Yea, Roger Is Back!, Yay, Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Roger Federer defeats Novak Djokovic, advances to Dubai Championships final

ATP, NOVAK DJOKOVIC, ROGER FEDERER | COMMENTS

Roger Federer snapped a three-match losing streak against Novak Djokovic. (Marwan Naamani/AFP/Getty Images)

No. 8 Roger Federer rallied to beat No. 2 and defending champion Novak Djokovic 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 on Friday to advance to the final of the Dubai Championships. Federer will play No. 6 Tomas Berdych in Saturday’s final as the Swiss seeks his first hard-court title since the Western & Southern Open in August 2012.

After a slow start, Federer came back to earn his first victory against Djokovic when dropping the first set. The first two sets were decided by small margins, with some scintillating play from both men; they took advantage of the quick conditions to play some big-hitting, aggressive tennis.

Federer earned a 0-30 lead on Djokovic’s serve in the sixth game of the second set before a brief rain delay. When play resumed, the match turned completely in Federer’s favor. He went on to break and won 10 of the last 13 games for the victory.

Federer improved to 17-15 overall and 13-12 on hard courts against Djokovic. He also recorded his third top-10 victory of the season after beating Andy Murray and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the Australian Open; Federer had four all of last season, including two at the ATP World Tour Finals. Djokovic, who lost to Stanislas Wawrinka in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, fell to 0-2 against top-10 players this year.

Follow our game-by-game analysis after the jump:

Third Set

12:02 p.m. ET | Roger Federer defeats Novak Djokovic 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.

No one knows better than Federer how hard it is to close out a match against Djokovic. Sure enough, the Serb earns two break points. But he can’t convert either and two points later, Federer has match point. He fires a second serve wide and Djokovic goes for a backhand down the line that lands wide.

For the first time in his career, Federer beats Djokovic after losing the first set. He shakes his fist toward his box. This was a huge win for him, setting up a big opportunity tomorrow against Tomas Berdych in the final.

Final stat line:

Djokovic: 24 winners, 23 unforced errors, 8 for 17 at the net and 1 for 6 on break points.

Federer: 26 winners, 20 unforced errors, 11 for 17 at the net and 3 for 7 on break points.

11:58 a.m. ET | Djokovic holds, trails *5-2.

Another casual hold for Federer at 15 and he’s now won nine of the last 11 games, all coming since the rain delay. Djokovic responds with a love hold and Federer will serve for the match after the changeover.

11:53 a.m. ET | Federer breaks, leads *4-1.

Djokovic looks done and dusted. Another shaky service game gets to deuce and Federer ramps up the pressure. He earns a break point for a double-break lead, but Djokovic saves it at the net, forcing Federer to go for a lob that he hits long. But he earns another break point and this time when Djokovic approaches to Federer’s forehand — HUGE MISTAKE — the Swiss fires a cross-court pass right past him.

Roger Federer with a double-break lead on a fast hard court? We’ve seen Djokovic spoil his leads before, but I’m not sure he’ll do it here.

11:46 a.m. ET | Federer holds, leads 3-1*.

A bit of a charge by Djokovic to get to 30-all, but Federer still holds. At this point, it’s entirely mental for Djokovic. We’ll have to see if he can pull himself out of his rut. Aside from the early aggressive push to earn his lead, Federer hasn’t had to do anything special.

Something About His Smirky Smile

 Oscar Pistorius heads to trial for killing girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, South Africanprosecutors are saying the white shorts and black top the model had on when she was gunned down could determine whether the Olympic sprinter ends up in an orange prison uniform.

The clothing Steenkamp was wearing is among the evidence prosecutors will present in an attempt to rip holes in Pistorius' claim that when he fired four times through his bathroom door on Valentine's Day 2013, he thought the beautiful law-school graduate was asleep in bed and he was squaring off with a dangerous intruder.

