Shani Davis Will Attempt To Win Five Speedskating Gold Medals

Speed skater Shani Davis just gave me another reason to watch the upcoming Vancouver Winter Olympic Games besides the anticipated USA-Canada women's hockey showdown.

In 1980, Dr. Eric Heiden won a record five speed skating gold medals at the Winter Olympics held in Lake Placid. He is the only man who has done so.

When the cauldron is lit and the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games start on February 12, Shani Davis will attempt to match that feat. He's qualified for the 500m, 1000m, 1500m and the 5,000m and 10,000m long distance races.

Shani Davis is the first African American male to win a Winter Olympic gold medal, He is the three-time 1500m and two-time 1000m world champion, the world record holder at 1000m and 1500m, and the defending Olympic champion at 1000m.

If you've seen a few more kids of African descent at your local speed skating oval, you have Shani Davis to thank for that.

His quest to match Dr. Eric Heiden will start on February 13 with the 5000m.

Here's hoping he makes some Black history of his own in a few weeks.

2010 FIBA World Championship For Women Draw

Now y'all know I wasn't going to talk about the USA 'Menz' basketball team and the upcoming FIBA World Championships in Turkey without talking about the women's tournament since it's taking place this year as well.

Hey if we don't care about women's sports, especially at the international level, who will?

But I'm digressing here.

The FIBA World Championships for Women will be contested in the Czech Republic from September 23 to October 3. Unlike the men's championship, only 16 nations are competing.

The various national organizations have expessed a desire to expand the number of teams to 24, given that women's basketball is becoming more popular internationally and give more teams a chance to compete for the title.

For now FIBA is keeping the women's tourney at 16 teams. One automatic qualifying slot slot went to the 2008 Olympic Champion USA, the other to the host Czechs. The other 14 teams qualified through their various FIBA regional zone tournaments.

The draw for the women's tournament was held in Karlovy Vary on November 24, the city hosting the final rounds of this year's tournament. The Group play and second rounds will be contested in Brno and Ostrava.

Here are the Groups for the 2010 FIBA World Championship for Women.

Group A (Ostrava) Canada, Belarus, China, Australia
Group B (Ostrava) Senegal, Greece, USA, France
Group C (Brno) Mali, South Korea, Brazil, Spain
Group D (Brno) Japan, Czech Republic, Argentina, Russia

After round robin play is completed, only the top three teams in each group will advance to the second round. They will form two new groups, Groups E and F

Group E based in Ostrava will be comprised of the six survivors from Groups A and B, while Group F based in Brno will be comprised of the six Group C and D survivors. They will play another round of games to determine the top four teams in those reconstituted groups.

The top four teams in Groups E and F will advance to the knockout eliminations in Karlovy Vary to determine the 2010 FIBA Women's world basketball champion.

Our northern neighbors qualified on the FIBA women's side, and will be playing in Group A. Canada has a tough opening game September 23 against the 2006 defending FIBA women's champion Australians.

Meanwhile, the 2008 Women's Olympic Champions are in Group B and on September 23 will take on Greece in their quest to reclaim the FIBA crown for a record eighth time.

Team USA was unbeaten and cruising to another basketball confrontation with the Aussies until the Russians upset Team USA 75-68 in the semifinals and ended their chance at a FIBA World Championship threepeat.

The Opals then demolished the Russians 91-74 to take their first FIBA title while a stunned Team USA regrouped and blew out the host Brazilians 99-59 for the bronze medal.

Head coach Geno Auriemma and his staffs mission will be threefold. He has to return Team USA's women to FIBA golden glory, retool with the next generation of outstanding women players and prep for the 2012 London Games.

Unlike the men, the Number One FIBA ranked Team USA women have been kicking butt and taking names at the international level since 1996, have won this event seven times, and taken four out of the last six.

The final USA women's team lineup hasn't been set yet, but we already know it will be a team in transition with longtime center Lisa Leslie retiring from international competition after the Beijing Games.

