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LOS ANGELES — From 2004 to 2011, Kenyon Martin played the role of enforcer behind Carmelo Anthony on the Denver Nuggets. They might not be teammates anymore, but the Martin is still coming to his longtime friend’s defense.

With Anthony’s return from a strained right groin injury nearing and so much scrutiny about whether or not he’ll be able to mesh with point guard sensation Jeremy Lin, Martin — who signed with the Clippers recently after playing in China — said the concerns of fans and media are unfounded. Anthony, as Martin sees it, will do what it takes to make it work.

"First of all man, I wanted to call in to ESPN and say something when I saw them saying [Anthony would mess it up]," Martin told SI.com. "Melo wants to win. The man is a competitor, and he wants to win. He’s as competitive as they come.

"Smart basketball player, and the best player on that team — hands down. So I don’t understand why people are questioning whether he’s selfish or not. No, the man is not selfish. The man wants to win. He’ll do whatever it takes to win. I don’t think he’ll mess nothing up. He’s going to come in and be Carmelo Anthony."

Being Carmelo Anthony was considered a good thing during most of his time in Denver, where the third pick of the 2003 draft led the Nuggets to eight straight winning seasons and playoff appearances after eight straight losing seasons before his arrival. Martin arrived in July of 2004, when he agreed to a sign-and-trade that sent him from New Jersey to Denver in large part because of Anthony’s presence.

And while they never won a championship together, there was no shortage of good times shared. They won 50-plus games the last four seasons, and reached the Western Conference finals in 2009 before falling to the Lakers in six games.

But after Martin left his Chinese Basketball Association team (Xinjiang) in late December and returned to the United States, he began to notice the anti-Anthony message coming out of Denver. Nuggets coach George Karl had routinely discussed his team’s new style and how the absence of Anthony made his job easier. The Melo-drama, as it was dubbed, clearly bothered Karl before Anthony was traded to the Knicks last February. Martin, however, said Karl’s comments went too far.

"Man, listen, George needs to keep his mouth shut, first and foremost," Martin said. "Melo don’t play there no more. So Karl shouldn’t be commenting on Melo. If George was such a great coach, then Melo would want to stay. He wouldn’t want to leave.

"If the organization was ran right, he wouldn’t want to leave, so it ain’t Melo. With Melo, not one time when he was there did he bring that in the locker room when all that stuff was going on. Not one day. Everybody made it a bigger deal than it had to be. That’s a good kid.

"They act like this kid was a cancer, like he came in there and destroyed the locker room and made everybody hate him. No, it wasn’t nothing like that man. And it bothers me for people to be talking about how he’s a selfish player and he has to defend himself."

The Nuggets, who got off to a 15-7 start but have lost seven of their last nine games, cut ties with a number of core players from their recent teams.

"They’ve got the team they wanted now," Martin said. "They got all us out of there. They didn’t offer me an extension, they traded [Anthony], J.R. [Smith] is gone [to New York]. They’ve got the team they want. So why doesn’t [Karl] worry about coaching them and leaving Melo alone — bottom line? It bothers me for them to keep harping at that."

Martin, whose Clippers fell to 19-10 on Saturday with an overtime loss to San Antonio, will be rooting for the Knicks as some sort of strange revenge.

"I just hope [Anthony] comes in and they play well," he said. "Because if not, then it’s going to be a whole other can of worms."

Dubai: The UAE national volleyball team’s new coach landed in Dubai yesterday with the objective of guiding the fortunes of the side at the 17th Asian Volleyball Championships to be hosted by Dubai in September 2013.

Grzegorz Rys from Poland was welcomed at the Dubai International Airport by officials from the UAE Volleyball Association (UAE VA) early yesterday.

He will assume charge of the national squad for a period of two years following the departure of Egyptian Ahmad Zakaria following a disappointing campaign at the Arab Volleyball Championships held at the end of October in Bahrain.

"Our mandate is very clear: as the hosts we need to put up our best performance in the Asian Championships next year," Amir Ali, president, UAE VA noted.

