2013 Williams Watch-WTF? Serena's Out at Wimbledon

For the first time since 2007, the list of Wimbledon women's champions will have someone other than a Williams sister on it.

After winning her 600th career match and tying her sister Venus' mark at 34 straight wins for the longest consecutive match win streak of her career with her 6-2, 6-0 second round straight set 61 minute demotion of Kimiko Date-Krumm of Japan, number one seeded Little Sis faced hard serving German Sabine Lisicki in the third round in a Wimbledon tournament that has seen more than a few top seeds on the men's and women's side go down to defeat.

Lisicki was considered the toughest test left for Williams because her game is well suited for the grass courts of the All England Club and she's had success here.  If she got past Lisicki, Little Sis would be taking a major step forward toward getting her sixth 'Williams'-don title and career 17th major.

Shockingly, Serena joined the upset victims on the All England Club sidelines as she went down to a 2-6, 6-1, 4-6 defeat in which she was up 3-0 in the third set but couldn't close out a hard charging Lisicki as she stepped up her game while Serena's wasn't at its usual dominating best.   It's only the fourth time Lisicki has beaten her, but what a time to get that win.

It is Serena's first loss in a Grand Slam tournament since last year's first round upset last year at Roland Garros and y'all know what happened after that.  She went on a tear that included the 2012 Wimbledon singles and doubles crowns, the 2012 London Olympic singles and doubles crowns, the 2012 US Open singles title and the 2012 ATP championship one.

So be afraid women's tennis world, very afraid.  The US Open is coming up in September and there will be a pissed off and highly motivated Serena Williams waiting to start another winning streak.

So y'all Serena haters have fun, laugh it up, yell and write the racist slurs and enjoy your strawberries and cream with the extra dollop of bigotry on the sides.   Sloane Stephens is still alive and in the quarterfinals at 'Wimblegeddon' as she called it, so I'll be rooting for her to win it. 

2013 Williams Watch-'Williams'-don Starts Today

Break out the strawberries and cream, The Championships or as I call them,'Williams'-don start today and run through July 7.   

Let me get the bad news out of the way now.   Venus withdrew because of recurring bask spasms, so that means that not only will Big Sis not be there for the first time since 1996, they won't be able to defend their 2012 doubles title.  

That leaves Serena to uphold Williams family honor and their tradition of beating down all comers in the women's tennis world at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.  

Where the French Open and its clay courts have been a house of horrors for them, Wimbledon and its grass courts have been the mirror opposite. The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club has been the  Williams sisters personal tennis playground to the point that 10 of the last 13 Wimbledon singles crowns have been won by either Venus or Serena in addition to five doubles titles and the single and doubles gold medals at the 2012 London Olympics.

Serena comes into this tournament as the defending singles champion, the number one ranked player in the world, the number one seed and fresh off a dominating performance across the channel in Paris.

She starts her quest for her 17th career single titles and sixth Wimbledon title with a first round match against Mandy Minella of Luxembourg.

Considering the way she's been playing lately, I wouldn't bet against Serena holding up another Venus (Williams) Rosewater Dish at the conclusion of this tennis fortnight.
   

2013 Williams Watch-Serena's In The French Open Finals!

After getting her stiffest challenge of her 2013 Paris business trip to Roland Garros in a three set quarterfinal scare from Svetlana Kuznetsova, Serena Williams moved on to her first French Open semifinal in a decade against the fifth seed, Italy's Sara Errani.

Errani was last year's French Open women's tourney runner up, but it was no contest for Little Sis as she took only 46 dominating minutes to punch her ticket to her first French Open final since she won it all in 2002.

Serena was on her A++ game today as she took only 21 minutes to win the first set and won the first 9 games before Errani finally broke through on her serve to win her lone game in this 6-0, 6-1 rout on Court Phillipe Chatrier.  

Williams bumps her current match win streak to a career best 30 straight matches and a 22-0 record this season on clay and faces in the final defending 2012 French Open champ Maria Sharapova, who survived a three set grunt fest against Victoria Azarenka.  

Sharapova has a 2-13 record against Serena, but one of the wins came in the 2004 Wimbledon final and she lost to Serena in straight sets recently on clay at the 2013 Madrid Open final 6-1, 6-4.

So will Serena be holding the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen Saturday for the first time since 2002?   I wouldn't bet against her the way she's playing right now.   

