University of Texas Opens Inquiry of Regnerus Gay Parenting Study

Between January, 2011 and June of 2012, Mark Regnerus of the University of Texas, Austin, plotted, carried out and then had published a ?study? of dubious scholarly merit, alleged to show, but not actually showing, that homosexual parents are dangerous to children.

Funding for the Regnerus study was arranged through the National Organization For Marriage?s?Robert P.George along with George?s anti-gay-rights colleagues at The Witherspoon Institute and the Bradley Foundation. George is an author of the anti-gay NOM pledge signed by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

This reporter mailed a Scientific Misconduct complaint about Regnerus to University of Texas President William Powers, Jr. on June 21. ?On June 25, UTA Research Integrity Officer Dr. Robert Peterson told me in an e-mail that he will be conducting an inquiry as per university policy.??

?The purpose of the investigation is to: explore in detail the allegations; examine the evidence in depth; and, determine specifically whether misconduct has been committed, by whom, and to what extent. The investigation also will determine whether there are additional instances of possible misconduct that would justify broadening the scope beyond the initial allegations.?

The very name of the Regnerus?s project, ?The New Family Structures Study,? is deceptive ? and is an anti-gay bigot dog whistle ? in ways characteristic of Regnerus?s funder?NOM?s Robert George of the Witherspoon Institute and the Bradley Foundation.

Because of that, and for reasons elaborated below, this reporter insists?that for its Scientific Misconduct inquiry of Regnerus, the University of Texas, Austin must examine in its investigation, and provide, copies of all written communications, and notes, such as of phone conversations, and all other documentation of the relationship between Mark Regnerus and The Witherspoon Institute from the time those two parties first considered a study about children of gay parents, to include the time that Witherspoon gave Regnerus a $35,000 ?planning grant? and subsequent to when the plan had been formulated and Witherspoon approved Regnerus for his full study funding.

Regnerus?s claim that the probability-based web panel that he used is the best of all existing sampling methods for surveying gay fathers and lesbian mothers is?false,?totally and utterly false. For his sampling, Regnerus relied on the company Knowledge Networks to find his survey respondents through Knowledge Networks? existing panelist system, which is based on a combination of random digit dialing sampling and address-based sampling.

To sum this point up; 1) Regnerus likely misleads?when he asserts he compared young adult children of gay parents to young adult children of ?intact biological families;? 2) In the study itself, and in his public promotions of the study, Regnerus likely misleads when he?states that he would not by any means have been able to survey an adequate sampling of young gay adults substantially raised by gay parents up through the 1990s; and 3) Regnerus likely misleads when he?states that he used the best existing survey method for surveying young adult children of gay parents.

Regnerus?s funder?Robert George of the anti-gay National Organization for Marriage is obsessively concerned with ?the legal boundaries of marriage.? Robert George has written a draft for a federal constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages throughout the nation. He does not like to see gay parenting study results with good child outcomes, as they are work against his known, ferocious anti-gay political goals. George?s aims in arranging for the funding of Regnerus?s study precisely match the concerns expressed in Regnerus?s introduction.

Regnerus has been promoting his study as evidence against expansion of legal recognition of gay couples? relationships. In one of his Slate articles, Regnernus wrote that gay-rights ?advocates would do well from here forward to avoid simply assuming the kids are all right,? and then, after barely paying lip service to the notion that marriage recognition could perhaps help children being raised by gay parents, he ends his article by saying that the New Family Structures Study ??may suggest that the household instability that the NFSS reveals is just too common among same-sex couples to take the social gamble of spending significant political and economic capital to esteem and support this new (but tiny) family form while Americans continue to flee the stable, two-parent biological married model, the far more common and accomplished workhorse of the American household, and still?according to the data, at least?the safest place for a kid.?

Robert George?s Witherspoon Institute ? a Regnerus funder ? has devoted a stand-alone site to the Regnerus and Marks studies ? where the Regnerus Slate article with the aforementioned offending quote is at the top of the site?s list of study-related articles ?From the Web.?

Source: http://michael-in-norfolk.blogspot.com/2012/07/university-of-texas-opens-inquiry-of.html

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Iran threatens Israel; new EU sanctions take force

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran announced missile tests on Sunday and threatened to wipe Israel "off the face of the earth" if the Jewish state attacked it, brandishing some of its starkest threats on the day Europe began enforcing an oil embargo and harsh new sanctions.

