ts announcement. Westbrooks competitive side showed when he was asked if Durants

NEW YORK -- For years, the duo of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal dominated mens tennis.Along came Novak Djokovic, and suddenly there was a group of stars known as the Big 3, a trio that has won 39 of the past 47 major championships.And then Andy Murray elbowed his way in at the top, creating what some referred to as a Big 4.So now where does Stan Wawrinka fit among the sports elite? After all, his U.S. Open title gives him three Grand Slam trophies, the same total as Murray, and each one came via a victory in the final against the man ranked No. 1 at the time. Should the discussion shift to a Big 5, perhaps?At least one person says absolutely not: Stan the Man, himself.First, I think its not fair for them to put me there. I think theyve been there more than 10 years. ... Theyve been winning everything, and I think its just not fair, Wawrinka said Monday, meeting with reporters a day after beating Djokovic 6-7 (1), 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 in the final at Flushing Meadows.The Big 4 stays the Big 4, like that, he added with a smile. Im me.Maybe it doesnt matter how Wawrinka is characterized. His accomplishments are worthy enough on their own, without any sort of embellishment or stamp of approval via a status conferred by others.Wawrinka is ranked No. 3, behind Djokovic and Murray, and ahead of the recently injured Nadal and Federer at the moment. He also has a bit of a confounding overall record.Yes, Wawrinka owns those three all-important trophies and stands one Wimbledon title away from becoming the ninth man to complete a career Grand Slam; and, yes, he beat Djokovic en route to all three; and, yes, he is 3-0 in major finals; and, yes, he has beaten the owner of the No. 1 ranking in each of those; and, yes, he has won his past 11 tournament finals.There are, however, some gaps that could use filling.For one thing, he is 0-19 against whoever is No. 1 in all settings other than a title match at a major. For another, he owns exactly one Masters 1000 title, well behind the pack: Since 2009, Djokovic has 26, Nadal 16, and Federer and Murray 10 apiece.Wawrinka says thats a big reason he wont put himself in the same class as the others. And he acknowledges he wants to be more consistent throughout the season, faring better in those types of tournaments.Rod Laver tends to agree, saying Monday that Wawrinka can prove hes up there with that other quartet with some better showings at the Masters.That said, Laver -- owner of 11 major titles, and the only two-time winner of a calendar-year Grand Slam -- was impressed by what he saw of Wawrinka from the Arthur Ashe Stadium stands Sunday.His game has improved. He used to have an OK forehand, and now it really is a weapon. That backhand was always there, Laver said. Its neat, the way he doesnt let up. Even when its a tough one, hes still going for `em. Because you think, `God, hes just got to mis-hit a few of them when hes down break points. And he never did.Wawrinka said Monday he stepped on court the evening earlier knowing he could beat Djokovic and assured his coach, Magnus Norman, as much.Just before the match, when we were talking, I told him I had a feeling that, this time, Im even more confident to beat him. I feel better than him, Wawrinka said. And its the first time ever I had that feeling in a tournament and in a match. And maybe thats also one of the reasons I played so well.At 31, Wawrinka is the oldest U.S. Open mens champion since 1970. Hes only the fifth man in the Open era with at least two major titles after 30.Not bad for a guy who said his goal when he started out was to maybe one day play a French Open.Not win it. Just get in the draw.So labels dont matter to him. Big 4? Big 5? Who cares?I dont want to keep talking about being part of them or close (to) them, because I think the Big 4 has to stay the Big 4, Wawrinka said, his shiny silver trophy on the table in front of him. Its a part of tennis history and it will always be like that, and I think its great like that.---Howard Fendrich covers tennis for The Associated Press. Write to him at hfendrich(at)ap.org or on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich Alex Iwobi Arsenal Jersey . Kyle Denbrook, a soccer player from Saint Marys University, took the CIS male athlete of the week honour. Stanley, a fourth-year business administration student from Charlottetown, scored both goals in a 2-0 win over Dalhousie on Friday and tallied again in a 1-0 win over Saint Marys on Sunday. Stephan Lichtsteiner Arsenal Jersey . Vokoun departed practice on Saturday morning after discovering swelling in his thigh. He was taken to a local hospital where the clot was revealed. The club announced the surgery following a 5-3 exhibition loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. http://www.footballarsenalstore.com/ . But Bourque, who has missed three games with a lower-body injury, wont be in the lineup when the Habs travel to Buffalo to take on the Sabres on Wednesday. Custom Arsenal Jerseys . Irving scored 23 points, Tristan Thompson had 20 points and 10 rebounds and the Cavaliers beat the Denver Nuggets 117-109 on Friday night. Sokratis Papastathopoulos Arsenal Jersey .5 seconds to play in the game, Kevin Love never stopped believing that they would come out of there with a win. OKLAHOMA CITY -- With their trademark grit-and-grind mentality, the Memphis Grizzlies