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EXTRATERRESTRIAL Movie Review: Cliched But Ending Is Best Part

MTTG Staff

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May 16, 2015

EXTRATERRESTRIAL Movie Review: Cliched But Ending Is Best Part

Extraterrestrial is another cabin in the woods film about a bunch of teenagers who head out in to the woods for a booze filled weekend, but end up being terrorized by an unknown force. I can see you rolling your eyes as I write this because it’s just so freaking standard. The movie is directed by and written by The Vicious Brothers who is the pair responsible for The Grave Encounter movies. People rave about those films, but I still find them to be unimpressive found-footage movies.

I’m not impressed with their latest movie venture either. From the very beginning the writing, editing and directing is so bad that I wondered if it’s a satirical film and not a serious teen horror film. The film has the feel that it is very professionally shot. It never makes itself obvious as a satire which makes how bad the writing and editing is even more confusing. Do The Vicious Brothers want us to be dazzled by their teenage horror story satire skills (which if it is a satire isn’t a very good one) or did they just make a really shitty movie?

The cliche feel of the film starts off from the very beginning where you’re introduced to someone being abducted by aliens. Right from the beginning, you know what the whole feel of the movie will be like. Then, you see a bunch of young Caucasian people (there’s no ethnic diversity in this film whats-so-ever, they didn’t even try with that one) pack up and head out in to the woods. From the very beginning there is not a single character that is likable. The main character is your typical, annoying white girl who loves her boyfriend but is deathly scared of commitment. It makes other parts of the movie feel out of logic when she decides to go to the end of the earth (literally) to protect him, but she won’t let him put a ring on it?

The other two females in the movie are also walking cliches. There’s a brass and crass best friend along with a slutty blonde. There’s the good guy character trying to marry the girl of his dreams, but instead is left in limbo. The character that felt like it had been transplanted right out off of a 80s horror film drove me crazy from beginning to end.

He was pretty much the only one who cursed throughout the entire film. He was a complete asshole and there was not one redeeming quality about him. In fact, the character’s demise is one of the few clues that seems like it’s trying to tell the viewer that it’s a satire.

The visual effects of the film are really amazingly good. For an independent alien/horror film, I was shocked to see effects that were breathtakingly good, believable and often times scary. Some of the horror films I’ve been seeing on Netflix seem like the special effects are put together by some weird cracker jacks team or something. The space ships are shockingly impressive from the outside. It doesn’t come across like a metal hub cap from a cheap 60s movie was used that’s for sure! Even the beaming scene was more shocking and gut wrenching then ever. And let me tell you, there’s a really gross anal probe scene that I’ve never seen done before. It’s done horrifically, but still with a strange amount of tact and taste.

The scenes editing felt extremely mismatched and out of place. Some scenes just sharply cut to another scene without any flow to it all. It was almost disorienting. I think they were trying to obtain an edgy film style, but it just came across as being done in an ill manner. The Vicious Brother’s previous films were found footage features and this film felt like it wanted to be a found footage film without the effort of actually making it a good film. There are even one or two scenes viewed through a camera and while their effective for a minute, it gives you the impression that the film makers wanted the entire movie to be seen that way.

One of the main things that turned me off about the film included the pockets of boredom you go through. There is one sequence where the young adults get trapped inside of a recluses house and it drags on forever and ever! People running around a dark room, screaming at things and shooting does not make for a scary scene, it just makes for boring screen time.

That brings me to several major plot line holes. The aliens only start terrorizing people after they crash land in the woods after a bad storm. If they crash landed, how is their ship suddenly in working order fast enough for them to start abducting people? Why do the aliens leave the ship to suddenly terrorize people? If they hate the human race so much, why they did they need a crash landed ship to motivate them to exterminate man kind only in the backwoods somewhere? I know, I know it’s a horror film and we’re supposed to tune out while watching it. Honestly however, these questions plagued me for about an hour before I went to bed because they were such glaring problems I really wanted some answers!

The ending (no spoilers here) is the most epic part of the film and is another clue to the possibility of the film being one big joke. I’m hopping that the film really is one big satire as the special effects had me wanting to take to like it. If it is a satire then The Vicious Brothers should really try brushing up on their pacing and editing skills and if it it’s not….there may not be much hope (or financial backing) for these two in the future.

Extraterrestrial Movie Trailer:

Serie A Game Week 35 Review: Roma and Lazio battling for Number 2

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May 16, 2015

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Serie A Game Week 35 Review: Roma and Lazio battling for Number 2

AS Roma have a long-standing rivalry with Lazio and both these sides in the Italian capital are going head to head for the second spot in the Serie A.

After Inzaghi’s rallying cry to his team to honour the Milan shirt, the Italian giants defeated the second place Roma last weekend. Marco van Ginkel opened the scoring while Destro doubled his side’s lead. Francesco Totti’s penalty in the 73^rd minute couldn’t save his side from losing all points. Inzaghi was pleased with his players after the three points, despite being sent off.

“Tonight the team showed great dignity and played a wonderful team game. Let us enjoy and feel proud to have beaten a great Roma side,” he told Sky Sport Italia. “We are on the right track and it might be a bit late now, but this is a good place to build on for the future,” the AC Milan boss said.

“We must never look behind us. Unfortunately the past is past. It’s a shame because we have the quality and capabilities. We struggled a little to rediscover ourselves, but I did see it for 70 minutes when down to 10 men against Napoli.

“Roma are challenging for the Champions League, so they were highly motivated. I saw my team in training do well and knew there’d be a performance like this.

“Now there are three games to go and we’ll try to win all three. Europe? I hear there are some clubs in danger, so we will just try to get nine points and see what happens.

“In any case, this is an evening to be proud of that we can enjoy.”

The former Milan player got his marching order in the stoppage time for dissent, but he was given a huge round of applause from the San Siro crowd.

“The fans are very kind with me. They probably see that I give my all and want to bring back the culture of weekly work at Milan. It’s not easy and there have been a number of Coaches in recent years, but I never thought I had a magic wand to fix everything.

“To my last day I will fight for this jersey. I apologise to the referee, but I didn’t say anything in particular, I was probably just a bit too forceful in my protest.”

The Italian champions Juventus also dropped points at home against Cagliari. The draw won’t matter much to Allegri as his side are already the champions and are on course to win the treble. Paul Pogba netted a fantastic goal marking his comeback into the starting eleven.

Inter Milan got a massive victory over Lazio at the weekend, keeping themselves in touch of the Europa league spot. Mancini’s men have yet another testing fixture this weekend as they come face to face with the Champions League finalists Juventus. Lazio were lucky enough to stay in touching distance of the second place team.

Parma are already relegated to the lower division but it hasn’t stopped them pulling out some upsets. Napoli were held to a 2 – 2 draw by Parma at home. The Naples based side came from behind twice as Gabbiadini and Mertens scored the equalizers. With only three games left, Rafael Benitez’s side have a realistic chance of booking the Champions League berth.

