Yep, the French Open in all its clay court glory is here again.

Dubbed as the most challenging of all the grand slams, the 2010 French Open tennis tournament is sure to stay true to the rigors and tough competitiveness so typical of the second of the annual tennis majors.

This year’s French Open will be held from May 24^th to June 7^th and this year’s tournament is sure to unleash some of the most riveting grand slam tennis action you’d ever see. Thousands are expected to arrive at Roland Garros during the two weeks of the competition in hopes of catching a glimpse of the best tennis players in the world.

Leading the pack for the men’s favorites is the ‘king of clay,’ Rafael Nadal who seem to come up with his best tennis every time he plays on that clay surface.

He etched his name into French Open history after matching the record of the well-known Bjorn Borg and the 1920’s heroine of the Open, Suzanne Lenglen, with four consecutive French Open titles.

Can Lionel Messi power Argentina towards World Cup glory?

You read it, one of the most talented footballers in the world, that being Lionel Messi, will be leading Argentina in the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

That’s probably why many sports bettors are picking Argentina to win Group B, especially with the talent that they have.

Argentina is only the fourth of five qualifiers from South America, ahead of Uruguay, but behind Brazil, Chile and Paraguay.

Their main man, Lionel Messi, won the 2009 Ballon d’Or and was awarded the European Footballer of the Year.

Messi is the diamond that the whole world recognizes, while Sergio Aguero, another star Argentina can rely on the pitch, is another youngster on the rise. They also have Carlos Tevez, a skillful, hard-working striker.

In midfield, Javier Mascherano gives Argentina steel, while Juan Sebastián Veron is a good distributor of the ball.

Last year, Argentina played 13 matches, won eight of them and lost five. This is not the kind of record a country with Argentina’s proud history finds acceptable, especially when included among those results is a 6-1 thrashing at the hands of 56th ranked Bolivia.

Can they finally add some hardware other than that cup they won six years ago in Euro 2004?

Team Greece, who topped Euro 2004, finished second in European Group Two behind Switzerland, but beat Ukraine 1-0 in a two-leg playoff to secure their place in the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

The only score Greece had came in the away game in Donetsk.

That is the thing about this Greek team, they’re not flashy, but they have the mental fortitude to grind out 1-0 wins, no matter where they play.

The team’s appearance in the 2010 FIFA World Cup would only be t he second time in their country’s history that they have reached the World Cup finals.

Previously, in the USA in 1994, they exited in the first round after losing all three of their group games.

Their ambition will be much higher this time around.

During 2009, Greece played 10 internationals, winning four of them, losing twice, and drawing four.

Striker Theofanis Gekas is a key for the Greek national team. His 10-goal return was the highest tally by a player in European qualifying.

Yep, the French Open is here and if you’re a betting man, you should take note about these bitches you shouldn’t be betting against on May.

In case you didn’t get that, it’s that time of the Grand Slam tennis season when the best tennis players in the world head to Roland Garros for the 2010 French Open tennis tournament.

And as far as the women’s side of things go, Justine Henin is the clear cut favorite to win this tournament. Henin’s presence in the draw is clearly pushing the odds long for even the second favorite and there is good reason for that.

Henin made the finals of the recent Australian Open and, despite her long layoff, she is a force on tour even at the Grand Slam level. Her best Grand Slam has always been the French Open as she won four titles at Roland Garros (2003, 2005, 2006, and 2007) before she ‘retired’ from tennis just prior to the 2008 French Open.

Because after winning the first race of the season in Bahrain, the Spaniard hasn’t really won shit in Asia.

And now that the European leg of the 2010 F1 season is about to kick off in his home country of Spain, Fernando Alonso is looking forward to having a series of strong finishes in the next few races, claiming that this leg is where the race for the title truly begins.

”The Championship always starts in the first race, but it’s true that it’s just a race to confirm the good sensations you’ve had during testing. But it’s true that in Europe it is time to show who is going to fight for the title and who isn’t,” Fernando Alonso said in an interview.

Will hosts South Africa dominate the World Cup?

That’s probably why they are one of the sentimental favorites to win the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

As hosts, they qualified automatically marking their 3^rd appearance overall after making it to France in 1998 and then again in 2002 after being banned from entering qualification from 1966 until 1994.

Despite the automatic qualification, South Africa played World Cup qualifiers mainly because World Cup qualifiers also serve as qualifying for the African Nations Cup.

Unfortunately, South Africa was eliminated from the qualifying. They are, in some way, playing in a World Cup even though they lost in the qualifying stage.

