18-year old Japanese professional tennis player Kei Nishikori pulled off a huge upset Sunday at the International Tennis Championships in Delray Beach, Florida, when he knocked off world #12 James Blake in the tournament finals.  The win capped off a huge run for the young Asian, who had to win eight matches in nine days to take home his first career title.

By winning this match, Nishikori, who was ranked #244 and had only played six tournaments as a professional, reached two major milestones.  He became the youngest player to win an ATP level tournament since Lleyton Hewitt won the Adelaide International as a 16-year old in 1998.  He also becomes only the second Japanese player to win an ATP tournament.  The other was Shuzo Matsuoka, a journeyman player who won a title at Seoul in 1992.  Coincidentally, Matsuoka was known as the "King of Qualifying", for his ability to survive the qualifying rounds to make the main draw more often than just about any player in the late 80's-early 90's.

But before Nishikori gets too excited, he's got a long way to go before he reaches the status of Matsuoka.  You see, Shuzo, whose ranking peaked at #46, became such a hero in Japan that Nintendo created one of only two customized Mii's (avatars for the Nintendo Wii) for him.

That's Shuzo on the right.  Yes, Japan gets that excited about having a top 50 world athlete.  It's the equivalent of EA Sports putting Austin Kearns on the front of MLB '08.  Still, it's something to aspire to for the young Nishikori.  Who knows, he could become bigger than Randy Bass.

This Saturday the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in college basketball will square off when the Memphis Tigers take on the Tennessee Volunteers. In the latest polls the Tigers remained the unanimous No. 1 team in the country getting all the first place votes, even after a scare from UAB this past weekend. The Tigers are the only undefeated team in the country boasting a record of 25-0. The Vols jumped up to No. 2 in the land after beating Arkansas and Georgia last week and getting some help from then No. 2 Duke losing to Wake Forest over the weekend. Tennessee jumped to No. 2 with a 23-2 record  and a record of 10-1 in the SEC. The campuses of Memphis and Tennessee are separated by 383 miles.

This will be the first time No. 1 will take on No. 2 since February 25th of least year when No. 1 Ohio State defeated No. 2 Wisconsin 49-48. Before the two teams meet on Saturday at 9PM on ESPN, the Tigers will have to travel to play 15-9 Tulane and the Vols will play host to an Auburn team that has lost five of their last six. Chances are both teams will square off coming off wins this week.

Should the Vols defeat the Tigers, they could end up knocking the Tigers out of the No. 1 ranking, a spot they've held for the last five weeks. Not only is this a big game in the state of Tennessee, its a huge game in the eyes of those that will set up the brackets come tournament time in March. If Memphis pulls out a victory they should coast to an undefeated season playing in a weak Conference USA. Should that happen they would surely be the overall No. 1 seed in the tourney. If Tennessee can pull out the victory, they could find themselves unseating the Tigers and if they can win out, they could take the spot as the overall No. 1 seed in the tourney.

There's still a lot of basketball to be played and a lot can happen between now and the time March Madness rolls around. This Saturday's game between the Tigers and Vols is one of those games that will get you amped up for the upcoming tournament. If it doesn't, you need to check your pulse!

The ninth round is complete and it looks as if most owners favored the veterans. The majority of players in this group have been around for a few years including a couple who hope to bounce back in 2008. Take a look:

ROUND 1 | ROUND 2 | ROUND 3 | ROUND 4 | ROUND 5 | ROUND 6 | ROUND 7
ROUND 8

97) CLASGENS - Matt Cain, SP, SF

98) SIMONS - Ted Lilly, SP, CHC

99) MURDICO - Bobby Jenks, RP, CHW

100) HUMBERT #1 - Adrian Beltre, 3B, SEA

101) FISCHER - Andruw Jones, OF, LAD

102) MUEHLENKAMP - Jeff Franceour, OF, ATL

103) DINSMORE - Kenji Johjima, C, SEA

104) BARTEL - Mariano Rivera, RP, NYY

105) BOLTON - Jason Bay, OF, PIT 

106) WETZEL - Gary Sheffield, OF, DET

107) POLKING - Javier Vazquez, SP, CHW

108) HUMBERT #2 - Brett Myers, SP, PHI

The Washinton Nationals announced today that they have agreed with Bret Boone on a minor league contract. The former Reds secondbaseman last played for the Twins in 2005. However, he should feel right at home at the Nationals Spring Training camp - or Little Cincy. Jim Bowden has put together quite a list of former members of the Cincinnati club he used to run. The list includes Bret's brother Aaron, Ryan Wagner, Felipe Lopez, Dmitri Young, Austin Kearns, Wily Mo Pena, Rob Bell and Chad Moeller. And don't forget about Bob Boone and Barry Larkin who serve as assistants to Bowden.