Cesena are also demoted to the Serie B but Cagliari are still holding on. They are six points behind the 17^th place Atalanta and their fate could be sealed as soon as this weekend.

Novak Djokovic vs Roger Federer or Stan Wawrinka: Ferrer Out

Jackie Warner

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May 16, 2015

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Novak Djokovic vs Roger Federer or Stan Wawrinka: Ferrer Out

Novak Djokovic had it a bit easier today at the 2015 Rome Open only having to go two sets to beats David Ferrer 6-4, 6-4 in just around ninety minutes. His first three matches had him going to three sets and much longer times including Friday’s very intense match with Japan star Kei Nishikori.

Should the World No. 1 beat second seed Roger Federer or eighth seed Stan Wawrinkain Sunday’s final, it would also represent his fourth ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown of 2015.

The three-time champion defeated seventh seed and 2010 runner-up David Ferrer 6-4, 6-4 on Saturday in one hour and 35 minutes at the Foro Italico in Rome.

Djokovic hit 26 winners and committed 24 unforced errors to beat Ferrer for the ninth time in a row. It extended his winning streak to 21 matches. His last loss came to Roger Federer in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships final on 28 February.

Watch Djokovic Hot Shot

Trading blows from the back of the court, Ferrer could not dig himself out of difficulties in the third game. Djokovic converted his secon of three break point opportunities with a fine backhand crosscourt, which opened up the court for a routine forehand into space.

Ferrer clung on and at 4-5, with Djokovic serving for the set, the Spaniard was aggressive and used his forehand effectively for a break point at 30/40. Ferrer could not convert as he over hit a forehand when Djokovic appeared stretched. Djokovic clinched his third set point to end the 45-minute set.

Djokovic won 59 per cent of his first service points and committed 15 unforced errors against the battling Ferrer.

In the second set, Ferrer recovered from 15/40 in the first game by winning six straight points, before Djokovic regained control.

Djokovic’s accurate groundstroke length continued to trouble Ferrer, who could not convert a break point in the sixth game. At 4-4, Ferrer lost his serve to love and Djokovic soon sealed a spot in his 34th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final (23-10) and his 76th overall (52-23).

This year, he is now 13-1 against opponents in the Top 10 of the Emirates ATP Rankings.

Ferrer had been attempting to become the 12th player in the Open Era to record 300 clay-court match wins. The Spaniard has a 1-6 record in ATP World Tour Masters 1000 finals.

The world No.1 had been pushed to three sets in his first three matches in Rome but beat Spaniard Ferrer 6-4 6-4 in one hour and 35 minutes.

Defending champion Djokovic will face either Roger Federer or Stanislas Wawrinka, who contest an all-Swiss semi-final later on Saturday.

Ferrer’s defeat guarantees that Rafael Nadal, who crashed out in the quarter-finals to Wawrinka on Friday, will be seeded seventh for the French Open, where he is a nine-time champion.

Djokovic, Federer & Ferrer Fight For Finals: 2015 Rome Open

Jackie Warner

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May 16, 2015

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Djokovic, Federer & Ferrer Fight For Finals: 2015 Rome Open

If the quarter-finals showed up anything on Friday at the 2015 Rome Open is that the semi-finals fight for the end should be some powerhouse tennis on Saturday. Stan Wawrinka shocked the place when he knocked the king of clay Rafael Nadal out of the Open, and now Roger Federer takes on Wawarinka who may still be very pumped up for yesterday’s win while Novak Djokovic has David Ferrer.

Novak Djokovic had his work cut for him with Kei Nishikori who took stunned the Serbian number one ranked tennis player when he took the second set. He roared back loudly in the third set showing that he wasn’t going to go out and he rallied back to win.

Update: Djokovic already knocked out David Ferrer 6-4, 6-4 so he will more than likely (in my opinion) playing Roger Federer which will be an amazing match to watch. Wawrinka could surprise us, but I don’t think it will happen today.

The semi-finals of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia feature the top two players in the Emirates ATP Rankings, Novak Djokovicand Roger Federer along with No. 8 David Ferrer and No. 9 Stan Wawrinka. Djokovic, who is the reigning champion, is attempting to capture his fourth Rome title (2008, ’11, ’14) while the other three, all former finalists, are looking to earn their first crown in Rome. In the opening semi-final, Djokovic brings a 14-5 career record against Ferrer, having won the past eight meetings, although the Spaniard is 3-2 on clay. Ferrer reached the final in 2010. In the second semi-final, three-time (2003, ’06, ’13) Rome finalist Federer takes a 15-2 head-to-head advantage (3-2 on clay) against countryman Wawrinka, who was runner-up in 2008.

Below is the full updated 2015 Rome Open draw schedule below.

DJOKOVIC WINNING STREAKS: Djokovic won his 20th match in a row on Friday and in the process accomplished the feat for the fourth time in his career. His last loss came to Federer in the Dubai final on Feb. 28.

Federer leads the way with seven 20+ winning streaks during his career, followed by Nadal (6), Djokovic (4) and Lendl (4) and three players with three: Borg, McEnroe, and Sampras. The longest unbeaten run in the Open Era (since 1968) belongs to Guillermo Vilas, who put together 46 wins in a row in 1977.

roger federer vs stan wawrinka rome open 2015

• FEDERER CLOSE TO ELUSIVE CROWN: Rome is one of two ATP Masters 1000 titles missing from Federer’s collection (along with Monte-Carlo). The Swiss is making his 15th appearance in the Italian capital – at no other tournament has he appeared more without winning the title. He has reached the final here three times: 2003 (l. to Mantilla), 2006 (l. to Nadal) and 2013 (l. to Nadal).

• 300 CLAY WINS CLUB: Ferrer comes into the semi-finals with a career record of 299-115 on clay. He is trying to become the 12th player in the Open Era with at least 300 tour level wins on clay.

• A GLANCE AT SEMI-FINALISTS: Here’s a look at what each player is trying to do…

– Djokovic is looking to reach his 34th ATP Masters 1000 final (23-10) and 76th overall (52-23)
– Ferrer is looking to reach his 8th ATP Masters 1000 final (1-6) and 50th overall (24-25)
– Federer is looking to reach his 41st ATP Masters 1000 final (23-17) and 129th overall (85-43)
– Wawrinka is looking to reach his 4th ATP Masters 1000 final (1-2) and 19th overall (9-9)

• BIG FOUR DOMINATION: The quartet of Djokovic, Federer, Nadal and Murray have accounted for 43 of the last 47 ATP Masters 1000 tournaments (since 2010 Monte-Carlo). The only exceptions came at Paris-Bercy in 2010 (Soderling) and 2012 (Ferrer) and last year in Monte-Carlo (Wawrinka) and Toronto (Tsonga). Since Tsonga’s title in Toronto in August, the last seven ATP Masters 1000 tournaments have been won by Djokovic (four), Federer (two) or Murray (one).