.

2013 Williams Watch-Serena's Headed To The Semis!

"She's the best in the world. She has been playing unbelievable tennis. But I believe that I have game and my good days as well. Let's cross fingers I will have a good day."
--Svetlana Kuznetsova

For much of the match Svetlana Kuznetsova was having a good day on Court Suzanne Lenglen against Serena J. Williams.

After getting blitzed in 28 minutes in the first set by Little Sis, Kuznetsova took an injury time out, regrouped and rallied to take the second set as Serena's play came down a level from her fast start.  

Kuznetsova had Serena down 0-2 in the third set and for a moment visions of another quarterfinal round loss (2004, 2007, 2009 to Kuznetsova and 2010) at Roland Garros were on the horizon for Serena Williams.   

But Little Sis simply refused to go out like that again and stepped up her game.  In that critical third game of the set she fought off three Kuznetsova break point chances, held serve and then kicked her game to another level to win 6-1, 3-6,6-3 punch her ticket to the semifinals for the first time since 2003.

She'll face number 5 seed and last year's French Open runner up Sara Errani of Italy for a chance to play in her first French Open final since 2002. 

2013 Williams Watch-On To The Quarters!

Serena Williams is still in the hunt for her 16th Grand slam title after taking only 70 minutes to breeze past 15th seeded Roberta Vinci of Italy 6-1, 6-3.   It was her 28th consecutive match win and puts her in the quarterfinals of the French Open for the first time since 2010.

She's an unbeaten 20-0 on clay this year, but now faces the woman that knocked her out of the 2009 French Open and went on to win the title that year in Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova. 

The two time Grand Slam champion Kuznetsova knocked off 8th seeded Angelique Kerber of Germany in three sets to punch her ticket to the quarters

Since losing in the French Open first round last year, Little Sis is 71-3 and has won the Wimbledon singles and doubles titles, the Olympics singles and doubles titles, the US Open singles title and the WTP Championship.

Should she get past Kuznetsova, she would make it to the semis at Roland Garros for the first time since 2003 and the way she's playing right now I wouldn't bet against her doing it.

2013 Williams Watch-Serena To Fourth Round

Serena Williams' march to her first French Open women's championship since 2002 continued as she took on Sorana Cirstea of Romania in her third round match on Court Suzanne Lenglen.

Little Sis took 61 minutes to send the 26th seeded Cirstea to a 6-0, 6-2 straight set defeat with the first set taking the world's number one ranked player only 23 minutes to complete.

She has only dropped six games total in her three matches so far at Roland Garros, is on a career best 27 match (and counting) win streak and awaits the winner of the Roberta Vinci-Petra Cetkovska match which was in its third set as I compiled this post.

Meanwhile, the person who gave Serena her last loss in a Grand Slam singles tournament is lurking at the other end of the women's singles tournament bracket. 

17th seeded Sloane Stephens has yet to play her third round match with Marina Eracovik of New Zealand and is on a potential fourth round collision with defending French Open champ Maria Sharapova assuming she survives her match with China's Jie Zheng.

And you know after Stephens flapped her gums and dissed Serena  earlier this month, many of us in tennis world would love to see a rematch between the two in the French Open finals.  

But there's still a lot of tennis that needs to be played before that can happen and Sloane has a tougher draw with people like Victoria Azarenka, Samantha Stosur, Petra Kvitova and Sharapova still in it.  
  
The first weekend in Paris is shaping up to be a very interesting one for us tennis junkies. 

TransGriot: Update:  Serena will face Roberta Vinci in the fourth round. 

2013 Williams Watch-Next!

My fave tennis playing siblings are in Paris for the 2013 French Open, and world number one and tournament number one seed Serena Williams continues to handle her tennis business at Stade Roland Garros.

The latest person dispatched to the sidelines of this women's tournament by Serena was 19 year old French homegirl Caroline Garcia.   Andy Murray may think she's a future number one but she didn't show it against the current world number one player.

Little Sis took only 62 minutes to made quick 6-1, 6-2 work out of her and get ready for her third round match against Sorana Cirstea of Romania 

And yep, in the lower half of the women's bracket 17 seeded Sloane Stephens is making noise.
 
In the doubles competition they pulled out.  No explanation yet as to why but speculation is because Venus did report pain in her lower back after the three set first round loss to Urszula Radwanska.  They have won 13 Grand Slam doubles titles as a duo, so we'll see if they get together to defend their 'Williams-don' doubles title.

