Serena Williams simply the best

ON TENNIS

If I had any doubt before, it's now completely squashed, nonexistent, gone until I see a change.

Serena Williams, to put it bluntly, is the best women's tennis player in the world — and no one's really that close to her. As people are waking up on the East Coast this morning, they're reading or hearing that Williams won her 12th grand slam much earlier in Melbourne, defeating Justine Henin in three sets 6-4, 3-6, 6-2. And they might sarcastically mutter, "Big deal. She's ranked No. 1 in the world. Henin isn't even ranked!"

True. But if you watched Williams during this Aussie Open, you know that she faced some of the stiffest competition she's had to go through to claim a major. In the quarterfinals, Williams put on an absolutely spectacular and dominant display of tennis to overcome a seemingly insurmountable one-set, 0-4 deficit against seventh seed Victoria Azarenka, who was playing the match of her life. 

It was truly incredible, because Williams looked dead for the first 14 games of the match. She had no life, no energy. Her groundstrokes had the power of an elderly couple's at the local recreation center. I mean, she was getting run off the court by the young 20-year-old from Belarus. 

But then Williams hit a couple strong shots, dropped a few aces and all of a sudden, she was unstoppable. She won eight of the match's final 10 games, including a tiebreaker in the second set. And it wasn't as if Azarenka's play dropped off. She was still pounding the ball, still hitting her spots.

It didn't matter, however. 

In the course of an hour, Williams showed that when she's on her game, she's unbeatable. And she never chokes, never shows chinks in her armor (side note: doesn't it look, sometimes, like she's actually wearing armor the way she's built?)

The day after the Azarenka match, which lasted well over two hours, Williams was back on the court taking on the surprise No. 16 seed Li Na, one of two Chinese women in the semifinals — an unprecedented feat. Li had come back to defeat the other Williams sister, Venus, in the quarterfinals. So she wasn't afraid of Serena, not intimidated by the name. And she, like Azarenka, played the match of her career, pushing the tired Williams all over the court.

But when it mattered most, Williams found that extra gear, didn't show any signs of fatigue, and dominated two tiebreaks 7-4 and 7-1.

(Side note: One of the most impressive things about Williams' most recent feat is that she also won the doubles title with Venus. This meant that on many occasions she played two matches on the same day, and by no means did she and Venus breeze to to the championship; they faced stiff competition along the way. Williams could have told Venus she needed to focus on singles, needed to narrow her outlook to matching the great Billie Jean King with her 12th major. But despite signs of fatigue in the later rounds, she stuck with the doubles and helped win that title a day prior to taking out Henin for the big trophy, the win that will receive much more attention in her bio.)

So get this — over the course of four days, Williams won three singles matches that all spanned three sets AND won two doubles matches. Not bad for a player, 28, who has played professionally for all or parts of 16 seasons and has never been considered one of the most physically fit players on the women's professional tour. 

But she found the energy again in the final, against the seasoned Henin, who won seven majors and was a thorn in Williams' side before retiring in May 2008.  Henin returned to the professional ranks last September and while not ranked, is widely considered, at 27, still one of the best to play the game. Not to mention, one of the toughest.

Henin demonstrated her resolve early Saturday morning, coming back from a set down to grab the momentum with a flurry of pinpoint ground strokes. She steamrolled through the second set and then the first game and two points of the all-or-break third set — heck, she won five straight games and 15 CONSECUTIVE points!

She had all the momentum and looked more energized, less fatigued than Williams. My cousin texted me to say, basically, the match was hers.

Williams, however, had other ideas. First she held serve, buoyed by a couple of her big serves that she always seems to come up with in needy situations. Then she broke Henin, and didn't trail the rest of the match.

How did she do it, how did she summon the energy?

"Honestly, I don't know," Williams said afterward, suggesting that she reminded herself a slew of days off, and a trip to the Super Bowl, were next on her agenda. (Note: Later she said, "I feel like I save all my energy for the final." But really? She seemed to expend a ton of it during those quarterfinal and semifinal victories.)

