By the year of 2000, Serena Williams lost in the fourth round during the Australian Open to Elan Likhovtseva. She failed to defend her titles in Paris and Indian Wells. Yet, she did win the Faber Grand Pix in Germany. Later, Williams missed the French Open because of injury. She returned form injury at the Wimbledon Championships. She lost to Venus Williams in the semifinals, but the pair won the doubles title at hte event. Serena Williams successfully defended her title in Los Angeles, defeating Davenport in the final. She reached the final of the Du Maurier Open where an inuury forced her to retire her match with Hingis. Her defense of the U.S. Open title ended when she lost in the quarterfinals to Davneport. Venus Williams and Serena Williams teamed up to win the gold medal in the doubles at the Sydney Olympics in September of 2000. She end the year winning the Toyota Princess Cup in Japan. Her rank by the end of 2000 was Number 6. By 2001, Serena lost to Martina Hingins in the quarterfinals of the Medibank International in Sydney and the Australian Open in Melbourne. Serena Williams and Venus Williams won the doubles title at the latter tournament, becoming only the fifth doubles tema in history to win all four Grand Slam women's doubles titles during their career. This was a Career Grand Slam. Serena Williams participated in the Pacific Life Open in California, where she defeated Kim Clijsters in the finals. The final was marred by the behavior of the crowd toward Williams and her family. Many crowd members lied and accused the games of being match fixed involving the family. This was after Venus withdrew before their semifinal. Neither Williams nor her sister entered the tournament for 14 years until Serena Williams entered in 2015 as a wildcard (and the top seed). The following week at the Ericsson Open in Miami, Serena Williams lost ot Jennifer Capriati in the quarterfinals. She lost in the quarterfinals to Capriati at both the French Open and Wimbledon Championships. That was the fourth consecutive Grand SLam tournament at which Serena Williams had exited in the quarterfinals. During the North American hard court season, she lost in the quarterfinals of Los Angeles against Monica Seles, then captured her second title of the year at the Rogers Cup, defeating Capriati in the final. Serena Williams reach the final of the 2001 U.S. Open losing to her sister Venus Williams. That was the first Grand Slam tournament final contested by 2 sisters during the Open Era. At the 2001 Season ending Tour Championship, Williams won the championship by walkover when Davenport withdrew before the start of the final because of a knee injury. Williams finished 2001 at No. 6 for the 2nd straight year.
By early 2002, injury saw Serena Williams to retire from the semifinals at the Medibank International Sydney and later withdraw from the Australian Open. Serena Williams came back from injury to win her first title of the year in 2002 in Scottsdale, Arizona defeating No. 2 Jennifer Capriati, in the final. She then won the Miami Masters for the first time, becoming one of three players in the Open Era to defeat the world's top 3 ranked players at one tournament, after beating No. 3, Martina Hingis, in the quarterfinals, No. 2 Venus in the semifinals, and the top-ranked player, Capriati, in the final. Serena's straight set win over Venus was her second career win over her sister.
Williams played three clay-court tournaments before the 2002 French Open. Her first tournament was at Charleston, where she was the third seed. Williams reached the quarterfinals before losing to Patty Schnyder. She reached her first clay-court final in May, at the Eurocard German Open losing to Justine Henin in a third set tiebreak. Williams went on to win her first clay court title at the Italian Open, defeating Capriati in the semifinals and Henin in the final. This raised her ranking to a new high of No. 3. Williams was the third seed at the French Open at Roland Garros, where she claimed her first title thereby defeating defending champion Capriati in the semifinals and sister Venus in the final to win her second Grand Slam tournament title (and her first in two-and-a-half years). As a result of raising the trophy at Court Philippe Chatrier, Williams rose to a career-high of No. 2, second only to Venus.
At the 2002 Wimbledon Championships, Williams won tennis's oldest championship for the first time in her life, defeating Venus to win a Grand Slam singles title without dropping a set for the first time in her career. This victory earned Williams the world No. 1 ranking for the first time, dethroning her sister and becoming only the third African American woman to hold that ranking. The Williams sisters also won the doubles title at the tournament, the fifth Grand Slam doubles title for the pair. Williams played just one tournament between Wimbledon and the US Open, losing in the quarterfinals of the JPMorgan Chase Open in Los Angeles to American Chanda Rubin and ending a 21-match winning streak. The top-seeded player at the US Open, Williams reached the final where, for the third Grand Slam in a row, she defeated her sister to win the title, the second US Open crown of her career. Williams won two consecutive singles titles in the fall, defeating Kim Clijsters to win the Toyota Princess Cup in Tokyo, and Anastasia Myskina to win the Sparkassen Cup in Leipzig, Germany. She reached the final at the year-end Home Depot Championships at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, where she lost to fifth-seeded Clijsters in straight sets, ending an 18-match winning streak.
