Sofia's Elite Eight: Breaking It Down

source wtatennis.com

SOFIA, Bulgaria - Istanbul had its elite eight, now Sofia has an elite eight too - and what a group it is, led by former No.1 Caroline Wozniacki and a slew of former Top 10 and Top 20 stars hoping to wrap up their seasons on a high.

The Qatar Airways Tournament Of Champions Sofia is the finale for the WTA's International Series, with the six highest-ranked players who have won an International title this year - and two wildcards - in the eight-woman field.

Bulgaria's own Tsvetana Pironkova is one wildcard, and talked about playing a WTA event in her home country for the first time. "It's funny, I feel like I'm a host here, and whenever there's a problem somewhere I just want to help and keep everyone happy! But it's great, I have many people coming to watch me this week, like tomorrow I have 30 or 40 friends coming. I'm very excited!"

And on her round robin group? "I think I'm happy with the draw - it's not very easy here no matter which group you're in, because the players here are the best of the best," she said. "I'm just going to try and stay calm and keep my energy, practice a little bit and get ready to play my first match tomorrow."

The tournament format will see the round robin groups play out over the first four days from Tuesday to Friday, with the semifinals on Saturday and the final on Sunday. Here's a breakdown of the two four-woman round robin groups:

Group Serdika

(1) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN #11)
~ International titles this year (1): Seoul
~ Head-To-Head against rest of group combined: 7-2
- 0-1 vs Vinci
- 2-0 vs Hsieh
- 5-1 vs Hantuchova

(4) Roberta Vinci (ITA #16)
~ International titles this year (1): Dallas
~ Head-To-Head against rest of group combined: 4-2
- 1-0 vs Wozniacki
- 1-0 vs Hsieh
- 2-2 vs Hantuchova

(5) Hsieh Su-Wei (TPE #27)
~ International titles this year (2): Kuala Lumpur, Guangzhou
~ Head-To-Head against rest of group combined: 0-4
- 0-2 vs Wozniacki
- 0-1 vs Vinci
- 0-1 vs Hantuchova

(7) Daniela Hantuchova (SVK #32)
~ International titles this year (1): Pattaya City
~ Head-To-Head against rest of group combined: 4-7
- 1-5 vs Wozniacki
- 2-2 vs Vinci
- 1-0 vs Hsieh

Group Sredets

(2) Nadia Petrova (RUS #13)
~ International titles this year (1): 's-Hertogenbosch
~ Head-To-Head against rest of group combined: 12-6
- 4-4 vs Kirilenko
- 8-1 vs Zheng
- 0-1 vs Pironkova

(3/WC) Maria Kirilenko (RUS #15)
~ International titles this year (0 - wildcard)
~ Head-To-Head against rest of group combined: 7-9
- 4-4 vs Petrova
- 3-5 vs Zheng
- 0-0 vs Pironkova

(6) Zheng Jie (CHN #29)
~ International titles this year (1): Auckland
~ Head-To-Head against rest of group combined: 8-11
- 1-8 vs Petrova
- 5-3 vs Kirilenko
- 2-0 vs Pironkova

(8/WC) Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL #44)
~ International titles this year (0 - wildcard)
~ Head-To-Head against rest of group combined: 1-2
- 1-0 vs Petrova
- 0-0 vs Kirilenko
- 0-2 vs Pironkova

The Tournament Of Champions debuted in 2009 in Bali, before moving to Sofia's Armeets Arena for the 2012 to 2014 editions. Tennis is increasingly popular in Sofia, which is Bulgaria's capital and largest city. It is home to many of the country's major universities, cultural institutions and businesses.

Breaking Down The Istanbul Elite Eight

ISTANBUL, Turkey - The eight competitors at the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships - Istanbul 2012 were divided up into their two round robin groups at the official draw ceremony on Sunday, with play set to begin at the $4.9-million year-end finale on Tuesday. Here's how everyone stacks up...

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RED GROUP: Azarenka, Williams, Kerber, Li...

(1) Victoria Azarenka (BLR)
~ '12 Titles: 6 - Sydney, Australian Open, Doha, Indian Wells, Beijing, Linz
~ Best Grand Slam result in 2012: Won Australian Open
~ Fall record: 13-0 (and 26-0 in sets)
~ H2H vs group: 1-10 vs Williams, 2-0 vs Kerber, 4-4 vs Li
~ Quote: "Every match here will be tough - I obviously have great champions in the group. It's challenging, definitely, but I'm looking forward to it."

