In Meknes, Morroco, the tennis club is one of the nicest places to hang out with family, says Hicham Laalej. "It's a sport that my dad has been playing since his twenties," he says. "So my dad would take [my brother and I] to that place [often]." That's were they developed their love for the sport.

Just over a week before Opening Ceremonies for the Beijing Games, the Ivy League has launched a blog to help fans follow the action for Ancient Eight alumni competitors The web site, Iviesinchina.com, contains links to bios for all Ivy League alumni competing in Beijing, as well as articles and other information relating to the Ivy League and the Olympics.

Throughout his lifetime, Walter O'Malley was a trailblazer. And now, even after death, he continues to be a pioneer among his kind. As owner of the Dodgers, he was instrumental in bringing baseball to the West Coast. And now, with his induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday, he becomes the first Penn alumnus ever to be enshrined in Cooperstown.

Penn fans who are still uneasy seeing former men's hoops head coach Fran Dunphy on the Temple sidelines may have a little bit longer to get accustomed to the image. On July 16, Temple announced that they had agreed to a two-year extension with Dunphy, which will keep him under contract with the Owls through the 2013-14 season.

PAMPLONA, Spain, July 12 In Spain, for a few months this summer on the Penn-in-Alicante program, I had the unique experience of being able to travel to Pamplona to take part in the ceremonies surrounding the festival of San Fermin. While the encierro, or Running of the Bulls is the most well-known event during Sanfermines [Zach's experiences with this event was detailed in last week's SP], the second most popular event also involves los toros.

The Penn Athletics Department posted job openings for its vacant men's and women's golf coach positions on the NCAA's "Career Center" on Monday. Each position is listed as a 10 month, full-time job. Both positions will report to the Senior Associate Athletic Director, which would be Alanna Wren Shanahan or Mary DiStanislao.

Penn hoops fans staying on campus for Thanksgiving weekend can still satisfy their hunger for college basketball - they just shouldn't expect to see much of the Quakers. The Philly Hoop Group Classic will, for the second year, be taking place Thanksgiving weekend at the Palestra, according to an e-mail from Pete Kirschner, Director of Team Tournaments for The Hoop Group.

Last week, Sports Illustrated compiled a list of the Top 25 College Sports Programs for the 2007-08 year. Surprising many, 14-time Director's Cup defending champion Stanford did not land on top of the list. More surprising to Ivy League fans, though, may be the team coming in at thirteenth: Princeton.

In a press release on its web site, the University of Albany announced its basketball schedule for the upcoming season. And highlighting its non-conference home schedule is Penn, who will travel to Albany on Nov. 29 to take on the Great Danes. The meeting will be the first-ever between the two teams, though Penn holds a 9-1 record against America East opponents.

Fencing coach Dave Micahnik has one impressive resume. Three Olympic appearances and a National Championship as a competitor would be one thing. Tack on the 1981 men's and 1986 women's NCAA championship as a coach and that starts to catch people's eyes. Throw in coaching 40 All-Americans, a number of Olympians, a 664-202 coaching record and 34 winning records in as many seasons, and you get a true Hall of Famer.

PAMPLONA, Spain, July 12 I'm not one of those people that has a list of things to do before I die, but if I did I'm sure attending the Running of the Bulls would have been on it. Well after this past weekend, I can cross that accomplishment off of my hypothetical list.

Pierre De Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympics, once summed up his opinions on the Games in a legendary quote. "The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part." It took eight years on the National Team and a missed qualification for the 2004 Athens Games, but 2002 College graduate Tom Paradiso is set to take part in the Olympics as a member of the United States rowing team in the lightweight four event.

The Penn alumnus most likely to win a rowing gold medal never rowed for the Quakers. And as a nod to the University's diversity, he won't be rowing for the United States, either. Andrew Byrnes, who earned his Masters of Science from Penn in 2006, will be rowing for Canada in the heavyweight men's eight event in Beijing.

United States Olympic athletes often take up their sports at a young age, practicing for over a dozen years before competing at the Summer Games. Gymnast Shawn Johnson began perfecting her craft when she was three years old. Swimmer Michael Phelps got in the water at age seven.

Some Quakers alumni saw their dreams of Olympic glory fall short at last week's U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore. Leading the group was 2004 graduate Brian Chaput, an NCAA champion in the javelin throw during his time as a Quaker. At last week's trials, none of the American javelin throwers obtained the Olympic 'A' standard of 268 feet, 4 inches.

The men's and women's golf teams are in for another coaching shake-up this year. Francis Vaughn, the head coach for both the men and women, resigned from his duties last week. Vaughn, with Penn for 12 years, cited the increasing obligations of his business ventures as the primary reason for stepping down.

At least one Penn athlete has participated in every Summer Olympics since the 1900 Paris games. And, thanks to two rowers, that streak will continue through to next month's Games. Tom Paradiso (Col '02) and Susan Francia (Col '04) qualified for the men's lightweight four and the women's eight, respectively.