They did see tents and knew he was weird. That area of Antioch is very poor and everyone keeps to themselves. The neighbors were interviewed on the news and they said there was never any sign of children living there. Then one day they heard kids voices, so they called the police. This was in...1996, I think. The officer interviewed Dugard in his driveway, never going inside or checking out the backyard. Pitiful!!!! That cop should be fired!
@GuntherGebee: The cop should not be fired. An officer can't enter a residence or or the fenced in backyard without permission, a warrant, or knowledge of a felony occurring. If the officer showed up and spoke to him and didn't hear children's voices or anything else to create suspicion amounting to probably cause there would be nothing else to do but leave. Yeah, it sucks they didn't find this sooner but it isn't that officer's fault.
Re: Caster Semenya, if she has no uterus or ovaries wouldn't that mean that she has never menstruated? I know she's young, but wouldn't someone (ie Caster, her mother) think something was wrong given the lack of bleeding?
@VirtuousVixen: They could have just thought that it was because she was exercising so much; her body fat was too low to menstruate. I agree that it would be kind of suspect for her to NEVER have had a period though.
@VirtuousVixen: Given that these tips from "a source close to the individual" are often quite bogus it is quite likely not even true, but as to your point it is actually fairly common for hardcore athletes to skip periods, stop menstruating, or never even start if they are fairly young because their body doesn't want to be fertile when it is working that hard.
@VirtuousVixen: It does mean she has never menstruated, but given how thin she is from all the training she likely does to be such a good runner, it wouldn't be at all unusual for her not to have reached menarche yet.
Similar to many elite female gymnasts, many of them don't menstruate until late teens or even early twenties when they stop training. Below a certain % of body fat, and women don't menstruate.
@formergr: Yea, I know how it works with athletes, though I've really only ever heard of it with gymnasts and dancers. Makes sense with Caster's case though too. Although I'm wondering if that's a situation that Caster and her family would have known about - I'm really not trying to sound condescending or "oh people from the village are dumb" or anything, far from it, but I just don't know if, given how rare an athlete of that caliber and training level is, her mother and family would know that delaying menarche results from the training.
When I read the news about Melanie Oudin's parents I felt so sorry for her. If she hadn't have done so remarkably well and become news herself, her parent's twisted and embarrassing divorce would probably not have become so public. That is just so backwards. I hope she can get through it and focus on tennis. We need inspirational women athletes (or just women in general) in the news.
OK, one thing that baffles me about the Dugard case is the neighbors who lived next door to the house where she was kept. I haven't read anything about them. Didn't they SEE the tents in the backyard? Wasn't anyone SUSPICIOUS? Have you all heard anything or seen any interviews with them?
@ragamufffin: That was the WORST entrance to an interview ever. Also, mic'ing up Oudin when she keeps asking "now? They want to talk now?" which was clearly out of the ordinary and the poor girl was in need of a good release after what must have been a crushing loss.
THEN, when Carillo (sp?) goes all sarcastic on the girl that Wozniacki will be playing in the semis and can't understand why her snide analysis that the poor girl will be trampled and doesn't deserve to be in the semis with Wozniacki receives boos from the crowd. Overall interview fail. The two teenagers who had just left their hearts on the court thankfully didn't take any of the negative bait and gave great interviews.
I want this damn U-S Open to be over so I can have my beautiful Flushing Meadows park back.
This is where my ducks live. I cannot visit Delano the Disabled Duck and BaQuack Obama in peace as long as all these freakin' tennis tourists are running around getting in the way of me and my fabulous bike, Blue Boy.
Also, it's getting to be the season when the cool Great Blue Herons hang out on the lake. They won't hang out if the Tennis Tourists are running around snapping pictures like peckerheads.
Also, I hate tennis and I'm being forced to go to the Open tonight. I'll enjoy the friends and husband, but tennis? Eh.
@OneTwoPunch: You know, I was thinking of that. I also have a story idea involving a stuffed monkey I sleep with whose name is Congo the Monkey King. He rules all the stuffed animals in the world.
Yay! I was sad to see Oudin lose, but this was a well-deserved win for Wozniacki. She is an awesome player and seems charming and fun from her interviews.
I don't like how people are writing about why the Williams sisters are "too good" and how that "hurts" tennis, but the first thing that comes to mind when I hear that is Louis Armstrong. It's not that they're too good (to me at least), but that they always win (at least, they did). And while I'm not very interested in cycling or tennis, I've always thought, "One of the Williams sisters will win the US Open"/"Louis Armstrong will win the Tour de France."
