BSR

LOL, so true, kinda like Claude Raines shocked that there's gambling in Casablanca.

OK then, I'll wait until I see evidence of coercion. Even though Hefner is dead, I'll still presume he committed no crime unless solid proof emerges saying otherwise. Honestly, it sounds like the women submitted to all the grossness in hopes of money or career opportunity. Now that the window of opportunity has closed, they're hoping to milk 15 more minutes of fame with this exposé. I read the tragic story of a sex slave in the local paper. Because this woman grew up in a poor family and had no prospects after HS graduation, she took up the offer of a charming smooth-talker to move to Las Vegas. Once he had her alone in Vegas without her family, he went from charming to violent. He forced her into prostitution to make money for him. He beat her when she didn't make enough on a given night. And if she ever tried to leave, he threatened to kill her family. She ended up killed in a car crash caused by her pimp getting into a shootout while driving. My heart broke for this woman because she had no way out. Hefner's "girlfriends" had a way out. They could have left right at the get-go or walked away at any point thereafter. Hefner might have been creepy and gross, might have treated his "girlfriends" in awful ways, but if he never forced them to stay, then that's on them. That said, I'll keep an open mind. Maybe some details will emerge in this documentary that will change my mind.

I think of Zverev as Russian because I've seen video of him speaking Russian with his father and brother. I think he spoke Russian, and only Russian, at home growing up. I've seen a couple of clips of Shapo speaking Russian also, but he didn't seem as comfortable in the language. Just my sense, I don't know a speck of Russian beyond da & nyet.

Again, if they were slipped drugs without their knowledge or consent, I would change my tune. But it sounds like the women took quaaludes voluntarily, whether to get high or to get through the trauma of sex with the creepy geriatric. To be clear, I am not judging these women for being part of Hefner's bizarre sex harem. I am judging them for trying to portray themselves as victims when the reality is they were adults who could have walked away whenever they chose to.

Fortunately for his Louis Vuitton luggage, he's flying private. An uncle who used to work on baggage crew with United said that whenever they saw fancy designer luggage, they made it a point to totally abuse it.

Holy Toledo! Shapo pulls off the upset! Zverev continues his record of underperforming at Slams. Given how well he played in the World Tour Final, beating Novak at his (near) best then beating Medvedev soundly, I thought Zverev was a lock to get to the final. He must be brutally disappointed. I can't believe how the draw opened up for Nadal. When the draw first came out, Rafa was facing a murderer's row: Karatsev in R16, Zverev in the QF, Novak in the semi, and Medvedev in the final -- maybe the toughest draw I've ever seen. With Novak deported and Karatsev & Zverev upset, Rafa's draw went from murderer's row to cupcake alley. Medvedev's draw was cupcakey from the get-go. It's gotta be a Rafa-Medvedev final. If either one gets upset before the final, that'll be the biggest upset of the tournament.

Of course, if Hefner did anything to coerce these women, I would one thousand percent condemn his actions. But in the absence of coercion, these women were free to walk away from all the alleged abuse and humiliation, or am I missing something? If they suffered through it in hopes of money or fame, it must suck that it didn't pan out, but they're victims only of their own bad choices, not of the creepy pajama-clad geriatric.

Neither one of them does it for me, but I will be very interested in the outcome of this match. Shapo, while inconsistent, has enough firepower to upset the Russian, er, German. If Zverev wins the tournament, he will become the new #1 (same true for Medvedev).

I loved his music. The last performance I saw was his duet of "It's All Coming Back To Me" on the 2006 season of American Idol. I didn't know until then that he suffered from horrible stage fright all his career. It was so bad that he said he blacked out during this performance, that afterward he had no memory of it. Despite such crippling stage fright, he managed to have a helluva career. R.I.P.

Wallace the Corgi hugs every dog he runs into during his walks ...

Back in his stand-up days, Joe Rogan used to do a savage takedown of Hugh Hefner. To quote the immortal wisdom of Bart Simpson, it's funny because it's true."

