2011 Williams Watch-Serena's Out Of The Australian Open

I can say two things for certain as the 2011 Australian Open gets underway.  Serena Williams will not threepeat as its women's singles champion  and the Williams sisters will not repeat as the Australian Open women's doubles champs.

That's because Little Sis is still sidelined with a foot injury that has been slow to heal and will be watching Big Sis from the stands as the action gets underway Down Under at Melbourne Park.

She cut her foot on some broken glass while leaving a Munich restaurant July 7 and the foot required surgery.   She missed the 2010 US Open as a result and is now out of the Australian Open as well.

Venus is still there to represent the Williams family tennis dynasty and keep the Australian Open singles title in the family

But it won't be easy for number five world ranked Big Sis.   She's seeded fourth in this tournament and has current world number one ranked Caroline Wozniacki, Li Na, Maria Sharapova and Justine Henin on her side of the draw just for starters.

However, this is the one Grand Slam tournament that Venus hasn't won in her career, and the only time she was an Australian Open finalist she lost to Little Sis in 2003.     She made it to the quarterfinals before bowing out last year.

So it will be interesting to see what Big Sis does in this 2011 edition of the Australian Open, and I'm hoping that Little Sis will eventually show up, play some tennis and regain her Number One ranking..

Team USA Women 2010 FIBA Worlds-On To The Quarters

Number one FIBA ranked Team USA faced off for the top seed in Group E today against defending FIBA champion Australia in Ostrava with much at stake.

The winner would not only stay unbeaten in this 2010 FIBA world championship tournament, they would clinch Group E and the number one seed heading into the knockout round quarterfinals.

Thanks to a 51-33 first half powered by Diana Taurasi's team high 24 points, Team USA moved to 6-0 and clinched the top spot in Group E by beating the Opals 83-75.

Sylvia Fowles added 15 points to go with her six rebounds and Tina Charles contributed 14 points to help the Team USA cause and extend their record against Australia in FIBA competition to 9-0.

Team USA moves on to Karlovy Vary and their day off needing only three more wins to achieve their ultimate goal of capturing the 2010 FIBA World championship.and that coveted qualifying spot in the 2012 London Games basketball tournament.

After the break Team USA kicks off quarterfinal play October 1 against Korea.  They would take on the winner of the France-Spain game in the semifinal should they defeat Korea.   Meanwhile the Opals face the homestanding Czech Republic and the survivor of the Belarus-Russia quarterfinal..

This may not be the last time we play the Opals, and if things break the way everyone expects, the next time Team USA and Australia clash, the FIBA title could be on the line.

Australian Defense Forces Dropping Ban On Trans Military Service

19 years after they dropped the ban on gay and lesbian Aussies being able to serve in the Australian Defence Forces, according to the Advocate.com the desire of a ADF soldier to transition has led to the dropping of a ban against trans Australians being able to militarily serve their country.

Nations such as Canada, Israel, the Czech Republic, Spain and Thailand allow transgender soldiers to serve but also support them through diversity programs.

The policy is scheduled to become effective in December. ADF Chief Angus Houston said commanders must “manage ADF transgender personnel with fairness, respect, and dignity ... and existing medical review provisions; and ensure all personnel are not subjects to unacceptable behavior.”

Okay, so when is my nation going to join the rest of the world, much less our next door neighbor in terms of allowing transpeople who are willing to put their lives on the line to serve our nation to do so?