Facebook finds

Some photos found on Facebook – first, a set of Rafa at a charity event. Based on the set title and the signage, it looks like this was run by Rafa’s foundation, the Special Olympics and something called Feaps Balaers. Googling these terms led me to this article (Google mangling).
Next, a wonderful set of training photos posted to Toni Colom’s Facebook page. (Did you spot the pilfered Australian Open towel?)

30 Jul 2010 | by miri | 24 Comments

More practice footage

Love the big dorky smile.

Posted by vamosrafelnadal.

There’s also an article on the iB3 site (which will probably have the above video added to it later). (Google mangling).

28 Jul 2010 | by miri | 13 Comments

Rafa in Reader’s Digest UK

Atch2 let me know that she spotted Rafa on the cover of Reader’s Digest UK in a bookshop today. She says the article is pretty short and didn’t really have anything new to say, but thought she’d pass it along. And now I’m doing the same. (And I agree, Atch2, that’s totally a “posed plastic smile” on the cover. Oh well.)

27 Jul 2010 | by miri | 19 Comments

Practicing and pouting

Okay, so he’s not really pouting about the Real Mallorca exclusion, but it works as a title and I’m an alliteration whore.

Posted by vamosrafelnadal.

27 Jul 2010 | by miri | 28 Comments

UEFA excludes Real Mallorca…Rafa not happy

Bee said there might be an iB3 video about this later today, but I can’t see vids at work…so for now, here’s a Reuters article. The UEFA has excluded the Real Mallorca team from playing in European competition this season. (Rafa and Uncle Miguel Angel have recently become shareholders in the team.)

UEFA did not publish the reasons behind the decision, which Mallorca have appealed.

“I am like all Mallorca fans,” Nadal, who was born on the island, told IB3 TV.

“It’s a hell of a blow because playing in Europe fills you with excitement and the players have earned

27 Jul 2010 | by miri | 12 Comments

Sam Stosur on Rafa

During her pre-tournament interview for the Stanford tournament, Sam Stosur was asked about men’s tennis and was prompted with Rafa’s name…and she complied.

Via Forty Deuce – C Note has a press pass and is working it.

26 Jul 2010 | by miri | 24 Comments

Toronto & Cincy?

According to the Google mangling of this article/video, Rafa will play both tournaments.

The video has interviews with Toni and Emilio Sanchez who appear to have taken part in some sort of “Tennis Congress” per this video and title.

And for those of us who are confused about the differences in hard courts, Mind the Racket tries to break things down for us. Problem is, there’s still confusing info out there.

25 Jul 2010 | by miri | 19 Comments

Tumblr

I know some people lurve tumblr almost more than life itself (heh). Since I *heart* it too, I’ve created a mirror for the posts on this site to tumblr. You can see the Nadal News tumblr here and get your RafaNews fix without having to leave your tumblr dashboard.

(I wanted to port all the all posts over there, but I’m having trouble getting the template to deal with the bizarre image tags WordPress uses to allow for captions…I’m working on it. If I can’t figure it out, future posts will show up on tumblr until I get tired

23 Jul 2010 | by miri | 11 Comments

Pau Gasol talks Rafa

Sadly, I have no idea what he’s saying, but there isn’t exactly a lot of Rafa news out there today and vamosrafelnadal saw fit to post it, so it must be good. :)

23 Jul 2010 | by miri | 4 Comments

Thailand Open added to the schedule

According to two items (one; two) sitting in my in-box when I woke up this morning, Rafa has once again added the Thailand Open to his schedule. He’s scheduled and had to pull out before due to injuries, so let’s hope the people of Thailand get to see Rafa in person this year.

“This year with my health and body in good shape, I am really looking forward to playing some great tennis for the Thai fans,” Nadal said in

22 Jul 2010 | by miri | 57 Comments