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Celebrity Gossip Roundup: Kevin Gates Loves Fightin’ Women & RHOA Drama

celebrity gossip roundup kevin gates movado with jay z 2015

Today on the rumor mill, were talking about big deals and men who like to fight women. Says a lot about them plus more Real Housewives of Atlanta drama that doesn’t involve NeNe Leakes surprisingly.

kevin gates beats down two women at club 2015 gossip

Kevin Gates Gets into A Fight With Two Women

So when you are a rapper, it is a thing to get into fight at your shows. I kind of get it. But Kevin Gates took it to another level when he got into it with one of the female fans in the audience at his most recent show. The incidents happened at Club Z in Flint, MI because, apparently, girls in the crowd kept grabbing for him. Video shows that he was going to town on this girl’s head. Like he literally fought her as if she were a dude.



In the same show, later on he got into another altercation with a female. This is sickening because had this been a regular old Joe, he ass would have been taken to jail right then and there (the cops weren’t even called). Instead, he was allowed to keep going on with his show and did it again that same night. This dude is a joke. What’s even more disturbing is that the damn crowd just kept going on with the show like nothing even happened or like it’s okay for him to beat a female’s ass.

jay z takes over tidal music streaming 2015 gossip

Super Stars Back Tidal Music Streaming Service

Jay Z just continues to prove how big of a businessman he really is. From music, to clothing to sport teams (talk about a diversified portfolio) he has his hand in everything. This week, he added music streaming service to his belt when he became the owner of Tidal, which bills itself as the first service of its kind to be owned by artists.

Mega stars like Madonna, Kanye West and Rihanna, where in attendance in New York for its re-launch under Hova. The details of the whole thing are a little confusing but it coins itself as “lossless” music. Here is the actual definition from the website:

“Seamless listening across mobile, tablet, desktop and network players. Enjoy lossless music streaming on Apple devices from iPhone, iPad and iPod to Mac, as well as on PC and Android systems. Plus integration in high fidelity network players including: Sonos(US, UK and CA), Bluesound, Linn, Auralic, Mirage, Squeezebox, Amarra sQ, McIntosh, Wadia, Electrocompaniet and Meridian.”

While the website has been around for a while (maybe a year) I am sure that having Jay Z behind it and in front of it is a major boost to it’s overall appeal. That is unless you are tired of hearing, seeing and caring about Jigga and his crew. Then, you probably could not care less.  But remember, Justin Timberlake couldn’t save MySpace from being a joke after he threw his name into the mix.

Shares of the streaming company did spike 938% the following day it was announced which isn’t such a surprise. Now it’s all about longevity in this very crowded and dog eat dog market.

demetria mckinney fired from real housewives of atlanta but denies 2015 gossip

Demetria McKinney Fired from RHOA?

So for those that don’t know, singer/actress Demetria McKinney recently did a stint on the current season of The Real Housewives of Atlanta (RHOA). The rumor going around is that she was fired from the show, which is the reason why she was not featured on the RHOA reunion that recently took place.

She apparently was not “invited” to participate in the reunion show and a source close to show told Radar Online that:

“The producers didn’t feel that [Demetria McKinney] had enough to bring to the table.”

That is understandable and would make sense as to why she was not featured because honestly, watching the show, she was barely even on it. I mean, she really didn’t have a storyline and when she did, it was still only about the other girls and their drama. She was very much neutral in every situation that broke out between Team Porsha/ Phaedra and Team Kenya.

The source goes on further to say that she was “banned” (such a harsh word) because she lacked a storyline in season 7 which, like I said above, is true. She shouldn’t count it a loss though because the show, as we all know, it garbage anyway. She is way classier than most of the women on the show so hopefully, she just accepts it for what it is and moves on. She is actually quite talented and should continue to use that to make a name for herself, not some classless reality TV show.

mavado pushes pf changes for black people 2015 gossip

Mavado Disses Philippe Chow

If you are a lover of Chinese food, Mavado says don’t even bother with famed N.Y. restaurant Philippe Chow because they don’t like black people. He is so fed up with them and offended by the way he and his family were treated on a visit to the establishment that he is calling all members of the black community to go to P.F Chang’s instead.

According to the Reggae star, the attempted apology given by the restaurant is riddled with lies and untruths. Furthermore, he calls their claims of loving black people a total joke. All of this stems from Mavado feeling like he and his family were regarded as second class citizens by the PC staff on their last visit with them because they are black.

Of course Philippe Chow’s beg for forgiveness, which came off as the quintessential “I have black friends… I love black people” response, is of no avail for the star and he vows to never go there again.

You have to give it to the man for standing up for what he believes in and for taking it as far as he has. If only more people reacted that strongly when they are wronged, maybe things that this wouldn’t happen so often.

SURVIVOR: WORLDS APART Ep 6 Recap: Joaquin Souberbielle Back To White Collar World

survivor worlds apart ep 3006 joaquin voted out recap images 2015

On this week’s episode of Survivor: Worlds Apart, Shirin said she was shocked Max had gone home because he was her ally. She stated that this blindsided her and broke her heart. Shirin said that she never fit in with her peers growing up and she wanted to fix that for this game.