Team USA is in excellent shape with a core roster that includes Olympians Sue Bird, Tamika Catchings, Diana Taurasi, Seimone Augustus, Sylvia Fowles, Kara Lawson, Candace Parker and Cappie Pondexter. There are other talented players that could possibly make the squad such as WNBA Rookie of the Year Angel McCoughtry, Jia Perkins, Crystal Langhorne, Rebekkah Brunson, Maya Moore, Tina Charles and Candice Dupree.

While it would be a longshot, I'd be thrilled if my Houston homegirl and Baylor freshman phenom center Brittney Griner ended up making the trip to the Czech Republic. Frankly, with all the talent at center I see her either on the Youth Olympic Games Team, a Pan Am Games team or maybe the 2016 Olympic team in Rio.

Whoever ends up on the final roster, it will be fun to watch. The winner also gets the automatic bid for the 2012 London Games.

2010 FIBA World Basketball Championships for Men Draw

While most of the planet's sports fans were waiting with breathless anticipation for the 2010 World Cup soccer draw in Cape Town, or in Canada were tracking the progress of the Olympic torch relay across their country, back on December 15 the draw setting up the groups for the 2010 FIBA World Championship for Men took place in Istanbul.

The draw determines the composition of the groups for the 24 teams participating in the August 28-September 12 tournament.

The 2008 Olympic champion USA will be in Group B, and will open group play in Istanbul August 28 against Croatia. The 2006 defending FIBA champions Spain will play in Group D and open defense of their title in Izmir versus France.

Our northern neighbors Canada also qualified for the 2010 field. They are in Group D and will playing their opening round match versus Lebanon.

Here are the groups for the 2010 FIBA World Championship For Men:

Group A (Kayseri): Serbia, Argentina, Australia, Jordan, Germany, Angola
Group B (Istanbul): Croatia, Brazil, Tunisia, Slovenia, Iran, USA
Group C (Ankara): China, Turkey, Russia, Puerto Rico, Ivory Coast, Greece
Group D (Izmir): Lithuania, Lebanon, France, Spain, Canada, New Zealand

Group of Death so far looks like a toss up between Group A and Group C.

After the Group play round robin, the top four teams in each group advance to the knockout Eights round until the new FIBA champion is crowned.

The final composition of Team USA FIBA World Championships lineup hasn't been determined yet, but we already know who will coach them.

It's the same group of coaches that led Team USA to a 36-1 record in the last two year cycle.

Mike Krzyzewski will be back as Team USA's head coach along with his staff of Jim Boeheim, Mike D’Antoni and Nate McMillan.

Can't wait to find out not only which NBA ballers will be representing the USA as we reestablish our international basketball prominence, but for the action to start in Turkey as well.

The FIBA Championship winner is also playing for another prize. Winner gets the automatic qualifying spot for the 2012 London Olympics b-ball tournament.

2010 Australian Open-Williams Sisters In Third Round

The professional tennis tour kicks off with the first Grand Slam of the season, the Australian Open. The 2010 edition began play in Melbourne on January 18, and my favorite tennis playing sisters are still in it to win it.

The Williams sisters are on the same side of the Women's singles draw and would meet in the semifinals if they keep kicking butt and taking names.

While the rest of the tennis world is buzzing over the return of Belgians Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin, with some peeps hoping they start slowing down the Williams sisters Grand Slam tournaments juggernaut, defending Australian Open singles champ Serena and big sis Venus served notice that they are still women to be reckoned with.

Serena won her opening match of the tournament over Poland's Urszula Radwanska 6-2, 6-1 and only took an hour and 13 minutes to do it.

In her second round match versus Czech Petra Kvitova she took an hour and seven minutes to advance to the third round in a 6-2, 6-1 straight set victory.

Little Sis faces the woman who eliminated Big Sis from last year's Australian open tournament, Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro.

Speaking of Big Sis, Venus began her singles tournament play by quickly overpowering Czech Lucie Safarova in a straight set 6-2, 6-2 win.

