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Back in the early 1980s, Ernesto Escobedo Jr. dreamed of becoming a professional tennis player.But I did not have any talent, he explained last week from Las Vegas. No, no, no. I wasnt really a tennis player.As a teenager, he played events in Mexico and found his way to small-money tournaments in Holland, France, Italy and Spain. But after a few years of scuffling -- his career-high doubles ranking was No. 727 -- he returned to Mexico.I loved everything about tennis, he said, laughing. But when I hit 20, I started to realize it wasnt my future. I always had the feeling that I was going against the water, the ocean.In Mexico, where most of his family was, he met his future wife, Cristina. In 1986, they moved to Los Angeles, Ernesto Jr.s birthplace.A decade later, Ernesto III appeared, and although his father tried to steer him into team sports like soccer and basketball, he was happiest with a tennis racket in his hand. This made Ernesto Jr. very unhappy.He didnt want to me to go through what he did, Ernesto III said.The son hit against the wall at school, sometimes joined by his mother. Initially, Ernesto Jr., who drove a truck for UPS, stayed out of it. But when he saw those unnaturally fluid strokes, Ernesto IIIs precocious court sense, he eventually relented.The first tournament, at the age of 8, came at Pacific Palms in Industry Hills, California.I lost first round, Ernesto III said. But it was so much fun. I liked being out there and competing.Gradually, the fathers deferred dream came true -- for the son. And today, the son is succeeding primarily because of his father.On Oct. 15, when Ernesto III won the ATP World Tour Challenger event in Monterrey, Mexico, the first call was to his father.He cried, Ernesto III said. He said he was proud of me.That meant a lot.Escobedo, at 20, is one of the most dynamic young players in this country. Brad Gilbert, former coach of Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick (one of Escobedos idols growing up) sees him as a future top-50 player and maybe better.The title at Monterrey completed a spectacular 53-week cycle that saw his ATP ranking rise from No. 541 to a career-high No. 129. After reaching the semifinals a year ago in Monterrey, Escobedo ripped through the Challenger circuit, reaching the finals in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Cary, North Carolina, and winning in Lexington, Kentucky, beating highly regarded American teenager Francis Tiafoe in the final.At 6-foot-1, 180 pounds, Escobedo hits the ball big off both wings and, according to Gilbert, has a better serve than his modest body would suggest. Gilbert, however, describes his movement as average.When this was relayed to him, Escobedo started laughing.Im not the quickest guy on the court, he said. Its something for me to improve on. Ive been working hard for the past two months on the track with explosive weights, and thats been helping me a lot.Working hard is something he picked up from his father, who like Richard and Oracene Williams started his child on the public courts of southern California.Same thing, Ernesto Jr. explained. I didnt want to get into tennis because I knew how hard it was. I had no resources, no money. So it was the parks, not the clubs. I started hitting with him and, little by little, we got hooked again.I told him then, If youre going to be good one day, its not going to because of the money.Ernesto Jr. cut his job back to part time so he could spend more time on court with his son. Like the Williams parents, he also avoided the conventional junior system, saying he wanted to keep the family together.He started playing Futures tournaments when he was 16, Ernesto Jr. said. When he reached a semifinal, we started practicing harder. My plan was for him to go to college, but he said he wanted to see if he could make it in the pros.He told me, A lot of players dont have this opportunity. I dont want to be regretting this for the rest of my life.I wasnt convinced.But his sons persistence -- and evident happiness -- changed his mind. Ernesto Jr. still wishes he was pursuing a college degree that he said was offered by USC, but hes seeing progress.A year ago when Ernesto III reached the semifinal in Monterrey, he wasnt ready.I couldnt focus at all, Escobedo said. It was too big of a stage for me, and my emotions got in the way.I learned a lot from that match. Ive matured a lot. Im much more comfortable in that situation.His goal is to be in the top 100 pretty soon, which would qualify him automatically into the main draws of Grand Slams. He said he is trying to be a more aggressive player, coming to net more often and serving and volleying. This isnt the conventional baseline style, but Escobedo isnt as big as some of the ATPs other #NextGen players, such fellow American?Taylor Fritz, with whom he shares coach Peter Lucassen, or Alexander Zverev of Germany.This weeks Las Vegas Challenger, where he won his first-round match, was his 28th event in a jammed calendar that included a good mix of Futures, Challengers and ATP tournaments. He won his first ATP-level match after qualifying in Nottingham back in June, beating Diego Schwartzman. Escobedo, a wild card at the US Open, split four sets with Lukas Lacko before winning by retirement. Escobedo will finish up with Challengers in Ecuador and Colombia.With the help of the USTA, Escobedo is getting coaching and support as he travels the world and learns the nuances of the game. His father still insists he play hard and exhibit good body language.Understandably, because of his personal experience, he is cautious.You cant get ahead of yourself, Escobedo Jr. said, speaking more of his son than himself. Im trying not to get too excited. We dont know what lies ahead, two, three years.But, Ive already done my part.What was it like to hear that his son had won an important tournament?Doing what I dreamed of, he said, voice trailing off. Its a beautiful feeling. Beautiful. I cant ask anything for more. Kyle Lowry Jersey . -- Cam Newton pranced into the end zone, placed his hands over his chest and did his familiar Superman pose. Chris Bosh Jersey . Barcelona also left injured defenders Carles Puyol, Javier Mascherano and Jordi Alba out of its squad for the trip to