Keeping Score

Wimbeldon semi-finals

Tennis is one of my favorites. Rain has stopped and they are playing right now. I haven't been ignoring Wimbeldon, but couldn't tackle everything as I try to get this blog off the ground. I'm heading to Philly for the long weekend - probably won't post much. Here's some preview pieces on the women's semi-finals - it's Williams v. Sharapova and Davenport v. Mauresmo.

The Telegraph has a decent preview with some history of players and stats. Also, they resist jumping on the media bandwagon of always having to mentioning Sharapova's looks.

This morning the semi-finals preview story was the lead story on ESPN's Webpage. Unusual preview where the players are compared to characters in a plot of a Victorian novel. There is the must-have reference to Sharapova. Here she is the "18-year-old golden goddess"

Kevin Blackistone of the Dallas Morning News writes about Venus' comeback

Sounding the death knoll on women's golf ... Part Deux

A reader pointed out in their comment to the post about NBCSports Lopez column that Greg Couch of the Chicago Sun-Times also wrote a column blasting the sport and women golfers. In "Even with Birdie,LPGA still subpar" (6/27/05) Couch writes, "What I do know is that this day could have been everything women's golf has dreamed of. Instead, it showed just how fragile the sport's connection is to the mainstream." and  "Women's golf is just so far from the big time, despite all that Sorenstam has done. If you have to rely on two stories for the thing not to flop, then you are too fragile." There's more and it's better to read the full column  - when I pull quotes out like this, it takes away some of the context of the piece, but I think you get his drift loud and clear.

It's over for women's golf ...

According to Aaron Lopez of NBC Sports, Wie and Sorenstam ruined it for women's golf with their performances in the U.S. Women's Open. In this harsh column "An opportunity lost for women's golf: Wie, Sorenstam missed chance to give their sport a boost" that reads like a eulogy for the sport, Lopez takes both women to task ... here's an excerpt ...

"The 60th U.S. Women’s Open was an entertaining affair with final-round drama and a fantastic finish, but it did little to alter the perception that the ladies remain a par-5 behind the men when it comes to major championships.

Birdie Kim? A nice young player, I’m sure, but women’s golf did not need a Birdie this week. It needed an eagle. Something that would grab viewers and spectators by the back of their well-pressed polo shirts and leave them begging for more.

After seven days walking in Arnie’s footsteps, I didn’t get the sense that the women’s game got much of a popularity boost — despite Kim’s tournament-winning bunker shot on the 72nd hole.

Fair or unfair, the blame falls upon Sorenstam and Wie."

Ouch! Maybe Sorenstam should take some heat, but Wie is only 15 - she should be allowed to choke without the future of women's golf should resting on her young shoudlers.

Here's more ...

"When Tiger Woods ran roughshod over the competition at the turn of the century, he not only pushed his PGA Tour rivals to get better but he captivated previously disinterested market segments.

Eighty-year-old grandmothers in Des Moines. Inner-city kids in Detroit.

Soccer moms in Decatur. They all knew about Tiger and were eager to see what he would do next.

Give Sorenstam credit for creating a buzz, but her quest for the slam still did not generate an enthusiasm and electricity common at majors on the men’s side.

I’ve walked inside the ropes at three U.S. Open championships. Followed Tiger. Trailed Phil Mickelson.

Their short walks between the greens and tee boxes require earplugs as the din of the gallery becomes almost overwhelming.

Neither Sorenstam nor Wie inspire such enthusiasm, although the fans at Cherry Hills should be commended for shattering U.S. Women’s Open attendance records."

Ouch. I'm sorry, but Tiger was playing in a well-run professional league that had a solid footing under it - huge sponsorships, nice prize winnings, strong fan base, tv coverage galore, etc. He didn't have to be concerned with making the sport popular. Lopez gets more reasonable at the end of the column - acknowledging the talented young players coming up the pipeline. I know this piece is trying to light a fire under women's golf - but there are more productive ways to do it. This just gives the doubters one more opporunity to slam women's golf and say "I told you so"

Highest TV ratings for U.S. Women's Open since 1997

The drama of the final round of the U.S. Women's Open on Sunday drew the highest amount of television viewers since 1997. Read the Associated Press story here.  Ratings are important - the better the ratings, the more attractive women's sports are to advertisers and sponsors, and more advertisers and sponsors means more money for women's sports.

