@Jagger69: But it's not pot meet kettle! The shape this individual is in is in no way comparable to the reigning US Open, Aussie Open, and Wimbledon champion!
Martina Navratilova was the fittest woman to ever play tennis and she was always put down as a butch dyke who should have been playing on the men's tour blah blah blah. Can't win, ladies.
1) Jason Whitlock, this is NOT about preferring "big-booty" women to thin women, tall women, short women, whatever. We don't care what type you prefer, but you could probably keep that information to yourself. Just know different people find different body types attractive. It is possible some of us do not find you attractive. So no, you won't be getting an e-mail from me about how big-bootied women are better, worse, or whatever.
2) What is infuriating is that you take a woman's accomplishments, one of the most truly accomplished women in the world, and attempt to diminish those accomplishments based on the fact that you don't find her attractive. Okay, great. So no matter how much I accomplish in my life, as a woman, I am reminded yet again that to many men my accomplishments are limited by how bangable they think I am.
@ilovemaps: You know, and just to show how gendered this is, there's only *one* recent male tennis athlete - and I'm sure you can guess who it is - against whom something like that has been leveled, almost as invective. And when it *was* leveled at him, it was frequently accompanied by the criticism "womanish".
Whatever. He has a Wimbledon cup too to go with his other shiny cups, and more RG cups than even Roger, so I'm sure you can guess who it is. I will not post his pictures unless you ask because I'm sure there are some who will think it's overkill (and some who might think it's off topic). But if you ask I *certainly* will (because I will probably NEVER get tired of posting his pictures).
@ilovemaps: Regardless of branding strategies and bullshit marketing agendas, it's hard not to love this text. And I say that as someone with a boring butt.
@Nancy Lorenz: "And he's all tan and cute and *swoon* *thud*"
Yep. That's about as far as I usually get too.
There was a Rafa-sized hole in my tournament joy this season, starting from about 4th round RG.
If his PR is not lying about his health, it will be filled again in Montreal with thundering, marauding, wicked tennis genius and we can *swoon* and *thud* once again.
(I might start practicing early ...)
But when Rafa started to beat Roger on the regular - and I am a Roger fan too, don't get me wrong (there are people who think us *fedal* fans do not exist) stupid people talked about him a lot like Hater JayJay does about Serena. They were all, "His tennis is wrong! And his butt's too big!"
And I was like, "Shut up." (Not out loud, but ...)
"If you don't appreciate what you are looking at, then you don't even know what you are looking at. Shut. Up."
2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 Roland Garros Mens Singles Champion!!
2009 Australian Open Champion d*mmit
2008 WIMBLEDON MENS SINGLES CHAMPION
(I love A-Rod and love what he did, but THIS has been the only man in SEVEN YEARS to take it away from Roger)
@Rooo sez BISH PLZ: Ahem. Clearly I get a little wound about the RAFANATOR.
But we cannot finish the post without this picture because ... well, I think it just embodies the spirit of what we're talking about here, including the nice poem. (And nice ... other things. Hee hee.)
This . . . this can't be a real article, can it? I've always thought that Jason Whitlock was an idiot, and man oh man, did he ever prove that I was right.
@mmstk101: He also has a reeeeeal bad case of Rafa-envy (and doesn't even *dare* even write about Roger).
Of course, this might be why:
If I were Jason, I'd probably have Rafa-envy too, if to go with a room full of big shiny metallic cuppy winnish things -- and a big fat contract encouraging tourists to come to my home island I loved more than anything -- I didn't get to be immortalized like that.
Sh's chsn t smthr sm f t n n nsghtly lyr f thck, mscld blbbr, byprdct f hr nwllngnss t cmmt t trnng rgmn nd dt tht wld hv hr t th tp f hr gm yr-rnd.
Srn smply sn't bsssd wth tnns prfctn. Sh sms t ply th gm slly bcs sh's gd t t. Nt bcs sh hs brnng dsr t b th bst thr vr ws. Tht s hr rght.
nd t's my rght t rp hr fr chsng t b clbrty tnns plyr rthr thn sngl-mndd tnns ssssn.
f sh chs th lttr, t wld b frnt-pg nws vry tm sh lst trnmnt. Sh'd cmplt th Srn Slm - wnnng ll fr mjrs - vry thr yr. Sh'd b th mst pplr nd pwrfl fml thlt f ll tm.
Tgr Wds cldn't tch hr. Rgr Fdrr wld b rdcd t shggng hr blls. LBrn Jms nd Kb Brynt wld b th lttl kds n th Nk cmmrcl brggng tht thy lvd dwnstrs frm Srn nd Vns Wllms.