Her second round match against Austrian Sybille Bammer was more of a struggle, but she prevailed 6-2,7-5 to advance to the third round against Aussie homegirl Casey Dellacqua.

The sisters are playing doubles in this 2010 Australian Open and are the defending Women's doubles champs. They won three of the four Grand Slam doubles titles during the 2009 season with only the French Open eluding them.

They opened defense of their Women's doubles title with a 6-1, 6-1 straight set victory over Australia's Sophie Ferguson and Jessica Moore. They face Ioana Olaru of Romania and Ukraine's Olga Savchuk in their second round doubles match.

The tournament concludes on January 31, and here's hoping my fave tennis playing sisters add a few more Grand Slam titles to their trophy cases this season.

Happy Birthday To 'The Greatest'

Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, time to say 'Happy Birthday' to Muhammad Ali.

Today is the birthday of 'The Greatest', who was born in Louisville, KY on this date in 1942. 1960 Olympic gold medalist, three time heavyweight boxing champ, humanitarian, just all around awesome human being.

Enjoy the video from the Ernie Terrell fight, in which Terrell dissed Ali by referring to his old name in a pre fight interview with Howard Cosell, then got his butt kicked in their Astrodome fight.

Ali chanted 'What's my name?' as he pounded Terrell.



Enjoy, and happy birthday to 'The Greatest'.

25th Anniversary Of The First NCAA Women's Slam Dunk

I talked about my Houston homegirl Brittney Griner becoming the ninth woman to dunk in NCAA women's competition a month ago.

It's time for Moni to play Final Jeopardy with you.

On December 21, 1984, this 6 foot 7 West Virginia University player became the first woman to dunk in an NCAA game against Morris Harvey University (now the University of Charleston) Name the player who accomplished this feat.

If you said, who is Georgeann Wells-Blackwell, you are correct.

Today is the 25th anniversary of Wells-Blackwell's groundbreaking dunk. What was even more impressive about it is that back in the day, she did so while using the men's regulation ball. She is the only women's player to do so in NCAA competition while using the men's ball.



ESPN was only a fledgling network just beginning to break out of its northeast regional turf and wasn't the dominant sports force it is now.

Wells-Blackwell's dunk was such a big deal back in 1984 that she appeared on network television, in an issue of Sports Illustrated, was honored at a luncheon in New York, had a display put up in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, another one in the Women’s College Basketball Hall of Fame and was given the honor of being inducted in the University of Houston’s Phi Slamma Jamma dunking fraternity.

It took ten years before another woman b-baller joined her in the elite basketball dunking sorority Alpha Slama Dunka.

But Georgeann Wells-Blackwell will forever be known as the first one to do so.

2010 World Cup Draw

The eyes of the world were turned toward Cape Town for the draw setting up the groups for the upcoming FIFA World Cup Tournament in South Africa this summer.

I was interested along with the die hard soccer fans here in the States to see where Team USA would end up.

The soccer gods were smiling on us this time. Team USA ended up in Group C. The host South Africans ended up in Group A.

Group A

South Africa

Mexico

Uruguay

France


Group B

Argentina

Nigeria

Korea Republic

Greece


Group C

England

USA

Algeria

Slovenia


Group D

Germany

Australia

Serbia

Ghana


Group E

Netherlands

Denmark

Japan

Cameroon


Group F

Italy

Paraguay

New Zealand

Slovakia


Group G

Brazil

North Korea

Cote d'Ivoire

Portugal


Group H

Spain

Switzerland

Honduras

Chile

Top two teams out of each group advance. The 'Group of Death' for this tournament looks to be Group G. Frankly, any group Brazil is involved in is a 'Group of Death'.

The Brits may be salivating because they consider us and everybody else in Group C pushovers, but may I remind y'all about the 1950 'Miracle On Grass'.

It was a World Cup game in Belo Horizonte, Brazil in which a ragtag USA amateur team beat a heavily favored English squad 1-0 in one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history. England ended up losing their next match to Spain by the same 1-0 score and failing to qualify for the next round.

