The finals are set for Roland Garros, and Serena Williams will have another shot at Grand Slam No. 22.
The 2016 French Open draw may have ultimately unraveled in favor of top seed Serena Williams earning her 22nd Grand Slam title, but heading into the finals she"s getting anything but a break. Williams punched her ticket to the final by beating unseeded Kiki Bertens in the semifinals on Friday, winning 7-6(6), 6-4. There, she"ll face the always-tough Garbine Muguruza, who also punched her own ticket on Friday.
Muguruza, the fourth seed, easily dispatched No. 21 Samantha Stosur in the other semifinal to advance. Some might even suggest that Muguruza has had an easy path to the finals -- she faced an unseeded Shelby Rogers in the quarterfinal and has only faced two seeded opponents thus far, in Stosur and No. 13 Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Williams initially saw a draw that included potential matches against players like Angelique Kerber, Victoria Azarenka and Ana Ivanovic on her own side, and then Agnieszka Radwanska and Simona Halep on the other. But she"s making it through without facing any of them.
Muguruza is a legitimate opponent though, having beaten Serena once before. They have met four times, with Muguruza winning in 2014, though it was on the clay of Roland Garros where she took the victory. Their final matchup is set for Saturday.
On the men"s side, we"ve got the predicted final of Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, with the latter handling defending champion and No. 3 seed Stan Wawrinka on Friday. Murray struggled early in the tournament this year with a couple five-set matches to open his Roland Garros bid, and many expected Wawrinka to send him home. Wawrinka had dominated Murray in recent matches between the two, but Murray ultimately walked away with the 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 victory.
Djokovic, who flashed a temper in his last match that saw him warned by the judge, experienced no such worries on Friday. He completely dominated young Dominic Thiem in his semifinal match, 6-2, 6-1, 6-4, and will once again have another shot at his first French Open title when he faces Murray in the finals on Sunday.
GREEN GREEN GREEN!!!!!!...Pocono Raceway,Aug.5th,2012,The Pennsylvania 400
LONG POND Things finally fell right for Kyle Larson, with a little help from Mother Nature.
Larson won the inaugural Pocono Green 250 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Pocono Raceway on Saturday when rain halted the race after 53 of 100 laps.
It is Larsons first Xfinity Series win of the season and fourth in 82 career starts. He drives full-time on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in the No. 42 Chevrolet and is still looking for his first career win.
I havent had much luck, so its nice that it finally came together for me. We caught some breaks there and was able to be leading at halfway, Larson said. Now, hopefully, the luck has turned and we can start winning some Cup races as well.
NASCAR threw the red flag at 2:22 p.m. and was drying the 2.5-mile triangular track in hopes of resuming the race. However, another shower hit and, after a delay of 1 hour, 35 minutes, the race was called. In order for a race to be official, at least half of the scheduled laps must be completed.
Pole-sitter Erik Jones wound up second and Ty Dillon finished third. Sprint Cup regulars Kyle Busch and Joey Logano rounded out the top five.
Sixth through 10th were Elliott Sadler, Paul Menard, Brandon Jones, Daniel Suarez and Alex Bowman.
Last week at Charlotte, Larson almost won the Xfinity Series race. He was leading with two laps to go when the caution came out after Erik Jones had a flat tire. The race went into overtime, and Larson was passed by winner Denny Hamlin and eventually finished sixth.
Saturdays race at Pocono was a strategic one.
With practice Friday rained out, NASCAR issued a competition caution on lap 15. That, coupled with the weather radar showing rain approaching the track, caused teams to try different pit sequences.
We knew the race was probably going to be shortened, said Mike Shiplett, Larsons crew chief. So we came in and topped off so we could push past halfway and at least make it to there.
On a lap-35 restart, Larson was fifth. But he wound up passing the four cars ahead of him Almirola, Dillon, Logano and Ryan Reed to take the lead for good.
Elliott Sadler gave me a big push down the frontstretch and pretty much stayed locked on me, said Larson, who started fourth and led 27 laps. I was able to get inside the 22 (Logano) for third into turn 1. The 98 (Almirola) and the 3 (Dillon) were side-drafting each other, slowing each other, and I was able to clear them in the tunnel turn (2).
That was the move of the race. I knew I had to get aggressive on that restart with rain coming, It worked out for us.
Not only was rain coming, but so was Erik Jones.
