Grand Slam on a wave of popular acclaim

Andy Murray finds himself up against the Prodigal Son of American tennis, and will have to cope with an unusually partisan crowd that has taken Donald Young to its heart at this US Open. And to add further spice, Murray has declared that, when he meets the 22-year-old left-hander in the fourth round, he will be out to avenge the worst defeat he suffered during the existentialist funk that he slumped into following the Australian Open. It was six months ago at California's Indian Wells Masters that the 24-year-old Scot was beaten by Young, then rated a talented wastrel fast travelling down tennis's road to perdition.Much has changed for both men since. Murray has reasserted his status as a top-four player while Young has suddenly burst through to the last 16 of his home Grand Slam on a wave of popular acclaim. The TV networks are lapping up his 'back story', that of the former wonderkid of outstanding junior achievement who was lavished with attention, wildcards and lucrative contracts before flopping when he tried to crack the big time.
There have been constant rows with the American tennis establishment, which reached a nadir in April when he posted an extraordinary rant on Twitter after failing to be awarded a wildcard to the French Open. The first sentence was brief, Cheap Jerseys ending with 'USTA' (United States Tennis Association) and beginning with a very rude verb, and went on from there. Relations have been significantly repaired since, to the point where he has climbed to 84 in the world, made the semi-finals of the recent ATP event in Washington and followed it up at a tournament which may be heralding a revival in the American game. Young has long been marked down as a potential standard bearer and role model, a Wimbledon boys' champion and the youngest junior world No 1 ever.As an African-American, comparisons were struck with the Williams sisters, and he appeared to have more potential than the last two significant black US male players, James Blake and 1996 Wimbledon finalist MaliVai Washington. Trouble was, like some others to whom sport comes easy, he did not feel he had to apply himself: 'I felt I didn't need to work as hard as other people. I guess hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard.' After contemplating retirement at various times, a light flicked on at the end of last year, when he decided to displace himself from his base in Atlanta to Los Angeles to do an off-season training block, complete with motivational visits from Pete Sampras.NFL shop I went down there for close to a month and hit with Pete a few times, went to the gym twice a day, tennis twice a day. I think that's only starting to pay off now. All the off-seasons before I spent at home just having fun.' You can see why he once excited repeated cover stories, because he has a golden left arm that allows him to play any shot from any part of the court. But whether he has the control and stamina to cause an upset is another matter altogether.
He will find Murray not just on a mission to reach the latter stages of the event but also to erase the memory of their last meeting, when he was struggling for motivation post-Melb

College football was settling into the changes

Just when college football was settling into the changes brought by last year's conference shuffling, just when the Pac-12 logo started to feel familiar, and who's a Legend and who's a Leader almost made sense, the sport appears headed for significant upheaval.The era of the super-conference might come sooner than expected.Cheap NHL Jerseys "It seems that's the direction the world is going. If it is, so be it," Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said Monday.Oklahoma president David Boren said just before the season opener the Sooners would decide this month whether to leave the Big 12 for another conference. Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott said before Saturday's Oregon-LSU game that schools have reached out to his league recently.One week into the season, Stoops and Texas coach Mack Brown didn't expect to be talking about conference re-alignment, and the future of the Big 12. Last summer, Texas and Oklahoma, along with Oklahoma State and Texas Tech, were poised to join the then-Pac-10 before the deal fell apart."At least I thought it was behind us for a year. I thought we'd at least get through the season," Stoops said Monday during the Big 12 coaches teleconference. "I guess I always felt at some point it would come back up. I'd have to say not this quick, though."Said Brown: "I thought it was over for at least 10 years. … We were told last year we could join any league in the country we wanted to if it changed. We've been told we could go independent. So there's going to be something really good for Texas at the end of this."Texas A&M kicked off the frenzy when the school formally announced its intention to leave the Big 12 last week. The Aggies are expected to apply for membership to the Southeastern Conference, perhaps as early as this week.
The Pac-12 could become the Pac-16 if Texas and Oklahoma go west and Texas Tech and Oklahoma State go along for the ride. If so, the rest of the Big 12 (Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State and Missouri) would be up for grabs.If the Big 12 dissolves, the Big East is expected to explore expansion, considering models from 12 to 16 teams. The Big Ten has said it's quite happy for the moment, after adding Nebraska. The Atlantic Coast is keeping a low profile, hoping the storm passes and the SEC doesn't come knocking.
Given all the speculation, Kansas State coach Bill Snyder said he has spoken to his team about the possible situation, telling them to focus on what's most important, which is playing well on the field, and gave them a history lesson about how the Wildcats went from the Big 6 to the Big 8 to the Big 12.

Italian baseball blogs

Italy isn’t like Latin America or the U.S., but it’s getting better,” said Bob Engle, the Mariners’ vice president of international operations. “They have structure. The World Baseball Classic has really increased interest in the sport.Replica NFL Jerseys There are young players to follow there.”Schiroli said a number of Italian baseball blogs are monitoring Liddi’s progress every day. He also said the Italian press has been “ready” to cover Liddi’s arrival to the majors.“It is difficult to say how the average sport fan feels, because in Italy you do not really have the ‘average sport fan,’ ” Schiroli said in an email last week. “They are mostly supporting one team, either in soccer or other sports.“We can take for granted that a lot of kids will start playing baseball, if their families realize you can be ‘someone’ by playing baseball. … It will move player development to the next level here. Until now, most people believed you could not develop MLB prospects in Italy.”Perhaps Liddi has already shattered that myth. And while he’s acknowledged as the best Italian-born player in the minor leagues, there are others, such as Class A left-hander Luca Panerati (Reds) and Rookie-level right-hander Andrea Pizziconi (Royals).It’s probably a stretch to call Liddi the Mariners’ sure-fire third baseman of the future, with 23-year-old Kyle Seager already in Seattle and performing well at the position. The organization would like to see Liddi cut down on his strikeouts; he fanned 170 times at Tacoma this season.But it’s doubtful that Italian baseball fans – however many there may be – will worry much about the mechanics of Liddi’s swing when they wake up to this news on Tuesday.Cheap NHL Jerseys This is an occasion for a hearty salute from Milano to Sicilia.If welterweight Matt Hughes gives the nod, Josh Koscheck will be waiting for him at the Ultimate Fighting Championship's next show."I'm a big-name fighter, so he can take that and run with it," Koscheck says. "I put it out there. I told UFC I'd do it, and if Matt Hughes is man enough, he'll step up and do it."Hughes needs a new opponent for UFC 135 after Diego Sanchez was forced out because of a broken hand with less than three weeks to go before the Sept. 24 card in Denver. Koscheck says UFC on Monday offered him the fight, but Hughes has yet to respond.