Whatever the case, Williams showed heart and resolve during that final set, repeatedly pumping her fist after big points as if to remind herself that she'd been there before, that there was a reason she's now 12-3 in grand slam finals. And as she'd done, at different points in the matches, to Azarenka and Li, she finally took a clear advantage over Henin, winning the last four games of the match with an array of strong groundstrokes and un-returnable serves and capitalizing on each unforced error by Henin.

And now, Williams is clearly No. 1 in women's tennis — and could still be for a while longer. Winning both the singles and doubles titles in hot Melbourne proved that. Could she make a run at the 18 majors Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert share? That number seems a long shot, but every time we've doubted Williams, thought she was done, she's proven us wrong. 

So, more than likely, we'll see another handful of majors won by Williams. But for now, all she wants to do is rest — and watch the Super Bowl.

I can't say I blame her. Her last few days had me gasping for air from my recliner.

Federer's mediocre year

ON TENNIS

Man, what a terrible year for Roger Federer.

What a fall from grace.

What happened to the best player in men's tennis?

Only one grand-slam title? Only two runner-up finishes in grand slams? And he only reached the semifinals of the other major tournament?

Geez, a career change might be in order (barber, perhaps?). How can a dude who had to travel through 18 time zones (or so) to reach Beijing possible feel good about only winning a gold medal in doubles — doubles!

(Note the severe sarcasm.)

But that's what some of the murmurs were regarding arguably the best men's tennis player of all time. At least that was the case before Federer silenced those voices with a dominating victory over Andy Murray in the U.S. Open championship match Monday evening.

If you need evidence that Federer is the Tiger Woods of tennis — you shouldn't — look no further than his 2008. When he hadn't captured one of the first three majors, the whispers started.

Forget that he was under the dark cloud of mononucleosis for most of the first half of the year. Forget that he went up against the King of Clay, Rafael Nadal, in the French Open final. Nadal's victory, his fourth consecutive French Open title and third straight title-match win over Federer, was no surprise; his straight-sets domination, though, gave people fodder with which to question Federer.

And forget that Federer's loss to Nadal in the Wimbledon finale is considered by many the greatest match of all time. Forget that a point here, a point there, and Federer would have won a record sixth consecutive title in London.

When Federer finally lost his No. 1 ranking after a record 237 consecutive weeks, he was almost forgotten. The focus shifted to the younger players, the guys whose careers were on the upswing rather than the downswing.

There is this great inclination among media members and fans to dismiss tennis players as "over the hill" once they reach a certain age. All that's needed is a little evidence, a "down year." That's what happened to Federer this year.

All I know is this: I watched Federer, 27, throughout the Open, including his beating of Murray, and he looked pretty strong on the court. He covered the baseline well, looking nearly as quick as the 23-year-old Murray. He was brilliant at the net, taking advantage of Murray's tendency to stay well behind the baseline.

Just like 26-year-old Serena Williams, Federer displayed great versatility in winning his 13th grand slam. And that will help him win a few more majors before he retires from the sport. Yes, there's no doubt that Federer — barring an injury or catastrophe — will break Pete Sampras' record of 14 grand-slam titles.

What makes Williams and Federer special is that they're able to make up for their age by bringing an all-around game to the court. While Murray was effective against Nadal because of his defense — he was able to cover the entire baseline — Federer was able to frustrate Murry by hitting solid approach shots and winning several points at the net.

I'm sure the serve-and-volley Sampras would agree that charging the net is a great way to beat youth when you're not quite as spry as you once were. Just think about it. It diminishes the angles that a player can use to whip a ground stroke past you. In Federer's easy 6-2 third set over Murray, the Scot became visibly disgusted when all his passing shots were put away by perfect volleys. It was as if there was nowhere for Murray to hit the ball.

Federer, like Williams, must have benefited from his doubles victory in Beijing. He looked better at the net in New York than I'd ever seen him. Was his one-handed backhand as nasty as a year ago? Nope. Did his serve yield as many aces? I don't have numbers, but I highly doubt it.

It didn't matter. Playing with an emotion that demonstrated just how badly he wanted a 2008 major, Federer played perhaps his easiest match of the tournament. The 7-5 second set was a tough one — punctuated by a missed call that would have given Murray a break — but the 6-2 first and third sets left no doubt who the better player was.