DAY 7 SEMI-FINAL FEDEX ATP HEAD2HEADS

CENTRALE

[1] Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs [7] David Ferrer (ESP)

FedEx ATP Head2Head: Djokovic leads 14-5
2004    Bucharest (Romania)           Clay   R16   David Ferrer   4-6 6-4 6-4
2007    ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells (USA)   Hard   QF   Novak Djokovic   6-3 6-4
2007    ATP Masters 1000 Monte Carlo (Monaco)   Clay   R16   David Ferrer   7-5 6-4
2007    US Open (USA)               Hard   SF   Novak Djokovic   6-4 6-4 6-3
2007    Tennis Masters Cup (China)       Hard   RR   David Ferrer   6-4 6-4
2008    Australian Open (Australia)       Hard   QF   Novak Djokovic   6-0 6-3 7-5
2009    Dubai (U.A.E.)               Hard   F   Novak Djokovic   7-5 6-3
2009    ESP vs. SRB WG 1st RD (Spain)       Clay   RR   David Ferrer   6-3 6-3 7-6(4)
2010    Beijing (China)               Hard   F   Novak Djokovic   6-2 6-4
2011    ATP Masters 1000 Madrid (Spain)       Clay   QF   Novak Djokovic   6-4 4-6 6-3
2011    Barclays ATP World Tour Finals (England) Hard   RR   David Ferrer   6-3 6-1
2012    Australian Open (Australia)       Hard   QF   Novak Djokovic   6-4 7-6(4) 6-1
2012    ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami (USA)   Hard   QF   Novak Djokovic   6-2 7-6(1)
2012    US Open (USA)               Hard   SF   Novak Djokovic   2-6 6-1 6-4 6-2
2013    Australian Open (Australia)       Hard   SF   Novak Djokovic   6-2 6-2 6-1
2013    ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Paris    Hard   F   Novak Djokovic   7-5 7-5
2014    ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Rome    Clay   QF   Novak Djokovic   7-5 4-6 6-3
2014    ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Shanghai   Hard   QF   Novak Djokovic    6-4 6-2
2015    ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami   Hard   QF   Novak Djokovic   7-5 7-5

•   Djokovic comes into SF after three straight-set decisive-set wins (10-1 this year), posting his
•   150th career clay-court 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-3, over Nicolas Almagro in his opening match, then following with a 5-7, 6-2, 6-3 defeat of BrazilianThomaz Bellucci and No. 5 seed Kei Nishikori    6-3, 3-6, 6-1. He has wins over all nine different Top 10 opponents this season and leads ATP World Tour with a 12-1 record. Has held serve 40 of 43 games this week (93%).
•   Djokovic has reached QF or better here on all nine of his visits (32-5), winning the title in 2008 (d. Wawrinka), 2011 and last year (d. Nadal both). Also runner-up in 2009 and ‘12 (l. to Nadal both)
•   Djokovic leads the ATP World Tour with a 33-2 match record (8-0 on clay) and four titles this season. Djokovic’s lone clay-court outing came in Monte-Carlo where he became the first player to capture the opening three ATP Masters 1000 events of the season. In the Principality, the Serb closed with three consecutive Top 10 wins over Marin Cilic, Rafael Nadal and Tomas Berdych.
•   Djokovic is on a 20-match winning streak, which also includes his title runs in Indian Wells (d. Federer) and Miami (d. Murray). His victory at Indian Wells saw him become the 11th player in the Open Era to win 50 titles, surpassing Rod Laver and coach Boris Becker, who both finished their careers on 49. He now has 52 titles to his name.
•   Djokovic has won 23 ATP Masters 1000 titles during his career, putting him level with Federer (23) and four short of Nadal (27). The trio rank in the Top 3 for titles won at this tournament level.
•   In January, Djokovic became the first man in the Open Era to win fiveAustralian Open titles, defeating Murray in the final. It was his eighth Grand Slam crown, putting him level with Agassi, Connors, Lendl, Perry and Rosewall in eighth place on the all-time list for most major titles.
•   Djokovic’s last defeat came against Federer in the Dubai final on Feb. 28. His only other loss this year came in the opening week of the season in Doha, falling to Ivo Karlovic in QF.
•   Since falling to Nadal in last year’s Roland Garros final, Djokovic has posted a 24-2 record against fellow Top 10 players.
•   Djokovic has won a 6-0 set on 10 separate occasions this season. This is the third time he has won 10-more 6-0 sets in a season, after posting 13 in 2011 and 14 in 2013.
•   In 2014, Djokovic finished the season at No. 1 for the third time in four years, winning an ATP World Tour-high seven titles in eight finals. His season was highlighted by capturing a second Wimbledon crown, four ATP Masters 1000 titles and the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London.
•   Ferrer advanced to the semi-finals for the fourth time (‘05-SF, ’10-Rup, ’12-SF) with a 62 46 63 win over Belgian David Goffin. Notched his 30th win of the season with a 6-4, 7-5 defeat of Richard Gasquet in his opener (2R). Then cruised past compatriot Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-1, 6-3 in 3R. Has held serve 28 of 33 games (.848) and leads in return games won (41%, 13 of 32) this week.
•   Ferrer is making his 12th appearance in Rome with his best result a runner-up showing in 2010 (d. No. 5 Murray, No. 10 Tsonga, No. 9 Verdasco; l. to Nadal), his first career ATP Masters 1000 final
•   Ferrer has reached at least QF at 12 of his last 14 ATP Masters 1000 events, including four this year: Miami (l. to Djokovic), Monte-Carlo (l. to Nadal), Madrid (l. to Nishikori) and Rome, which is Spaniard’s first SF in ‘15
•   Ferrer has won three ATP World Tour titles this year (two 500 level), bringing his career haul to 24. He captured the Doha title in the opening week of the season (d. Berdych), before posting back-to-back tournament wins at the ATP 500 events in Rio de Janeiro (d. Fognini) and Acapulco (d. Nishikori). He became the first player since Ivan Lendl in 1985 to win back-to-back tournaments on two different surfaces.
•   In 2014, Ferrer finished in the Top 10 for the fifth year in a row and sixth overall, reaching the QF or better 17 times, while clinching a lone title in Buenos Aires (d. Fognini).
•   Has a 51-100 career record against Top 10 opponents (2-4 this season). Trying to post his sixth career win over a World No. 1. Has three wins over Nadal (’11 Aust. Open, ’13 Paris-Bercy, ’14 Monte-Carlo) and one over Djokovic (’11 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals) and one over Agassi (’03 Rome, also first career Top 10 win).