Unfortunately, I think that's what people might be referring to when they talk about Oudin "saving" tennis, because she might beat the Champion Williams sisters, in an incredible upset--which is an unhappy thought, because why should people start watching the sport just because the Williams sisters might lose?
Also, the first thing I thought when I saw Oudin was that I loved the fact that she wasn't incredibly gorgeous, and she had some pimples (well she is sweating all the time), but the expression on her face was so excited and fearless.
@ameliabearhart: You're killing me. It's Lance Armstrong who is the champion cyclist; Louis Armstrong was the jazz trumpeter and singer. But the mental picture I now have of Louis Armstrong riding across the finish in Paris is priceless, and I thank you.
Here's the deal with Lance and the Tour: it was always hotly contested and simply great cycling. I can't remember a year when people said, "Oh, ho hum, Armstrong wins again." First, it's a team sport and therefore it's always about a lot more than one rider, and secondly, it's such a long and grueling contest with so many wins- stage wins, different jerseys- that unless all you care about is who takes the overall, you don't run out of things to be excited about.
So, in short, not a great parallel, though perhaps your overall point stands. I don't know, because I don't watch tennis. :)
@slowpoke.r: I am pissing myself laughing here. Louis in the yellow jersey, singing "Ba ba do ba ba dow BA! Oh yeah......" as he crouches over the handlebars. Wonderful.
@Harlot Brontë: Do you picture the trumpet slung around him??? I picture the trumpet slung around him. Or maybe the team car will ride up and hand it to him...I think someone needs to make a drawing or collage or something. Maybe it's the wine, but this is really making my day.
@slowpoke.r: Well, the other funny thing about that is, if I'm not mistaken, Armstrong Stadium (the other big stadium at the USO other than Ashe and the Grandstand) is named after Louis, not Lance. :-)
@slowpoke.r: I read through almost the entire first paragraph of the comment thinking ameliaearhart was making a point about Louis Armstrong being shortchanged in recognition as a good trumpeter because he was black, just as the Williams have been shortchanged in tennis due to their race as well.
I thought it was sort of an odd, but nonetheless quite apt, analogy!
And ameliaearhart, we kid because we love, so please don't feel as if we are making fun of you!
@formergr: I knew it. I knew I messed up. I was like, "Now, I know it's not Neil...something with an L." Haha, but I love you guys for correcting me, especially formergr's comment. Y'all are awesome.
Also, slowpoke.r, I don't watch EITHER tennis or cycling, so I am actually one of those horrid people ho humming about Lance's (YES!) wins. But I was making that analogy for people like me, who don't watch certain sports because nothing about them really interests them, but start watching because something different is happening--my problem is that the supposed new watchers are supposed to be cheering for this little upstart to beat the Williams sisters instead of enjoying the sport.
@slowpoke.r: DEFINITELY with a trumpet slung around him. I like imagining him pulling over so often at the top of a mountain and tootling away on it when the whim strikes him. And this has profoundly made my day, too. Good old Louis on a bicycle.
@ameliabearhart: Very good point- that it's really about the general public's perception, not the fans.
And thanks for being such a good sport! I've done similar things myself- just recently spent a morning calling William Morris (textile designer) Roger Morris for no good reason. Your slipup is much better, as it really inspired all sorts of great mental images!
"Unpacking all the different levels of sexism and racism that are operating subtly behind the scenes is an incredibly difficult task."
Not that difficult.
Malia and Sasha Obama are America's "sweethearts." Thats because they are child-like, innocent, all-smiles, wide-eyed, shocked at the position they have been put in. Much like Melanie Oudin.
You simply cannot fit the Williams sisters in this mold, not because they are African American, but because they are utterly dominant, veterans of the sport, a force to be reckoned with. And Im sorry, but size has everything to do with "sweetheart" status (in tennis). As a tennis player myself, being small makes things more difficult at the professional level, especially when you are competing against the Sharapova's and Williams of the world. Oudin is a mighty mouse, and if that makes her a sweetheart, so be it.
I read this site everyday and love the dialogue, but honestly some of your over analysis makes me quake in my (apparently not so) politically correct boots.
@AjaxKablamy: The Obama girls are an interesting counterpoint, and I do agree that at least some of the Williams' perception issues are due to their size. I think also their personalities-- they both seem a bit shy, which can come off as snobby, and unapproachable. And since they have always had each other, they probably weren't forced to try and interact as much with others on the tour as they might have had they each been alone.
BUT...I think for a good amount of folks, their race definitely does prevent them as being perceived as sweethearts, or even just respected and liked.