Rodney complained that the other tribe members were telling the same stories repeatedly and he was getting tired of it and wanted to mix things up. He said he was looking for a “homey to chill with” but that he hadn’t found one. He did say he liked Joaquin and that they had similar interests.

sierra dawn odd woman out on survivor worlds apart 3005 2015 images

For this week’s Reward Challenge Jeff Probst announced that the tribes would have to navigate an obstacle course and hit six targets. Whichever tribe achieved this first would get a view of turtles migrating from the water to the beach as well as be treated to a feast of foods including beef stew.

As the winning tribe arrived back at camp they got the first glimpse of their feast. Shirin said she was excited about the tribe bonding over a meal and surmised that maybe they would all get sick together from the food.

survivor worlds apart feast shirin oskool yahoo 2015

After their feast the tribe got to watch the turtles arrive at their camp. An animal expert was there to teach the tribe about these turtles and the eggs that they lay.

Back at camp, Sierra said that Joaquin was someone she felt comfortable with and that she felt he was trustworthy. Sierra then said that Rodney was annoying and she didn’t know if she wanted to play the game with him. Rodney said he didn’t care about anything negative Sierra had to say about him. He also said he was in a good position in the game and he felt very confident.

sierra dawn odd woman out bikini shots survivor worlds apart 2015

Rodney discussed with Mike trying to get Joe sent home this week. Mike said his real alliance was with Kelly because he felt like she was a fighter. He talked about throwing some challenges in order to keep Kelly safe.

joe anglim sexy survivor worlds apart 2015 images

For this week’s Immunity Challenge Jeff announced a memory game featuring a series of items. The tribes had to memorize the order the items were lined up in and then recreate the order. This process had to be repeated three times with every try worth one point. The first tribe to get three points would win the challenge. Members of each tribe went head to head until everyone had competed. Mike and Kelly were the last two to compete and both got their order of their items wrong. They had to try again, this time with a lineup that included one less item. The second time around Mike was still wrong but Kelly was right, winning the challenge for her tribe. After they returned to camp Kelly said that she knew Mike intentionally lost the challenge to give Kelly an advantage in the competition and that she had never trusted anyone more than she trusted him now.

gay brothers joaquin souberbielle with rodney lavoie on survivor worlds apart 3005 2015

Mike said a little part of him had died because he had intentionally lost the challenge for his tribe. Rodney said that Mike had looked like an idiot and Rodney thought that was hilarious, but stated that everything had worked out well. He also said that he now considered Mike a threat and Mike had to go home. Joaquin said it had been him and Tyler against the world but that now Rodney was his right hand guy. He also said that Sierra owed him one for what he had done for her. Mike said that the next step in the game was to get rid of Joe. Then Joe said his options were limited and he was just going to do what he could. Mike suggested they keep Sierra around and get Joaquin sent home. Dan admitted he and Sierra hit a rough patch and that he knew he had screwed up. He also said that Rodney and Joaquin had to be separated. Sierra said her old tribe had hurt her but now some of them needed her. She said that no one wanted to keep her around and that they were just using her. She also said she didn’t know who would be good to her later in the competition and didn’t know the route she was going to take to be able to keep competing on Survivor.

joaquin souberbielle voted off survivor worlds apart 2015

At this week’s Tribal Council Jeff said that after last week the tribe sitting before him included one person from the no collar tribe and multiple people from the red and blue collar tribes. Joe said on the surface the blue collars seemed like one big happy family but that there were feuds and cracks within the group of blue collar tribe members. Dan said that the tribe was dysfunctional at times.

tribal council joaquin souberbielle suvivor worlds apart 2015

Tyler said a lot of the bad blood in the tribe seemed to revolve around Sierra. She then said that the other tribe members picked on her for anything they could think of. Jeff said Dan, Rodney and Mike would be in big trouble if Sierra switched allies. Joaquin said he didn’t think their tribe was going to end up at Tribal Council this week. Joe said he had no one in the tribe and that at least Joaquin had Tyler. Sierra said when they returned to camp everyone attacked her and that she couldn’t trust anyone as a result. Mike said he hoped Sierra could believe in the people she trusted in the beginning of the competition. He also said you never know who you can trust until you leave Tribal Council and that it was a scary predicament.

jeff probst puts joaquin souberbielles flame out on survivor worlds apart 2015

Jeff then announced that it was time for the tribe members to cast their votes for who gets sent home this week. He then tallied the votes and announced that Joaquin was being voted off and would have to extinguish his torch and leave the Tribal Council to go home defeated on day 16.