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Tarpon may be found fairly a lot anyplace about the Florida Keys as well as other places within the World. When fishing for tarpon on the Key West fishing charters you are going to probably fish the backcountry of Key West, the flats or about the reefs. You’ll be able to catch the smaller tarpon, about 50 lbs, within the backcountry. The Key West backcountry would be the bay plus the channels the wind through the mangroves on Key West. The flats, or shallows of Key West are found in a number of places, the top are about the Marquesas Keys. Bigger tarpon, weighing as a lot as 250 lbs., may be found within the flats of Key West and occasionally about the reefs and wrecks.

More than the last decade or so, fly fishing within the Key West backcountry and within the flats has grow to be a lot more wellliked. You can find a lot of rig setups that you can use to catch tarpon. Lately, fly fishing appears to be the most wellliked, perhaps due to the irony catching a 200 lb. fish on a fly with incredibly light tackle.

Tarpon will strike on flies. They also eat pinfish, compact crustacians, shrimp a specific sea worm referred fishing charters to as palolo worms. Tarpon prefer reside bait to cut bait. They are predators not really scavengers. The palolo worm lives within the channels and flats. They hatch in big numbers for the duration of a falling tide inside a full moon. Tarpon like palolo worms.

Red fish will bite on cut bait but know that they prefer reside bait. Commonly, reside pinfish, shrimp, mud minnows, modest mullet and menhaden shad make remarkable bait for red fish. You will find numerous Key West fishing lures and plugs which can be pretty widely used for catching red fish. You’ll be able to commonly use the identical lures you would use to catch fresh water black bass. Make an effort to use swimtails and grubs on jigs skimmed across or just below the surface. You need your bait or lure to stay a bit below the surface.

You’ll be able to bottom fish for red fish also, using cut bait. Try using a side of a mullet, croaker or a complete or half crab. Sometimes using cut bait instead of reside bait operates better. If you’re not getting any luck with reside bait, try using cut bait.

For your tackle you need to stay pretty light. A light rod using a modest reel should really be fine for many applications. Use a 15 to 20 lb. test line and a 5/0 hook on a leader. The weight you use will depend on the existing. Stronger existing calls for far more weight.

The easisest method to insure that you catch redfish is to employ a professional captain running one of the backwater Key West fishing charters . Make sure you let them know you’d like to catch some red fish or red drum fish. They can take you to the perfect spots without spending all day hunting for them and they can coach you on ways to set up your tackle.

Tarpon may be identified fairly substantially anyplace about the Florida Keys at the same time as other areas in the World. When fishing for tarpon on the Key West fishing charters you are going to in all probability fish the backcountry of Key West, the flats or about the reefs. You’ll be able to catch the smaller tarpon, about 50 lbs, in the backcountry. The Key West backcountry could be the bay and the channels the wind by way of the mangroves on Key West. The flats, or shallows of Key West Key West fishing are identified in numerous areas, the most effective are about the Marquesas Keys. Larger tarpon, weighing as substantially as 250 lbs., may be identified in the flats of Key West and occasionally about the reefs and wrecks.

More than the last decade or so, fly fishing in the Key West backcountry and in the flats has come to be progressively more preferred. There are a lot of rig setups that you can use to catch tarpon. Lately, fly fishing seems to be one of the most preferred, possibly due to the irony catching a 200 lb. fish on a fly with highly light tackle.

Tarpon will strike fishing charters on flies. They also eat pinfish, tiny crustacians, shrimp a specific sea worm referred to as palolo worms. Tarpon prefer live bait to cut bait. They’re predators not genuinely scavengers. The palolo worm lives in the channels and flats. They hatch in sizeable numbers in the course of a falling tide in a complete moon. Tarpon enjoy palolo worms.

Dubai: The smile hardly leaves her face, maybe only when she is on court, trying to out-think her opponents. She kind of reminds you of Martina Hingis, her groundstrokes a lot less brutal than most other women on tour. But she makes intelligent use of the court, as evidenced by her rise to world No. 6 in the rankings. A fan favourite wherever she goes, the significance of the WTA Fan Favourite Singles Player of the Year award is not lost on Polish No 1 Agnieszka Radwanska.

