s Serena Williams’ purple headband against Wimbledon rules?

AP

By Chris Chase | Busted Racquet

Serena Williams' first-round match at Wimbledon was far less eventful than the one she played at the French Open. The four-time tournament champion didn't show any ill effects from her upset loss at Roland Garros and defeated Barbara Zahlavova Strycova 6-2, 6-4.

The most interesting part of her opener, as usual, was the clothing. When you hear "warmup jacket" you think of zipped-up nylon or hoodies. Serena's white, double-breasted Nike number is a bit of a genre bender. I can't tell whether the jacket looks like it belongs to a waiter at a party thrown by a James Bond villain or someone portraying a nurse in a Cinemax movie.

In recent years, Serena has opted for cardigans and shawls but wore the same style coat in 2008 and 2009.

The headband is even more interesting. Wimbledon has let players subtly flout the "almost entirely white" rule for years. Colored stripes, details on sleeves and bandanas are prevalent despite the seven rules forbidding such pigmentation. We detailed the trend during last year's tournament. But that purple headband is pretty blatant. Even the official Wimbledon site wondered whether it was crossing a line.

Maybe it's a nod to royalty. Either way, I wonder if that white swoosh on it has anything to do with officials at the All England Club looking the other way.

Ryan Lochte defeats Michael Phelps in Olympic trials showdown

Getty Images

By Chris Chase | Fourth-Place Medal

Ryan Lochte took the first round of his hotly-anticipated summer showdown with Michael Phelps, defeating the two-time defending Olympic champion in the 400 IM to open the U.S. Olympic trials in Omaha.

The 27-year-old from Florida led from the outset of the grueling race to touch in 4:07.06, nearly a full body length ahead of Phelps. Lochte had two won world championships in the event after Phelps "retired" from the lengthy discipline following his victory in the Beijing Games. Despite Phelps' pedigree in the race, Lochte was heavily favored to win Monday night, especially after he posted the fastest time in qualifying heats by four seconds.

It was Phelps first loss in a final at the U.S. trials since July 13, 2004, when Ian Crocker defeated him in the 100 butterfly. His defeat did have a silver lining: With his second-place finish, Phelps became the first swimmer in United States history to qualify for four Olympics. The 14-time gold medalist is three medals away from becoming the most prolific winner in the history of the Summer Games.

Monday's result was stinging for third-place finisher Tyler Clary. The 23-year-old Californian was the silver medalist in the 400 at the past two world championships without Phelps. Now, he won't swim the event in London.

Phelps confirmed as much after the race, immediately dismissing speculation that he'd skip the race at next month's Olympics. "This is a baby step," he said of the loss. "Ryan knows that, just like I do, that the race that counts happens in a couple of weeks."

Lochte didn't disagree. Instead of puffing his chest at beating Phelps for the first time in the 400, Lochte demurred to the Olympic king in an interview with NBC. "I still think I'm the hunter trying to catch him," he told Andrea Kremer.

Miami Heat victory party at LIV: LeBron, D-Wade, Bosh and Co. rack up $200,000 bar tab in all-night bash

Dwyane Wade smiles around his stogie during the Heat's afterparty at LIV. (Photo via padroncigars on Instagram 

By Dan Devine | Ball Don't Lie

You just won the NBA championship. You are ecstatic, eager to extend that ecstasy as long as you can, and desperate to celebrate, dance, carry on, drink champagne, smoke cigars and, to borrow a well-worn cliche from coach Erik Spoelstra, "live in the moment" of your career's greatest achievement. You are in Miami. So you go to LIV, the massive nightclub and den of debauchery at the Fontainebleau resort hotel in Miami Beach, and get to poppin' off.

That's what the Dallas Mavericks did last year after clinching the O'Brien at the AmericanAirlines Arena, with Dirk Nowitzki and company hammering down a monster magnum of Ace of Spades champagne en route to ringing up a $110,000 bar tab, happily paid by victorious Mavs owner Mark Cuban. On Thursday night — and, really Friday morning — the Miami Heat washed away the agony of that defeat and threw themselves whole-hog into the thrill of victory, taking over LIV and casting aside Cuban's credit-card bill like it was a receipt for your airport sandwich.

The Heat reportedly dropped (at least) $200,000 on their post-Finals victory party, an all-night rager that reportedly cost a stack to enter and featured surprise performances, dancing women twirling flaming sticks, carbon dioxide guns and an awful lot of your favorite hip-hop classics (read: the four songs on the radio now). That's an especially staggering sum when you consider that they've got seven more of these to cover.

Fans: LeBron's image won't be repaired with a title

By Darren Rovell | CNBC.com

Following "The Decision," where LeBron James declared he'd take his talents from Cleveland to Miami, he went from being hero to a villain in the eyes of many.

People who once rooted for his greatness started cheering for his downfall. They clapped at his inability to make the big shots at the end and reveled in his disappointment of losing to the Mavericks in last year's NBA Finals.

With the Heat up 3 games to 1, and LeBron on the cusp of hoisting the Larry O'Brien Trophy for the first time in his nine-year NBA career, the question is, does finally winning the big one change how people think of the NBA's "King."

The answer seems to be a resounding no, and it's not just coming from spurned Cavaliers fans.

I asked this question to my Twitter followers: If you dislike LeBron, would winning a title change your opinion? Out of the 404 people who voted, 82 percent said no, with 4.4 percent saying yes, while the other 13.6 percent said it depends on how he celebrates. Does he go down on one knee and get emotional or does he play the "me against the world" card?

