The three-time major champion Maria Sharapova

Maria Sharapova’s slow start almost turned into an early exit at the U.S. Open.

The three-time major champion picked up her game in time to avoid an upset against 102nd-ranked Heather Watson, rallying for a 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 victory Monday in the opening round.

After being thoroughly outplayed in the first set, third-seeded Sharapova let a 4-1 lead in the second slip, as well. She shored things up at 5-all in the second to pull out that set. She also led 4-1 in the third, but gave back a break. After that, Sharapova broke right back then served out her match against the 19-year-old Brit, who was making her first appearance in the main draw at Flushing Meadows.

Sharapova improved to 12-0 this year in third sets.

“In the end, that’s kind of where it counts,” she said after a match that lasted 2 hours, 34 minutes. “No matter how tired or whether you’re playing your best tennis or sometimes your worst, you keep fighting for it.”

Not showing the same kind of fight was fifth-seeded Petra Kvitova, who became the first reigning Wimbledon champion to lose in the first round of the U.S. Open. She made 52 unforced errors in a 7-6 (3), 6-3 loss to Alexandra Dulgheru and has won only two matches since hoisting the trophy at the All-England Club last month.

“After I made some mistakes, I was mentally down,” Kvitova said.

Last year’s U.S. Open and Wimbledon runner-up, second-seeded Vera Zvonareva, defeated Stephanie Foretz Gacon of France, 6-3, 6-0.

Other women’s winners included No. 13 Peng Shuai, No. 19 Julia Goerges and No. 27 Lucie Safarova.

But Sharapova-Watson was the best match of the afternoon.

With Watson nimbly covering a court that players say is playing slower than usual this year, Sharapova had to fight, and the match turned into a showdown of styles — the Russian’s punishing, aggressive baseline game vs. Watson’s grinding, retrieving relentlessness. The final stats were no surprise: Sharapova finished with 41 winners and 58 unforced errors, compared to nine winners and 30 unforced errors for her opponent.

“There’s no doubt that she’s a great up-and-coming player who showed some of her best tennis today,” Sharapova said. “She played really smart in the first. I was making too many errors. Consistency at the end helped me get through the match.”

The early headliner for the men was American Mardy Fish, who at No. 8 is the highest-ranked U.S. player in the tournament.

Fish lived up to his billing, opening his stay at Flushing Meadows with a 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 victory over Tobias Kamke of Germany.

Notable deaths

In August we said farewell to many noteworthy individuals, including a controversial reality show husband and a concentration camp survivor. Read on to learn more about them and the others who passed away this month.

Stetson Kennedy

1916-2011

A human rights activist, Stetson Kennedy is best known for infiltrating a well-known racist group and authoring a book about what he witnessed. Kennedy’s legacy is also left behind in the folklore group he founded.

Esther Gordy Edwards

1920-2011

Edwards transformed an old recording studio into a museum as a way of preserving the Motown sound. Edwards’ nickname says it all about how much she meant to the Motown music community.

Nick Ashford

1942-2011

With his wife, Nick Ashford wrote and produced several hit songs, including this Marvin Gaye hit. Ashford and his wife were also successful as performers themselves and had a hit with their song “Solid”.

Michael Showers

1966-2011

Known for his role in a hit HBO show and for his appearances in “Breaking Bad, ” “I Love You Phillip Morris” and a vampire TV show, Michael Showers’ untimely death shocked fans of his work.

Mike Flanagan

1951-2011

A star baseball player (what position?) for this team from the’ 70s through the early ’90s, Flanagan was known for his incredible talent (what prestigious award did he win?) as well as for his quick wit.

Jerry Leiber

1933-2011

With his songwriting partner, Jerry Leiber wrote many rock ”n’ roll hits, including “Stand by Me” and this classic Elvis Presley song. Leiber was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1985 and has his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Contestants on this TV show performed his songs for one episode.

Scotty Robertson

1930-2011

Throughout his life as an NBA coach, Robertson head-coached the New Orleans Jazz, the Chicago Bulls and the Detroit Pistons. He went on to be assistant coach for the Phoenix Suns, the Miami Heat, the Indiana Pacers and this Texas team.

Pete Pihos

1923-2011

A native of this holiday destination, Pihos was an All-American football player at this university. Pihos went on to play in the NFL for this team from 1947 to 1955. Pihos died from this degenerative disease, which was the focus of a documentary film produced by his daughter.

Russell Armstrong

1964-2011

Russell Armstrong was an investment banker and venture capitalist in this California city. He is known for being the estranged husband of a reality show cast member, and he appeared on the Bravo show several times.

