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Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
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Sunday / December 22.
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    • Tennis

    Roger Federer marched into the history books Sunday by winning his first French Open title and tying Pete Sampras atop the all-time Grand Slam leader board with 14.

    Federer easily handled Sweden’s Robin Soderling 6-1, 7-6 (1), 6-4 to win the one championship that had eluded him throughout his magnificent career.

    He became the sixth man ever to win the career Grand Slam, following Fred Perry, Don Budge, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson and Andre Agassi.

    Agassi presented Federer with his championship trophy and Soderling with his runner-up plate.

    A jubilant Federer, 27, then addressed the crowd in both French and English, thanking his wife and his parents and paying homage to Soderling and Agassi.

    John McEnroe, working for NBC, proclaimed Federer “the greatest of all time.”

    Arizona, Memphis, NBA Draft

    Shawn Taggart, a 6-foot-10 junior forward from Memphis, has opted to end his college career and remain in the NBA Draft.

    The news was first reported by FoxSports.com.

    “I think it’s my time to go,” Taggart, 24, told FoxSports. “You never know what can happen during a season where I’m going to have to carry the load. We’ve done a lot at Memphis. I feel as though I’m opening a lot of eyes of people who didn’t think I could do anything but dunk. Plus, I’ve got to provide for my family.”

    Taggart, who averaged 10.4 points and 7.6 rebounds last season, joins seniors Antonio Anderson and Robert Dozier and freshman Tyreke Evans in departing Memphis.

    “Shawn Taggart is a really good basketball player,” Memphis head coach Josh Pastner said by phone. “Shawn is a guy who we would love to have back here at the University of Memphis but we want Shawn to do what is best for Shawn and his family, and even though I know that the decision hasn’t been 100 percent finalized I strongly got a sense the past few days from all of our talks that he was leaning toward staying in the draft.

    “Shawn has earned his college degree and if he ends up officially declaring we will be there to support him, to back him, to root for him and to give him encouragement and we want him to do great things at the next level. I think he’ll do very well at the next level as a professional.”

    Tennis

    Roger Federer stands on the brink of tennis history.

    After withstanding yet another five-set battle, this one a 3-6, 7-6 (2), 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory over Juan Martin Del Potro Friday, Federer will try to capture his first ever French Open championship on Sunday morning.

    Federer’s opponent is the surprising Swede Robin Soderling, who has already knocked off four-time champion Rafael Nadal and Nikolay Davydenko and on Friday beat back Francisco Gonzalez 6-3, 7-5, 5-7, 4-6, 6-4.

    Soderling’s victory came with Swedish legends Bjorn Borg (a six-time French Open winner) and Mats Wilander (three-time) watching from the stands.

    Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Maryland, Memphis, Miami, Texas, Virginia

    Josh Pastner continues to reel in top-notch recruits.

    Just two months after getting the job, the new Memphis coach landed commitments from blue-chip brothers Will and Antonio Barton of Baltimore (Md.) Lake Clifton High School. The brothers are visiting the school for the Memphis Elite Camp.

    “Me and my brother decided to choose Memphis because it was a great family atmosphere,” Will, a 6-foot-6, 170-pound shooting guard ranked No. 1 at his position and No. 7 overall in the Class of 2010, said by phone Friday night.

    “We just went down there [to campus] and saw it for ourselves, man.”

    Lance Stephenson, Pittsburgh

    GREENBURGH, N.Y. — Dante Taylor played basketball Thursday night with a heavy heart.

    His mother, Lisa Sharp, is in the hospital with an illness and Taylor easily could have skipped the Frankie Williams Charity Classic in his hometown to be with her.

    But the 6-foot-9, 240-pound Pittsburgh-bound big man knew the whole town of Greenburgh was counting on him.

    So he went out and scored a team-high 32 points to earn MVP honors as the Blue team beat the White team 128-122 before a capacity crowd.

    “Yeah, it was real hard,” he said. “I really didn’t feel comfortable playing but I know that that’s what she wanted me to do so I did it.”

    Arizona, Kansas, Kentucky, Lance Stephenson, Lincoln High School, Maryland, Memphis, Miami, Pittsburgh, St. John's

    GREENBURGH, N.Y. — It was late in the third quarter of the Frankie Williams Charity Classic when Lance Stephenson finally donned a white No. 24 jersey and checked into the game.

    After taking a test at school and getting delayed by traffic, Stephenson played only about 15 minutes in a contest his White team lost 128-122 to the Blue team, but he sure made news in the time he was there.

    In a wide-ranging interview, Stephenson and his father, Lance Stephenson Sr., talked about the schools they’re still considering; the recruiting process; the pending sexual assault case; the recent Washington Post story which was highly critical of Lance and his father; the BornReady.TV Website; and whether Lance Sr. has ever asked for money in the recruiting process.

    The 6-foot-5 Stephenson is a McDonald’s All-American and the all-time leading scorer in New York State history. He seemed poised to pick Kansas in late March, but held off and the Jayhawks eventually received a commitment from Xavier Henry instead. Now Stephenson says he’s considering four schools.

    “Arizona, Florida, Memphis and Maryland. I don’t have a favorite,” Stephenson said after scoring 21 points in the loss.

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