Talking to XPRESS exclusively ahead of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship that begins at The Aviation Club tennis stadium on February 20, the 2010 semi-finalist says that such awards are as important as winning titles. "It was one of the nicest things last year. I didn’t know about this thing, while people kept sending me congratulatory messages, I only found out on the internet that I won this competition. I am very happy to win something like this."

Regular to Dubai

The elder of the Radwanska sisters is no stranger to Dubai, having been a regular here and she reveals why she likes to come back again and again. "It has always been a great tournament. It has a very strong draw, so you always end up playing against the top players. It’s a lot of fun, the organisers are very caring about the players. There are great hotels and great facilities and it’s fun to be here," she said.

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Don’t they have editors over there at Sports Illustrated? You guys wrote the U.S. swept Switzerland in Davis Cup last week. Right. Switzerland, with Roger Federerer. At home and playing on clay, getting swept by the U.S.? Obviously you meant to say, “Switzerland swept U.S.” That’s what happened, right?… OK, I’m joking. But for those of us who missed it, what the heck DID happen over there?

– Brett S., Miami

• Yes, while the United States was Lin-fatuated by the Lin-credible Lin-roics of Jeremy Lin — wish list: May the next unlikely tennis sensation have a pun-able surname — tennis, too, furnished an unlikely feel-good story. The U.S. Davis Cup team ventured to Switzerland to take on Roger and The Feder-aires (i.e. the Swiss delegation) and pulled a monstrous upset, winning 5-0. On clay, no less. For all the unflattering reports about the health of U.S. tennis (some justified, some not), this is, unmistakably, a surge of good news.

What happened? Well, for one, too many members of the chattering class — I’ll be the first to raise my hand — were dismissive of the Yanks’ chances. Federer was the best player in the field, but he was not exactly girded for battle and admitted as much in the days prior. Otherwise, the U.S. matched up fairly well. And while the change has been slow in coming (pun intended), clay is no longer the American bugbear it once was.

In the first match, Mardy Fish outlasted Stan Wawrinka. Given that Fish can play on clay, had a 2-0 record against Wawrinka and is the higher-ranked player, he probably should have been favored. When he won, it enabled John Isner to play a riskier style, shooting for lines against Federer and serving uninhibitedly — which he did. Bear in mind, too, that clay suits Isner fairly well. Not exactly the most mobile player, the slow bounces give him extra time to locomote. Nevertheless, Isner’s four-set defeat of Federer was titanic — clearly the biggest victory of his career — and marked one of the great tennis upsets in recent memory.

As for the final point, the U.S. had Mike Bryan, as fine a doubles player as there’s ever been. While he wasn’t with his usual partner — his twin, Bob, a new father, was home learning Ferber techniques — Fish filled in ably and the two picked on Wawrinka. Ballgame. Lots of credit to dispense. Jim Courier distinguished himself as captain and not simply because of his attire, Canali supplanting sweats. Isner took down Federer. And for all his shortcoming in majors, Fish had the signature weekend of his career.

From the every-silver-lining-has-a-cloud bureau: The draw gets no easier for the Americans. The U.S. next faces France, in France. (We’re hearing clay in Nice; others have heard clay in the town of Pau.) Survive that and, potentially, Spain lurks. For now, though, consider this a rare moment to celebrate American tennis. And Jeremy Lin.

Fernando Gonzalez is going to retire. Here is his reason why: “I realized that I didn’t have the energy that I needed, nor am I prepared to do all I need to in order to be where I want to be,” Gonzalez said. “Given the respect tennis deserves, I have decided to step aside. Tennis has given me some incredible experiences, and I’ve met many admirable, wonderful people.” He is a classy guy, don’t you think?

– Joe Johnson, Easton, Pa.

• Glad you brought that up. Gonzo’s retirement didn’t receive nearly the attention it warranted. Tennis just got a lot less macho. Here’s what I sent a few days ago to a Chilean journalist asking for comment:

“There is a rule in American media ‘no cheering in the press box,’ designed to maintain objectivity and neutrality. But it took effort to watch Fernando Gonzalez and refrain from rooting. His aggressive style and his weapons-grade forehand were at odds with his quietly dignified personality. Together, they made for a player who was impossible not to like. As with many of his contemporaries, he had the misfortune of timing his career to that of Federer and [Rafael] Nadal. In another era, I have no doubt he wins majors and is a No. 1-ranked player. Even so, he had a stellar career both in terms of tangible achievements (Olympics, Aussie Open final) and reputation. The game is worse off in his absence.”