Thnk bt t. t 5-ft-9, 145 pnds, Srn wld b nstppbl n th crt, n th cvr f vry mgzn stll n crcltn nd dwnldd n th ntrnt thr tms mr ftn thn nn Krnkv.
nstd, Srn s rgbly pshng 175 pnds, cntnt plyng hrd nly n th mjr trnmnts, hppy t b phtgrphd n dts wth pr thlts nd prd t srv s rl mdl fr wmn wth vrszd bck pcks.
BBWs - Bg Bty Wmn - d nt wrt m ngry -mls. 'm nly knckng Srn's bck pck bcs t's prvntng hr frm rchng hr fll ptntl s n thltc cn. m nt fndmntlly ppsd t jnk n th trnk, lthgh my prfrnc s stffd nn vr n zng pmpkn.
Sh cld brk th glss clng fr fml thlts nd bcm th trnscndnt sprstr wh cnncts glblly. Sh cld jn prh nd Mdnn. Srn cld b n mpssbl-t-gnr dvct fr ny pstn sh spprtd.
Rght nw 'd pt n Srn n pr wth Prs Hltn. knw tht's hrsh. Srn's ccmplshmnts r fr mr sbstntv thn Hltn's. Bt Prs Hltn dsn't hv n dscrnbl skll (tht cn pblsh n ths clmn wtht rnng t n R rtng). Hltn's mnmntl vrchvmnt s hr ccmplshmnt f bcmng clbrty.
Srn's grtst ft mght b vdng stblshng hrslf s th grtst tnns plyr f ll tm.
So how he chose to frame his article is regrettable, but I've read a lot of pieces (with less inflammatory language) that state the same fact: Serena is great but she could be at Stefi Graff level if she made some changes. That she has chosen to be less strict on her dieting regimine is something no one should really judge, HOWEVER, it isn't unfair to say that her decision has changed her fitness level.
@thatonegirlsays: Right. I think she could have achieved more if all she did was play tennis, but clearly that's not what makes her happy. And, uh, she sure is kicking ass despite her pursuit of other interests.
The whole weight thing is so stupid because it doesn't slow her down. "Thinner" players don't cover the court as well as she does (Lindsay Davenport comes to mind. I don't have anything against her and she's accomplished a lot, but she looks so slow out there it's sometimes painful to watch. Maybe that's just now that she's older -- she may have been faster earlier in her career)
@thatonegirlsays: Why does it matter though? Is that HIS decision? Or anyone's decision but her own? If you want to say, Serena could be a better athlete if she WANTED TO LOSE 25 pounds, JUST SAY THAT!
Lindsay (one of my favorite players) wasn't faster earlier in her career -- she was slower because she weighed about 190 (remember that she's 6-2 or 6-3).
When the Williams sisters came along with their power and speed, she saw she had to change, so she got into better shape and dropped 30-40 pounds. She never was the athlete, but boy, she struck the ball cleanly and with power. It was beautiful to watch her smack her groundstrokes.
1 - That's really not what that article was about. If it really were what that article was about, he could have left out all the gendered-racist allusions and still made his point. And he chose not to.
2- If Jay-Jay had backed away from his sexist racism, he'd realize that argument had already been made and he'd *shockandhorror* have to figure out something else to write about. And - apart from his seething Rafa-envy - that doesn't leave much for him, as he is not a man of overmuch imagination and IMO doesn't have the cojones to write about Roger.
3 -With her current training regimen, she is
a) 3-time Wimbledon Ladies Singles Champion (the third time again after six years, which EVEN the mighty Steffi Graf has not done)
@Big_Noise_From_Winnetka: It's just so hard for me to watch her, it's like moving through jello! Though I'm sure to see her in real life she looks amazing. I guess compared to Serena Williams, everyone looks like a slouch.
I don't really take issue with discussing an athlete's weight. Weight is going to affect an athlete's performance -- and of course someone can be perfectly fit and healthy but become better at his/her sport after losing some pounds. It's just absolutely uncalled for that this asshat is talking about an athlete's body in terms of how it looks, not what it can do.
I know you probably agree -- I'm just ranting b/c I'm still pissed off!
@RainbowBrite: But better than whom? Serena's already "better" than most players out there. This obsession with some "better if only they lost X pounds" is getting to the point of total stupid. It's getting way out of hand, leading to rampant UNHEALTHY ED's in all sorts of sports, rather than leading to healthy players and a healthy society. If we just accepted that a player is great at X healthy weight, rather than expecting to meet some other-worldy ideal at X less weight... we'd see a lot fewer ED's... and wouldn't that be a good thing?
