Joanne C. Gerstner

– As many know, I am – or shall I say have been – a 100 percent Letterman person. Love Dave’s sense of humor. Can’t say I’m thrilled with his mess of a personal life, but whatever. But this Leno/Conan stuff has been fascinating. Leno got shellacked last night by Jimmy Kimmel (sadly, I wanted to link to it, but NBC’s lawyer goons are erasing the evidence. So try this link before the NBC pinheads get to it. I think Conan’s shows have been the most entertaining ever this week, as he’s just letting loose. Love how guests ask him if he has any skills to hold another job. I never watched Leno before, and I certainly won’t watch him now. His show at 10 was lame, the show at 11:35 will be lame. Wish Craig Ferguson would be on earlier, so I could see him more often live. He is, in his words, a naughty monkey.
– I don’t think the names Tiger Woods and Roger Federer should be mentioned in the same sentence. I know Fed was asked about Nike-mate Woods during an Aussie Open presser, and he answered the question. Both are world-class, elite, elite, elite talents. But that’s where it ends. Roger signs autographs. Tiger doesn’t. Roger appreciates his fans and the public. Tiger carries the air of them getting in his way. I understand the price of fame can be crushing. And the guys don’t lead easy lives. But even before we knew the truth about Tiger…I still had Roger ahead of him in the class and dignity department.
– Anybody out there have experience playing tennis with a big clunky knee brace? If so, shoot me an email. would love to hear what I am in for from now on….

Mahalo!
Joanne

…A story on the University of Michigan website on gymnast David Chan.
…A story in the New York Times print edition on ice dancers Meryl Davis and Charlie White
…A story on teamusa.org on mixed doubles being added to the 2012 London Olympics/

I’ve noticed spike in website traffic recently, which is great. Welcome on in! As you can see, this is my little corner of cyberspace. I post things I do, from written pieces to interviews to videos, and I also put up some random thoughts. I try to do a few posts every week.

Also look for me on twitter (jcgerstner).

here are the places I’m writing for right now:
– just wrote something for NPR.com: on ESPN’s 3D TV.
– University of Michigan’s athletics website.
– U.S. Olympic Committee’s website.
– And the New York Times.

Thanks for coming in…and peace!
Joanne

You never know what’s coming around the corner, and that’s probably a good thing. 2009 was a big year for me, going from the euphoria of getting into my law schools of choice, taking a buyout from work, going to Maui for an amazing vacation, blowing my knee out in a tennis tournament, having surgery, going to law school, realizing I didn’t want to be a lawyer, leaving law school, and now being a freelance writer and editor. Whew!

In 2010, I hope to get back into the full-time employment world, back to playing tennis without my knee making strange creaking sounds, and having a grateful outlook on a blessed life.

Life is about change. I choose to have hope and belief for a brighter future. And pray for those who think it’s a good idea to carry and detonate bombs on airplanes.

Carpe Diem, y’all.

– I just finished a series of stories, for mgoblue.com, about the seriousness of concussions in hockey. A star player, named Jason Botterill, had his career cut short because of the continued impact of concussions. It’s not something to fool around with. And thankfully, Jason has gone on to build a lovely life after hockey. To read the series, go to mgoblue.com. The first story, on Jason, is up. The second, on Red Berenson is up too.

– Another set of stories I am doing is for teamusa.org, on the changes the IOC has made for the 2012 London Summer Olympics. Cyclists, such as Taylor Phinney, have to find new events to compete in.

Yes, I finally took the plunge and got a new TV. Actually, my old TV made the decision for my by unceremoniously dying. So, after 15 years of faithful service, the old RCA and I said goodbye on the curb. In its place….a spanking new 46 inch Sony. Wow. Holy moley. Like going from a tricycle to a Vette. The picture, the sound system….yeah, I can see why people get addicted to these suckers. Technology is a good thing 🙂

– I really want this Tiger Woods thing to go away. Yes, the guy has been cheating on his wife. I think we’ve established that quite thoroughly. I guess I wonder about the women. Are they claiming they didn’t know he was married. Or the ones that did know wanted just to hang with him anyways because he was rich and famous? Don’t get it. I am happy Tiger’s kids are small and hopefully have no idea what is going on. Kids are always the victims when their parents really screw up.

– I am slowly turning into a snowbird. I love winter, I love a pretty snowfall. But I increasingly don’t want to live in a 20-degree world for 6 months of the year. I wonder if there are any foreclosed mansions available in Maui for $1? (Because that’s about all I can afford right now).

– Irony: my surgeon told me to build up my right quad in order to help with my knee rehab. So I did. A lot of lifts. Now, I’ve built up my quads too much and need to get the hamstrings going. What will go next? Weaken the Achilles? 🙂

– Irony II: The USTA moved me up from a 3.5 to a 4.0 in my tennis ranking. Which I understand, since I was on fire last summer and only lost one match. The match I lost was the one where I blew my knee out. So I don’t count that as a loss. I didn’t play that through to the bitter end. My screaming and rolling on the ground in pain got in the way of playing. But given that I can’t play for a while, and when I do come back, I will be in the slow lane for months – why not let me appeal? There is a medical appeal process, but it has gotten so tough – thanks people who lied about their injuries!!! jerks!!! – that I have no shot in hell of getting moved down. Which is not cool. I don’t think I am going to play USTA for a long while, thanks to their lovely ruling. The worst part? The 3.5 team I love so much will not be an option for me. I will miss those women – especially my partner Sherylle. Just not right. bad enough I got hurt. But the USTA has made it worse. How about policing Serena and her outbursts better and leave me alone?!?!?

Below is a link to the article about Grand Slam champion Amelie Mauresmo retiring. I always liked her because she gave great effort on the court. She never half-assed it. She wore her heart on her sleeve, much like Jana Novotna. She’s a classy champion and I hope she has a great life in retirement. I think she’ll be happy away from tennis. She’s a well-rounded person, and that makes all the difference.

Two-time Grand Slam champ Mauresmo retires

Posted using ShareThis

Hey all! Hope everybody had a good Thanksgiving, even if you chose to, aha, watch the Detroit Lions play football. It was a good time for me and the family, as we were in Disney World for a lovely vacation.

– Here’s the latest writing from me: a story on US Sailing president Gary Jobson. He’s an amazing sailor, an amazing motivational speaker and could do some great things for American sailing.

– Another story from the USA Hockey world: About Manon Rheaume.

– The Tiger Woods thing: I don’t want to be cynical, but as soon as I heard that he was in an accident at 2:30 a.m., his wife allegedly breaking out a car window to save him…yeah, my reporter’s gut didn’t like the feel of those facts. That and having the police report delayed by 12 hours. Tiger, if you’ve learned anything from a life lived in the spotlight, you know that the truth never hides. It’s going to come out. It’s better if you’re out in front of it, telling it yourself.