Glasgow. That means that Marc Bartra will probably start again in the centre of the defence alongside Gerard Pique. https://www.cheapraptors.com/93a-jeremy-lin-jersey-raptors.html . Nigeria beat surprise package Ethiopia 2-0 in the second leg of their playoff for a comfortable 4-1 aggregate victory. Victor Moses converted a 20th-minute penalty after an Ethiopian handball, and Victor Obinna made certain of Nigerias place in Brazil with his powerful free kick in the 82nd at UJ Esuene Stadium. OG Anunoby Jersey . Paul Pierce couldnt believe he missed at the end. Young scored a season-high 26 points to spark a huge effort from the leagues most productive bench, and Los Angeles beat the Brooklyn Nets 99-94 on Wednesday night after blowing a 27-point lead. Tracy McGrady Jersey .Y. -- Sabres defenceman Tyler Myers had no intention of changing his hard-hitting style before taking part in a disciplinary hearing for his illegal check to New Jersey forward Dainius Zubrus head. The games are still composed of nine innings and 27 outs. There are still 90 feet between bases, and .300 has always been a benchmark of accomplishment for hitters. But one longtime pitcher who started his career in the 1990s laughed off the idea that you could possibly compare the game he played with the brand of baseball that occurred 100 years ago.If you look back at pictures of those games, the catcher is standing up, he said. Do you think that strike zone is the same size as it is now?Nope. This is why measuring players of today against those who played a century ago is ridiculously imprecise, unfair and mostly an empty exercise.But its also a lot of fun.With that caveat: My top 10 players of all time.10. Rickey HendersonWhen Henderson was up for election for the Hall of Fame in 2009, it was shocking ?he was left off the ballots of 28 voters. Its just as stunning that he is not higher on this list. The aim of every game is to score as many runs as possible, and Henderson did that more than anyone -- 2,295 in his career. He reached base more than 5,000 times. He stole 1,406 bases --?over 500 more than Ty Cobb. He hit 297 homers. He won a Gold Glove Award. He is one of the best players of all time.9. Lou GehrigHe played alongside Babe Ruth in the 1920s and 30s, and yet he was so great he managed to distinguish himself long before the onset of the illness that would take his life. Gehrig hit for a high average -- .340 in his career --?and he had about 50 percent more extra-base hits than he did strikeouts. Gehrig finished in the top 10 in the MVP voting in nine seasons, and while playing in seven World Series, he batted .361 with an OPS of more than 1.200. And he didnt miss a game for almost 14 years. Think about that.8. Ty CobbIn some of the oral histories from players of Cobbs generation, there are many references to his personality --?how disliked he was, how difficult he could be. That conversation about Cobb has come to overshadow just how great a player he was, in spite of his other faults, with 4,189 hits and?a .366 career batting average, which is the greatest of all time. Think about this: He won the American League batting title in all but one season from 1907 through 1919, and until Rickey Hendersons arrival, Cobb held the MLB record for stolen bases with 897.7. Stan MusialThe Cardinals Musial formed the most perfect statistic in MLB history. During his career, Musial generated 1,815 hits in home games and 1,815 hits on the road. Thats 3,630 in all, which was the most in National League history before Pete Rose broke it. Stan The Man also ranks in the top 10 all time in runs, RBI and doubles, among others.6. Walter JohnsonHis peers liked and respected him, yet they feaared him as well because of how hard he threw and how he dominated, even while pitching for mostly forgettable teams between 1907 and 1927.dddddddddddd He led the American League in strikeouts in 12 seasons and in ERA?during five seasons, including the year he turned 36. Only Cy Young compiled more victories, and Big Train threw nearly 6,000 innings, rolling on and on.5. Ted WilliamsThere could be a robust argument about who the actual forefathers of this era of analytics were. But all moneyball DNA could probably be traced back to Williams, who seemed to have the earliest understanding of on-base percentage before it was called that. He continues to inspire hitters into the current generation, including Joey Votto. Either he or Barry Bonds should be viewed as the greatest hitters of all time.4. Barry BondsHe might not gain induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame, but if you asked most players from the 90s and early 2000s about the best player they ever saw -- and Ive had a lot of those kinds of conversations with a lot of players -- the vast majority would say Bonds. Tony Gwynn once told me he believed Bonds eyesight was so good that he could identify pitch types while the ball was still in the pitchers hand.3. Babe RuthHis greatest value to baseball wasnt necessarily in his production but in how he captured the imagination of a nation with his power and his personality. He drove baseball beyond the 1919 Black Sox scandal and into a new realm with all of the home runs he hit, creating generations of fans at a time when baseball was, in fact, Americas pastime. But its difficult to put him at the top of this list when he played in an era of segregation.2. Hank AaronAaron will be remembered forever for all of the home runs, of course, and some baseball fans will continue to regard him as the home run king because of Bonds association with performance-enhancing drugs. But he won Gold Gloves, a couple of batting titles, stole 240 bases and finished in the top 10 in the MVP voting in 13 seasons. He scored 2,174?times and drove in a record 2,297 runs. The consistency of his excellence is almost unimaginable now. Think about what it takes to compile 755 homers.1. Willie MaysHe might be as close to a perfect player as weve ever seen in baseball, with the power -- he finished his career third all time in home runs -- and the speed and the defense. Scouts will talk about five-tool players, and Mays was great at everything. He led the National League in homers four times and in steals four times, won 12 Gold Gloves and finished in the top 10 for the MVP 12 times. ' ' '