An accident between Reed and Jeremy Clements on lap 39 brought out the caution. On the lap-44 restart, Larson led and Jones was third. By lap 50, Jones was second and closing fast on Larson.
Fortunately for Larson, the rain came and he was able to hang on for the win.
Just not enough time, Jones said. I felt I had one of the best cars in the field, but just couldnt get back to the lead before it started raining.
I thought we had a good shot at the win, but it didnt work out for us. Its pretty frustrating. But its nice to know Im that fast and I can contend for the win.
Earlier Saturday, Jones captured the pole during qualifying at 175.926 mph.
Suarez continues to lead the series standings with 408 points after 12 of 33 races. Sadler is second with 397 points and Dillon third with 390.
Justin Allgaier fell from third to seventh in the standings after he crashed into the turn-2 wall on lap 20 and finished 39th.
Star Stanford Student Caught Mid-Rape, Here"s How The School Responded
PALO ALTO -- Branding former Stanford swimmer Brock Turner a "continued threat to the community," prosecutors are asking a judge to sentence him this week to six years in state prison for sexually assaulting an unconscious intoxicated woman outside a campus frat party.
But probation officials recommended a much lighter penalty of six months in county jail, largely because he has no prior criminal record and their belief that he is genuinely remorseful, according to prosecution and defense sentencing memos.
The competing recommendations -- plus Turner"s own request for four months in county jail -- are set to heard by Judge Aaron Persky at Thursday"s sentencing hearing.
File photo: Former Stanford swimmer Brock Allen Turner, left, arrives with family and his lawyer Mike Armstrong, back center, at the Santa Clara County Superior Courthouse in Palo Alto, Calif. He is expected to take the stand Wednesday morning, March 23, 2016. (Karl Mondon/Staff archives)
The issue of how to investigate and punish once-overlooked campus sexual assaults has sparked a nationwide debate, mirrored this week at Stanford, where the Association of Students for Sexual Assault Prevention circulated a petition in favor of state prison for Turner, and a senior has written a passionate letter to the campus newspaper urging leniency.
Advocates say the case has helped increase pressure on colleges nationwide to do more to prevent assaults and punish offenders.
Turner, 20, was convicted of three felony charges in late March: assault with intent to commit rape of an intoxicated woman, sexually penetrating an intoxicated person with a foreign object and sexually penetrating an unconscious person with a foreign object. He is currently free on $150,000 bail.
The maximum sentence he faces is 14 years in state prison. Because the crime of assault with intent to commit rape is ranked as a serious, violent offense under California law, Persky must make a finding of "unusual circumstances" for Turner to be eligible to serve time in county jail instead of prison. Regardless of the sentence, Turner will have to register as a s*x offender for the rest of his life.
Like anyone convicted of a felony, Turner was interviewed by a probation officer, who prepared a sentencing recommendation for the judge. The results of such probation reports are usually not unavailable to the public until after sentencing. But filings by the prosecution and defense quoted from its recommendations.
In the prosecution"s sentencing memo, however, deputy district attorney Alaleh Kianerci urged the judge to disregard the probation report in this case, which she reveals recommends up to six months in county jail. In her memo, she pointed out that Turner lied to probation officials about his history, saying he was an inexperienced drinker from a small town in Ohio, when text messages from his phone dating back to high school show he frequently used alcohol and drugs including marijuana and LSD. Kianerci also argued that the probation officer misinterpreted the victim"s empathy for Turner as support for a light sentence.
The prosecution memo also contends that Turner never acknowledged that he sexually assaulted the victim and has shown no true remorse. She cites an incident that wasn"t raised during his trial, in which Turner was accused of aggressively touching a woman who was dancing at a party at the same frat house the weekend before. Kianerci contended that along with his behavior toward the victim and her sister, that incident shows he has a pattern of preying on women.
During the three-week trial, Kianerci successfully argued that the once-Olympic hopeful knew the woman was extremely drunk and purposely took advantage of her. The assault was a crime of opportunity that takes place too often on college campuses, she said. Turner was arrested Jan. 18, 2015, immediately after two Stanford graduate students who were bicycling by a Kappa Alpha fraternity party about 1 a.m. caught sight of him on the ground outside, thrusting his hips atop an unconscious, partially clothed woman.