In Novak's final appeal, the Australian federal government never challenged the medical exemption nor Novak's documentation. They canceled his visa "for public health reasons," which the court did not overturn -- because they couldn't, and Alex Hawke knew that. The medical exemption for infection within the last 6 months allowed for entry until the 9-time Australian Open champion was on a plane headed to Australia. That's why the lesser-known Renata Voracova, who arrived before Novak, was allowed in. The federal government wanted to make an example of Novak to send a message to all anti-vaxxers. The Immigration Minister's decision to cancel Novak's visa was nakedly political.

One of the odd things in all this madness is that of all players, Nick Kyrgios has come out as one of Novak's strongest defenders. Odd because for years Kyrgios has been trolling and at times flat-out disrespecting Novak, like mocking Novak's "boob throw" after winning matches and criticizing him for trying too hard to be liked, saying "it's so cringe!" It got so bad that Novak said in a presser that off the court he has no respect for Kyrgios. Yet Kyrgios boldly called out top players for failing to support Novak: "On a human level, he needs support from other players. [Stefanos] Tsitispas, I get you have your views on vaccination. [Andy] Murray, we can always count to say the right thing, Nadal whatever... But bro, where is your support for the guy?" While the two aren't going to be BFFs any time soon, there has been a warming of relations. On Instagram, Novak thanked Kyrgios for his support, the first words the Serb has spoken to the Aussie in years.

I just read that unvaxxed players will not be able to play Roland Garros, which means that Novak is now locked out of all four Slams. I doubt Novak worries about looking weak to his Serbian countrymen. He is so worshipped in Serbia that if video came out of him strangling puppies, it still would not dent his popularity. His anti-vaxx stance is rooted in his aversion to "artificial" medicine, the same reason he avoided a simple surgery for an elbow issue he suffered for 2 years. Novak learned the hard way that he can't rely on exemptions or natural immunity. Either get the jab or get the **** out, say the four Slam countries. Sure, he can sit out until the nations relax their vaxx requirements, but given that we're going on 2 years of "2 weeks to flatten the curve," he best not hold his breath. Will Novak cave and submit to the jab? Most ordinary folks would decide that it's just not worth the fight, but as I've pointed out, Novak is an odd bird in some ways. There's no predicting his next move.

"2 weeks to flatten the curve"

Novak will almost inevitably lose the number one ranking, although he doesn't really care now that he broke Roger's record for most weeks at #1. Novak very much cares about the Slam race, and this AO was a prime opportunity to break the 3-way tie. Some on Twitter are doubting that Craig Tiley keeps his job after this. I'm not sure he deserves getting fired. After all, even the federal government conceded that prior infection was a legitimate medical exemption. Immigration Minister Alex Hawke canceled Novak's visa because he believed Novak's participation in the AO would fire up anti-vaxxers. It's not Tiley's fault that Alex Hawke decided to play politics. Politicians care only about 2 things: getting elected and getting re-elected. 84% of Australians thought Novak should be deported, and Morrison's government responded accordingly. Only Macron and Roland Garros have guaranteed that Novak can play. UK & US current immigration rules bar his entry. If Novak plays only for the Slams but is shut out of 3 of the 4, he might as well retire.

Tennis players usually avoid politics like the plague, for the obvious reasons. Without wading too deep into a political situation, some players are starting to come out in support of Novak. Even Nick Kyrgios, who has been trolling and disrespecting Novak for years, has shown his support of Novak. I'm curious if Zverev & Medvedev will say anything supportive of Novak. While the #2 & #3 players aren't really friends with Novak, both are on very good terms with him. And both Russians (yes, I know Zverev is German, but his family is Russian & he grew up speaking Russian at home) tend to speak their mind, political correctness be damned.

Vasek Pospisil, Novak's best friend on tour outside of his fellow Serbs, makes some good points here. Novak made the trip to Australia only because the government issued him a visa. Had they denied him entry from the get go, he would have stayed home. He didn't sneak in; he didn't break any rules.

