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US women’s team refuse to sing national anthem before World Cup draw with Holland. Six players take part in silent protest labelled ‘disrespectful’ but Martina Navratilova tells critics to 'get a grip'. The US women’s football team have sparked a divisive row at the World Cup after six players elected not to sing the national anthem in a silent ‘protest’ that was labelled “embarrassing” and “disrespectful”. The defending world champions risked the ire of the American public for the second time in five days yesterday when more than half of the team stayed silent before their group game against Holland,...

Officials back down after being charged of “kowtowing to China” to please sponsors.. Forty Eight hours after demanding that spectators at the Australian Open remove clothing and hand over signs protesting China’s Communist government, officials have reversed course and said that the garments will be allowed, with a caveat. As we reported yesterday, the shirts and banner read “Where is Peng Shuai?”, referring to the previous disappearance of the Chinese tennis star who had accused a high ranking CCP official of sexually assaulting her. After not being seen for weeks, Shuai reappeared looking worse for wear and immediately retracted the...

Tennis legend Martina Navratilova, the winner of 18 Grand Slam singles titles, has noted that, when it comes to competitive athletics, “sex segregation is the only way to achieve equality for girls and women.” That is because, on average, males are stronger, faster, and more powerful than females. And, yet, with the stroke of a pen, the United States Supreme Court last week called into question the legality of all sex-specific athletic teams. ... Many civil rights activists cheered the holding as a victory for the LGBTQ+ community. And, indeed, it is. ... Suppose, for example, a male student fails...

Red Semidouble A THIRD ROMAN VIRGIN, wearing on her brow a Martyr’s crown, comes today to share the honors given to Agnes and Emerentiana, and offer her palm to the Lamb. Her name is Martina, which the pagans were wont to give to their daughters in honor of their god of war. Her sacred relics repose at the foot of the Capitoline hill, in the ancient temple of Mars, which has now become the beautiful Church of Saint Martina. The holy ambition to render herself worthy of Him whom she had chosen as her divine Spouse gave her courage...

Martina Navratilova, the former world number one tennis star, said yesterday that she had regained Czech nationality more than 30 years after fleeing its communist rule to live in the US. The 51-year-old, who won the Wimbledon singles title a record nine times, said that she was maintaining dual nationality and keeping her US passport. But her announcement, at a Tokyo press conference, raised questions over whether she planned to leave America, after a series of controversial attacks on President Bush and the Republican party. Born in Prague, Navratilova defected to the United States in 1975 aged 18, angering the...

ROME - Martina Hingis saw a different side of life in her three years away from tennis. Some things, however, don't change: She can still win tennis tournaments. Hingis beat 16th-seeded Dinara Safina 6-2, 7-5 Sunday in the Italian Open final for the 41st title of her career, but first since winning in Tokyo more than four years ago. She returned in January after nearly three years out of the game with foot and ankle injuries. "I lived a different life and experienced a lot of things, and that probably helps me today in those moments," Hingis said. "If I...

Women's tennis has yet another comeback tale after the announcement by Martina Hingis that she plans to return to the tour next year. She was only 22 when foot injuries and slumping results caused her to retire early in 2003. It was a surprising, depressing end to a career that peaked very early, with Hingis becoming both the youngest No. 1 player in history and winning all five of her Grand Slam singles titles before her 19th birthday. Now, at age 25, the Swiss woman has decided that she is fit and well-adjusted enough to plunge back into the brightly...

October 28, 2004 -- Tennis great Martina Navratilova claims a New Jersey politician is out of bounds for conning her into taking a photo with him — then using it to suggest she had endorsed him. "She was very angry that she was in a picture with me, she hates George Bush and did not want to endorse Republicans," Joe Renna said.

JACKSON TWP. -- They came from across the country to support our troops and to raise money for children of military personnel killed in the war on terror.

In AD 627, the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius won a great victory over the Persians at Nineveh, and the long, bitter struggle between the Byzantines and the Persians came to an end. The Persian army was destroyed, and the Byzantines gained control of virtually all the territory the two empires had fought over for so long. Victory at last! Peace at last! Time to enjoy a peace dividend! And, even better, time to turn on the real enemy: themselves. Bitter political and ideological struggles had divided the Byzantines from the beginnings of their history, but now these struggles turned particularly vicious....

Kournikova Jubilant After Mixed Doubles Win Wed Jul 3, 4:36 PM ET By Laura MacInnis WIMBLEDON (Reuters) - Anna Kournikova ( news - profile - photos) repaired some dented pride Wednesday with a crowd-rousing mixed doubles win with Jonas Bjorkman ( news - profile - photos) against Martina Navratilova and Todd Woodbridge at the Wimbledon ( news - web sites) Championships. Kournikova and Bjorkman fought back from a set down to take the second round match 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 on court two, the site of the Russian beauty's much-publicized first round singles defeat last week. Fans relished the all-star contest...

Martina: The Czech Wreck The Championships at Wimbledon are underway, an event that usually puts me in a fantastic mood. I grew up rooting for such superstars (and personalities) as Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, and Martina Navratilova. These role models helped mold my left-handed serve-and-volley game during my teen years. While on the court, I would imagine that I was returning serve like Jimmy, charging the net like Martina, and volleying like Mac the Knife. As I have grown older, I have learned more about who these people actually are. And last week, I received confirmation of what I feared...