Serena Williams finished 2002 with a 56–5 W/L record, eight singles titles, and the No. 1 ranking. She was the first African-American to end a year with that ranking since Althea Gibson in 1958. She was the first woman to win three Grand Slam tournament titles in one years since Hingis in 1997. Her three consecutive Grand Slam titles to close 2002 also made Williams only the third player in tennis history to win the "Surface Slam", three Slam titles on three surfaces in the same calendar year, after Navratilova (1984) and Graf (1993, 1995, 1996). At the 2003 Australian Open, Williams reached the tournament's semifinals for the first time, where she recovered from 5–1 down in the third set and saved two match points before defeating Clijsters. In the final, Serena faced Venus for the fourth consecutive Grand Slam tournament final, defeating her older sister to become the sixth woman in the Open Era to complete a career Grand Slam, alongside Margaret Court, Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, and Steffi Graf. She also became the fifth woman to hold all Grand Slam singles titles simultaneously, joining Maureen Connolly Brinker, Court, Graf, and Navratilova. This feat was dubbed the "Serena Slam" by the press. The Williams sisters won their sixth Grand Slam doubles title together at this event.
During the spring of 2003, Williams captured the singles titles at the Open Gaz de France and the Sony Ericsson Open. Williams's winning streak came to an end when she lost the final of the Family Circle Cup to Henin, her first loss of the year after 21 wins. She also lost to Mauresmo in the semifinals of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome. Despite these losses, Williams was the top seed at the French Open, where she lost in the semifinals to eventual champion Henin, marking Williams's first loss in a Grand Slam tournament since 2001. The match was controversial, as Williams questioned Henin's sportsmanship, and spectators applauded Williams's errors. Williams rebounded from the French Open loss a couple weeks later at the 2003 Wimbledon Championships, defeating Henin in the semifinals and Venus in the final. This was Williams's second consecutive Wimbledon title and her sixth Grand Slam singles title overall. Wimbledon was Williams's last tournament of 2003; she pulled out of three events in the US and then underwent surgery on the quadriceps tendon in her knee in early August. Williams was initially expected to be out for six to eight weeks.
After eight months away from the tour, during which time her desire was questioned, Williams began her comeback at the 2004 NASDAQ-100 Open in Miami in March, where she made a triumphant return as she won the title for the third consecutive year. Although ranked No. 7, Williams was seeded second at the French Open, where, after winning four matches, she lost to Capriati in the quarterfinals. That was the first time that Williams had lost before the semifinals at a Grand Slam singles tournament since Wimbledon in 2001. A few weeks later, even though her ranking had dropped to No. 10, Williams was seeded first at Wimbledon. She won six matches en route to the final, where 13th-seeded Maria Sharapova defeated her in straight sets. This loss caused her ranking to drop out of the top 10 for the first time since 1999. Later that summer, Williams reached her third final of the year at the JPMorgan Chase Open in Los Angeles where she lost to Lindsay Davenport which was her first loss to the American since the 2000 US Open. After missing her national championship in 2003, Williams returned for the 2004 US Open, where she was seeded third despite her No. 11 ranking. She lost in the U.S. Open quarterfinals to Capriati in three sets in controversial fashion. That fall, Williams won her second title of the year, at the China Open, defeating US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final. Williams's successful season allowed her to qualify for the Tour Championships, held again in Los Angeles. In the round-robin phase of the tournament, Williams defeated Dementieva and Anastasia Myskina and lost to Davenport, but still advanced to the elimination stage. After winning her semifinal, she lost to Sharapova in the final, where she suffered an abdominal injury. Williams finished 2004 ranked No. 7, but did not win a Grand Slam singles tournament for the first season since 2001.
At the 2005 Australian Open, Williams rejected suggestions that she and sister Venus were a declining force in tennis, following Venus's early exit. Williams saved three match points to defeat Sharapova 8–6 in the third of their semifinal. In the final, Williams defeated top seed Davenport to win her second Australian Open and seventh Grand Slam singles title, winning 12 of the last 15 games. The win moved Williams back to No. 2 but stated she was targeting the top spot.