I just saw a video summarizing all the aspects of this case. According to Gil Gross, podcaster with Tennis magazine, Immigration Minister Hawke has conceded that prior infection in the last 6 months is a valid medical exemption. His motivation for canceling Novak's visa is strictly politics and public relations: fear that a high-profile unvaccinated athlete being allowed to enter the country will fuel anti-vaxx sentiment in Australia. Gross also said that the stories that Novak falsified the positive test and that he entered Spain illegally have both been debunked, although he didn't go into detail. If the judge rules in favor of Hawke's decision, then this drama ends. But if he rules in Novak's favor, then the government can still keep trying to deport Novak, just coming up with a different statute every time. Who can play any tournament, much less a best-of-5 Slam, while embroiled in so much chaos? 83% of Australians think Novak's visa should be canceled, and elections are in May. This isn't about public health. It's always been about politics, and Alex Hawke acknowledged just that in court today.

Novak fights to the bitter end! I was mistaken; he has one last appeal. In the Federal Court of Australia before a different judge, it's the Immigration Minister v. Novak Djokovic, Saturday Jan 15 @10:15am. I don't see how he wins this, but I thought the same about the last hearing. I read that 83% of Australians think Novak should be deported. If by some miracle he wins tomorrow's hearing, expect a frosty reception for his R1 match Monday.

The thread holding up the sword of Damocles finally snapped. Immigration Minister Alex Hawke hit the eject button & canceled Novak's visa. Of course, the fanboy in me hoped that Hawke would just let this go, but I pretty much knew deportation was inevitable. Rules are rules. No matter how much you might disagree with them, if everybody else has to follow them, so do you. All the fallout from this decision is to be determined. I thought that if Novak's visa was canceled, he wouldn't be able to return for 3 years. Yikes! So the 9-time AO champion can't come back until 2025?? What happens to Craig Tiley? He was the one who told the players that prior infection in the last 6 months was sufficient for entry, which was obviously wrong, and since it's the AO who processes the player visas, the players had every reason to take his word for it. Novak's deportation leaves a hole in the men's draw you could drive a Mack truck through because Novak's quarter was pretty weak. The highest seed left is Matteo "no backhand" Berrettini. Other possible semifinalists are Monfils (2 Slam semis), Norrie (never gone deep at a major), and Carreño-Busta (2 Slam semis). Garín and Sonego are also seeded, but I'll be shocked if they get to the semi. I wouldn't be shocked if Carlos Alcaraz made it through, as crazy as it is to predict an 18yo Slam semifinalist. I bet #5 seed Rublev is pissed off that Hawke waited until after the draw was set because he could have avoided one of top 4 seeds until the semi. As it stands, he's slated to face his nemesis Medvedev in the quarters (he's 1-4 against Medvedev, although he won their last match). I have to wonder if this decision will be the straw to break Novak's anti-vaxx resolve. Macron said players don't need to be vaxxed, but Britain requires vaccination for entry & specifies that prior infection is insufficient, and the US requires it for travelers flying in. Novak plays only for the Slams nowadays, and he learned the hard way that as much as the tournament director wants him in the draw, the TD has no say in who's allowed past the border. PS: Novak plans to appeal, but this isn't a court matter. Since the decision to allow or cancel the visa was the sole discretion of the Immigration Minister, I don't know who Novak makes his appeal to.

Plenty on tennis Twitter are wondering the same thing. Clearly Novak had every intention of playing the AO given that he was working hard in the gym and on the practice court long before the positive test on Dec 16. No way does a player prepare with such intensity on the chance that he might test Covid-positive in the future but conveniently before the deadline. The more I read about this case, the less sense it makes. For now all I can say is I bet the 4 lawyers Novak hired for his visa case are working fast & furious to save his bacon.

I read the delay was only 75 minutes, but no matter. When was the last time a Slam draw ceremony was postponed? They always start on time because journalists and fans around the world are on the edge of their seat. Novak is in the draw, but Immigration Minister Alex Hawke can still exercise his right to deport Novak at any time. One tennis reporter wrote that AO Tournament Director Craig Tiley looked like he hadn't slept in a week. Probably not too far from the truth.