Wife of a sportsman blurts out a defense of her husband after being heckled by fans and every single media person jumps on her and calls her classless and advises her to just shut her mouth (Gisele, of course). A sportsman widely being celebrated as the best that ever played his sport plainly singles out his doubles partner sitting next to him after a tough loss for both of them as the reason they lost and all I see is one tiny article tucked away somewhere in cyber-wasteland saying the Fed showed a lack of class. Enough, guys! Call a spade a spade and call out Federer for the most basic demonstration of being a sore loser … yet again!

– Anand Natarajan, Dubai

• We got a lot of these last week. To get everyone up to speed, after losing in Davis Cup, Federer allegedly remarked in French: “I played well enough in doubles, but Stanislas not so much,” adding that Wawrinka “didn’t have his best match in singles.” (Those marks on Wawrinka’s back? They are from the Greyhound’s undercarriage, having been hurled under the bus.) The following day in Rotterdam, Federer claimed he had been misquoted and had even called Wawrinka to make sure there were no hard feelings. Let’s take him at his word.

Still, a trusted source who was — how to put this? — impeccably well-positioned to comment, was also surprised by Federer’s comportment last weekend, before, during and after the Davis Cup event.

What can we say here? People are complex. People are Janus-headed. Who among us is entirely good or entirely evil? Federer has made innumerable “right moves” over the course of his career and is, on balance, clearly a force of good. Forests have been felled (and the digital equivalent … megs consumed?) extolling his virtues. Rightly so, I will always contend.

He is remarkable. He is not, however, perfect. And, yes, as Anand and at least a dozen of others of you noted, he is not always the epitome of a graceful loser. When he fell to Tomas Berdych at Wimbledon in 2010, he was so curt afterward that even members of Federer’s camp quietly confided that they were surprised by his response. His remarks about Novak Djokovic’s heedless play after last year’s U.S. Open semifinal were curious at best. His assertion last month that Nadal “always plays a bit better against me than against other players” tripped up a number people, including several former top players.

Federer shouldn’t get a pass here. And he hasn’t. But I feel like this is like the behavioral equivalent of his dismal head-to-head record against Nadal. It’s unfortunate. Even many of his fans wish it weren’t so. But it’s fairly minor in the grand scheme of things. It hardly offsets all the good.

When you write “objectively more skilled champion,” with respect to Nadal and Federer, I think that you mean to say “subjectively,” no? (It’s a rhetorical question, by the way.)

– Chris Nolan, St. John’s, Newfoundland

• Even Nadal admits that, in a vacuum, Federer is the more skilled played. Of course they don’t play tennis in a vacuum — just as they don’t play Davis Cup ties on paper, as Courier told us — and thus Nadal can win the majority of his matches against Federer. But who is the more skilled champion, who has more gifts? It’s Federer. And not even Nadal would contest that.

Big win for Ryan Harrison at Davis Cup. He is obviously a future world No. 1. What are the tennis insiders saying about Mr. Harrison’s can’t-miss prospects?

– Sculley, Greenwich

• No pressure or anything, kid. First, I don’t think there’s such a thing an “obvious future No. 1.” There are just so many variables — not least the inconvenient fact that it takes just one superior player to block your ascent to the top.

But is Harrison, say, a future top-10 player? I’ll bite and say “yes.” There’s a lot to like here and for me it’s less about strokes and physique than about the way he carries himself. Unlike so many players, he’s not here for a comely girlfriend, a fast car, a seven-figure income and a good time. He’s here to win. This is such a lazy sports cliché, but I think it applies here: He seems to have that X-factor.

Have you noticed that Andy Murray’s post-Australian Open funk has catapulted the careers of three Americans? Fish in Miami ’10, Donald Young in Indian Wells ’11, Alex Bogomolov in Miami ’11.