Unfortunately, there was no Federer-Nadal rematch in the finale, because the two have created quite a rivalry. But something tells me 2009 will be a special year for men's tennis. Anyone who expects one player to win more than two majors is kidding themselves. Those day are over — at least for now. Federer's years of winning three grand slams (2004, '06 and '07) are gone. Winning two (like in '05) would be a tall task, too.

But don't chalk this up to a declining Federer. Rather, the competition has caught up to him. That's what happens in sports. There's always an up-and-coming opponent. Federal, Nadal, No. 3 Novak Djokovic, Murray and others will beat each other up throughout 2009.

And Federer is well aware of this. During the trophy presentation, Federer noted that he is very pleased with where men's tennis is. It was a diplomatic thing to say, and also very true. The sport has gotten very competitive, and the man who remains right in the thick of the top slate of players was kissing another trophy Monday evening.

He is now the first player — ever — to win two grand slams five times in a row. No, not a bad accomplishment to be recognized for.

As CBS commentator Dick Enberg said, "Cancel those obituaries."

Serena's versatility wins her U.S. Open

ON TENNIS

Jelena Jankovic made a match of it, but there was never any doubt in my mind:

Serena Williams would win Sunday night's U.S. Open championship match. Did I anticipate the younger Williams' sister jumping up and down six times after the final point, the most excited I've ever seen her? Nope. But I was sure she'd end up with her ninth grand slam by the night's end, going two up on sister Venus.

Why was I so positive? Well, I'm no tennis expert, but Serena is clearly the best player in women's tennis today. It'd be a crime if she didn't gain the No. 1 ranking after winning the tournament(thankfully she did).

Serena played in 14 sets over two weeks.

Serena won 14 sets over two weeks.

Of course, Venus should have won a set in the sisters' quarterfinal match. Older sis blew 10 set points before Serena clandestinely stole the match in straight sets.

Which brings me to point No. 2: Venus is the second best player in the world, and the margin's as slim as Marissa from "The O.C."

Over the course of 10 seasons — since Serena won the siblings' first grand slam at the 1999 U.S. Open — the sisters have had their ups and downs. But, for the most part, their downs haven't been ability-related.

Injuries and off-the-court distractions have held them back at times. And they've been criticized by many, me included, for not always dedicating their lives to the sport they've dominated the past two majors.

One of the reasons for the skepticism, at least from me, is that I know how good — and dominant — the sisters can be. Venus' on-court prowess deserves a look, but Sunday was Serena's night, so she get the attention — for now.

When someone unfamiliar with Serena sees her on a tennis court, the following thought might creep into their mind: "Wow, with her size, there's no way she can move that well on the court. If I played her, I'd drop-shot her to her demise." They'd be as wrong as Bush was about WMDs.

Almost every time Jankovic hit a short ball, Serena hustled to reach it. And then she finished off the point with a strong backhand here, a backhand volley there. When Jankovic managed to lob the ball back, Serena slammed it toward the stands with an overhand smash. Point over.

She didn't miss a single overhand all night.

That was the difference in the match. Jankovic's ground strokes were strong. She served just as well — if not as fast — as her opponent. Jankovic is faster than Serena, especially laterally. But the 23-year-old Serbian had no net game, no versatility. Even when she hit a strong approach shot that had Serena on the run, she hesitated to approach the net. She simply didn't look comfortable when off the baseline.

And that's why Jankovic has no grand-slam titles, compared to Serena's nine.

Serena doesn't have the best net game on tour. She doesn't hit the best ground strokes on tour. But she's the strongest player, and, most importantly, she's the premier all-around player.

Will it last? That's a question I don't have an answer to. With her 27th birthday approaching on Sept. 26, she's not getting younger. But with, what her mom referred to as, a renewed dedication to the game, Serena can certainly win a few more majors.

Still, consider the whirlwind 2008 season in women's tennis: Maria Sharapova was phenomenal at the Australian Open, leading me to write a column pronouncing her the world's best player. She gained the official ranking in May when Justine Henin unexpectedly retired.