The European sanctions - including a ban on imports of Iranian oil by EU states and measures that make it difficult for other countries to trade with Iran - were enacted earlier this year but mainly came into effect on July 1.

They are designed to break Iran's economy and force it to curb nuclear work that Western countries say is aimed at producing an atomic weapon. Reporting by Reuters has shown in recent months that the sanctions have already had a significant effect on Iran's economy.

Israel says it could attack Iran if diplomacy fails to force Tehran to abandon its nuclear aims. The United States also says military force is on the table as a last resort, but U.S. officials have repeatedly encouraged the Israelis to be patient while new sanctions take effect.

Washington said the EU's oil ban might force Tehran to give ground at the next round of nuclear talks, scheduled for this week in Istanbul.

Announcing three days of missile tests in the coming week, Revolutionary Guards General Amir Ali Hajizadeh said the exercises should be seen as a message "that the Islamic Republic of Iran is resolute in standing up to ... bullying, and will respond to any possible evil decisively and strongly."

Any attack on Iran by Israel would be answered resolutely: "If they take any action, they will hand us an excuse to wipe them off the face of the earth," said Hajizadeh, head of the Guards' airborne division, according to state news agency IRNA.

The missile tests will target mock-ups of air bases in the region, Hajizadeh said, adding that its ability to strike U.S. bases in the Gulf protects Iran from U.S. support for Israel.

"U.S. bases in the region are within range of our missiles and weapons, and therefore they certainly will not cooperate with the regime (Israel)," he told IRNA.

Iran has repeatedly unnerved oil markets by threatening reprisals if it were to be attacked or its trade disrupted.

The threat against the Jewish state echoed words President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke in 2005, saying Israel "must be wiped off the page of time" - a phrase often translated as "wiped off the map" and cited by Israel to show how allowing Iran to get nuclear arms would be a threat to its existence.

The EU ban on Iranian oil imports directly deprives Iran of a market that bought 18 percent of its exports a year ago. The sanctions also bar EU companies from transporting Iranian crude or insuring shipments, hurting its trade worldwide.

"They signal our clear determination to intensify the peaceful diplomatic pressure," British Foreign Secretary William Hague said in a statement.

The EU sanctions come alongside stringent new measures imposed by Washington this year on third countries doing business with Iran. The United States welcomed the EU sanctions as an "essential part" of diplomatic efforts "to seek a peaceful resolution that addresses the international community's concerns about Iran's nuclear program."

White House spokesman Jay Carney said he hoped the sanctions would force Tehran to make concessions in technical-level talks with six world powers later this week.

MALICIOUS POLICIES

"Iran has an opportunity to pursue substantive negotiations, beginning with expert level talks this week in Istanbul, and must take concrete steps toward a comprehensive resolution of the international community's concerns with Iran's nuclear activities," Carney said in a statement.

The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain - foes of Iran which face it across the oil-rich Gulf - announced their own joint air force exercises on Sunday which they said would take "several days," their state news agencies reported.

In three rounds of talks between Iran and the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany, the Western powers have demanded Tehran halt high-grade uranium enrichment, ship out all high-grade uranium and close a key enrichment facility.

The talks lost steam at the last meeting in Moscow last month and there was not enough common ground for negotiators to agree whether to meet again. Officials - but not political decision-makers - meet in Turkey on Tuesday.

Washington sees the sanctions and talks as a potential way out of the standoff to avert the need for military action, but has not said it would block Israel from attacking Iran.

Tehran says it has a right to peaceful nuclear technologies and is not seeking the bomb. It accuses nuclear-armed states of hypocrisy. Officials said they were taking steps to reduce the economic impact of the new sanctions.

"We are implementing programs to counter sanctions and we will confront these malicious policies," Mehr news agency quoted Iranian central bank governor Mahmoud Bahmani as saying.

Bahmani has struggled to prevent a plunge in the value of the rial currency and steadily rising inflation as the sanctions have taken effect. He said the effects of the sanctions were tough but that Iran had built up $150 billion in foreign reserves to protect its economy.

Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi said oil importing countries would be the losers if the sanctions lead to price rises.

