PARIS - His ninth French Open title behind him, Rafael Nadal already is thinking ahead to whats next: Wimbledon. Thats why he planned to waste no time and go directly from France to Germany on Monday to get ready to play in a grass-court tuneup tournament. Nadals collection of 14 Grand Slam titles, only three shy of Roger Federers record for men, includes two championships at the All England Club. But the most recent came in 2010, and Nadals past two trips to Wimbledon were quite brief: He lost in the second round in 2012, and the first round in 2013. "I want to try to play well again in Wimbledon," the No. 1-ranked Nadal declared Sunday night after beating No. 2 Novak Djokovic 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4 in the French Open final to improve to 66-1 at the clay-court tournament. "Im healthy. Thats the most important thing, I feel." The big question about Nadal always was longevity, and whether his 6-foot-1 (1.85-meter), 188-pound (85-kilogram) body would hold up to the constant pounding from his relentless style. Well, now he is the only man with at least one Grand Slam title in 10 consecutive years. And having turned 28 last week, the Spaniard is roughly two months older than Federer was when he got his 14th major. But Nadal was slowed by a bad back during a loss in Januarys Australian Open final. Of more concern: his knees. He decided not to defend his Wimbledon title in 2009, then was sidelined for the last half of 2012 because of a problem with his left knee. "I hope my knee will have the positive feeling on grass, because I feel my knee (is) better than last year in the rest of the surfaces," Nadal said. "Grass always was a little bit harder for me after the injury." This part of the tennis schedule is unforgiving, allowing two weeks to adjust from clay to grass between the French Open and Wimbledon. That changes next year, when a third week gets added. For now, there is time to contemplate story lines that will matter when Wimbledon starts June 23. Djokovic, for example, will try to set aside his latest disappointment in Paris, coming up short again in his bid to complete a career Grand Slam. Djokovic has won six major titles — four at the Australian Open, plus one each at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open — but he has lost in the finals at three of the last four Slams. That includes a defeat at the All England Club a year ago, when Andy Murray became the first British man to win the title since Fred Perry in 1936. So Murray would be the centre of attention, anyway, and he gave everyone another reason to keep a close eye on him by hiring former womens No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo as his new coach. The fourth member of the Big Four, Federer, has lost before the quarterfinals at three of the last four Slams, a stretch that began with a second-round exit at Wimbledon. It will also be worth watching how players who had breakthroughs at the French Open follow that up. Ernests Gulbis, for one. Simona Halep, Andrea Petkovic and Garbine Muguruza, too. And then there are a couple of previous Wimbledon winners who followed very different paths in Paris. Serena Williams was the defending champion at the French Open, and departed in the second round, beaten 6-2, 6-2 by Muguruza. Williams vowed to "go home and work five times as hard to make sure I never lose again." After her last early exit at Roland Garros — in 2012s first round — she went on to win Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. Sharapova, meanwhile, earned a second French Open title and fifth major overall, overcoming a dozen double-faults in her three-set victory over Halep in the final. Now its on to Wimbledon, where Sharapova won her first Grand Slam championship at age 17 in 2004. "Even though you always remember those incredible moments of holding that trophy," Sharapova said, "you got to try to erase that from your mind because you got to create new ones." ___ Howard Fendrich covers tennis for The Associated Press. Write to him at
hfendrich@ap.org or reach him via Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich
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Eric Fisher Super Bowl Jersey . Next up, the Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Cleveland Browns in the AFC North. Baltimore Ravens In 2014, the 8-8 season that the Baltimore Ravens experienced was to be expected. http://www.officialkcchiefspro.com/Armani-watts-chiefs-jersey/. - Suspended Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Justin Blackmon has voluntarily checked into a treatment facility and seems to be doing well.
