watch film of prospects under consideration for scholarship offers. Io

LONDON -- In recent years, Serena Williams has been prone to slow starts, particularly against far lesser players. And in some of those matches, she never recovered.On a glorious sunny afternoon at the All England Club, Russian Elena Vesnina stepped onto Centre Court, the latest potential banana peel hoping to trip up the No. 1-seeded Williams.This time, the 34-year-old Serena did not slip. Not even close.With the calm, measured performance of a six-time champion, Williams completely unstrung the unseeded Vesnina 6-2, 6-0 to advance to her ninth Wimbledon final (Saturday, 9 a.m. ET on ESPN/WatchESPN). It was clinical, almost cruel.I felt like I had no chance today, Vesnina said later. She was in a great mood, and her serve was working really well for her. She had a really high percentage of first serves. She was placing it amazingly.Said Serena in her postmatch BBC interview: I was really focused today. ?I was ready. Its never easy out there. Every point you have to fight for.Really? It sure didnt look that way on Thursday.Match time: 48 minutes -- in the semifinal of a Grand Slam, no less. Its been 17 years since a semifinal was over that swiftly.You had to feel for the shell-shocked patrons at Centre Court, who paid 126 pounds ($164) for the privilege of watching. It was over so quickly that organizers delayed the start of the second semifinal to ensure that all spectators had a chance to arrive, causing a murmur to ripple through portion of the crowd already in attendance.The only drama after that emphatic result: Would Serena play her older sister Venus or No. 4 seed Angelique Kerber in Saturdays championship match? It turned out to be Kerber, who had upset Serena earlier this year in the Australian Open final.?I felt like she played great, Serena said of that match. She came out swinging, ready to win. She was fearless. Thats something I learned. When I go into a final, I, too, need to be fearless like she was.The numbers were almost unreal: Serena lost only three points on her serve in the entire match, winning 28 of 31 points. She was a perfect 12-for-12 in the second set. Sixty-one percent of those serves (including 11 aces) did not come back. All told, Serena won 53 of 74 points, a beatdown of ridiculous proportions, considering the stage.This is the best weve seen her from start to finish all year, said U.S. Olympic coach and ESPN analyst Mary Joe Fernandez.Vesnina, to her credit, had been an overachiever here. She began the year ranked outside the top 100 and, just short of her 30th birthday, had climbed back to No. 50 with her best career result in a Grand Slam. Oddsmakers installed her as a 14-to-1 longshot, which in retrospect seems a tad optimistic.Serena has now been the WTAs No. 1-ranked player for 177 weeks in a row and seems destined to break Steffi Grafs record of 186 consecutive weeks on top. The other Graf milestone, however, is the one she really wants.After failing to win the past three majors -- losing in the finals of this years Australian Open and French Open -- Williams still finds herself one victory shy of Grafs Open era record of 22 Grand Slam singles titles.Now shes only two sets away.I think for anyone else in this whole planet, it would be a wonderful accomplishment, Serena observed. For me, its about obviously holding the trophy and winning, which would make it a better accomplishment for me.For me, its not enough. But I think thats what makes me different. Thats what makes me Serena.The fact that shes doing this at 34, closing in on 35, is extraordinary.Shes already the oldest woman to win a major in the Open era, a feat she accomplished here a year ago at the age of 33. And now she can extend that record by another year.In a moment typical of the match, Vesnina was serving at 0-2 in the second set, down a break. Her second serve was clearly wide, but she challenged. Even when the replay showed the ball several inches wide, she seemed perplexed and stood still for a while longer.Afterward, you had to laugh.I think [Vesninas] saving herself for doubles, John McEnroe cracked during the BBC broadcast, referring to the quarterfinal match in which Vesnina and partner Ekaterina Makarova are scheduled to take on the Williams sisters.Serena didnt sound like someone content to merely approach the finish line. Those losses to Kerber in Melbourne and Garbine Muguruza in Paris -- especially