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The 2008 tennis season is going strong and so far there have been only a couple of surprises. Justine Henin shocked the tennis world when she announced her retirement, two weeks before the French Open. The Tennis Channel had excellent coverage of this tournament and of the Henin surprise. And it was no surprise that the men’s singles winner was once again Rafael Nadal. He won four straight in a row, again keeping Roger Federer from securing a career Grand Slam.

And currently the Wimbledon tournament is going on and Federer is going strong. I think that it will be Federer versus Nadal for the men’s singles and I think that Roger will win again. But I predict that he will lose next season if he doesn’t retire before then. I think he is only still playing because he wants to win the French Open first. Nadal will defend his title next year and I hope that he loses to Federer and I hope that Federer goes out on top.

I love tennis season. I know that it sort of starts in January with the Australian Open but for me it doesn’t start until the summertime. It has been great so far and there are several reasons why. First, the women’s singles defending French Open champ, Justine Henin, surprised everyone when she announced that she was retiring. I thought that she was going to try to make in four straight wins and beat her own record. That didn’t happen, though.

Rafael Nadal won the French Open for a fourth straight time and for a third time he beat world ranked number one Roger Federer. Federer only lacks this tennis tournament to have his career Grand Slam. But Nadal will not let him have the FO trophy. Federer is on his way to winning the Wimbledon tournament again. He is the king of grass which is ironic because he grew up playing on clay courts in Switzerland.

I just love tennis season for reasons like these and because the sport is so beautiful. You sometimes see players acting foolish but not as much as you see this kind of behavior in other sports. No, in tennis you often see people with their dreams crushed but still being good sports.

When the subject of golf schools comes up, many golf enthusiasts pay close attention. The idea of attending such a venue to learn about their favorite sport is more than intriguing. However, those who assume they will simply be spending time out on the green improving their swing will be sorely disappointed. Though teaching golf means getting to be out on the green, it also means students will spend plenty of time in the classroom. Having a career in golf requires one to have a good knowledge of basic elements. These elements simply cannot all be learned without textbooks and lecture time.

It used to be that a general knowledge of the sport and experience was all one needed to obtain a job in golf instruction. However, times have changed and employers expect prospective employees to be fully qualified. An individual who completes a program of study shows that he or she is truly interested in pursuing a profession in golf. This lets employers know that they will not be wasting their time hiring the individual before them. A degree that results from completing a fully accredited golf related curriculum could open all the right doors.

The Roland Garros French Open tennis tournament is the second of the Grand Slams tournaments. It is played on a clay court in Paris, France. Most of history’s tennis superstars have won this tournament and last year was no exception. Justine Henin-Hardenne won the ‘07 women’s singles and Rafael Nadal won the ‘07 men’s singles.

The French Open coverage is always superb and one reason for this is because the clay court is considered the most physically demanding of the courts because of the slow playing surface and the five-set men’s singles matches without a tie breaker. The clay courts slow down the ball and produce a high bounce compared to grass and hard courts.

The champions receive replicas of the actual trophy. Both are pure silver with finely etched decorations on their sides. The winner’s name in on the plate holding the trophy.

This year’s tournament is sure to be as exciting as last year’s. The men’s singles playoffs for 2007 were between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. Though the two men will not say they are rivals, Federer will try to win this allusive championship again this year.

Last year’s runner up, Roger Federer, is hopeful of losing his 2 year losing streak at the second Grand Slam of the season, the French Open. Federer lost to Rafael Nadal in 2006 and 2007. He says of him, "He is definitely my number one rival." He was awesome in the Wimbledon tennis tournament coverage.

With that being said, Federer also stated that he doesn’t need luck and that he is "good enough on clay." This might be hard to swallow for those interested in French Open tennis tournament news since he lost in January at the Australian Open in the semi-final round. Along with the super-confident attitude, Federer has said that he will not practice again until March, when he competes in Dubai.

We’ll have to wait to see if he finally accomplishes his goal of winning this prominent tennis tournament or if it continues to allude him.