Actually, Lindsay was just on asking for donations, although that's not relevant to my opinion about any player.

I was listening to Tracy Austin and I gotta say I really like her commentary. She shuts up during the points and never goes for any hardline declarations, like Carillo or the Macs. I hope she and Cliff are in the booth together at some point. I think they'd be a great team.

But the point is that people are saying that Venus should have a reaction because she's an American.

I can see asking Serena questions about it, since she issued her pledge. But if you're (generic you) going to demand that Venus weigh in, since she's an American -- the last time I checked, Lindsay was an American, too, so why isn't she on the spot to make a comment/come up with a pledge/whatever? Or Meghann Shaughnessy? Or the guy on the corner?

My point is that tennis players shouldn't be put on the spot to issue opinions on breaking news events. For one thing, they're all relatively young and have been in an insulated environment for most of their lives. I would be pretty surprised if there weren't a bell curve of successful athletes -- meaning that a few would be really well-informed about world events, most would be rather average in knowledge, and some would be woefully ill-informed. Their reason for being on our radar is that they are great athletes. That should be what they're asked about. Sure, some would be really insightful, but most wouldn't be, so why even go through that exercise?

I love James Blake but I have to say that his little cadre of supporters annoy me a little bit in the way that the Hewitt fanatics can. They are just so loud about everything.

And yet, strangely, the Guga fans never bugged me. I know that is hypocritical but for some reason they never bug me (nor do the Argentine fans when they come over although they can be awful in Buenos Aries).

Hee! to Thomas Blake's sideshow bob hair. He and James have similar speech patterns and both of their mouths go up in a half smile when speaking.

I kinda consider Maria Sharapova an American... I mean, I know she was born in Russia and thats her heritage, but shes 18, and has lived in the States since she was what...six? She also seems to consider herself American so...

She may identify with American culture, but she considers herself Russian. Otherwise, they'd have "USA" next to her name.


It's "Mallorca" ("ll" makes a "y" sound—or "j" in western Spain—while "j" makes a "h" sound). No, it's not idiotic to think it's in the Atlantic. The Mediterranean would be a better guess, though, because of the climate.

I agree. If it's OK to put Venus and Serena on the spot like that, they should also directly ask Lindsay, Andy Roddick, James Blake, Robby Ginepri, Angela Haynes, and every single American player, fan, and ballboy. And Mary Pierce. I know she plays for France, but she's American.

James Blake's girlfriend is not cute. She actually kind of looks like Lleyton's wife from a distance.

Hey now lets not say things we cant take back, comparing someone to Bec Cartwright....very harsh.

I'm not disagreeing with you. But the point I was making was that Lindsay wasn't asked. So I think it's unfair to criticize her if she wasn't asked. Now your point about why isn't she asked is a good one. If you're gong to ask one, why not ask all, and certainly why not Lindsay who is not only the #1 ranked player on tour but is also one of the most well spoken and articulate. But it doesn't seem right to criticize her for not giving an opinion if she isn't asked for it.

The J Block is so clearly drunk. Heh. They're kind of annoying, but someone yelling "one tiiiiime" made me chuckle.

Whoever decided to put Blake/Andreev as the evening match on Ashe needs to be fired. What a terrible idea. Now I know Blake is good and has had a resurgent summer but I didn't need to see him crush Andreev. We could have waited for Blake/Nadal to see him at Ashe at night. I don't know why Agassi wasn't the night match. He's the big draw and his match with Karlovic was a little better than Blake's even though it wasn't great either.

Ideally, they would've switched. The Blake/Rusedski match should've been at night. Unfortunately, they went with Agassi, the sure draw. I'm sure the night match was supposed to be Roddick/Ginepri before Muller ruined that.

The Blake/Andreev match should've been a lot closer, but Blake's just playing too well. Seriously, he's looking a lot like Federer lately. He's coming up with big serves, dictating with the forehand, hitting his backhand well, and getting to a lot of balls. He really does have a shot against Nadal.

What is impressing me about Blake is how EARLY he's taking the ball. He's taking the ball Agassi-like early, particularly with his backhand. I was amazed a number of times when Andreev hit a line drive and Blake picked it up at his shoestrings on the baseline and did it so quickly and so early that he sent it back like a laser. That's when you know someone is playing with a lot of confidence. I won't be shocked it James wins Saturday.

