MELBOURNE, Australia - Eugenie Bouchard — the unwitting protagonist of an Australian Open saga that has been dubbed Twirlgate — would prefer if people just focused on her tennis.For the record, Bouchard said Friday she was not offended by the male interviewer who asked her to twirl for the crowd earlier in the week.I think it was just kind of funny, the Wimbledon runner-up said after advancing to the fourth round in Melbourne. Im fine with being asked to twirl if they ask the guys to flex their muscles.This is not the first time the Australian Open has offered up a headline-grabbing sideshow that has nothing to do with tennis.In previous years, two-time champion Victoria Azarenkas former boyfriend, the rap star Redfoo who was a regular front-row fixture, got as much press as she did. In 2011, former No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki told a colorful tale about getting into a fight with a kangaroo and showed a scratch to prove it. She later retracted the story, saying she had bumped into a treadmill but wanted to spice up a dull news conference.This year, the seasons opening Grand Slam tournament has Twirlgate, a term being used by Australian media and as a hashtag on Twitter.It started Wednesday when Bouchard, one of the rising stars of womens tennis, was asked by a male interviewer to give us a twirl and show off her tennis dress after winning her second-round match. Noticeably embarrassed, Bouchard complied with a laugh and later said, it was very unexpected.Social media erupted with chatter. Some called it sexist, some questioned whether a male player would be asked to twirl after winning a match, and some dismissed the debate, saying they didnt feel sorry for a highly-paid athlete being asked to twirl.Billie Jean King added to the chorus of criticism.This is truly sexist, tweeted King, an 11-time Grand Slam winner and a longtime campaigner for equal rights in tennis. Lets focus on competition and accomplishments of both genders, and not our looks.The 20-year-old Bouchard, a 1.78-meter (5 foot-10) photogenic blonde, has become one of tennis newest cover girls. She won the Wimbledon juniors title in 2012 and has made rapid progress ever since. She reached the semifinals at last years Australian and French Opens followed by the Wimbledon final which ushered her into the No. 7-ranking — the highest ever for a Canadian player.Bouchard won her third-round match Friday, beating Caroline Garcia of France 7-5, 6-0. After a few questions on tennis, her post-match news conference turned to the twirl.I was waiting for this one, Bouchard said, smiling.Players typically say that during big tournaments they try to stay away from newspapers and limit their time on social media to keep their minds on the game. But Bouchard said she was aware that the incident had caused a stir.My friends are texting me, saying I dance and twirl well and stuff, as jokes, she said. Its just funny how its taken a life of its own. Im just going to try to focus on my tennis.She raised her eyebrows when asked if this was a deja vu of an embarrassing question she faced last year, when an on-court interviewer asked her which celebrity shed most like to date.You mean the Bieber question? she said. Her answer at the time had been fellow Canadian Justin Bieber. I dont know. They try to ask funny questions. Its entertaining, I guess. I dont mind it.But she added that it would be nice to move on.Im happy that Ive played three solid matches here, Bouchard said, and we could definitely be a little bit more focused on that. Yeezy 700 Saldi . - Pittsburgh Steelers president Art Rooney II says the NFL has told the team it will not be docked a pick in this years draft for coach Mike Tomlins foray onto the field against Baltimore last November. Air Max 97 Saldi . Funny, they looked like longtime friends during Pittsburghs 5-1 demolition of Dallas on Tuesday night. Quick to the puck and even quicker to the net, the Penguins top line overwhelmed the suddenly struggling Stars as Pittsburgh bounced back from a dismal weekend sweep at the hands of Philadelphia by jumping on Dallas early. http://www.scontatescarpenikeoutlet.it/i...fferte.html.com) - Manu Ginobili capped off a 26-point night with a go-ahead layup with 24 seconds left in overtime, with the basket giving the San Antonio Spurs a much-needed 95-93 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans. Balenciaga Italia . Although the deal cannot be made official until the free agent moratorium period is lifted on July 10, Patterson has agreed to a three-year, $18 million extension to remain in Toronto, sources confirm to TSN. Scarpe Nike Outlet Italia .J. -- Travis Zajac of the New Jersey Devils took a lot of grief considering his scored the first of his career-best three goals just 12 seconds into a crucial game against the Florida Panthers.ORLANDO, Fla. - As further proof the NFL never is far from the headlines, owners could make plenty of news this week at their spring meetings. They will consider 13 playing rules proposals and seven bylaws. They will discuss expanding the playoff field from 12 to 14 teams, although a vote on such a move is uncertain. Some changes would seem to be slam dunks: extending the height of the goal posts 5 feet to help determine if kicks are good; eliminating overtime in preseason games; placing fixed TV cameras on the goal lines, end lines and sidelines to help with replay reviews. Others seem almost sidebars to the real action, such as from where to enforce defensive penalties when they occur behind the line of scrimmage, or extending pass interference calls to within a yard of the line. Perhaps the juiciest suggestions came from the Patriots. They want to move the line of scrimmage to the 25 for extra points, and to allow coaches to challenge any calls except on scoring plays, which are automatically reviewed. Passing those proposals would make for a major change in how NFL games are played. "We discussed a lot of different scenarios that have been raised," Rams coach Jeff Fisher, co-chairman of the influential competition committee, said of longer extra-point kicks. "I will point out ... last year we had five tries missed (out of 1,267). I think four were blocked, one was missed. Its still a competitive play. "We are going to propose ... to the membership during one of the preseason weeks that we move the extra point back to the 20-yard line and see how that goes. Its on our radar." New Englands idea on coaches challenges in some ways echoes college football, in which every play can be reviewed. Falcons President Rich McKay, the other co-chairman of the competition committee, said reviews or challenges on defensive pass interference calls have been considered before. "Weve always shied away, as a committee, from penalties and the review of penalties for thee most basic reason," McKay said.dddddddddddd "We didnt want to put the referee in the position of using his subjective judgment on a play in place of the on-field official. We always thought the intent of replay, when it was put back in in 1998, was to deal with plays where there was an objective standard." Washington has proposed making personal foul penalties reviewable. How replay reviews are conducted overall will be discussed after the committee has proposed allowing the referee to consult with members of the NFL officiating department. The process wont change, but the command centre in New York headed by director of officiating Dean Blandino will already be reviewing the play when the referee gets to the replay monitor. "At the end of the day, whats going to happen is were going to make sure that every single review is correct and we feel like this will speed up the instant replay process and timing," Fisher said. The Redskins want kickoffs moved to the 40 yard-line for "safety and historic consistency," although doing so might totally eliminate returns. But some coaches hint it could lead to more pooch kicks, which wouldnt make the kickoff any safer. Another suggestion is to eliminate stopping the clock on a sack. That no longer is done in the final two minutes of each half, and if passed it will be totally eliminated. The Redskins also proposed raising the number of active players on game day from 46 to 49 for games on any day but Sunday or Monday — not including opening weekend. Washington seeks an increase in the practice squad limit from eight to 10 players; allowing trades after the Super Bowl until when the league year begins in March; eliminating the first preseason roster cut to 75 and having just one cut to 53 at the end of the preseason; and allowing more than one player to return from injured reserve during the season after six weeks on the list. ___ AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '