When the Cheshire emerges...

Three discussions up tonight...

#1: OSCAR NOMINATIONS

Big day today, with Oscar noms first announced during my slumber. Going through the nominations I was a bit nonplussed about a few of the Best Picture finalists because they haven't come out in Australia yet (so I can only go on the hype).

Really interested to see Silver Linings Playbook now because of all the nods - go Jacki Weaver! She's hardly shown in the trailer and not even named as a major credit but she got nominated for Best Supporting Actress again. Woo!

I do agree with critics that are saying Skyfall missed out though. It got a few nominations but not in the 'bigger' categories where it would've been just as much deserving. I also

I don't like to pick what I think might win because I don't know enough about all the contenders. There doesn't seem to be an overwhelming standout for Best Picture but I'd love to see Argo win. Actor and actress I won't say - I haven't seen any of the Best Actress performances. How sad is that? I feel a bit pathetic.

Take a look and have a think. Let me know your Oscar picks!


#2: AUSTRALIAN OPEN DRAW

Now to tennis and the draw for the Australian Open has come out... I'm excited about the Open any given year, but this year for extra special reason.

I'm going!

So I'm anxious to figure out who I can see but I have an idea.

I'm going on day 2, night 4 and day 5 right?


Because day 5's only a ground pass, I'm focusing on days 2 and 4 where I've got Rod Laver Arena access. The second half of the draw features Juan Martin Del Potro, what could be a cracker between Gail Monfils and Alexandr Dolgopolov if I see it on day 2, Tommy Haas, Roger Federer, Andy Murray and of the Aussies Bernard Tomic and Luke Saville.

And that's just the guys. The second part of the draw includes Sam Stosur, Ana Ivanovic, Maria Sharapova (will bring the earplugs for that one), Venus Williams and Aussies Casey Dellacqua and newcomer Ashleigh Barty.

Not bad at all. Hopeful for Tomic to do well now he's made it to the Sydney International final, and just to see some great games. Shame Hewitt got 8th seed Janko Tipsarevic straight up, I think he's going to have a really tough task.

Tennis fans! Have a look at the full draws and share what you think!


#3: EXPEDIA BLOGGER SEARCH

Winners were announced today. I wasn't one, but I'm fair sure I was a finalist in the Lifestyle category. So I'm pretty happy with that result. Thanks for the votes guys!

***
Did you ever notice how difficult it is to argue with someone who's not obsessed with being right?Why?

I can't believe I missed a large part of Wimbledon this year, particularly with 7Two's earlier coverage. I feel like a bit of a failure... I didn't see Andy Roddick or Rafael Nadal, and only first watched a full game at semi-final time (I watched all the mens and womens semis and the finals in the end though so I slightly redeemed myself).

In my defence, Australia had a terrible run. It was so great to see Lleyton Hewitt get to the second round after continuing to strengthen his game after his injuries, but when a weakened Hewitt can get further than Sam Stosur AND Bernard Tomic there is something seriously strange going on. As such, I wasn't as tempted to tune in every night.

But the mens final though... wow.

For me it was a 10.30pm (coverage) start time. So the game itself started later. Unfortunately I had not been given a late shift so work began at 8.30am today. You can imagine I'm a bit wrecked after having watched most of it (save a few instances of brief zonk-outs on the couch).

I was awake for the tail-end of that 20 minute game. That was phenomenal. Now, I've never raced to watch either of these guys because they've always seemed a bit boring to me, but in their older age I'm appreciating the Federers and Nadals of the tennis world. Roger was just a machine. It was honestly three-and-a-half hours or so of being able to forget Nadal and Djokovic were even in the picture. And Murray brought it to him, he played superb for the most part. I don't blame him for showing emotion during play, I'd be the same.

But it was his tears after that still managed to surprise me. He had what would've felt like the world's expectation on his shoulders... and I (wrongly) had him in my head as unemotional. Although for a change I was happy to see either win, the whole Murray losing thing broke my heart a little.

***
Although I've actually avoided late-night/early-morning bouts of sports watching since the final of Euro2012 I feel like I'm still recovering from not having a normal sleeping pattern. So my idea of sporting insomnia is really not holding out all that well (I blame the extreme cold). But wasn't Euro2012 a great tournament in hindsight?


Greece did extremely well to get to the quarter-finals, while the final was everything it should have been. Perhaps except for Germany being in there. Either way, Spain is totally claiming world domination, and rightly so.

Back on track and now that the tennis is over there's the Tour de France to set my sights on - I haven't watched any of that yet. And... wow. The Olympics. My mother knows a woman who takes the two weeks off every year so she can sit at home, watch it and do nothing else. If I don't actually go to Rio in 2016 I'd definitely consider doing that. Totally spewing I didn't think of it for this year. Or going to London like some people I know. But that's a plan further down my pipeline.

Like 2.3 million other Australians plus a lot more people worldwide, I watched last night's Australian Open mens final.  My lowdown concerns a number of factors encompassing the game, players and personal experience.

1. The hype

The Australian Open seriously delivered in 2012. Sam Stosur failed to live up to expectation as a top 10 player, but Bernard Tomic and Lleyton Hewitt tried their absolute hardest for the Aussies. And our number one seed in the boys juniors took out the title which is promising.

Hewitt's set off Djokovic had Australia on the edge of their seats. I've never really been a Hewitt hater, so I was happy to see him do so well before ultimately bowing out. I really felt for him on seeing the emotion on his face. And then since, I really enjoyed his commentary, he speaks well.