@Dancingfrog: Hey I'm not saying Serena would be better if she lost weight! I'm saying there are some athletes who are already elites who would be even better losing weight (or gaining it in some cases). This is about objective measures of athletic performance, not regular people being healthy and attractive and such.
I'm a good runner, and maybe I'd be even faster if I dropped 5 lbs. I'm healthy either way and I don't really care enough to lose weight, even though that may be a "faster" weight for me. If that makes sense. Blech long day.
I freaking love the Williams sisters. I don't really pay attention to tennis, or any sport really, but they've maintained their individuality and explored outside interests while still excelling at their sport. I read once a retired tennis player criticize them for apparently enrolling in fashion school, because they should be more focused in tennis. I just didn't get it, I think it's fantastic that professional athletes would develop healthy interests outside their sport.
I'm sorry. I should have not have snarked. But we all have a breaking point, you know?
And it's not like we don't know some pretty boys who also can't play tennis. Mark Phillippoussis did an actuality for Wimbledon radio this year and I thought, "You haven't won a championship since the earth cooled. You haven't won a major championship period. What are you even doing here?"
I still cannot comprehend how tennis commentators can still blithely call Serena 'out of shape' when she's out there whupping the asses of the so called 'in shape' players. Dementieva, Sharapova, and Sarafina have all fallen at the hands of the 'fatass' what does that say about them? Fuckers.
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She's far too dignified (for example, she says things like "I think Roger's hot but he's married", while I by contrast just drool), but one can dream.
07/06/09
Well, Jay-Jay, if you ever wanted them to, I'd say it's time to enroll in that remedial class that covers shooting yourself in the foot.
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1) Jason Whitlock, this is NOT about preferring "big-booty" women to thin women, tall women, short women, whatever. We don't care what type you prefer, but you could probably keep that information to yourself. Just know different people find different body types attractive. It is possible some of us do not find you attractive. So no, you won't be getting an e-mail from me about how big-bootied women are better, worse, or whatever.
2) What is infuriating is that you take a woman's accomplishments, one of the most truly accomplished women in the world, and attempt to diminish those accomplishments based on the fact that you don't find her attractive. Okay, great. So no matter how much I accomplish in my life, as a woman, I am reminded yet again that to many men my accomplishments are limited by how bangable they think I am.
YOU WON'T EVER UNDERSTAND WHAT THIS FEELS LIKE.
07/06/09
[Yes, I know, NIKE AD, but just read:]
My butt is big
And round like the letter C
And ten thousand lunges
Have made it rounder
But not smaller
And that's just fine.
It's a space heater
For my side of the bed
It's my ambassador
To those who walk behind me
It's a border collie
That herds skinny women
Away from the best deals
At clothing sales.
My butt is big
And that's just fine
And those who might scorn it
Are invited to kiss it.
Yes, some familiar ad copy (clothing sales?), but a sentiment I appreciated nonetheless.
07/06/09
Whatever. He has a Wimbledon cup too to go with his other shiny cups, and more RG cups than even Roger, so I'm sure you can guess who it is. I will not post his pictures unless you ask because I'm sure there are some who will think it's overkill (and some who might think it's off topic). But if you ask I *certainly* will (because I will probably NEVER get tired of posting his pictures).
07/06/09
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Even when they are boys not girls -
THIS is what Grand Slam winners look like - from the front and back - these days, JayJay.
[2.bp.blogspot.com]
Now go choke down your "Serena turned me down" bile, and your Rafa-envy, and leave us alone.
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07/06/09
Yep. That's about as far as I usually get too.
There was a Rafa-sized hole in my tournament joy this season, starting from about 4th round RG.
If his PR is not lying about his health, it will be filled again in Montreal with thundering, marauding, wicked tennis genius and we can *swoon* and *thud* once again.
(I might start practicing early ...)
But when Rafa started to beat Roger on the regular - and I am a Roger fan too, don't get me wrong (there are people who think us *fedal* fans do not exist) stupid people talked about him a lot like Hater JayJay does about Serena. They were all, "His tennis is wrong! And his butt's too big!"
And I was like, "Shut up." (Not out loud, but ...)
"If you don't appreciate what you are looking at, then you don't even know what you are looking at. Shut. Up."
2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 Roland Garros Mens Singles Champion!!

2009 Australian Open Champion d*mmit

2008 WIMBLEDON MENS SINGLES CHAMPION
(I love A-Rod and love what he did, but THIS has been the only man in SEVEN YEARS to take it away from Roger)
[fearofbliss.files.wordpress.com]"
¡¡¡Vaaaaamoooooosssss!!!