"All possible options have been planned in government to counter sanctions," Qasemi said on the ministry's website.

Last Friday, another Revolutionary Guards commander, Ali Fadavi, said Iran would equip its ships in the Strait of Hormuz - the neck of the Gulf and a vital oil transit point - with shorter-range missiles.

(Additional reporting by Marcus George and Isabel Coles in Dubai and by Jeff Mason in Washington; Writing by Robin Pomeroy; Editing by Peter Graff)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/iran-threatens-israel-eu-sanctions-force-185016871.html

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'Flying Squirrel' soars, heads for London Games

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) ? Now that she's on her way to the Olympics, Gabby Douglas has a new goal.

"I'm hoping I can catch an accent," she said. "I've always wanted an accent."

Look out London. The 16-year-old whose "Flying Squirrel" nickname might be the only thing more appealing than her personality or her high-flying uneven bars routine is ready to take on a new continent after upsetting world champion Jordyn Wieber to win the Olympic trials Sunday night.

Oh, she's bringing friends, too. Led by the 1-2 punch of Douglas and Wieber, this will be the strongest team the Americans have had since 1996, one that will be not just favored but expected to bring home only the second Olympic team gold.

McKayla Maroney and Aly Raisman, who were with Douglas and Wieber on the U.S. team that won the title at last fall's world championships, also made the team, as did Kyla Ross.

"This is a very strong team. I feel this team is even stronger than four years ago," said Douglas' coach, Liang Chow.

Considering that 2008 squad had Nastia Liukin, Shawn Johnson and Alicia Sacramone, that's a pretty bold statement. After seeing Douglas' stunning ascension over the last six months, however, no one should bet against her and the Americans.

"You want to peak at the right time," Douglas said. "And also still be awesome and great."

Douglas convinced her mother to let her leave her hometown of Virginia Beach, Va., almost two years ago to move to Iowa and train with Chow, Johnson's coach. Though she was a member of that world team, few would have ever guessed that she, rather than Russia's Aliya Mustafina or Viktoria Komova, would present the biggest challenge to Wieber.

But she raised eyebrows at the American Cup in March by beating Wieber. Never mind that her scores didn't count because she was competing as an alternate. She came up just short at nationals last month, and again the first night of trials.

On Sunday night, however, Douglas would not be denied again.

She opened with a massive vault, soaring high above the table with her legs pencil-straight and body tightly coiled, and she needed only a small hop to the side to steady herself on her landing. She broke into a big grin as she thrust her hands in the air, and she trotted off the podium with her fists still raised. Her score of 16 ? including a huge 9.5 for execution ? moved her into first place, a spot she never relinquished.

She extended the lead on uneven bars, her signature event. Douglas is so light and quick as she flies between the bars that U.S. women's team coordinator Martha Karolyi has dubbed her the "Flying Squirrel," and she gets such great height on her release moves she could have dusted off the Jumbotron. But it is her grace that makes her stand out, looking like a ballerina in a jewelry box as she pirouetted on the high bar. There's some hard-core steel beneath that pretty package, however. On one transition, Douglas' hand seemed to slip on the bar, something that would have made most gymnasts go flying. But she kept right on going, never even hesitating.

When she landed her dismount, the arena responded with a roar that was probably heard in San Francisco. Her score of 15.9 gave her a 1.35-point lead over Wieber with two events left.

But balance beam has been giving Douglas problems all month ? a fall the second day of the U.S. championships cost her the title ? and Sunday night was no different. She had to windmill her arms to stay upright after a series of back handsprings, and she rocked and swayed for another several seconds after a back somersault. Her score of 14.85 was her lowest of the two-day trials, and cut her lead to 0.6 going into the final rotation ? leaving plenty of room for Wieber, who finished on vault, the highest-scoring event.

Wieber didn't get her normal height on vault, however, and landed low, needing to take a step back to steady herself. A minor error, for sure, but it meant Douglas needed to score only a 15.25 or better on floor exercise to win.

With a show worthy of Vegas, Douglas had the crowd rocking and rolling to her techno music. Basketball players would be envious of the hops she got on her tumbling runs, yet she landed them with such security there's got to be some glue somewhere on those feet. She pranced across the floor as if she owned the place, and never once stopped smiling.