Williams completed just two tournaments between the Australian Open and Wimbledon, losing to Venus in Miami and at Internazionali BNL d'Italia to Francesca Schiavone as Williams suffered a series of retirements and withdraws. A reoccurring ankle injury causing her to miss the French Open. She returned for Wimbledon as the 4th-seeded player, but was defeated in the third round by No. 85, Jill Craybas. At the US Open, Williams lost to her sister Venus in the fourth round. This was the earliest the sisters had met in a Grand Slam tournament since their first meeting, at the 1998 Australian Open. Williams played just one more match that fall, a loss to No. 127 Sun Tiantian at the tournament in Beijing. She failed to qualify for the year-end championship for the first time since 1998 and she finished the year 2005 ranked No. 11, her first time finishing the season outside the top 10 since 1998.
Williams made her 2006 debut at the Australian Open. Defending the title, Williams lost to Daniela Hantuchová in the third round. After the tournament, she told the press that she was injured, blaming a lack of fitness and a knee injury for keeping her off the court. In her biography, Williams claims that she was actually suffering from depression. She stayed away from pro tennis for six months during the 2006 season. After she had shut herself off from the world for a period, Williams saw a therapist daily. After a chance meeting with a young girl who idolized Williams and believed that she could still win, Williams signed up to play in Cincinnati, her first tournament since Melbourne. Williams had slipped to No. 139, the lowest ranking she had held since 1997. On her return, Williams defeated Myskina and Bethanie Mattek, before losing in the semifinals to Vera Zvonareva. She also reached the semifinals in Los Angeles, losing to Janković in straight sets. At the US Open, Williams needed a wildcard to enter the tournament, as her ranking at the cut-off time was No. 139, outside the automatic 102. Her ranking had improved to 79th by the time the tournament came around. She lost to top-seeded Mauresmo in the fourth round. Following the US Open, she did not play again in 2006, ending the year ranked No. 95, her lowest year-end ranking since 1997.
Williams began 2007 with renewed confidence, stating her intention to return to the top of the rankings, a comment 1987 Wimbledon men's singles champion and commentator Pat Cash branded "deluded".
Williams lost in the quarterfinals of the Hobart International, a warm-up for the Australian Open where Williams was unseeded because of her No. 81 ranking and was widely regarded as not ready by some. She experienced a huge amount of pressure on herself before the tournament, coming from her fans and the press as well as Williams herself about her weight, focus and needing a good showing.
Shortly before her first match, a representative from Nike paid her a visit in the players' lounge, informing her that if she did not perform to her accustomed level, the company might drop her. Williams claimed that Nike's ultimatum meant that she would have to reach the quarterfinals at least.
The distraction from Nike did not distract Williams, as she lost just three games to Mara Santangelo and defeated Anne Kremer in straight sets. By this point, a blister had developed on Williams's foot and she had contracted a cold. In the third round, Williams found herself two points away from going home against Nadia Petrova, but fought back to win in three sets, which was her first win over a top-10 player since defeating Lindsay Davenport in the 2005 Australian Open final. Williams then made it to the final, defeating Janković, Pe'er and Vaidišová. Williams described them as "good players. Strong players. Players who certainly didn't expect an overweight, out-of-shape, has been champion like me to give them a game." Williams also found herself two points from going out against Peer before turning it around. By the time Williams had reached the final, the cold and blister had both left. Previewing the finals, Tracy Austin stated that, although Williams had a great tournament, she believed that the ride was over and that Sharapova would have no trouble with Williams. Williams thought it was mean and unnecessary and used it as motivation along with other criticism. In the final, Williams lost just three games against Maria Sharapova, winning her first title at any tournament since winning the 2005 Australian Open 24 months prior. Williams became the first player since Chris O'Neil to win the title while not being seeded, and claimed her third Australian Open and eighth Grand Slam singles title overall. The win elevated Williams to 14th in the rankings. Williams dedicated the title to her deceased half-sister Yetunde. Her performance in the final was described in the press as "one of the best performances of her career" and "arguably the most powerful display ever seen in women's tennis". In her post-match interview, Williams took a swipe at her critics, stating that she had proved them wrong. Williams won the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami for the fourth time by defeating Justine Henin. Williams had to record a come-from-behind win after being whitewashed in the first set and saving two match points in the second. She played for her country in the Fed Cup for the first time since 2003 in a tie against Belgium, and won her opening match but withdrew from her second, because of a knee injury.