Albert Brown

1905-2011

Albert Brown was the oldest survivor of the Bataan Death March. A former dentist, Brown and 78,000 other prisoners of war were forced to walk for dozens of miles a trek that killed more than 11,000. During the war, Brown also survived malaria, dengue fever and a broken neck.

Ernie Johnson

1924-2011

Ernie Johnson was a Major League Baseball player in the ’40s and ’50s. He played for the Boston Braves, the Milwaukee Braves and the Baltimore Orioles. Johnson later became a commentator for the Atlanta Braves, working with his son.

Zachery Tims

1969-2011

A co-pastor of this church  and a televangelist commonly appearing on this TV program, Zachery Tims died nearly four years after he publicly asked for forgiveness for his extramarital affairs.

Jani Lane

1964-2011

The lead singer of -glam band Warrant, Jani Lane wrote six top 40 singles. Lane was also a cast member on this reality show.

Ray Anderson

1934-2011

Ray Anderson was a successful entrepreneur and the founder of Interface. He was also known as an outspoken advocate for industrial sustainability.

Mike Barrett

1943-2011

Mike Barrett was a basketball player for the 1968 U.S. Olympic basketball team. He also played professionally for this basketball organization.

Mark Hatfield

1922-2011

Mark Hatfield was a prominent politician in Oregon, serving 30 years as a U.S. senator and later elected Oregon’s secretary of state and then governor. Several Oregon buildings that have been named in his honor, including the Mark O. Hatfield Library at his alma mater university and the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse in this “Rose City.”

Charles Wyly

1933-2011

With his brother, Charles Wyly founded Michaels Stores. Wyly is also known for his large contributions to public art projects in this Texas town.

Hugh Carey

1919-2011

Hugh Carey was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for 13 years before he was elected this state’s 51st governor. In addition to his work as a politician, Carey was an attorney who earned his law degree from this university.

Nancy Wake

1912-2011

A British agent during this war, Nancy Wake was a highly decorated servicewoman in the Allied forces and was given the United States Medal of Freedom as well as several other awards from Britain, Australia, France and her home country.

Ronaldo, who joined Manchester United

The 25-year-old departed for Real Madrid in a world record £80 million deal last summer after six seasons at Old Trafford, which yielded three Premier League titles, a Champions League crown and numerous other team and personal honours.

The move was long mooted, with Ronaldo’s desire to play in Spain and the astronomical transfer fee eventually seeing the forward switch to the Bernabeu.
Ronaldo, who joined Manchester United for £12.24m from Sporting Lisbon aged 18, has made a strong start to his Real career, scoring 11 times in 13 Primera Division appearances – including two goals in Saturday night’s win over Xerez – and six times in four Champions League appearances.
However, he may pull on a United shirt again.
“Of course I miss playing for Manchester United,” Ronaldo told the News of the World.

“I played there for six years and that’s a long time.
“I am still interested in watching Manchester United and, you never know, maybe in the future I could return to play there. It’s always possible.”
Ronaldo has a long-term contract at Real which he plans to honour, but he stressed his fondness for Sir Alex Ferguson, his former United team-mates and the Old Trafford club.
“I want to fulfil my contract here but, in the future, only God knows,” he added.
“I will not say I am not happy here at Real Madrid.
“I am really happy and everyone knows this is my club but, of course, I miss Manchester United, the boss, the players, because I left family there.”

