By Dave James
July 5th 2009 @ 6:59am
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Serena Williams wins Wimbledon title
Serena Williams clinched her third Wimbledon title and 11th Grand Slam crown with a 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 victory over sister Venus, the defending champion, here on Saturday.
The victory added to her 2002 and 2003 wins at the All England Club and shattered Venus’s hopes of a hat-trick of titles and sixth overall which would have [...]
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© 2008 AFP


![Since the Wallaby winger Ian Williams moved to Japan to work and play rugby for Kobe Steel in 1991, there has been an influx of players and coaches who have followed to ply their trade and experience the intricate and ancient culture of Japan.
The national team, the Cherry Blossoms, are without doubt the rugby Asian [...] Todd Louden: Japanese rugby: it’s just different!](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/japanese-rugby.jpg)
![I understand Phil Gould’s suggestion that extreme measures may be necessary to ban players from drinking alcohol. But what about the copious amount of alcohol advertising and sponsorship in the game?
Surely this would need to be banned as well.
When Brett Stewart returns to league and eventually wins his first man-of-the match award, it is [...] Benjamin Conkey: Ban alcohol advertising in rugby league first](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/ban-alcohol-ads-brett-stewart-th.jpg)
![There was an interesting piece in the News Limited press on the ten ways the AFL can be improved which shows that AFL journos have run out of things to write about in this baron period, and that there is a general consensus emerging that the game needs to backtrack in certain areas.
The piece, [...] Adrian Musolino: AFL can improve, but needs to go back to basics](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/the-winners-losers-afl-trade-darren-jolly-th.jpg)
![The AFL’s expansion to 18 teams means the talent pool will become more diluted and clubs are reacting to this by seeking new ways to find players. It presents a new challenge for footy clubs and it’s interesting to observe their different methods.
When the Gold Coast and West Sydney clubs do arrive on the AFL [...] Ben Somerford: AFL clubs beginning to think outside the square](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/AFL-clubs-think-outside-square-karmichael-hunt-broncos-th.jpg)
![They may have taken centre stage at Surfers Paradise by default, but it was still a significant moment for the V8 Supercars. Should they convince the Queensland government to retain the event as a V8 Supercar-only weekend, it will be another significant development for the series.
The V8 Supercar calendar has slowly transformed [...] Adrian Musolino: V8 Supercars entering their own crucial phase](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/V8-Supercars-crucial.jpg)
![Earlier this year I attended a conference of sports historians talking about the history and future of rugby union.
The main speech was delivered by an English academic, Dr Tony Collins, an expert and passionate supporter of rugby league, and currently writing a history of rugby union in the 20th century.
Dr Collins’ main theme [...] Spiro Zavos: Does rugby league need a dose of the ELVs?](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/eels-roosters-th.jpg)
![Australian rugby could find itself with nothing to celebrate this weekend as its Super rugby teams head for a clean sweep of losses heading into Round Two of competition.
With several players either ruled out or under injury clouds, and only the Reds playing at home, it shapes up as a rotten weekend for Aussie rugby [...] Andrew Logan: Look out Aussies, it’s a Super ambush!](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/reds-stormers-th.jpg)
![The prognosis about the death of Test cricket is exaggerated and premature. But the passion for a five-day game is losing its spectator appeal in competition with the shorter three or eight hour versions.
Still, The Ashes draws big crowds and so do Test series’ involving Australia, India and South Africa. It’s the way tours [...] Kersi Meher-Homji: From can’t wait to ho-hum: is Test cricket dying?](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/from-cant-wait-test-cricket-dying-th.jpg)
![After almost 20,000 fans packed out Christchurch’s AMI Stadium for last weekend’s Wellington-Adelaide clash, many pundits have been asking whether the South Island’s largest city should be a site for future A-League expansion.
Last Saturday’s brilliant crowd turn-out definitely suggests there is an appetite for football in Christchurch, and with a population of just under 400,000 [...] Ben Somerford: Can NZ accommodate a second A-League team?](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/wellington-phoenix-tim-brown-th.jpg)
![As a rugby league fan who has often been frustrated by the small-minded nature of many of the game’s club bosses and administrators in the past, I had to applaud the stance of Parramatta CEO Paul Osborne this week.
Osborne, spying a monster crowd for his team’s season opener against the well supported Dragons, has made [...] Steve Kaless: Eels’ Homebush gambit positive move for NRL](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/bulldogs-eels-th.jpg)
![I enjoy all forms of cricket. But I was initially against last year’s IPL Twenty20 extravaganza staged in India: cricketers auctioned like cattle, teams chosen by billionaires with little interest in cricket, teams not selected to represent their country or State. Not my cup of tea.
But it was a grand spectacle and I watched [...] Kersi Meher-Homji: Is the IPL a mutant destroying the game?](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/ipl-mutant-symonds-th.jpg)
![Once again, Jeff Kennett has unashamedly called it exactly how he sees it. The Hawthorn president apologised to members this week in the wake of his club’s embarrassing 42-point loss to the Brisbane Lions in Launceston. And he didn’t hold back.
The Hawks’ season has struggled to get off the ground and the frustrations of fans [...] Michael DiFabrizio: The more Presidents like Jeff Kennett, the better](http://www.theroar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/presidents-like-jeff-kennett-th.jpg)