I am a 6'2" 200lb. man who has played ball my whole life. When I was pitching in college, I had elbow tendenitis and I could not throw a ball without my eyes tearing up from pain. I just watched Venus play a grueling three set match on hard court with tendinitis in her knee. She did not complain, retire or limp around to get sympathy. When she lost, she refused to use her knee as an excuse, instead crediting her opponent for out playing her. At that moment she embodied everything that is great about American sports and American athletes. She left it all on the court. If that doesn't make her "America's Sweetheart" than what in god's name do people want. She is a great champion and an example of what plain old hard work can do for you. She is what athletics are supposed to be about. She is a beautiful woman, a champion athlete and a role model to anyone of any gender or race who aspires to be the best at anything.
Despite the fact that yes, it can be boring to watch the same people win over and over and over again, the Williams sister certainly get a lot more shit for doing so than Federer or Nadal on the men's side.
Being a big tennis fan, all I know is this: the bottom line is, the Williams sisters are incredible American tennis players who go through phases of being totally, unbelievably unstoppable.
So I guess my question is: "savior of women's tennis"??? Who/What is Oudin saving tennis from? America has had the ever-dominant Williams sisters to root for for a long time now, so it's not like she's the sole American woman rising to the top after a drought of good American woman tennis players. It's great that we have another up and coming American tennis player to root for, but the fact that she's getting the particular type of praise she is getting, when comparing it to the Williams sisters, there is clearly something problematic here.
Oof, that comment was a little disjointed, but you catch my drift.
@SachiNimrit/Maya: honestly thats one of my issues as well, how can anyone say she's the "savior" as America has been dominant for YEARS because of the Williams sisters. Its all part of the unspoken idea that they don't "matter"
@bluebears: "Savior" certainly doesn't work, but the tennis commentators and sports writers who want their athletes to come in neat little boxes dislike that Serena and Venus take time off to - gasp! - develop other aspects of their lives. It diminishes them somehow in the commentators eyes. The fact that they keep winning despite all the time off doesn't seem to make them better to the sports writers, who clearly have some wack priorities.
@sportz.star: Oh, good point, I'd forgotten how much crap I've heard commentators give them for that.
It's similar to some of the crap that gymnasts and figure skaters get from commentators when they don't fit into neat little boxes, either. So I'm thinking it's also largely a gender issue, in addition to the racial aspect.
anyone remember, were people saying the same "sweetheart" stuff about Justine Henin when she was playing (obviously not the "All-American" stuff, as she is Belgian), since she is also a cute 5'6 blonde? just out of curiosity.
@That_little_attention_whore: I don't think so, as Henin wasn't really regarded as cute or sexy: too aloof and prickly. She got called 'punchy' and a 'fighter' a lot, I recall.
@That_little_attention_whore: Yes.
(And not to go off on another whole topic, because there are other issues there, but they didn't say it about Mauresmo either.)
They weren't happy that Henin wasn't American, but they could live with it.
As for Melanie Oudin, and being "America's Sweetheart" - there is a lot of unpacking to do, but she doesn't have the rags-to-riches intense father-as-coach story that the Williams sisters had. As noted below, that story was constantly retold when Venus burst on the scene. Whether its racist that Venus was not a "sweetheart" and Melanie Oudin is, I don't know. I do know that calling Melanie Oudin, the "petite white upper-middle class child of privilege from Georgia who has worked very hard with one of the world's greatest tennis coaches" is a little long.
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Similar to many elite female gymnasts, many of them don't menstruate until late teens or even early twenties when they stop training. Below a certain % of body fat, and women don't menstruate.
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THEN, when Carillo (sp?) goes all sarcastic on the girl that Wozniacki will be playing in the semis and can't understand why her snide analysis that the poor girl will be trampled and doesn't deserve to be in the semis with Wozniacki receives boos from the crowd. Overall interview fail. The two teenagers who had just left their hearts on the court thankfully didn't take any of the negative bait and gave great interviews.
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This is where my ducks live. I cannot visit Delano the Disabled Duck and BaQuack Obama in peace as long as all these freakin' tennis tourists are running around getting in the way of me and my fabulous bike, Blue Boy.
Also, it's getting to be the season when the cool Great Blue Herons hang out on the lake. They won't hang out if the Tennis Tourists are running around snapping pictures like peckerheads.
Also, I hate tennis and I'm being forced to go to the Open tonight. I'll enjoy the friends and husband, but tennis? Eh.
Rant over. Thank you.
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Unfortunately, I think that's what people might be referring to when they talk about Oudin "saving" tennis, because she might beat the Champion Williams sisters, in an incredible upset--which is an unhappy thought, because why should people start watching the sport just because the Williams sisters might lose?
