possibly at the Los Angeles Lakers since hes a Southern California native. | Forum

Despite everything that Serena Williams has won and done, her sense of self can still fluctuate based on the outcome of a particular match. Custom Cleveland Browns Jerseys .Doesnt always seem to matter that she owns a record-tying 22 major singles titles heading into the U.S. Open, which begins Monday with a retractable roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium for the first time.Not necessarily a big deal to her that shes spent the past 3+ years entrenched at No. 1 and is the oldest woman ever to top the WTA rankings.And there are times when the 34-year-old American basically forgets that she transcends her sport and has become a cultural icon away from the tennis court.Williams is devastated when she is dealt a setback, such as last years Did that really happen?! loss to Roberta Vinci in the U.S. Open semifinals, ending an attention-grabbing, pressure-piling bid for the first calendar-year Grand Slam by anyone in more than a quarter-century. Williams acknowledges she measures herself constantly.Unfortunately, I definitely do, which I dont think is normal. I definitely feel like when I lose, I dont feel as good about myself, she said.But then I have to, like, remind myself that: `You are Serena Williams! You know? Like, `Are you kidding me? Williams continued, laughing and leaning forward. And its those moments that I have to just, like, come off and be like, `Serena, do you know what youve done? Who you are? What you continue to do, not only in tennis, (but also) off the court? Like, youre awesome. That really just shows the human side of me. Im not a robot.She is at the stage of her career where history is in the offing nearly every time a racket is in her right hand. So while the stakes are different from what they were at Flushing Meadows in 2015, Williams does have something significant to play for yet again.After equaling Steffi Graf for the most Grand Slam titles in the professional era (which dates to 1968) by winning Wimbledon last month, Williams now can break that tie by earning No. 23 in New York. Only Margaret Court owns more major singles trophies, with 24, but more than half of that total came against amateur competition.Not that Williams was immediately ready to think about topping Graf after pulling even with her at the All England Club.One thing I learned about last year is to enjoy the moment, Williams said. Im definitely going to enjoy this.Good thing, too, because not everything has gone smoothly since that most recent triumph. Slowed by a bothersome right shoulder, Williams lost in the third round of singles and first round of doubles at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics -- she was a 2012 gold medalist in both events -- and then pulled out of a hard-court tuneup event in Ohio.Williams is assured of remaining at No. 1 until the end of the U.S. Open, which will bring her current streak to 186 weeks in a row, tying another mark held by Graf. Depending on what happens in the tournament, Williams could be overtaken in the rankings by No. 2 Angelique Kerber (who beat Williams in the Australian Open final in January), No. 3 Garbine Muguruza (who beat Williams in the French Open final in June) or No. 4 Agnieszka Radwanska.Its definitely intriguing, Roger Federer said about tracking the women vying for No. 1. Its nice to see this race.Federer, who won five of his mens record 17 Grand Slam titles in New York, will be sitting out the U.S. Open for the first time since 1999 as he takes the rest of the season off to let his left knee heal. A year ago, Federer lost in the final at Flushing Meadows to Novak Djokovic. In Federers mind, the top-ranked Djokovic is the favorite this time, even though No. 2 Andy Murrays summer has been phenomenal.One reason: Federer thinks the installation of the new $150 million roof at the main arena will limit the wind even when its open, which will help Djokovic.Not too long ago, Djokovic appeared to be close to unbeatable no matter the surface or conditions, and a buzz was building about whether he could chase a true Grand Slam. But he exited Wimbledon in the third round, then the Olympics in the first round, while Murray won both of those titles.Novak, obviously, the last two years, really, has played amazing tennis. His consistency -- what Ive done for, like, the last four months, hes been doing for, like, the whole year, Murray said. So I need to try and keep that going, and the U.S. Open is always the next big goal.---AP Sports Writer Rachel Cohen contributed to this report.---Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich Custom Toronto Raptors Jerseys . Wall made the comment in a speech to a Regina business crowd that included Lesnar. The U.S. wrestler and retired mixed martial artist says he was visiting his brothers farm in Saskatchewan and decided he wanted to hear what the premier had to say. Custom Uruguay Soccer Jerseys . -- Claudio Bieler hadnt scored since early September, and not from the run of play since mid-July. https:///...xico-soccer-jerseys/ . The Vikings announced Thursday that Priefer will be one of seven holdovers from the previous staff, along with offensive line coach Jeff Davidson, wide receivers coach George Stewart and others. Norv Turner will mark his 30th year of coaching in the NFL as the offensive co-ordinator, as widely reported for weeks, and George Edwards will be the defensive co-ordinator. DeMar DeRozan turned the biggest year of his career into a very big contract.The All-Star shooting guard is staying with the Toronto Raptors and agreed early Friday on the basic framework of a five-year deal, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press. DeRozan and the Raptors still had some financial terms to complete but the sides agreed that he would be staying put, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the talks were ongoing.USA Today Sports first reported that DeRozan and the Raptors had reached a deal.DeRozan can sign on or after July 7, when the leagues offseason moratorium on player movement expires. He averaged a career-best 23.5 points this past season for the Raptors, becoming only the third Toronto player to ever score at such a pace -- joining Vince Carter and Chris Bosh.Keeping DeRozan was an absolute top priority for the Raptors. Hes wildly popular in Toronto and has been throughout each of his first seven pro seasons, but probably never more than he is now. The Raptors are coming off the best season in team history, one where they won 56 games and were one of the NBAs last four teams left in the postseason. Custom Barcelona Jerseys. .DeRozan and Kyle Lowry -- not just his Toronto teammate, but also an Olympic teammate for USA Basketball this summer in Rio -- have become one of the leagues top backcourts. And despite playing with an injured thumb, DeRozan came up huge in several games for the Raptors in this years playoffs. He scored 28 or more points six times in the postseason; the Raptors went 6-0 in those games.It was widely speculated that DeRozan would look elsewhere, possibly at the Los Angeles Lakers since hes a Southern California native. But even on the night when Toronto was eliminated from the Eastern Conference finals by the eventual NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers, DeRozan suggested that he would not be going anywhere.Were looking forward to it, DeRozan said when asked about the Raptors future. ' ' '