– Cam, Burlington, Vt.

• I know Andy Murray loves the United States. But this might be exceedingly gracious of him. That’s an interesting observation but the cynic would say: 1) Fish was already a fine player. Did this really catapult him?; 2) Young backslid after that win, as his Twitter timeline would confirm; and 3) Bogomolov is no longer American.

I know you didn’t write the piece but there is no way Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario made $60 million in her career. Her WTA earnings were $16.9 million. Endorsements? Not possible.

– @TheMostRKM via twitter

• Funny, I had a similar thought. Sixty million seems awfully high. But then maybe not. Part from her prize money, AS-V had some endorsements — Reebok comes immediately to mind — and surely made decent scratch playing some exhibitions. She received WTA bonus money for playing a full “gold exempt” schedule (which, at the time, did not count toward prize money). And remember that most of her income was earned in the early 1990s. Check out the Dow Jones average on the day Bill Clinton took office and compare it to today’s. It was something like 3,300 in January 1993; today it’s nearly 13,000. Find a good hedge fund manager to invest that money 20 years ago, take advantage of tax loopholes and presto!

As for whether her parents really embezzled her money, I have no inside knowledge. I do, though, recall two anecdotes that may or may not be relevant. 1) When Sanchez-Vicario married in 2000, the lavishness of her wedding — which ended in divorce shortly thereafter — was the talk of the tennis caravan for many months. 2) I once arranged French Open tickets for a friend, a male heavily involved in the fashion industry. He later summed up the day thusly: “The men from Argentina were outrageously hot; too many women needed to work on their posture; and Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario’s mom had the most expensive handbag I had ever seen.”

For the Spanish speakers, here’s Sanchez-Vicario talking about her new book on Tuesday.

Most of the time, you have been very objective in your comments and analysis and that is a great quality you have. But, after watching the Sania Mirza/Liezel Huber replay, it is actually quite clear that the ball bounced twice, and if I were Huber, I would certainly know that. I am a 5.0 player and though I am not a professional, I play decent and I am quite knowledgeable about tennis (I am quite a crazy guy about the sport). So, your explanations seemed very evasive, blaming Mirza and Elena Vesnina for not giving the benefit of the doubt to Huber, and a very nebulous comment about lack of clarity. One thing I know is supposed to be at professional level here is umpiring, and that was not. Carlos Ramos had a good look at it and he should have been able to easily call it.

– Raghu, San Jose, Calif.

• Let’s be clear: I don’t blame Vesnina and Mirza. Not at all. They saw a double-bounce, they protested and they were ultimately proved correct. I just have a bit of a hard time calling someone a “cheater” — again, about the lowest characterization in the sports lexicon — without certitude. How many of us have been wrong about line calls without being intentionally deceitful? How many of us have inadvertently gotten the score wrong (sorry, Willie Weinbaum) only to realize it later? I can envision a situation in which Huber genuinely believed she had made a clean play.

In full disclosure, I will say this: A number of you — including a current player — wrote in expressing sentiment similar to Raghu’s. That is, Huber tried to pull a fast one and we shouldn’t be giving her a pass. I guess we can all look at the footage and make our own decisions.

I don’t want to lose sight — no pun intended — of my real point, though. Given that conclusive video existed, it was a shame that it was not made available to the four players and the official in the chair. A quick glance at the replay would have obviated this discussion and saved everyone from a lot of grief.

FWIW, I couldn’t bring myself to watch the sure-to-be shriek-fest of the women’s Aussie final between Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka, nor did my wife. We’re two avid fans who watch tennis weekly and specifically chose not to watch because of the shrieking. I’m sure we were not alone.

– Dave Kennedy, Atlanta

• Dear WTA, can you set up some kind of in-box so I can simply forward the dozens of these emails?

“Fermata”? In addition to being a fanatical tennis fan, I am a musician; however, I’m confused! More explanation, please???

– @Ncmpletetr8nrek via Twitter

• Last week I tweeted: “To me, main failings re: Davis Cup: a) the erratic schedule and b) the absence of fermata. Not an easy fix but some change is needed.”