At the French Open, Williams lost in the quarterfinals to Henin. During her fourth round match against Hantuchová at Wimbledon, Williams collapsed from an acute muscle spasm at 5–5 in the second set. After a medical timeout and holding serve to force a tiebreak, rain forced play to be suspended for nearly two hours. When the players returned, Williams won the match in three sets. Williams then lost her quarterfinal match with Henin, whilst suffering from the injuries sustained in the previous round. At the US Open, Williams lost her third consecutive Grand Slam singles quarterfinal to Henin. Williams reached the final of Kremlin Cup, losing to Elena Dementieva. Williams qualified for the WTA Championships, but retired from her first match with Anna Chakvetadze with a knee injury and subsequently withdrew from the event. Williams finished 2007 as No. 7 and the top-ranked American for the first time since 2003.
Michael Jordan was part of the 1984 USA Men's Olympic Basketball team. He was the leading scorer with 17.1 points a game. The team's coach was Bob Knight. The Olympic Games in 1984 took place in the city of Los Angeles. Bob Knight has always been controversial because of his tactics as coach of the Indiana Hoosiers. The team was considered to be one of the strongest in U.S.A.'s history at that time, as it featured four of the five 1984 consensus first team All-Americans, in Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing, Wayman Tisdale, and Sam Perkins. Prior to the Olympics, the team played eight games against NBA All-Star teams including Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, Isiah Thomas and Mark Aguirre and won all eight. That was shocking to some because those NBA players were already legends and icons. Michael Jordan proved himself to be one of the greats too. Later, the USA Olympic men's basketball team went 8–0 in the Olympic tournament, averaging 95.4 points per game, and holding their opponents to 63.3. Four players averaged double-figures in scoring: Michael Jordan (17.1), Chris Mullin (11.6), Patrick Ewing (11.0) and Steve Alford (10.3). Wayman Tisdale led the team in rebounding (5.9 per game), while Leon Wood led the team in assists (7.9 per game). The 1984 Summer Olympics allowed more people to witness the greatness of Michael Jordan. He led in scoring and inspired the crowds with his speed and athleticism. Many other people on the team like Patrick Ewing and Chris Mullin would join Jordan in the future 1992 Dream Team. . Jordan recalled that while this Olympic experience was exciting, it had also been trying because of Knight: "I don't know if I would have done it if I knew what Knight was going to be like."
Michael Jordan was part of the 1984 NBA Draft being one of the best draft classes in NBA History (along with the 1996 Draft Class and the 2003 Draft Class). One of the primary reasons why Jordan was not drafted sooner was because the first two teams were in need of a center. Trail Blazers general manager Stu Inman contended that it was not a matter of drafting a center but more a matter of taking Bowie over Jordan, in part because Portland already had Clyde Drexler, who was a guard with similar skills to Jordan. Citing Bowie's injury-laden college career, ESPN named the Blazers' choice of Bowie as the worst draft pick in North American professional sports history.
Jordan made his NBA debut at Chicago Stadium on October 26, 1984, and scored 16 points. In 2021, a ticket stub from the game sold at auction for $264,000, setting a record for a collectible ticket stub. During his rookie 1984–85 season with the Bulls, Jordan averaged 28.2 ppg on 51.5% shooting, and helped make a team that had won 35% of games in the previous three seasons playoff contenders. He quickly became a fan favorite even in opposing arenas. Roy S. Johnson of The New York Times described him as "the phenomenal rookie of the Bulls" in November, and Jordan appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated with the heading "A Star Is Born" in December. The fans also voted in Jordan as an All-Star starter during his rookie season. Controversy arose before the 1985 NBA All-Star Game when word surfaced that several veteran players, led by Isiah Thomas, were upset by the amount of attention Jordan was receiving. This led to a so-called "freeze-out" on Jordan, where players refused to pass the ball to him throughout the game. The controversy left Jordan relatively unaffected when he returned to regular season play, and he would go on to be voted the NBA Rookie of the Year. The Bulls finished the season 38–44, and lost to the Milwaukee Bucks in four games in the first round of the playoffs.
An often-cited moment was on August 26, 1985, when Jordan shook the arena during a Nike exhibition game in Trieste, Italy, by shattering the glass of the backboard with a dunk. The moment was filmed and is often referred to worldwide as an important milestone in Jordan's rise. The shoes Jordan wore during the game were auctioned in August 2020 and sold for $615,000, a record for a pair of sneakers.