now -- are clearly still at the forefront of her mind.Its weird, Serena said. I cant believe Im in the finals again.Obviously, Im 0 for 2 [in major finals this year], so Im determined to get at least one this year.Obviously.Wholesale Vans Authentic . Dusautoir, the former World Player of the Year, sustained a torn bicep playing for Toulouse in the Heineken Cup on Saturday. The flanker, who has played 65 times for France, is expected to be out for up to four months. Cheap Vans Shoes . DAmigo scored twice in regulation and added the shootout winner as the Toronto Marlies edged the San Antonio Rampage 5-4 in American Hockey League action. http://www.vanssaleireland.com/ . Kiriasis and brakeman Franziska Fritz finished two runs in one minute 55.41 seconds -- a mere 0.01 seconds ahead of Meyers and Lolo Jones, who likely bolstered her Olympic hopes by helping give USA-1 a huge push in the second heat. Vans Ireland Sale . Jordan Lynch, the all-purpose Heisman Trophy finalist from Northern Illinois, failed to make it into that exclusive club. Vans For Sale Ireland . MORITZ, Switzerland -- Fog prevented downhill racers from getting their Olympic dress rehearsal.AMES, Iowa -- Some 63 hours after Matt Campbell earned his first Big 12 victory at Iowa State, his Ford Explorer roars into the dark parking lot of the Bergstrom Football Complex.Campbell hardly slows off the gas, driving a straight line to the parking spot closest to the staff entrance of this four-year-old building detached from the northwest corner of Jack Trice Stadium.It is 5:15 a.m.He bounds from the silver metallic SUV into the 32-degree, mid-November air, paying no attention to the brilliant full moon above. Ten minutes later, Campbell sits in his second-floor office, peering at film of the Texas Tech defense.The 36-year-old father of four, who coached for four-plus seasons at Toledo before the Cyclones tabbed him a year ago, is eager to shed the label of youngest coach in the Power 5.I get it, Campbell says, looking up from his desk and the practice schedule under construction on paper, but age is irrelevant. When I was at Toledo, for a while I was the youngest coach in all college football. You just hoped that somebody recognized you for the work we were doing, what you were building, what kind of coach and program you were.Iowa State recognized more than a youthful exuberance in Campbell, tasking him with one of the most daunting jobs in the sport. The Cyclones have enjoyed one winning season in the past decade; the last time they won more than seven games was in 2000.Campbells Iowa State tenure began with a loss to FCS program Northern Iowa and started 0-6 in Big 12 play, despite leading Texas, Baylor and Oklahoma State in the second half. Iowa State came from behind in the fourth quarter to win 31-24 last week at Kansas -- a milestone, for sure, despite an opponent that has lost 19 straight league games.It was great to see our resolve, Campbell says. I definitely think it did something positive in our program. And now, can you do it again?The Cyclones celebrated the win with a Sunday meal of steak and shrimp, cake and ice cream. After defeats this year, they ate hamburgers and hot dogs.On Tuesday, Campbell granted access to ESPN.com for a look at the inner workings of a program in transition. Clearly, a conference win only strengthened the Cyclones resolve to continue to improve -- and to do it as quickly as possible.This morning represents a late start for Campbell. Three days a week, he shows up at 4:30 to run and lift a few weights.I think it keeps you sane, he says.Its a 12-minute drive for Campbell from the home he and his wife, Erica, built last spring and summer north of the Iowa State campus. They moved from temporary housing in July, five months after the birth of their second son, Rocco. The Campbell girls are 8 and 6; the boys are 3 and 9 months.Usually, they all attend practice on Wednesday.Matt nearly missed the latest birth, flying into Toledo, still exhausted from a harried recruiting season, less than an hour before Erica gave birth.She is an audiologist but stays home, for now, while Matt works crazy hours.Campbell left the office after 10 on Monday night, feeling a bit sick. And the coachs stomach has not fully recovered on this morning. He drinks no coffee. For energy, Campbell mixes water with Spark, a powdered multivitamin additive advertised to enhance mental focus.Campbell is the first of