Roddick Wins US Open on Birthday

Would you love to spend your birthday celebrating with 25,000 spectators at Arthur Ashe Stadium? What about adding to that celebration a win at the U.S. Open? Well, that's how Andy Roddick celebrated his 26th birthday; by beating Latvian Ernests Gulbis last night. Ernests also celebrated his 20th birthday last night.

``He made me feel like a kid in the first two sets,'' Roddick said in an interview after the match. ``Then the clock struck 12 and I started to play like a 26-year-old again.''

``It was a real experience playing in front of such a big crowd on my birthday,'' Gulbis said after the match. ``I was proud the way I played.''

Roddick grew frustrated in the first set and the start of the second, smashing his racket, shaking his head, and talking to himself, as Gulbis hit winners from the baseline.

Roddick then turned the match around with his serve and fierce ground strokes.

``I've been off a lot, but I'm going to get there,'' Roddick said. He had been challenged by an injury to his shoulder earlier in the season.

Roddick defeated Gulbis 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 7-5 during a rainy match that went on to finish at 1:35 a.m. local time.

Pictures of the 2008 Beijing Olympics Closing Ceremony

Singer Leona Lewis (2nd R) and guitarist Jimmy Page (1st R) perform on a bus during the eight-minute performance prepared by London, host city of the next summer Olympic Games in 2012, at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games closing ceremony held in the National Stadium, or the Bird's Nest, Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 24, 2008. (Xinhua/Guo Dayue)


British soccer superstar David Beckham (C) throws a “welcome ball” from atop a red double-decker bus during the eight-minute performance prepared by London, host city of the next summer Olympic Games in 2012, at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games closing ceremony held in the National Stadium, or the Bird's Nest, Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 24, 2008. (Xinhua/Liao Yujie)


Drummers perform in the National Stadium during the Closing Ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 24, 2008 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)


Basketball player Yao Ming of China is seen in the National Stadium during the Closing Ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 24, 2008 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)


Drummers perform during the Closing Ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games at The Beijing National Stadium on August 24, 2008 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)


A dancer performs during the Closing Ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 24, 2008 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)


A band performs during the Closing Ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 24, 2008 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)


Performers are seen during the Closing Ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 24, 2008 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)


Performers are pictured during the Closing Ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 24, 2008 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)


A general view of the festivities in Beijing National Stadium during the Closing Ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 24, 2008 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)


Artistes perform at the National Stadium during the Closing Ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 24, 2008 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)


Performers ride a bicycle during the Closing Ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games at the Beijing National Stadium on August 24, 2008 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)


Drummers perform in the National Stadium during the Closing Ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 24, 2008 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)


Fireworks ignite over The Beijing National Stadium during the Closing Ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 24, 2008 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)


Archer Khatuna Lorig carries the flag for the United States during the Closing Ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 24, 2008 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)


Lopez Lomong of the United States takes a during the Closing Ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in the National Stadium on August 24, 2008 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)


Footballer David Beckham during the Closing Ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 24, 2008 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)


Chris Hoy of Great Britain carries the flag during the Closing Ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 24, 2008 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)


Liu Qi, President of BOCOG talks as Jacques Rogge, President of the International Olympic Committee looks on while the olympic flame burns in the cauldron above the stadium during the Closing Ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games at the National Stadium on August 24, 2008 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)


Basketball player Lauren Jackson of Australia is pictured during the Closing Ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games at the National Stadium on August 24, 2008 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)


Drummers performs during the Closing Ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 24, 2008 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)


Performers dance during the Closing Ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games at the Beijing National Stadium on August 24, 2008 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

Angel Matos: A Cuban Taekwondo Fighter Kicks Referee On the Head!

Angel Matos of Cuba, a taekwondo Olympian was banned for life along with his coach from the World Taekwondo Federation for kicking a judge on the head.

Matos was declared the loser of the bronze match for taking more than the allotted one minute of injury time after he hurt his leg. He responded by pushing the referee, then attacking the Swedish judge, Chakir Chelbat. He was eventually dragged out, spitting on the floor as he left.

Cuban coach Leudis Gonzalez refused to apologize for Matos' actions and criticized the judge, saying, "He was too strict." The World Taekwondo Federation immediately announced lifetime bans for both Matos and Gonzalez for what it called "a strong violation of the spirit of taekwondo and the Olympics."

Take a look of the video below of what happened.

Repeat Gold Medals in Beach Volleyball for US Olympic team

Photo By Jeff Swinger, USA TODAY



Kerri Walsh, 30, of Hermosa Beach, California, and Misty May-Treanor, 31, of Long Beach, California just raised the bar in beach volleyball. These ladies are doing what no one has ever done before.

It's not just the two gold medals that set them apart. It's the 108 consecutive match victories. Including the Olympics, they have won 19 consecutive tournaments. They played 28 sets in two Olympiads — and won 28 sets.

"I don't think I will ever see something like this in my lifetime," Kiraly said after Walsh and May-Treanor made history Thursday by becoming the first beach volleyball team, male or female, to repeat as Olympic champions.

"I absolutely broke down and cried like a baby when they won," said Kiraly, who won indoor gold medals in 1984 and 1988 and beach volleyball's first Olympic gold medal in 1996.

"When Misty ran over and hugged her dad (Butch May, a 1968 U.S. indoor volleyball Olympian) and spread some of the ashes of her mother (Barbara, who died of cancer in 2002) on the court, it just really rocked me.

German Olympians in Playboy

From scantily-clad beach volleyball to Germany’s finest hockey player baring all for a steamy photo-shoot, sex sells at the Olympics.

Topless photos of hockey player Katharina Scholz, sailor Petra Niemann, judo competitor Romy Tarangul and canoeist Nicole Reinhardt are on four alternative front covers of the latest German edition of Playboy magazine.

“For me it was a good opportunity, and maybe when I look back after a few years I will be proud of it,” said 25-year-old Katharina Scholz. “Not everybody can go on the cover of Playboy. I did it because I am confident of my body and myself. It wasn’t a group decision, we haven’t seen each other. The shooting was separate. Everyone decided it for themselves.” Other Olympians have also been happy to pose in and out of competition.

US Olympic swimming champion Amanda Beard posed naked in Playboy last year, and three British athletes including triple jumper Phillips Idowu bared all as part of an advertising campaign ahead of this year’s Games.

The four Germans can be seen in the September issue of German Playboy.