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LAW & ORDER: SVU Ep 1617 Recap: Male Rape Parole Violations

law order svu ep 1617 male rape parole violations images 2015

On this week’s episode of Law & Order: SVU Tommy Sullivan showed up at his parole officer’s office and told her that he was late for their appointment because he was at a doctor’s appointment with his pregnant fiancé, Bella (sister of Detective Sonny.) His PO named Donna Marshall then told him if his fiancé was pregnant then he should be willingly to easily consent to giving a urine sample to prove he hasn’t used alcohol. She told him if he refused to give her the urine sample she would have him sent back to prison.

donna martel raping men on law order svu parole violations 2015

The next day at the precinct, Bella showed up to tell her detective brother that Tommy hadn’t come home the night before and she hadn’t seen him since they parted ways after her doctor’s appointment. Detective Sonny then went out and found Tommy at a nearby jail after having been busted in a drunken bar fight the night before. Tommy told Sonny that Marshall was the one who had forced him to drink alcohol the night before and pulled a gun on him when he tried to refuse. She also forced him to have sex with her at gunpoint.

sonny gets into furbie action on law order svu parole violations 2015

Detective Sonny told Olivia that Tommy had always been a major disappointment and that it seemed like whenever he was about to have his life back on track something bad happened to them. Olivia defended Tommy by saying that victims aren’t perfect and they do make mistakes. Sonny then told Olivia that Tommy had previously spent three years in jail on a charge of possession of marijuana and that Sonny’s sister waited those three years for Tommy to get out of prison. After Sonny confessed that Tommy was forced into sex by Marshall, Olivia told Sonny that Tommy had been sexually assaulted and raped.

Olivia and Amaro then went to talk to Tommy at work. Tommy said he wanted to pretend that what happened between him and Marshall did not actually happen. He also said that all Bella knows is that Tommy went out drinking and screwed up. Olivia then gave Tommy her business card and asked him to come into the precinct the next day with the clothes he was wearing the night of the rape and give them his official statement on what happened.

Olivia then brought Tommy’s parole officer’s boss into the precinct to question him. When the man was told that the person Marshall had assaulted was a man, his only reaction was to laugh. He said that Donna Marshall was a professional who did nothing but work and that he couldn’t see her sexually assaulting anyone. Olivia told the man he needed to cooperate in their investigation and the response she received was that he just needed the name of the man that was making up these accusations’ against Marshall. Olivia then dismissed the man from her office.

Sonny and Tommy told Bella what happened and Bella became angry at Tommy for having sex with Marshall. Bella insisted that Tommy must have come on to her and Tommy said that if he had done that he wouldn’t tell Bella he had. Marshall then showed up at Tommy and Bella’s apartment to do an inspection to ensure Tommy wasn’t violating his parole. Bella then went into Tommy’s bedroom and came out with bags of Oxycodone. He was then arrested for drug possession with the intent to sell.

At the jailhouse Detective Amaro confessed to Tommy and Sonny that Marshall probably went after him because Amaro and Olivia had spoken to her boss and this angered Tommy. Amaro and Sonny told Tommy he needed to move forward with charges of rape and sexual assault because that would give Marshall motivation to frame Tommy as a drug dealer.

law order svu parole violations drug bust 2015 images

Back at the precinct, Rollins said that Tommy looked guilty whether he actually was or not and that some people who have a history of legal trouble create more because they need the drama. Rollins then said someone involved in the case was lying and they had to figure out who was doing so. Amaro then got a call from the lab and was told Marshall’s saliva was found on the clothes Tommy was wearing the night of the rape. When Sonny told Bella the news she said she was thinking about terminating her pregnancy because she didn’t want to raise a baby alone.

law order svu tommy gets arrested for drugs parole violations 2015

Olivia then brought Marshall in for questioning. She blamed the incident between her and Tommy on a moment of weakness and said she had made a mistake. Marshall also said that Tommy knew she had a long day and offered her a massage that led to him kissing her. She denied she had assaulted Tommy at gunpoint.

It was then determined the drugs found in Tommy’s apartment were linked to another drug dealer who also had Donna Marshall as his parole officer. Rollins went to the drug dealer’s apartment searching for evidence.

Olivia invited Bella to her apartment to talk to her about the case. She tried to explain to Bella that Tommy did not want anything sexual to happen between himself and Marshall.

law order svu with sonny on bella for parole violations 2015

In the courtroom Sonny took the stand to defend Tommy and state what he knew about Marshall. Her lawyer then questioned Sonny about the fact that Tommy only confessed to Sonny what happened because Sonny is a cop. The lawyer also said that the SVU detectives had convinced Tommy that Marshall was guilty of sexually assaulting Tommy. Afterwards, Tommy took the stand and admitted that Marshall raped him.

During a break from the proceedings the drug dealer who also had Marshall as a PO went out for a cigarette and disappeared. The next morning Marshall’s lawyer said the drug dealer claimed SVU coerced him into lying. He ended up taking the stand for the defense.

In the end Marshall told Olivia that all her parolees damaged her emotionally and mentally. Marshall was given no jail time but became unemployed.

CSI: Cyber Fire Code Ep 104 Recap

On this week’s episode (Fire Code Ep 104) of CSI: Cyber in Louisville, Kentucky a coffee maker was hacked into and turned on in the middle of the night. Then the TV came on and the homeowner’s alarm clock began beeping. The homeowner watched the channels being changed on her TV. She suspected someone was in her house so she grabbed a large knife from her kitchen and went to investigate. She opened a door in her apartment and there was an immediate explosion that caused the whole house to catch on fire.

james van bare der beek back on csi cyber bottoming 2015

A black hat informant named Rusty was then chased through the streets by Agent Mundo and kept running into he smacked face first into a car door the car’s driver had just opened, which happened to be Agent Ryan’s car. The agents had gotten a tip that the man was bragging about being an informant for the FBI. The black hat informant then told the agents that he had gotten possession of a flash drive that contained firmware.

