Portugal President Enacts Marriage Equality

Portugal will become the tenth jurisdiction in the world (sixth country in Europe) where marriage between same-sex couples is legal after President Anibal Cavaco Silva agreed to allow the measure become law today, the International Day Against Homophobia, despite direct lobbying from the Pope, who had decried gay marriage when he visited the country last week.

The bill was a priority of Portugal's recently elected prime minister Jose Socrates who had included the measure in his election portfolio. However, to become law the measure needed the assent of the President.

"I feel I should not contribute to a pointless extension of this debate, which would only serve to deepen the divisions between the Portuguese and divert the attention of politicians away from the grave problems affecting us," Cavaco Silva said.

He said that, in ratifying the law, he was setting aside "personal convictions."

Elsewhere in Europe, gay marriage is permitted in Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Norway.

Five U.S. states and the District of Columbia have legalized same-sex marriage, as have Canada and South Africa.

Portugal is nearly 90 percent Catholic. However, only around 2 million of its 10.6 million people describe themselves as practicing Catholics and in recent times Portugal has drifted away from the church's teachings.

The current Socialist government has defied the church before. It passed a law in 2007 allowing abortion. The following year, it introduced a law allowing divorce even if one of the spouses objected. It has argued that the legislation is part of Portugal's "modernization."

The new law removes the previous legal stipulation that marriage is between two people of different sexes.

Portugal's Constitutional Court validated the bill's legality last month.

[...]

Portugal lifted a prohibition on homosexuality in the early 1980s. In 2001, it passed a law allowing "civil unions" between same-sex couples, which granted couples certain legal, tax and property rights. However, it did not allow couples to take a partner's name, nor inherit his or her possessions or state pension.

Congratulations! Anyone fancy a trip to Lisbon to celebrate?

Venus v. Bartoli, All-Belgian Duel in Miami Semis

In a remake of the 2007 Wimbledon final, Venus Williams will face Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli in one semifinal while Belgians Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin will battle in the other at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami.

Henin leads their career head-to-head rivalry 12-11 but Clijsters beat Henin in a nailbiting 3rd set tiebreaker in Brisbane earlier this year.

Venus and Bartoli have only ever played twice, with Maid Marion earning revenge for her Wimbledon loss on the hard courts of Stanford last year by beating Venus in a 3-set final.

I predict a Venus-Henin final...

AUSSIE OPEN 2010: Clijsters Humiliated By Petrova

The winner of the last slam in 2009, Kim Clijster was bounced from the 2010 Australian Open with her worst career loss in a Grand Slam 6-0 6-1 by Russian Nadia Petrova. And she wasn't too happy about it.

"You know, on the other hand, you know, [Nadia Petrova] was good. But, you know, I let her -- you know, I made all the mistakes and she didn't really have to do much. She served really well and was aggressive in the rallies, but that's because I let her play into the courts. Just because I wasn't feeling the ball well. It sucks."--Kim Clijsters

Justine Henin escaped with a three-set 3-6 6-4 6-2 win over hard-hitting Alisa Kleybanova and will now face countrywoman and 2009 US open semifinalist Yanina Wickmayer in the fourth round.

Henin Expected To Announce Return To Tennis Tuesday

7-time Grand Slam champion Justine Henin is expected to announce the end of her retirement from tennis on Tuesday, multiple sources are reporting. Henin announced her retirement effective immediately on May 14, 2008 while still ranked #1 and the clear favorite to win another title (her fifth) at the 2008 Roland Garros grand slam tournament.

Belgian Kim Clijsters returned from retirement this summer and won the 2009 US Open in just her third tournament back on the tour following a 2 1/2 year gap and the birth of her daughter Jada.

I am completely unsurprised by this turn of events, and knew that as soon as Clijsters was back Henin would return as well. Last month rumors started circulating that Henin was starting training again and some people noted that Henin's projected "absence" from the sport would appear to coincide with an 18-month ban that would have been imposed if there had been a doping violation. I'm not saying that there has been, but it is curious that if Henin does indeed announce her return to the tour today, what her first tournament is, and whether it occurs before November 14, 2009.

Henin Rumored To Be Returning in 2010

As soon as I heard that Kim Clijsters was returning to the women's tennis tour I knew (and said so at the time) that it would only be a matter of time before her Belgian compatriot, 7-time major champion Justine Henin-Hardenne who retired abruptly a few weeks before the May 2008 French Open would join her.

Now there are rumors she may be coming back as early as Spring 2010:

[Henin] has started training for exhibitions in Belgium and Dubai at the end of this year. Henin’s entourage has confirmed the preparations, while Vers L'Avenir added that Henin is considering the revival of her tennis career

The story is starting to be picked up around the world, with Agence France Press reporting:

Vers l'Avenir newspaper reported that "Juju has as good as taken her decision to return to competition from January."

[...]

Close friend and former coach Carlos Rodriguez played down the rumours.

"There's nobody telling me of a return. We've not spoken about that. I am really astonished," Rodriguez insisted.

But he did confirm that "she is training, yes. Two or three times a week to get herself in shape as she's not played for a year. That's all."

However, his wife was quoted as telling Vers l'Avenir that "something is in the offing but I'm not allowed to talk about it."

Officially, Henin is down to play exhibition matches at the end of the year in Belgium and Dubai.

Under international anti-doping rules Henin would have to inform the game's authorities if she were to return three months beforehand.

Kimmie better hurry up and win another Slam before the Other Belgian returns, because in major championships Clijsters was something like 0-4 (2003 US Open final, 2004 Australian Open final, 2006 French Open semifinal, 2006 Wimbledon semifinal) against Henin.