But Sharapova disappeared after that, and ended her season prior to the Olympics and U.S. Open because of a shoulder injury.

Ana Ivanovic won the French Open for her first grand slam, but no one expected the 20-year-old to take over the tour. Sure enough, the No. 1 ranking switched hands a few times throughout the summer before it ended up back in Ivanovic's possession heading into the Open.

But the young Serb suffered early exits at each of the year's final two grand slams.

In July, Venus reclaimed her Wimbledon dominance, winning her fifth title at the All England Club in an epic match verse Serena. It was the opposite of Serena's quarterfinal win in New York, with the younger sister failing to capitalize on several opportunities.

The Williams' sisters followed Venus' accomplishment by pairing up to win the doubles' title at the Olympics. This is important to note, because playing doubles has undoubtedly improved both sisters' net play. Eight years ago, they got by on sheer power. Today, their ability to play well both from the baseline and net is why they're my No. 1 and No. 2 in the world.

For now, Serena is No. 1. But Venus is a close second.

And I'm sure she's fine with that. After all, Venus was in Arthur Ashe Stadium Sunday night, applauding every single Serena overhand — and other winners.

It's been a great two months for the sisters. A return to greatness — again.

Come January and the '09 Australian Open, who knows what player will step and start thew new year with a bang Down Under? That's a long way off.

But if Serena and Venus are healthy and motivated, I'll be flipping a coin to predict my winner.

Because right now, they're on another level.

Sound familiar?

Gender differences in professional sports

Can you imagine the shock waves that would reverberate throughout the world if the following were to go down?

On a mundane Tuesday afternoon, Tiger Woods decides to put away the clubs -- forever.

And then, while every sports talk show host from Miami to Seattle is discussing Woods' shocking decision, Roger Federer puts down his competitive racket -- also for good.

The next freakin' day!

That, basically, happened this week in women's sports when golfer Annika Sorenstam (age 37) said this will be her last season one day, and the No. 1 women's tennis player in the world Justine Henin (age 25) immediately quit her sport the next day, not even waiting around to go for her fifth French Open title.

Yeah, a terrible week indeed for women's sports.

It's hard to argue against the greatness of both athletes. Sorenstam is arguably the best female golfer ever, winning 10 majors and eight player-of-the-year awards.

Henin came after many all-time greats, but she won't be forgotten. Overcoming many personal issues, she won seven grand slam titles -- which is second among current players behind Serena Williams' eight. Most impressive were her quartet of victories at Roland Garros.

So I could easily write a column lauding each woman for her great accomplishments, but I'd rather delve into why they will no longer be competing for championships.

Both women's retirements beg the question: Would Woods (age 32) and Federer (26) suddenly retire even when they know they can still compete at the highest level of their sports?

I highly doubt it. Both still have much to accomplish -- in particular, winning their sport's most majors and grand slams, respectively -- and, also, they both put their sports right at the top of their lives.

I don't know if that's the same for many female athletes, such as Sorenstam and Henin. It can't be denied that both of them could still go out and win the biggest tournaments next weekend. Sorenstam, in fact, was coming off a victory when she made the announcement.

Henin has struggled of late suffered from injuries, but it was a mere eight months ago that she won her second U.S. Open. I'm sure she could have gotten back to that pinnacle of success with hard work.

But she didn't want to. That's the simple retirement tale. She didn't have that same love for the game, and she is ready to do other things, saying, "It is my life as a woman that starts now."

While Brett Favre retired perhaps with a year or two left in the tank, it's not because he wants to do other things. Besides, he was in a much more physical, draining sport than tennis or golf.

The fact is that for many female pro athletes, sport isn't everything, doesn't mean quite as much as it does to most men.

This is very evident in tennis. If the Williams sisters put all their time and effort into the sport, they'd have at least a handful more grand slam titles than the 14 they share. With their talent, they'd both have aspirations of reaching the magical No. 18 that is number of grand slams won by all-time greats Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova.

(No, nobody's catching Margaret Court's amazing 24 grand-slam singles titles.)

But Serena and Venus love to create fashion lines and do T.V. commercials and star in Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue.

And, believe me, there is nothing wrong with any of that.

