Federer captures 6th title in Halle at Gerry Weber Open

Posted on June 16, 2013 by admin

Happy Father’s Day!  And Happy Father’s Day to Roger Federer who captured his 6th title at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle today with a come from behind win over M. Youzhny, 6 – 7, 6 – 3, 6 – 3.  Fed looked sluggish in the first set even though there were no breaks of serve and he lost the set in a tiebreak.  He then came to life in the second set and went on to his sixth title at this event, his regular grass court tune-up prior to Wimbledon.  Congrats to Youzhny for making the final (he was also in the doubles final with partner P. Kolschreiber).  But it was Federer who had the shots and after making 13 unforced errors in the 1st set, cleaned up his game and only committed four total unforced errors in the second set.  Federer served twelve aces, and that is going to be very important for him moving forward and heading into Wimbledon.  He must serve well and get free points off the serve.  It is Roger’s first title of the year, has to be a big relief for him.  His adorable twin daughters, Charlene and Myla Rose were in the stands with wife, Mirka, watching the trophy presentation, waving and shouting at “papa”!  Nice to see Fed get that first title and here’s to hoping he can get on a roll and take Wimbledon for Grand Slam number 18.  He will be seeded #2 at the All England Club with action getting underway June 24th.


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Mickelson leads at US Open at -1

Posted on June 15, 2013 by admin

And then there was one!  The only guy under par after three rounds,  Phil Mickelson leads the US Open from Merion Country Club at -1.  Way to go Lefty!  What a heck of a golf course this is proving to be for the world’s top golfers to navigate.  There was no rain today, cannot use that as an excuse.  The weather was fine, the course was subject to the  “conditions” of the weather from the previous days of rain and storms.  Non the less, Lefty stands alone after round three, at the top of the leaderboard.  The rest of the leaderboard is as follows:  1) Mickelson -1, 2, Hunter Mahan, Charles Schwartzel and Steve Stricker at E,  3) Justin Rose, Luke Donald and Billy Horschell (playing in only his second major) at +1,  4) Jason Day at +2, and Rickie Fowler (the California dude) at +3.  These narrow fairways are reeking havoc on these guys golf game!

The top three golfers in the world, Tiger Woods, Rory Mcilroy and Adam Scott, well not so good. Tiger finished at +9 with a third round of 76.  Rory is at +8 with a round of 75.  Tiger and Rory played together again today, having so much fun together other than their dismal finishes.  The number 3 golfer in the world, Adam Scott, winner of the Masters, well he sits at +10.

So, Mickelson, who has never won the US Open is in the driver’s seat as the fourth and final round gets underway tomorrow.  But, a lot of great golfers are right on his heels, so stay tuned….tomorrow will bring us some great golf (weather forecast is good) and a 2013 champion of the US Open Golf Championship.  Will it be Mickelson for the first time?  We shall see…and Happy Father’s Day to one and all!


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Ryan Hunter-Reay wins Milwaukee (Indy Racing)

Posted on June 15, 2013 by susan

Ryan Hunter-Reay won his third race of the season in the Izod Indy Race Series, taking the victory at the oval in Milwaukee.  He was followed by 2) Helio Castroneves (the overall points leader), 3) Will Power (not my favorite), 4) E. J. Viso and 5) James Hinchliffe (really having a nice year!).

The Andretti team has dominated this race, back to back victories for Hunter-Reay at this oval track.  Takuma Sato (Honda) led for much of the race but was undone by his pit cycling.  My guys, the Gnassi boys, Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti finished 6th (Dixon) and 8th (Franchitti) and had to work really hard to achieve these finishes.  Dario continues to not have a “great” year much to my dismay.  He did move to the no. 10 position in the overall points standings with this finish.

Andretti Motor Sports continues to excel at this event with Hunter-Reay taking the victory.  Marco Andretti went out with mechanical issues.  When, oh when, is Dario going to win a race this year????

OK, golf leaderboard from US Open to follow…quite a day at Merion Country Club!