Incredible Sports Teams Died Crashes

• Jan. 27, 2001 — Oklahoma State basketball players Dan Lawson and Nate Fleming, and six team staffers and broadcasters, in Byers, Colo.• Feb. 14, 2000– Tony Bettenhausen, Jr., race car driver/owner, near Lexington, Ky.
• Oct. 25, 1999 — Payne Stewart, winner of the 1989 PGA Championship and a two-time U.S. Open winner, two miles west of Mina, S.D.
• May 11, 1996 — Rodney Culver, San Diego Chargers running back, in Florida Everglades.
• April 18, 1996 — Brook Berringer, Nebraska quarterback, two days before the NFL draft, when the small plane he was piloting crashed in Raymond, Neb.
• July 13, 1993 — Davey Allison, NASCAR driver, the day after a helicopter he was piloting crashed on the infield at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Ala.
• April 28, 1993 — 18 players and five team officials of Zambia’s national soccer team in Libreville, Gabon.
• April 1, 1993 — Alan Kulwicki, NASCAR’s 1992 champion, in Blountville, Tenn.
• July 19, 1989 — Jay Ramsdell, CBA Commissioner, in Sioux City, Iowa.
• Sept. 30, 1988 — Al Holbert, six-time IMSA champion, near Columbus Ohio.
• Dec. 8, 1987 — 17 players of the Alianza Peruvian first-division soccer team in Lima, Peru.
• Aug. 16, 1987 — Nick Vanos, Phoenix Suns center, in Romulus, Mich.
• Nov. 25, 1985 — Six members of the Iowa State women’s cross country team in Des Moines, Iowa.
• Dec. 12, 1983 — Rex Dockery, Memphis State football coach, with offensive coordinator Chris Faros and defensive back Charles Greenhill, Lawrenceburg, Tenn.
• March 14, 1980 — 14 members of the U.S. amateur boxing team in Warsaw, Poland.
• Jan. 11, 1980 — Bo Rein, LSU football coach, in the Atlantic Ocean.
• Aug. 2, 1979 — Thurman Munson, New York Yankees catcher, in Canton, Ohio.
• Dec. 13, 1977 — 14 University of Evansville basketball players and coach Bobby Watson in Evansville, Ind.
• Nov. 29, 1975 — Graham Hill, race car driver, Hertfordshire, England
• June 24, 1975 — Wendell Ladner, New York Nets forward, in New York.
• Dec. 31, 1972 — Roberto Clemente, Pittsburgh Pirate outfielder, from San Juan, Puerto Rico en route to Nicaragua to aid earthquake victims.
• Oct. 11, 1972 — 30 members of a Uruguayan rugby club, in Chile.
• Nov. 14, 1970 — 36 Marshall University football players, in Huntington, W.Va.
• Oct. 2, 1970 — 14 Wichita State football players, in Colorado.
• Sept. 26, 1969 — 25 members of Bolivian soccer team “The Strongest”, in the Andes.
• Aug. 31, 1969 — Rocky Marciano, heavyweight boxing champion, Newton, Iowa
• April 28, 1968 — Six members of the Lamar Tech track team, in Beaumont, Texas.
• July 24, 1966 — Tony Lema, 1964 British Open champion, in Munster, Ind.
• Feb. 15, 1964 — Ken Hubbs, 22, Chicago Cub second baseman, in Utah.
• April 12, 1962 — Ron Flockhart, Scottish racing driver, in Melbourne.
• March 1, 1962 — Johnny Dieckman, world fly-casting champion, in Chicago.
• April 3, 1961 — Green Cross, a first-division Chilean soccer team, in the Las Lastimas Mountains.
• Feb. 16, 1961 — 18 members of the U.S. figure skating team, in Belgium.
• Oct. 10, 1960 — 16 members of the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo football team, in Toledo, Ohio.
• April 29, 1959 — Joaquin Blume, Spain’s European gymnastics champion, in Madrid.
• Oct. 30, 1958 — Philip Scrutton, British Walker Cup golfer.
• Aug. 14, 1958 — Six members of the Egyptian fencing team, in the Atlantic Ocean.
• Feb. 6, 1958 — Eight members of the English soccer champion Manchester United, in Munich.
• Nov. 27, 1956 — Charlie Peete, St. Louis Cardinal outfielder, in Venezuela.
• Sept. 20, 1956 — Tom Gastall, Baltimore Orioles catcher, in Maryland.
• Oct. 30, 1954 — Wilbur Shaw, President of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, in Decatur, Ind.
• July 1, 1954 — John McBride, Alabama halfback, killed in ROTC training flight in Texas.
• Oct. 27, 1949 — Marcel Cerdan, former world middleweight champion, en route to fight Jake LaMotta in Spain.
• May 4, 1949 — 22 members of Torino, the Italian soccer champions, in Turin, Italy.
• March 31, 1931 — Knute Rockne, Notre Dame football coach, in Kansas
• Oct. 18, 1925 — Marvin Goodwin, Cincinnati Reds pitcher, in Houston.

Terrell Owens gets contract offer from WR-needy Chicago team

Not that one. Or that one. This one.

