Rafael Nadal Wraps Up 2010 and Schedules His 2011 Year

After productive exhibition matches for his charity a week ago, Rafael Nadal has mapped out his tournament calendar for 2011 with some new switch-ups for the new year. Nadal is playing 18 tournaments in total, including the mandatory four majors and also the eight necessary Masters Series. Based on Rafael Nadal's calendar, he is beginning the year off per day shy of 2011 in Abu Dhabi on December 31, 2010, exactly where he could meet up with rival Roger Federer.

Taking for granted Rafa's health, he will be hitting all the clay court Master events right after he won all of the events in succession and Roland Garros. Newer and more effective additions to his tour this season are the initial round of the Davis Cup in Belgium on clay and also the Barcelona Banco Sabadell tournament in March on clay. He was notably absent only at that year's Davis Cup quarterfinal, exactly where the Spanish team lost to France as they was at the Planet Cup for soccer in Africa, but he'll fight using the team to keep Spain's No. 1 ranking with 29,528.13 points. He's subtracting the Dubai Tennis Championships and also the Thailand Open.

Nadal has also been making appearances elsewhere and overall 2010 on a positive note. Nike released a brand new ad for their "Shine, shine your country" series to shed light on a challenging year, featuring Rafa along with other Spanish sports stars, like Pau Gasol, basketball player, and Andres Iniesta, soccer player.

The segment begins saying, "To those who doubt or don't think in themselves." They take the chance to recognize several men and women and the titles and championships that Spain has won this season at several various events throughout Europe. At the conclusion, Rafa ends using the tag line, "Work difficult and give it your greatest, be humble and respectful, combat the darkness and be the light they say we have lost."

No Cliff Lee, No Worries For Yankees, But Questions Still Looming For Rotation

The Yankees is going to be fine without Cliff Lee. The Yankees don't Need Cliff Lee. Would they've liked to have signed him? Of course. Who wouldn't have? Having C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, a 19-game winner in Phil Hughes and possibly Andy Pettitte should be sufficient for the Yanks. They have a young pitcher in Ivan Nova who, if he fixes his sixth inning troubles, ought to be a solid pitcher.

And if Pettitte doesn't return, which appears to be the case, there are a few alternatives for filling his spot in the rotation. Based on Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, "If spring arrived these days, Ny would head into camp with a group of largely unpredictable candidates to complete the rotation, headlined by Ivan Nova and Sergio Mitre and then much less most likely options among Andrew Brackman, Dellin Betances, Adam Warren, Hector Noesi and Manny Banuelos. Basically, the Yankees goes on with their plans with out Pettitte.

Using the acquisition of Luis Vizciano looking to be a mistake in the producing, fans must remember that he only signed a minor league deal. No problem. Speaking of minor league deals, the signing of former Cubs ace Mark Prior seemed to be a shock to a lot of Yankee fans. The signing of Pedro Feliciano appears like an excellent move, seeing as the Yankees had been a little desperate for a southpaw in the 'pen. Like a Mets reliever in 2010, Feliciano posted a three.30 ERA and 1.53 WHIP in 62.2 innings. The purchase of catcher Russell Martin might be regarded as a great signing. Martin is a great defensive catcher, which the Yankees are desperate for using the lack of defense and energy in Francisco Cervelli with Jorge Posada moving to the full-time DH position. Martin had a 39 percent caught stealing percentage, instead of Cervelli's 14 percent.

Martin's defense behind home plate is a positive. But another thing the Yankees can appear forward to is the two catching prospects in Austin Romine and Jesus Montero. Two guys that Yankee fans happen to be waiting, some say too long, to see. GM Brian Cashman is pretty much particular he will not quit Montero for anything. The Yankees missing Carl Crawford isn't a terrible loss, either. Brett Gardner has the talent. They each had 47 SB this year. Gardner matches Crawford's speed. No doubt. But Crawford's bat is a little much better. Gardner is much better at working the count and taking pitches than Crawford. Gardner had 79 walks to Crawford's 46.

Simply because the Yankees didn't make big deals like they did last year doesn't mean it's going to be an unsuccessful season. There is no need to panic, Yankee fans. They have the talent. You'll be able to obtain a Mark Teixeira, C.C. Sabathia along with a.J. Burnett trio each and every offseason. The Yankees want to get an additional core. Say Cano, Gardner, Nova, Russo, Montero, Golson, Banuelos, Cervelli, Nunez, and so on?-? Take your pick. Regrettably, the only real mistake. they seemed to have created this offseason ended up being to place all their eggs in the Lee basket. But don't count them out of next season. The Yankees will be fine. They're the Yankees after all.