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Federer advances in Halle, to face Youzhny in final

Posted on June 15, 2013 by admin

Roger Federer will face M. Youzhny tomorrow in the final of the Gerry Weber Open in Halle.  It is Fed’s second final of the year, and hopefully after tomorrow, his first title of the year as we head toward Wimbledon.  Fed defeated good buddy Tommy Haas (35 years old) in three sets, 3 – 6, 6 – 3, 6- 4.  Tommy Haas is currently ranked 11th in the world after suffering numerous injuries and continuing to fight his way back.  Way to go Tommy.  Federer did in fact wear his trademark headband and after dropping the first set, came back to secure the victory and advance to the final.  He is looking to win this title for the sixth time.  Federer had fourteen aces while Haas had nine double faults.  Not going to get it done when Fed serves aces and the opponent serves up that many double faults.  Here’s to hoping Roger goes on to win the final tomorrow and heads to Wimbledon with a title under his belt.  Of note:  Roger has gone on to win Wimbledon four times after hoisting the trophy at Halle.  Final airs tomorrow morning on Tennis Channel.

Again, let’s hear it for the “old” guys!  Haas and Federer!


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US Open Golf…can anyone be under par?

Posted on June 14, 2013 by admin

Gee, what a day and a half of golf at Merion Country Club.  This course is wet and soggy from all the rain, (30% chance of rain tonight) and the best players in all the world are having one heck of time on this course.  After finishing round one, and many finishing round two, although not everyone is finished with their second rounds of golf, the leaderboard has gone through many machinations and currently stands as:  Mickelson and Horschel at -1 (the only players currently under par), Justin Rose, Luke Donald, Steve Stricker at E, and Ian Poulter E through 14 holes, along with Cheng Tseng Pen E thru 9 holes. After that, it is +1, +2, +3 and so on.

The much ballyhooed pairing of Tiger Woods, Adam Scott and Rory Mcilroy finished their first round this am and went on to finish their second round as well.  Tiger and Rory held themselves in check and finished up at +3, both shooting a round of 70 (second best on the day as is) while Adam Scott took a step backwards and wound up at +7.  He is likely to miss the cut which is currently projected at  +6.  Other notable great golfers on the outside looking in are Graeme McDowell, Jim Furyk, David Toms, and Angel Cabrera.  This golf course is simply beating this field to pieces!

Tiger and Rory have both managed to stay in the hunt, even at +3, only four off the pace of the two current leaders.  Second round action will resume tomorrow morning, mother nature willing, and then round three will get underway.  Fortunately, the forecast for the weekend is good!!

Speaking of Merion, and with the NBA finals in full swing, Kobe Bryant who graduated from Lower Merion High School and headed straight into the NBA has announced he wants “two more years”!  You go Kobe Bryant!!  Kobe says he wants two more shots at a title with the LA Lakers.  I want that as well.  For now, let’s go Spurs!!  Get that victory on Sunday!

Until golf resumes tomorrow am…

UPDATE: Cut moves back to +8!  WOW!  Adam Scott along with many others breathing a sigh of relief!


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Heat take game four, 109 – 93, even NBA finals

Posted on June 14, 2013 by susan

The NBA finals are once again deadlocked, 2 – 2 between the Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs.  Last night the Heat took it to the Spurs in the second half and went on to a resounding 109 – 93 victory.  The big three, James, Bosh, and Wade combined for 85 points, Wade had 32 points, Bosh had 20 points and 13 rebounds, and James had 33 points and 11 rebounds.  The game was tied at the half, 49 – 49 but the second half saw the Heat pull away like a runaway freight train.  One bright spot the Spurs, Danny Green continues his astounding three point shooting, 19/27 in the series.  Tony Parker did play with his hamstring injury,  finishing with 15 points and Tim Duncan had 20 points.  So, now the Spurs MUST win game five on Sunday in San Antonio.  If they can go to Miami with a 3 -2 advantage, they have a real shot at taking one of the remaining two games and winning the NBA title.  Should Miami prevail in San Antonio on Sunday, I do not see the Spurs going to Miami and winning two games.