Agent Ryan showed the flash drive to Daniel and he determined that the flash drive’s firmware had the ability to turn on electronic equipment near it. He demonstrated what the flash drive could do as he and the agents watched a printer turn on, print out a piece of paper and catch on fire.

patricia arquette on csi cyber fire code 2015

Agent Mundo asked Rusty where he got the flash drive from. He and Agent Ryan wanted to know who wrote the code for the firmware program on the flash drive. Agent Ryan was then informed about what happened at the home in Louisville, Kentucky.

Then Agent Mundo and Agent Ryan went to the house in Louisville to search for clues as to what happened. Agent Ryan told the woman and her roommate that the FBI needed a list of anyone in their life who is tech savvy because this happened after someone hacked into their router.

csi cyber black guy talking to friend hacker justice 2015 fire code

Nelson went to visit two black hat informant friends living in Baltimore, Maryland. He told them if they got busted hacking they might end up like Nelson has.

Agent Mundo arrested a suspect that was linked to a video of the Louisville house catching on fire. Agent Ryan then surmised that the suspect is a pyro that gets sexually excited watching things catch on fire.

Back at headquarters Nelson talked to Agent Ryan and told her he knew the person who had written the code for the firmware program that caused the Louisville fire. Nelson said that years before he started working for the FBI he had shared that particular code on several online forums. He surmised that someone may have taken his code and expanded on it.

black guy hands up bulge for csi cyber 2015 images

Agents Mundo and Ryan went to Atlanta to keep working on the case. Since Agent Mundo was distracted with some personal business Ryan told him to head back to D.C. and deal with his business. They tracked down a man who hacked into a community college’s computer system and caused a fire just like the one in Louisville and they confronted him over the fact that the community college had recently fired him from his job as an IT professor. Agent Mundo then arrested the man.

The agents started to figure out that the person behind these incidents were actually a type of arsonist. They then set out to determine exactly which devices could be hacked into and used to start a fire. Nelson and Daniel then worked together until they get one of their electronic devices to catch on fire, which they quickly extinguished. They determined that laptop computers can easily be manipulated so that they will overheat and catch on fire, which is what hackers count on happening.

arquette van der beek on csi cyber fire code 2015 recap

After Nelson left FBI headquarters quickly and unexpectedly Agent Ryan asked Daniel to disable Nelson’s computer because he hadn’t returned her calls since he left unexpectedly and she was suspicious of his behavior. She then found out Nelson sent a message to this black hat friend and told him to avoid Agent Ryan and her team.

Agents Ryan and Mundo then showed up at the home of Nelson’s black hat friends and arrested them. Meanwhile, Nelson was in a park meeting up with another black hat friend, the one he had warned to avoid the FBI. Years before, Nelson and his friend had begun a hacking project which they never finished, yet Nelson’s friend set out to finish it on his own and earned $10 million doing so. Nelson asked him if he was going to have that money deposited into his bank account. He then said that his friend was guilty of using his hacking skills to do wrong instead of right, so the FBI wanted to apprehend him. Nelson begged his friend to confess to what he did and give back the $10 million. His friend then tried to give Nelson $2 million of that $10 million for his part in helping to start the project. After arguing with his friend, Nelson apologized before punching him in the face. His friend got up and tried to run away but Nelson tackled him to the ground anyway. The friend then laid out Nelson and ran off, at which time Nelson turned on his cell phone so Ryan and Mundo could track him down. They knew this meant Nelson wanted the agents to find him so they rushed to his location.

patricia arquette with black boy on csi cyber fire code 2015

Mundo and Ryan had previously discussed the fact that a former hacker they had worked with had been found guilty of illegal hacking while working for the FBI and that he was afraid the same thing was going to happen to Nelson.

After rescuing Nelson, Agent Ryan said that he was a part of their team but that everyone on the team needed to be on the same page. Nelson then watched his hacker friend get caught and led to Agent Mundo’s car.

Back in DC, Mundo met up with his ex-wife to get back together with her.

Andy Murray Battles Slow Start To Make 2015 Miami Open Semifinals

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andy murray slow start beats dominic thiem for 2015 miami open masters

Andy Murray might have just made British history after earning his 500th career victory over Kevin Anderson, but he struggled through a slow start against Dominic Thiem to make it to the 2015 Miami Open Masters semifinals. He’s the first player of the tour to make it there.

Andy Murray fought back from a set down to reach the semi-finals of the Miami Open with victory over Dominic Thiem.

The third seed lost the opening set to Austria’s world number 36 Thiem, but rallied to secure a 3-6 6-4 6-1 win.

Murray, 27, will face Czech Tomas Berdych or Argentina’s Juan Monaco in the last four of the tournament.

Murray had reached the quarter-final with Thiem after a landmark 500th career victory over Kevin Anderson in the last eight.

However, the Scot made a sluggish start in his first meeting with 21-year-old Thiem and dropped the first set.

dominic thiem gives hard ball to andy murray at 2015 miami open masters

In the second, Murray capitalized on a couple of unforced errors after Thiem had battled back from 3-0 down to level at 4-4 to close out the set.

