NEW YORK -- In February 2013, during a four-week span that saw President Obama inaugurated for his second term, Michael Jordan turn 50 and the Pentagon lift the official ban on women in direct combat roles, Serena Williams returned to the top of the world rankings in tennis. Ahkello Witherspoon Jersey . For the sixth time.Other than the fact that Williams, at age 31, became the oldest woman to hold the top spot since the computer rankings were introduced in 1975, surpassing Chris Evert, it wasnt huge news.Eleven years earlier, at age 20, Serena had attained the No. 1 ranking for the first time and spent a little over a year there. She returned to the top again in September 2008 after more than a five-year gap, the longest span between stays at No. 1 in WTA history.At no time since then would a change at the top have been quite so dramatic. But it will be the next time it occurs.At the end of the US Open, Williams, who plays Yaroslava Shvedova in a fourth-round match Monday, will either be tied with Steffi Graf for the longest stay at the top at 186 weeks, or she might lose the ranking altogether.While Williams held a 190-point advantage over No. 2 Angelique Kerber heading into the US Open, Kerber, the No. 2 seed here, now holds a 650-point lead after defeating No. 14 Petra Kvitova 6-3, 7-5 on Sunday night to advance to the quarterfinals against Roberta Vinci.To remain No. 1, Williams will need to reach the Open final. But if Kerber also reaches the final, Williams will need to beat her to keep the top ranking.Agnieszka Radwanska also has a chance at No. 1 but needs to win the title.Kerber has said she has put the possibility of No. 1 out of her mind.Actually its easy, Kerber said after her victory Sunday night, her 51st match win in 2016. If one day it happens, it will happen and will be the best day. But its still a long, long way to go. Im now in the next round and thats what counts right now.With the gap between Serena and the rest of the field seemingly insurmountable over the past three years, and Williams still capable of dominating tennis when she is in top form, losing the top ranking would no doubt catch a lot of people off guard.What it will not do, however, is change many opinions within the game.I think Serena for most of the people, is going to be No. 1 anyway, said Lesia Tsurenko, who lost to Vinci on Sunday in a fourth-round match. She is the greatest player ever. But its nice whats going on now in tennis that anyone can beat anyone. Thats probably good and I think this is also good for people who watch tennis just to see some new faces.Johanna Konta, who lost her fourth-round match Sunday to Anastasija Sevastova, said any of the No. 1 scenarios would be a wonderful achievement.[But] Serena maintaining her No. 1 position, I dont think says anything less of the depth of womens tennis, Konta said when that was suggested. I think the level that the girls are playing on a consistent basis is pretty impressive, and its only going to get better and better.But lets not dethrone Serena quite so fast. While the soon-to-be 35-year-old has won just one major this year, that Wimbledon title gave her 22 major championships, tying her with Steffi Graf for an Open-era record she will surely hold alone if not next week then at some point next year.For Vinci, who made Serena look particularly vulnerable with her historic upset in last years US Open semifinals, thus derailing Williams pursuit of the calendar Grand Slam, she was in no hurry to unseat the world No. 1.Well, its interesting, Vinci said. Kerber may be No. 1, but its tough. Its tough to be No. 1. Serena is still here. I saw her yesterday [defeat Johanna Larsson, 6-2, 6-1]. Shes on fire. We will see. Its not easy to be No. 1. The points and the pressure, well see. But Serena, I saw her. She played so well. Mark Nzeocha Jersey .J. -- New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz will miss the rest of the season after having surgery on his left knee. Wendell Tyler Jersey . Vettel, who has already clinched his fourth straight F1 title, enters the finale with a chance to equal Michael Schumachers 13 victories in a year and match the record of nine consecutive wins by Alberto Ascari in the 1952 and 1953 seasons. http://www.custom49ersjersey.com/custom-terrell-owens-jersey-large-1848d.html . The formidable trio of Canadian receivers -- individually known as Chris Getzlaf, Rob Bagg and Andy Fantuz -- will share the field at Mosaic