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 Roger Federer wants another U.S. Open and he wants it bad. It’s not surprising. the guy may have aged a little but he’s still got what it takes to keep opponents reeling. And having won four or five U.S. Open Championships, the exact number escapes me and I’m too lazy to look it up, Roger Federer knows how to get it done. Furthermore, he’s not afraid to roll with change, having just announced that he’s employing the services of Paul Annacone to help him be at his best for the 2010 U.S. Open.

 But this may be the most challenging U.S. Open of his career. At some point Federer may have to deal with Rafael Nadal, who trying to win a Grand slam. Or it could be Andy Roddick. Or maybe Andy Murray. Or sopme other rising young star we don’t know about. In other words there’s no shortage of competition at this U.S. Open and if Roger Federer wants another one he’ll probably have to play some of the best tennis of his career.

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 Should the NFL go to an 18 game regular season? Heck, I don’t know. It would definitely make things more interesting for about two weeks. Every NFL ticket holder gets 20 NFL tickets in his hands every year. He pays the same price for a pre-season ticket as he does for a regular season ticket. But he doesn’t get the same quality of play. He doesn’t get to see the best players. And for the most part, the average NFL fan doesn’t care as much about the pre-season as he does about the “REAL” season.

My biggest concern is whether an NFl team can truly prepare in two weeks. Should the pre-season be shortened, would those surprise players get a chance to develop? For instance, last night against the San Diego Chargers, Saints undrafted rookie Chris Ivory got plenty of playing time, did well, and broke open a 76-yard TD catch and run that was beautiful to behold. In an 18 game NFL ticket season, Ivory would probably not have been on the field and may not have made the team. Now he’s a lock. Think about it.

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 The excitement surrounding Green Bay Packers tickets just took off like an RPG. I don’t know how I missed this but the Packers offense just lambasted the defending AFC Champion Indianapolis Colts for…..59 points. You read that right, 59 points. Say what you want about this being just the pre-season but there’s not an NFL team around that can shake off 59 points and feel good about it, pre-season or no.

 With six offensive touchdowns to their credit, the Packers made the Colts look like chumps. And the problems for the Colts extend to the special teams as well, where they gave up two mors scores. For the Green Bay Packers and their fans it’s just raising the bar to another level, one where they feel they can slide under the media darling Minnesota Vikings and drive a spike into the heart of the vampire Brett Favre. The Packers are geared for a Super Bowl. They’ve got a Pro Bowl quarterback, a thieving defense, and a crop of youngsters thirsty for their first drink of glory. It all adds up to great things for Green Bay Packers tickets in 2010.

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 The New York Jets have created a monster for themselves. They’ve taken a fan base all the way to an AFC Championship with a rookie quarterback at the helm and now they’ve promised that same Jets fan base a Super Bowl. It all comes with the territory when you have Rex Ryan on board. But in the real world the New York Jets have got to produce, which means they’ve got to put points on the board. It’s something they have yet to do in the pre-season. Last night the Jets offense managed to produce 11 points against the Washington Redskins, a tally that won’t hold up in most NFL games. And it didn’t last night. Right now the problem is blamed on being a “vanilla” offense and not tipping their hand before the 2010 NFL season. But if the New York Jets continue to muddle along once the show begins, expect the fur to fly.

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 Each and every year an NFL team comes in ready to repeat as Super Bowl Champions. The New Orleans Saints are no different. But having won the Super Bowl at a pivotal moment in an NFL labor dispute, the Saints may have caught a break. Most winners of the Super Bowl are stripped of talent on both the player level and the coaching level. The New Orleans Saints lost only Scott Fujita, a capable but not extraordinary linebacker, and Mike Bell, a capable but not extraordinary running back. here’s why I think the New Orleans Saints have a good chance of getting back to the Super Bowl.

1) As indicated above, all the biggest impact players are returning.

2) Both Sean Payton and Drew Brees are remarkable leaders, and the combination of the two can’t be found anywhere else in the NFL.

3) Undrafted rookie Chris Ivory shows every sign of being better than Mike Bell and could surpass Bell’s contributions.

4) Running back Reggie Bush is healthier than he’s ever been.

5) The Saints defense could be better, but still seems to have the ability to generate takeaways.

6) Lance Moore returns to a receiving corp that has no equal in the NFL in terms of across the board depth.

7) Judging by pre-season play, the New Orleans offense is still the best in the NFL

While the Saints special teams play hasn’t been great it’s gotten better in the last pre-season game against the Chargers

9) Fullback Heath Evans returns healthy and provides Brees with another weapon and better blocking than they had for most of last season.

