Fair Proxy Web

Sharapova slams WTA over photo shoot threat

(CNN) — World No. 3 Maria Sharapova has blasted the ruling body of women’s tennis over its demands for top players ahead of this month’s Italian Open in Rome.

The Australian Open champion is furious after being threatened with a $300,000 fine if she does not participate in a publicity event before the Tier 1 tournament.

I want all my fans to know that the WTA Tour is forcing me and several of the other top players to do a four-hour commercial shoot for WTA Tour marketing materials, Sharapova told her Web site.

They want me to do this shoot on Sunday, Monday or Tuesday of the Rome tournament after flying 12 hours from Los Angeles.

I have set my own personal rules when it comes to doing shoots and I never do shoots before tournaments because they are mentally draining and I want to just focus on my tennis.

Now the WTA is telling me if I don’t do this shoot they will fine me over $300,000. As you can see the WTA Tour loves to fine players.

To be honest, I would love to do this and help promote the tour as much as possible, but to force me to do this shoot the day before a Tier 1 tournament is just not right.

The 21-year-old will be returning to action in the event starting May 12 after skipping Russia’s Fed Cup semifinal against the United States last weekend.

She was beaten by Serena Williams in the quarterfinals of the Family Circle Cup in Charleston in her last outing two weeks ago.

Sharapova also made a statement explaining her absence from the German Open in Berlin starting on May 5.

The WTA Tour makes many players enter tournaments that they know the players will not be playing, she told her Web site. I informed the WTA several months ago that if I played Charleston, I would have to pull out of Berlin.

Now they are forcing me to give an injury for the reason why I am pulling out or they will give me an additional fine on top of the $125,000 fine already given me. I am a very giving person but I refuse to give any more of my money to the WTA Tour.

So I want everyone to know that apart from getting sick the past few days, I am healthy and I am looking forward to playing Rome.

Meanwhile, top seed Vera Zvonareva has reached the final of the Czech Open in Prague, beating Slovenian fourth seed Katarina Srebotnik 6-2 6-4 on Saturday.

The Russian will next play either third seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus or seventh-seeded Czech Klara Zakopalova as she seeks to clinch her first title this season on Sunday.

In Morocco, top seed Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain will face Greta Arn of Hungary in Saturday’s semifinals of the Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem in Fez.

Garrigues thrashed Olga Savchuk of Ukraine 6-1 6-1 on Friday while Arn disposed of Petra Cetkovska of the Czech Republic 6-1 6-2.

Second seed Gisela Dulko of Argentina will play French fourth seed Aravane Rezai in the other semifinal.

Dulko beat Romanian seventh seed Sorana Cirstea 6-0 6-3, while Rezai eliminated Russian sixth seed Alisa Kleybanova 5-7 7-5 7-5.
found here.

Dick dale

Today on Boing Boing Gadgets

today on boingboing gadgets, we reviewed a 3g usb modem that works great on macs and high-end canine gear; listened to the harmonium; drank a strictly-conforming european pint; watched belkin try to bring toy to the world of mouse pads; built an ornithopter and a difference engine; guzzled yoghurt with a exclusively-shaped spoon; and listened to a comely boombox in a double-bass fiddle. most of the afternoon, nonetheless, was spent site up a server so y’all can ingratiate oneself with work together fortress 2 over the weekend….

Farrell and brown

Bohn takes Wachovia Championship lead

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (AP) — As Phil Mickelson’s round imploded with a series of wayward shots, the Wachovia Championship flew in a different direction.

Jason Bohn fired a 5-under 67 on Friday to take a two-shot lead at 9 under after the second round, while Mickelson’s double bogey on Quail Hollow Club’s easiest hole began a horrible closing stretch that left him seven shots back.

Anthony Kim’s 67 put him at 7 under and alone in second place, while 2006 champion Jim Furyk, Dudley Hart and George McNeill were three strokes back after 67s.

Mickelson, the biggest draw in this event with defending champion Tiger Woods home nursing his surgically repaired left knee, finished with two double bogeys in his final four holes on the way to a 74.

While Mickelson was hitting his ball into the creek on No. 18 for another double bogey, the loose Bohn was joking with reporters.

Bohn, whose sixth-place finish at the Verizon Heritage two weeks ago secured his playing privileges after his injury-filled 2007, followed his 68 Thursday with six birdies and a bogey.

I’m just excited to play. I don’t have a lot of pressure now that my medical status is taken care of, Bohn said. I can just go out and free swing it.

Mickelson’s free swinging got him into trouble, a day after a 68 left him a shot behind first-round leader David Toms.

With an afternoon tee time Friday, Mickelson birdied the 10th hole to get to 6 under. He missed a birdie putt at No. 14, then strolled to the par-5 15th looking to pick up at least a shot with the leaders at 8 under.