England is our opening Group C match in the 2010 World Cup, and our guys are eager to atone for the poor showing in the 2006 World Cup.

Can another 'Miracle on Grass' happen? As former NFL coach Herman Edwards once said, "That's why you play the games.'

The US team we have now actually has far more talent than the 1950 one did and is actually ranked number 14 in the world. They won their CONCACAF Group and have qualified for six consecutive World Cup tournaments.

Translation, we won't be sneaking up on anybody, and any team that falls asleep on us does so at their peril.

The group play matches commence next June. Ought to be a fun few weeks.

Number 24 Coogs Beat Down Memphis

The Number 24 AP ranked University of Houston Cougars shook off their upset loss to Central Florida last week by beating down Memphis at the Rob 55-14.

It's only the second time since the 1991 season that my fave college football team has won nine games in a season, and they have a chance to hit ten wins next week when they play our crosstown rivals Rice.

Case Keenum made sure it was going to happen today. UH scored on eight of its first nine possessions as he went 29 for 39 for 405 yards and five touchdowns in the rout and broke David Klingler's school record for career touchdowns.

Keenum now has 94 TD's with only the game against our crosstown rival Rice remaining on their C-USA schedule

The Coogs also received some good news in addition to improving their season record to 5-2 in the C-USA West Division. Marshall knocked off the C-USA West Division leading SMU Mustangs 34-31 to drop them into a tie for the West Division lead with SMU.

The Cougars already have the tiebreaker over SMU thanks to the earlier 28-15 homecoming beatdown.

I'm not getting too happy yet. They have to take care of business next week against Rice before I can exhale and get happy about the prospects of my boys playing for the C-ISA title.

If they do that, they win the C-USA West Division Championship and they host the C-USA title game at the Rob.

IAAF-'No Discussion Of Caster Semenya's Case At The IAAF Council Meeting '

Well, well, well. We were expecting some serious drama and fireworks at this session of the International Association of Athletics Federations, the world governing body for what we call track and field in the States.

The IAAF Council is meeting in Monaco as we speak. When the Caster Semenya drama first exploded into the world's consciousness in the wake of her historic 800m victory at the World Championships in Berlin, the IAAF indicated they would wait until November and this Council Meeting to make a decision concerning the South African teen's international athletic status.

Peep this press release from the IAAF dated November 18, 2009

The IAAF, the South African Ministry of Sport and Recreation and Caster Semenya’s representatives have been and still are in discussions with a view to resolving the issues surrounding Caster Semenya’s participation in Athletics.

The IAAF will not comment upon the medical aspects of Caster Semenya’s case. The medical testing of the athlete is still to be completed.

There will be no discussion of Caster Semenya’s case at the forthcoming IAAF Council Meeting to be held in Monaco on 20-21 November 2009. No further comment will be made
on this subject until further notice.

The South African Sports Ministry in a statement posted on its website stated that the International Association of Athletics Federations has agreed to allow the 18-year-old Semenya to keep her prize money.

"Because Caster has been found to be innocent ... she will then retain her gold medal," the ministry said.

"Whatever scientific tests were conducted legally within the IAAF regulations will be treated as a confidential matter between patient and doctor," the sports ministry said. "As such there will be no public announcement of what the panel of scientists has found. We urge all South Africans and other people to respect this professional ethical and moral way of doing things."

White that's good news, it has yet to be confirmed by the IAAF. In addition, no definitive decision has yet been made about whether Semenya remains eligible to compete as a woman.

So stay turned, there will be another chapter it seems to the ongoing spots soap opera.

Semenya's Athletic Fate In Hands Of IAAF Council

Back on September 12, the IAAF released this press statement concerning the Caster Semenya case.

The IAAF has noted statements in recent media articles regarding the athlete Caster Semenya of South Africa.

We would like to emphasize that these should not be considered as official statements by the IAAF.

We can officially confirm that gender verification test results will be examined by a group of medical experts. NO decision on the case will be communicated until the IAAF has had the opportunity to complete this examination. We do not expect to make a final decision on this case before the next meeting of the IAAF Council which takes place in Monaco on November 20-21.