"Winning helps, but you have to be perceived in a way that you've convinced people you're different than what caused the perception to happen and that's the hurdle that he is challenged with," said Henry Schafer, executive vice president of Marketing Evaluations, which conducts the Q Scores.

Schafer said that among sports fans age 13 and older who know of LeBron, 19 percent consider him one of their favorite personalities, but 27 percent of those that know him rank him among their least favorite personalities.

"The negative side is where he's hurting," Schafer said. "His negative score is almost twice the average."

On Twitter, Schafer's sentiment was echoed.

• Brad (@Texas_Cyn) said LeBron winning a title wouldn't change his negative opinion of him because he came off as "universally arrogant." "It was obvious in last year's Finals press conference how much better he thinks he is than everyone," he tweeted.

• Jermaine (@jermaine611) tweeted, "He can win five titles and I wouldn't like him. Dances, posing and entitlement has turned me off."

• Andrew (@AndrewGreth) said LeBron set himself up for more lofty goals that compromises how people should think about his first title.

• "He said he would win not 4, not 5, not 6," Greth tweeted. "so one (title) is not backing up bravado."

In a separate Twitter poll taken at the start of the NBA Finals, I asked my followers what endorser would most get you to buy a product? I gave them Kevin Durant, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade as choices. Durant got 71.4 percent of the vote, LeBron got 21.3 percent and Wade finished last with 7.3 percent of the vote.

While LeBron is known by 85 percent of the population, Kevin Durant is known by 61 percent of the population, according to the Q Scores. But 23 percent of those that know him call him their favorite athlete, while only 9 percent list him as one of their least favorite athletes.

Austin Aune, top QB recruit, passes up on TCU glory for $1 million Yankees bonus

By Pat Forde | Yahoo! Sports

Ever wonder what it would take to lure a top quarterback prospect out of an ongoing training program with a major Division I college program? Now we know: $1 million and the lure of the New York Yankees.

As first reported by Baseball America and the Dallas Morning News, TCU quarterback signee Austin Aune, who was also a top baseball player at Argyle (Texas) High, left his summer training program at TCU to sign with the Yankees less than two weeks after he was selected by the Bronx Bombers in the second round of the draft with the 89th overall pick.

Baseball America's Jim Callis reported that Aune was given a flat, $1 million bonus to sign off on a future in baseball and not football, which he had long planned to play for the Horned Frogs. TCU was eager to work the state champion, pro-style quarterback into the mix as soon as he was ready, hoping to integrate the 6-foot-2, 190-pounder's leadership skills into a program which will enter the Big 12 at a gallop and hope to build off its recent success that includes a Rose Bowl victory to cap the 2010-11 season.

It appeared that Aune was just as eager to join TCU, too: The teen was already living in the school's dorms when he was drafted so he could take part in the school's summer football training program and summer school classes.

While Aune has drawn praise for both raw power and speed, it's the teen's arm that may stand out. That's appropriate for a quarterback who passed for a massive 3,411 yards and 42 touchdowns as a senior at Argyle.

It's clear that Aune, who starred as a shortstop in high school but projects as an outfielder at the major-league level, made his decision based on the lure of the Yankees and the money offer, too. New York paid well over the expected bonus value slotted for his pick — reportedly a touch above $500,000 — to help land a phenomenal athlete who was expected to compete in both football and baseball with the Horned Frogs.

And if things don't work out with the Yankees, Aune can always follow in the footsteps of Drew Henson, who passed up on a bright future at Michigan to sign with New York, only to eventually leave baseball and join the NFL.

For now, Aune will dip down into the overwhelming obscurity of the minor leagues rather than the crucible of major college football. If he eventually makes his way to the Bronx, that's a trade that he may feel was well worth making, even if it required him to walk away from an opportunity he was well on the way to experiencing to its fullest.

IMG agency will start a prep football program in Florida, but should it?

Former Florida State Heisman Trophy winner Chris Weinke — Getty Images

 

 

 

 

 

By Cameron Smith | Prep Rally

First, it was a charter school set up by Deion Sanders. Now, IMG, the worldwide talent agency, is getting in on the high school football act.

As noted by the Los Angeles Times, among other sources, IMG Academy will host a varsity high school football team for the first time in 2013. To get the program on a track toward future success, the sports-focused school will begin hosting interested football players during the 2012-13 school year. The football team will be coached by former Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Chris Weinke and will be hosted at the same site as the rest of IMG's programs in Brandenton, Fla.

While the IMG program may be destined for future success, that won't come without serious questions about whether or not the agency should be hosting a football team in the first place. IMG -- which features prep sports enterprises like a tennis academy hosted by famed-instructor Nick Bolliteri and a golf school led by David Leadbetter — has more recently begun breaking into full-fledged team sports where the involvement of a third-party entity like IMG are much less traditional.

While IMG launched its soccer academy years ago, its forays into the baseball, basketball and lacrosse world are much more recent. Naturally, all of those efforts will pale in comparison to what it will take to launch a successful football program, particularly in Florida, one of the nation's most talent-rich, competitive states.

There are also sure to be ethical questions to follow on IMG's new school, as well. Many have long questioned the wisdom in integrating pro or collegiate-style training into a traditional school day as a means of more adequately preparing young Americans for future athletic success at the expense of a more traditional scholastic experience.

While the resistance to more professional-style training was less significant with more individualistic or European-powered sports like tennis, golf and soccer, that may not be the case with football, which plays upon its deep roots with all things American and traditional.

Regardless of what happens next, IMG is clearly making waves by adding football in Florida at all. Whether or not those waves are positive may not be known for years in the future. If they are seen as a step forward, don't expect IMG to be the only academy running a pro-style prep football program for long.