Also, the first thing I thought when I saw Oudin was that I loved the fact that she wasn't incredibly gorgeous, and she had some pimples (well she is sweating all the time), but the expression on her face was so excited and fearless.
09/09/09
Here's the deal with Lance and the Tour: it was always hotly contested and simply great cycling. I can't remember a year when people said, "Oh, ho hum, Armstrong wins again." First, it's a team sport and therefore it's always about a lot more than one rider, and secondly, it's such a long and grueling contest with so many wins- stage wins, different jerseys- that unless all you care about is who takes the overall, you don't run out of things to be excited about.
So, in short, not a great parallel, though perhaps your overall point stands. I don't know, because I don't watch tennis. :)
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I thought it was sort of an odd, but nonetheless quite apt, analogy!
And ameliaearhart, we kid because we love, so please don't feel as if we are making fun of you!
09/09/09
Also, slowpoke.r, I don't watch EITHER tennis or cycling, so I am actually one of those horrid people ho humming about Lance's (YES!) wins. But I was making that analogy for people like me, who don't watch certain sports because nothing about them really interests them, but start watching because something different is happening--my problem is that the supposed new watchers are supposed to be cheering for this little upstart to beat the Williams sisters instead of enjoying the sport.
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And thanks for being such a good sport! I've done similar things myself- just recently spent a morning calling William Morris (textile designer) Roger Morris for no good reason. Your slipup is much better, as it really inspired all sorts of great mental images!
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Satchmo wins the yellow jersey!
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Not that difficult.
[jezebel.com]
[jezebel.com]
[jezebel.com]
09/09/09
Malia and Sasha Obama are America's "sweethearts." Thats because they are child-like, innocent, all-smiles, wide-eyed, shocked at the position they have been put in. Much like Melanie Oudin.
You simply cannot fit the Williams sisters in this mold, not because they are African American, but because they are utterly dominant, veterans of the sport, a force to be reckoned with. And Im sorry, but size has everything to do with "sweetheart" status (in tennis). As a tennis player myself, being small makes things more difficult at the professional level, especially when you are competing against the Sharapova's and Williams of the world. Oudin is a mighty mouse, and if that makes her a sweetheart, so be it.
I read this site everyday and love the dialogue, but honestly some of your over analysis makes me quake in my (apparently not so) politically correct boots.
09/09/09
BUT...I think for a good amount of folks, their race definitely does prevent them as being perceived as sweethearts, or even just respected and liked.
09/09/09
I am a 6'2" 200lb. man who has played ball my whole life. When I was pitching in college, I had elbow tendenitis and I could not throw a ball without my eyes tearing up from pain. I just watched Venus play a grueling three set match on hard court with tendinitis in her knee. She did not complain, retire or limp around to get sympathy. When she lost, she refused to use her knee as an excuse, instead crediting her opponent for out playing her. At that moment she embodied everything that is great about American sports and American athletes. She left it all on the court. If that doesn't make her "America's Sweetheart" than what in god's name do people want. She is a great champion and an example of what plain old hard work can do for you. She is what athletics are supposed to be about. She is a beautiful woman, a champion athlete and a role model to anyone of any gender or race who aspires to be the best at anything.
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Someone blonde and petite.
Easy.
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Being a big tennis fan, all I know is this: the bottom line is, the Williams sisters are incredible American tennis players who go through phases of being totally, unbelievably unstoppable.
So I guess my question is: "savior of women's tennis"??? Who/What is Oudin saving tennis from? America has had the ever-dominant Williams sisters to root for for a long time now, so it's not like she's the sole American woman rising to the top after a drought of good American woman tennis players. It's great that we have another up and coming American tennis player to root for, but the fact that she's getting the particular type of praise she is getting, when comparing it to the Williams sisters, there is clearly something problematic here.
Oof, that comment was a little disjointed, but you catch my drift.
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It's similar to some of the crap that gymnasts and figure skaters get from commentators when they don't fit into neat little boxes, either. So I'm thinking it's also largely a gender issue, in addition to the racial aspect.
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(And not to go off on another whole topic, because there are other issues there, but they didn't say it about Mauresmo either.)
They weren't happy that Henin wasn't American, but they could live with it.
09/09/09
As for Melanie Oudin, and being "America's Sweetheart" - there is a lot of unpacking to do, but she doesn't have the rags-to-riches intense father-as-coach story that the Williams sisters had. As noted below, that story was constantly retold when Venus burst on the scene. Whether its racist that Venus was not a "sweetheart" and Melanie Oudin is, I don't know. I do know that calling Melanie Oudin, the "petite white upper-middle class child of privilege from Georgia who has worked very hard with one of the world's greatest tennis coaches" is a little long.