I guess there are more important things to worry about right now than athletes and their charity work, or lack thereof. I've just been watching the footage of the devastation of Katrina, and I am just stupefied. Unattended bodies floating in the streets? Thousands of people trapped in their flooded homes for days? Not enough rescue services to go around? Is this really happening in the world's only superpower? Some Third World countries are better protected and prepared against calamities than that. Bush, I admire your priorities. Not. How horrible.

Back to tennis:

Instead of Star Sports, now we're getting some US feed, and since I'm not familiar enough with the voices of the commentators (I missed their names), I don't know who that man and that woman were who talked their way throughout much of Henin's match, but they need to shut up. Also, the woman pronounced it NAY-dal as well. How hard is it to pronounce "Nadal", really? Cripes.

Nope. A lot of people that were never quoted in the American media said that JHH raised her hand, Serena saw it and Serena served anyway. Therefore, Serena was the one with poor sportsmanship and JHH was in the right. I have no opinion of the incident. I can definitely see this point, though. But, as I said, that was never discussed in the US.

I'm really looking forward to the Blake-Nadal match. Go James! I think he definitely has a shot.

Those are the events, but that's the first time I've seen them in that order. Henin raised her hand as Serena served. You can bet Justine would've said something if that serve had been good. Apparently, Justine's coach even said she would've conceded the point to anyone but Serena. Hmm. But that was two years ago. Serena got her revenge at Wimbledon.


I think that was Tracy, but I don't remember her mispronouncing his name like Trautwig does.

I hope we get to see some Srichaphan/Davydenko and Gonzalez/Tursonov today. Yeah, I doubt it.

I saw the tail end of the Agassi-Karlovic match on USA last night when they repeated some of it because they ran out of live matches.

I just hate the way Karlovic plays. He just sucks. I know he's gotten lucky before (like when he beat Hewitt in the first round a few years ago). But that's just it. Luck. He relies on his big serve, because he's so big, but the rest of his game is really lacking.

I thought it was very telling when the commentator (not McEnroe, but the other Mac who was on last night) said that Karlovic has more played tiebreakers than anyone else on the tour. There's a reason for that. Because he can blow opponents away with his big serve, but he can't return serve worth crap. It really showed last night.

I really like him. I don't think he's lucky at all. Did you watch that match against Hewitt? IIRC, he lost the first set 6-1, but then he really stepped it up. He obviously relies on his serve a great deal, but he's a pretty good volleyer. He can be inconsistent at the net, but he has good touch (McEnroe even mentioned that earlier) and he sometimes hits some great shots. His forehand isn't bad either. I know you just saw a little of the match, but he actually broke Agassi in the second set after being down a break. Two or three times he stepped outside the doubles alley and cracked clean return winners yesterday. His return game leaves much to be desired, but he's more than just a big serve. Even if he weren't, I love to watch him serve. His motion is beautiful. He doesn't even look like he's hitting it that hard. I also find it amusing that he might have the worst overhead on the tour. He's not used to people trying to lob him, so I guess he doesn't practice it enough.

Karlovic is great on offense and lousy on defense. I like to think of him as the Indianapolis Colts of tennis. Heh. I also think his quiet demeanor and size give him an Andre the Giant vibe.

For some reason, Ivo Karlovic reminds me of Randy Johnson -- except less mean. Maybe if he were meaner, he'd be better. But the power + the wildness + the height = Randy to me. Or maybe I've just been watching too much baseball. But if Karlovic can ever control the wildness and feel less gawky with his frame, he could be very very tough.

While I haven't been impressed with the coverage overall, I like that they've been showing some different players. Like, I'm finding myself rooting for the young Indian girl, Sania Mirza. Her apparently love of "message tees" is a turnoff, but it's cool to see someone who is a trailblazer for the sport in her country. She just won her third round match, which is her best result ever in a grandslam. She's kind of an "all or nothing" player, and has been pretty lucky so far, but she looks like she's going to be good.

The Americans left look pretty solid. Taylor Dent looks good (up two sets, but losing the third), if he can avoid the injury bug. Though I don't dislike Nadal, I'll definitely be rooting for James Blake. He did a great interview with Chris Russo (I normally hate Russo, but he loves tennis) on YES on Monday, so I'd like to see him go far.

Oh ew, they're starting to show Hewitt. Lose, Hewitt, lose! Go back to showing Taylor, or Schrichiphan/Davydenko, please.