If Little Sis handles her business as expected against the 26th seeded Cirstea she'll face in the fourth round the winner of the Petra Cetkovska-Roberta Vinci match.  

Brittney's Milestone WNBA Debut

In her WNBA debut game in the US Airways Center versus fellow rookie Elena Delle Donne and the Chicago Sky my Houston homegirl Brittney Griner did something that no other WNBA player in history has ever done. 

She dunked twice in a WNBA regular season game.  

 Lisa Leslie was the first to do so, Candace Parker the first to do it twice in her WNBA career, and there have been five players total prior to tonight to execute dunks in the WNBA's 16 seasons.

Brittney is the first to do it twice in a game.   The first one came with 7:52 left in the game and the second thunderous one came with 2:18 left in the game after she stole an errant pass and went to the rim two handed.




Despite the dunks and 17 points, 8 rebounds and four blocked shots in 27 minutes, the key stat for Griner was the third foul she picked up with 2:30 left in the first quarter.    It forced her to be a spectator for the rest of the first half as the Chicago Sky ran up a 24 point lead by halftime enroute to a 102-80 win.

Elena Delle Donne played a major role in building that big Sky halftime lead as the Mercury elected to guard her one on one.

The 6'5" Delle Donne, who routinely got triple teamed in college must have felt as though she received an early Christmas present and made the Mercury pay for their lack of basketball vision. 

Delle Donne ended her night with the sixth best debut by a WNBA rookie player with 22 points, eight rebounds, four blocked shots, was 2-2 from 3 point land and dished out two assists in a team-high 34 minutes.

But my Houston homegirl chalked this game up to being a learning experience and made a little WNBA history in the process despite the loss.

And yeah, the Team USA women are going to be fun to watch at the FIBA World Championships next year. 

2013 Williams Watch-Good News Bad News At Roland Garros

The 2013 edition of the French Open started yesterday in Paris and will run through June 9. 

Unlike that Grand Slam tournament on the other side of the English Channel that my fave tennis playing siblings have dominated to the point I call it 'Williams-don', Stade Roland Garros and its clay courts have been a frustrating career long house of horrors for the Williams Sisters.

They have won the French Open doubles title twice in 1999 and 2010, but the only time Big and Little Sis have made it to the French Open singles final was in 2002 when Serena beat Venus in straight sets 7-5, 6-3 for her only French Open singles title to date.

2002 is also the last time that either Williams sister has made it to the finals of the French open women's singles.  Venus has never won a French Open singles title and that streak will sadly continue. 

Stade Roland Garros is also the site of the only first round loss ever for Serena Williams in a Grand Slam tournament when she shockingly lost last year to 111th world ranked qualifier Virginie Razzano of France 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3. 

Number one world ranked and number one seeded Little Sis however sent a message to the 2013 French Open field that she's in it to win it this year by blitzing in 51 minutes her first round opponent Anna Tatishvili of Georgia, 6-0, 6-1.

She faces France's Caroline Garcia in the second round and if you think she isn't pissed about her first round loss here last year or what transpired in Australia back in January, y'all don't know Serena Jameka Williams very well do you?

Unfortunately as I mentioned earlier, Big Sis is done in this 2013 singles tournament.   Venus took 3 hours and 19 minutes to go down fighting to Urszula Radwanska, the baby sis of 4th seeded Agnieszka Radwanska.7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (4-7), 6-4.   Ironically, Agnieszka Radwanska eliminated her from last year's French Open singles tourney in the second round.

But her competitive stay in Paris isn't over because she and Little Sis are playing doubles at Roland Garros.  They are seeded 12th in this French Open doubles competition and are seeking their first doubles title since 2010.

They will start the quest for their third French Open doubles crown with their opening round match with the doubles duo of Alla Kudryavtseva of Russia and Anastasia Rodionova of Australia.  

Here's hoping that on June 9 I'm writing some good news about my fave tennis playing siblings taking home the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen and the Coupe Simone Mathieu. 

FYI in case you're wondering, those are the names of the championship trophies for the French Open women's singles and women's doubles tournaments.

Fallon Fox Wins Semifinal Bout Vs. Allanna Jones!