Stay tuned…Game five on Sunday from San Antonio.

Meanwhile in tennis news, Roger Federer defeated qualifier M. Zverev in Halle, 6 – 0, 6 – 0.  That is the second double bagel of Fed’s career.  There have been rumors that Roger is considering foregoing his trademark headband (bandana) with his new shorter hair.  I don’t know, I kind of like his look with the headband.  So. something to look for in the semis, hopefully the final at Gerry Weber Open, and then Wimbledon!

Meanwhile, Fed will face off in the semifinals tomorrow against good buddy Tommy Haas (age 35) who defeated G. Monfils.  Keep the headband on Fed!!


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Rain the main story on day one from US Open at Merion Golf Club

Posted on June 13, 2013 by susan

The US Open Golf Championship (2nd major of this season) got underway at the Merion Golf Club just outside of Philadelphia, PA today.  Well, actually, it sort of got under way.  The main storyline of the day was rain, and rain delays, two of them to be exact, one at around 8:30 am EST and the other at approximately 6:10 pm EST.  In between and until dusk, golf was played.  The leaderboard after an incomplete round one of golf stands as follows: Luke Donald -4, Phil Mickelson -3 (Lefty got off early and completed his round of golf with ease), Adam Scott -2 thru 10, and Webb Simpson, Alistair Presnell and Mathew Groggin also at -2.

The much hyped trio of Adam Scott, Rory Mcilroy and Tiger Woods, the top three golfers in the world (ranks move from 3 to 1 respectively) finally teed off at 4:44 pm EST after the rain delay pushed them back from their original tee time of 1:14 pm EST.  Adam Scott so far has had the best round at -2, Rory Mcilory is at -1 and Tiger has struggled and is currently at +2 after 10 holes.  Jason Day and Rickie Fowler got their first rounds in and are both at E par for the day.  Justin Rose and Dustin Johnson both completed their rounds and are at +1.

No Stevie Williams drama today, currently on the bag for Adam Scott and as everyone knows, long time caddie for Tiger Woods.  No real love lost between those two but Tiger behaves on the golf course in these kind of situations and nothing more than polite handshakes were exchanged.  We all know Tiger only gets mad at himself on the course.

Clearly round one will continue tomorrow along with round 2, or at least as much golf as can be played.  Unfortunately, the forecast for tomorrow is not great so will be interesting to see how they “play this out”…forecast does improve for the weekend.  Hope they can finish this tournament over the weekend.  If not, guess we will be watching golf next Monday.

Stay tuned until tomorrow, mother nature is having her way with this event!

P.S. Game four of NBA finals on tonight from San Antonio.  It is indoors, weather will not be a factor!


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Game 3 another blowout! This time Spurs over Heat, 113 – 77

Posted on June 12, 2013 by admin

Well, talk about embarrassing!  Game three in the NBA finals was another blowout, but this time it was the Spurs who made the Heat look silly with a 113 – 77 tail kicking in San Antonio.  Only bad news, Tony Parker sustained a slight hamstring injury but says he will be ready for game four on Thursday evening from San Antonio.  The Spurs shot 61% from the field in the first half and yet were only up by six at the half.  The second half was all about the Spurs.  Timmy, Timmy, Timmy along with Neal scoring 24 points off the bench and the Spurs were on their way to one of the largest margins of victory in NBA finals history (3rd highest I believe).  For the Heat, Wade had 16 points and James had 15 points but it really just did not matter.  The Spurs were on a mission and it was a success.  Late in the fourth period, with the Spurs pouring it on, the Heat starters just sat on the bench and watched.  Probably a good place for them to be.  Perhaps they can figure out what the heck went wrong for them.  Or, are the Spurs just a better team?  The Heat have more talent, but I believe the Spurs are a better “team”!  Game four is Thursday evening and Game five will also be from San Antonio on Sunday.  Can the Spurs close this out in five?  Hard to imagine the Heat going down without getting the series (now a 2-1 lead for the Spurs) back to Miami for a game 6, but it would sure make me happy to see it happen.  If not the Lakers, then let’s go Spurs!