The 15th had a scoring average of about 4 1/2, and is the last good chance to gain ground before the difficult closing three holes.

But Mickelson pulled his tee shot into the left rough. His second shot was even worse, going nearly straight left. While the ball just cleared the water, it nestled in a horrible lie of pine straw at the base of a tree.

Mickelson hacked at his sunken ball, and it dribbled 30 feet. His fourth shot landed in front of the greenside bunker. A chip shot and two putts later, Mickelson had a 7 and had fallen five shots behind after Bohn had birdied the same hole in the group ahead of him.

Mickelson parred 16 and 17 before his waterlogged finish left him with plenty of work to do to win this tournament for the first time.

There was a low round out there and I let it slide, Mickelson said. The last four or five holes, I made a few mistakes that cost me.

Toms, who has been fighting a sore back for two years, couldn’t build off his best round this year. The 41-year-old Toms slogged through a 3-over 75 that left him tied with Mickelson for 25th place.

With Toms and Mickelson struggling, Bohn shot ahead of them on the strength of some changes he’s made with veteran coach Mike Shannon.

The biggest change for me is that my putter was lengthened an inch, said Bohn, who was held to 17 tournaments last year due to a rib injury. My coach has been wanting to do this for almost two years now. I just didn’t feel comfortable.

Finally I wizened up and listened to him.

Bohn will be paired on the final group Saturday with the 22-year-old Kim, who has also taken a different approach. But for Kim, it’s mental.

A year after he had four top-10s as the PGA Tour’s youngest rookie and a third-place finish early this year at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, the confident Kim fell on hard times. He missed three cuts before rebounding to finish tied for second at the Verizon Heritage last month.

I just realized that I wasn’t putting in the time, and to play against the best players in the world, you have to do that, said Kim, who recently switched to veteran caddy Eric Larsen. I think if I practice hard, anything is possible. I guess I was just talking a little bit more than I was practicing. So this year I’ve changed that and I’m going to keep riding that wave.

The old-style, tree-lined setup included more wind and faster greens than Thursday, and the scoring was up — minus Jay Williamson’s hole-in-one at No. 6.

McNeill had one of the wildest rounds, with six birdies, an eagle and three straight bogeys. Furyk and Dudley, meanwhile, took advantage of their early wakeup calls.

It was really nice to get a morning tee time, said Furyk, who is 1-1 in playoffs at this tournament. I played probably six holes where it was pretty benign out there, where there was really no breeze, a little moisture on the greens. But the wind picked up at that point.

Bohn overcame the obstacles during his afternoon round with his longer putter. He needed only 26 putts, a day after he had 27. E-mail to a friend

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

found here.

Computers go on sale to Cubans

HAVANA, Cuba (CNN) — Computers went on sale Friday for Cubans’ private use, the latest in a series of goods to become available under the communist government’s new president.

At about $750 apiece, the QTech brand computers are within the reach of only a few Cubans, whose average monthly salary is $17.

Fewer still will be able to gain the government permission needed to gain access to the Internet from their homes. That luxury is largely limited to government officials and foreign journalists.

President Raul Castro recently announced that electrical devices, including DVD players, electric rice cookers and mopeds that run on rechargeable batteries would be made available to the public.

Computers were on that original list, but shipments of the products only recently arrived on the island, officials said.

Many electrical devices had been forbidden during the special period that Cubans endured after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and, with it, the loss of subsidies that paid for the petroleum that was used to produce electricity. Until recently, rolling blackouts were common in Havana.

Cubans with access to dollars can also buy cell phones and book hotel reservations — other recent changes also ordered by Raul Castro, who was elected president in February after brother Fidel gave up the job because of poor health.
found here.

Computers go on sale to Cubans

HAVANA, Cuba (CNN) — Computers went on sale Friday for Cubans’ private use, the latest in a series of goods to become available under the communist government’s new president.

At about $750 apiece, the QTech brand computers are within the reach of only a few Cubans, whose average monthly salary is $17.

Fewer still will be able to gain the government permission needed to gain access to the Internet from their homes. That luxury is largely limited to government officials and foreign journalists.

President Raul Castro recently announced that electrical devices, including DVD players, electric rice cookers and mopeds that run on rechargeable batteries would be made available to the public.

Computers were on that original list, but shipments of the products only recently arrived on the island, officials said.

Many electrical devices had been forbidden during the special period that Cubans endured after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and, with it, the loss of subsidies that paid for the petroleum that was used to produce electricity. Until recently, rolling blackouts were common in Havana.

Cubans with access to dollars can also buy cell phones and book hotel reservations — other recent changes also ordered by Raul Castro, who was elected president in February after brother Fidel gave up the job because of poor health.
found here.