Stadium one more time on Sunday. RIO DE JANEIRO -- Organizers of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, have set up a virtual-reality ski simulator -- complete with fake, blowing snow -- on Copacabana Beach.Having sun and sand is normal here, but not snow, said local Danieli Evangelista, stepping off the make-believe ski slope after waiting in line for 30 minutes for a taste of winter during the Summer Olympics. Hardly anyone here ever sees snow. Its very cool, a very real effect.Its also about to get very real for the next hosts of the Olympic Games.Were not ready to go today, but were getting ready, Kim Jaeyoul, vice president of the Pyeongchang organizing committee, told The Associated Press.South Koreas games will be the first of three straight in Asia, joining the Tokyo Summer Games in 2020 and the Beijing Winter Games in 2022. These come after a run of difficult games in Sochi, Russia, and now Rio de Janeiro, with the International Olympic Committee looking for a safe pair of hands, as Tokyo labeled its winning bid three years ago.Yet organizers in Pyeongchang have struggled with construction delays, local conflicts over venues and a slow pace in attracting domestic sponsorship. This contrasts with the smoother run-ups to the 1988 Seoul Olympics and the 2002 World Cup that South Korea co-hosted with Japan.Unlike the 1988 Olympics and the 2002 World Cup, it was not the central government but a province that led the efforts to bring the Olympics, said Heejoon Chung, who teaches sports science at South Koreas Dong-A University. There is a sentiment that the Winter Games are more about Pyeongchang than the nation as a whole.The Pyeongchang organizing committee named Lee Hee-beom its new president three months ago. It was the second leadership change in two years, and thats worried the International Olympic Committee.Lee bowed to IOC President Thomas Bach, and then to almost 100 IOC members, before addressing the full membership just days before the Rio Olympics opened.Id like to assure you that our preparations are fully on track, Lee told them.In introducing him, Bach called Lee a very dynamic and reliable leader, and joked that he promised he will be with us until the games take place.Organizers say that after a rocky start, 90 percent of the sponsorshhip target of $760 million will be met at the end of the year. Monty Stickles Jersey. Sponsorship will provide about one-third of the 2.2 trillion won, or $2 billion, operating budget. Kim said the budget would be adjusted in the next few weeks, compensating for inflation.Six new competition venues are about 80 percent complete, and a new high-speed rail line will be finished in June of 2017 and in operation the following January. The line will link Incheon airport to Pyeongchang and reduce travel time to 90 minutes from almost twice that much.Pyeongchang is also building a controversial sliding center for bobsled, luge and skeleton, after rejecting an IOC suggestion that it use a complex previously constructed for the games in Nagano, Japan, to save money. The cost is 124 billion won ($112 million) for a venue that could be a white elephant if not managed properly.Gunilla Lindberg, the IOC member heading the planning for Pyeongchang, said the sliding center and the International Broadcast Center are slightly delayed.Meantime, competition is heating up between South Korea and China over whose Olympic ski venue might ultimately become a destination for Asian tourists. Beijing planners have picked Zhangjiakou as the ski site for the 2022 games. Pyeongchang has some advantages, as it gets more natural snow than Zhangjiakou.A ski resort built for the Beijing Games is not going to be enough, considering the population of China, Kim said. We want to attract Chinese, but also Southeast Asians.Pyeongchang is in South Koreas Gangwon Province, and the central and provincial governments have been battling over who should pay the Olympic bills as skepticism grows about the long-term economic benefits of mega-sporting events, said Chung, the sports science professor.Pyeongchang mostly got what it wanted, Chung said, noting the province has pushed off costs to the central government. It has no choice. Its still the Olympics, and you dont want to look bad hosting it.---Kim contributed from Seoul, South Korea.---Stephen Wade on Twitter: http://twitter.com/StephenWadeAP .His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/stephen-wade ' ' '