[8] Stan Wawrinka (SUI) vs [2] Roger Federer (SUI)

FedEx ATP Head2Head: Federer leads 15-2
2005    Rotterdam (The Netherlands)        Hard    R16    Roger Federer    6-1 6-4
2006    Dubai (U.A.E.)                Hard    R32    Roger Federer    7-6(3) 6-3
2009    ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Monte Carlo Clay    R16    Stan Wawrinka    6-4 7-5
2009    ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Montreal    Hard    R16    Roger Federer    6-3 7-6(5)
2010    ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid    Clay    R16    Roger Federer   6-3 6-1
2010    Roland Garros (France)            Clay    R16    Roger Federer    6-3 7-6(5) 6-2
2010    Stockholm (Sweden)            Hard    QF    Roger Federer    2-6 6-3 6-2
2011    Australian Open (Australia)        Hard    QF    Roger Federer    6-1 6-3 6-3
2011    ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells Hard    QF    Roger Federer    6-3 6-4
2011    Roland Garros (France)            Clay    R16    Roger Federer    6-3 6-2 7-5
2011    Basel (Switzerland)            Hard    SF    Roger Federer    7-6(5) 6-2
2012    ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Cincinnati    Hard    SF    Roger Federer    7-6(4) 6-3
2012    ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Shanghai    Hard    R16    Roger Federer    4-6 7-6(4) 6-0
2013    ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells Hard    R16    Roger Federer    6-3 6-7(4) 7-5
2014    ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Monte Carlo Clay   F   Stan Wawrinka   4-6 7-6(5) 6-2
2014    Wimbledon (Great Britain)       Grass   QF   Roger Federer   3-6 7-6(5) 6-4 6-4
2014    Barclays ATP World Tour Finals (London)   Hard   SF   Roger Federer   4-6 7-5 7-6(6)

•   Wawrinka is appearing in his first semi-final here since 2008 when he reached the final (l. to Djokovic). Rallied from 2-6 deficit in 1st set TB vs. No. 4 seed Nadal to win 76(7) 62 (first clay win over Spaniard, 1-5). In 3R, beatDominic Thiem 7-6(3), 6-4, and in his opening match rallied past Juan Monaco, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. Has held serve 29 of 35 games (.829) this week, saving 16 of 22 break pts. (73%) and has converted 11 of 19 break pts. (58%), best among remaining players
•   Wawrinka is playing in Rome for the 11th time. He finished runner-up here in 2008, posting Top 10 wins over No. 8 James Blake and No. 6 Andy Roddick (l. to Djokovic in 3 sets).
•   Wawrinka captured the eighth and ninth titles of his career in Chennai (d.Aljaz Bedene) and Rotterdam (d. Berdych) either side of a SF appearance at the Australian Open (l. to Djokovic).
•   Wawrinka suffered early exits in both Indian Wells (l. to Haase in 2R) and Miami (l. to Mannarino in 3R) in March. He also fell to Dimitrov in both the 3R in Monte-Carlo and last week in Madrid.
•   Coming into this week, Wawrinka hadn’t won back-to-back matches since Rotterdam in February.
•   In 2014, Wawrinka finished in the Top 10 for the second year in a row at a year-end high No. 4. He captured his first Grand Slam crown at Australian Open (d. Nadal), first ATP Masters 1000 title in Monte-Carlo (d. Federer) and won the Davis Cup with Switzerland for the first time.
•   Has a 39-71 career record vs. Top 10 opponents (4-1 this year)
•   Federer reached the SFs for the third time in past four years with a 63 63 win over No. 6 Tomas Berdych on Friday. With the win he also surpassed $90 million in career prize money. In 3R, posted a 6-3, 7-5 win over Kevin Anderson and in his opening round he beat Pablo Cuevas for the second time in three weeks, 7-6, 6-4. Only player yet to drop a set this week and leads tournament in first serve pts. won (84%) and has held serve 28 of 31 games (90%)
•   Federer is playing in Rome for the 15th time. He is still chasing a first title here, falling in the final three times: 2003 (l. to Felix Mantilla), 2006 (l. to Nadal) and 2013 (l. to Nadal). Last year, fell in his opening match at the Foro Italico, losing to Jeremy Chardy.
•   Federer suffered an early exit in Madrid, falling to Nick Kyrgios in his opening match (after holding two match pts.). It was the Swiss’ first loss to a player aged 20 or younger since defeat to del Potro in the 2009 US Openfinal.
•   After a 3R loss to Gael Monfils in Monte-Carlo, Federer bounced back by capturing an 85th career title in Istanbul earlier this month (d. Cuevas). Turkey became the 19th different country in which he has won an ATP World Tour title.
•   Only two players have won more titles than Federer (85): Connors (109) and Lendl (94).
•   En route to his title in Istanbul, Federer became the seventh active player to hit 200 wins on clay.
•   In January, Federer recorded his 1000th ATP match win in the Brisbane final (d. Raonic) before a shock 3R exit at the Australian Open (l. to Seppi).
•   In February, Federer claimed his second title of the season in Dubai (d. Djokovic).
•   In March, Federer advanced to the final of Indian Wells (l. to Djokovic).
•   In 2014, Federer finished in the Top 2 for the 10th time, winning five titles including two ATP Masters 1000 crowns. Aged 33, he was the oldest player to finish in the Top 2 of the Emirates ATP Rankings (since 1973), and was the first to finish in the Top 10 for 13 years in a row (2003-2015) since Lendl (1980-1992). He also won a first Davis Cup title for Switzerland.

New York Rangers Betting Odds vs Lightning: 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs

Shane Lambert

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May 16, 2015

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New York Rangers Betting Odds vs Lightning: 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs

The 2015 NHL Eastern Conference finals will begin on Saturday when the Stanley Cup playoffs resume. The two teams remaining in the east are the New York Rangers and the Tampa Bay Lightning with New York entering the series as the favorite (source: bet365).

The Rangers, besides winning the Eastern Conference last season, were the regular season champions following the 2014/15 season. Accordingly, they will have home ice advantage now that they have reached the conference finals, meaning games one and two will both come from New York. With Madison Square Garden set to host on Saturday, New York are priced as -135 favorites (bet365).

New York enter the conference finals with some emotional momentum. The Rangers, after falling behind 1-3 in the second round to Washington, stormed back to win the series 4-3. Their efforts included a series-winning goal in overtime of game seven, an event that promises to be a career-highlight for all involved with the 2014/15 Rangers. However it may very well be that the affiliated celebrations, after dramatically winning game seven, are what the Rangers need to come back to Earth from.

Tampa Bay, who avoided going the maximum against the Canadiens, enter the eastern conference finals as the better rested team. They eliminated Montreal in six games and, by the time Saturday’s game-time arrives, the Lightning will have had four day’s rest compared to New York’s three. That isn’t necessarily a huge edge but, between two talented teams, minor advantages could be significant.