Dateline's report on the case against Oscar Pistorius airs Friday at 8P/7C

They are expected to argue that the world's most famous amputee athlete — known as "Blade Runner" for the prosthetics he wore at the 2012 Summer Games — had a fierce argument with his lover before he opened fire, with the full intention of killing her.

"We believe that Reeva was probably running away and she locked herself in the bathroom," Medupe Simasiku, spokesman for the national prosecution service, told NBC's "Dateline."

"It cannot be explained as of now," he said Steenkamp's attire, "until such time the accused can actually take up a stand and say, 'She decided to put on clothes to go to the bathroom' or 'She decided to say, "I'm gonna sleep in clothes. I'm not gonna put my nighties on."'"

Another prosecution spokesman, Nathi Mcnube, told "Dateline" that what Steenkamp wore will be central to the government's case when the trial opens Monday.

"There is a piece of evidence around the clothes that could suggest what happened there," he said. "To disclose it now would be to disclose a lot of our thinking around the case before the time."

WALDO SWIEGERS / AFP - GETTY IMAGES, FILE

Oscar Pistorius posing with his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp at Melrose Arch in Johannesburg on January 26, 2013.

A leaked prosecution document and witness interviews give the broad outlines of the case against Pistorius, 27, a double-amputee who became an international hero by fighting to compete in able-bodied races.

He contends Steenkamp's death was a tragic accident at the end of a romantic evening, fueled by the fear that came from living in a high-crime country with a disability.

Prosecutors say his account is undermined by the physical and witness evidence:

• Two iPhones were found in the bathroom, which seems strange if Reeva was there just to use the toilet, as Pistorius contends.

• Five neighbors reportedly heard arguing and screaming in addition to gunfire. "If people say, 'We heard gunshot, a scream, gunshot, a scream,' you know it's going to be pretty much hard for you to argue that you still didn't know that the person who was screaming was your girlfriend," Mncube said.

• A prosecution report obtained by South African broadcaster ENCA says the trajectory and grouping of the shots fired "indicate a direct intention to kill" — although they also support Oscar's contention that he was not wearing his prosthetics when he went to the bathroom door.

• After he shot Steenkamp, Pistorius' first call was not to the police. "I don't think it's in dispute that he phoned his friend, and the friends were the first on the scene," Mncube said.

• A security guard phoned Pistorius after the shooting to see if everything was OK, and he told them "Fine," according to the leaked prosecution document.

Prosecutors have not disclosed a motive for the alleged murder, but one of their witnesses may testify that Pistorius had a temper. Soccer star Marc Batchelor says Pistorius threatened to break his legs in a fury over his belief that Batchelor's friend, producer Quinton Van Der Burgh, had slept with his ex-girlfriend.

Batchelor also says Steenkamp's friends believed Pistorius was trying to find out if she had been in contact with her ex-boyfriend, Warren Lahoud. Just 36 hours before she was shot, she met Lahoud for coffee.

"She told me how well she was doing," Lahoud later said. "She seemed happy."

Oscar Pistorius trial to begin next week

TODAY

 
 
 

It's not known if Pistorius will testify in his own defense at the trial, parts of which will be televised. But South African journalist Karyn Maughan said his legal team is crafting a novel interpretation of the country's self-defense law, which is based on how a "reasonable" person would react to danger.

He will try to convince a judge that "he can't be charged according to the standards of the reasonable man," Maughan told "Dateline."

"You need to judge him as the reasonable paraplegic, and you need to take into account that this is a person who has persistently said that he's felt the most vulnerable on his stumps and was living, essentially, in a state of fear, in a state of terror.

"And you need to judge him by that standard."

DYLAN MARTINEZ / REUTERS, FILE

Oscar Pistorius starts his men's 400m round 1 heats at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

First published February 28th 2014, 5:31 am

TRACY CONNOR

Tracy Connor is a senior writer for NBC News. She started this role in December, 2012. Connor is responsible... Expand Bio

What A Story!!

