Serena Williams memoirs to be published in 2009. Grand Central Publishing will release the currently untitled life story of tennis phenom Serena Williams in 2009. A reported $1.3 million deal gave Grand Central the rights to Williams’ memoirs after a bidding war. A company spokesperson says: “Serena Williams is one of the world’s most remarkable athletes. We’ve watched her rise to number one, despite physical and emotional setbacks, and her hard work and determination have inspired legions of fans, young and old. Serena will give her memoir a strong motivational slant.” Williams recently won an Olympic gold medal and the women’s U.S. Open title.

NBA’s Josh Howard disses “Star Spangled Banner.” Josh Howard’s best move yet may be off the basketball court - when he decides to hire a new publicist. Having admitted to smoking weed, getting arrested for driving nearly 100 in a 55 mile-per-hour zone and throwing a party the night before a playoff game, the Dallas player recently made an announcement: He doesn’t like the national anthem. Howard is caught on YouTube at Allen Iverson’s recent celebrity flag football game telling the camera: “The Star Spangled Banner’s going on right now. I don’t celebrate that sh**. I’m Black.” He mutters something about Sen. Barack Obama before the camera is aimed a different way. Not that Howard isn’t entitled to free speech, but soldiers in Iraq and a looming presidential election might signal less than ideal timing on this one.

Sisters snatch gold medal for tennis doubles.

Venus and Serena Williams have proved they’re twice as nice after being eliminated from Olympics singles competition last week. The sisters captured a gold medal in the doubles tournament on Sunday after beating Spain’s Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual 6-2, 6-0. “I’m so excited, I can’t even speak,” Venus says. “To share this kind of moment with your sister, it never grows old.”

Sisters are knocked out of Olympics singles, Blake advances.

Not only won’t Venus and Serena Williams have a one-on-one title rematch in the Olympics, neither will compete for a medal. After saying earlier this week that a tennis singles showdown to follow their Wimbledon face-off would be “fantastic,” Venus and her sister both lost quarter-finals match-ups Thursday in Beijing. Venus, who won Wimbledon, fell to China’s Li Na, while Serena lost to Russia’s Elena Dementieva. The sisters can still capture a gold in doubles competition as they did at the 2000 Games in Sydney. While the siblings were upset, James Blake did some upsetting when he beat Roger Federer in straight sets. Blake moves on, leaving Federer two titles shy of Pete Sampras’ record of 12.

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.

Tennis star’s pain forces her to withdraw from a tournament

Top-seeded competitor Serena Williams has withdrawn from the Bank of the West Classic in California. She hurt her left knee during the tournament and pulled out during the semi-final this past weekend. She underwent surgery on the knee in 2003. Williams is the third women’s U.S. Olympics tennis team player to develop a knee injury. Top-seeded Serena Williams injured her left knee and pulled out of the Bank of the West Classic on Saturday, becoming the third singles player on the U.S. Olympic women’s tennis team with a knee injury.

Home run king’s agent is ready to throw in the towel for ’08.
Days after saying no baseball club was interested in contracting Barry Bonds for even the minimum salary, his agent, Jeff Borris, essentially has given up. Borris says he’s offered the man who passed Hank Aaron’s long-standing career home run record last year to “numerous” teams with no success. “I offered Barry at the minimum salary ($390,000), and when I ran into a brick wall, that’s when I came to the conclusion that he will not be in a Major League uniform in 2008.” Bonds finished last season with 762 homers, but suffered an all-time low in fan popularity due to increased speculation about his alleged steroid use. He’s been indicted in connection with perjury for testimony he gave about past doping. “I’m not a negative person. I’m one of those ‘never say never’ guys,” Borris says. “But it seems pretty clear to me that it’s just not happening. We could go up and down the rosters of every single team, and I could show you an awful lot of spots where he ought to be plugged in right now, but it’s just not happening.”

Ex-Cincinnati wide receiver’s remaining assault charge has been dropped
Prosecutors have dropped a second assault charge against suspended NFL player Chris Henry, who was accused of punching a University of Cincinnati student and breaking his car window. The former Bengals wide receiver’s first trial ended this month when a jury couldn’t reach a verdict, while a misdemeanor was dismissed. Henry was cut by the Bengals in April after his fifth arrest since joining the team three years ago. He recently tested positive for marijuana and is due to serve a year suspension.

Serena Williams is top seed at West Classic
Having pulled out of three previously planned appearances, Serena Williams is competing in this week’s Bank of the West Classic in California. Williams, who recently lost the Wimbledon championship to her sister Venus, is ranked fifth in the world. She’s one of two top 10 players to compete in the Stanford tournament scheduled through Friday. Serena’s expected to play tomorrow or Thursday after a first-round bye.

Patriots Andrews arrested after dispute with girlfriend
A New England Patriots player is in a Massachusetts jail until at least tomorrow after he was arrested for allegedly pointing a gun at his girlfriend. Defensive back Willie Andrews was taken into custody following a report that he waved a pistol at the woman’s head, touching her temple with it after an argument about 1 a.m. Monday. Gregg Miliote, spokesman for the Bristol County DA , says the player is being held without bail pending a Thursday hearing. “The New England Patriots take the conduct of our players very seriously,” a team statement read. “We are aware of the very disturbing and alarming reports regarding Willie Andrews. We will not offer any additional comment, as is our policy regarding pending legal matters.”

Venus, Serena move closer to British title
Venus and Serena Williams have continued in their sibling dominance at Wimbledon . Venus defeated Tamarine Tanasugarn on Tuesday as Serena removed Agnieszka Radwanska from the tournament. Serena showed some competitive spark when a reporter asked her if Venus, the defending champ, is likely to repeat. “I would never sit here and say she’s the favorite when I’m still in the draw. What are you on?” she asked. With one more win for each, the women could face each other in the finals on Saturday. “I’m going to sabotage her and eat all the breakfast,” Serena said of the possibility. “I’ll eat all the Wheaties, so she doesn’t have any chance.”

Tennis star disposes of 17-year-old from Poland

Serena Williams has knocked out her second competitor in the Wimbledon tennis competition. Like Williams, Poland’s Urszula Radwanska has an older sister who’s also a tennis ace. But unlike Williams, Radwanska has yet to capture a Grand Slam title. Williams defeated the 17-year-old Tuesday as defending Wimbledon champ Venus Williams watched from courtside. Venus signed tennis balls for fans as she encouraged Serena’s victory.

O’Neal-Ford trade kicks off Draft deals
The Indiana Pacers sent Jermaine O’Neal to the Toronto Raptors for T.J. Ford and the No. 17 pick in Thursday’s NBA Draft. Will this be the first of many trades on Draft day? Find out more at Playa Hater.

Meanwhile… There’s A New Class of Baller Being Recruited
Kansas’ Michael Beasley, Memphis’ Derrick Rose and USC’s O.J. Mayo are expected to be the National Basketball Association’s top recruits for ’08. The NBA draft takes place at 7 p.m. today. Chicago and Miami stand to improve their rosters with top picks. Observers expect that, for the first time since the ‘60s, guards could be the first two players selected. Trade moves are likely to begin immediately after the draft gets underway.