For thousands of years among human history, health always remains an intrinsic study of life. Health is not just about food and exercise. It is about mental health, the growth of communities, addressing economic disparities in many communities, and other poignant or important issues of the world. With the advent of more advanced technologies, the Internet, and newer inventions addressing needs, we have seen an acceleration of the consciousness of the people understanding health information. During the course of the 21st century, new concepts have spread surrounding health. Millions of people in the world (not just in America) are still suffering debilitating conditions from the coronavirus pandemic. The virus has harmed tons of people in the world, and the good news is that less people are getting it as compared to 2 years ago. Now, we see the rise of infants and young children with the flu and RSV. These illnesses should be taken seriously. It is important to note that each person has a different biochemistry. What one form of a health program may work for one person will not work for another people. Also, it is important for people to gain wisdom from their doctors and their medical experts in getting the best advice available in developing an exercise regiment. As for vegans and non-vegans, people should have the right to be vegan or not. Regardless, folks need to be careful and get the healthy foods and healthy water in their systems to improve their lives. Like always, we believe in body positivity. That means that we know that beauty is diverse and not monolithic. There are beautiful people of many sizes and shapes. Not to mention that we will promote healthy living too. People have the right to learn the truth, inspire people, help people, and go about to fulfill their own dreams and aspirations succinctly.
Many people don't know that the city of San Diego has a long Civil Rights Movement spanning over 100 years. As early as 1917, W.E.B. DuBois traveled to San Diego to promote the Western states involving the NAACP. Many early leaders in the movement were ex-slave and Bethel A.M.E. Church co-founder Solomon Johnson an businessman Edward W. Anderson, the first black person in Southern California to file a racial discrimination lawsuit. Many black people in San Diego were always eager to fight for black freedom. Back in the early 20th century, black people in San Diego weren't allowed to go into certain restuaryants, or drink soda water, or go to the beach in the city. This was said by NAACP branch president Elijah J. Gentry. THe Klan was present in San Diego back then harming black people and Mexican immigrants too. Back in 1923 at OCean Beach, black people had their home burned to the ground as they fled for their lives. They were saved by a policeman. Later, and elderly black woman had her house destroyed by fire after being warned by racists to leave. Edward W. Anderson (1871-1954) filed a lawsuit to promote civil rights in California. Anderson won his 3 case but lost on appeal. Anderson had victories in promoting anti-discrimination policies in San Diego. The Unruh Civil Rights Act helped many people in California. After WWII, civil rights leader fought. Segregated housing existed in San Diego. Dr. Martin Luther King did visit San Diego on March 29, 1964. He worked with San Diego NAACP President Hartwell W. Ragdalse. Dr. King opposed housing discrimination in Western states. By 1964, there was a CORE protest calling for Bank of America to hire black bank tellers. Today, CORE is much more conservative, but back in the 1960's, CORE was a progressive organization. Harold Brown was at the CORE protest. Myrtle Cole has been a person who wanted people to know about San Diego's vast civil rights history too. Today, many positive changes have existed in America, but we have very long way to go. Even in 2022, we have the far right backlash restricting voting rights, hating ethnic studies being taught to students, and the effects of the January 6th insurrection terrorist attack on the U.S. Capitol. San Diego didn't create an oversight board of investigating police brutality until the 1980's. In our time, we have to realize that to have freedom, we have to fight for it. We will continue to advance the Dream and advance our rights too.
There has been commercials about testosterone for years now. A lot of people know what it is, and many people don't know what it is. What is testosterone? In laymen's terms, testosterone is a major sex hormone and it's an anabolic steroid in males. In human beings, testosterone plays a key role in the development of of male reproductive tissues like the testes and prostate, as well as promoting secondary sexual characteristics such as increased muscle and bone mass, and the growth of body hair. In addition, testosterone in both sexes is involved in health and well-being, including moods, behaviour, and in the prevention of osteoporosis. Insufficient levels of testosterone in men may lead to abnormalities including frailty and bone loss.
Testosterone is a steroid from the androstane class containing a ketone and a hydroxyl group at positions three and seventeen respectively. It is biosynthesized in several steps from cholesterol and is converted in the liver to inactive metabolites. It exerts its action through binding to and activation of the androgen receptor. In humans and most other vertebrates, testosterone is secreted primarily by the testicles of males (see Biosynthesis) and, to a lesser extent, the ovaries of females. On average, in adult males, levels of testosterone are about seven to eight times as great as in adult females. As the metabolism of testosterone in males is more pronounced, the daily production is about 20 times greater in men. Females are also more sensitive to the hormone.
In addition to its role as a natural hormone, testosterone is used as a medication in the treatment of hypogonadism in men and breast cancer in women. Since testosterone levels decrease as men age, testosterone is sometimes used in older men to counteract this deficiency. It is also used illicitly to enhance physique and performance, for instance in athletes. The World Anti-Doping Agency is listing it as S1 Anabolic agent substance "prohibited at all times".
By Timothy