Doubles players sue ATP - from South Florida Sun Sentinal:

So Bartoli's out? Good. She was getting on my nerves with her manic hopping and her boobs flapping around like that. Get a bra with actual support, for heaven's sake.

Yep, Bartoli's gone. And I hate to be bitchy, but she really really needs to lose some weight. It's really unflattering when some of the women's belly's are hanging out of their uniforms.

Hee! The fans are really rooting aginst Hewitt in the match. They're in a first set tiebreak, and the crowd is going wild for Acasuso (though it may be more of a pro-Argentine than an anti-Hewitt, I'm hoping it's the latter). ETA: Hewitt won the first set. Yuck.

That's so funny, I watched him play yesterday and I was a total puddle. It was on a side court so I was just a few yards from him. My God, that man is hot.


Thanks, Kiss My Grits, as you can see I did! In other hot news, I have a girl-crush on Ivan Ljubic's girlfriend.


I have begun to loathe them.


You're welcome, Shrunken Violet! Two great personalities with great play is always a fun match. I just wish it hadn't been delayed. can't complain, though, we've mostly had great weather.


Their physiques seem exactly the same.

Anyway, I'm quite sorry not to be there today but USA is doing a fine job jumping around.

I just caught the post-match interview with Rafael (after he beat Scoville--great match, by the way. Watched the whole thing). The kid is seriously adorable. After they switched to Spanish, he made some comment that I, with five years of Spanish tutelage, couldn't understand, and started laughing. So cute! Unfortunately, I still have to root against him on Saturday--James Blake is my dark-horse favorite this year.

Needless to say, I'll be following the winner--be it Blake or Nadal--with great enthusiasm.

Knowledgeable tennis afficionados, feel free to continue.

Happy they had a studio interview with Mirza. I've been aware of her for the last several months and am happy to see her do well. How can I find someone who always wears message shirts so appealing? I liked when she told Al that she wondered why the press didn't ask other players about their religion.



By the end of last night's match I was beginning to feel the loathing too. Frankly, they seem to be very drunken and fratboyesque which is not my cup of tea. I hope that they are decent during the Nadal/Blake match and don't do the rude things such as cheer faults, falsely call balls out or mean chants. (I don't care if they chant for Blake, but I hope they don't do mean chants about the opposing player as the Fanatics do.)

I feel a little bad for Nadal. This will be the third American in a row, and then if he makes it he will have to play Agassi and then if he makes it past that he may have to play Ginepri. If he does make it to the finals- I imagine he would have had to beat the highest number of American players to reach the USO finals in quite a long while. That's tough. And at the French Open he had to play the two higest ranked Frenchmen. Thus, even though I like Blake I will be rooting for Rafael tomorrow. That stated, like Editor-in-Chief, I will be following the winner of the match after with great enthusiasm.



I luuurve his interviews. And when speaking in Spanish he can really give some highly mature, well thought out answers.

There is a scathing article today on CNNSI by Andrew Lawrence regarding Venus' indifference to the Katrina situation.

Venus doesn't care

He also calls out Serena for her $100 an ace donation, seeing as she's only hit 3 and would have to hit 400 to equal the amount of the earrings she wore the other night. Serena even admits that she doesn't hit that many aces and may have to change it to double faults.

Saw Sharapova breeze easily in just over an hour to win. Her opponent was also wearing a baby blue outfit. Is baby blue the new black?

I don't understand what all the controversy is about an Indian woman playing tennis. Is it because she's Indian? Is it because she's Muslim? Is it because she's showing her legs? This is 2005. She's done a remarkable job at patiently answering questions.

I just talked to one of my tennis buddies and she said that during the Pilot Pen final (which she attended), the J-Block were mocking and jeering Lopez, in part because of his attire. They even called him Nadal in a jeering way.

So I imagine that they will be rude and mocking during tomorrow's match as well- in particular since Rafael = the pants. If that happens, I will be quite annoyed because it's one thing to cheer for your fellow, another to try to distract his oppenent by mocking them.

FYI if you are in NYC or the surrounding area, "American Express presents US Open Live at Madison Square Park and World Financial Center" - Sept . 3-11

More info is about halfway down the page.

