Remains of the Day (09/21)

Mitch McConnell is trying to pass a Supreme Court nomination before passing a Coronavirus bill.

Tells you everything you need to know.

— Chris Strider (@stridinstrider) September 19, 2020

Michelle Goldberg: Can Mitch McConnell be stopped? 

Trump: "If I lose to him, I don't know what I'm going to do. I will never speak to you again. You'll never see me again."

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) September 20, 2020

Of the many reasons to vote for Biden, this might be the most compelling 

TIL RBG once represented a girl who was suing to be able to join a boys high school tennis team. https://t.co/2gIeL2Gdro

— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) September 19, 2020

Yet another reason to love Ruth Bader Ginsburg 

People are missing the lede - especially given the corruption of the BARR REDACTIONS:

MUELLER COULD HAVE CHARGED THE PRESIDENT AND HIS CHILDREN. HE WAS STOPPED. CORRUPTLY. https://t.co/J95NH725QI

— Eric Garland (@ericgarland) September 21, 2020

Robert Mueller -- and special counsel’s office -- let the American people down on Trump probe, prosecutor says

How Chris Anderson, the election supervisor in Florida's Seminole County, is trying to MacGyver the vote:

*Q-tips wrapped in tin foil instead of expensive styluses

*to-go pho containers to hold pen disinfectant

Such a great read from @elisaslow: https://t.co/qKYd7bXmFU

— Matea Gold (@mateagold) September 21, 2020

Chris Anderson, the supervisor of elections in Seminole County, Fla., on the risks of running a presidential election in a pandemic  

Popular Clock in New York City Now Reflects Our ‘Remaining Time’ https://t.co/NmDeD14rY3

— OccuWorld 🏴 (@OccuWorld) September 21, 2020

Metronome’s digital clock in Manhattan has been reprogrammed to illustrate a critical window for action to prevent the effects of global warming from becoming irreversible. 

Ellen addresses controversies. It seems insane that so many people waste their time whining about her being mean and a terrible person when our POTUS is staging a coup in real time: https://t.co/BzAkX2qqG4 pic.twitter.com/2YJg2LgUhk

— Matthew Rettenmund (@mattrett) September 21, 2020

Ellen DeGeneres: If you're watching because you don't like me, welcome! 

Photos obtained by @JanCBS via the Supreme Court: The high court’s chamber and Justice Ginsburg’s seat is draped in Black: pic.twitter.com/cHdJuCumQi

— Ed O'Keefe (@edokeefe) September 20, 2020

Ruth Bader Ginsburg to be first woman to lie in state at Capitol and will lie in repose at Supreme Court 

Remember: The election is just 43 days away

Weekend Tennis Diary

 

Novak Djokovic won 12 of the last 14 points of the match, beating Diego Schwartzman 7-5, 6-3 to win the Italian Open for the fifth time. It's his 81st singles title, 36th Masters 1000 title (a record) and fifth title of the year.

Earlier, Simona Halep won her first Rome crown after Karolina Pliskova -- the Czech Madison Keys -- retired injured in the second set. The final score: 6-0, 2-1.

Simona tweeted: I always dreamed of holding this trophy. Thank you to the tournament @InteBNLdItalia for a fantastic week and also big thanks to my team. I love you Roma! 

Was cute to hear Diego give a shout-out to fellow Argentine Ulises Badio, Novak's physio since 2017. You may recall Uli gave Nole a quarantine haircut not long ago.

I must say, Mikhail Youzhny was looking fit (and bloodless) scouting matching for protégé Denis Shapovalov

Germany's Dominik Koepfer and his hot body had a great run to the quarters, even taking a set off Novak

Vasek Pospisil and coach Frank Dancevic gratuitously showed off their fish

Christian Harrison was in fine form qualifying for the Challenger in Italy before losing to Cameron Norrie

Patient Zero caused a stink in Rome by barely trying

Johnny Millman: Was it a hotness test?

Marco Cecchinato's curly locks caught my crotch's attention

Jan-Mike's view of the world

See those eyes

Was Karen shamed into getting a haircut?!

Mirko Martinez enjoyed practicing with countryman Stan Wawrinka, who looked wobbly in his loss to 18-year-old Lorenzo Musetti

Matteo's got flex appeal, but fell was in for a Ruud awakening

Filip and Novak in Rome

Borna's new watch

The Croatian cutie enjoyed some time at home

Karen expressions in emojis

Flex for fantasy

A Paris: Tommy Robredo

Let's hope Andrea Vavassori is giving Andreas Seppi some "relief" from fatherhood

Birthday boy Franko Skugor

Name that player

J.J. Wolf and Marcos Giron are accepting applications

Carlos Taberner captured the Concord Iasi Open Challenger, his maiden title

Sexy Corentin Moutet and his embarrassing rap career go on

17-year-old Holger Rune won the ITF event in Switzerland, his first pro title

Michael Venus for the win!

Mug Shot Monday

 

Is he single?

The Associated Press reports: 

A South Florida man accused of killing his mother told investigators “he lost it” after arguing with her about orange juice, an air conditioner remote and the use of her car to search for a job, police said. Luis Pages, 29, is charged with one count of second-degree murder following the Sunday evening death of Miriam Gonzalez, 59, in their North Miami Beach home. Pages called 911 after the shooting, telling the dispatcher he had shot his mother, a police report said. When an officer arrived at the home around 5 p.m. Pages told him “I killed her. Take me to jail,” the report said.