DEAR ABBY: Recently, my friend went to a wake and told me the person in the casket was holding a fork. My friend told me there is a story behind this custom. Can you tell me what it is? -- DAILY READER IN WEST PALM BEACH, FLA.

DEAR DAILY READER: The story, titled "Keep Your Fork," has been widely shared on the Internet. It appeared in "A Third Serving of Chicken Soup for the Soul" and was authored by Roger William Thomas.

It concerns a young woman who had been given only a short time to live, and who instructed her pastor that she would like to be buried with a fork in her right hand. She went on to say, "In all my years of attending church potluck dinners, when the dishes of the main course were being cleared, someone would say, 'Keep your fork.'"

She said the main course was her favorite part of the meal because she knew "something better was coming ... something wonderful, and with substance." What she wanted was to convey to her loved ones at her funeral her belief that something better was to come.

And Social Programs Are Responsible For This?

Study: 83 percent of California homes out of reach for teachers

Only 17 percent of homes in the state are considered affordable on a teacher's salary, and none is in San Francisco.

By MSN Real Estate partner 15 hours ago

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By Tommy Unger, Redfin

Teachers help form the foundation for strong, local communities, yet just 17 percent of homes for sale in California are affordable on a teacher's salary. That percentage drops to zero in pricey San Francisco, where the average teacher can't afford a single home. With the current median list price in California at $485,000, the state's 300,000 elementary, middle and high school teachers, who have an average annual salary of $69,300, will find it difficult to impossible to find an affordable home. How did we get to this point?

The California real estate market has been exceptional since the gold rush in the 1800s. People continue to come from across the country and around the world seeking the sun, surf and silicon (jobs). This demand has driven up home prices across the state for many decades. Compounding the affordability problem, in many areas, not enough new homes have been built to keep up. The result is that homeownership is out of reach for most working Californians. In fact, according to the Census, 71 percent of Californians households earn less than $100,000 per year.

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ost continues below graphic

What is an affordable price?

Finding an affordable home is about balancing your income with your monthly mortgage payment and other expenses. A general guideline when buying a home is that a monthly home payment should not exceed 28 percent of your gross monthly income. On an average annual salary of $69,300, a teacher should pay no more than about $1,600 a month. Given current interest rates, property taxes, home insurance and homeowners-associati​on (HOA) expenses, a teacher can afford a $260,000 single-family home or condo. Of the 50,559 for sale in California, just 17.4 percent are listed below $260,000.

•  Google buses: Hiking up Bay Area rents?

Just how hard is it to find an affordable home? In San Francisco County, the average teacher earns $59,700 per year, and there are zero homes for sale that we have calculated as affordable on such a salary. By comparison, there are 139 listings with price tags over $1 million. In San Mateo, Calif., there are seven homes for sale in a teacher's price range, while there are 254 homes listed for more than $1 million.

Pockets of affordability along the coast and inland

Counties along the Pacific Coast are generally much less affordable than inland counties, but ocean-loving teachers can find a few more options in Marin and Orange counties, where 12 percent and 9 percent of listed homes are affordable on a teacher's salary, respectively. Away from the coast, from Riverside up through San Bernardino and Sacramento, teachers can afford a third to half of homes for sale.

More from Redfin

Too Funny, Too Stupid!

Perez Hilton whips up a Twitter firestorm after being accused of 'likening black women to Hitler'

By SADIE WHITELOCKS

PUBLISHED: 15:04 EST, 26 February 2014 | UPDATED: 15:56 EST, 26 February 2014

 
 
 

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The ever-controversial Perez Hilton has whipped up a Twitter firestorm after stating that 'inside every gay man is a fierce black woman.'

The openly gay gossip columnist, who has a one-year-old son through surrogacy, posted the remark yesterday and was quickly branded 'racist' and 'ignorant' as a result. 

But adding further insult to injury Mr Hilton, 35, then stated that he wasn't sorry for what he'd said and brazenly tweeted: 'Some present logical arguments but then Hitler attempted to justify the holocaust too.'