Maybe I overplayed this one. I always thought a fermata indicated that a performer pause and hold a note for a good, long while — usually at the end of a piece — so the audience could savor the moment. What I meant is that the pacing of the Davis Cup is all wrong. There are no pauses, no moments for anticipation and appreciation. It’s just a constant grind. Spain wins the 2011 Cup in December. Then, the second weekend in February — barely two months later — the “season” starts up again.

This is an issue tennis faces on a macro level as well. Part of the success of most sports stems from a defined season. Fans are thrilled when their sport is going on. When it’s not, there’s anticipation and rumor and fantasy league drafting and combines and “hot stove” chatter. Tennis is so seldom “off,” fans have no time to miss it.

Last week’s exchange with the Internet troll was hilarious. But now I’m curious. How much hate mail do you get?

– Bill, Chicago

• I was blown away by how many of you were similarly amused and curious about my hate mail. I appreciate the kind words many of you took time to write, but, honestly, don’t worry about me. Big boy, and all that. I would simply say: 1) It comes with the territory. 2) Overall, it’s a negligible minority — in three years, I think I have blocked a grand total of two repugnant Twitter trolls, one for racism and one for a creepily hostile level of pro-Federer fandom. 3) Hearing from a few unpleasant folks is a laughably small price to pay for how many interesting/cool/delightful people I’ve been able to connect with this through this quasi-column. … Enough about me. Let’s talk about tennis. Carry on.

Enjoyed (don’t know if that’s the right word) that clip on the hit Daniel Paille took. Wow — and they all kept playing. Do you remember the time Tim Henman drilled Stefan Edberg in the head at the 1996 U.S. Open? Edberg fell and ended up lying flat on his back, more from shock, I think. Henman was very concerned, but Edberg sat up and raised his hand to say he was OK. Still, he had to sit there a few seconds. He of course still shook hands with Henman.

– Susan H, Bartlesville, Okla.

• I feel like we’re picking on Liezel Huber these days, but ever see this clip? To her credit, Huber not only shook Nadia Petrova’s hand but also eventually ended up partnering with her!

Jon, so I guess Schopenhauer was an optimist. I really appreciate reading your columns on tennis and I have done so for years, so that’s why as a Dutchman I feel like I must comment on something. Every year around this time, some belittling comment about the Rotterdam tournament appears in your column. If you look at the winner list, you’ll notice that it has as many Grand Slam champions among them as I reckon any other non-major or Masters tournament. Also, for years it has been the most visited indoor tournament in the world (more visitors than Bercy, for instance). It belongs to the ATP 500 series. So, this tournament is only good for tennis. Don’t be surprised to see Federer as this year’s winner, if he continues his fine indoor form from the fall!

– Thijs van der Vecht , Utrecht, Netherlands

• I had no idea what you were talking about. Then I did search on my desktop and, lo and behold, it seems I have made regrettably snide remarks about the Rotterdam event more than once. My apologies. As Thijs notes, it is a 500 event, but has attracted the best of the best through the years, including Federer in 2011. And although it’s been hurt by some injuries and withdrawals in recent years, it’s one of those whistle-stop events that make the ATP what it is. We owe you one, Rotterdam.

My friend and I are planning a trip to the 2013 Australian Open. Any advice on affordable hotels or packages that includes hotel and tennis tickets?

– Arleen Norman, Toronto

• I know there are a number of tennis tours out there. If anyone wants to help Arleen, I’m happy to pass on info.

• Clap of the racket to the well-regarded Jim Curley, USTA executive and longtime U.S. Open tournament director who announced his resignation last week. That’s a real loss for U.S. tennis. And in response to several of you who asked, no, this move was not precipitated by the player unhappiness during the rains at last year’s U.S. Open.

• Dave Seminara tracks down Roscoe Tanner.

• Kei Nishikori, now wearing a Tag Heuer watch, up to a career-high No.18.

• Here’s Mint’s story on Leander Paes.

• Senior and junior Martina, Monica Seles and Amelie Mauresmo at GDF SUez Open Exo (who knew that Mauresmo has a stake in the championship?).

• Rafael Nadal does the SI Swimsuit edition.