The 2013 Wimbledon champion saw out the match in emphatic fashion as he dropped just one game to secure his place in the last four.

Murray said his returning let him down early in the match before he pushed Thiem “back off the baseline” in the third set.

He told Sky Sports: “I was getting myself into break point positions and it is a fine line between going for winners and trying to finish the point and making your opponent play.

“Being a good match player is understanding when to go for your shots and when to back off a little bit.”

Two-time former champion Andy Murray is one match win away from reaching the final of the Miami Open presented by Itau for the fourth time.

The third seed defeated Dominic Thiem on Wednesday for a place in the semi-finals. The 2009 and 2013 titlist will next challenge eighth seed Tomas Berdych or Juan Monaco.

Murray became the first Briton to record 500 match wins in the Open Era (since 1968) with his victory over Kevin Anderson in the fourth round. Read Tribute

Thiem, now 1-7 lifetime against Top 10 opponents in the Emirates ATP Rankings, beat 10th seed Feliciano Lopez in the second round at Crandon Park.

John Isner Takes Out Milos Raonic For 2015 Miami Open Quarters

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john isner takes out milos raonic to movie 2015 miami open quarter finales

Last night delivered quite a surprise battle at the 2015 Miami Open Masters between John Isner and fifth seeded Milos Raonic as the two fought it out over three sets. It didn’t hurt Isner that he’d encountered the Canadian tennis star twice before which ended in his favor, but it was quite the battle to watch.

John Isner won a battle of two of the sport’s biggest servers Tuesday night at the Miami Open presented by Itau.

Isner reached the quarter-finals on his eighth appearance at Crandon Park, after hitting 25 aces in a 6-7(3), 7-6(6), 7-6(5) victory over fifth seed Milos Raonic.

The pair’s third match in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series did not feature a break of serve and ended at 12:39 a.m. local time Wednesday morning.

Isner, the No. 22 seed, saved three break points, while Raonic hit 13 aces and saved one break point in the two-hour and 43-minute encounter.

Isner will next challenge fourth seed Kei Nishikori in the last eight. He has reached five semi-finals (or better) at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments.

When two of the biggest servers on the ATP Tour meet, especially on the slow hard courts that abound on the circuit these days, there isn’t going to be a lot to sink your teeth into.

In the end, Milos Raonic and John Isner had to try to stay focused through the barrage, and wait for those rare opportunities to make a move.

It was American John Isner, who came into the fourth-round match at the Miami Open with a 2-0 career record against the Canadian star, who prevailed in a 6-7 (3), 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5) marathon that ended about 12:45 a.m., and sent Isner into the quarter-finals against No. 4 seed Kei Nishikori of Japan.

They played a total of 233 points; only three of them went over nine shots; 179 of them (77 per cent) were over in four shots or less.

In truth, Isner played a little better than Raonic did, although the differences were marginal and Raonic had three break-point opportunities to Isner’s one.

Raonic picked up a little bit where he left off against Jérémy Chardy of France in the fourth round – that is to say, he wasn’t serving well, he looked pretty uptight, and his game overall wasn’t there.

It was just enough to squeak by Chardy. It was almost, but not quite, enough to sneak past Isner, who had a poor start to the season but is now picking up the pace.

Raonic was 13-1 in 2015 when he won the first set; his only loss came to Nishikori at Davis Cup in Vancouver last month, a match he lost in five sets. So when he squeaked out a first set he probably didn’t deserve to win, you had to think he might pick it up from there.

But there was a warning sign – a big one. Until that first set tiebreak, Raonic hadn’t hit a single ace.

His average per match in 2015 had been 17; it took 40 points before he finally got one past Isner without the American getting his racquet on it. And Isner, to say the least, is not known as one of the better returners in the game. Far from it; it’s probably his biggest weakness beyond a bit of a dodgy backhand.

Raonic ended up with 13 aces; Isner had 25. And in those crunch moments in the tiebreaks, he simply was the better player.

Isner, serving second, had to hold serve to stay in the match on two occasions late in the second set. This, he did with few issues.

But in that second-set tiebreak, Raonic quickly went up 3-0, winning both points on Isner’s serve. For someone like Raonic, two mini-breaks in a tiebreak – especially so early on – should be more than enough to win the set and, in this case, the match. But this time, it wasn’t enough.

Isner recuperated those points, and more, as Raonic got only one first serve into play in the last six points of the tiebreak.

After that, fans would probably have preferred the two players head straight to the third-set tiebreak, bypassing the monotony of the set in between. And in the end, that’s where they ended up. And despite the fact that Raonic has gone 8-1 in deciding-set tiebreaks over the last year, Isner won it.

Summing up, it was a good – not great – North American hard-court swing for Raonic, who made a big breakthrough at Indian Wells by defeating Rafael Nadal for the first time and reaching the semi-finals. But the players who go deep at Indian Wells and follow that up with a top-flight effort in Miami immediately afterward are quite rare. That’s something Raonic will look to do next year, with the Indian Wells – Miami double comes around again.

So Raonic’s surprising dip in form through the last part of the Chardy match and again versus Isner can probably be attributed to running out of gas a little bit. It was hot in the California desert; and it’s hot and very humid in Miami.