Pages was taken into custody for questioning. He told detectives that after the argument, his mother held up a pink knife and threatened him. That’s when he pulled out a handgun and shot her multiple times, the police report said. He told investigators he tried to shoot himself but realized he was out of bullets. He called 911 instead. Pages was being held without bond. Jail records did not list an attorney for him.

More HERE.

Song of the Day: 'Avalanche' by Aimee Mann

Aimee Mann’s cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Avalanche,” which serves as the theme song for HBO’s true-crime docu-series "I’ll Be Gone In The Dark," is out. Spin reports that it's an especially poignant song placement for Mann, as she was close friends with the late Michelle McNamara, whose tireless research and book, "I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer," helped inspire the series -- and catch the criminal McNamara coined the Golden State Killer.

“My husband, Michael Penn, and I had been close friends with Patton [Oswalt] and Michelle for many years and were very familiar with the ups and downs of her research,” the Academy Award-nominated and Grammy Award-winning artist said in a release. “We were completely devastated by her death. I was incredibly moved by Patton’s dedication to getting her book finished and was so happy when he reached out about recording a version of ‘Avalanche’ for the show.” 

McNamara died in 2017, and her husband and others finished the book posthumously. Mann and her husband produced and recorded “Avalanche” at home and the singer says that they’re “honored to hear it at the start of every episode.”

   

Page 1 Roundup (09/21)

 

The Daily News: Manhattan subway train derails after laughing saboteur throws metal clamps on tracks: police sources

KETV: Nebraska bar owner who was charged in killing of black man dies by suicide

Towleroad: Democrats raise massive $91+ million in wake of RBG’s death

The WoW Report: How a collector got Judy Garland’s chair from 'Meet Me in St. Louis' (for $35!)

Boy Culture: Trust me, you're gonna want to get a load of him

The Randy Report: Seth Sikes becomes the ‘Belle’ of Fire Island Pines

Hot Slut of the Day: Vicki’s cabinet house in 'Small Wonder'!

Greg in Hollywood: When Oprah Winfrey hosted a reunion of the cast of 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show'

New York Post: Pope Francis to parents of LGBT kids: ‘God loves your children’

The Washington Post: By advancing in Phoenix’s traditionally red suburbs, Democrats have turned Barry Goldwater's home base into a swing state.

College newspaper reporters are the journalism heroes for the pandemic era

The New York Times: Democrats brace for showdown over Supreme Court seat

An unpredictable pandemic takes a terrible toll

Lev Parnas, Giuliani associate, faces new fraud charges

The Wall Street Journal: The college freshman’s life this fall: ‘Definitely weird’

 Forget the stock market. The rare-plant market has gone bonkers.

Ryan Serhant selfied, shared and streamed his way to $4 billion in sales. Now he’s building his own brokerage

What you gain, and sacrifice, when you move back in with parents

Hot Cat of the Day: Cheddar's face reminds of a co-ed who just got worked over in a frat house

Morning Wood

 

Honoring the Original Nine of Women's Tennis

I don't know about you, but I have been absolutely loving the Tennis Channel's 11-part series celebrating the 50th anniversary of the "Original Nine," who first signed $1 pro contracts with Gladys Heldman to start a more equitable professional women's tennis circuit. While the videos aren’t all in one place to watch — way to go, Marketing Department! — if you dig around a bit you can find them on YouTube, Facebook and Tennis.com. I've heard the story dozens of times before -- the film "Battle of the Sexes" did an incredible job of depicting the earliest days -- yet I still get goosebumps each time I watch this historic moment unfold, which was truly about so much more than women’s sports. 

When it started to begin ...

1970 Houston Women's Invitation(al): I think most hardcore women's tennis fans know that the first Virginia Slims event was in Houston and that it was won by Rosie Casals. But who remembers that an injured Billie Jean King lost to Aussie Judy Dalton (the eventual runner-up who used the biggest check of her career to help pay off a new house in Melbourne)? That Julie Heldman was injured so wasn't able to compete, despite being an Original Niner? That Margaret Court -- who won the Grand Slam that year -- was scheduled to play but withdrew with injury, perhaps mental after losing to 15-year-old Chris Evert the week before in Charlotte, N.C? (Kristy Pigeon replaced her.) Or that there was a third-place playoff? 

The tributes got me thinking about my earliest days of fandom: Billie Jean King, Rosie Casals, Kerry Melville Reid and Valerie Ziegenfuss were still active on the tour when I got into the game in 1977, but Peaches Bartkowicz, Judy Tegart Dalton, Julie Heldman (Gladys's daughter), Kristy Pigeon and Nancy Richey were names I mostly only read about. When I look back, this illustration best sums up my "Original 6": Tracy Austin, Martina Navratilova, Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Wendy Turnbull, Billie Jean King and Chris Evert, all of whom took the game to the "next level." 

As Billie Jean King said, “Without Gladys Heldman, there wouldn't be women's professional tennis. She was a passionate advocate for women tennis players and, as the driving force behind the start of the Virginia Slims Tour in 1970, she helped change the face of women's sports." Watch HERE.

 

Val Ziegenfuss's clip was especially interesting to me.

   

 Would you believe I still haven't read Julie's Tennis Mommie Dearest?

   

 Michiganders will notice that Peaches Bartkowicz is the most "Hamtramck" person ever!

The USTA also has in-depth interviews and videos. See all nine HERE.

Read all Original Nine posts HERE.