Nobody, however, will argue that those endeavors have taken away from time that could have been spent practicing and conditioning -- and that's also a possible explanation for all the injuries the sisters have sustained over the past few years.

Of course, the most glaring hurdle that female athletes often face is pregnancy. The L.A. Sparks' Lisa Leslie -- arguably the greatest female basketball player of all time -- sat out last season to have her first child. And I'm sure when Henin talks about being a woman, having a family is at the top of her priority list.

I know this is the 21st century, but stay-at-home dads are still few and far between. Most of the time, the mother is going to be taking care of the child. And that in itself can end careers.

In contrast, Woods was able to finish the U.S. Open and then see the birth of Sam Alexis Woods the next day. Of course, it would have made for a better story if he had actually won the tournament. But still not a bad few days.

Lack of money can't be the "it's time to retire" issue in golf and tennis. While the LPGA tournaments' pots are quite smaller than the PGA's, they're still pretty hefty if you do well -- and, of course, there are endorsement opportunities for players of Sorenstam's caliber. And women's tennis players make almost as much as the men. In fact, Wimbledon now has equal shares.

The only mainstream sport in which there's a glaring difference is basketball, where NBA players -- and even Europeans -- make way, way more than your average WNBA player. For many women's players to get by financially, they spend their "offseasons" competing somewhere in Europe.

(You've gotta really love the game to live on two continents each year.)

But the bottom line is, glory and records simply don't mean as much to female superstars as they do to the men. Sorenstam is excited about the life ahead of her, about the new marriage and family and delving into golf course design.

And that's great. She's doing what she's enthusiastic about. But she's also ending her competitive career five majors short of No. 1 on the all-time list, Patty Berg, who has 15.

Could you imagine Woods, in five years, saying, "You know, I'd rather start designing some stellar par-3s?" when he's three majors shy of Jack Nicklaus' record 18? No, I'd be surprised if Woods leaves the PGA Tour before he hits 50.

The truth for many female athletes is that once they hit a certain age -- which is usually in their 20s -- they become comfortable. They've got the money. They've got the trophy case. Why continue to pour everything into a game?

Thinking about it makes it impressive that Sorenstam stayed competitive for this long -- you don't hear of too many 37-year-old women still beating the tails of 19-year-olds.

So don't be shocked by what transpired in a matter of two days this week. And don't think that Sorenstam or Henin is regretting their decision. Rather, they're probably relieved, and loving the idea of beginning the next stage of their lives.

It might seem weird to us males. Heck, Julio Franco almost made it to 50 in Major League Baseball. But consider it a gender difference.

And definitely cheer the fact that we can be 100 percent certain that neither athlete injected herself with HGH to prolong her career.

Take that, Roger.

U.S. Open lives up to the hype

ON TENNIS

There were plenty of ways I could have spent my Labor Day. You know, the traditional barbecue. Or maybe a canoe trip down the Huron River.

I could have watched some dramatic golf (wayta go, Lefty!). Or enjoyed a Cubs' loss (don't all of us outside of Cubs Nation revel in their defeats?).

But, alas, I was transfixed by tennis all day. No barbecuing. No canoing. No watching golf or baseball.

Thesis statement: Tennis rules the sports-watching section of my life right now.

Why? Because it is simply the best sport being played at the moment. Jabber all you want about the drama of college football (yes, the end of the Michigan-Appalachian State game was exciting). Dissect the upcoming NFL season all you want (no, the Lions aren't going to be good). Predict the result of baseball's pennant races (yes, the Tigers are probably done).

A lot is going on. But for the next six days, the only must on my sports-watching calender is the U.S. Open.

You want drama? You saw it Monday afternoon when fiery American James Blake and German Tommy Haas engaged in a five-set battle full of spirited volleys and back-and-forth action. I sat on the edge of my futon as Haas fought off three match points — showing absolutely no nervousness with each crisp forehand or backhand — before finally dispelling Blake in a tiebreaker (think overtime is nerveracking? A play-to-seven, win-by-two ain't bad, either).