In her sentencing memo, Kianerci said the case touched a nerve in the community because of the "audacious and callous manner that the defendant assaulted a completely unconscious female in public. ... Ultimately, the fact that the defendant preyed upon an intoxicated stranger on a college campus should not be viewed as a less serious crime than if he were to assault a stranger in downtown Palo Alto."
But Turner testified during the trial that the encounter was consensual and he was too drunk himself to realize she had passed out. In the defense"s sentencing memo, Turner"s lawyer also portrays the encounter in that light, writing that "no one can pinpoint exactly when the victim went from being conscious to being unconscious."
In addition to the four-month sentence, Turner"s lawyer, Mike Armstrong is calling on the judge to place Turner on probation for three to five years.
"He is fundamentally a good young man from a good family with a record of real accomplishment who made bad choices during his time at Stanford of about four months, especially related to alcohol," Armstrong wrote.
The attorney also argued that Turner did express remorse for "imposing trauma and pain" on the victim, who was 22 at the time of the assault. Armstrong noted that the victim herself told probation officers: "I don"t want him to rot away in jail; he doesn"t need to be behind bars."
However, in a 12-page letter to the judge, the victim clarified her position.
"The probation officer"s recommendation ... is a soft timeout, a mockery of the seriousness of his assaults, and of the consequences of the pain I have been forced to endure," she wrote. "The seriousness of rape has to be communicated clearly and we should not create a culture that suggests we learn that rape is wrong through trial and error."
Contact Tracey Kaplan at 408-278-3482. Follow her at Twitter.com/tkaplanreport.
Related articles
Read victim"s letter to Brock Turner and judge
Herhold: Turner deserves jail, not state prison
Editorial: The sentence was too light
Herhold: Thanking Stanford students who subdued s*x assault suspect
Ex-Stanford swimmer sentenced to 6 months in jail
Turner convicted of sexually assaulting unconscious woman
Jack Black asks Sir Elton John to identify one of his own songs - The Graham Norton Show
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Jack Black is best-known for rollicking comedies like "School of Rock" and the Kung Fu Panda films. So his fans were startled a year ago to see how he was affected by his encounter in Uganda with a homeless boy named Felix.
"People were very moved and also a little shocked to see me in that kind of context, because usually I"m just clowning around and making people laugh," Black told NBC"s Joe Fryer in a segment that aired Wednesday on TODAY.
Black was back on TODAY for a good cause: Red Nose Day, a global movement to fight kids" poverty that has raised over $1 billion globally in the last 25 years. It launched in the U.S. last year, when TODAY"s Matt Lauer cycled 226 grueling miles across four states in five days, raising more than $423,000 on his "Tour de Red Nose."
Matt Lauer finishes 226-mile "Tour de Red Nose" bike ridePlay Video
But this year, the whole TODAY gang is getting into the act, along with guests on the show and visitors to the plaza. With the help of SoulCycle, they"ll rack up a total of 10,000 miles for Red Nose Day on May 26.
TODAY
TODAY"s Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager work out on SoulCycle exercise bikes like the ones TODAY anchors and guests will ride for Red Nose Day May 26.
The same day, NBC will air "The Red Nose Day Special" at 9 p.m. ET. Craig Ferguson hosts the live two-hour extravaganza, which will feature such celebrities as Black, Ellen DeGeneres, Paul Rudd, Key and Peele, and many more.
Red Nose Day: Help TODAY lift kids out of povertyPlay Video
Half the money raised by Red Nose Day helps kids in America, and half helps kids like Felix in some of the poorest countries in the world. Thanks to a program that benefits from Red Nose Day, Felix now lives with a foster family instead of the streets, and he"s pursuing his dream of getting an education.
"It feels great to be a small part of, not just Felix"s life, but a lot of kids that are feeling the recovery efforts of Red Nose Day," Black told Fryer. As a result, the comedian is going into his second Red Nose Day with a lighter heart: "I asked, can I be funny this year? No more tears, please."
TODAY viewers can get into the spirit of Red Nose Day too. Pick up your own red nose at Walgreens, take a selfie and share it with us using the hashtag #RedNose. We may use it on TODAY!
Share your #RedNose selfie with TODAYPlay Video
Most important, you can donate to Red Nose Day. For every dollar you contribute, the Gates Foundation will donate two dollars up to $500,000 saving and changing the lives of even more kids like Felix here in America and around the world.
