Assassin has taken on a whole new meaning with reference to athletes. No longer can the word only be associated with hired guns like what we all have witnessed in movies. Now when we say assassin, the names Jordan and Kobe come to mind as well as Lionel Messi from Argentina’s National Team and a man that shares the same acronym as myself, Maurice Richard and the list could go on.
Now two women have emerged who have earned the title of assassins in their own right.
Venus and Serena Williams not only demonstrate their physiques on the court by their dominance in play, but also by the fashion in which they do it in. Sometimes revealing, sometimes over-the-top but never the less, always the same outcome. Another fatality, another victim, by the hands of tennis’s two goddesses.
Richard Williams was a mad scientist; some could compare him to being the Joe Jackson of the tennis world. When he was raising his daughters, he not only taught them (with help from then wife Oracene) the art of tennis but also the art of serving up a brand that the tennis world had yet to see. From their aggressive grunts on the courts, to their self-designed outfits, the Williams sisters are always setting and making their own trends. From Serena’s cat suits to more recently Venus’ laced outfit that would have made Moulin Rouge proud. Their precise calculations of knowing what people will say and how people will react are marketing genius.
As long as they keep taking turns winning tournaments and teaming up in doubles to really show their dominance, they can wear what they deem fit as they continue to add to their collection of trophies. Venus and Serena have a combined record of 1046-240, 80 titles and 5 Gold Medals.
Currently Serena is ranked number 1 in the world while Venus is number 3. At only 29 and 30 years old, that makes for a very depressing future to all of their tennis colleagues and other women in sports who are vying for that number1 spot of recognition.
There is no wonder why Serena and Venus were crowned America’s favorite female athletes for 2010. Given their impact on the sport of tennis here in the U.S. alone, then factor in what they mean to the global reach to kids around the world. It’s fair to say they are the faces of tennis, something Arthur Ashe would have been proud to see.
Since 1994 and 1995 when Venus and Serena turned pro, they have embodied the sport so deeply that Venus became the voice for the women of tennis to receive the same amount of prize money as their male counterparts. Unfortunately her concerns went unheard until she published an essay in The Times the night before the 2006 Wimbledon Tournament. Apparently Venus’ words struck a loud enough cord, despite years of trying by Billie Jean King. In regards to prize money earned, just know Venus is the 2nd all time among female athletes and her sister is 1st among female athletes.
As Venus Williams continues to leave her racket print on the world of women’s tennis, her sister Serena is out to leave her print on anything with an avenue. And so far she has succeeded by appearing on numerous television shows and doing layouts for magazines. These two assassins have not only mastered the art of tennis, but have figured out a way to capitalize off the brand their father helped build into an empire that the world can’t seem to get enough of. But how can we, when we never know how they will strike next. Like true assassins.
The Dusty Balls List by The Mad Fan
Well fellas, the list is finally made and for those of you who don’t know the rules of making the list, here they are: Any past or present professional or amateur athlete, man or woman who has either lost their skill, talent, or fell from grace. Whatever they had that made them who they were. Anyone who has made a complete jackass of themselves on TV or anything along those lines. The Dusty Balls List came from the concept of having some old unusable balls we either throw in the closet, basement, or garage that are deflated, worn out and DUSTY: Deemed unusable!
1.Queen James – LeBron “Queen” James has shown in every facet that no man or woman can come close to his divaness and his hunger for attention. His attitude landed him in the #1 spot on OLS’s Dusty Balls List. This won’t be the last time the Queen will hit the Dusty List, I promise.
2.Brett Favre- Reports came out of left field about Brett retiring again. Favre has proven one thing since his first retirement. He and his wife Deanna luvs the spotlight and all the attention. For some it’s a drug without a cure, just ask Lindsay Lohan.
3.Haynesworth- Last but not least the NFL’s fattest, laziest $100 million dollar man to ever sign a contract. Haynesworth troubles started from Coach Shanahan installing a 3-4 defense. So to show his displeasure, he missed all of the off season workouts and showed up to camp out of shape.
OLS Track
Training camp
I must admit when I first caught wind of the VH1 silliness of two washed up has-beens and one never been in regards to Ochocinco, it made me laugh. Then when I read these two jerk offs would be teammates, I knew that was only to cash in from their reality TV stardom. Seriously, who watches these shows for 3 to 4 hours to watch these 2 clowns look for luv when they should be looking for Ron Artest’s psychiatrist number, cause it’s a long season.
The Jets have a Boston Celtics complex of stock piling old, slowed players that other teams didn’t want to touch. With LT, Taylor and a head coach whose mouth is as big as the Hudson River. This will make for a great New York style recipe and the judges are no other than the New York’s infamous critics.
Baseball
A Rod just became a member of the 600 club, where he joins the likes of Mayes, Aaron and Griffey. But yet there wasn’t a big fan cry for him to get there, at least not from where I was sitting. Some have suggested the reason behind that had everything to do with his confession of steroid use in his earlier years in the league when it seemed like EVERYONE was juiced, even BUD SELIG.
Steroids or no steroids, baseball was recovered by the homerun race between Mark McGwire and Sammy two-toned Sosa, and again with Barry Bonds from the 1994 strike.
Maybe people should stop scrutinizing and start realizing that baseball is not the game our grandfathers grew up with, but a sport that has changed like the players and their egos and the fancy cars they drive them in.