So, maybe no NFL teams showed up to watch Terrell Owens work out on Tuesday. Owens still maintained confidence that some team would be interested in his services, and as it turns out, he was right. It just might not be the team he had in mind.
It’s the Chicago Rush of the Arena Football League. They want to bring T.O. into the 50-yard indoor war.
“We feel that this is an ideal time to approach the future NFL Hall of Famer,” said Rush General Manager and President Gene Nudo. “It would be a fantastic honor to add Terrell to our current roster for the 2012 season.”
It’s a bold move by Nudo, who I believe used to be known in the WWE as “Paul Bearer.” Here’s a later paragraph from the same news article that in no way makes this look like an empty publicity stunt.
In honor of this contract offer the Chicago Rush is offering an $81 Flex Plan to its loyal fans. The plan includes four tickets to a Chicago Rush home game. Additionally, the package includes four Rush hats as well as four Rush Nike Dri-Fit training shirts to ensure Rush fans will never have to work out shirtless again.
Probably not a reference to this. It’s probably motivated purely by football, and not by any media attention Owens is receiving right now, despite the fact that the Arena Football League doesn’t play a game until March. Let’s hear from the coach.
“Terrell would absolutely complement our current wide receiving corps,” said Rush Head Coach Bob McMillen. “His animation and over-the-top energy would be an excellent addition in the locker room, and the Chicago fans would undoubtedly welcome him here in Chicago.”
If you’re wondering about the rest of that wide receiving corps, it includes Reggie Gray, Vic Hall(notes), Charles Dillon(notes) and Brandon Fields(notes). I have no idea who any of those fellows are, but I’m sure their styles of play would complement T.O.’s very well.

Joao Silva, photographer who lost legs on the job

New York City Marathon Joao Silva, Joao Silva, Wounded New York Times Photographer, Finishes New York City Marathon . Joao Silva, the New York Times photographer who lost both his legs on the job, completed the New York City marathon on Sunday.

Silva lost both his legs when he stepped on a mine in Afghanistan last October. He chronicled the experience, which also destroyed his urethra, and his recovery at Walter Reed in a recent piece for the Times.

Silva, who raced in the handcycling division, did the marathon in less than three hours — faster than he had been anticipating. He had planned on taking pictures along the way, but he told the newspaper that he turned his focus to racing after crossing the Verrazano Bridge. He said, “I realized that if I was going to take more pictures, I was never going to finish this race.”

Geoffrey Mutai of Kenya crosses the finish line to win the ING New York City Marathon November 6, 2011 in New York. Mutai, the 2011 Boston Marathon winner, won the men’s New York Marathon in an unofficial time of two hours, five minutes and five seconds to smash the course record on Sunday. Mutai smashed the old mark of 2:07:43 set by Ethiopia’s Tesfaye Jifar in 2001 to defeat runner-up Emmanuel Mutai, the reigning London Marathon champion.

Chelsea Clinton will be working on-air for NBC News

Chelsea Clinton will be working on-air for NBC News, the network announced on Monday. The former first daughter will be a “special correspondent” for NBC “Nightly News” and its new primetime newsmagazine, “Rock Center With Brian Williams”–essentially working on stories that fit within NBC’s “Making a Difference” franchise, the network said.
In a statement, NBC News president Steve Capus called Chelsea a “remarkable woman” and a “great addition” to the network. “Given her vast experiences, it’s as though Chelsea has been preparing for this opportunity her entire life,” Capus said. Williams said Clinton “possesses an uncommon understanding of humanity–on city streets, across this country and around the globe.”
In a statement of her own, Clinton said, “people who imagine and implement solutions to challenges in their own lives, in their communities, in our country and in our world have always inspired me.”
Clinton will be joining another former first daughter at NBC. Jenna Bush Hager, the daughter of George W. Bush, has been a “Today” show correspondent since 2009. Earlier this month, Meghan McCain, daughter of John, was named as a contributor to MSNBC.
Capus dismissed the notion that the hires of Clinton, Bush and McCain are little more than publicity stunts.
Chelsea Clinton “made it very clear that this is not going to be a surface-deep relationship,” Capus told the New York Times. “She wants to be in the field for the shoot and in the edit room for the edit.

HULK HOGAN DIVORCE CASE

SETTLEMENT IN HULK HOGAN DIVORCE CASE IN FLORIDA

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — Court records show a financial settlement has been agreed upon between wrestler Terry Bollea — better known as Hulk Hogan — and his ex-wife.

The St. Petersburg Times reports Linda Bollea received a little more than 70 percent of the couple’s liquid assets in their divorce settlement.

He agreed to give his ex-wife 40 percent ownership in his various companies and pay her an additional $3 million property settlement. Linda Bollea filed for divorce in 2009.

The settlement was confidential but came to light this week after it was attached to a new motion filed in court records.

The paper reports Linda Bollea received $7.44 million of the couple’s $10.41 million that was held in bank and investment accounts. Terry Bollea will not pay his ex-wife alimony.