And You Thought Tennis Was Over...Here Comes Wimbledon

Wimbledon was supposed to start off today. It rained instead. It will being soon, I promise. But while it isn't really going on yet, I'd like to take a look at some of the stories that we will be looking for come the tourney's kick off.

Federer - Obviously, going for his fifth in a row at the All England Club or something like that. There's a rumor going around that he's a little beaten up after the French and he backed out of the tune up in Halle, Germany which as you can imagine, he hasn't lost at in five years. He claims to be fine...and Nadal claims he has to alter his own game something fierce to cope with the lack of top-spin he can use on grass. I look forward to seeing Roger's Five Trophy White Blazer next year.

Women - Pretty much no one cares about anything besides Maria Sharapova. This is for good reason. Though it seems that there are some lookers coming up in the world of women's tennis, Sharapova is still the perennial A-Teamer. Other than her, I guess Justine Henin-Hardenne is a big story, coming off the French, again, looking to get her first Wimbledon title, again.

British - This is one of my favorite sports stories every year. There always is a huge to-do about the "Brit in contention" or "with a shot" at Wimbledon. Remember that whole Tim Henman thing? Everyone does. No one should

Henman never had a chance of winning Wimbledon. Why? Well, Pete Sampras is a good reason, and time being another. But Henman, aside from his home field advantage, never possessed a shot at all of a championship. He never really played competitively in any of the other majors...and he never really competitively played well at Wimbledon either.

This year, this Andy Murray guy comes along again. The Brit with a shot. Oh wait, he pulled out with a hand injury. Huge news...huge. The guy didn't have a shot anyway. He doesn't even have a profile at ESPN.com. That's saying something.

I hate the whole British expectancy to compete at Wimbledon thing. At least in America, Andy Roddick has the game to get to a final match in a major...on both sides of the Atlantic. Not like anyone really cares about tennis' form of A-Rod...he and baseball's are pretty much the same. Do great on paper, can't close when it counts. Oh, and their total hot-headed toolbelts. Roddick has been linked to Mandy Moore. She's not even hot. Or cool.

Anyway. There aren't any good British tennis players. There haven't been for as long as I've been alive I'm aware of. In fact, I don't really know of any good British athletes in any sport. There are people who think golf's Adam Scott is British...he's Australian. I think it's his Burberry sponsorship...either way, no dice. Who was that British guy that beat Carl Lewis in the 100? Oh, you don't remember? Me neither.

This year, Wimbledon begins again. Don't get me wrong, it is Tennis' greatest championship. The tradition and class held at the event is unrivaled in any sport. It's fantastic. But don't get caught up in any local hype. Until someone from the neighborhoods can salvage a win somewhere else on tour, don't expect to see one around the corner from the local pub.