• Faizal Somji of Calgary, Alberta: “I was bored at work one day and I was perusing the website cracked.com (which is an excellent waste of time, by the way) and I happened upon this article of ways to improve your mental abilities when playing different sports. Number one on the list was grunting. Here is the article.”

• Press release: “In recognition of his immense contributions to growing the sport worldwide, Mike Davies, who currently serves as CEO of the New Haven Open at Yale presented by First Niagara, has been elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in the Class of 2012. A quiet, but influential, behind-the-scenes executive in the tennis world, Davies has had a 40+ year career in tennis promotion and administration, with achievements ranging from forging the first, highly successful television/tennis contracts and negotiating major sponsorships to introducing the colored tennis ball to the game.”

• Press release: “Electronic Arts Inc. announced that EA SPORTS™ Grand Slam® Tennis 2 is available in retail stores worldwide. The EA SPORTS Grand Slam Tennis franchise will be coming to high definition for the first time and will be available on the Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system and PlayStation®3, including support of the PlayStation® Move controller. EA SPORTS Grand Slam Tennis 2 features top past and present athletes including John McEnroe, Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal, and is the only place to play all four Grand Slam championships.”

• Interesting comments by Monica Seles on grunting and her “advice” to Azarenka and Sharapova.

• Here’s an interesting take on tennis and “stamina” from Stephanie Myles.

• This week’s unsolicited book recommendation. Josh Dean — best known in our circles as David Foster Wallace’s editor on the Federer as Religious Experience piece — has a new book: Show Dog.

• Squeezed in an Esther Vergeer appreciation at the end of the Slate podcast.

• Subhadeep of Greenville, S.C.: “Was watching The Family Stone over the weekend and found very uncanny similarity between Federer and Paul Schneider, who played Rachel McAdams’ love interest in the movie. Definitely Roger and Paul are twins separated at birth!”

• Helen of Philadelphia has long-lost triplets (think about it …) — Mariana Alves, Louise Engzell and Eva Asderaki.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK, EVERYONE!

Grouper are bottom feeders. The rig you use for bottom fishing ought to be rather heavy. You want a very good powerful rod using a reel that could take a very good tough drag and 60 to 80 lb. test line. You want a big hook, 5/0 to 10/0. You’ll prefer to put a 6 to 8 ounce egg weight on the bottom with about 2′ to 3′ of powerful steel leader 50 to 100 lb. test. For bait a very good sized pinfish or perhaps a grunt will need to do fine. Recall, bigger bait & deeper water for bigger fish, smaller bait and shallow water for smaller fish. Of course the smaller fish are easier to catch. If you are on one of the Key West fishing charters just tell them you are after grouper and they’ll set you up with the right tackle for the job.

You want to locate out which way the tide or current is running. You want to locate a place where it’s running toward the structure. If you may get a smaller rock pile away from a bigger structure that’s preferable, so the grouper can’t run for the bigger structure. Drop your line in and let it drift up real close to the structure, right in front of the fish.

When a grouper hits the bait he’ll normally hit it fairly tough and fast. He’ll try to swallow the bait almost instantly which works fishing charters in your favor. Immediately after he hits the bait he’ll duck under a rock or some structure like part of a sunken ship if he can. You ought to be positioned so that you may immediately pull him away from his refuge. Once you’ve got him out in the open you ought to be able to get him into the boat. This is not a case where you want to let him run if you may help it. He’ll run right into the rocks and chances are, you’ll never get him out.

If you’ve never been grouper fishing then do yourself a favor. Get yourself onto one of the Key West fishing charters that go out grouper fishing every day. They are able to help you set up your rig and catch that big grouper. They’ll even take care of your fishing license and make sure you are legal limits are OK for you.

Wahoo are lengthy thin fish resembling mackerel except that they are larger and more quickly. The back is blue as well as the sides are silver with blue streaks operating from back to belly. Wahoo are usually about three to 5 feet lengthy and weigh from 20 to 75 pounds. The biggest on record was over 8′ lengthy and weighed about 180 lbs. Wahoo are one of the fastest fish inside the ocean, rivaling the marlin. They’re able to swim as high as 80 mph. They’ve razor sharp teeth and they are mean. Wahoo might be discovered anywhere in tropical or subtropical waters, World wide. Getting a very white meat, wahoo are amongst the incredibly most effective tasting fish inside the sea.