If Allanna Jones thought she was getting into Fallon Fox's head and playing to the crowd by entering the ring in Miami to Aerosmith's tired song 'Dude Looks Like A Lady' that is the transphobe's national anthem, she failed.   

It was Fox's first fight since coming out as trans and it took her a little more time in this bout to get the win because Jones fought a defensive fight. 

Jones kept trying to move and back away from her to avoid Fox's punches and wait for opportunities to counterattack.   But the Queen of Swords handled her business and is still an undefeated 3-0 after getting a submission win via a shin choke hold at 3:36 of the third round on now 2-2 Allanna Jones.

Of course, haters gonna hate.   There were boos in the BankUnited Center when the decision was announced but Fox still walked out of the arena victorious and having a shot at a $20,000 grand prize.  





Fox goes on to the final of the CFA11 tournament to take on Ashlee Evans-Smith who received a bye into the final when her opponent Anna Barone withdrew prior to the weigh in.

Date hasn't been set yet for that CFA11 tournament championship bout, but one thing that will probably be a given before it happens is that the haters will now switch to rooting for Ashlee Evans-Smith

Congrats Fallon!   Keep on kicking butt, taking names and winning despite the haters.     

Good Luck Fallon!

Fallon Fox puts her undefeated 2-0 record on the line when she steps into the Octagon later tonight for a nationally televised bout from Miami with 2-1 Allanna Jones on AXS-TV.

To her and Jones, it's just another ordinary bout in the 145 pound category.  The winner will advance to the final of the Championship Fighting Alliance 11 tournament and have a shot at earning a $20,000 grand prize.  But to the trans community, it's our first opportunity to support a girl like us in MMA world since she came out in March and by default became an ambassador for trans athletes.

So nope, it's not just an ordinary bout no matter how much both competitors wish to downplay it.   People are taking sides and have been ever since she came out.   There are folks in the trans community who want the Queen of Swords to win just as badly as the transphobic haters are rooting for Jones to do the same.

Personally, I have a major problem with the transphobic ignorance and vitriolic hatred that has been aimed at her.  But none of us are going to be in the cage slugging it out later tonight.  Fox and Jones are. 

Good luck tonight, Fallon!
  

Fallon's Historic Friday MMA Fight

Fallon Fox will return to mixed martial arts action on Friday and make a little MMA history in the process when she does so. 

When the undefeated (2-0) Fox steps into the Octagon at the BankUnited Center on the University of Miami campus against Allana Jones she will be participating in the first nationally televised bout (AXS-TV) of the Championship Fighting Alliance Series.

It's the first bout she's participated in since the revelation in March the undefeated Fox is a girl like us and the transphobically ignorant reactions to the news it triggered in MMA world that included UFC women's champ Ronda Rousey.

CFA president Jorge de la Noval featured the 37 year old Fox on a card in March before finding out she was trans when he got a call from the commission.  He stands by his decision to feature her on Friday night’s card and supports her 100 percent.

“I’ve been discriminated many times because I’m Hispanic,” de la Noval said to the Miami Herald. “People have been discriminated through the years because of color, sexual preference, and that’s something I’m completely against. As long as she’s got her license, and doctors approved her to fight as a female, I was fine with it. I’ve gotten a lot of calls, mostly negative, but I stick with my decision no matter what the outcome is.

I’m just glad she’s fighting for the CFA this Friday.”

So are we in the trans community, Jorge.

Best of luck Fallon on Friday night.  Your best revenge for all the drama you've been through since March is to just keep winning.   You have an ever growing legion of fans inside and outside the trans community that wish you nothing but success.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/05/21/3409426/transgender-mma-fighter-fallon.html#storylink=cpy

Hey Renee! 2013 Women's World Ice Hockey Championship Back On US Soil!

Told you Renee that the IIHF Women's World ice hockey title y'all won last year in Burlington, VT was only on loan.

Y'all spoiled our chance to fourpeat last year after winning three straight IIHF titles but it took y'all overtime to do it.   We only needed regulation time to bring it back to our side of the border.

Team USA stormed into the SBP Arena in Ottawa and took it back with a 3-2 win in the title game in front of 13,776 witnesses to claim their fourth championship in five years.

It was the usual hard fought game with Team USA outshooting Canada in this one 30-16.  It came down to the reigning NCAA women's player of the year Amanda Kessel firing the championship clinching goal, a wrist shot from the right wing just 3:09 into the final period.   