"Winning or not winning at this meet is really secondary," Chow said. "Clearly we saw here that her mental strength and gymnastics strength is coming along."

When she finished, Chow greeted her with a bear hug. And that was before they saw her score: a 15.3 that gave her a total of 123.45, just enough to hold off Wieber.

"Everyone was telling me you have this great potential and you can be on top," Douglas said. "I didn't believe that, but everyone was just telling me to believe in myself. I did and I'm kind of up on top and it's amazing."

While Douglas is clearly a star on the rise, Liukin is exiting the stage ? this time for good.

Hampered by shoulder problems and a clock that wouldn't stop ticking, Liukin never returned to the form that made her the 2008 Olympic champion. She fell on uneven bars, her signature event, when her fingertips could only brush the bar after a release move, and needed to take a step back after landing her dismount on the edge of the mat.

But she refused to quit, and the crowd gave her a standing ovation. She finished off her career with a respectable routine on balance beam. As she walked off the podium, her father and coach, Valeri, greeted her with a kiss and fans began to stand once again.

Tears filled Liukin's eyes as she waved and said goodbye, to the crowd, her comeback and a career that includes five Olympic medals and four world titles.

"Of course I wanted to go out and put two good performances out there and end my career that way, so it's a little upsetting," Liukin said. "Today is something that I'll remember for the rest of my life. It can easily compare to winning the all-around gold medal to me. Those are pretty much the two highlights of my career ... winning an all-around gold medal and getting a standing ovation not once but twice."

____

Follow Nancy Armour at www.twitter.com/nrarmour

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/flying-squirrel-soars-heads-london-games-025222317--oly.html

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Guinness: Philippine croc is largest in captivity

MANILA, Philippines (AP) ? Guinness World Records has declared that a huge crocodile blamed for deadly attacks in the southern Philippines is the largest in captivity in the world. The giant reptile has brought pride, fear, tourism revenues and attention to the previously little-known town where it was captured last year.

Guinness spokeswoman Anne-Lise Rouse says the saltwater crocodile nicknamed "Lolong" measured 20.24 feet (6.17 meters) and weighed more than a ton. It was captured last November in Bunawan town in Agusan del Sur province,

Bunawan Mayor Edwin Cox Elorde told The Associated Press on Sunday that he was notified by Guinness of the giant reptile's new distinction last month. The news sparked celebrations in his town of 37,000 people and concerns that more giant crocodiles might be lurking nearby.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/aa9398e6757a46fa93ed5dea7bd3729e/Article_2012-07-01-AS-Philippines-Giant-Crocodile/id-a9c1870a1e98433a8a809c66056c27b0

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RPG Grinsia (for Android)

Like?Symphony of Eternity($2.99, 4 stars) and RPG Aeon Avenger ($3.99, 3.5 stars), RPG Grinsia ($7.99 on Google Play) is a traditional, top-down Japanese RPG for most Android phones and tablets with a fantasy setting, cute little cartoon characters, and turn-based combat. Unlike in some of its competition, Grinsia starts you out with a pre-formed party: a family of "treasure hunters" who quickly get drawn into a plan to protect some ancient artifacts from a predatory empire. Translation and character development are actually pretty good here, and you can answer simple yes/no questions in the dialog interface. There's even a bit of comedy.

Grinsia takes place in three scales: a zoomed-in town mode, a zoomed-out walkable world map, and a turn-based battle interface. Battles are more tedious than in the other Kemco games I've played, because fighting always seems to require one too many taps, there's a tedious little XP-acquisition sequence at the end of every battle, and there's very little user choice in terms of acquiring skills and abilities. In a game where you're constantly running into invisible random monster encounters, that's an issue.

Grinsia's other challenge is that it seems to be easy to get stuck; I had trouble about five hours in with a cave where the game's UI elements seemed to be blocking the way out, for instance, and I've seen other complaints online about different locations. There have been a few minor version updates since I played through, though, so those sticky points may have been cleared up by now.

Grinsia isn't a must-buy like Kemco's classic Symphony of Eternity. There just isn't as much fun character-building involved, and the battles don't go as smoothly. But, for eight dollars with no additional purchases necessary, it's a decent plot-driven RPG.