Please note that there will be no further comments from the IAAF on Caster Semenya until that time.

Well, it's that time.

The eyes of the world will be turned in Monaco's direction November 20-21 as the IAAF Council meets. One of the items on the agenda is determining Caster Semenya's competitive international athletic future.



Kind of ironic this meeting will be taking place at the same time trans people around the world will be observing Transgender Day of Remembrance ceremonies.

Here's hoping and praying I and the world will get to see this talented young runner continue her quest toward Olympic glory in 2012.

Coogs Climb To Number 13

It was a Halloween weekend full of treats for the University of Houston.

In addition to outlasting a tough Southern Miss team, they are tied with SMU for the C-USA West Division lead after losses by Tulsa and UTEP. The Coogs hold the tiebreaker over SMU thanks to their 38-15 win over the Mustangs.

The polls are out, and the 50-43 win helped the 7-1 Cougars climb to Number 13 in the AP poll and Number 15 in the USA Today and BCS rankings.

But you better believe they are kicking themselves over that meltdown loss to UTEP. They would probably be in the BCS championship chatter if they had handled their business in El Paso.

Oh, what might have been.

But they can take a giant step toward winning the C-USA West Title and the C-USA Championship game by handling their business against Tulsa on Saturday.

Serena Caps Year With WTA Championships Win

It's becoming a recurring theme lately for the Williams sisters. Little Sis beats Big Sis.

This time it was for the WTA Championship in Doha, Qatar.

Serena met her older sister for the second time in this tournament and won in straight sets 6-2, 7-6 (4) in the season-ending WTA Championship final.

"It feels great," said Serena, "I totally didn't expect to come here and win."

Both sisters were nursing injuries while getting to the final in different ways. Serena went unbeaten in the tournament and only dropped one set while doing so to Big Sis.

Despite losing two round robin matches and being extended to three sets in all of them, defending champ Venus still made it to the final of this tournament.

"It was the end of the season, so I have no complaints," Venus said when questioned about her fitness level. "You have to show up and play no matter what. So that had nothing to do with it."

It was Serena's fourth straight victory over Venus and pushed her all time record in their head yo head matchups to 13-10. It was also not only Serena's first win in a non-Grand Slam tournament this season, it was her first win in the WTA Championships since 2001.

"I haven't won a tournament that wasn't a Grand Slam in a while, so that was even more exciting," she said. "My losing streak in (other) tournaments in over."

That's bad news for the rest of the women's tennis playing world. But y'all have two months to rest up before the 2010 Australian Open starts Down Under.

And so do the Williams sisters.

Sister-Sister Duel In Doha

This time it's for the title.

The top eight women's tennis players in the world have been in Doha, Qatar this week playing in the WTA Championships.

The format of this tournament split the eight women into two groups, with everyone in the Maroon and White groups playing each other in a round robin format. Top two in each group met in the Saturday semis to determine who played in the championship match today.

When all was said and done, my favorite tennis playing sisters were the last ones standing and will face off for the WTA Championship.

The Williams sisters were placed in the same Maroon group and faced each other in round robin play Wednesday. Little Sis had to work to beat Big Sis, 5-7 6-4 7-6(4) and raise her all time record against Venus to 12-10.

In the semis Serena needed only 45 minutes in her semifinal as she took the first set from Caroline Wozniacki before she retired due to abdominal strain two games into the second set.

Venus on the other hand outlasted Jelena Jankovic 5-7 6-3 6-4 in her semifinal match which took 2 hours and 34 minutes to play.

So once again the Williams sisters are playing each other in the championship match of a tournament. What's also cool is that no matter what happens today, Serena will finish the year ranked Number one in the world.

So my prediction for today's match? Someone with the last name of Williams will win it.

Little Sis Will End Year Atop World Tennis Rankings

For the first time since 2002 the final world tennis rankings will reflect what the whole planet already knows:

Serena Williams is the best women's tennis player in the world.