DONATE NOW: Support Red Nose Day to help lift children around the world out of poverty
Demi Lovato - Cool for the Summer (Official Video)
DemiLovato,TroyeSivan,BackstreetBoys,KristianBush, Brandy Clark, the LumineersandAndraDay are among the musicians lending support to the Recording Academy"s MusiCares Foundation. The organization"s aim is to providecritical assistance and healthcare programs for those in need in themusic community.
Artistsare helping to raisefundsvia the hashtag#MusiCaresChallenge, which asksthe acts and their fansto post a photo or video with their favorite album. Among the first to meet the challenge: Lovato, who was photographed with a vinyl copy of Beyonce"s Lemonade.
Ariana, Demi & Selena: How Their Careers Stack Up Against Each Other
Said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of MusiCares and The Recording Academy, in announcing the initiative: "As the music industry"s Red Cross, MusiCares is rooted in the collective spirit of the creative community, whose members have an unspoken bond and self-imposed sense of duty to one another as brothers and sisters in music."
Themonthlongchallenge runs through July 4 and more information can be found atwww.musicares.org.
San Jose Sharks vs Pittsburgh Penguins. 2016 NHL Playoffs. SCF. Game 1. 05.30.2016. (HD)
PITTSBURGH What, me worry?
Sticks and stones may break bones, but calling Sidney Crosby a cheater will never hurt the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Trailing 2-0 in the series after a 2-1 overtime loss in Game 2 Wednesday night at the Consol Energy Center, frustrated Sharks winger Logan Couture, who has been a huge disappointment in the first two games of the Stanley Cup final, decided to throw a few darts in the direction of the Penguins captain.
It was Crosby who won the faceoff in the San Jose zone that led to the overtime goal. Upset that Crosby has been eating the Sharks pivots for lunch through the first two games of the series, Couture was asked why Sid the Kid has been so dominant in the circle?
He cheats, Couture said. He gets away with it. Hes Sidney Crosby.
Asked how he cheats, Couture indicated Crosby, who won 71 per cent of his faceoffs in Game 2, pushes the rules of the circle to the limit.
He times them and they dont kick him out for some reasons. Probably because of who he is, Couture said.
Given the fact these two teams did nothing but trade compliments for the first three days of the final, this was a big topic of discussion when Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan held a conference call with the media Thursday before the clubs flight to San Jose.
Finally, something to bite into, so to speak.
Well, at first, Sullivan refused to chew on the subject when he was asked if hed heard the nasty words from Couture?
I have no response to them, Sullivan said. My main concern is our hockey team and our mindset and our determination and the focus of our group. Thats where my main concern is and thats where Im going to use all my energy.
Crosby won 56 per cent of his faceoffs in the clubs 3-2 victory in Game 1, so it may be in the best interests of the Couture to try to do something to see if they can at least get the officials to take notice of what they consider a tactic.
Sullivan finally decided to shed a little more light on the situation after a query on whether the hes worried the officials might start looking to throw Crosby out of the circle because of Coutures accusations?
Sullivan noted every centre goes to whatever lengths they can to try to win a draw but doesnt believe Crosby is doing anything illegal.
Im not concerned at all about the officials, Sullivan said. All centres, when theyre taking faceoffs, theyre trying to get an edge. Thats just the reality of it. Theyre doing the same thing that our guys are doing. The way I look at it, thats all part of being a centre and trying to figure out ways to get an edge and be successful. So, Sids not doing anything that their guys arent doing.
Quite honestly, it really isnt worthy of a response. So, as I said before, my main focus is on our group and on our mindset going into this Game 3. We want to make sure we focus on the task at hand.
The task for the Sharks for games Saturday and Monday at SAP Center seems nearly impossible because San Jose has way too many no shows.
Top forwards Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Couture have had a minimal impact on this series. Sharks coach Peter DeBoer told reporters to hold off on the funeral after Game 2, but it wont take long to write the obituary if San Jose loses Saturday night.
Weve been good at home. We just have to win our home games. It puts more pressure on them, said Sharks goalie Martin Jones, who has kept San Jose from being completely embarrassed in the first two games.
The Sharks are now facing tough odds; since the Cup final changed to a best-of-seven format in 1939, teams with a 2-0 lead have gone on to carry the Cup in 44 of 49 series.
If the Sharks dont at least make a series out of this theyre only cheating themselves.
