoria Azarenka’s 26-0 streak, and the complete Fish flop that left the ESPN commentators audibly shaking their heads. We also take you behind the scenes into the dark and smarmy world of the conflict-of-interest-laden tennis media (it’s not dark, and it’s not smarmy) and — WHOA, did you guys see this Odesnik commercial? Go! Go! Go! and give it a listen before everything we discussed is no longer timely. Links mentioned on this week’s episode:
- Sports Illustrated’s Jon Wertheim discusses the conflicts of interests inherent in the tennis industry. [SI.com]
- Serena Williams on Home Shopping Network, introducing the word “comfortability” to fashion. [YouTube]
- Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch listed Eleni Danilidou’s win over Magdalena Maleeva in Athens as one of his best 2004 Olympic memories. [SI.com]
- Wayne Odesnik’s Genesis commercial. [YouTube]
- Wayne Odesnik’s Facebook page. [Facebook]
Saturday Mar 24, 2012
Episode 5
Saturday Mar 24, 2012
Saturday Mar 24, 2012
Ben and Courtney go bi-coastal for Episode 5, as Ben headed to Miami for the Sony Ericsson Open and Courtney returned home to stare at a livescore window. We lay down our final observations from the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, share some press room stories, shoot a side-glare at Michael Llodra, rationalize the lack of early round television coverage, and preview the upcoming tournament in Miami, where Ben got to witness the welcome return of Alisa Kleybanova, Venus Williams, Kim Clijsters, and Serena Williams. If you can’t laugh at how haphazardly Ben makes his ATP predictions, get thee to an infirmary, stat. Thy funny bone is broken. Links mentioned on this week’s episode:
- Don’t know what it means to “Go Tyra” on someone? Here you go. [YouTube]
- Ben’s piece for the New York Times on the Michael Llodra incident. [New York Times]
- Courtney’s piece for SI.com on the Michael Llodra incident, and some follow-up thoughts on how it was handled. [SI.com]
- Sofia Arvidsson’s Twitter.
- Victoria Azarenka’s empty press conference after her semifinal win over Angelique Kerber in Indian Wells.
Wednesday Mar 14, 2012
Episode 4a
Wednesday Mar 14, 2012
Wednesday Mar 14, 2012
Episode 4 was struck down by the crippling stomach virus that is spreading around the Coachella Valley, so Ben and Courtney, who are both in Indian Wells for the BNP Paribas Open, reconvened to discuss what’s happened so far and what we look forward to during the business end of the tournament. We talk about Mardy Fish and Petra Kvitova’s early dismissals, the beautiful grounds at Indian Wells, and we hop on the Mona Barthel bandwagon. Tune in for our predictions just so you can hear Courtney say Ana Ivanovic had no shot against Caroline Wozniacki. When asked for a comment, Courtney said “Oops.”