You want impeccable play? That was reserved for Monday night, when Roger Federer, the most dominant athlete I know about (yes, he's better than Tiger), took on Feliciano Lopez. I wanted to see perfection so badly that when the digital cable refused to cooperate and let CNBC work, I decided to watch the webcast on my tiny Apple laptop.

When the streaming began, Federer — miraculously — was down a set to Lopez, whom, the announcers made sure to mention, was playing the absolute best tennis of his life. But it didn't last long. After surviving a difficult second set — showing his resolve in holding off the feisty Spaniard — Federer blew him away in the third set (6-1) and won 6-4 in a never-in-doubt final set.

Federer was so good, he won 35 consecutive points on serve after falling behind 0-40 in the first game of the third set. Yes, clap your hands in applause. If it were anybody else, it would be a mind boggling feat. But it was Federer. And it was amazing (but not that surprising).

Time after time, Federer hit "how'd he do that?" backhands either up the line or cross court, stunning a net-charging Lopez. All Lopez could do each time was shake his head in disbelief. If it weren't pitch black outside, I would have scampered outside after the match to try to emulate The Man — in vain, of course.

Maybe the most overlooked great part of tennis right now is that it's the lone sport in which the outcome is based almost entirely on the participants' actions. With the replay system in place at Flushing Meadows, players — with their keen eyes — can review calls they disagree with. And usually they're right about the challenges they make. But judges get 97 percent of the calls right, and you rarely see arguments between players and judges.

Additionally, reviews take a mere 10 seconds compared to the 3 to 5 minutes a football review takes. And even many football reviews seem flawed, as I witnessed late Labor Day night after the tennis was complete.

Florida State was trailing Clemson by six points in the final seconds when the Seminoles appeared to complete a pass down the sideline with 1 or 2 seconds remaining. However, the pass was ruled incomplete and the slooooooow Clemson timekeepers let the clock expire. A 4-minute delay, which forced the overly excited Clemson students to back off the field, didn't change the mind of the officials (who must have had a late dinner date scheduled, or something).

You just don't see that kind of stuff in tennis. Especially Grand Slam tennis.

It's the best sports spectacle on TV right now. Don't even talk to me about golf (where you can see a guy hit a shot... and then see where it lands) on TV. Only bass fishing is worse, and the spelling bee is better.

Watching football on the tube is great, but it still doesn't compare to being in attendance at a game, where you can see the entire field. And commercial length during football games is inane (the Michigan fans were ready to sling-shot rocks at the man in the red hat who stood on the field during commercials the other day).

Watching baseball on TV is great... if you have something else to do simultaneously (open mail, cuddle with your honey, pet the dog). Otherwise, you come to despise the announcers, who have to come up with mundane anecdotes to fill the between-pitches time — especially if old, deliberate pitchers are on the mound.

But tennis? Well, I have zero complaints. You can see the entire court. There are only brief breaks between points. Commercial breaks aren't long enough to make some toast. And the suspense — especially during night matches, when the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd gets into it — make you feel like you're on top of the action (especially, I would surmise, if you've got one of those flat-panel TVs or whatever they're called).

Perhaps most importantly, Grand Slam tennis' appeal is its purity. There are no dark clouds surrounding the sport or its players. Just the matches. Just the sweat. Just the competition.

No steroids. No taking advantage of amateurs by universities and television networks. No dogfighting. No crooked judges. You know the stories.

In the next five days, I will watch Serena vs. Justine Part IV. I'll find out if Nadal can overcome his knee injury to set up Federer vs. Nadal Part III. Or, maybe, Roddick vs. Federer will provide for some drama before we get to that final Sunday.

Sure, there's a 99 percent chance Federer will make the final, but for some reason, that predictable outcome can't inhibit me from watching each match, each game, each point. From watching a match like Haas-Blake on Monday, because even though Blake lost, he should excite American tennis fans (he's got a lot of potential; not to mention grit).

A week from now, I'll be talking football. Lots of football. Baseball, too, will be a hot topic of conversation.

But right now, it's all about the Grand Slam tennis. I've got to enjoy it while it lasts.

Navigating the sports universe

ON EVERYTHING

Wow. I take a weekend off from the world of sports, and when I return... I am overwhelmed. I ask myself, What should I write about?

