Venus, Serena could have Wimbledon rematch at Olympics

Venus and Serena Williams could face-off on a world stage for the second time this year. The sisters, who not long ago battled to a Wimbledon title confrontation which Venus won, are on track to possibly meet again Saturday in a singles tennis final at the Beijing Olympics. The pair won in both singles and doubles play Tuesday, with Serena beating Australia’s Samantha Stosur and Venus defeating Iveta Benesova. The Williams duo joined to beat Benesova and Nicole Vaidisova, both of the Czech Republic. Venus says she’s excited about the potential for a title rematch against her younger sibling: “That would be fantastic. Obviously, it’s a long ways away, but the third round makes it closer. I’m really excited for both of us to be playing really well for the U.S.”

Golf champ will spend five more months recuperating

Tiger Woods fans will have to wait until 2009 to see him dominate on the golf course again “As far as swinging a club, that’s not going to happen until next year,” Woods announced in a Tuesday newsletter to readers of his tigerwoods.com Web site. He’ll spend five more months recovering from knee surgery. “I just don’t have a choice,” he wrote. “We simply don’t know what type of swelling there would be or if there would be any residual effects the next day, once you start wheeling and dealing on the knee. Everyone’s body reacts differently. I could putt right now, but I’m not going to do it.” There’s sure to be plenty of competition for Tiger’s crown as king of the game during his absence.

Vikings’ safety Williams out for early season. Minnesota’s Madieu Williams has been sidelined for at least six weeks with a neck injury. The West African-born free agent acquisition suffered from spasms last week, but wouldn’t discuss the nature of his ailment. “I’m not allowed to discuss the condition of my injuries,” Williams tells the Star Tribune newspaper. He began with the Vikings after leaving the Bengals for a $33 million, six-year deal during the off-season.

Golf star gains Forbes magazine’s No. 1 rank.

Golf star Tiger Woods tops all takers in earnings from June 1, 2007 to June 1, 2008, according to Forbes magazine. Woods pulled down $115 million in competition earnings and endorsements, making him the top-paid pro player in the world. Others making the men’s top-earner list include retired NBA star Michael Jordan, who heads the Charlotte Bobcats, banked $45 million over 12 months, still snatching checks from his Nike brand endorsements. Male athletes out-earned female athletes by a collective $483 million compared with the women’s $118 million, according to Forbes.

Opening Olympics ceremonies begin today. It’s not only D. Wade, Kobe and King James who’ll hold court at the Beijing Olympics, which host opening ceremonies today. Elite Black athletes will compete in sports as diverse as track and swimming. The Williams family’s presence will be felt in women’s tennis, as Black stars appear among 11,000 athletes from 205 nations. You can follow BET.com to see who’s a contender and who brings home the gold.

Expansion team’s choice appears to be Thunder. The former Seattle Supersonics has apparently become the Oklahoma Thunder. But the new franchise’s name appeared on the Web without an official NBA announcement. Not long after the “Thunder” leak surfaced, the nickname was removed from the league’s site. Last month, the NBA had included Thunder among its potential choices after the city of Seattle let the team go to Oklahoma over complications with an arena lease.