Le French Open

Two preliminary thoughts:

1. Jeez louise ESPN, why why why is that awful Chris McKendry in Paris? She doesn't know anything about tennis! She was terrible at the Australian Open! I have no idea what she's like with other sports--and honestly, I don't care. Important Producer Dudes: Get her off your tennis team. Brad Gilbert, Pam Shriver, Darren Cahill and the rest of the gang can make do just fine without her. And I won't feel tempted to throw my heavy-bottomed seltzer glasses through the TV screen.

2. The French crowd is rowdy, and that's an understatement. They whistle, boo, hiss, chant, and yell. During points, during serves, all the time. I feel sort of bad for the players, but as a general matter I think they're pretty coddled with all the hushed audiences they play for. A little rowdiness may be just what they need.

And, because I can, here's my first set of predictions.

MEN'S QUARTERS:
From the top half: Federer, Soderling, Murray, and Tsonga.
From the bottom half: Roddick, Ferrero, Gonzales, and (my boy!) Nadal.

WOMEN'S QUARTERS:
From the top half: Serena Williams, Sharapova, Wickmayer, and Radwanska.
From the bottom half: Kuznetsova, Wozniaki, Dementieva, and Venus Williams.

Make your own predictions here and here. And check back in a few days to see how much money I owe you.