This elite tournament in Doha, Qatar matches up the top eight players in the world. Little Sis entered this $4.5 million season ending WTA Championships event trailing Safina by 155 ratings points.

The players are divided into two groups, the Maroon and White ones, with the top two from each group advancing to the semifinals after playing a round robin schedule. In addition, each victory in this tournament is worth 230 points.

After Serena dispatched Svetlana Kuznetsova in her opening Maroon Group match 7-6, 7-5, Safina entered her White Group match against Jelena Jankovic trailing by 75 points. After stepping onto the court and earning 70 ranking points for doing so, Safina was forced to retire two games into the mach due to a back injury.

Unfortunately defending champ Big Sis lost her Maroon group match to Elena Dementieva 6-3, 6-7, 2-6. The win gives Dementieva a share of the Maroon Group lead with Little Sis.

Even if Serena doesn't win any more matches, she will finish the year ranked Number one. Then she and Big Sis will get a well deserved break until January 18-31, 2010.

What are those dates, you ask? The scheduled dates for the first Grand Slam event of the 2010 tennis season, the Australian Open.

Yo Renee, Canada's Women's Ice Hockey Is Going Down In 2010!

The Olympic flame lighting ceremony for the 2010 Vancouver Games will happen tomorrow while we're sleeping at 2 AM on this side of the Pond in Olympia, Greece.

The flame is lit outside of the ruins of the Temple of Hera using the rays of the sun focused on a metal reflector. It is part of a ritual in which includes a prayer and a hymn made by a woman representing the ancient role of the high priestess.

The ceremony also involves a young boy who cuts off an olive branch and gives it to the high priestess as a symbolical gesture.

The woman playing that role of the high priestess is Athens born Greek actress Maria Nafpliotou, who also presided over the flame lighting ceremony for the 2008 Beijing Games.

The Olympic flame is then taken in front of the statue of Pierre de Coubertin and handed off to the first of the torch runners. They will take the 2010 Olympic flame on a journey through Greece for several days before sending it overseas to arrive in Victoria, BC October 30 to begin the Canadian portion of the Olympic torch relay. It will travel through every province and territory of the host nation before it returns to BC Place Stadium on February 12 for the opening ceremony of the Games.

Who gets to light the Olympic cauldron will be kept a secret until that day. But the honor usually goes to a high profile athlete of the Olympic host nation.

What that means to this Olympics junkie and the rest of you casual sports fans is we are getting close to the start of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games that will take place in Vancouver, BC from February 12-28.

It's also triggered some good-natured trash talking between me and my Canadian homegirl.

She's been bragging (and rightfully so) about her two time (2002-2006) Olympic champion Canadian women's hockey team. The Canadian women along with the USA women have been the dominant teams in the sport while everyone else in the world has been trying to rise to the elite hockey skill levels of the Americans and Canadians.

Team Canada won eight straight International Hockey Federation women's world titles from 1990-2004 until Team USA broke that streak in 2005 by winning a 1-0 shootout. Canada reclaimed the IHF world title in 2007 by beating Team USA 5-1 in the final.

In addition to watching Team Canada pile up wins at their expense, Team USA chafed at being the bridesmaid to Team Canada's championship bride.

But when hockey was added to the winter Olympic women's sports program for the 1998 Nagano Games, Team USA flipped the script and upset the highly favored Canadians 7-4 in pool play. They then proved it wasn't a fluke by beating the then four time world champs again 3-1 in the gold medal match to skate back to the States with the first ever Olympic gold medal awarded in women's hockey.

And that only added fuel to an already hot sports rivalry.

Renee has not let me forget and rubs it in at regular intervals that the Canadian women avenged their 1998 Nagano loss by snagging their first Olympic gold medal on US soil.

They rolled into Salt Lake City and beat us 3-2 in the gold medal game.

In the 2006 Turin Games the USA women were cruising to a payback rematch until they were upset in the semifinals by Sweden. The USA women ended up with the bronze medal as they watched Team Canada skate off with another gold medal after defeating Sweden 4-1 in the Olympic final.

