It’s a new series, ya’ll! Wait, who am I, Kelly Clarkson?
Anyway, I thought it’d be fun to every now and then do a round up of things that interest me in the news, and by news I mean, something I must likely came across on social media, but not always.
In today’s issue, I’m bringing you three topics – up first…
Naomi Osaka at Indian Wells
Now Naomi Osaka, that’s my girl. I’ve been a fan of hers since 2018. That’s the year she first won a big tournament, Indian Wells actually. That year she also went on to beat Serena Williams in the Miami Open, and ultimately took out the G.O.A.T. again in that infamous U.S. Open final.
Her talent is undeniable. Even though last year she had that little dust up with the French Open, then got ganged-up on by the other three slams as well, which led her to take some time off, consequently dropping her from No.2 to her current ranking of 78 in the world, at four major titles, she still has more championships under her belt than anybody actively playing now, including world No. 1 Ash Barty. (Whew, that was a long ass sentence, but I’m not breaking it up because I like it).
I said all that to say, we still gotta put some respek on her name.
Now, having said that I’ma also have to say, Looka here, Champ, I’ma need you to keep Venus and Serena’s names out cho mouth under these circumstances.
It seems like every time she’s going through something in this sport, and she wants to garner support and/or sympathy, she invokes Venus and Serena. We saw this last year when she didn’t want to do post-game press conferences at Roland Garros then tried to justify it by posting a clip of a 14-year-old Venus being interrogated by a reporter who was soon shut down by her father Richard Williams. Now this.
Apparently what happened was a woman from the crowd yelled out, “Naomi you suck,” while she was serving. Naomi was already being destroyed by her Russian opponent before this happened, eventually going on to lose in straight sets (0-6, 4-6).
Naomi was so upset by the rude spectator that she actually went up to the chair umpire and asked to address the crowd while the match was still in progress – an unheard of scenario that of course was denied.
But Naomi didn’t stop there, oh no. After the match was over she then beseeched the tourney people again to let her speak, something the losing party doesn’t do unless it’s a championship match. I’m sure it’s her star-power that got her an exception because next thing you know, there she was at the mic, speaking when she should have been headed to the locker room.
Take a look:
Okay, hold up, wait a minute! Dealing with one woman actin’ a fool in the crowd was not even remotely close to what Venus and Serena dealt with in that very same venue back in 2001. Matter of fact, it’s because Venus and Serena went through the hell they had to go through that Naomi Osaka was only peppered with one, “you suck” instead of the whole audience booing her. You can’t even compare the two.
Now I’ma give Naomi the benefit of the doubt, since I’m a fan and all, that maybe she was so in her feelings it came out wrong. But like I said, I’ma need homegirl to keep Venus and Serena’s name out her mouth in situations like that. Unless you’re celebrating them, thanking them, Naomi, just don’t say their names.
As I was searching YouTube for other people’s opinions, I came across this video of Rafael Nadal, Daniil Medvedev and Andy Murray speaking on the matter.
They all pretty much said the same thing: they felt for her, but she needs to learn to take it.
Andy Murray’s answer, I thought, was particularly interesting. He took it another-further and started naming all these incidents in sports where players are heckled and they just had to deal with it. But what was interesting to me was that none his examples were tennis (actually I think he may have named one tennis incident). My point is, that is not typical behavior in tennis. That’s why he couldn’t come up with tennis examples. That’s why he kept saying sports in general.
I’m no tennis expert, but I have been watching the sport casually for about 20 years now – thanks Venus and Serena – so I know enough to know that a player serving is cause for you to shut the fuck up! Like even if she was yelling, “I love you, Naomi.” You don’t do that when someone is serving. I’ve seen players be allowed to redo their serve because someone decided to yell out at the last minute. So not only was that person’s comment mean-spirited, it also went contrary to tennis etiquette.
However, whether or not she followed tennis etiquette by yelling while Naomi was serving, the more egregious act was that she was rude. Like if she yelled out, “Naomi you’re great,” you could give her a warning to appease the etiquette, but when you’re yelling out insults, you need to be tossed out on your ass without a refund.
And this whole idea of having tough skin is total bullshit. To get to the level Naomi has gotten to, tough skin is a given. You have to have tough skin already to go out there and play in front of a crowd, and the world via the TV and internet. No need to make an already tough situation worse by putting up with tomfoolery from the cheap seats, or any seats for that matter.
