The Lee Word Side

Rafael Nadal won’t be playing at Wimbledon this year. In a news conference on Friday, Nadal announced his withdrawal from Wimbledon due to bad knees; tendentious. This has been an ongoing problem for Nadal, and I’m sure that the heavy playing schedule he maintains doesn’t help. With Nadal not playing, he becomes only the second men’s champion in 35 years to decline to defend his Wimbledon title. I’m sure this is a record he’s not too happy to have acquired.
Some tennis insiders are hinting that bad knees are not the only reason for Nadal’s pull-out. They say that Nadal is mentally off his game, that he’s hit a wall, all reasons enough for him to pull back and recharge. Hopefully Rafa can get back to playing soon, he’s still young and he has a lot of good tennis years before him.
With Nadal not in this year’s draw it leaves the men’s championship trophy up for grabs. Will Roger Federer regain his number one status and take the cup, or will one of the many up and coming men’s tennis stars take it. Like Andy Murray, the young Scot who has all of Great Briton praying that an Englishman takes the cup, the first one since 1936 when Fred Perry won the championship. Murray definitely has the talent and willpower to do it, but he’ll have to get through Roger Federer first. Even without Nadal, this year’s fortnight at Wimbledon is shaping up to be a good one.

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Roger Federer made tennis history last Friday when he won the Roland-Garros, French Open men’s tournament against 23rd ranked Robin Soderling in straight sets, 6-1, 7-6 (1), 6-4. His win tied Pete Sampras’ career record of fourteen Major Singles Titles. This win also gave Federer his much sought after Grand Slam, wining all four major tournaments; Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Federer deserved the win, and it came after a less than stellar year for him. While Soderling showed tremendous talent throughout the tournament, he’s the guy who ousted Rafa Nadal, he lacked the ability to put up any challenge to Federer. This won’t be the last we will see of Robin Soderling.
Up next is Wimbledon’s grass courts and hopefully the return of Rafael Nadal. Rumor has it that Nadal is suffering with knee problems and he may not be able to play Wimbledon. Let’s hope it isn’t so.

Ciao

Happy 23rd Birthday to the World’s Number One Tennis Player Rafael Nadal.

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Four-time champion Nadal exits the French Open!
Defending champion Rafael Nadal was knocked out of Roland-Garros in the fourth round, beaten 6-2 6-7 6-4 7-6 by Sweden’s Robin Soderling, in one of the greatest upsets in the French Open’s history. This is the first match that Nadal has ever lost at the French Open.
I feel for Rafa, but I know he’ll be back in form for Wimbledon.
On a better note, American Andy Roddick is still battling it out and is having his best showing at Roland-Garros ever.

Ciao

It’s that time of year again; the French Open at Roland Garros began yesterday, May 24, 2009 and runs through June 07,2009. The reigning men’s champion Rafael Nadal has breezed through his first match with Brazilian Marcos Daniel in straight sets 7-5, 6-4, 6-3. Rafa will be hard to beat as clay is his best surface. Also on my must watch list is American Andy Roddick. He’s going into the tournament ranked at number 7. I hope he does well.

Here’s a photo of a very pensive Rafa Nadal.

Ciao

Long gone
are the smiles, the enthusiasm,
the gusto, and the lust.
Supplanted by doubts,
depression, and desolation.
Days painfully long,
drag into endless nights.
Hapless meanderings occupy my days.
Where did I go?
What corner did I turn, what line
did I cross that now can’t be undone?
How did I loose me?

Long gone
are friends and family
once there.
Now fallen by the wayside,
unable to cope, unwilling to help.
Moving on they go, not looking back.
Adding further to the desolation
and the darkening days.
How alone can one get?

Here is the monthly obligatory picture of the supper HOT Evan Wadle (Wade). I just can’t get enough of him. If anyone could come close to physical perfection Evan would be it. I love all the peach fuzz all over his body. Yummy! Hope you enjoy Evan as much as I do.

Ciao

I’ve always been a reader. Some of my earliest memories involve books. Every wall of my childhood home was lined with shelves overflowing with big, colorfully bound books. Our house looked more like a library than the suburban Ranch style home that it was. My mother insisted that we kids not only read, but that we read well. We were always encouraged to read books that would challenge our understanding and force us to think in new ways. It wasn’t always easy wrapping my mind around some of the more esoteric subjects that some writers developed, and it sometimes took more than one reading to finally understand the book, but I just couldn’t give up on a book. I wouldn’t let it whip me. I’m not so hard on myself these days. I understand that not every writer appeals to everyone. I’ve learned to be more selective with my choices and in the end it has increased my reading enjoyment. For the last few months I’ve be obsessed with reading gay novels. Mostly romance. This is a new genre for me because for the longest time I wouldn’t allow myself to read them, I thought they were trashy, poorly written, and beneath my stature as a elite reader. Pretty snobbish, huh.
Well I was wrong. Not all gay novels are trashy and poorly written. Some are, and that’s fine, I just need to learn how to pick the good ones, the ones I’d like, and pass over the bad ones. One thing that did surprise me in this genre is finding out that there are a lot of straight female writers who write gay – man on man fiction. I stumbled across this when I finished reading Bareback, by Chris Owen. I liked the book so much that I wanted to find out more about the author. After doing a Google search I was surprised to find out that Bareback, a gay cowboy love story with some of the hottest man on man sex scenes that I’ve ever read was written by a woman. I was flabbergasted, and a little put off. I couldn’t see how a woman could understand a gay mans psyche so well and write such compelling sex scenes, and yet here it was. It just never occurred to me that the author was a woman. Well done Chris. Bareback is one of the best books I’ve read in quite a while. I enjoyed her writing so much that I’ve ordered two other books of hers, 911, and Adagio. I know I won’t be disappointed. This is a good example of why I enjoy reading so much, there is always something new to be learned. I like having my eyes opened.

Ciao

Tonight begins the Jewish Holiday of Purim. The one holiday where the Rabbis of the Talmud commanded that, “A person is obligated to drink on Purim until he can no longer distinguish between cursed is Haman and blessed is Mordachai.” This is my kind of holiday, drink, drink, and drink some more. Along with drinking it is a custom to eat hamentashen. Hamentashen are fruit filled pastries that are made in the shape of Haman’s hat. They’re very good, but they can be a bit too sweet. And they don’t mix too well with Jim Beam. The whole holiday has a spirit of joy and laughter. Kids, and those who still think they’re kids, dress up in costumes and attend Purim Spiels (plays). The Megilah (Book) of Ester is read in Shule and families prepare and deliver Mishloah Maanot (baskets of food) to friends and family.
Purim is only a one day holiday, but it is one that everyone looks forward to.

Happy Purim

It’s not depressing enough that I woke up this morning to find that it had snowed last night, or that I feel like I’m coming down with a cold, oh no, I just had to push my depression over the edge by deciding to spend my day curled up in front of the TV watching Brokeback Mountain on dvd. The sad part is that I’ve run out of tissues and I don’t know what I’m going to do. Brokeback Mountain is at least a one box of tissue kind of movie. I love Brokeback Mountain not only because of the story and the beautiful cinematography, but also for, and I don’t think I’m alone on this, the man on man action between Jake and Heath. Very steamy. It’s one of my all time favorite movies. So, that was my day, how did you spend your Sunday?

Ciao