What Caught My Eye Today

Rest in Peace - Patrick Swayze, star of "Dirty Dancing" and "Ghost," died Monday after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 57. Both good movies, but for my money "Roadhouse" and "Point Break" were my Swayze flicks. You'll be missed.

Colombia - I don't wish ill on anyone, but it is nice to be reminded of the fact that we all put our pants on one leg at a time and anyone can catch the flu. Colombian President Alvar Uribe has swine flu and and to seek medical attention while attending a town council meeting. His case is mild but concerns have been raised that Uribe may have infected other leaders from the region. He was diagnosed just after returning from a South American summit in Argentina, where he met with 11 other national leaders. I guess that flu vaccine isn't quite ready yet, is it.

Italy - I preface this next story by assuring you that the humor in this story is not directed at the religion. The Italian sports world is debating where devout Muslims make reliable soccer players. Are you serious? The controversy began when the coach of Inter Milan benched one of his players who had been fasting all day for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Italian Muslims were outraged, and their anger grew when the owner of another Italian team said he simply wouldn't sign players who observe Ramadan. You would think after everything that the world has gone through over the millenia, that we would have learned a little something about religious tolerance. But no. Instead the fine folks at FIFA had to commission an expert panel to make a statement. Medical experts from FIFA, the world soccer body, to announce that "no serious scientific study" had ever shown a decrease in player performance due to Ramadan fasting. Religion aside, I think it's pretty much common knowledge that if you don't eat, your energy level will be somewhat diminished; and I'm pretty certain that's the case regardless of your religious affiliation. My point here, is that if a soccer player is not performing as well as they can (for whatever reason), being benched is a reasonable response. If the dude was playing at the same level during Ramadan as he was for the rest of the season, I doubt he would have found himself on the bench. As for that rocket scientist who won't sign players because of their religious practices, that dude is a moron, plain and simple.

South Africa - I'm not sure I can top this story with any additional commentary...so I'm not even going to try. Tests show that controversial runner Caster Semenya is a woman ...and a man. The 18-year-old South African champ has no womb or ovaries and her testosterone levels are more than three times higher than those of a normal female, according to reports. The tests, ordered by The International Association of Athletics Federations after Semenya's 800-meter victory in the World Championships, determined she's a hermaphrodite - having both male and female organs. Semenya could be stripped of the gold medal she won in Berlin last month and her competitive future is in limbo, according to Australia's Daily Telegraph. The athletics governing body is also expected to advise her to have surgery to fix the potentially deadly condition. Seriously, how do you top a story like that.

Sports - I mean the normal headlines; not the weirdness of the previous two items.

Tennis - There's an old sports adage that goes like this..."that's why you play the game". You need look no further than the U.S. Open for proof of this. Kim Clijsters came of a two year retirement (and the birth of a beautiful daughter), played a couple of warm up tournaments then went on to win the women's single title--her second Grand Slam. Her effort was made a bit easier by the fact that most of the top seeds crashed out of the tournament in the first week and by Serena Williams taking temporary leave of her senses and getting disqualified from her semifinal match against Clijsters. Meanwhile, things were going a bit more according to script on the men's side of the draw. Roger Federer was playing for his sixth consecutive U.S. Open title...and then he lost. Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina beat R-Fed in 5 sets.

Golf - Then again, some things never seem to change. Tiger Woods won his 71st tournament this past weekend at the BMW Championships, almost guaranteeing that he will win a second Fed Ex Cup. Actually, he won it on Saturday, by shooting a course record 62 and taking a 7 stroke lead into the final round on Sunday. For the record, he ended up winning by 8 strokes.