The Team USA women are determined to improve on that 2006 Olympic bronze medal finish, beat their Canadian rivals and return to women's Olympic ice hockey supremacy. Nothing would be sweeter for Team USA than to do so while avenging our 2002 Olympic home ice loss and doing unto Team Canada in 2010 what was done unto us in 2002.

Team Canada is well aware of the target on their backs by being the two time Olympic champs, one of the best teams in women's international hockey and having the added pressure of being the host nation.

They will go all out to defend their Olympic title, make the home folks proud and make it three straight Olympiads they've skated away with gold medals.

But they know it won't be easy. Team USA won the IHF Women's World Hockey Championships last year in Harbin, China by beating Canada 4-3. They defended their IHF title in Hameenlinna, Finland back in April by beating down Canada 4-1 in the final.

Team USA wants to be standing on the top step of the Olympic medal platform in Vancouver when the women's Olympic hockey tournament is over.

The other nations in this upcoming Olympic tournament are determined to prove that they can not only play with but beat the two best teams in the hockey world in Team Canada and Team USA.

They are in different groups, so unless either team falls victim to upsets, the highly anticipated matchup between Canada and the United States won't happen until either the semifinals or hopefully the gold medal match.

Canada will be competing in Group A with 2006 Olympic silver medalists Sweden, Slovakia and Switzerland. The 2006 Olympic bronze medalists and two time reigning world champs will be in Group B with Finland, Russia and China.

Go Team USA Women!

Top two teams in each group advance to the semifinals.

It's going to be fun to watch, and I'm looking forward to hopefully calling her up and yelling USA! USA! USA! in the phone when it's over.

I want to see my girls waving the flag, kissing their gold medals and singing The Star Spangled Banner while watch our flag rise a little higher than Canada's at General Motors Place.

So yeah Renee, it's on like Donkey Kong.

We're Going To South Africa!

At least the US mens soccer team is.

They traveled to San Pedro Sula and beat Honduras 3-2 last night in a critical qualification match from the North and Central America and Caribbean (CONCACAF) region to clinch a spot in next year's FIFA World Cup which will be held in South Africa.

Team USA had to work for it. After a scoreless first half, in the 47th minute the Hondurans jumped out to a 1-0 lead on the first of two goals by Julio Cesar De Leon. He scored again in the 78th minute to narrow the Catrachos deficit to 3-2.

Team USA erased the deficit by scoring 3 consecutive goals to take a 3-1 lead in the match. In the 55th minute Conor Casey scored the first of his two goals and added his second one in the 66th minute Team USA captain Landon Donovan added another in the 71st minute.

Honduras kept coming at them. They were 8-0 at home in qualifying and had been undefeated in 17 games at San Pedro Sula since June 2003.

They had a bicycle kick by Mauricio Sabillon in the 82nd minute that would have tied the match sail over the crossbar. Another golden opportunity in the 87th minute to tie the game on a Carlos Pavon penalty kick, but it sailed over the crossbar.

“We’re very proud,” U.S. coach Bob Bradley said. “We understand the responsibility we have every time we step on the field for our fans, for our country.”

This is the sixth straight time the USA Mens team has qualified for the World Cup, but unlike our women, have no championships to show for it. They are eager for the opportunity to atone for the disappointing 2006 World Cup showing in Germany and show the world that our men can play quality football.

Why There Were No WNBA Posts On TransGriot This Season

The 2009 WNBA Finals concluded Friday night with the Phoenix Mercury beating the Indiana Fever 94-86 in the decisive Game 5 to take their second WNBA championship in three years.

Congratulations Phoenix and bah humbug.

As you longtime TransGriot readers know I am a huge sports fan. I believe in supporting women's sports at all levels including the professional ranks. I also put my money where my big mouth is.

The WNBA for a decade was one of my passions. I was a Houston Comets season ticket holder from 1999-2001 and a enthusiastic fan of the team.

