NEW YORK -- It was on a US Open practice court where, if you were especially intuitive, there were signs last year that Serena Williams was headed for an unhappy ending to her quest of completing the seventh calendar-year Grand Slam in the history of the game.It wasnt necessarily what she did that day, tossing and serving for well over an hour -- first from the deuce court, then from the ad and over to a different court for more of the same.It was more of what drove her there and the purposefulness with which she marched over directly after her match. Williams would later admit to being nervous during her eventual second-round victory against the 110th-ranked player in the world, a match in which she would squeak out a first-set tiebreaker 7-5, after committing eight double faults and 26 unforced errors in the opening set.She would close the match out 6-3 in the second; the match point was not accompanied by anything close to the shrieks heard that afternoon but rather utter silence, a disgusted look and an eye roll. She later characterized it as not one of my happiest moments.At that point, Williams was already tired of the questions and seemingly tired of the grind. Tired of being tired. She even all but demanded that any inquiries with the words Grand Slam in them cease. And when she lost in a semifinal shocker to Roberta Vinci, the 43rd-ranked player in the world playing her first career Slam semi, Serena blew through a four-minute news conference and left the grounds.You could hardly blame her. But back in the second round here Thursday against 27-year-old American Vania King, Williams mood was decidedly different.I think Im more relaxed, for sure, Williams said this earlier this week.While not exactly operating under the proverbial radar, Serena is trying to win just her second Slam in a row after prevailing at Wimbledon and only trying to surpass Steffi Grafs record of 22 career majors.And while King is an 87th-ranked wildcard who succumbed to Serena in their only previous meeting, 6-1, 6-0 in 56 minutes in the 2014 US Open, you suspect Williams opponent, as always, has very little to do with the outcome.While Serena is still dealing with a shoulder issue that had her going for placement rather than speed on her serves in her 6-3, 6-3 first-round win over Ekaterina Makarova, there is considerably less emotional weight on both shoulders this year.In 2015, Williams played 17 three-setters going into the Open in 10 tournaments, plus two rounds of Fed Cup; she won 16 of those three-set matches. This year, there have been five three-setters in seven tournaments, including the Olympics. She lost that third-round encounter to 20th-ranked Elina Svitolina in straight sets on Aug. 9, her last match before New York.Even with the shoulder concerns, Williams was asked, is this US Open already a more pleasant experience?I was going for something that no one has done in a really long time, she said of last year. Yeah, it didnt end wonderful for me or the way I wanted it to end. But it was all I could do. Thats all I could do.While the three-set victories were a testament to her competitive toughness, the off-court battle turned out to be a considerably tougher one. After the 2015 Open, she cited a broken heart from her loss to Vinci in addition to other injuries and subsequently announced she was withdrawing from three tournaments, including the WTA Finals.Williams coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, said the motivation just wasnt there, and it was the only sensible decision. And this year, while Serena, who is weeks short of her 35th birthday, said she would have preferred to play more coming into the final Grand Slam of the year, she is trying to be optimistic.There is nothing we can do about it, she said. You just have to make the best of every single opportunity. Thats all I can do now.Usually, thats more than enough. Cheap Custom High School Jerseys . LOUIS -- St. Wholesale Custom High School Jerseys . U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield in Manhattan agreed that lawyers on both sides could make their formal requests by Nov. 8. A hearing is scheduled for a day earlier. Jordan Siev, a lawyer for Rodriguez, wrote in a joint letter to the judge from lawyers on both sides that MLB lawyers planned to ask that the lawsuit be dismissed. http://www.customjerseyshighschool.com/ . Varlamov made 33 saves and Ryan OReilly had a goal and scored in the shootout as the Avalanche beat the New Jersey Devils 2-1 on Thursday night. Authentic Custom High School Shirts . -- When the Florida Panthers fell behind by two goals in the first period to the top team in the NHL, it appeared they were on their way to yet another loss. Custom High School Shirts . During the athletes parade, the 23-strong Ukrainian team was represented by a lone flagbearer in an apparent protest at the presence of Russian troops in Ukraines Crimean peninsula. WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- During Matt Painters 12 seasons coaching Purdue, the Boilermakers have suffered shocking home losses to Wofford, Bucknell and Gardner-Webb.With 7:08 remaining in Friday nights game against Georgia State, Purdue trailed 56-44 and was in danger of falling to 1-2 after making only two of its first 18 attempts from 3-point range.But with Caleb Swanigan finishing with 19 points and 11 rebounds, the Boilermakers (2-1) closed the game with a 20-0 run to salvage a 64-56 victory in an on-campus Cancun Challenge game.Dakota Mathias hit two 3-pointers and P.J. Thompson one during the game-closing run.I think the 3-pointers sealed the game, but our defense during the final 10 minutes of each of our past two games has been very good, Painter said. You obviously are not impressed by the position we put ourselves in, but I dont think our guys respected them as much as our coaching staff did.Center Isaas Haas added 11 points for Purdue, and Jeremy Hollowell had 15 to lead Georgia State (1-2), which also got 13 points from DMarcus Simonds.Give (Georgia State) a lot of credit, Mathias said. They are a good team. Something weve got to learn is to not take anyone lightly.Georgia State led 56-44 on a Malik Benlevi basket with 7:08 remaining, but Purdue pulled even at 56 on two Haas free throws with 3:57 remaining.Coming off an emotional 79-76 loss to national champion and No. 3 Villanova on Monday night, the Boilermakers were flat throughout most of the games first 33 minutes before salvaging a victory with tenacious defense during the final seven minutes.Georgia States active zone limited Purdue to 37.8 percent field goal shooting (17 of 45), including 5 of 22 from 3-point range and outrebounded the Boilermakers, 35-26. But Purdue outscored Georgia State 25-7 at the free throw line.When you are playing a really good teaam, youve got to take something away, Georgia State coach Ron Hunter said.dddddddddddd You look at the numbers with their inside guys, and you want to take something away from that. I thought we did a really good job to corrall Swanigan to 19 and Haaas to 11.Hollowell had 13 points and three assists in the first half to help Georgia State to a 30-27 advantage.Swanigan had 12 points and five rebounds at halftime, but no other Boilermakers scored more than four during the opening 20 minutes when taller Purdue was outrebounded, 18-15.The Boilermakers stayed close by outscoring Georgia State 10-4 from the free throw line.BIG PICTURE:Georgia State: Coach Ron Hunters team has averaged 20 victories during his five seasons at the school, and the Panthers proved again Friday night why they will be a strong candidate for an NCAA tournament berth.Purdue: While the Boilermakers finally wore Georgia State down, Purdues backcourt weaknesses were revealed, making only two of their first 18 attempts from 3-point range and failing to pound the ball inside effectively against the smaller Panthers.FOUL PLAYIn trying to contain Swanigan and Haas, Georgia States Willie Clayton, Isaiah Dennis and Malik Benlevi all fouled out before the second halfs 9:30 mark. Georgia State was called for 31 fouls while Purdue was called for 16.POLL IMPLICATIONSWhat will voters do with No. 15 Purdue after the Boilermakers played so well in Mondays loss to Villanova and then played poorly for the first 33 minutes against Georgia State before closing the game with a 20-0 run.UP NEXT:Georgia State: The Panthers will play the NJIT on Tuesday in the Cancun Challenge.Purdue: The Boilermakers head to Cancun, Mexico to play against Utah State. ' ' '