NOTEBOOK U.S. Open

Chang gets his tribute: Michael Chang finally got his farewell tribute at the U.S. Open. The ceremony was postponed twice by persistent rain that delayed the tournament this week. When the skies cleared, he was honored at center court Thursday night. The youngest man ever to win a U.S. Open match and the youngest Grand Slam champion in history gave the fans one more trademark fist pump and received a standing ovation. Chang ended his career with one last match at the Open last week, one day after the USTA honored Pete Sampras with a center-court ceremony. He was introduced to the crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium one final time by Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe. "He's one of the great champions in the history of American tennis," McEnroe said. "All of us respected your intensity, your passion, your desire." Chang's brother and longtime coach, Carl, was by his side, and so was his mother, Betty. "It's every professional athlete's dream to finish on a high note," he said. "I can honestly say, from the bottom of my heart, I've finished on a high note. And there's no other way I'd want to finish my career."
Tennis partners: The ATP and WTA Tour announced formation of One Game, a joint program designed to streamline their operations and grow professional tennis worldwide. The program will focus on five strategic areas -- IT/new media, research, education, administrative and operational efficiencies, marketing and promotions. For starters, One Game will create the Tennis Internet Group that will produce and market the Web sites of the two organizations as well as tournaments and other tennis related new media and technology products.
Blimp message: Once play finally got under way, it was clear flying for the Goodyear blimp. As the Spirit of Goodyear flew over Arthur Ashe Stadium before the night matches began, the blimp provided a message that was on the minds of many people at the National Tennis Center. It said: "No More Rain."
-- Associated Press