Team USA will get to hold the IIHF world title until the next tournament is conducted in Sweden in 2015.   The Olympics are happening in Sochi in February 2014 and the International Ice Hockey federation doesn't conduct the world championship tournament in Olympic years.

Speaking of the Olympics, the nations that have qualified for the women's Olympic hockey tournament are the 2010 defending Olympic gold medalists Canada, Japan, 2010 bronze medalists Finland, Switzerland, Sweden, the host nation Russia, Germany and the 2010 silver medalists United States.

It was so much fun winning that title in your nation's capital and on your soil.   It may be your game, but the women's world championship trophy is back on US soil again.   The Olympic gold medal is next.

USA! USA! USA!

Brittney's The One!

The number one overall pick in the 2013 WNBA Draft that is!

Wasn't a big surprise, but my Houston homegirl was snapped up by the Phoenix Mercury with the opening pick of this year's draft.   Another Houston homegirl in Texas A&M's Kelsey Bone also went in the first round at number five to the New York Liberty. 

It was a draft class that contained Skylar Diggins (Tulsa Shock)  Elena Delle Donne (Chicago Sky) and A'dia Mathes (LA Sparks) (boo, hiss still can't stand the Sparks) and should be fun to watch when the season starts May 24. 

Assuming I get over my still smoldering pissivity over how my beloved Comets were screwed in 2008. 

Hey WNBA President Laurel Richie, when the league decides to expand again, how about putting a franchise back in H-town?

But congrats Brittney and best of luck in your WNBA career.    Hopefully I'll get to see you wearing the Team USA jersey next year during the FIBA World Championship for Women in Turkey. 

Transphobic Bigot Eruption Earns UFC Fighter A Suspension

UFC heavyweight boxer Matt Mitrione ended a two match losing streak by knocking out in 19 seconds Philip De Fries in their bout in Sweden Saturday night to push his record to 6-2.

He went on the MMA Today show and got knocked out yesterday by his own big mouth. 

Mitrione has been suspended and is under investigation for launching into a vicious transphobic tirade near the end of his interview on MMA Today with Ariel Helwani aimed at Fallon Fox.. 

"She's not a he. He's a he. He's chromosomally a man. He had a gender change, not a sex change. He's still a man. He was a man for thirty-one years. Thirty-one years! That's a couple years younger than I am. He's a man. Six years of taking performance de-hancing drugs, you think is going to change all that? That's ridiculous…. That is a lying, sick, sociopathic, disgusting freak."

Matt, I don't see MD behind you name, so how the hell would you know what Fallon Fox's chromosomes are unless you ran the tests?   And BTW, hormone replacement therapy sure does work those kind of wonders on our bodies in less time than you think.  The science and medical evidence back that up and are on Fox's side.  

But Mitrione kept going with the tirade that would have made the womyn at certain TERF hate websites proud.

"It's an embarrassment to us as fighters, as a sport, and we all should protest that," he said in his interview. "The woman that's fighting him, props to you. I hope you beat his ass, and I hope he gets blackballed and never fights again because that's disgusting and I'm appalled by that." 

The UFC is appalled and embarrassed by your nekulturny behavior and is about to call your azz on it. 

Back in January the UFC announced a code of conduct for its fighters under contract to it which they indicated in a statement they released  that Mitrione was in significant breach of

"The UFC was appalled by the transphobic comments made by heavyweight Matt Mitrione today in an interview on 'The MMA Hour,'" the statement read.  The organization finds Mr. Mitrione's comments offensive and wholly unacceptable and – as a direct result of this significant breach of the UFC's code of conduct – Mr. Mitrione's UFC contract has been suspended and the incident is being investigated. The UFC is a friend and ally of the (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) community, and expects and requires all 450 of its athletes to treat others with dignity and respect."

The MMA fans may not like it and are whining about 'free speech' in the comment threads along with their transphobic science-deficient commentary.   But free speech comes with consequences, especially if you have a UFC contract with a Code of Conduct in it and you let your transphobic bigotry run wild during a televised interview. 

While you're on suspension Matt, may I suggest you actually do some reading (if you're capable of doing that) on how HRT works and what the International Olympic Committee and other international sporting organizations who allow trans people to compete have to say about it.

Fallon's Florida Boxing License Is Valid!

 

Fallon 1-Haters 0  

Glad to hear the the Florida Boxing Commission didn't wait until Friday to resole the matter either.  