Boone could have a tough time making one of the worst team's in baseball. The Nationals have a slew of middle infielders. And although he was not mentioned in The Mitchell Report, perhaps he should find what helped him smack all of those Home Runs in his return to Seattle.

This from the Bengals to the GetSports Desk. . .

The Bengals today designated OL Stacy Andrews as the team’s franchise player, under terms of the NFL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement.

The franchise tag gives Andrews the option to play for Cincinnati in 2008 for a salary equal to the average of the top five offensive linemen in the NFL for the previous season (2007 in this case).

Andrews will be a fifth-year NFL player in 2008. He is presently unsigned for ’08, and he will become an unrestricted free agent on Feb. 29 if he does not reach a contract agreement with the Bengals prior to that date. The franchise-player designation means that the Bengals could retain Andrews by matching any offer sheet he would sign from another team, and that if the Bengals declined to match a signed offer, the team signing Andrews would be required to give the Bengals its first-round choices in the 2008 and 2009 NFL Drafts.

"Stacy has been a productive young player for us," said Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis." He has shown the flexibility to start and play well at a number of different positions on our line. This move helps us keep our core players together, and it gives us an opportunity to continue negotiating for a longer-term contract with Stacy."

Andrews played in every Bengals game last season, with 14 starts. He started Games 1-3 at LG, but later replaced injured Willie Anderson at ROT, starting at ROT in Games 5 and 7-16. He was a key contributor to the team’s record-low total of 17 sacks allowed. The Bengals ranked second in the NFL in fewest sacks allowed, one off the pace of league leader New Orleans.

"The franchise option is designed to help a team retain the rights to a top player," said Bengals vice-president Troy Blackburn. "The players’ union supports it because it guarantees that player a salary commensurate with what he has accomplished."

The Collective Bargaining Agreement permits a new agreement between Andrews and the Bengals to be reached at any time prior to July 15.

ANALYSIS: This is a HUGE statement about a player that only managed to start 17 games in his career, but he would made much more money on the free agent market. The tag means that Bengals will pay Andrews $7.455 for the upcoming season. He was a project coming out of Ole Miss in 2004, but Andrews has developed into building block who can play both guard and right tackle.

This means that the team will have to re-sign Justin Smith or risk losing him if a deal can't be reached.  It could also signify the end for Willie Anderson. This was a must make move for the Bengals and last off-season's poor decision to let guard Eric Steinbach walk.

On Saturday Brett Myers of the Phillies set up an incredible prank on Kyle Kendrick. He had the manager, assistant general manager and the media all involved in the ruse. And it was all caught on video. Check it out:

It is very unlikely that even a rookie fantasy baseball owner needs to be told much about Jorge Posada. The 13-year veteran has appeared in five All Star games, starting two of those, and has played in five World Series' winning three of those. But last season was an odd one for 'Georgie'. 

Posada entered 2007 with a career .267 batting average. His best average in a single season was .287 in 2000. But he got off to a hot start last year, including a .394 average in the month of May. He managed to avoid a second half slump - something that is usually a given for catchers - and actually batted better after the break. With a .395 clip in September Posada finished the year with an amazing .338 average.

In the off-season, Posada briefly flirted with the free agent market before siging a four-year contract with the Yankees. That means he will be able to finish his career in pinstripes and walk away from Yankee Stadium as the third best catcher to ever play there. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. What is he going to do in 2008?

In the last four years Posada has averaged 21 Home Runs and 84 RBI. Those numbers did not spike last year despite the high average. He actually had three fewer HRs and three fewer RBI in 2007 compared to 2006. One other number that did jump for him was his 91 runs scored. In the three previous seasons he scored an average of just 68 times.  The big question is, will he bat near .338 again? The obvious answer is no. It is most likely that Posada will finish near, or even below, his career average of .277 - yes, last year's success increased it 10 points. Just call 2007 a fluke. One he can look back on in his old age and brag to his golfing buddies about - "Hey! I batted .338 for the Yankees ya know!" So, if he finishes 2008 with a .270 average, 20 HRs and 70 to 80 RBI and runs, he would have nothing to be ashamed of. 

In some fantasy drafts this spring there will likely be an owner or two that looks at that average and picks Posada just after, or even before, Joe Mauer. That would be a mistake. Mauer has youth on his side and should continue to improve. Posada will continue to take more days off, especially in the heat of the summer, and his numbers will fade. In the GSI Mock Draft he was chosen at the top of the eighth round a few picks after Brian McCann and a few rounds after Mauer. That seems just about right.