It’s been a rough several months for Rafael Nadal. There was that knee injury. And then a stomach virus that kept him from the Australian Open where, SPOILER ALERT, Maria Sharapova dominated Venus Williams today and when I first read the headline I thought it said Serena and I almost tripped. Full Story

Rafael Nadal was named Man of the Year by Spanish Vanity Fair. There was an event the other night in Madrid to celebrate him. He wore a tux and looked very handsome and as relaxed as he could be on such a formal occasion. Yesterday Rafa was not relaxed. Yesterday Rafa watched the Champions League first round between Real Madrid and Manchester City and, well, he was euphoric at the end, certainly, but during the game Rafa was as intense as he gets for his own matches. Full Story

On clay. This is for my cousin Cat who loves Rafa so much, with a lot of stress, and probably didn’t sleep well last night thinking about this morning. It turns out the rain delay helped him. He came out hard today, finishing off Novak Djokovic in the fourth set, despite being down a break when they suspended the match yesterday. Full Story

This is for my cousin Cat who has also been training for the Boston Marathon after qualifying last year in under 3 and a half hours HOLY SH-T. Just 3 more weeks, right? And then you promised - take it easy!Anyway, Cat loves Rafa. Which means she’ll be watching him this weekend at the Sony Ericsson Open. Full Story

I have been up for way too long. Why is Australia so far away? Was watching the Murray-Djokovic semi-final at the Australian open, a sick 5 setter that resulted, ultimately, in a Novak win just about an hour ago. And he will meet Rafael Nadal who defeated Roger Federer yesterday. Well that’s not a bad first Slam final of the year, non? You know me - I am for Rafa, always. Full Story

For my cousin Cat and all of you, and thank you for your emails, who love the Rafa posts and photos...Check out Rafael Nadal with his longtime gf “Xisca” at the Juntos Por La Integracion charity gala organised by his foundation in Barcelona last night. I love her. She is SO cute. Sometimes I worry though that they’re too young to have been together for so long. Full Story

For all you Rafa lovers out there, including my cousin Cat - he looks F-CKING HOT. I thought about throwing this up on LifeStyle only without posting it to the homepage but then I took a closer look at how great he looks in these pants with the white shirt and, well, that needs some time on a front cover, you know? Full Story

The US Open starts on Sunday. And my cousin Cat’s birthday is on Monday. AND she loves Rafael Nadal. So this is a Rafa tennis post. HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Rafa is in New York being all cute with the children and promoting his Armani underwear thing. I may be the lone voice in all of this but... I don’t get jizzy over men underwear ads. Full Story

The US Open starts on Sunday. Night tennis! I have a strong sense of attachment to the US Open. It’s back to school anxiety and excitement. It’s end of summer bbq and always a big blowout of a party before getting ready for a new year. Here’s Rafael Nadal yesterday at Letterman in advance of the tournament. Full Story

Woke my ass up at 6am on Sunday for the French Open final. Rafael Nadal vs Roger Federer – there really aren’t too many of these opportunities left. It was beauty for three sets, non? And what’s even better is that they can bring that out in each other without hating each other. There is a lot of genuine and mutual respect and admiration shared between Rafa and Roger. Full Story

This is for my cousin Cat. I miss her. Especially at Christmas as she’s in Toronto and Jacek and I alternate our holidays – one year here in Vancouver, one year back home. Cat loves Rafael Nadal. And here he is with Roger Federer today posing at a press conference in support of their respective charities. Full Story

This is for Anieka and so many others who’ve been requesting photos of Rafael Nadal. He is currently on holiday in Ibiza with girlfriend Xisca and some friends, hanging out on the beach the other day, obviously totally relaxed. And SO F-CKING CUTE. It has been a great summer for Rafa so far. He won Wimbledon and then Spain won the World Cup. Full Story

Wimbledon started this week so we’re seeing some tennis pics being snapped by our photo agencies. Gives me a reason to post something about a topic where my head is only half way up my *ss and not fully. Here’s world no. 4 ranked Novak Djokovic checking out some chick walking past him at his practice session earlier today. Full Story

My cousin Cat had baby Sasha a month ago. He’s not sleeping. She’s dead tired. Hopefully some Rafa will help a little. It’s the French Open. Rafael Nadal is aiming for a 5th consecutive title at Roland Garros. By his side to support him: girlfriend Xisca. There were rumours they had split a few months ago. Full Story