Still goes back to what I said in the earlier post.   If Fallon Fox were 0-5, these cis women wouldn't be tripping.  But since Fallon is a girl like us is undefeated, rkicking azz and taking names, everybody wants to hate on her.  

Good luck in your next bout, Fallon.



.  

MMA World Still Hatin' On Fallon Fox

Still keeping an eye on the drama surrounding trans MMA fighter Fallon Fox. 

The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, which oversees the Florida Boxing Commission, is expected to conclude an investigation into Fox's license on April 5.  

In the meantime life goes on for Fox since her license is not frozen or suspended and she has an upcoming May 24 bout with Allana Jones that could possibly be televised..

In the wake of Miesha Tate going on the record as saying she would refuse to fight Fox, she made an appearance on the Inside MMA show and asserted that any fighter who refused to face her was doing so out of fear. 

Fox has a valid point.  They are refusing to fight her out of fear and stereotypes about trans feminine athletes, but the comment incensed Peggy Morgan and her trainer.  They released a transphobic video declaring that she wouldn't fight Fox as trainer John Fain disrespected her. 

Morgan appears to be backing away from some of the inflammatory transphobic statements her trainer John Fain made, but they still are ignorant and skating close to the edge of transphobia. 

I am not an expert in gender reassignment, but I have a hard time believing that there is no correlation between Fallon’s success in the cage and the fact that she lived as a man for thirty-one years."

And that's the key point Peggy. Neither you or the transphobes commenting on the Net are experts on trans issues or trans athletes, much less have experienced living your lives as a trans woman.

Fox, meanwhile, blasted Morgan and Fain's video in a posting on her official Facebook page, saying they were mostly worried about losing the $20,000 offered to the tourney's winner.

"I wonder if I should argue that her long bone structure is an unfair advantage to all the female competitors in the tournament? Nah, I won't do that," Fox said in response to the transphobic video. "Because I realize that her advantage is something that I must overcome. It is a challenge and I welcome it!"

Medical evidence is on Fallon Fox's side.  Whatever advantage Fox had experiencing muscle and body development growing up as male is gone after her first year on hormone replacement therapy. That muscle development becomes FEMININE in character and strength level under the continued influence of estrogen.

I know that firsthand because I discovered when I played tennis post transition I can't hit my serve as hard as I used to. 

To assume that Fox has a natural advantage because she was born male is sexist and a disrespectful commentary concerning the abilities and talents of cis female athletes. Frankly, if Fallon Fox were 0-5 not one of you cis women or you transphobes would have anything to say about the issue of her being in MMA.

But since she's kicking butt and excelling in the sport it's let's try to find whatever excuse we can use to kick her out of MMA or frustrate her to the point that maybe she'll quit and we won't have to deal with the t----y kicking our azzes anymore.

But did anyone in their rush to hate on Fallon Fox think about the possibility that hey, maybe Fallon Fox IS  that good and we have to step up our athletic game to compete with her?

Barack-etology 2013

Well, you've seen my NCAA brackets for the 2013 men's and women's tournaments which have already taken a hit on the men's side with New Mexico being upset by Harvard (score one for Eli Blake) and Georgetown's shocking loss.  

But my Final Four teams on my men's and women's brackets are still alive for now.

Here's what President Obama had to say about the 2013 NCAA men's and women's tournaments.

The NCAA women's tournament

 

The NCAA men's tournament

Moni's 2013 NCAA Women's B-Ball Bracket

In honor of Women's History Month, in 2008 I started doing an NCAA women's tournament bracket similar to what I was doing for the men. 

My readers who are women's basketball fans like me loved the idea so much I've continued what has become an anticipated TransGriot tradition in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012.

Unlike the menz, The Lone Star State is well represented in this edition of the NCAA women's tournament, and one of the teams involved just happens to be the defending champs.  Baylor compiled an unprecedented  40-0 unbeaten record enroute to knocking off Skylar Diggins led Notre Dame for the 2012 NCAA women's basketball title and keep that trophy in Texas.   The other Lone Star State schools besides 32-1 Baylor participating in this 64 team tourney are SEC tournament champ Texas A&M, SWAC tourney champ Prairie View A&M and Texas Tech. 

Prairie View has the misfortune of once again facing the overall number one seeded Lady Bears and Brittney Griner in the opening round of the tournament.