What certainly appears to be very relevant heading into the series is the fact that the teams met three times during the regular season. While none of their games were recent, the Lightning will surely ground some confidence in the fact that they went 3-0 against New York with impressive scoring totals from each game.

Tampa Bay shelled New York on November 17th 5-1. The Lightning edged the Rangers 4-3 later that month before doubling them up 6-3 in December. The three games totalled, TB scored 15 goals and Henrik Lundqvist, New York’s prize goalie, logged big minutes in one of those games.

Game time on Saturday is 1pm ET with NBC and CBC providing television coverage.

Stan Wawrinka Beats Rafael Nadal: 2015 Rome Open

Jackie Warner

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May 15, 2015

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Stan Wawrinka Beats Rafael Nadal: 2015 Rome Open

This has easily been one of the most exciting days of tennis at the 2015 Rome Masters Open where nothing was guaranteed. Novak Djokovic got tested hard in his second set lost to Kei Nishikori, but he came back strong. Rafael Nadal was truly tested by Stan Wawrinka and lost his first set shocking the crowd in Rome. Then when he lost his second set on his home turf, it was quite a shock but the win was truly earned and worked for as he beat the seven-time champion 7-6(7), 6-2 on Friday.

Wawrinka was able to save four set points which made it easier for him to take the first set which was very close. Wawrinka struck 16 winners to Nadal’s 11 in a first set that saw the Swiss broken twice, only to hit straight back on both occasions before taking a tight tie-break.

Nadal then toiled in the second, Wawrinka gaining a double-break advantage before staving off four break points in an epic sixth game for a 5-1 lead.

The eighth seed had to hold off another break point in his final service game, but he fought back to pull off a notable scalp.

Wawrinka was determined to get as far as he could with this match and at times Rafa was letting his frustrations get in the way. Nadal knew he had a lot riding on this match as his loss keeps him from being the fourth seed in the 2015 French Open. A win would have also let him jump up on the tennis rankings as both Tomas Berdych and Kei Nishikori lost games on Friday.

It was the first meeting between Wawrinka and Nadal since last year’s Australian Open final, when the Swiss won his maiden Grand Slam. The Spaniard still leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, now 12-2.

Wawrinka’s best result at this ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament was a runner-up finish in 2008 (l. to Djokovic).

Coming into this week, Wawrinka had not won back-to-back matches since Rotterdam in February. The World No. 9 lifted the trophy there (d. Berdych), his ninth ATP World Tour title. He also won the crown in Chennai (d. Bedene) to start his 2015 season.

Federer leads Wawrinka in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 15-2. Wawrinka’s two wins over the second seed both came on the clay of Monte-Carlo in 2009 and 2014.

Spaniard Nadal has been dominant on the red surface for the past decade, but he has struggled to shake off form and fitness issues that hampered him during the 2014 season, and he failed in Monte Carlo and Barcelona before losing to Andy Murray in last week’s Madrid Open final.

On Monday, Nadal dropped out of the top five in the ATP rankings for the first time in 10 years — falling to number 7. That wasn’t long after dropping to number 5 and then climbing back to number the number 4 position.

Here’s the semi-finals draw schedule updated:

Three-time runner-up Federer was broken early in his quarter-final tie against Tomas Berdych before recovering to win 6-3 6-3.

The Swiss hit 15 winners and just 11 unforced errors as he continues his bid for a first Rome success in 15 attempts.

World number one Djokovic had been taken the distance by Nicolas Almagro and Thomaz Bellucci already this week, and he once again needed a decider to defeat Nishikori 6-3 3-6 6-1.

The top seed showed his class by reeling off five straight games from 1-1 in the decider. He remains in fine form ahead of the French Open and he has now won 20 consecutive matches, his last defeat coming to Federer in Dubai in February.

“(There were) ups and downs for my side in all three matches,” Djokovic said. “But in the end (it’s about) just finding a way. This is what it takes to win, just finding the proper way and managing to perform your best when it matters.”

Djokovic let out a loud roar and threw his arms forward in a windmill action when he broke Nishikori’s serve early in the third set to take control.

“That break on 2-1 in the third set was crucial,” Djokovic said. “I knew that breaking his serve would give me wings. … I started swinging through the ball better and made less unforced errors and the match was gone in a very short time.”

Djokovic’s semifinal opponent will be seventh-seeded David Ferrer, who beatDavid Goffin of Belgium 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.

For the semi-finals, Novak Djokovic takes on David Ferrer and Roger Federer will play the man who knocked Rafa off his home turf, Stan Wawrinka. Odds are looking good that we could see Djokovic taking on the Swiss maestro in the finals, but like today, this Open is filled with some surprises.

In women’s action, second-seeded Simona Halep routed qualifier Alexandra Dulgheru 6-1, 6-0 in an all-Romanian matchup. Halep will next face 10th-seeded Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain, who eliminated last week’s Madrid Open champion Petra Kvitova 6-3, 6-2.

Also, 21-year-old Daria Gavrilova of Russia beat Christina McHale of the United States 6-2, 6-4 in a matchup of two qualifiers. In her first Masters semifinal, the 78th-ranked Gavrilova will meet either two-time Rome champion Maria Sharapova or former No. 1 Victoria Azarenka, who were playing later.

The 2010 U.S. Open junior champion, Gavrilova lives in Australia and is awaiting a change in citizenship. She beat Sharapova in Miami this year.

Under overcast skies with some rain drops falling briefly, Federer fell behind a break midway through the first set but recovered it immediately and cruised from there.

“From the baseline I was playing very well.” Federer said. “My serve was not quite there from the beginning. I was hitting too many second serves and he was able to take advantage of that and break early. So it was important to pick it up on the serve, which is maybe the easiest thing to do.”

“I felt good again on the return and (was) moving well, so as the match went on I got better and better,” he added. “The wind picked up in the second set — that’s when I think Tomas didn’t play so well anymore and I was able to get the job done.”

Perhaps fatigued from his three-set win over Fabio Fognini a day earlier, Berdych struggled to get his first serve in and rarely pushed Federer into long rallies.

Berdych attempted to take the initiative while serving at 3-4 in the first set but Federer produced a spectacular backhand cross-court passing shot with a flip of his wrist that left the Czech player looking on in admiration.

“I’m hitting my backhand quite well at the moment,” Federer said.

Federer went on to break Berdych’s serve to take a 5-3 lead and quickly served it out.

“Roger played a very good game. He really used his chances,” Berdych said. “He just played well. But there are days like that.”

After winning a title on clay in Istanbul two weeks ago, Federer lost his opening match to rising Australian Nick Kyrgios at last week’s Madrid Open. But he has played solidly here, also beating Kevin Anderson of South Africa in straight sets in his opening match.

