TORONTO -- The Rogers Cup begins with qualifying Saturday and the first round begins Monday at Uniprix Stadium in Montreal. Here are five players to watch: Serena Williams - A winner of this tournament in two of the past three years, Williams is coming off a disappointing Wimbledon loss to Alize Cornet in the round of 32. Williams has had a difficult time of late, but last years U.S. Open champion is always a threat to win, especially on hard courts. Petra Kvitova - The fourth-ranked player in the world beat Eugenie Bouchard quite handily in the Wimbledon final. Kvitova is set to be the third seed at the Rogers Cup as she hunts for her first hard-court title in 2014. Maria Sharapova - The French Open champion is trying to win her first U.S. Open since 2006. Montreal is the next step on that path, as Sharapova will be the fifth seed in a tournament she has never won. Eugenie Bouchard - Playing some of the best tennis of her life, the 20-year-old returns to her hometown with the chance to add to her already-impressive resume. Bouchard withdrew from the Citi Open in Washington, but more because she wanted to rest up for this tournament than because of injury. Caroline Wozniacki - After her breakup with golfer Rory McIlroy, Wozniacki lost her first match at the French Open but has since won a tournament, Julys Istanbul Cup. Wozniacki, the champion of this event in 2010, has come closer to winning the hard-court U.S. Open than any other Grand Slam. . Kadri was dressed in a green jersey at Thursdays practice and skated as an extra forward on the teams fourth line as the Leafs. . Gustafsson controlled the first round after getting top position on a throw, and came out much more forcefully in the second, buckling Manuwa with a Muay Thai knee, and finishing him off with strikes on the ground.
http://www.officialbullsfanstore.com/ki ... ls-jersey/. He made that dream a reality Wednesday night. Olt, who grew up in Branford, Connecticut, attended UConn and made a nearly 2 1-2 hour trek to Boston a handful of times to watch the Red Sox, belted a two-run homer, one of four hit by Cubs in a 16-9 rout that completed a three-game interleague series sweep. . -- Michael Phelps is 0 for 1 in his comeback to the pool. .Carla Fontes hadnt cut her hair since intermediate school, but her coach at Waiakea High School, Stan Haraguchi, thought the locks flowing below her waist were interfering with the sport.OKLAHOMA CITY - Thunder general manager Sam Presti is aware of coach Scott Brooks critics. An NBA Finals appearance in 2012 fueled expectations, so when San Antonio beat the Thunder in Oklahoma City this season to close out the Western Conference finals, it didnt go over well with some locals in this era of winning coaches getting fired. Naysayers also believe Brooks offensive strategy gives point guard Russell Westbrook too much freedom at the expense of MVP Kevin Durant. Presti did his best to squelch the talk on Thursday. After all, he said, the Thunder finished with the second-best record in the NBA this season, despite numerous injuries to key players. "Scotty, I think, did an excellent job," Presti said. "I understand, we all have a tendency to look at the last game and the last series. I respect it. Thats part of sports. I cant do that." Brooks took over for P.J. Carlesimo during the 2008-09 season and led the team to a 22-47 record. The team has won at least 61 per cent of its games each season since. Brooks has a 293-170 record with the Thunder. "Hes stacking successful seasons on top of each other, increasing our odds to take a really unique amount of time that weve been successful and extend it to a very, very unique amount of time," Presti said. Durant said this week that he feels Brooks is the man to keep things moving. "Thats our guy," Durant said. "Im riding with him." Brooks has praised Westbrook while often publicly pointing out his three-time All-Stars need to find a balance between shooting and passing when he attacks. Westbrook also spoke highly of Brooks this week. "Hes done a great job of having confidence in me personally," Westbrook said. "Theres times when things have gone south and hes the only one that always — regardless of what happened — always had my back. Regardless if people were saying I was doing this or doing that, I was being selfish, he always was the first person to step up and have my back and suppport me regardless of whats going on.dddddddddddd" Brooks will have plenty to work with. Durant is signed through 2015-16, and Westbrook and defensive ace Serge Ibaka are signed through 2016-17. Backup centre Steven Adams figures to be a prominent part of the future. The 20-year-old from New Zealand improved dramatically late in the regular season while Kendrick Perkins was out with an injury, then continued to get better in the playoffs. Presti sees Adams talent, but says he has work ahead. Perkins is still a solid defender, but his offensive limitations allow defences to pay more attention to Durant and Westbrook. When Presti was asked about the amnesty clause, which allows a team to waive one player without his salary counting against the cap or luxury tax, he hesitated before offering perspective. He said though Adams was solid against the Los Angeles Clippers and San Antonio, Perkins played a key role in the grueling seven-game series against Memphis. Presti said he wouldnt consider waiving or trading Perkins unless it could help the team strategically long term. Shooting guard Thabo Sefolosha is an unrestricted free agent who lost his starting job during the playoffs. Caron Butler, a mid-season pickup, is an unrestricted free agent. He had his moments, but was out of the rotation by the end of the playoffs. The team has the option to keep Hasheem Thabeet, a 7-foot-3 backup centre. Thabeet played little, even while Perkins was injured. Presti was non-committal in each case. Presti seemed uncertain what unrestricted free agent Derek Fisher will do, but said he will be successful whatever he decides. The 39-year-old guard has been connected to the New York Knicks head coaching job. "We have absolutely no reason to expect Derek to keep us informed of his plans," Presti said. "The only thing we have a right to do is to support him because hes left an impact here in a positive way." __ Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter:
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