The flailing Tigers? The surging Padres? The never-say-die Phillies? The U.S. Open? Big Ten football? Michael Vick? Fantasy football? Yi Jianlian? Team USA? The WNBA playoffs?

The list goes on and on right now. The sports world is blowing up. So I came to the revelation that there's only one thing for me to do — cover it all in one bloated column.

Here goes...

Are the Tigers out of it?
As I sat watching the Tigers wallop the Yankees 16-0 Monday night, all I could think was, And now they'll probably lose to Kansas City tomorrow.

Not only did the Tigers lose to the Royals on Tuesday, they also fell to them Wednesday, getting shut out 5-0. Combine those losses with two Indians' wins, and the Tigers find themselves a whopping four and a half games behind Cleveland in the AL Central and three out in the wild card behind the Mariners and Yankees.

And no signs point to a turnaround. Detroit's starting pitching remains frustratingly inconsistent and there are too many holes in its lineup.

During baseball season, things can obviously turn around very quickly, so I'm not counting the Tigers out. But they better find a recovery medicine soon, or they'll be hitting the links come October.

The impact of a single series
Just a few days ago the Mets held a comfortable six-game lead over the Phillies in the NL Central. The Diamondbacks maintained a three-game cushion on the Padres in the NL West. The Yankees were a whopping eight games out in the AL East. And the Mariners were a mere two games behind the Angels in the AL West.

Scratch all that. It's nonsense now. The past three days showed what kind of impact a single series can have on a pennant race.

The Phillies, heading into Thursday's series finale, trailed the Mets by just three games — reviving hope in the City of Brotherly Love.

That cushion for the Diamondbacks? Well, it's gone now. They're tied with the Padres, who have all the momentum.

The Red Sox aren't feeling the New York Heat yet, but entering Thursday's matinee at Yankee Stadium, their lead was down to six games.

Meanwhile, the Mariners basically lost the division to the Angles with three consecutive losses, falling a seemingly immune five games behind.

But, then again, the teams play four more games in late September, when the exact opposite could happen.

Just goes to show how quickly momentum can shift in a competitive (or previously non-competitive) division race.

Don't forget about the tennis
With everything else going on, it's easy to forget that there's a big tennis tournament going on — namely, the U.S. Open, the final Grand Slam of the year.

But it'd be a shame to skip paying attention to the tournament simply because of the beginning of football season (the U.S. Open's men's final will be on the same Sunday as Week 1 of the NFL season). There should be plenty of drama on both sides of the tournament's draw.

On the women's side, the Williams sisters no longer can be listed as underdogs after taking two of the year's first three Grand Slams (Serena won the Australian Open and Venus won Wimbledon). It will be interesting to see how they respond to the higher expectations in Flushing Meadows.

Also, where has Maria Sharapova been? Since getting clobbered by Serena Williams in the finals in Melbourne, Sharapova has kind of gone underground, losing in the semifinals of the French Open and bowing out in the fourth round to Venus Williams athttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif Wimbledon. Last year's U.S. Open champion has some proving to do.

On the men's side the big question is, Will it be Federer-Nadal III? I'm sure that's what everybody's hoping for after the epic five-set match in the Wimbledon finals, but Nadal has never proven himself at the U.S. Open, where he has never reached the finals.

While I'd bet my saving on Federer making the finals, I wouldn't bet a fifth of my savings on Nadal doing likewise.

Then again, after looking at Nadal's half of the bracket, I don't see a player who I'd take over the Spaniard (Andy Roddick is in Federer's half).

All we can do is let the drama play out...

Are you ready for some college football?
I can't believe the college football season kicks off tonight, as in Thursday night, August 30. It has come so quickly. Before I can catch my breath, there will be a thrilling upset, a barnburner out west and a matchup of top-10 SEC teams.

Yes, things will get going very quickly, and up here in Michigan all the talk is about the Wolverines, who are thinking national championship.

If you can believe this, Michigan has failed to beat Ohio State or win a bowl game the past three years. Surely, the Wolverines seniors — led by the offensive trio of QB Chad Henne, RB Mike Hart and LT Jake Long — don't want a repeat this season.