Wahoo are deep water predatory fish that travel far out in the ocean. They’re usually discovered 12 miles out or additional. Wahoo come to the Gulf of Mexico to spawn about April, peak in June and are still rather plentiful till October. They’re surface hunters. Appear for grass lines or debris or something which can host bait fish. Appear for frigate birds or signs of bait fish jumping out in the water. In case you can obtain a drop off close to a reef or obtain a wreck after which obtain floating debris about, that’s a great spot for wahoo as well as other fantastic game fish. If you’re fishing for wahoo you are likely to locate them inside the exact same places that you’ll obtain mahimahi or tuna. You will fish for wahoo somewhat differently even though simply because they are so brutal and so fast.

Wahoo like reside, fast moving bait fish. They’ll eat mackerel, ballyhoo, little jacks, herrings, flying fish, spiny boxfish, butterfish, pilchers and squid. They’ll even go immediately after bonito and tuna. Wahoo don’t run in schools but where you’re Key West fishing able to obtain one particular you’re able to sometimes obtain other people just simply because they tend to be attracted to the exact same issues. When the water is murky you’re able to in some cases catch them in deep water.

You will require a fairly sturdy rod and reel. You need to use 30 to 50 lb. test line and about a 4′ 80 to 100 lb. steel leader. Do not try to use a leader made of mono, those sharp teeth will rip it to bits. Use a brief shank 10/0 or 12/0 hook. Some swear by a significantly smaller hook, as little as 4/0. A wahoo’s teeth are razor sharp and its mouth is tough. Ensure your hooks are sharp so they are able to penetrate his mouth. In case you depend on the captains operating the Key West fishing charters for ocean fishing, they’ll take care of all that, which includes the fishing licenses for you. Anglers complain about losing wahoo all of the time.

The bluefin tuna that can be located about Key West is called the atlantic bluefin tuna or the northern bluefin tuna. They may be especially large fish, typically 6′ to 8′ long, weighing a bit more than 750 lbs. They can be located anyplace within the Atlantic Ocean and can travel thousands of miles within a year.

Bluefin tuna rival swordfish and blue marlin for size and speed. They can travel more than 40 mph. so they’re perfect fighters. They are especially deep water fish and can go as deep as a thousand feet down. Bluefin tuna are rarely located closer to shore than 5 miles out. They travel in schools, commonly a hundred fish or significantly more.

For those who intend to catch a bluefin tuna with a rod and reel, recognize that this really is not a sport for the faint of heart. It is possible to invest days seeking for a school of bluefin tuna, and not come across any. Key West fishing It is possible to invest hours as well as days trying to reel one of these monsters for the boat. They are especially huge and especially strong. You’ll desire the gear, which includes the boat that can handle a war like this. You also desire to understand the laws pertaining to bluefin tuna fishing. You need a special permit to catch them. The easiest way to handle each of the wants of a quest like this really is to book a private charter on one from the Key West fishing charters and specify that you’re huge game fish, primarily bluefin tuna. They’ll be capable of set you up at the perfect time of year, using the appropriate licenses and permits and also the appropriate gear. They’ll also have the boat you need.

They come for the Gulf of Mexico to spawn in between April and June. This can be the most beneficial time of year to fish off Key West for bluefin tuna. It is possible to typically come across them off the deeper reefs and ship wrecks, about oil rigs or anyplace you can find structures in between 120′ and 300′ feet deep, primarily where bait fish may be located.

Bluefin tuna eat herring, whiting, mackerel, flying fish and mullet. They’ll also eat squid, fishing charters eels, and crabs. It is possible to attract the tuna with no cost chunks of bait not on hooks. Just throw a bunch of fish chunks out there. Watch how rapid they sink. You need your bait to mimick the no cost chunks. Frozen chunks Key West fishing will sink slower. Tuna bite fairly conveniently so it shouldn’t be too tough to convince them that its feeding time. They’ll bite on cut bait fairly readily.