are making history for a franchise with little prior post-season success. Zach Randolph had 28 points and 14 rebounds, Mike Conley added 13 points and 11 assists and the fifth-seeded Grizzlies advanced to the Western Conference finals for the first time in franchise history by beating the Oklahoma City Thunder 88-84 on Wednesday night. "This is the first time, so it definitely means a lot. Im happy, but weve still got work to do," Randolph said. "I want to win a ring." The Grizzlies, who got swept out of the playoffs in their first three trips and had won just one post-season series before this season, have already made it farther than ever before but still arent satisfied. "Were trying to do something really special. We want to go as far as we can go," coach Lionel Hollins said. "To get there, we had to get through Oklahoma City. And now, we have to get through either Golden State or San Antonio to get further." In a series filled with games that went down to the wire, the finale fit right in -- even though the Thunder trailed by 12 with 3 minutes left. Kevin Durant missed a 16-foot jumper from the left wing to tie it with 6 seconds left, finishing off a miserable shooting night for the three-time NBA scoring champion. Durant ended up with 21 points on 5-for-21 shooting, the third-worst performance of his playoff career. "I gave it all I had for my team. I left it all out there on the floor," Durant said. "I missed 16 shots, but I kept fighting, I kept being aggressive. Thats all I can ask for." The Thunder, who made it to the NBA Finals last season, were eliminated in five games. The top seed in the West went 2-6 after All-Star guard Russell Westbrook had knee surgery two games into the first round. "I believe in our guys. Im disappointed we didnt win this series. I felt that we were good enough to win this series," coach Scott Brooks said. Serge Ibaka had 17 points and eight rebounds before fouling out with 1:26 to play during a desperation comeback try for the Thunder. Reggie Jacksons 3-pointer finished off the 16-6 rally, cutting the deficit to 86-84 with 14.3 seconds remaining. Randolph missed both free throws with 11.3 seconds on the clock to give the Thunder one last chance to save their season. Durant got the ball beyond the 3-point line on the left wing and navigated around Tony Allen before missing the jumper. "Thats the shot that we wanted. ... Thats the shot I will live with 100 times out of 100 times," Brooks said. Allen got the rebound, was fouled and made two free throws to close it out. After letting a 14-point lead get trimmed to two, the Grizzlies regained control with a 12-2 run to start the fourth quarter and go up 76-64 with 6:03 remainiing.dddddddddddd Randolph had seven points during the stretch, including five from the foul line. It was just a big enough cushion to finish off a series of games that all came down to the wire. The first three games featured a go-ahead basket in the final two minutes, and Game 4 went to overtime. Memphis won the final four games. "They fought hard, they did everything that they could. Tonight, they really came back in the second half and just kept coming, kept coming," Hollins said. "We just were fortunate to just make enough plays to win the game. Thats the way weve been all year, but well take it. They battled us and gave us everything they had." The Thunder fell to 1-4 in elimination games over the past four seasons. Two of Durants worst performances came in those games, with a 5-for-23 outing against the Lakers in Game 6 of the 2010 first-round. His worst shooting performance in the post-season was against the Grizzlies in Game 6 of the 2011 West semifinals. Durant played all 48 minutes. "He wasnt going down. He didnt want to sit and watch and go down," Brooks said. "He wanted to play." Oklahoma City got a breath of life with a bizarre play midway through the third quarter when Derek Fishers missed 3-pointer turned into a four-point possession. Allen, who was on the bench, waved his arms to try and distract Fisher on his shot and a shirt slipped out of his hands and onto the floor near Fishers feet. Referee Marc Davis ruled that Fishers 3-pointer should count, and Durant hit the free throw resulting from a technical against Allen to get the Thunder within 60-53. Oklahoma City got as close as 64-62 by the end of the quarter, after Fishers 3-pointer and a layup by Thabo Sefolosha. But the Thunder missed eight of their first nine shots to start the fourth quarter to fall behind by 12, then couldnt quite recover with their star struggling so badly. "He really wanted to carry his team. He was back home, he was trying to get a win tonight and he came out really trying," Hollins said. "Throughout the course of the series, we just tried to put pressure on him, keep fresh bodies on him. ... They had to play him and he had to be the go-to guy, and we knew that. We just tried to just make him work for everything." Notes: NBA Commissioner David Stern attended the game and sat eight rows from the court. ... Sefolosha wore a brace on his sore left hand. He played just six minutes in the first half, then played the entire third quarter. ... It was the second straight game the Thunder scored the first seven points, only to give up the lead a few minutes later. ... Nick Collison picked up three fouls in the first 2:35 of the second quarter and got pulled. ... After the third-quarter buzzer, Jerryd Bayless made a shot from three-quarters court that did not count. ' ' '