South Africa also played in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. They played well, advancing from the group stage before being eliminated by the No.1 ranked team, Spain, in overtime, 3-2.

South Africa plays Mexico, Uruguay, and France. All three will be tough matches. France is ranked in the top 10, while Mexico and Uruguay are in the top 20. South Africa is ranked 88th.

USA to upset England in the World Cup again?

The 2010 FIFA World Cup is almost here and South Africa is ready to take over the world as they play hosts to the biggest football tournament in the world.

As always, countries participating in the 19^th FIFA World Cup are all looking forward for a fantastic campaign. England for one, is a country still trying to dominate the sport they introduced into the world. The United States on the other hand, is still trying to stay respectable in this sport since, let’s face it, they are still not known as that good of footballers.

And as stated, England and the United States will meet on June 12. This will be their first meeting since the Americans earned a shocking win over England back in the 1950 tournament in Brazil. And since the Americans did beat England the last time they faced on this stage, you can’t blame them for being confident coming into the tournament.

”American fans are thinking we should advance out of the group, and I like that. I like how they’re thinking,” United States team captain Carlos Bocanegra said. ”We feel confident as well that this is a group we can get out of.”

Can Mexico really win the World Cup?

Mexico qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup by finishing second in CONCACAF qualifying, just one point behind the United States. They were undefeated at home but inconsistent on the road. They won impressively in Costa Rica 3-0 but fell in Honduras 1-3.

In the Gold Cup, Mexico was impressive as they advanced rather easily through the group stage and defeated Haiti 4-0 in the second round. In the semifinal, they drew with a tough Costa Rican team but advanced on penalties. In a memorable final, Mexico crushed the host United States 5-0. Though the United States did not field their best players, it was still an impressive victory.

Coming to the World Cup in South Africa, Mexico is the eight-time and current CONCACAF Gold Cup champions. They also won a FIFA Confederations Cup in 1999. The Mexican team is currently ranked No.17 in the world. They have a long, storied soccer tradition and have the nickname ”El Tri.”

One of the key players team Mexico has is Giovani dos Santos. Dos Santos is an intriguing player that has been hyped for years, and his first World Cup may be the time he finally breaks out as a legitimate star. Reared in Barcelona’s youth division, he played for the senior team at the tender age of 18.

Mexico is coached by Javier Aguirre, who has been a calming presence for the team. Mexico can attack from the wings and from set pieces and can be quite dangerous offensively. The 5-3-2 formation has some tradition in Mexico and Aguirre has been willing to use this formation as it accentuates the wing play.

That’s almost half of the season.

When a guy gets suspended from the NFL with still a few more months left before the 2010 NFL football season begins, you can’t help but wonder what moves will that guy’s team make to save themselves from limping out of the gates come September.

That is the dilemma the Pittsburgh Steelers are in these coming months as they prepare to start their campaign this coming season without their prized quarterback who already led them to two Super Bowl titles in four years.

That’s right, the NFL finally suspended Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger for six games after rape allegations were thrown at the young NFL star. In a letter to Roethlisberger, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said that Roethlisberger must adhere to any counseling or treatment that is recommended by the professional evaluators to help him make better decisions and avoid situations that can cause legal or other problems. A professional behavioral evaluation is mandatory for anyone that has violated the personal-conduct policy.

It seems like the racing public can’t get enough of Danica Patrick these days.

After hinting at a move to Formula One and then deciding against it before eventually moving on from the IndyCar series to NASCAR in the 2010 NASCAR season, Danica Patrick isn’t done from engaging herself to territories that are somewhat new to her.

You see, it was just a few days ago when Danica Patrick made yet another experimenting of her own, this time though, she is trying her hand at video games. Patrick will voice a video game character in the racing game ”Blur,” which Activision is slated to release on May 25.

According to the game’s developers, ”Blur” is part ”The Fast and The Furious” and part ”Speed Racer” and will let players race more than 50 licensed cars that will range from the road cars like the Ford Focus to the more exotic ones like the Lotus Exige Cup 260.

It really looks like a solid racing game on paper but unfortunately for the GoDaddy.com girl, Patrick doesn’t know squat about racing in video games.

When asked what ”Blur” is all about, Patrick said, ”It’s not just cars against cars. It’s cars against cars with the ability to pick up these things called power-ups. They are all kinds of different things, you can protect yourself or fix your car, shoot at other cars, you can blow them up or hit the boost.”

Apparently, the idea of power-ups are somewhat new to the female NASCAR driver, and so is playing multiplayer online, if you can believe that.