Making his 15th appearance at the Foro Italico, Federer is a three-time finalist. He was beaten by Felix Mantilla in 2003, by Nadal in a fifth-set tiebreaker in 2006, and by Nadal again in 2013.

Rome is the last big warmup for the French Open, which starts in nine days.

Celebrity Gossip Roundup: Kenya Moore & Dane Cook vs the World RIP B.B. King

Curt Johnson

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May 15, 2015

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Rounding out this week’s gossip, we are talking a lot more about Kenya Moore, among other things, because she just can’t seem to get her shit together. Patti Stanger speaks out, Dane Cook speaks out too much and RIP to a blues legend.

Janet Hubert Blasts Kenya Moore; Says the Real Housewives of Atlanta Star Forged Her Signature

Does the drama ever really end with reality TV stars? Ugh… I hate to even use the word star because it implies that a person has a talent or ability that warrants such a moniker.

Anyway, life definitely does continue to “twirl on” for RHOA cast member Kenya Moore. We reported not too long ago that former Fresh Prince of Bel Air star (now she actually has talent) accused Moore of not paying her what she was owed for her work on the pilot episode for Life Twirls On. Then, we reported that Kenya did in fact pay the actress and has the SAG documents to prove it. Well now we have another update for you and it does not look pretty for the TV personality.

Hubert confirmed that Kenya and her people finally did pay her but, and this is a big but, she claims that her behavior was not only shady, but illegal. According to the professionally trained actress, Moore was found guilty of forging her signature “and changing the time sheets” which then prompted SAG to order her to pay the correct amount. Hmmm, it is all making sense now. This apparently is a criminal offense and Hubert further goes on to say, “Criminal charges cannot be dropped.”

Hubert did not hold back in expressing how she feels about Moore either. For those can’t read the smaller print, here it is word for word below:

“Kenya you are one of the lowest women I have ever met and I am so sorry to have ever accepted your offer, but I wanted to help you. You need slime to exist, and your brand honey is your ass, tits, and hair. This man was right to run as far away from you as possible, I believe them after having my own horror with this chick. You must know how to give love to get love, and you know nothing except loving yourself. What will you do when your beauty on the outside fades? You are one of the saddest, meanest, manipulative, women I have had the displeasure of working with. Get help, and stop destroying other people’s lives. You have been stabbed, drug by your damn hair on national TV and called a Toxic Trick, and now dumped…look inside find God or spirit. You bring us all down with your antics. ”

She ended with, “That is my statement on this matter, so please do not ask me anymore. I want NO MOORE questions on this matter. THIS POST WILL SELF DESTRUCT IN 1 DAY!”

Well damn! patti stanger explains kenya moore james freeman controversy 2015

Patti Stanger of Millionaire Matchmaker Addresses Kenya Moore Fiasco

If being dragged through the mud by Janet Hubert isn’t bad enough, the other situation Kenya Moore is dealing with makes her out to look like a fool more than anything.

She appeared on an episode of Bravo’s Millionaire Matchmaker and thought she had really found love in relator James Freeman. Then it was revealed that sometime between it being filmed and it airing, the man she “fell in love” with got married to someone else.

Because she has been accused by fellow Real Housewives of Atlanta cast mates of being a flirt, a whore and a “no good woman,” she set the record straight, via an Instagram “statement” that she, in essence, had no idea he was indeed attached.

Patti Stanger, a third generation matchmaker (whatever the hell that means) and the star/producer of the show claims, “He was single when he shot the show.” She sets the record straight that Freeman did nothing wrong and that he just met a new girl and married her “very fast.”

This whole thing is very confusing because the timeline Moore, Stanger and Bravo gives doesn’t seem to line up. It seems no one is giving answers that makes sense and that’s probably because there aren’t any.

Comedian Dane Cook Banned from Famed Laugh Factory

When you are a comedian, you can pretty much say and do whatever you want (on stage) under the guise of “That’s my job.” It is when you take that freedom and liberty off stage that you run the risk of people not taking it so well.

Case in point, Dane Cook. He has been permanently banded from the famous standup comedy club in Hollywood, the Laugh Factory. Apparently he used not so nice language at a waitress and when the owner called him on it, his “I’m Rick James bitch” attitude kicked into overdrive. They argued and Cook, clearly showing what he thinks of himself, told the owner, “I own this place.”

The owner threw him out and banned him from performing there ever again, which is unfortunate because he has been a regular there for many years. The Laugh Factory has been the site of some of Cook’s most successful standup gigs, including his record-setting Jan. 1, 2008, stint when he performed onstage for seven straight hours.

See what happens when you’re an arrogant asshole kids, you get banned.

RIP To the King of Blues… B.B. King

It is a sad day in the world of blues as one of the greats has passed away. B.B. King, the velvety smooth voiced guitar player responsible for making the blues music genre mainstream, died Thursday, May 14, 2015 in Las Vegas.

He has been credited by countless artists as the source of their inspiration and has influenced everyone from rock and roll greats to the blues itself. B.B. King knew how to evolve with the times and remained flexible because of his ability to incorporate modern trends into his Delta blues styled music.

With 30 Grammy nominations, 15 wins and countless accolades, honors and awards he is forever solidified in the fabric of this country as an American music legend.

Rest in Peace sweet king… rest in peace.

Bill Cosby Talks Rape Or Around It At Least

MTTG Staff

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May 15, 2015

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Bill Cosby Talks Rape Or Around It At Least

Bill Cosby finally broke his silence on the sexual assault allegations out there about him and his answers are actually right on point with what most people were expecting. Not once does he admit to the allegation nor deny them. He constantly avoids the questions with ridiculous answers.

“I have been in this business for 52 years, and I’ve never seen anything like this,” the 77-year-old comedian said on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” “And reality is the situation, and I can’t speak.”

Now, some publications are calling his answers gibberish. I don’t think their gibberish at all, their just stupid! Nightlight reporter Linsey Davis asked Cosby some very on point questions that we all want the answers too. One of the questions being how he would handle young people who call him out on the allegations. This is the clearest answer he gives yet it’s also the most disturbing one.

“I think that many of them say well you’re a hypocrite, you say one thing, you say the other,” Cosby answered. “My point is okay listen to me carefully, I’m telling you where the road is out. Now, you want to go here or do you want to be concerned about who’s giving you the message?”

Cosby implied that the child calling him out should listen to what he’s saying because he knows the path they should take, but not be concerned about who the message is coming from. This is a seriously scary statement to make. So, black kids should take your advice on how to live life because your successful and not question if the person giving them the advice is a rapist or not? Should that same child also learn about prosperity from Hitler?

This would have been the perfect time for Cosby to declare his innocence, but like most guilty people, he’ll say anything but this. Although there were some questionable accusations such as model Janice Dickinson’s account (which the Cosby legal team did wonders to make look false until the outspoken model did an interview on CNN that looked very genuine), allegations from women like model Beverly Johnson sealed the deal from me. Even if half of the women are lying (which I believe very little of them are) that still means he raped 15 women.