Thanks

Many thanks to everyone who posted their comments or e-mailed me about where they get their news on the WNBA. I'm going to compile it all together and write a summary in the next few days.

Birdie Kim wins U.S. Open

It's Sunday night and I'm jumping around the sports sections on various news Websites to see who is reporting what and where on the U.S. Women's Open win. Some like NYTimes and USAToday  - it's the lead story. Others like ESPN and Dallas Morning News, lead with the College World Series Baseball final, which also happened today - Kim's win is relegated to sidebar headline. Many sites are using the AP wire story - listed in a sidebar. The Miami Herald is leading with Serena Williams' loss at Wimbeldon and the site doesn't look like it's been updated for a while. It will be interesting tomorrow to see if Kim's win gets more play across the board.

WNBA coverage?

I've noticed some traffic coming in from basketball forums - so I have a question. If you follow the WNBA - where do you go to get your WNBA news? Are you satisfied with the coverage? I've been checking out some blogs like She's Got Game and Women's Hoops Blog - and they seem to fill a huge hole in mainstream sports media reporting on the league. What's your opinion? Feel free to e-mail me or post a comment.

Should she fight a man?

In today's Boston Globe, Ron Borges discusses the Mississippi Athletic Commission's decision to let boxer Ann Wolfe to fight relatively unknown fighter James Johnson in a column titled "In all fairness, pick another fight."  I have conflicted feelings about this one. Borges is very fair to Wolfe in his piece - doesn't blame her for wanting this fight - it means money and as Selena Roberts of the NYTimes wrote two weeks ago -- there's more money and media exposure for women athletes when they take on their male counterparts, unfortunately.

Borges blames the Commission for allowing the fight. Borges is one of the top boxing writers and he knows Wolfe's solid career. He raises a lot of good points. If you read the column, the reasons Wolfe wants to fight are sad and reflected of the situation for some women athletes who are trying to make a living from their sport. On the other hand, why can't a woman and a man slug it out in a boxing match? We're seeing women play men in golf, compete against men in car racing, etc. Is it because boxing is so raw and so violent, that this match-up somehow this crosses the line? I've been mulling this one in my head all day long.  I don't know what the answer is, but I will closely be watching to see how the media plays this one.

Focus is on "Soren-slam"

Lots of stories on Annika today - she tees off today at the U.S. Women's Open in Cherry Hills Village, Colorado.

"Sorenstam Tees Off at the U.S. Women's Open" - Listen (free/no registration needed) to NPR's Tom Goldman excellent piece about Sorenstam. At the beginning Goldman says, "It's been two years since the general public embraced her for playing in a men's tournament -- the Colonial, down in Texas. Since then she's back on the women's tour, which means in today's sports hierarchy, out of the public eye." 

This basically sums up the situation for women playing in women's professional leagues.

"Sorenstam may force equality in golf yet" - (free/no registration needed) USAToday columnist Christine Brennan excellent piece weighs in on the friendly rivalry between Annika and Tiger and how this unique rivalry may be indicative of changes finally taking place in what Brennan calls the "most chauvinistic of all the sports that are played by both men and women at an elite level."

I also just realized that my blog has the same name as her column. This was inadvertent, but I may need to tweak the blog's name.

"Twosome for History: Annika and Arnold"  - (need to be registered - it's free) New York Times piece looks at Annika's pursuit of the winning four majors and Arnold Palmer's inspiration of the Grand Slam 45 years ago.

"Sorenstam has taken game to new level" - Bill Nichols of Dallas Morning News. I think gives a bit too much credit for Sorenstam's dominance because she played a game with men.

Golf's Cristie Kerr

Today's New York Times sports section has a piece about Cristie Kerr - "Top American Trying to Hold Off Annika" - she's the #1 American player right now, but a distant second to Sorenstam's dominance of the game. (NYTimes requires free registration)