ONCE UPON A TIME ON THE COURT by ST

Quick, name the 5 best American tennis players. Not ever, now. Okay, how about naming 5 American tennis players. Hate to be that guy, but it doesn't seem all that long ago the U.S pumped out studs and studettes. With today's loss by Serena Williams at the French Open, no more Yanks are playing and they're still in the quarter finals. Venus and Serena are the only US Players ranked in the top 35. Melanie Oudin, the teen who made a run to last year's U.S Open quarters is #37. On the men's side, it's all about Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal who obviously are not American. Andy Roddick is the highest ranked guy from our country at #8, but let's face it, his biggest claim to fame is being married to that Goddess Brooklyn Decker. 2 other Yanks are in the top 25, Sam Querrey and Tommy Haas, neither exactly household names. I should point out that Roddick has won a major, the 2003 US Open. While I do miss the days of Jimmy Conners versus John McEnroe I'll settle for any rivalry that adds a bit of charisma to a sport sorely lacking it in most cases.
NBA finals begin tomorrow(Thur) night. Looks like that knee draining procedure that LA big Andrew Bynam went through didn't produce the results he'd hoped. Phil Jackson said they're "concerned" but not "troubled". He will need surgery after this series with Boston and is going to have to gut it out because in a physical series like this, he's important. I still like the Lakers to win from a hoops point of view. I just feel the Celtic age will cost them a game or two and Kobe will handle a game himself and that should be enough.
We have tickets for the Wednesday & Thursday sessions for next week's NCAA outdoor championships at Hayward Field. If you want in, drop me an e-mail and be part of the drawing. If you want a shot at our grand prize, a package for all 4 days, e-mail me the correct answer to this. My e-mail is stevetannen@live.com
The Texas A & M men won last year's event at Fayetteville. Oregon ended in a tie for 2nd with Florida and Florida State. Including the Ducks, how many Pac 10 teams landed in the top 20?