the coaches to arrive.As he gets settled in the office, itll be seven hours until Campbell eats a meal. Hes a creature of habit, sending director of football operations Greg Brabenec -- Skip as hes known in the office -- almost daily to the nearby West Street Deli for a serving of chicken salad.The first week I got here, somebody told us about it, Campbell says, and thats been our go-to spot ever since.After workouts, Campbell cleans up in the locker room. His office is equipped with a shower, which he says he has never used, inside a spacious restroom that holds his carry-on suitcase and an ISU golf bag, still covered in plastic wrap.At 6:30 aa.ddddddddddddm., he ducks into an in-progress meeting. Offensive coordinator Tom Manning, a holdover from Toledo like most of the ISU staff, sits at the head of the table. He controls the tape -- dissecting the Texas Tech defense -- and the mood in the room, which is decidedly low-key.The lights are dim as Mannings mellow and acoustic mix of songs plays over a wall-mounted speaker. Hes more eclectic than Campbell, whose playlist gets plenty of time, too, especially at night; it spans Kenny Rogers, John Prine, Justin Bieber, the Zac Brown Band and Justin Timberlake.We go all over the spectrum, Campbell says.The offensive meeting includes graduate assistant Taylor Mouser and quality control associate Joe Houston. Passing game coordinator Jim Hofher enters before 7 a.m..The coaches trade banter as they watch tape.I got home yesterday and the Christmas tree was up, Manning says, and its got lights built in.Manning sounds genuinely surprised by this before turning his eyes back to the Red Raiders, who visit Ames on Saturday with just one win -- an overtime victory at TCU in Week 9 -- in their past six games.Soon, the Iowa State coaches watch tape of Ohio State. With deep Ohio roots, the ISU staff regularly studies the Buckeyes, who run a system on offense similar to what Campbell installed in Ames.The Cyclones target Ohio heavily in recruiting. Campbell grew up in Massillon, south of Cleveland. In particular, Campbell says, hes enthralled by the heritage of Ohio natives Urban Meyer and Bob Stoops, and Nick Saban, whose career began in the state.Theyre huge role models, Campbell says, guys who have such laser vision and focus to sustain success, to recruit consistently and then to develop their guys and demand that they play at a high level.Curtis Samuel flashes on the screen. No one on the Iowa State roster resembles the Ohio State back.Is he an Ohio guy? asks a coach in the room.No. Another coach suggests that Samuel, a four-star signee in 2014, came from Florida. Actually, hes from Brooklyn, New York.Campbell moves into a special-teams meeting at 7 a.m. He sits at the head of the table, with associate head coach and running game coordinator Louis Ayeni to his right. Bryan Gasser, who coaches receivers and special teams, runs the meeting. Linebackers coach Tyson Veidt is also here.The head coach stays mostly quiet, speaking up when the subject turns to weather. The forecast is more typical November for Saturday in Ames -- cold and windy. The more wind, the better for Iowa State, the coaches suggest.Just before 8 a.m., the entire staff convenes in the same room for their daily rundown. The meeting starts with a medical report. They discuss Tuesday practice before the conversation turns to recruiting.This weekend is huge, says Campbell, with several official visits planned. One of the scheduled visitors, announces a coach, attended Iowas upset win Saturday night over Michigan. No one responds to this.By Campbells left sits Veidt, who is handing scraps of paper to a recruiting assistant as the coaches watch film of prospects under consideration for scholarship offers. Iowa State has accepted approximately 20 commitments for its 2017 class, so space is limited.They view film of a tenacious offensive lineman. Conversation ensues about his reputed height -- and the height of a basketball hoop on which Campbell saw the prospect dunk on video. It might have been 8 feet, suggests one coach.The point there, Campbell says after the staff meeting, is for everybody in that room to know exactly what were looking for.Before 9 a.m., Campbell exits his third meeting of the day. He stops quickly in his office before the next session to talk more offensive strategy.His stomach is feeling better. Chicken salad awaits in three hours.Another long day beckons. ' ' '