2. The WAGs

See my previous blog on the WAGs of the Australian Open. 'Nuff said.

3. The grunting

I managed to watch the womens final after my mind had decided that the tennis balls sound like that on impact. More opinion on that here. But in the mens final(s) I noticed that they are just as bad but on a lower octave (if that's the correct term).

4. The finals

The top four men made the semi's. That's something to say for the strength of The Untouchables isn't it? The skill shown by all four was incredible... the Sydney Morning Herald was succinct in saying Roger Federer can't get up to Novak Djokovic or Rafael Nadal, while Andy Murray can't get there yet - but Federer's still got the brilliance. And this is from someone who has never really gone out of their way to watch him play.

5. Changing tastes

And here's where my personal view comes into it. I went into this Open obviously hoping the Aussies would do well, and looked forward to seeing the Roddicks and Baghdatis's of the circuit. The exciting personalities. But both of those exited early, and then after my WAG discovery, the last remaining Djoker started to get on my nerves a bit. I found myself going for Murray in the semi, while also going for Federer against Nadal.

And then in the final I found myself going for Nadal. Which has never happened before.

And so to...

6. THE FINAL.

I'll try and be brief. As we all know, it was AMAZING. The tennis was incredible from the outset, and some of the rallies five-and-a-half hours in were just miraculous. Being about 1am I was starting to doze off before they came back with those to blow me away and wanting more when Djokovic finally dropped to the ground victorious.

But there WERE things that irritated me. I've turned a bit on Djokovic yes, and last night didn't help his case. Now, I'm Orthodox too and respect the whole religion thing, but bringing the prayers onto the court is so unnecessary.

Then there was the Hulk moment. Sure, I get it. But really, it was like watching the cringy moment in Star Wars Episode III when Hayden Christensen's Darth Vader cries 'nooooooo' at finding out Luke's his son. Painful to watch.

To be fair, he IS the world's best. Either would have been worthy winners. But I was cheering for Nadal, and really sad at seeing his disappointment. Like, really sad. Looking forward to jumping on his bandwagon in 2012 to see if he can crack Djokovic. It was a game for the ages, fitting for the 100th anniversary of the mens final. So fitting.

7. Twitter

My viewing was accompanied by fierce Tweeting throughout, and managing to be mentioned by @AustralianOpen twice as well as making a solid Twitter BFF from Portland, Oregon, USA, it was a definite highlight alongside the wonderful play unfolding. Twitter on events like this is amazing. My new motto is #sleepisfortheweak, I am inspired by the people of the world.

8. Over for another year

Came home tonight to see TBA on the TV guide... how depressing. Over for another year already. This year has told me more than ever that I need to go, so I WILL be at Melbourne Park in 2013.

While watching sports replays aren't everyone's cup of tea, there are definitely advantages. Some general, and some specific to the given game.

Having followed the Tomic vs Verdasco Australian Open game online while at work (and now with Optus I can get it on the road for free, yew!), it was good to wind down with watching the last two sets.

Even if I knew how it ended.

Because you find out things. You're not watching for the score as much as the other elements. Tennis is a particularly interesting example.

People still call tweets twitters.
   Jim Courier trying to correct Bruce McAvaney was hilarious while still very subtle. People today were tweeting from set three that Tomic could come back...

The tweeters are always right.
  They weren't wrong were they? I particularly liked one tweet (sorry for the lack of source) that wrote they were loving the tequila sunrise outfits of Verdasco and his Spanish ensemble. Great comment. Power to the tweeter.

Things about the players' outfits become more noticeable.
  While I saw the outfit first as a Spanish summer as opposed to the drink (bright with their flag colours), Verdasco's wearing a hat now. Whether he did before I cannot recall, I was always too busy appreciating his face. Which is harder when a cap attempts to cover it.

You appreciate faces in the crowd.
  Many a time there's someone famous in the crowd, or a mysterious partner/friend/relative in a player's box that isn't revealed as a significant person for much longer than you would like. Or just general people in the crowd like in this game, where who I think was an extremely good looking guy was sitting behind Pascal Maria. On a side note, that's a name I appreciate. The coolest name for an umpire ever.

Realising the ad quality has seriously declined = dampener.
  While the Australian Open is back (which is awesome and something I ALWAYS hang out for), I miss the awesome American Express ads with Andy Roddick in his heyday. Nothing could ever top those for this tournament I don't think, too good. We lost out when Amex pulled their major sponsorship.

Jim Courier would have to have the best US accent ever.
I've been on the Courier bandwagon for some time now with some help from my besties, but listening to his voice without having to reeeeally pay attention to the commentary is very manageable. It's not nasal, doesn't have a twang, and he doesn't stutter. Plus he's totally charming so that always works in someone's favour.

I never took advantage when it was closest.
I lived in Adelaide. It can cost you $49 one-way to Melbourne with hand luggage. WHY I never organised to take the time off I don't know. And then when I looked at ticket prices for 2012 (thinking of finally getting there) I moved halfway across the country.

But regardless, I will be going in 2013. I've waited far too long and next year it will be well deserved.

FLASHBACK: this is the last tennis action I saw live (besides the mens Wimbledon final last year, but that was on a screen so technically doesn't count), the inaugural World Tennis Challenge in Adelaide in 2009. We saw Jim Courier in the flesh and watching the oldies play was a lot of fun.

Djokovic with his trophy just by the door there...