Now some will say that’s life, shit happens. But I tend to reserve that phrase for shit that can’t be controlled. This type of behavior can be controlled, or at least dealt with. You kick them out, don’t give them a refund, ban them from future games, and I’m pretty sure it will stop. So tournament organizers, or whoever’s in charge, handle it.
Naomi should not have had to put up with that. She had every right to feel some-type-of-way about it. However what she doesn’t have the right to do is put this mess on the same level as the experiences of Venus and Serena. It’s because they went through fire, she now only gets residual smoke. Still, we don’t want no smoke.
*******March 17, 2022 Update*******
Correction #1: Okay so yesterday I wrote that the Naomi Osaka was heckled while she was trying to serve, but that is incorrect. It was actually her opponent Veronika Kudermetova that was serving.
Correction #2: In that same paragraph I stated the Naomi was already being destroyed by her opponent — that wasn’t exactly true. It was actually only three minutes into the match and Naomi had dropped the first game on her own serve.
The Tamron Hall Show: Gabrielle Union Talks Setting a Financial Foundation for Her Kids
So I was watching Gabrielle Union on Tamron Hall a few days ago, and I really liked what she said about setting up her kids for success in the future. Tamron was asking her about leaving money for her kids. You know how some rich parents say they’re not going to leave their kids anything because they want them to build a work ethic. I understand that point-of-view, and I think I may even agree with it…well, to some extent. That was until I heard Gabrielle Union’s rationale. From what I gather she was saying that life is hard out there, and I think what she was saying was, she and her husband Dwayne Wade are cutting out the need for their kids to settle.
The fact of the matter is for those of us who are not rich, those of us who can’t afford not to work, are also those of us who are often forced to settle. When you don’t have cash or assets you’re sitting on, you are more likely to take a job you don’t want or like just to pay your bills. You’re put in the unfortunate position to decide to pay your bills or pursue your dreams. And what Gabrielle was saying is that their kids will definitely have to work, but they’re eliminating the burden of having their children worry about how they are going to pay their bills, and instead they can focus on pursuing their dreams. It doesn’t matter if their dream job makes them $20,000 a year or makes them a millionaire, they can go after whatever they want because they are sitting on a firm financial foundation.
It’s like the whole Venus and Serena and Naomi Osaka thing. Venus and Serena have made it easier for Naomi Osaka. That doesn’t mean it’s a cake walk for her, it’s just not as hard as Venus and Serena had it. And I think with both Gabrielle and Dwayne coming from humbler beginnings than their children, they know the struggles it took for them to get to where they are, and the struggles they still face, and they just want to lighten the load for there children. I’ve never heard it referred to in that way before, and I just loved it.
Ice Cream Dream…Maybe Nightmare
Two of my favorite foods are ice cream and pizza. So when I scrolled through my Instagram feed and saw that Van Leeuwen was releasing a pizza flavored ice cream, I couldn’t help but be intrigued. The Brooklyn-based creamery is the same company behind the infamous Kraft mac & cheese ice cream flavor that came out last year. I really wanted to try it, but unfortunately, I never did.
Now they’re bringing it back, along with seven other flavors, including the pizza one I already mentioned. This time, not only are they bringing it to their scoop shops, but they’re also stocking them up in a Wal-Mart near you.
These should’ve arrived in your Wal-Mart’s freezer section last Monday, the 14th. I haven’t been to Wal-Mart yet to check, but I did go to WalMart.com and nothing’s coming up, so maybe this is a thing you have to go in person for.
I really want to try these flavors, the only thing is, I’m staying away from sugar for 14 days – that’s sugar, fast food, bread, stuff like that. None for me for 14 days. Coincidentally, I started on Monday. So even if I do spot it in the store, I wouldn’t be able to try it until March 28th.
The Van Leeuwen website said that the flavors will be there until June or until they run out, which got me thinking, I hope they don’t run out before the 28th.
Then I thought maybe I should just pick them up if I see them and leave them in the freezer until the 28th, but I don’t trust myself. I know I would at least taste them. So I’ll wait, and hope that they’ll still be there. They should be there…right?
If Van Leeuwen’s flavors weren’t crazy enough, Jeni’s is bringing back their everything bagel ice cream on the 21st of this month. That’s another flavor I wanted to try, but missed out on last year. I’ll more than likely go to the scoop shop for that one, because their pints are expensive AF.
And tell you what? If I do, I’ll come back here and give you my honest review.
Welp, that concludes my first edition of things that interested me in the news.
Leave a Reply