The Canadian now take a break and begin preparing for the clay-court season in Europe.  

Novak Djokovic Learns What A Veteran Is: 2015 Miami Open Masters

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novak djokovic learns what tennis veteran is 2015

Most people wouldn’t consider themselves a ‘veteran’ at the age of 27, and Novak Djokovic was no different until today. After his incredible win with some difficulty against Alexandr Dolgopolov, a reporter mentioned his upcoming quarterfinals match with the other ‘veteran’ David Ferrer. It’s almost like the first time someone calls you ma’am or Mister, the realization hits you.

After his fourth-round win over Alexandr Dolgopolov, a reporter asked Djokovic about his upcoming quarter-final match againstDavid Ferrer at the Miami Open presented by Itaú and referred to the World No. 1 and his next opponent in this way.

“Did you say ‘two veterans’?” Djokovic asked. “Thank you. That’s the first I have heard that,” he added with a laugh.

novak djokovic veteran keeps his eye on david ferrers balls 2015 miami open

The Serb was told he had been around long enough to warrant the term, and was assured it was meant in the nicest way.

“This is a milestone,” responded Djokovic. “This is a big thing for me to hear. I have to gather my thoughts here… Reality just hit me. Thank you for that.

“It’s been a long time [that] I have been playing tennis, but I have never heard ‘veteran’.”

Having made his professional debut at the age of 16, the now 27-year-old Djokovic has been playing tennis for a while. He has also been at the top of the Emirates ATP Rankings for a long time – 140 consecutive weeks, to be exact.

“It always gets me back into childhood and those early days of my tennis career, and dreaming of becoming No. 1 in the world,” he said. “I don’t take anything for granted. I believe that it took me a lot of hard work to get to where I am. Even more work to stay.”

Djokovic is just one week from tying Rafael Nadal for the sixth-most weeks in the World No. 1 spot (since Aug 23, 1973). Roger Federer leads the way with 302 weeks spent at the top.

“I do pay attention to those milestones. I’m very proud of the achievement and being able to stay for so many weeks at No. 1 in the world… Hopefully I’m able to keep that consistency going and the self‑discipline, and I’m sure the results will follow.”

NFL Free Agency Deadline Moved Up To May 12

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nfl free agency deadline changes 2015

The NFL is making sure that teams make up their minds much quicker on their team picks as they’re moving the free agency deadline from June 1 to May 12. The decision wasn’t made lightly as you can see below what they had to take in mind before setting the May 12 date.

June 1st used to be the date where after it came and went NFL clubs would cut veteran players that they no longer wanted who had multiple years left on their contract. Teams could cut the player after June 1st and not absorb the full amortization of the contract in the current year, instead pushing it to the next fiscal year.

The date lost its punch when the NFL allowed teams to cut up to two players prior to June 1st, yet still designate them as post-June 1st cuts to move their cap hits into the next year.

The only real significance left to the date is if free agents are signed after June 1st they don’t factor into determining whether a team had a net loss of free agents which is the primary criteria to qualify clubs for compensatory picks. Now that date will be May 12th, which will allow players who sign after that date to participate in most of the offseason practices with their new club (OTAs, minicamp, etc.).

Years ago, June 1 had extreme significance on the NFL calendar.  Teams looking to reduce the cap hit from cutting a veteran player would wait until June 1, resulting in half or more of the acceleration to hit the cap in the following league year.

In 2006, the NFL changed the rule, allowing teams to cut two players per year before June 1, with a June 1 designation.  Few teams currently have cap issues; as a result, the entire notion of using the designation or waiting until June 1 to cut a player has become largely irrelevant.

June 1 had continued significance for another reason.  After June 1, unrestricted free agents signed by other teams don’t count toward the compensatory draft-pick formula.  Starting this year, that date will move from June 1 to May 12, according to the league office.

The Competition Committee had been considering shifting the date from June 1 to May 1.  With the draft still happening as of May 1, it makes sense to let the draft end and to let the dust settle before allowing free agents to sign without the move helping their former team or potentially hurting their new one.

The shift gives free agents more of an opportunity to participate in the offseason program.  It also gives teams reason to wait on adding some of the currently available free agents, in order to avoid reducing their potential haul of compensatory picks.

The Ravens have mastered the craft of waiting to sign unrestricted free agents until the deadline has come and gone.  Today’s addition of quarterback Matt Schaub doesn’t change that.  Because he was cut by the Raiders, Schaub’s addition neither helps the Raiders nor hurts the Ravens when it comes to determining compensatory selections.

Will Marin Cilic’s Shoulder Injury Hamper His 2015 Tennis Rankings?

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marin cilic 2015 tenns

Marin Cilic, currently ranked 10th in the world, may be the reiging US Open champion. However fans looking for a repeat in 2015 of the kind of tennis he played in the latter parts of 2014 are likely in for a disappointment. Cilic, although he’s capable of defeating anyone on his day, does not appear to be the type of player that can maintain the consistency needed to challenge for the World No. 1 ranking.

So where is Cilic heading in the months ahead? Probably nowhere but down.

Cilic, who is not in the Miami Masters draw, might as well have skipped the Indian Wells Masters too. The Croat wasn’t exactly a no-show in that tournament however he did go out in his first match, losing to clay courter Juan Monaco.