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Under fire: The ever-controversial Perez Hilton has whipped up a Twitter firestorm after stating that 'inside every gay man is a fierce black woman'

Within the space of a few hours, the news site Jezebel.com announced: 'Perez Hilton Just Compared Black Women to Hitler on Twitter.'

And Clutch Magazine also called him out for the tweet.

Britni Danielle wrote in an article: 'Over the course of several tweets, Hilton went from trying to explain what he meant (apparently, giving Black women props) to asserting that he was “not sorry” for what he said. 

 

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'After being taken to task for several hours, Hilton then compared those who had the gall to call him out on lazy stereotyping of both black women and gay men to the Nazi leader, because….who even knows.'

Some commenters noted how Mr Hilton's remarks have become more outlandish the more successful he's become.

'I remember when Perez Hilton’s “headquarters” was located in a local Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf in Hollywood!' one mused.

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Source of controversy: The openly gay gossip columnist, who has a one-year-old son through surrogacy, posted the remark yesterday and was quickly branded 'racist' and 'ignorant' as a result

+3

But adding further insult to injury Mr Hilton, 35, then stated that he wasn't sorry for what he'd said and brazenly tweeted: 'Some present logical arguments but then Hitler attempted to justify the holocaust too'

'In recent years, he has become even more mean spirited, to the point I can’t read his blog any more! 

'The insults and outing of gay people (those of which who may want to keep their lives private for whatever reason) is just too much.' 

Mr Hilton, who was christened Mario Armando Lavandeira, Jr. but changed his name for professional reasons, is an American blogger and television personality. 

His blog, Perezhilton.com  - formerly PageSixSixSix.com - is known for posts covering gossip items about celebrities. He is also known for posting tabloid photographs over which he has added his own captions or "doodles". 

His blog has garnered negative attention for its attitude, its former outing of alleged closeted celebrities and its role in the increasing coverage of celebrities in all forms of media.

The blogger moved from Los Angeles last year and is now based in New York with his first child, Mario Armando Lavandeira III, born on February 16, 2013.

Read more:

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2568634/Perez-Hilton-whips-Twitter-firestorm-accused-likening-black-women-Hitler.html#ixzz2uWmqOyST
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Keep Your Negative Opinions To Yourself

CFL player released after tweeting to Michael Sam to 'man up'

AP

FEB 27, 2014 4:56a ET

 

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Arland Bruce's Twitter comments about Michael Sam ultimately cost him his job.

MONTREAL   —  

The Montreal Alouettes released Arland Bruce on Wednesday, two weeks after the receiver was fined by the Canadian Football League for Twitter comments about openly gay NFL prospect Michael Sam.

Bruce misspelled the word "gay" in his message that urged Sam to "man up" and get on his knees and "submit to God fully." Bruce later apologized.

Bruce, 36, is three-time CFL all-star and has played on two Grey Cup championship teams in 12 seasons with Winnipeg, Toronto, Hamilton, B.C. and Montreal. Last season, the former University of Minnesota player had 64 receptions for 851 yards and five touchdowns.

At the time Bruce was fined — along with Winnipeg Blue Bombers defensive tackle Bryant Turner Jr. — CFL commissioner Mark Cohon said in a statement, "The comments made by these players are extremely disappointing and do not represent the CFL's views or the views of the vast majority of our players. The CFL is supportive of openly gay athletes in professional sports and we commend the courage shown by Michael Sam."

Shortly after the tweets, Turner apologized in a series of tweets, calling his post "inappropriate and insensitive." The Bombers said team president Wade Miller and general manager Kyle Walters had spoken to Turner at the time, and that "any athlete with the ability and determination has the right to succeed in their sport."

The Alouettes also denounced "the regrettable comments" by Bruce at the time.

"Our organization supports all types of diversity. Every individual is unique and free to make his or her own choices," Alouettes' general manager and coach Jim Popp said.