Speaking of the Lady Bears, can they send my Houston homegirl Brittney Griner out in her senior year a winner as a repeat NCAA champion?  Will she dunk in the title game or sometime during the tournament? 

Will Chiney Ogwumike and her Stanford teammates spoil the title coronation and hang another loss on the Lady Bears?  

Will Skylar Diggins and Notre Dame in her senior year finally get the NCAA title she and the Fighting Irish have come so close to winning twice? 

Does UConn have a long NCAA title run in them?  Or will some new contender to the women's basketball throne spring some upsets that send them all the way to New Orleans?

The road to the 2013 NCAA Women's Final Four in New Orleans starts on March 23 with the title game happening April 7-9 

Oklahoma City Region

Ist Round
Baylor, Florida State, Louisville, Purdue, Oklahoma, UCLA, Syracuse, Tennessee

 Sweet 16
Baylor, Louisville, Oklahoma, Tennessee

Elite Eight
Baylor, Tennessee

Oklahoma City Region Champion 
Baylor

Spokane Region

1st Round
Stanford, Villanova, Iowa State, Georgia, LSU, Penn State, Texas Tech, California 

Sweet 16
Stanford, Iowa State, LSU, California

Elite Eight
Stanford, LSU

Spokane Region Champion
Stanford


Norfolk Region

1st Round
Notre Dame, Miami, Colorado, South Carolina, Nebraska, Texas A&M , Oklahoma State, Duke

Sweet 16
Notre Dame, South Carolina, Texas A&M, Duke

Elite Eight
Notre Dame, Texas A&M

Norfolk Region Champion
Notre Dame

Bridgeport Region

1st Round
Connecticut, Vanderbilt, Michigan St., Maryland, Delaware, North Carolina, Dayton, Kentucky  

Sweet 16
Connecticut, Maryland, North Carolina, Kentucky

Elite Eight
Connecticut, Kentucky

Bridgeport Region Champion
Connecticut

Final Four Teams
Baylor, Stanford, Notre Dame,Connecticut

Championship Game
Baylor, Notre Dame

2013 NCAA Champion
Baylor


     

Fallon Fox Excels-People Hate

One of the ongoing arguments that has occurred ever since Renee Richards sued the USTA and in 1977 won the right to play in the US Open and on the women's professional tennis tour is carping about the 'unfair advantage' trans women have over their cis female counterparts in sporting events.

Trans teen Jazz was barred for two years from playing in her youth soccer league because of those same fears. She and her parents had to appeal the decision of the Florida Youth Soccer Association through various administrative levels until the US Soccer Federation board of directors not only unanimously agreed to let her play as a girl, they got busy devising policies to cover future trans soccer athletes.   

Canadian downhill mountain biker Michelle Dumaresq went through the same drama in the 2K's when she started winning races and the cis women bikers who once encouraged her to compete in their ranks started hatin'.  

Now comes the latest gender sporting kerfluffle involving mixed martial arts fighter Fallon Fox.  She's been kicking butt and taking names in the MMA ranks with a 5-0 record.  In her last bout she knocked out her opponent Erica Newsome 39 seconds into the first round.

But after revealing in a Sports Illustrated interview she's trans, there is now drama concerning her fighting license.

.

"The medical community stands behind me in that in there's no unfair competitive advantage, like my competition have said," Fox said. "I started training in 2008, which is about two years after my gender reassignment surgery. My first MMA match was about a year and a half ago."

So what's the fuss?  There is a perception that a transfeminine athlete has an advantage when she competes against cis feminine athletes because her teen body developmental years were influenced by testosterone.  It's also marked by a flawed assumption that all trans feminine athletes are tall and have exceptional sports skills.

It's flawed because trans women come in all shapes, sizes and sporting ability levels.  That specious argument is not borne out by scientific evidence, research or the results on the playing fields either.

Renee Richards while a decent player and excellent coach, had the same number of career Grand Slam tournament wins as Anna Kournikova did during her career (zero).

Mianne Bagger so far isn't dominating the women's professional ranks as was hysterically feared when she was allowed to play after the LPGA scrapped its 'female at birth' rule.

But Fallon Fox is correct in one regard.  The international athletic and world community needs to educate itself about transgender athletes.  It also needs to create competition rules based on scientific evidence and not emotion that allow trans athletes to get in the game and compete.