He's B-a-a-a-ck

Okay, according to this morning's headlines, it's official: David Nalbandian's 2008 tennis campaign is now underway! Nalbandian rolled - no pun intended - into the semifinals of Stockholm where he'll play Jarkko Nieminen (whose younger brother, Eminem, also advanced yesterday, reaching the quarterfinals of the Hirshey (Pa.) Challenger. (I will have an exclusive interview with Eminem Nieminen in the near future here at TW). Welcome to the party, Dave!

Although bon vivant and sometime rapper Nalbandian pretty much mailed it in most of the year (he did yeoman work in Davis Cup recently, though), we're at the stage of the year when he decides that it's time to fish or cut bait instead of just sitting around, eating sushi. Witness last year, when he posted back-to-back Masters Series victories in Madrid and Paris (counting coup on Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic along the way). Perhaps surprisingly, that feat did not quite earn Nalbandian a berth in the Tennis Masters Cup (he was an alternate, but declined to travel to Shanghai, prolly figuring he could get good Chinese food anywhere on the planet anyway). But it did land him back in the Top 10.

If Nalbandian wins Stockholm, he adds 40 points to his Race to Shanghai total; ranked no. 26, he's just 114 points behind James Blake in the hunt for the no. 8 spot at the Masters. He's certainly got a chance to qualify; hail, by my calculations, he doesn't even have to win a Masters to make it. Nalbandian is 5-4 against Nieminen (isn't he, like, 5-4 against everybody - top to bottom?) and his opponent in a potential final would be either tour rookie Kei Nishikori or Rafa-bashing, ace-clubbing Robin Soderling.

Enjoy today, tennis, and how 'bout that Texas vs. Oklahoma game (11 a.m. CT); As a long-time Sooner fan (can you be a fan without following the sport?), I've got to catch that one.

-- Pete