By Mechelle Voepel, ESPN (blog) - Friday marked our annual Women's Sports Awards Luncheon event in Kansas City. It benefits an organization called Win for K.C., a local incarnation of what the Women's Sports Foundation is nationally.

It's an inspiring, energy-charged event, and this year was especially a big deal, with women's sports legend Billie Jean King as keynote speaker. She started the WSF back in 1974, so this was her chance to see the microcosm of her life's work represented in this Midwestern community.

Among the award winners this year was a 73-year-old grandmother who has run 97 marathons. Yes -- 97! Her goal is to reach

MacDailyNews - USA - Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver have announced the inductees for the 2007 California Hall of Fame, a landmark destination of The California Museum for History, Women and the Arts. Billie Jean King, 2006 California Hall of Fame inductee, revealed the names on The California Museum’s web site, (http://www.CaliforniaMuseum.org) listing extraordinary Californians who embody California’s innovative spirit and have made their mark on history.

The California Hall of Fame formal induction ceremony will take place on December 5, 2007, at The California Museum in Sacramento.

The 2007 California Hall of Fame inductees: Ansel Adams, Milton Berle, Steve Jobs, Willie Mays,

Reuters - USA - Pro skier Jonny Moseley, tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams and Billie Jean King and NBA star Baron Davis have signed on to appear in Cartoon Network's upcoming one-hour special "Props," the channel's first effort in the reality programming arena.

The live-action show will feature six "real-world kids" -- chosen by viewers from among entries submitted online by kids and parents -- who have demonstrated a talent, commitment and accomplishment in sports, the arts or a hobby. The special will show the kids as they are surprised by their heroes with a "once-in-a-lifetime experience customized to each of their individual passions."

Moseley

San Diego Union Tribune - United States -  The Acura Classic having been lost to the San Diego area, Billie Jean King said she is open to locating a World Team Tennis franchise here.

King's practice has been to avoid placing teams in locales where there were professional tournaments. “I couldn't do that to Jane Stratton and Raquel Giscafre,” said King, citing the women who since 1984 have offered a Sony Ericsson WTA Tour event at the La Costa Resort and Spa and other local venues.

With the Acura having been contested for the final time at La Costa – its Tier I designation has been sold to the tour

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - Pittsburgh, PA, USA - Tennis icon Billie Jean King was having lunch on the terrace of the Claremont Resort in Berkeley, Calif., watching a tennis match at a nearby club.

King noticed one of the players.

"She was a good ball-striker, and that was a major strength of her game," King said. "She had a great attitude and was very respectful of those around her. As she grows and matures, those qualities will allow her to be a champion in life, regardless of what happens on the court."

King was talking about Peters Township junior Alison Riske. Riske met King on Aug. 10 at a speaking engagement

San Diego Union Tribune - United States - In Flushing, N.Y., yesterday, they began inscribing the words “Billie Jean King National Tennis Center” above the portals of the site where the U.S. Open is to begin on Aug. 27.

King, meantime, was being lodged at a Comfort Inn in San Diego. She is to speak this evening at a gala at the Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel meant as a benefit for Youth Tennis San Diego and she has been offered a room there, but she has opted for more modest accommodations.

“I stay where the kids stay,” she said.

The World Team Tennis Junior Nationals began yesterday at the Barnes Tennis

Ha'aretz - Tel Aviv, Israel - Venus Williams won tennis' most prestigious tournament for the fourth time yesterday, beating surprising finalist Marion Bartoli 6-4, 6-1.

It was Williams' sixth Grand Slam title, and her first since winning Wimbledon in 2005. She was also the champion at the All England Club in 2000 and 2001.

At No. 31, Williams became the lowest-ranked women's winner in Wimbledon history. Plagued in recent years by injuries that sent her ranking sliding, she rediscovered her championship form this week on the surface that always seems to inspire her best efforts.

"It has been a long road back," Williams said during the trophy ceremony. "I

Yahoo! Eurosport - London,UK - Williams boosted her bank balance by a cool £700,000 ($1.41 million) after winning her fourth title at the All England Club but rather than the amount itself, she was delighted that women competitors had finally won the battle for equal pay.

"Of course now we have equal prize money. Billie Jean King fought for years and no one deserves this more than her," Williams told the Centre Court crowd as she clutched the Venus Rosewater Dish.

"She's done so much for women's tennis and I wouldn't behere without her and thank you to the All England Club forplaying under equal terms."

King, who

pride source.com - Farmington, MI, USA - Martina Navratilova. Esera Tuaolo. Dave Kopay. Billy Bean. Billie Jean King. The list is short, but the names are familiar - modern-day, openly gay athletes.

Yet gay sports did not suddenly appear, full blown, in the waning days of the 20th century. Less known - but equally important - are athletes like these: Ana Maria Sagi, Wilhelm Von Homburg, Erik Schinegger, and Joan of Arc.

"Joan of Arc?!"

Their stories, and those of a dozen other sportsmen and women (read down to find out how Joan of Arc made the cut) are rivetingly told in "The Lavender Locker Room." The recent book by

nwitimes.com - Munster, IN, USA - In 1972, America was at war in Vietnam, President Nixon signed Title IX into law and future soccer star Mia Hamm was born.

Billie Jean King testified before Congress on behalf of Title IX, and three generations later the result is more female athletes, doctors and lawyers.

Saturday marks the 35th anniversary of the landmark legislation that bars gender bias in athletics and other educational programs.

"I kept thinking about women's teams sports," King said in an interview with The Associated Press. "I grew up with team sports and knew how vital it was that we have opportunity for girls to be in