If she argued the point, then it was obvious she saw it, but it was during her motion that she saw it. A lot of players will serve while a hand is up and they either don't see it or are in the middle of their motions. In this instance a let is called. The problem really was that the umpire did not see her hand and Henin-Hardenne did not admit to putting her hand up when the chair umpire asked her. Her only response to him was let's just play on. So clearly she knew what she did was wrong, but was unwilling to own up to it. In every interview after that Justine has repeatedly said things like let's just move on or it's in the past. You can definitely blame Serena for being a drama queen sometimes, but she was absolutely right in this instance and it was poor sportsmanship on Henin-Hardenne's part.

I can't believe the gall and tackiness of Tracy Austin and that moronic "yes-man" Ted whatshisface, actually openly criticizing during the Serena-Schiavone match today Serena's $100/ace pledge. I think its tasteless that anyone criticize any donation for not being large enough for his or her liking, but a professional commentator?!? Tracy, you are paid to provide critical analysis on the match, not sling personal attacks at Serena whom you obviously have a big problem with. Obviously Serena's pledge was her way to tie her donation in to the tournament and tennis in general and is not about actual $ figures. Who knows how much $ she will donate in private? I'd be willing to bet a nice sum, considering her and Venus' other charity work. What a bitter, moronic twit. I can enjoy her commentary in general except when it applies to the sisters, in whom she takes such glee in bitching about. And her little comment "people were getting tired of them winning" -- well, that certainly says something, not about these "people", but about Tracy and her own complexes.

Does anyone know if Sania's interview is online?

I'm sick of the media's condemnation of Venus and Serena. It seems like they all have this righteous indignation and are appalled by the whole situation. I mean the girls are not humanitarians. I'm not saying they shouldn't be giving money but they are in now way evil people for not giving enough money. First of all there was no reason that the question about the Hurricane should have been asked on center court after a tennis match. It's just not the right time to do it after a player has been focused on a match for awhile. I mean who knows where Venus' mind was when she was saying what she said. And I mean at least Serena is doing something. I mean she could just sit back and do nothing like I'm sure more than a few celebrities will do. Is the media going to go out and find all of the celebs that don't donate at all? And who is anyone to say that Serena isn't donating enough? I believe that any donation no matter how much should come from the heart and I really believe that Serena's is. I used to think that people went overboard that the media really does hate the Williams sisters but now I totally understand.

I read an editorial in my newspaper about Serena which made me sick to my stomach. The writer basically condemned Serena for giving a $100 an ace. At least she's doing it. Has anyone asked Andre Agassi or James Blake what they're donating? I truly believe that donating to relief funds has become more of an ego thing which is really sad. It seems like a lot of celebs and sports figures even just donate because it's the right thing to do and everyone else is doing it so if they don't they'll look bad.

I for one hope Serena hits a ton of aces the rest of the season just to stuff a sock in all of the critics' mouths. It's saddening that people are condening this donation, even though it may not turn out to be a huge sum. There is something to be said for Serena's effort.

Isn't it insane that you're even using the phrase "condemning a donation" in a sentence. I guess these are the people Tracy Austin was referring to when she said "people were tired of seeing them winning." Guess the Australian Open and Wimbledon sucked for you this year Austin.

Ted noted today that Venus is listed as being 6'1" and 160 and wondered how then would Serena be 135? I've been wondering about that for years. Serena must be able to keep the weight she was listed at as a junior. Once again, Tracy diplomatically pointed out that the women weight stats tend to be incorrect and that the same could be said for the men's height stats.

They just don't update the stats.

godDAMN! I'm loving watching Santoro. I've never seen someone with so much hustle AND so much style all at one time.

That's what I call a tennis match! That was fantastic, I wish I could have seen it live in Flushing Meadows. That was a good test for Federer, I was afraid he'd breeze through the early rounds and than just maybe, possibly be upset in a later round, but now I'm not so sure. I think he is going all the way to the final.

Federer, obviously, is a brilliant tennis player and enjoyable to watch. That being said, I wanted Santoro to win the match. It was very exciting and both players made some great shots. I have a lot of respect for Roger but I really do want somebody else to win the Open this year (my picks would be Blake, Nadal, Agassi, Hewitt, or Gasquet and if he were playing, my favorite, Marat Safin).

I might be going to the Open on Sunday -- if I do I might forego watching Williams v. Williams and see Hewitt v. Dent or the Sharapova match instead.

While my first choice is clearly Federer, my second pick would be anyone but Nadal or Hewitt. I know Nadal gets a lot of love around here, but I just don't like him. There is just something about him that drives me crazy.

Safin on the other hand. Love him, love him, love him. I really wish he could get his head together and play more consistently; he is IMO the one player who realistically challenge Federer on a continual basis.

For all the Safin fans around here, I would highly recommend that you check his profile/interview in GQ.

Personally I think I would go for Williams v. Williams if I had tickets to Ashe. It also depends if you're going to the day or night session. I'd assume that Williams/Williams would be at night but who knows, maybe CBS really wants the match for Sunday afternoon. I think Sharapova should have a fairly easy time with Mirza even though she is a good story. Mirza played close two setters with both Bartoli and Camerin who aren't close to Sharapova's level. Hewitt/Dent could be somewhat interesting but Dent isn't fit enough to win a match against Hewitt in the New York heat especially if it goes 4 or more sets. If you can I'd stick for Williams v. Williams just because it's the funnest match and has the most potential to be something great. Imagine if you went to see Sharapova/Mirza and missed out on Serena and Venus playing the greatest match they've ever played against each other. I actually am really excited for this contest. In the past it has seemed like one has the clear advantage. I guess you could say Venus has an advantage but Serena has been playing pretty strong herself at the Open so far.

Whoa. The split in reactions here is astounding.

Tracy Austin? She treats everyone with kid gloves, Venus and Serena included.

Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

I could maybe see why people are upset with Carillo. And Chris Evert could be kind of catty when she was commentating. But Tracy Austin? Not seeing it. At all.

And her pointing out that people were getting sick of seeing the Williams sisters win isn't rude or uncalled for at all. It's true. And Venus and Serena sure as hell wouldn't be the first top players who got flack for winning. It's pretty much a rule of thumb that a dominant player is hated for winning. Not saying it's right, but V&S have in no way been unusually or unfairly targeted by this.

Anyway, Mirza reminds me a bit of Karatantcheva, in that they both aim for the lines too much and miss a lot of easy shots. I noticed Mirza often has difficulty with the midcourt floaters.

And as far as player profiles go, there was an article in Tennis a looooong time ago that mentioned how players can write whatever they want for the profile. And often do. It was pretty funny. It mentioned how one players wrote that her mother was a concert cellist, or some such bullshit. Hilarious.

Santoro was great! I especially loved during the tie break when he started smiling and he and Roger almost started laughing....

Re: Serena...They showed her in the crowd during Venus's match and I thought they were showing a shot of Mrs. Williams...whoa...Funny, Tracy Austin brought up Hanchacova's (sp?) weight issue of a few years back alluding that she may have been anorexic or bulemic yet no one touches the very real fact that Serena's got a weight "issue" of her own.

Exactly. If she misses a lot, it could be a blowout. If she doesn't, it could be similar to Muller/Roddick.


I'm not sure where you've been. As we said earlier in the thread, both Ted and Tracy mentioned that the weight in Serena's profile (135) is wrong. Commentators have also made constant remarks (especially Ted and Carillo) about Serena's "fitness" level at Wimbledon. FWIW, I don't think Serena has a weight problem at all. She's hot. She's never going to be as skinny as Hantuchova or Sharapova, which is a good thing IMO. Her ass is the best thing ever.

It is not just the women who have interesting weight stats. I remember Andre going up and down in weight quite drastically and his stats always read 175. It took the super-fit stage with the dramatic weight loss to change it to 165. And for those wondering why they didn't move Andre to the night match on Thursday. . .it has been my understanding that Andre "requests" that he doesn't play night match after night match after night match--unlike Andy who will play every one. I understand Andre's feelings on the subject--it may be hot during the day but it is a hell of a lot easier to stay on a conditioning and sleep schedule when you are playing during the day.


Skip anything on Ashe unless you have courtside (the ball actually seems to move slower in the rarified air of the upper seats in Ashe) and concentrate on the side courts--and--lucky, lucky you--go watch Max. His serve and volley game coupled with his imposing style on court is just a thing of beauty to watch. He doesn't always win on hardcourts--he is really wedded to serve and volley even when his opponent passes him and he did commit a lot of double faults on Friday--but it is always exciting. My cousin told me they showed the fourth set tiebreak. . .did they show anything else? The court was packed. . . he has a lot of fans (although I was sitting next to Serra's parents which was a little uncomfortable) and should make it on TV more. I envy anyone going today: Max and Jonas vs. Jenkins and Reynolds. Lots of yum there. No chance of that being on TV even though Court 10 is a TV court.