For more Android App Reviews, see:

??? Google Android 4.1 "Jelly Bean"
??? Symphony of Eternity (for Android)
??? RPG Grinsia (for Android)
??? RPG Aeon Avenger (for Android)
??? Chrome (for Android)
?? more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/g5XnuFRLKN0/0,2817,2406393,00.asp

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Airbus workers seek jobs guarantee over U.S. move

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/airbus-workers-seek-jobs-guarantee-over-u-move-151017492--finance.html

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Williams' next Wimbledon opponent wins perfect set

Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan returns a shot to Sara Errani of Italy during a third round women's singles match at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon, England, Saturday, June 30, 2012. (AP Photo/Sang Tan)

Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan returns a shot to Sara Errani of Italy during a third round women's singles match at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon, England, Saturday, June 30, 2012. (AP Photo/Sang Tan)

Sara Errani of Italy reacts during a third round women's singles against Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan during a third round women's singles match at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon, England, Saturday, June 30, 2012. (AP Photo/Sang Tan)

Serena Williams of the United States plays a return to Zheng Jie of China during a third round women's singles match at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon, England, Saturday, June 30, 2012. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

Serena Williams of the United States reacts to a point against Zheng Jie of China during a third round women's singles match at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon, England, Saturday, June 30, 2012. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

Zheng Jie of China plays a return to Serena Williams of the United States during a third round women's singles match at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon, England, Saturday, June 30, 2012. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) ? Absolutely perfect ? 24 points played, 24 points won.

Can't be any better than wild-card entry Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazahstan was at the beginning of her third-round match at Wimbledon on Saturday, winning every single point in the 15-minute first set of what became a 6-0, 6-4 victory over French Open runner-up Sara Errani of Italy. It's the only "golden set" for a woman in the 44 years of professional tennis.

Of all the ways a point can be lost ? a double-fault, for example, or an opponent's ace; one ball that floats a half-inch wide or long or catches the tape of the net, say, or even a lucky shot off the other player's racket that somehow finds a line, etc., etc. ? none happened during Shvedova's 15 minutes of fame.

"Apparently, it's the biggest news of the day: I lost a set without winning a point. Unbelievable," the 10th-seeded Errani said. "She was impossible to play against. I don't even feel like I played terribly. She just was hitting winners from every part of the court."

The 65th-ranked Shvedova didn't even realize what was happening. Not until she was in the gym afterward, cooling down, when her coach pointed out the accomplishment.

"I had no idea. I was just playing every point and every game," said Shvedova, a 24-year-old who won two Grand Slam doubles titles in 2010 with Vania King of the U.S.

Shvedova did notice the way spectators at Court 3 applauded and yelled after Errani stopped the streak by taking the opening point of the second set.

"I was, like, 'What's going on?" Shvedova said.

Now things figure to get a tad tougher. In the fourth round Monday, she'll face Serena Williams, whose 13 Grand Slam titles include four at the All England Club.

"Hopefully I'll be able to win a point in the set," Williams said, somehow keeping a straight face. "That will be my first goal, and then I'll go from there."

She actually came rather close to exiting Saturday, needing every one of her tournament-record 23 aces to come back and edge 25th-seeded Zheng Jie of China 6-7 (5), 6-2, 9-7. Williams won all 18 of her service games and saved all six break points she faced.

Three times, while down 5-4, 6-5 and 7-6 in the final set, she served to stay in the match ? and the tournament.

Each time, she won the pivotal game at love.

"It's good to know that I can rely on that," said the sixth-seeded Williams, who also held the previous Wimbledon women's mark of 20 aces.

"I definitely felt like it was a gut check," she said. "I've always been really strong mentally. That's not going anywhere."

The 5-foot-4 1/2 Zheng watched one second-serve ace kick so high that it bounced over her head. Otherwise, though, she stood tall against the 5-9 Williams, zipping flat groundstrokes that barely cleared the net.

With the American's older sister, five-time Wimbledon champion Venus, sitting in the front row right above the scoreboard, and Oscar-winning actor Dustin Hoffman ("Major fan of his. ... I was honored to have him in my box," she said) there in support, too, Williams broke for an 8-7 lead in the last set by smacking a big return that left an off-balance Zheng hitting a wild forehand long.