I was in a sold out Compaq Center to watch the 1997, 1999 and 2000 seasons end in championship glory for the hometown girls. I flew to LA and NY to watch Comet road games and talk trash to the Sparks and Liberty fans in the Forum and Madison Square Garden. After I moved to Da Ville I drove 1.5 hours to Indianapolis four times to watch the Comets play the Indiana Fever.

But I painfully watched from afar the piss poor way the WNBA leadership allowed my hometown team and the league's flagship franchise die last winter without giving local investors a chance to put an ownership group together to save it.

It angered me to the point where I couldn't even bring myself to watch a WNBA game on TV this summer, much less write about the league on this blog.

Loyal Comets fans got screwed in that deal. Allowing the Comets to fold was akin to the NBA leadership letting the Boston Celtics die. The Comets in conjunction with the Rockets have a display dedicated to their combined six years of NBA/WNBA titles from 1994-2000 in the Basketball Hall of Fame.

For the first time since the WNBA started in 1997, we didn't have the Comets around. For those of us in the Sea of Red whose Houston summers revolved around our beloved team, memories of the dynasty and the friendships we made with our fellow season ticket holders, it was a long, hot and joyless one.

Am I angry about the way it was handled? You betcha.

So when will I start watching, attending or much less commenting on WNBA games again? When a Houston franchise returns to the league.

And no, rooting for the San Antonio Silver Stars isn't going to cut it.

Equal Opportunity For Trans Athletes Meeting

On October 25-26 there will be a groundbreaking think tank taking place in Indianapolis, IN that will be co-sponsored by the National Center for Lesbian Rights and the Women’s Sports Foundation Initiative.

The think tank is entitled: It Takes a Team! Education Campaign for LGBT Issues in
Sport will gather to address equal opportunity for transgender student-athletes.

Participants will include top sports leaders from across the country, athletic directors, researchers, medical and legal experts on transgender issues, student-athletes and NCAA officials.

With increasing numbers of young people identifying as transgender in high school and college, sponsors said the event will provide an opportunity to discuss best practices and develop model policies for high school and collegiate athletic leaders to ensure the full inclusion of transgender student-athletes.

And it's about time they did so.

Hmm, that's right up I-65 from me. I may have to drive up for that one.

The Host City For The 2016 Olympic Games Is...

Rio de Janeiro!

They're probably still depressed in Daley Plaza, Rush Street, Grant Park, the Navy Pier and elsewhere in Chicagoland after today's IOC meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark awarded the Games of the XXXI Olympiad to Rio de Janiero.

Chicago shockingly was knocked out in the first round of voting despite the best efforts of the FLOTUS, POTUS and Oprah along with many other peeps in the US delegation.

Some Chicagoans have compared the feeling to their emotions after the Cubs were knocked out of the NLCS by the Florida Marlins a few years ago.

Gee thanks Republican party, Fox News and all the Olympic haters. Your mismanagement of this country for the last eight years and stirring up anti-American sentiment, your over the top racist hatred of President Obama and sniping may have possibly cost Chicago and this country the Games.

Hope you're happy.

But one of the things Jacques Rogge stated when he became IOC president in 2001 is that he wanted to have an Olympic Games on the South American and African continents before his term ended.

While I'm disappointed the Olympics won't be returning to the United States and staged in Chicago, the silver lining is that an Olympics will be held on the South American continent for the first time.

The dates for the Rio Games will be August 5-August 21, with the Paralympic Games taking place September 7-September 18.

When the London Games have their closing ceremony, it will be the mayor of Rio accepting the Olympic flag from his London counterpart in 2012.

I feel the pain of Chicago and all the hard work of an army of dedicated people who put their hearts and souls into landing the Games for this city and our country.

So when the final leg of the Olympic torch relay happens, it will be traveling through the streets of Rio in 2016. Wonder who will be the person lighting the cauldron in Rio's Olympic Stadium?

But it does open the door for Houston to try again to land the Olympics in 2020.

And there's one serious party going on right now in Rio de Janeiro.