That is a reason why I wouldn't be surprised if the Wolverines suffer an early hiccup (they've got home games against Oregon, Notre Dame and Penn state in three straight weeks).

Still, I like Michigan to come out on top in the Big Ten. The Wolverines will score a lot of points, and the defense will improve as the season progresses (remind you of a team? How about last year's Ohio State squad?). With that said, here is my predicted order of finish in the Big Ten:

1 - Michigan
2 - Ohio State
3 - Wisconsin
4 - Penn State
5 - Iowa
6 - Purdue
7 - Illinois
8 - Michigan State
9 - Indiana
10 - Minnesota
11 - Northwestern

As for the nation's top squads, everyone's talking about USC — and with good reason — but you just never know this time of year. What if John David Booty gets injured? Obviously, anything can happen.

I think a national title team has to have an experienced, savvy quarterback. You don't see many inexperienced play-callers leading their teams to national titles. Regardless of how good a team's defense is, it's going to be in a close game where the QB's going to have to make big plays. That's why I like the following teams:

USC (Booty)
Texas (Colt McCoy)
West Virginia (Pat White)
Louisville (Brian Brohm)
Michigan (Henne)
Boston College (Matt Ryan)
Hawaii (Colt Brennan)

My national title prediction?

The Mountaineers go undefeated and just barely beat out a number of one-loss teams in the BCS to face the Trojans in January.

Do I have to talk about Vick?
OK, just for a minute.

While Vick's public apology wasn't bad, this is one of those cases where his words really don't mean anything. Only his actions do.

I won't start considering forgiving Michael Vick until he begins putting some money and effort into helping pet shelters, into saving strays' lives. His words ring hollow. Especially when he throws in dozens of "you know?"s in his speech.

No, I don't know, Michael.

The contriteness was a start. Now Vick needs to be proactive.

The impact of a 3-point shooter
As the U.S. romps over unmatched opponents in the FIBA Americas tournament (although it will finally face a test against Argentina Thursday night), I can't help but think that maybe — just maybe — the Americans have finally found a cohesive unit devoid of malignant holes that can win the 2008 Olympics.

My biggest piece of evidence? A guy named Michael Redd.

With the Milwaukee Bucks' starting shooting guard, the Americans have a reliable outside shooter to take the pressure off everyone to try to drive the basket against swarming international defenses. Every time I see a USA highlight, Redd is knocking down an open 3-pointer.

With Redd — not to mention Chauncey "Mr. Big Shot" Billups and Memphis' Mike Miller — America's athletic behemoths finally have some room to roam down low because opponents can't leave him open.

I'm not predicting anything, but this U.S. team is definitely showing great potential.

The game against Argentina will tell us even more.

Signing Yi
The Milwaukee Bucks finally did what I thought they'd never do: sign their first-round draft pick, Yi Jianlian.

All it took was a trip by Bucks' management to China to talk to Yi's parents and treat them to an expansive dinner (or something like that).

Still, I believe Yi has a lot of learning to do to become a top-notch big man in the NBA. He's young. He's inexperienced. He appears soft. He might be the next Darko Milicic, meaning it will take him a few years to get used the NBA's physical style of play.

I'm not sure if he was worth the No. 6 pick in the draft, but at least the Bucks were able to sign him.

A couple months ago it appeared that might not even happen.

Did you know?
With everything that is going on in American sports right now, you may not have even heard this — unless, of course, you are a die-hard Celtics fan. Anyway, to break the news, the Celtics signed former Miami forward James Posey to a two-year contract Monday.

This may not seem like a big signing, except that it is. After unloading just about their entire team for Kevin Garnett, the Celtics were in need of solid role players. Posey is exactly the type of player they needed.

Unselfish offensively. Tough defensively. Can play large chunks of minutes. He'll be a serviceable backup for Paul Pierce and Ray Allen.

And maybe he'll get to be part of another Eastern Conference championship team...

All right, I'm out. But before I go, don't forget — it's important to get outside and enjoy the weather these waning days of summer.

Even if it seems like there's a constant barrage of sports events worth watching.