As a society we should be able to separate a man’s celebrity/TV persona from who he really is. There are so many legendary black actors, athletes and entertainers who have never been accused of rape so claiming race is the issue here is not working for me.

When reporter Davis asked Cosby if the allegation are overshadowing his message, the only response he had was that in all of his years of business he’s never seen anything like this? What the hell does that even mean and why doesn’t he just answer the question? Does the allegations block your messages or not?

His answer to the question of what his legacy will be is equally ridiculous. Instead of saying, “ I think people will remember me for….”, he goes on talking about all of the ideas he has and how he wants to put stories on TV about people loving one another. That could not be any more awkward or inappropriate if Seth Mcfarlane had wrote it as a Family Guy joke.

“I really know about what I’m going to do tomorrow,” Cosby said when asked about his legacy. “I have a ton of ideas to put on television about people and their love for each other.”

Some people will continue to support Cosby even if Jesus himself came down and said he was really a rapist, but I truly believe our society will not be complete until we start supporting our women and children after they’ve been hurt and put their assaulters in jail.

Bill Cosby Interview

Roger Federer vs Raphael Nadal Looking Likely: 2015 Rome Open

Jackie Warner

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May 15, 2015

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Roger Federer vs Raphael Nadal Looking Likely: 2015 Rome Open

The 2015 Rome Open has been one of the more exciting opens this season as we’ve seen the best of the best coming into the semi-finals along with some up and comers making for some obstacles in their path. Novak Djokovic has been like an automaton this season, but this open has given him a little difficulty. On Friday, he went up against Japanese powerhouse Kei Nishikori and lost a second set to him before roaring back into action and winning that match.

Now, we’ve got Swiss maestro Roger Federer and Spanish Rafael Nadal looking to be hitting the court together in the semi-finals, if Nadal defeats Stan Wawrinka (who’s not light competition, by the way), in a match many are waiting to see. The winner of that will go on to face the world’s number one tennis player Novak Djokovic.

Federer has commented lately that even with Nadal stumble season, he still strongly believes Rafi is the favorite for the 2015 French Open. That’s something odds makers will love hearing as his odds have risen while Andy Murray’s have plummeted after ruling the clay courts this season. That is until having to pull out of this one due to exhaustion.

“Regardless of what anybody says to me Rafa is the favourite for the French Open,” commented Federer, who in Saturday’s semi-final will play either Nadal or Wawrinka.
Roger Federer remained on course for a semi-final clash with Spanish rival Rafael Nadal at the Italian Open after cruising past Tomas Berdych 6-3-, 6-3 in just over an hour on Friday. “The guy has lost only one match at Roland Garros in ten years, so there’s absolutely no way you pass that guy in being the absolute favourite for that tournament.”
Federer has made the final in Rome three times in the past 12 years but has been beaten on every occasion — twice by Nadal and once by Felix Mantilla, in 2003.

The 33-year-old Swiss could now meet Nadal, the seven-time champion, in the last four if the Spaniard overcomes Swiss Stan Wawrinka in their semi-final scheduled for 1900 GMT on Friday.

The old foes have met 15 times on clay with Nadal leading Federer 13-2 on his favoured red surface.

Federer admitted it will be a “huge challenge” to overcome the fancied Spaniard.

“Everyone who has played against Nadal knows he’s the best mover on clay, on both sides of the court. He’s perfected it,” said Federer.

“It’s always a huge challenge when you play him on clay.”

Although Wawrinka stands between Nadal and a last four meeting with Federer, the Spaniard — who has appeared in nine of the past Italian Open finals — is expected to prevail.

Federer admitted his easy win over Berdych had left him feeling comfortable with his progress on the red dirt, less than two weeks before the start of Roland Garros.

“A win like this makes you feel good and confirms I’m on the right track,” he added.

“Now, I’m starting to find my feet on this surface, which is usually always the case two to three weeks before Roland Garros when, in principle, I find my best form on clay.

“This week I’ve found the right balance in terms of being aggressive, patient, passive and also in my choice of shots.

“That’s what I’ve found this week. It’s been good to come here before Roland Garros.”

Earlier, Spain’s David Ferrer set up a possible semi-final clash with Novak Djokovic after disposing of Belgian qualifier David Goffin 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 in the quarter-finals on Friday.

Goffin, who had stunned Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the second round, had advanced to the last eight of the competition with a walkover after third round opponent Andy Murray withdrew on Thursday citing fatigue.

But despite levelling the match by winning the second set, the 24-year-old from Liege was overcome by his more experienced Spanish rival in the decider.

Ferrer, a French Open finalist in 2013 when he was beaten by compatriot and good friend Nadal, has never triumphed in Rome, although he reached the final in 2010 when he was again beaten by Nadal.

He takes on defending Italian Open champion Djokovic if the Serbian accounts for Japan’s Kei Nishikori in their quarter-final later on Friday.

Djokovic warned after a hard-fought third round win over Thomaz Bellucci on Thursday: “He (Nishikori) is not somebody who is a promising player, he’s already an established top 10 player, a Grand Slam finalist and very consistent.

“I think he’s been playing great ever since he started working with Michael Chang.”

Google is stealing everyone’s data

Tech News

David Silvester

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May 15, 2015

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Google was incorporated in 1988 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin and its modus operandi was simple – to index content in the most logical and systematic way possible. One of the key concepts from the outset was PageRank – now a very well-known part of the Google search engine and something that most people recognize as the 0-10 ranking that’s available in the Google toolbar. Now, PageRank has gone the way of the dinosaur as Google infrequently updates it and have pretty much dead it’s over.

PageRank originally came about as a way in which to really gauge the relevance or importance of any particular page on the Internet and was essentially based upon the combined opinion of that page by all others. This was really the USP for Google and acted as a much more efficient way of gauging a page’s relevant over any other technology that was available at the time.

Since then Google have developed an autonomous search system that makes use of extremely complex algorithms that have been built up over the last 27 years and today they make use of some seriously advanced indexing techniques that enable the search engine to form a deep understanding of what any particular webpage is actually about, how authoritative it is compared to other pages and how it is perceived across the Internet.

The next logical step for Google: Produce your own content

Indexing the world’s content is no longer enough for Google though – sure they have done it more efficiently than anyone else ever has, they can understand content in a way that no one else can come close to when using automated systems but that simply isn’t enough?

What is the next logical step once you have a catalogue of the world’s information? It seems that the next step is to start taking ownership of the information that you index, or stealing that information as others would refer to it as.

Interestingly at the start of this article I decided to search for a timer in the hope that I keep track of my time whilst writing this article and what do I find?

