Now that the French Open 2010 is close enough to almost touch, the world starts heating up again for another Summer, and another round of great games. With Nadal, Djokovic, and Federer leading the men, and Safina, Wozniacki, and Williams for the women, the games promise to offer lots of international flair. And a very good helping of charismatic personalities on the court. Tennis draws that out of people, and seems to be a sport particularly capable of attracting very interesting personalities.

It should, too, because it is a very interesting game. What we know as tennis has its origins in the late 19th century, at least formally so, but there are many sources quoting evidence that brings it back much, much further. That’s only reasonable, when so many games played on courts can be seen as having roots with the ancient Maya , and the contemporary Maya have more than a few stories about how games evolved to the present time. There are other ancient cultures who also have similar games, from the Greeks to the Arab empires, suggesting that perhaps there really is nothing new under the sun, or that history likes to repeat itself. Or also perhaps that we are all alike in some fundamental ways.

There are many differences, too, of course, and when the French Open scores are announced, it’s apparent that the way of keeping count is something particular to this game, and the way that it’s played in the so-called Western cultures. Except even here there are questions that pose more questions than answers. Some think it has something to do with the face of the clock , where 15 and 30 are appropriate points to stop. The number 40 becomes a big question, then. Another theory poses that it comes from medieval systems of numerology, where 60 is considered to be a complete number.

That’s certainly plausible, but the systems of numerology all come from somewhere else, and the roots could be in the Arab world, Africa, the Americas, or any number of mysterious origins. At the root, then, is mystery, and there may be no end to the beginnings.

Ancient and Modern Tennis is a post from: Ten Results

It was a tough game for the Philadelphia Eagles today. They were even through the first quarter as neither they or the Dallas Cowboys scored. Then in the second quarter after the Cowboys gained their first touchdown the Eagles immediately returned it. An eye for an eye it seemed. And right after that it seemed the Eagles caught an interception very near the Cowboy’s goal line and for that instant things looked good for Philadelphia. Troy had to continue the details of this game as he reported back to his brother and cousin who had been out on a secluded fishing trip and missed a whole day of football.

Troy was a huge Eagle’s fan and though he lived in a small town upstate of Philadelphia, he frequently makes the trip to attend a game at the Lincoln Financial Field, though he continues to refer to it as Veteran’s Stadium as that was the name of the field when his grandfather took him to his first game there in 1979. It remained Veteran’s Stadium until 2003 and though it wasn’t the original stadium name, it was what it was called for almost all of Troy’s life. And even some of the staff at the hotel Philadelphia where he would stay called it the Stadium.

Fortunately his cousin and brother had already heard that the Eagles did not win the playoff game before they encountered Troy so he didn’t have to deliver the whole blow. And that refers to Troy’s passion for the team and the difficulty he would have had proclaiming the loss, not the reaction felt by his audience who were oddly indifferent to the game’s outcome. They were interested in the details of how the score became so lopsided and Troy had to continue on with the devastating second quarter, during which the Cowboys scored a total of 27 points. The second half of the game was not as gruesome as the first and neither team scored much. Ultimately, the final score was Dallas 34 and the Eagles 14. It wasn’t a shut out, or as bad as last week, but it was still bad. Troy’s cousin and his brother decided they needed to take him out that night. It was good for Troy, but didn’t help his precious Eagles much.

Philadelphia Eagles Dallas Cowboys Playoff Game is a post from: Ten Results

Professional tennis player Andy Murray was born in Glasgow, Scotland in May of 1987. He is currently 22 years old and is generally swiftrank recovery rated as number four in the world. This is quite an accomplishment for any player and Murray’s future looks as bright as last four years since he turned pro. He studied at the Schiller International School in Barcelona and has also been coached by Brad Gilbert, who is the American coach that has also worked with both Andy Roddick and Andre Agassi. He currently works with a team of outstanding experts and Miles Maclagan is serving as his primary or main coach.

In 2007, two years after turning pro, Murray received his first ranking in the players’ top ten category by the Association of Tennis Professionals. He is the second highest ranked British player following behind Fred Perry, who was a three-time Wimbledon Champion and was ranked as number one in the world for five years. Murray made his own major ranking improvement during his first year playing as a pro. In 2005 he entered the year ranked at 407 and ended it at number 64. He drew major attention that year and his impressive advancement led many to speculate about the possibilities he could achieve.

Murray’s second year as a pro player proved to be interesting and sometimes controversial. He is known to have yelled profanities at an umpire who made a call with which he completely disagreed. This occurred in April of 2006 during the Davis Cup. He received a fine of $2,500 for the incident. That same year he didn’t perform as well as was sometimes anticipated due to various pains and injuries. Murray claimed these were due to the fact that his bones had not fully matured and that he was still growing. He entered his second year of pro playing at number four and ended it with the world ranking of 17. The future remains exciting and unknown for this young and passionate player.

Andy Murray Career Swiftrank Recovery Ratings is a post from: Ten Results