Heh, I was standing next to Ljubic on Monday while he was buying her a t-shirt. She wasn't with him so he had to keep looking at the different sizes to judge which one would work the best (he ended up with medium, the shirts are cut very small). It was the most adorable thing and I'm now a fan for life.

I, too, was drooling like an idiot watching Lopez on Thursday but he was playing like crap and it is a good thing he wasn't on TV. Hopefully he and Verdasco will do better today.

I really like Ljubic. He has had a really, really tough background that was affected by the conflict in the Balkans during the 1990s. I've read somehwere that is why he looks older than his actual age. There was a great article about him in the most recent Duece magazine that if you are a fan I'd recommend checking out.




Now that would be a pretty doubles team to see in person! I wish that they would show some Verdasco on tv because it sounds like he has been playing really well and he does have the talent- but not the consistency- to be a really well ranked player.

Does anyone wonder why they choose the most gawdawful, unflattering ATP and WTA pictures for the little profiles on TV. Roger's picture in particular is unfortunate- with really, really bad hair.

Yeah, I don't get it either. I didn't take Tracy's comment about Serena's pledge as a criticism. To me, it came across as more of a "huh?" reaction. Very similar to what a lot of folks here have been saying: "It's a nice thought, but kind of strange." If Serena were known for her formidable number of aces, I could see it. I'm sure she just wanted a tennis tie-in, and the American Express thing was in her head. She did double that amount.

But it probably would've come across a little better if she had thought it through more and realized that Amex is donating $50 for any ace on a show court from anyone. I think if she had pledged a % of her US Open winnings, or a set amount for every game or set between now and the end of the year, it might have had more impact.

And I'm really getting tired of these sanctimonious editorials about Venus' comments. First, I think she probably is more informed about the situation than she is letting on, but she's had to put up a lot with the media from early on, what with her father's shenanigans and whatnot. It seems to me that her attitude in interviews is to play it as close to the vest as possible so as not to get burned. And what exactly did they expect her to do? Cry crocodile tears on court? Come on!

On the other hand, even if she doesn't watch the news, so what? Personally, I like to stay informed, but there are a lot of times when I've reached my threshhold and can't bear to hear one more thing about Iraq/hurricanes/Scott Peterson/etc. so I don't think admitting you haven't been following a story is so terrible. If she really hasn't been watching the news and keeping up with the situation, it would've been very hypocritical to say anything.

Okay- Blake was always a favorite of mine. But his action today has turned me off. He is obviously winning. Nadal hits a shit shot and Blake waves his hands as if to get it out. BS. Blake- you have lost a fan today. That was ugly and bs.

And I know a lot of people here don't like Nadal. But the fact after the loss he signed autographs shows what a good kid he is.

After the year that Blake had last year, he certainly deserves to have fun and play to the crowd. I don't find his actions to be malicious at all. This was the biggest match of his career and he was just trying to enjoy it. I've seen far worse actions from many players. In fact, I don't think his actions were bad at all. Of course, YMMV. I'm happy for his win and am happy to see after Roddick lost, the other Americans stepping up and playing well.



I thought this was very classy as well. Most players just walk out and don't acknowledge the crowd after a loss. Well done, Rafael.

Kudos to James Blake. You are one of the nicest guys in tennis and in sport. Classy as they come. I am sure you will get plenty of new fans now. Couldn't be happier for you. After all the stuff you went through, you deserve it! I actually teared up a little at the end. I don't hate Nadal, but I wasn't crying over seeing his huge rear kicked all over the court.

It was nice to see someone bring his game to Roger's level. Even though Roger would still probably beat Blake. At least you feel it would be a good match.



Agreed. If James Blake is malicious, than what is Nadal with his constant fist pumps? I don't find Nadal bad either. It adds some joy to the game.

Yes I know Blake has had a bad year...as does everyone. I had a shit year in 2004 with one of my sisters being raped and beaten to death. I then want a little nutty. Maybe still am.

I just get a little tired of Blake's story acted like it is such the most triumphant story ever. So the fact that I am still on schedule to be valedictorian but no one is at my school to cheer me on doesn't bug me, why should it. I don't want it to be brought up every.single .time I do anything. But the fact that Blake has carte blance to do wahtever kinda does bug. I still like him in ways....but is he really the golden child that the tv presents him as. Though really, is anyone?