After typing in “Timer” and hitting the search button Google present me with their own version of a timer. Great for me as a searcher but not so great for online-stopwatch.com who will now surely lose a large percentage of their traffic thanks to Google taking ownership of that search term.

Another search for “how to change the default in word” and we see a similar result where Google have decided to present the user with the information that they are searching for rather than having them visit someone else’s website.

As a third example of how Google are taking ownership of the Internet’s vast array of data I searched for the term “how do bees make wax” and was also presented with the answer above all website results for this query.

Of course In the second two examples Google are attributing the information to the original producer of the content in the form of a website link directly below the information but in the first example they have done no such thing.

Aside from any attribution of ownership is this new practice from Google right? Google originally had plans to index the world’s content – sort of like a librarian might keep a record of all the books that it held – but now they are starting to use that information and present it directly to the user, bypassing the need for the original websites themselves.

Google are also adding a “Feedback” link in with this self-contained content which indicates that it is something they are experimenting with and awaiting feedback for. So assuming the feedback is good (which no doubt it will be, because it is great for the user) what will be the next step?

It is likely that the next step from this dip in the water will be Google starting to present more and more information itself and perhaps soon we will start to see search results disappear from Google and being replaced by information. Google will perhaps turn into the world’s largest encyclopaedia of information.

Great for the user but the way they have gone about it is to entice everyone into sharing their information for the greater good and then effectively stealing it or at least stealing everyone’s idea of information and producing its own version.

Novak Djokovic Beats Kei Nishikori’s Tough Match: 2015 Italian Open

Jackie Warner

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May 15, 2015

0

Novak Djokovic Beats Kei Nishikori’s Tough Match: 2015 Italian Open

Novak Djokovic truly did meet a great match with Japan’s rising star Kei Nishikori at the 2015 Rome Open. It took three sets 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 for the number one ranked tennis player to move to the semi-finals where he’ll go up against Spain’s David Ferrer. The winner of that match will go on to face either Rafael Nadal, Stan Wawrinka or Roger Federer.

Both tennis champs came out of the gate ready and Djokovic worked for his first set, but was able to take it. But then Nishikori came blazing back in the second set, just stunning the Serbian tennis star with everything from power serves to his speed on the clay courts. The Japanese tennis player was diving for shots that most tennis players let whiz by. This took Novak by surprise and had him running as hard and making a few errors along the way.

[pdf-embedder url=”http://movietvtechgeeks.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/2015-rome-masters-open-quarter-finals-draw-schedule.pdf”]

By the third set it felt like Djokovic had worn Nishikori down as he took round after round rather easily. This was a great match to watch mainly in the second set as Djokovic truly met his match in speed. He came in strong and was making sure to not make the same mistakes as he had in the second set. You can tell that he has his eye on the prize and isn’t willing to accept anything else besides this title.

As Nishikori continues to climb and excel, future matches between these two will be as exciting as ones between the Serb and Rafael Nadal. Playing against talent like Djokovic is a great challenge and will propel him further in his career.

Djokovic has a 32-5 record at this ATP World Tour Masters 1000 clay-court tournament, lifting the trophy in 2008 (d. Wawrinka), 2011 (d. Nadal) and 2014 (d. Nadal); he also finished runner-up in 2009 and 2012.

The 27-year-old Djokovic takes a 14-5 FedEx ATP Head2Head record over Ferrer into Saturday’s clash. The Belgrade native has won their past eight meetings, including victory in the Rome quarter-finals last year. This is the sixth time in nine appearances that he’s reached the semi-finals at the Rome Open, and Nishikori truly made him earn it.

Djokovic recorded his 20th win in a row as he closed out Nishikori in one hour and 48 minutes. The Serb has not been beaten since falling to Roger Federerin the Dubai final. Since then, he has won three straight ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles in Indian Wells (d. Federer), Miami (d. Murray) and Monte-Carlo (d. Berdych).

An early break secured the first set for Djokovic in his sixth meeting with Nishikori, but the Japanese came back strongly in the second set, breaking in the sixth game before levelling the match. Going into the decider, Djokovic had won 28 straight matches when taking the first set and Nishikori boasted a 21-2 mark in deciding sets in the past year.

Something had to give and it was Nishikori. The 25-year-old Shimane native could not maintain his level of the second set and Djokovic raised his intensity to secure two service breaks in the fourth and sixth games.

Nishikori dropped to a 31-7 mark on the season as he suffered only his second clay defeat of 2015. The right-hander retained his crown in Barcelona (d. Andujar) and reached the semi-finals last week in Madrid (l. to Murray).

David Ferrer vs Novak Djokovic or Kei Nishikori: 2015 Italian Open Semi-Finals

Jackie Warner

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May 15, 2015

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David Ferrer vs Novak Djokovic or Kei Nishikori: 2015 Italian Open Semi-Finals

David Ferrer is definitely determined and playing hard at the 2015 Italian Open as he had to hold off a late fightback from Belgian David Goffin on Friday 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 which puts him in the semi-finals. He will now be facing some stiff competition from Novak Djokovic or Japan’s rising tennis star Kei Nishikori.

Goffin, who had stunned Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the second round, had advanced to the last eight of the competition with a walkover after third round opponent Andy Murray withdrew on Thursday citing fatigue.

But despite levelling the match by winning the second set, the 24-year-old from Liege was overcome by his more experienced Spanish rival in the decider.

Ferrer, a French Open finalist in 2013 when he was beaten by compatriot and good friend Rafael Nadal, has never triumphed in Rome, although he reached the final in 2010 when he was also beaten by his fellow Spaniard.

He will meet defending Italian Open champion Djokovic if the Serbian accounts for Japan’s Kei Nishikori in their quarterfinal later on Friday.

In his 16th year on the ATP World Tour, Ferrer has enjoyed one of his best starts to the season, compiling a 32-6 mark. He captured three ATP World Tour titles in Doha (d. Berdych), Rio de Janeiro (d. Fognini) and Acapulco (d. Nishikori) and also reached the semi-finals in Barcelona.

The No. 20-ranked Goffin was contesting his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 quarter-final after saving three match points against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the second round and then being given a walkover on Thursday, when Andy Murray withdrew due to fatigue. The Belgian, who was named 2014 Comeback Player of the Year, dropped to a 12-11 mark on the season.

Djokovic warned after a hard-fought third round win over Thomaz Bellucci on Thursday: “He (Nishikori) is not somebody who is a promising player, he’s already an established top 10 player, a Grand Slam finalist and very consistent.

[pdf-embedder url=”http://movietvtechgeeks.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/2015-rome-masters-open-quarter-finals-draw-schedule.pdf”]

“I think he’s playing great ever since he started working with Michael Chang.”

Seven-time Italian Open champion Nadal, meanwhile, faces Swiss Stan Wawrinka while Roger Federer, looking for his maiden title in Rome, has a last eight meeting with Czech Tomas Berdych.

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