(3) Serena Williams (USA)
~ '12 Titles: 6 - Charleston, Madrid, Wimbledon, Stanford, Olympics, US Open
~ Best Grand Slam result in 2012: Won Wimbledon & US Open
~ Fall record: 0-0
~ H2H vs group: 10-1 vs Azarenka, 1-1 vs Kerber, 5-1 vs Li
~ Quote: "I don't really care who I play or when I play, as long as I can play. I'm really happy to be here. I'm on the red side with Victoria, so it'll be good."

(5) Angelique Kerber (GER)
~ '12 Titles: 2 - Paris [Indoors], Copenhagen
~ Best Grand Slam result in 2012: SFs at Wimbledon
~ Fall record: 4-2
~ H2H vs group: 0-2 vs Azarenka, 1-1 vs Williams, 1-5 vs Li
~ Quote: "It doesn't matter which group you're in, it's not easy - we're the best eight players, and every match will be hard. But it's an honor for me to be here. I'll enjoy every match. It's a bonus after such a great year. When I started this year I wasn't thinking about No.5 or being here, so this is a great highlight."

(8) Li Na (CHN)
~ '12 Titles: 1 - Cincinnati
~ Best Grand Slam result in 2012: 4r at Australian Open & French Open
~ Fall record: 5-2
~ H2H vs group: 4-4 vs Azarenka, 1-5 vs Williams, 5-1 vs Kerber
~ Quote: "It doesn't matter which group you're in, everyone's tough. Only the Top 8 players play this tournament. It's a good challenge for yourself."

WHITE GROUP: Sharapova, Radwanska, Kvitova, Errani...

(2) Maria Sharapova (RUS)
~ '12 Titles: 3 - Stuttgart, Rome, French Open
~ Best Grand Slam result in 2012: Won French Open
~ Fall record: 7-2
~ H2H vs group: 7-2 vs Radwanska, 4-2 vs Kvitova, 1-0 vs Errani
~ Quote: "When you're coming here you pretty much know what you're going to get in terms of the level of the group. With the field we have, I think every match, no matter what group you're in, will be pretty tough from the get go."

(4) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL)
~ '12 Titles: 3 - Dubai, Miami, Brussels
~ Best Grand Slam result in 2012: R-Up at Wimbledon
~ Fall record: 6-2
~ H2H vs group: 2-7 vs Sharapova, 0-3 vs Kvitova, 5-1 vs Errani
~ Quote: "It's the eight best players in the world, so there's no easy group and no easy match - but I'll have a good couple of matches, I hope."

(6) Petra Kvitova (CZE)
~ '12 Titles: 2 - Montréal, New Haven
~ Best Grand Slam result in 2012: SFs at Australian Open & French Open
~ Fall record: 1-2
~ H2H vs group: 2-4 vs Sharapova, 3-0 vs Radwanska, 3-0 vs Errani
~ Quote: "You can't choose who can be in your group. All eight players are great players who have had a great season. I'll try my best. I remember the great support I got last year. I'm looking forward to being on the court again."

(7) Sara Errani (ITA)
~ '12 Titles: 4 - Acapulco, Barcelona, Budapest, Palermo
~ Best Grand Slam result in 2012: R-Up at French Open
~ Fall record: 2-2
~ H2H vs group: 0-1 vs Sharapova, 1-5 vs Radwanska, 0-3 vs Kvitova
~ Quote: "Of course it's a tough group - both groups are tough, and the players are strong. We will see how it goes. I'll just try to play my best game, singles and doubles - it's amazing for me to be here."

Kobe Bryant calls ex-teammate Smush Parker ‘the worst,’ jokingly chides the Lakers for letting him ‘walk on’

Kobe Bryant confers with 'The Worst' (Getty Images)

By Kelly Dwyer | Ball Don't Lie

During the 2005-06 season, Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant averaged a career best 35.4 points per game, an astounding number only slightly pumped up by his famous 81-point outburst midway through that very potent season. Though the Lakers were downed in the first round, the campaign should have served at the very least as a personal highlight for Kobe, especially as he was back to working with coach Phil Jackson after the head man was exiled from the team during the 2004-05 campaign.

Instead, Kobe's still a little chippy about the lineups that surrounded him during that 45-win season. Up to and including calling former starting point guard Smush Parker "the worst," just before Wednesday night's exhibition loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. From Janis Carr at the Orange County Register:

    "I almost won an MVP with Smush Parker and Kwame Brown on my team," Bryant said before Wednesday's 93-75 exhibition loss to Portland. "I was shooting 45 times a game. What was I supposed to do? Pass it to Chris Mihm or Kwame Brown?"

    Bryant was referring to 2005-06 when the Lakers' roster included Brian Cook, Stanislav Medvedenko, Devean George and Parker, Mihm and Brown.

    Bryant continued, taking aim at his favorite whipping boy, Parker, calling him "the worst. He shouldn't have been in the NBA but we were too cheap to pay for a point guard. So we let him walk on."