Shortly thereafter a perhaps not-surprising tweet came from ATP World Tour‘s verified Twitter account:

“@cilic_marin has withdrawn from @MiamiOpenTennis due to a shoulder injury.”

marin cilic should hurting 2015

Cilic, at his best, is definitely worthy of a Top Ten ranking. However the 26 year-old veteran, who entered the radar as a potential star on tour in 2008, does not have what the very elite players have: the ability to win big tournaments week-in/week-out without sacrificing their body to injury.

Cilic 2014/2015 isn’t at all like Rafael Nadal 2010, Novak Djokovic 2011, or Roger Federer 2004-2009. Those players, in those seasons, could rack up win-after-win with only minor physical setbacks.

I think Cilic is better compared to a player like Juan Martin del Potro, another one-Slam wonder. Consider the resemblances between these two sets of accomplishments.

marin cilic shoulder problems for tennis 2015

In 2009 Delpo won ATP Washington and then he won the US Open shortly thereafter. He also placed second in the 2009 ATP World Tour Finals before all the tennis took a toll on his body, injuries followed, and he practically no-showed the entire 2010 season with the exception of a few tournaments.

In 2014 Cilic also won the US Open and he followed suit with a title at ATP Moscow a little while later. But after playing so much high quality and challenging tennis, Cilic’s body started to fail him as well. In fact with April 2015 looming, Cilic has not won a tennis match since mid-October of 2014. When he will win his next match is not clear, especially if he’s losing in straight sets to clay courters, like Monaco, on the hard court surface.

Del Potro and Cilic are players of the same type. They are both 6’6″, they’re both capable of beating anyone, and they are even the same age – born just five days apart. What they also have in common is that neither of them is capable of stringing together an entire season to challenge for the World No. 1 ranking. That doesn’t mean that they cannot beat the World No. 1 player however, in my opinion, neither Delpo nor Cilic will put an entire season of stellar results together.

With Cilic’s health as it is his fans can only cross their fingers and hope that he returns to play his best tennis soon. However I would call someone overly optimistic if they thought that Cilic would be in the Top 10 at the end of the current season.

marin cilic tennis problems wiht shoulder 2015 atp

Players that can run around and hit the ball, tournament after tournament, without injuring something will be in the Top 10.

At present, Cilic is ranked 10th in the world. While Wimbledon and the US Open are still a ways off, he will need to get his shoulder problems sorted by then if he wants to remain anywhere near the Top Ten. But, if Cilic is in fact like Delpo, it may be worth noting that JMD is currently ranked 616th in the world with plenty of work ahead if he wants to become a factor on tour again.

2015 NFL Free Agency Winners & Losers Part 1

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nfl free agency 2015

NFL free agency is a very quick process. By the end of the first week, all the best players are gone; so if a team doesn’t act fast they’ll almost certainly miss out. Last year the Denver Broncos won free agency by bringing in Demarcus Ware, T.J. Ward, and Aqib Talib in the first week; however, this year they didn’t do so well, losing Julius Thomas to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Let’s take a look at some of the winners and losers from free agency this season:

julius thomas bad free agency for broncos 2015

Winners

Green Bay Packers: The Packers had a very quiet free agency, which is a very good thing in the NFL. Besides losing Tramon Williams to the Cleveland Browns, the Pack didn’t see much of a chance to the roster that came five minutes away from a trip to Super Bowl XLIX. Wide receiver Randall Cobb agreed to stay in Green Bay for less money than Jeremy Maclin received from the Kansas City Chiefs, and starting tackle Bryan Bulaga stayed put as well for just $8 million in guaranteed money.

Arizona Cardinals: The Cardinals had some extra money to spend this offseason, so they got busy right from the beginning. First, they stole Pro Bowl guard Mike Iupati from division rival San Francisco 49ers, giving the All-Pro over $22 million in guaranteed money. Sure, that may seem like a lot for a guard, but the Cardinals will need all the help they can if they hope to dethrone the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC West.

The Cardinals also saved a lot of money on other players. The Cards brought in Corey Peters to replace nose tackle Dan Williams for a little over $3 million a year—much less than the $25 million deal Williams received from the Oakland Raiders.

The Cardinals also brought in Cory Redding and Sean Weatherspoon for next to nothing, adding depth and veteran leadership to their defense.

2015 best of free agency period images

Losers

Oakland Raiders: Surprise, surprise. The Raiders had money to spend this offseason, and they definitely spent it. The problem is the Raiders seem to have no idea who to spend money on, so they threw huge contracts at everyone. Rodney Hudson got $44.5 million and $20 million guaranteed—a center.

That’s not all: the Raiders overpaid former Arizona Cardinal Dan Williams, linebacker Curtis Lofton, tight end Lee Smith, and safety Nate Allen. On top of that, the Raiders lost running backs Darren McFadden and Maurice Jones-Drew over the offseason. Who do they bring in to replace them? Trent Richardson. Good move, Oakland.

Jacksonville Jaguars: Here’s another big surprise. If you’re wondering how teams like the Raiders and Jaguars stay bad year after year it is because they are constantly making horrible decisions in free agency and the draft.