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Jordan Lucas Super Bowl Jersey . -- Packers cornerback Tramon Williams has been fined $26,250 for contact with an official, per NFL guidelines.When it comes to the most important position on the field, the Toronto Argonauts are in a very good place. Future Hall of Famer Ricky Ray is in his prime and back for a third season in double blue. The 34-year old was magnificent in 2013, throwing for just under 2,900 yards despite missing eight games, tossing an impressive 21 touchdowns against just two interceptions, completing 66 per cent of his passes in the process. He will be the starter, but the backup job is open. Zach Collaros won that battle with Trevor Harris a year ago, getting the call when Ray was injured on two separate occasions. Among the highlights for Collaros was leading the team to four consecutive road wins in as many weeks, something that had never been done before in CFL history. Collaros signed a free-agent deal in Hamilton, so the chance to claim the shotgun seat next to Ray is there for the taking. There are four pivots looking to claim that spot, although Harris may have the best chance of claiming the role. During training camp a year ago, the Argo brain trust could not decide on who should be the number two man to Ray. Collaros and Harris both showed promise, knew the playbook inside and out and had the respect of their teammates. Collaros won the job in 2013, this year head coach Scott Milanovich says its Harris job; at least for now. "Right now Trevor is going to get that first shot," said the coach. "But hes by no means number two. Hes been here for two years and hes earned the right, hes played well when hes played, so hes going to get the first shot there, but hes going to still have to earn it."Harris didnt see much game action last year, but did show potential when he got on the field. What does he have to do to guarantee hell be first off the bench if Ray cant play?"Just the same things hes been doing really," continued Milanovich. "I went back and watched him just a few weeks ago, all his plays, and what Trevor does is hes efficient with the ball, he knows the offence, he takes whats there, he moves better in the pocket than you think he does, and hes a little bit in the mould of Ricky." Excuse me? "Im not going to anoint him Ricky Ray," the coach clarified, "but hes in that mould, thats how he kinda plays the game. Im anxious to see him get a bunch of reps and see if he can take himself to the next level."Harris is also ready to show what he can do. The soon to be 28-year old is a product of Edinboro University in Pennsylvania, where he set every school passing record. He worked hard on getting stronger in the off season. He put on about a dozen pounds and now tips the scale at 220. Mentally, hes same uber-pprepared pivot.dddddddddddd"My mindset hasnt changed since the day I walked in," said Harris. "You prepare to be the starter, they put you where they feel you are (on the depth chart) and if youre told youre not good enough to make it, then so be it." So how did he try to improve himself in the off season? "Just sharpening as a whole," Harris continued. "You watch Ricky and every day hes working on his strengths and hes working harder on his weaknesses. Thats just what you have to do, you just have to continue to get better in all facets. I was trying my butt off all off season to improve my strength. I want to be able to take more hits if I need to do so, I want to work on my touch, my accuracy and my route throwing." Also in the mix to be the backup are returning players Mitchell Gale and Josh Portis, along with newcomer Casey Pachall out of TCU, a player many thought would be selected in the NFL draft. Pachall - pronounced pa-HALL - is up against stiff competition, a game with new rules, a new field, new terminology, and oh yeah, a potential work stoppage. Thats something he doesnt think will be a problem, despite any missed practices or exhibition games giving him less time to impress his potential new bosses. "I dont think its going to affect anybody around here," said the strong-armed Texan. "Of course if it did happen, we would miss a few days of learning, but thats on us to learn ourselves and each of us has to stay in their playbook and do what were asked in order to learn this offence and help this team in any way possible. How many QBs will break camp? Last year the Argos carried five, fearing that they would lose Collaros and Harris to free agency and/or the Ottawa Redblacks expansion draft. Theres no expansion draft next year, so General Manager Jim Barker doesnt have to keep as many bodies around. How many will the Argos keep? "Probably four," Barker told TSN.ca "The plan we have with Ricky is to have a battle to be two and three (on the depth chart) and the fourth guy wed like to develop. Theres four of them here who have been here, so one of those guys wont be unless the new guy (cant get the job done)." "If its close you obviously look at the guy who hasnt been here as long," continued the GM. "The guys who have been here before should be ahead." To surmise; Ray is the obvious starting quarterback. Harris is the man to beat as the backup, while Gale and Portis will each have to outperform Pachall, or one of them will be the odd man out. That leads to a lot of competition for a team without a controversy at the position. ' ' '