Yeah, I said it.
(Choke on it, JayJay.)
07/06/09
But we cannot finish the post without this picture because ... well, I think it just embodies the spirit of what we're talking about here, including the nice poem. (And nice ... other things. Hee hee.)
So we will try again.

2008 WIMBLEDON MENS SINGLES CHAMPION
¡¡¡Vaaaaamoooooosssss!!!
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Of course, this might be why:
If I were Jason, I'd probably have Rafa-envy too, if to go with a room full of big shiny metallic cuppy winnish things -- and a big fat contract encouraging tourists to come to my home island I loved more than anything -- I didn't get to be immortalized like that.
07/06/09
Th prblm s, vn ftr knckng ff hr sstr n Strdy's Wmbldn sngls fnl, Srn sn't nywhr cls t Crt's 24 Grnd Slm sngls ttls.
t g 27 - th sm g s Fdrr - Srn wns jst hlf s mny mjr ttls (11) s Stff Grf, th grtst wmn's plyr f ll tm. Tht's trrbl shm.
Wth rdctn n glt, lttl lss btt nd smdgn mr gts, Srn Wllms wld sly b s bg s Mchl Jcksn, dwrf Tgr Wds nd tk rn t Rs Prks.
Y cn cll m nfr. Y cn vn scrm tht 'm sxst.
Bt thr's n nscpbl trth bt Srn Wllms: Sh's n ndrchvr.
nd ll th ppl mkng xcss fr Srn nd rtnlzng hr flr t ttlly dmnt wmn's tnns r th vry ppl nntrstd n sng wmn rs t lvl f qlty wth mn.
Srn Wllms hs ll th ngrdnts t b Mchl Jrdn, Jm Brwn nd Mhmmd l rlld nt n md-fr-TV pckg. Sh s qt pssbly th mst gftd fml thlt n r lftm.
nfrtntly fr s, sh lcks th crg t flfll hr dstny.
Sh'd rthr t, hlf-ss hr wy thrgh nn-mjr trnmnts nd cmpln sh's nt gttng th rspct hr 11-mjr-chmpnshps résmé dmnds.
Sh cmplns bt bng rnkd N. 2 n th wrld whn sh's nt btchng n Twttr r hr blg bt nw rls tht frbd Wmbldn plyrs frm tng n th lckr rm.
Srsly, hw ls cn Srn fll t hr sz 16 shrts wtht grzng t hr stll btwn mtchs?
knw, y thnk 'm hypcrt. N, 'm nt. Sprts wrtrs r sppsd t b plmp nd lzy. 'm flfllng my dstny.
nd y prbbly thnk dn't lk Srn. Y'r wrng. lv hr. Sh's th mn rsn wtch tnns. Sh's fscntng. Hr pwr nd skll r brthtkng. nd whn sh's n shp, sh's vry bt s sxy s Bync.
knw, sx ppl sn't sppsd t mttr n sprts. Tht's sch ld f (spt). Tlvsn slls sx ppl n mn's sprts, t. Y thnk bng tll, drk nd hndsm ddn't sgnfcntly nhnc Jrdn's ppl? Y thnk J Nmth, J Mntn nd Tm Brdy hvn't bn sld s sx symbls?
pprnc mttrs n tlvsd sprts. Th whnng lst wk bt Wmbldn's dmssn tht ttrctvnss plys rl n dtrmnng wh plys n Cntr Crt strck m s dsngns, pltclly crrct bll crp.
Drng ths yr's Wmbldn, Srn nd Sfn plyd Crt 2 whl ht, lssr strs bttld n Cntr Crt. Sfn cn blm gntcs fr hr ft. Srn nly hs hrslf t blm. Gd gv Srn vrythng, ncldng drp-dd lks.
Sh's chsn t smthr sm f t n n nsghtly lyr f thck, mscld blbbr, byprdct f hr nwllngnss t cmmt t trnng rgmn nd dt tht wld hv hr t th tp f hr gm yr-rnd.
Srn smply sn't bsssd wth tnns prfctn. Sh sms t ply th gm slly bcs sh's gd t t. Nt bcs sh hs brnng dsr t b th bst thr vr ws. Tht s hr rght.
nd t's my rght t rp hr fr chsng t b clbrty tnns plyr rthr thn sngl-mndd tnns ssssn.
f sh chs th lttr, t wld b frnt-pg nws vry tm sh lst trnmnt. Sh'd cmplt th Srn Slm - wnnng ll fr mjrs - vry thr yr. Sh'd b th mst pplr nd pwrfl fml thlt f ll tm.