Much like the Raiders, the Jags entered free agency with a ton of cash to blow—in fact, the Jaguars had the most available cap space in the NFL. Well, also much like the Raiders, the Jaguars managed to blow through it all without actually bringing any game-changing players to Jacksonville.

The Jags also showed their passion for handing out millions of dollars to backups. Davon House—four seasons in the NFL, 14 total starts—got $24.5 million. Dan Skuta—six years, 22 starts—got another $20.5 million from the Jags wealth.

The Jaguars did bring in two decent players in Julius Thomas and Jared Odrick; but it cost them $46 million in guaranteed money between the two. Having Odrick on the defensive line will help a little, but the Jaguars will be in for a rude awakening when they realize that Thomas is not nearly as good without Peyton Manning throwing him the ball.

THE WALKING DEAD Season 5 Box Set Coming In August 2015

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Just when you’ve gotten over that huge wallop of an ending from this season’s The Walking Dead finale, news hits that you’ll be able to experience it all over again this August when Anchor Bay Entertainment unleashes another huge box set of Season 5 walker goodness.

These sets are always chock full of killer blu-ray/dvd extras and great features, and as usual, our friends at Anchor Bay will have two copies for you lucky readers so keep your eyes open for that! We’ll have plenty of teaser images and trailers for you to check out leading up to the release also.

This was a crazy season but easily the best ever, with the best season finale in The Walking Dead’s history. I can’t even remember how many deaths we had to deal with from long and some short-term castmates, but each one felt powerful in its own rite.

And we’ve not forgotten to give you Shane McLedon’s recap of the series finale as we wanted to make sure everyone has seen it before dropping in everything so tomorrow it’ll be hitting along with a cool article about the who you’ll love.

walking dead beth lollipop sharing scene with gorman recap imageswalking dead beth lollipop sharing scene with gorman recap images

Here’s what they had to say to expect from the set:

For the past five years, we have followed the amazing tale of survival that is “The Walking Dead.” With the end of every season, comes the knowledge that– for the moment– we must part with the characters we have come to embrace. While it won’t be too long before their story resumes, Anchor Bay Entertainment proudly continues the tradition of offering fans one more chance to revisit the exciting season that was…

rick grimes the walking dead season 5 box set

“The Walking Dead: The Complete Fifth Season” will be released on Blu-ray™ + Digital HD and DVD on August 25th. Just like the award winning previous home entertainment releases, “The Walking Dead: The Complete Fifth Season” will dazzle viewers with state-of-the-art video and audio presentations.

More information, including bonus feature content, technical specs, and limited edition will be available soon.

Until we meet again at Alexandria…

Novak Djokovic Has Tough Battle To Beat Alexandr Dolgopolov: 2015 Miami Open Masters

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novak djokovic playing david ferrer 2015 miami open masters

During the 2015 Miami Open Masters, number one ranked tennis player, Novak Djokovic has made his matches look easy, but on Tuesday, Alexandr Dolgopolov really made him earn his win. They had a four round match which is much longer than any of Djokovic’s matches at this Open, but now he’ll be going up against David Ferrer in the quarterfinals.

Novak Djokovic continued his quest for a fifth ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown in Miami after battling back to beat Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-7(3), 7-5, 6-0 in their fourth-round clash on Tuesday.

Alexandr Dolgopolov taking on novak djokovic balls for 2015 miami open masters

The top seed and defending champion will face David Ferrer in the Miami Open presented by Itaú quarter-finals.

The opponents broke each other twice before Dolgopolov went on to clinch the first set in the tie-break when the Serb sent a backhand long.

The second set looked to go the way of the Ukrainian as he broke and took 4-2 lead, but Djokovic broke back. A crucial break to go up 6-5 gave the World No. 1 the upper hand to eventually take the second set.

The World No. 1 won 24 of 27 points in the third set to clinch the victory after 1 hour and 58 minutes.

novak djokovic has tough battle to beat alexandr dolgopolov at 2015 miami open masters

Djokovic, a four-time champion (2007, ’11, ’12, ’14), is bidding to complete the Indian Wells-Miami sweep for a second straight year and third overall, after clinching a fourth BNP Paribas Open title last Sunday.

Since 1991, seven players have achieved back-to-back success at the Indian Wells and Miami events: Jim Courier (1991), Michael Chang (1992), Pete Sampras (1994), Marcelo Rios (1998), Andre Agassi (2001), Roger Federer(2005-06) and Djokovic (2011, ‘14).

Earlier, Ferrer beat No. 12 seed Gilles Simon 7-6(5), 6-0 in 95 minutes. The sixth seed capitalised on six of his 11 break point chances to advance to his sixth Miami quarter-final.

The Spaniard, who has 24 ATP World Tour titles on his resume, improved his FedEx ATP Head2Head series against Simon to 7-2.

david ferrer powering balls at 2015 miami open masters

Ferrer is making his 13th appearance in Miami, where he has reached the semi-final-or-better stage three times. His best showing was a runner-up finish in 2013 (l. to Murray).

The Javea native captured the Doha title in the opening week of the season (d. Berdych), before notching back-to-back tournament wins at the ATP World Tour 500-level 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.