In other sports news, there was the brawl in LA…the Dodgers against the Diamondbacks.  It was ugly, one pitcher after another from each team retaliating by hitting a batter.  Really just plain stupid, grown men behaving badly in yet another professional sport.

In Halle, Germany at the Gerry Weber Open (sorry about the misspelling in previous posts, I have seen it spelled with two “b’s” and with one, I think Weber is correct), Roger Federer won his first round match over G. Stede of Germany, 6 – 3, 6 – 3.  Have not yet been able to see a replay of it yet due to time delay, perhaps late this afternoon on tennis channel.

Until later, I am watching and waiting!


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Game 3 another blowout! This time Spurs over Heat, 113 – 77

Posted on June 12, 2013 by susan

Well, talk about embarrassing!  Game three in the NBA finals was another blowout, but this time it was the Spurs who made the Heat look silly with a 113 – 77 tail kicking in San Antonio.  Only bad news, Tony Parker sustained a slight hamstring injury but says he will be ready for game four on Thursday evening from San Antonio.  The Spurs shot 61% from the field in the first half and yet were only up by six at the half.  The second half was all about the Spurs.  Timmy, Timmy, Timmy along with Neal scoring 24 points off the bench and the Spurs were on their way to one of the largest margins of victory in NBA finals history (3rd highest I believe).  For the Heat, Wade had 16 points and James had 15 points but it really just did not matter.  The Spurs were on a mission and it was a success.  Late in the fourth period, with the Spurs pouring it on, the Heat starters just sat on the bench and watched.  Probably a good place for them to be.  Perhaps they can figure out what the heck went wrong for them.  Or, are the Spurs just a better team?  The Heat have more talent, but I believe the Spurs are a better “team”!  Game four is Thursday evening and Game five will also be from San Antonio on Sunday.  Can the Spurs close this out in five?  Hard to imagine the Heat going down without getting the series (now a 2-1 lead for the Spurs) back to Miami for a game 6, but it would sure make me happy to see it happen.  If not the Lakers, then let’s go Spurs!

In other sports news, there was the brawl in LA…the Dodgers against the Diamondbacks.  It was ugly, one pitcher after another from each team retaliating by hitting a batter.  Really just plain stupid, grown men behaving badly in yet another professional sport.

In Halle, Germany at the Gerry Weber Open (sorry about the misspelling in previous posts, I have seen it spelled with two “b’s” and with one, I think Weber is correct), Roger Federer won his first round match over G. Stede of Germany, 6 – 3, 6 – 3.  Have not yet been able to see a replay of it yet due to time delay, perhaps late this afternoon on tennis channel.

Until later, I am watching and waiting!


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Surviving “Paradise” the book, not just fun in the sun and its’s Tuesday!

Posted on June 11, 2013 by admin

Hey, it’s only Tuesday and I usually do this on Wednesday, but just for fun, why not mix it up a bit!  It is Tuesday and how about checking out my book Surviving “Paradise” by Susan Willoch Shaver.  That crazy neighborhood in Sarasota, FL still has me dazed and confused, so why not change it up a bit and do things differently this week.  Think life in southwest Florida is all about fun in the sun, golf, palm trees, and the good lifeSurviving Paradise…think again!  Surviving “Paradise” is a funny, entertaining story about neighborhood mayhem in southwest Florida for men and women alike.  Fun for girls and boys!!  It is available at Amazon.com for $9.99 in paperback, $3.03 in kindle edition, and Barnes and Noble nook for $4.99.  Read it and get back to me.  Trying to get a screenplay/script together with the right person…should it be on TV or in theaters?  Let’s hear what you guys think.  Buy it, read it, and let me know!!

P.S.  Follow me on twitter @survivingpara!


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