Li Na defeats Venus Williams!

It's been an amazing couple of months for Chinese tennis--first Zheng Jie in the semis at Wimbledon (a first for China), and now this! She will be a national hero in China if she wins gold, and this win will certainly boost her confidence.

On a sadder note...WTF is up with Federer? What happened to that indomitable "Emperor of Tennis" whose strokes were like works of art? He still needs to break Sampras' record of Grand Slam victories, and I'm confident that he won't let himself become irrelevant in his sport until he has done so. I for one am not quite ready for him to slip from the #1 spot he's held for these past 4.5 years. It's like he's been #1 for so long that the association is forever cemented into our minds.

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Ok, so China got thumped by the US in basketball, but at least they've proven that they can't be taken for granted.

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Phelps is still superhuman.

Men's basketball: China vs. USA.

Redeem Team? Not if Yao and his teammates can help it. GO TEAM CHINA!

Yao scored a 3-pointer to make it 3-0 China--there couldn't possibly have been a better start.

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Phelps is a superhuman. He's going to overshadow pretty much everyone else.

The Chinese government can't hold a monopoly on the national pride and happiness of the entire population of China. The people's happiness and pride are meant for each other and not for the Chinese Communist Party. Their allegiance is not to the Party.

The opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics was incredible.

Enough said.

Angelina and Brad are not self-important and attention-seeking celebrities because their doctor addressed the media on the condition of their babies. Would you let all the often ugly lies and rumors spread across the world without feeling the need to set the record straight? Sure, a normal couple wouldn't ask their doctor to give a "press conference" updating the world on the condition of their pregnancy, but when it comes to the most famous couple in the world (which by default makes them highly 'abnormal', in a sense), unwanted attention follows them everywhere. They didn't want to do things in this fashion, as so many commenters in the blogosphere have suggested, but by the public's lust for information and the media's lust for viewership/readership and money, the J-P camp had few other options.

And for some to suggest that Angie/Brad deserve the lack of privacy for being celebrities in the first place, that's the most ridiculous bullshit I have ever heard. Are these critics justifying their own secret pleasure at viewing scandalous, salacious, and sensational celebrity news? One thing's for sure, though: nothing justifies this appalling media circus surrounding the twins' birth--not money, curiosity, nor even their parents' celebrity.

To certain people (you know who you are): We don't care if you don't care a whit about the J-P's. Just don't come to us telling us we're all rotten people for following all the news about them. Among us there are actually plenty of people who actually do care about their lovely family and don't buy into all that bullcrap the tabloids puke out every day. Unlike you.