After a couple hiccups while trying to serve it out, including a double-fault and two wasted match points, Williams ended the nearly 2 1/2-hour contest with a 102 mph service winner, followed by a stretch backhand volley winner. She celebrated with a huge leap.

"I just wanted to get through that match," said Williams, who was upset in the first round at the French Open in late May and hasn't won a Grand Slam title in two years. "The last thing I wanted to do was lose."

Her buddy and possible London Olympics mixed doubles partner, Andy Roddick, did lose. The 29-year-old American, three times the runner-up to Roger Federer at the All England Club, blew a kiss to the Centre Crowd as he walked off after being beaten 2-6, 7-6 (8), 6-4, 6-3 by No. 7-seeded David Ferrer, but said he hasn't made up his mind about his future in the sport.

"If I don't have a definitive answer in my own mind, it's going to be tough for me to articulate a definitive answer to you," the 30th-seeded Roddick said.

Another American, Sam Querrey, also departed, with a 7-6 (6), 6-4, 6-7 (2), 6-7 (3), 17-15 loss to No. 16 Marin Cilic of Croatia. The 5 1/2-hour match is the second-longest in tournament history, behind the 11-hour, 5-minute marathon that John Isner won 70-68 in the fifth set against Nicolas Mahut in 2010.

"I'm bummed. I'm sad," Querrey said. "But I'm sure tomorrow I'll be over it and really look back and say that was a great match and it's a good steppingstone for the summer."

Two other U.S. men did make the fourth round: 126th-ranked qualifier Brian Baker, who was off the tour for about six years after a series of operations; and 10th-seeded Mardy Fish, who is in his first tournament since having a medical procedure on his heart in late May and hasn't faced anyone ranked higher than 70th.

Winners also included No. 4 Andy Murray, whose four-set victory over Marcos Baghdatis ended at 11:02 p.m.; No. 5 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, No. 9 Juan Martin del Potro, and No. 27 Philipp Kohlschreiber, who beat the man who beat Rafael Nadal, Lukas Rosol, 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 (6).

Women joining Williams and Shvedova in the fourth round were defending champion Petra Kvitova, second-seeded Victoria Azarenka, recent French Open champions Ana Ivanovic and Francesca Schiavone, No. 21 Roberta Vinci and unseeded Tamira Paszek.

Good as each was Saturday, none can say they have ever been as good for a set as Shvedova was.

No woman has.

"I mean, that's stunning. I'm, like, speechless," Querrey said. "You could maybe understand first round, maybe a local wild card playing (Maria) Sharapova, just really nervous or something like that. But in a third round, that's just shocking."

According to the International Tennis Federation, only one other perfect set ever has been played since the Open era began in 1968: Bill Scanlon of the U.S. won all 24 points in the second set of a victory over Marcos Hocevar of Brazil at Delray Beach, Fla., in 1983.

Oddly enough, only once before had a woman won 23 consecutive points, the ITF said: Shvedova, of all people. She took a 5-0, 40-love lead in a match against Amy Frazier of the U.S. at Memphis in 2006 ? only to end up losing 1-6, 6-0, 6-0.

Imagine that! Shvedova said she couldn't remember that one.

Told about that wild turnaround involving Shvedova, Errani pointed out that she did take a 2-0 lead in the second set, then added with a wink and a smile: "I came close. It could have been 6-0, 6-0 the rest of the way for me."

She marveled about the play of doubles specialist Shvedova, who compiled a 35-6 edge in winners on the afternoon, showing off a high-risk, high-reward style that carried her to the French Open quarterfinals as a qualifier. Errani was particularly wowed by Shvedova's powerful serves, noting that one second serve came in at 117 mph.

"She served really hard," Errani said. "Hard, hard. It was like playing a Williams."

Shrugging off her record-setting setback, Errani said she figured losing a set that way was the same as dropping one 20-18 in a tiebreaker. A loss is a loss. Still, she wants to watch a replay of the set to try to figure out whether she could have done anything differently.

But Errani was pretty sure there wasn't.

"With a serve like that, with groundstrokes that strong," she said about Shvedova, "who knows? Maybe she'll win Wimbledon."

Williams might have something to say about that, too.

___

Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-06-30-Wimbledon/id-a50c75ee6d184d09b9c996ffe79f28de

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