Talking Points: Mercury goes up Down Under

1.

Preparing to take the court Tuesday at the Australian Open, American Sloane Stephens kept checking the weather app on her phone as she fretted about the temperature.

The number kept climbing, and Stephens updated her coach, Paul Annacone.

“I’m like, ‘My phone says 108.’ He says, ‘No, it can’t be.’

Australia’s summer heat wave has produced eye-popping, knee-buckling temperatures, and the mercury soared well beyond the century mark on Day 2 of the Grand Slam tournament in Melbourne. While the conditions were remarkable, so was the ability of the world’s top players to endure them, undercutting their reputation as coddled complainers.

Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark said the plastic on her water bottle began to melt when she set it down on the court during her match. But she said an ice bath helped her recover quickly afterward.

2.

A suburban Chicago man was fined $250 after allegedly using a stun gun on his wife after she lost a bet on a Packers-Bears game.

Forty-two-year-old John Grant of Tinley Park, Ill., pleaded no contest to disorderly conduct in a Wisconsin court last week.

The Daily Citizen reports Judge Steven Bauer ordered the fine plus court costs.

The couple was driving through Mayville when they stopped at a bar to watch the Nov. 4 game. The Bears won 27-20.

According to the complaint, Nicole Grant said her husband could use a stun gun on her for three seconds if Green Bay lost.

John Grant allegedly used it three times, and she called police.

She told officers she didn’t think her husband would actually use the weapon on her.

So the moral of the story guys is: “When your wife says it’s OK to use a stun gun on her ….”