Western & Southern Open Champions to Be Crowned on Sunday

The U.S. Open is less than two weeks away and one of the biggest titles of the year will be won today in Cincinnati for both men and women.

Here are some fun facts:

WOMEN'S FINAL NOTES 

- Fifth seed Angelique Kerber will play ninth seed Li Na in the women's final.

- Kerber is the first left handed player to contest the final in Cincinnati since Patty Schnyder won the title in 2005. 

- Kerber is looking for her third title of 2012, while Li, a finalist last week in Montreal, is looking for her first title of the season. 

- Li holds a 4-1 edge in their head-to-head meetings. 

- The women's final will air live on ESPN2.

MEN'S FINAL NOTES

- World No. 1 and top seed Roger Federer will play second seed and World No. 2 Novak Djokovic in Sunday's final. 

- Sunday's final will be the first time since the ATP World Tour Rankings began in 1973 that the top two ranked players in the world will meet at the Western & Southern Open. 

- It will be the 78th time in ATP history the top two players in the World have played each other. Federer and Djokovic have played just once as the top two players, when Djokovic was No. 1 earlier this year in Rome when he defeated Federer in the semifinals.

- It will be the eighth final featuring the top two seeds in the Open Era at the tournament. The first such meeting since 1999 ([1] Pete Sampras defeat [2] Pat Rafter) and the 26th time since 1927 at the tournament. 

- Federer owns a 15-12 edge in the all-time head-to-head against Djokovic, and won their last meeting which came in the Wimbledon semifinals. Federer also won their only previous meeting in Cincinnati, which came in the 2009 final. 

- Federer is looking to win a record fifth Cincinnati title. His four titles is tied with George Lott, Bobby Riggs and Mats Wilander for the all-time record. His fifth final is tied for third all-time (William Talbert owns the record with seven). 

- Djokovic is through to his fourth Cincinnati final, but is seeking his first title here. 

- This marks the 16th consecutive ATP World Tour  Masters 1000 Tournament that has been won by one of four players: Federer, Djokovic, Rafael Nadal or Andy Murray.

- By winning his semifinal, Federer will maintain his No. 1 ranking going into the US Open. Monday will begin his record 292nd week in the top spot. 

- The 31-year-old Federer is bidding to be the fourth oldest Cincinnati champion in the Open Era and the first over-30 winning since Andre Agassi won the 2004 title at the age of 34. 

- Djokovic, who won the title last week in Toronto, carries a nine-match winning streak into Sunday's final. 

- All-time at the Western & Southern Open, No. 1 seeds are 36-16 in finals, while No. 2 seeds are 10-20.

Serena Takes Out Defending Champ

In a match between former Wimbldon champions, Serena Williams blasted 13 aces in a 6-3 7-5 victory and served notice that she is "in it" to win it".

Fourth seeded Petra Kvitova, tried to stay in contention but was eventually unseated in a high-quality clash which marked Serena's first match under the roof of Centre Court.

"You can't play a defending Wimbledon champion or grand slam champion and not elevate your game," Williams told reporters.

Up next for Serena, Victoria Azarekna ot Tamira Paszek.

If Serena keeps playing like this, I don't see how anyone can beat her.

Iowa Woman Running Barefoot Across America for Charity

An Iowa woman is running barefoot across the United States to raise money to provide shoes for needy children.

Rae Heim, 18, of Carroll, started her cross-country trek in Boston in April and hopes to reach Huntington Beach, Calif., in October.

She is doing this to raise money to buy shoes for kids that don't have them.

Some interesting facts:

300 million children go without shoes, daily.

Your donations will make a difference:

55% of the donations stay in the USA
    The rest are distributed to 128 other countries.
    Your $1 donation = 1 pair of shoes

Check out these links for more information.

http://raesrunacrossamerica.tumblr.com/

http://flavors.me/raeainslee

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ai-18X1ctGkTdGVyZjU2U04xQUhoMVFrN043NkVoR1E#gid=0

Update on Monday, June 25, 2012 at 7:01AM by Rick C.Limpert

By looking at her dailt schedule, Rae has made it to Des Moines and is take a few days to recover.

Hewitt, Haas Score Wimbledon Wildcards

Former champion Lleyton Hewitt, former world No. 2 Tommy Hass and Belgium's David Goffin, the lucky loser who took a set off Roger Federer at the French Open, have been given wild cards for this year's Wimbledon tennis championships.

Virginie Razzano, the Frenchwoman who beat Serena Williams in the first round in Paris, received one of the women's eight wild cards as did Kazakhstan qualifier Yaroslava Shvedova who reached the French quarter-finals after ousting champion Li Na.

Other wildcards went to British players.

Men's wildcards:

1. Jamie Baker (GBR)

2. David Goffin (BEL)

3. Oliver Golding (GBR)

4. Josh Goodall (GBR)

5. Tommy Haas (GER)

6. Lleyton Hewitt (AUS)

7. James Ward (GBR)

8. To be announced

Women's wildcards:

1. Naomi Broady (GBR)

2. Johanna Konta (GBR)

3. Virginie Razzano (FRA)

4. Laura Robson (GBR)

5. Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ)

6. Heather Watson (GBR)

7. To be announced

8. To be announced

Pat Summit Receives Medal of Freedom

President Barack Obama presented the Medal of Freedom to more than a dozen political and cultural greats Tuesday, including basketball coach Pat Summit, rocker Bob Dylan, astronaut John Glenn and novelist Toni Morrison.

Obama added that Summitt, who led the University of Tennessee women's basketball team to more NCAA Final Four appearances than any other team, had helped pave the way for his two daughters, "who are tall and gifted."

"They're standing up straight and diving after loose balls and feeling confident and strong," he said. "I understand that the impact that these people have had extends beyond me. It will continue for generations to come."

The Medal of Freedom is presented to people who have made meritorious contributions to the national interests of the United States, to world peace or to other significant endeavors.