Damn, dude. Daaaamn. Great players don't usually mind making indirect references to when their lives were tougher while working amongst less-heralded teammates -- "we've come a long way"-sort of nonsense. But rarely do you see players go on record with names like Kobe just did.

[Related: LeBron James' agent being investigated by NCAA]

About the talent surrounding him, or having to shoot 45 times (27.2, actually) a game, Kobe is spot on. Though Jackson was back to employing the triangle offense, the mismatched parts acquired to run an isolation-heavy attack during Jackson's one year away made it so Bryant had to break away from the offense continually just to keep the Lakers in games. They may have featured the best player in the world that year, though eventual-champion Dwyane Wade might disagree, but 45 wins for that lot was, well, a lot. Bryant was masterful as he led that team back to the postseason.

Calling the guys out, though? Parker, we can understand — he's been taking shots at Kobe for years, now, and any sort of contentious back and forth between the two is entirely Parker's fault. Players like Luke Walton and Devean George may have contributed less and hamstrung Kobe's efforts more than Parker in that season; but when you combine Smush's petulance towards Kobe, lack of professionalism, and play he truly does come off as "the worst."

Kwame? His effort was lacking, per usual, and he turned the ball over on nearly 17 percent of the possessions he used up. Could have played better, had he cared more, so it's probably fine for Kobe to call him out. Especially when a still-active Brown, now a Philadelphia 76er, can lay a hard foul on Bryant the next time the Lakers come through Pennsylvania.

(Though he totally won't.)

Chris Mihm? We're not feeling that as much.

Mihm at least tried, and played through injuries. Didn't have the greatest hands in the world, but he was serviceable in the wake of the deal involving Shaquille O'Neal that Bryant nudged the Lakers into (and Vlade Divac's injury-plagued 2004-05 campaign). Over ten points and six boards with a block in 26 minutes for the Lakers in 2005-06 — not bad. And, unlike Parker and Brown, he didn't try to cross the king with anything save for the odd dropped pass or 12.

(And, as far as the Lakers being "too cheap to pay for a point guard," Kobe's a little off there, as well. Though Los Angeles didn't pay the luxury tax that season, the team was well over the cap during the offseason and could only legally bring in a guard with an exception or on a minimum contract. Kobe, as well as Lamar Odom and the expiring Brian Grant, all played for over eight figures a year in 2005-06, so it's not as if Los Angeles had a lot of wiggle room.)

Life is a lot easier, now, with Steve Nash handling point guard duties and Dwight Howard ready to throw down as many lobs as Kobe will give him, so you can't blame the man for giddily considering how far he's come. Even with those two championships won in the space between.

But names, Kobe? Their names?

Cold. It's going to be a fun season in Los Angeles. And a hell of a lot of fun as Kobe gets older, and grumpier.

Danny Amendola’s injury could have been life-threatening

Danny Amendola's injury could have been even worse. (AP)

By Brian McIntyre | Shutdown Corner

The St. Louis Rams may be 3-2 in their first season under head coach Jeff Fisher, but they were dealt a significant injury blow on Thursday night when wide receiver Danny Amendola suffered a separated SC joint while laying out to haul in a 22-yard pass attempt from Sam Bradford.

Amendola did not break his collarbone, which the Rams initially feared, and will not require surgery. According to Jay Glazer of FOXSports.com, the injury could have been much, much worse.

During a report on FOX's pregame show, Glazer explained that Amendola dislocated his clavicle, which actually popped in and could have threatened Amendola's trachea and aorta. The Rams' medical staff acted quickly, putting Amendola to sleep before popping the clavicle back into place and making sure it could not dislodge again.

Glazer adds that the Rams have called around the league to find a case of another player suffering a similar injury, but they could not find one. The absence of a case study for this particular injury makes it difficult for the Rams to know when Amendola might return. Though surgery is not required, it may take between four and eight weeks for the injury to heal to the point where Amendola can play.

Rams quarterback Sam Bradford acknowledged how important Amendola is to the offense following Thursday night's win over the Arizona Cardinals.

    "Obviously, losing Danny is big," Bradford said via the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "Everyone knows that he's a big part of our offense. A lot of what we do runs through him."

Through five weeks, Amendola has been targeted 49 times, more than twice as many targets as anyone else on the team (Brandon Gibson, 23), and he leads the team with 32 receptions for 395 yards and is tied for the team lead with two touchdowns. Amendola's 56-yard reception in a Week 2 win over the Washington Redskins is the Rams' longest offensive play of the season. Someone will need to step up while Amendola is out, with free agent addition Steve Smith, a 2009 Pro Bowler with the New York Giants, possibly returning to the 46-man game day roster after being inactive the last two weeks.