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.Adidas Prophere Suomi . The 29-year-old from Port Colborne, Ont., has nothing but good things to say about former U.S. marine Liz (Girlrilla) Carmouche ahead of their co-main event Wednesday on the UFCs "Fight for the Troops" televised card in Fort Campbell, Ky. Adidas Alphabounce Suomi . The Islanders dealt Thomas Vanek to the Montreal Canadiens after less than a year on Long Island. Meanwhile, the Oilers dealt long-time sniper Ales hemsky to the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday for a fifth-round pick in 2014 and a third-rounder in 2015. http://www.nmdhalvalla.com/adidas-alphabounce-halvalla.html .Y. -- Sabres forward Drew Stafford has witnessed plenty of turmoil during his eight seasons in Buffalo. Adidas Yeezy Boost 350 V2 Suomi . Barcelona also left injured defenders Carles Puyol, Javier Mascherano and Jordi Alba out of its squad for the trip to Glasgow. That means that Marc Bartra will probably start again in the centre of the defence alongside Gerard Pique. Adidas NMD Halvalla . The Masters champion and winner of last weeks Australian PGA has a three-round total of 14-under 199 at Royal Melbourne. "Im in a really good position for tomorrow," Scott said.WACO, Texas -- Former Baylor defensive end Shawn Oakman was indicted Wednesday by a Texas grand jury on a charge of sexually assaulting a woman at his apartment earlier this year.A McLennan County grand jury returned the indictment against the 24-year-old Oakman, who finished his college eligibility in December as the Bears career leader in quarterback sacks.A woman told police that Oakman attacked her April 3 after they met at a Waco nightclub, a police affidavit says, and was treated for her injuries at a medical center, where a sexual assault examination was performed. His apartment was searched several hours after.His attorney, Michelle Tuegel, said Wednesday that Oakman maintains his innocence in the case and reiterated what Oakman told investigating officers -- that the sex was consensual. She said it was unfortunate that the case against Oakman has been lumped in with other events that are unrelated.Oakmans indictment comes as Baylor is reeling from allegations that it failed to properly handle accusations of sexual assault involving some oof its former football players.dddddddddddd. An independent review led to the departure of coach Art Briles, as well as the demotion of school President Ken Starr and resignation of Athletic Director Ian McCaw.At least three lawsuits have been brought against Baylor by women who claim the school was indifferent to or ignored their claims of sexual assault and didnt enforce federal gender discrimination protections under Title IX.The incident involving Oakman occurred just weeks before the NFL draft, when he was no longer a Baylor student. The defensive end had once been considered a top pass-rush prospect, but wasnt among the 253 players selected in the seven-round draft that went from April 28-30.Tuegel said Oakman is still hoping for the opportunity to play football somewhere. Oakman had 128 tackles and 17.5 sacks in three years at Baylor. He was suspended for the 2015 season opener for an unspecified rules violation. ' ' '