Tgr Wds cldn't tch hr. Rgr Fdrr wld b rdcd t shggng hr blls. LBrn Jms nd Kb Brynt wld b th lttl kds n th Nk cmmrcl brggng tht thy lvd dwnstrs frm Srn nd Vns Wllms.
Thnk bt t. t 5-ft-9, 145 pnds, Srn wld b nstppbl n th crt, n th cvr f vry mgzn stll n crcltn nd dwnldd n th ntrnt thr tms mr ftn thn nn Krnkv.
nstd, Srn s rgbly pshng 175 pnds, cntnt plyng hrd nly n th mjr trnmnts, hppy t b phtgrphd n dts wth pr thlts nd prd t srv s rl mdl fr wmn wth vrszd bck pcks.
BBWs - Bg Bty Wmn - d nt wrt m ngry -mls. 'm nly knckng Srn's bck pck bcs t's prvntng hr frm rchng hr fll ptntl s n thltc cn. m nt fndmntlly ppsd t jnk n th trnk, lthgh my prfrnc s stffd nn vr n zng pmpkn.
'm srry. dgrss.
Srn hs lmtlss ptntl. Tnns s th pltfrm tht cld pn drs fr hr nd thr wmn. Hr prnts rsd hr t spk hr mnd. Sh's brght.
Sh cld brk th glss clng fr fml thlts nd bcm th trnscndnt sprstr wh cnncts glblly. Sh cld jn prh nd Mdnn. Srn cld b n mpssbl-t-gnr dvct fr ny pstn sh spprtd.
Rght nw 'd pt n Srn n pr wth Prs Hltn. knw tht's hrsh. Srn's ccmplshmnts r fr mr sbstntv thn Hltn's. Bt Prs Hltn dsn't hv n dscrnbl skll (tht cn pblsh n ths clmn wtht rnng t n R rtng). Hltn's mnmntl vrchvmnt s hr ccmplshmnt f bcmng clbrty.
Srn's grtst ft mght b vdng stblshng hrslf s th grtst tnns plyr f ll tm.
Y cn -ml Jsn Whtlck t bllstt0@l.cm.
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(that took serious commitment
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AWESOME.
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I'm so slow.
*applause*
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(I kid! I kid!)
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The whole weight thing is so stupid because it doesn't slow her down. "Thinner" players don't cover the court as well as she does (Lindsay Davenport comes to mind. I don't have anything against her and she's accomplished a lot, but she looks so slow out there it's sometimes painful to watch. Maybe that's just now that she's older -- she may have been faster earlier in her career)
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Lindsay (one of my favorite players) wasn't faster earlier in her career -- she was slower because she weighed about 190 (remember that she's 6-2 or 6-3).
When the Williams sisters came along with their power and speed, she saw she had to change, so she got into better shape and dropped 30-40 pounds. She never was the athlete, but boy, she struck the ball cleanly and with power. It was beautiful to watch her smack her groundstrokes.
07/06/09
1 - That's really not what that article was about. If it really were what that article was about, he could have left out all the gendered-racist allusions and still made his point. And he chose not to.
2- If Jay-Jay had backed away from his sexist racism, he'd realize that argument had already been made and he'd *shockandhorror* have to figure out something else to write about. And - apart from his seething Rafa-envy - that doesn't leave much for him, as he is not a man of overmuch imagination and IMO doesn't have the cojones to write about Roger.
3 - With her current training regimen, she is
a) 3-time Wimbledon Ladies Singles Champion (the third time again after six years, which EVEN the mighty Steffi Graf has not done)
b) 4-time Wimbledon Ladies Doubles Champion
c) #1 in the world rankings.
Again.
And as far as I'm concerned, that is what's really the point.
07/06/09
I don't really take issue with discussing an athlete's weight. Weight is going to affect an athlete's performance -- and of course someone can be perfectly fit and healthy but become better at his/her sport after losing some pounds. It's just absolutely uncalled for that this asshat is talking about an athlete's body in terms of how it looks, not what it can do.
I know you probably agree -- I'm just ranting b/c I'm still pissed off!
07/06/09
07/06/09
I'm a good runner, and maybe I'd be even faster if I dropped 5 lbs. I'm healthy either way and I don't really care enough to lose weight, even though that may be a "faster" weight for me. If that makes sense. Blech long day.
07/06/09
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I'm sorry. I should have not have snarked. But we all have a breaking point, you know?
And it's not like we don't know some pretty boys who also can't play tennis. Mark Phillippoussis did an actuality for Wimbledon radio this year and I thought, "You haven't won a championship since the earth cooled. You haven't won a major championship period. What are you even doing here?"
07/06/09
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