 The biggest impact of all will come from the leadership of the New Orleans Saints. This is a team that buys in big time when Brees and Payton speak, and has been handpicked by Payton for both talent and character. When the hard times come, and they wioll, this is an NFL team that will stick together.

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 120 or games into the regular season and the New York Yankees are leading the American League East by……one game. Whoa! is this how it’s supposed to be. Coming off their World Series win it looked to me like the Yankees were once again moving into a position of dominance. But the Tampa Bay Rays seem to have a different mindset. It doesn’t take too much of a stretch of the imagination to see the Devil Rays winning this thing outright and leaving New York to vie for a Wild Card spot. Of course you can’t count out the Boston Red Sox, who trail by a half dozen games. A strong push by either the Sox or Rays would leave New York hanging. Then again, it’s not hard to envision the Yankees coming on strong down the stretch either. What’s the conclusion? The AL East is going to get really interesting between now and October.

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 Well, here we are back in the old Major League Baseball and steroids game. I thought those of us who enjoyed our MLB tickets would be left in piece at some point but it looks like that’s not going to happen. The stupidity of ex-ML players just keeps dragging us back into the grind.

 Of course, all this hinges on some simple facts. Is Roger Clements, a seven time Cy Young Award winner guilty as charged or the victim of an overzealous prosecutor? This is still the good old USA and Clements is innocent until proven guilty. I wouldn’t put it past a hot shot lawyer to try and make a name for himself with a highly public prosecution of a revered ballplayer. The worst thing is that this won’t be resolved quickly. Barry Bonds is still waiting his say in court and it’s been almost three years. Clements time will come. In the meantime I say we try to put it past us, enjoy our baseball tickets, and let the system do it’s job.

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 Suffice to say that the 2010 NFL season could be a historic year for the New York Jets. The victim of their own success, New York must now advance all the way to the Super Bowl, and win it, to avoid the inevitable crush of criticism losing would bring. Rex Ryan has made himself a target with big predictions and boastful outbursts. I’ll say this, New York Jets tickets will provide plenty of entertainment and controversy and the Jets have as good a chance as any team in the NFL to win a Lombardi Trophy.

 Sophomre NFl quarterback Mark Sanchez will have to have a good year. His rookie season established a baseline. He’ll have to meet or beat his performance last season to be considered a winner. To help that along the Jets got a solid NFL receiver in Santonio Holmes and are taking a chance on an aging LaDainian Tomlinson to improve a running game that provides the foundation of the offense. What worries me is whether the Jets can reproduce the #1 defense of 2009. Having Revis play the holdout game won’t help. If he stays out it changes the whole chemistry of the Jets defense.  Like the rest of the NFL and the New YOrk Jets themselves, we’ll have to wait and see.

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 I’d be the first guy to tell you that I’m tired of the whole Brett Favre drama queen deal. But I’m beinning to wonder how much is his fault and how much is our fault. Favre is beinning to remind me of that aging gunfighter who keeps getting dragged back into the fight when all he wants is to retire to his ranch.

In this case it’s the desperation of Minnesota Vikings tickets holders pulling Brett Favre back into a high noon showdown with the New Orleans Saints in the NFL season opener. Of course, it’s the most hyped game of the Vikings and Saints season, a virtual repeat of the NFC Championship game that saw Favre and the Vikings lose their dream of a Super Bowl with a fourth quarter comeback killing interception. Redeeming himself for that mistake may be driving Favre, but I’m beginning to think that people just won’t let the man retire. What can you say when three teammates show up on your doorstep to beg you to return? That just ain’t right.

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 It’s certainly hard to argue with Nick Saban. This is a guy that has now taken two different college football programs to a BCS National Championship. Let’s just forget about his unfortunate stint in the NFL. Saban is now going to be enshrined as one of the best college football coaches in recent history and it may get even better for Alabama Crimson Tide fans.

Alabama has risen from the ashes and looks poised to dominate the college football scene. Having already won their first BCS National Championship under Saban, the 2010 coolege football season looks just as promising. Saban has managed to keep his coaching staff intact, and returns the nucleus of his championship team, a squad that went undefeated last season. Mark Ingram looks to be the focal point of a run heavy offense that uses the ground game to set up a functional but not amazing passing game with play action.

 Get ready for another great season with Alabama football tickets. The Tide will roll through an SEC schedule that includes LSU, Arkansas, and Florida. I don’t think there’s going to be any stopping Saban and the Crimson Tide. There may be a nailbiter or two, but we’ll be watching Alabama in another BCS National Championship Game come the end of the season.

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