t the U.S. Open for the first time since 1999 as he takes th

MUNICH -- Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has rekindled a debate about the role of smaller soccer nations in qualifying after Germany thumped Gibraltar 8-0.Now we are playing San Marino, Kosovo, Gibraltar. I am asking myself why there are no qualifications for such small nations, Rummenigge said in an interview with Sport-Bild newspaper, due to be published Wednesday.Rummenigge suggested such countries should go through pre-qualifying before they joined the main qualifying groups for tournaments such as the World Cup and European Championship.Rummenigge also complained about the one country-one vote system in FIFA and UEFA, saying that votes of smaller nations carried the same weight as that of football power Germany.The two topics come up fairly regularly in German media.Germany, the World Cup champion, thrashed San Marino in World Cup qualifying on Friday.Afterward, Bayern forward Thomas Mueller said that the San Marino part-timers had tried their best, but that the match had little in common with professional football.In response, San Marino Olympic Committee spokesman Alan Gasperoni put out an open letter listing 10 reasons for such games to be played.One of them was that it gave an opportunity to San Marino kids to watch the World Cup champion in action and that football belongs to everyone who loves the game.The letter concluded that, even though Germany may wear beautiful shirts, you will always be the ones who wear white socks with their sandals -- poking fun at a fashion item sometimes worn by German tourists.Philipp Lahm, the Bayern captain, disagreed with his own chairman, saying small clubs and small nations looked forward to such games.I think for them it was the biggest game of the year, maybe even in several years, Lahm said of San Marino. They were looking forward to it and thats what football is all about, joy. Cheap Air Jordan 5 . Louis Cardinals. Victorino is batting sixth and playing right field after missing two games because of back tightness. Air Jordan Retro 5 For Sale Cheap .2 billion agreement with Rogers Communications for the leagues broadcast and multimedia rights. http://www.cheapairjordan5.us/ . Pierce was ejected in the third quarter of Indianas 103-86 win Monday. George Hill stole a bad pass and was going in for a layup, and Pierce hustled back and appeared to be trying to wrap him up. Cheap Jordan 5 For Sale . 10 VCU 85-67 on Thursday night at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. The Seminoles (4-0) have scored at least 80 points in each of their games. Cheap Jordan 5 Online . -- Playing time has been limited for Maxim Tissot this season, so the Montreal Impact defender made the most of his first scoring opportunity on Saturday. Despite everything that Serena Williams has won and done, her sense of self can still fluctuate based on the outcome of a particular match.Doesnt always seem to matter that she owns a record-tying 22 major singles titles heading into the U.S. Open, which begins Monday with a retractable roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium for the first time.Not necessarily a big deal to her that shes spent the past 3+ years entrenched at No. 1 and is the oldest woman ever to top the WTA rankings.And there are times when the 34-year-old American basically forgets that she transcends her sport and has become a cultural icon away from the tennis court.Williams is devastated when she is dealt a setback, such as last years Did that really happen?! loss to Roberta Vinci in the U.S. Open semifinals, ending an attention-grabbing, pressure-piling bid for the first calendar-year Grand Slam by anyone in more than a quarter-century. Williams acknowledges she measures herself constantly.Unfortunately, I definitely do, which I dont think is normal. I definitely feel like when I lose, I dont feel as good about myself, she said.But then I have to, like, remind myself that: `You are Serena Williams! You know? Like, `Are you kidding me? Williams continued, laughing and leaning forward. And its those moments that I have to just, like, come off and be like, `Serena, do you know what youve done? Who you are? What you continue to do, not only in tennis, (but also) off the court? Like, youre awesome. That really just shows the human side of me. Im not a robot.She is at the stage of her career where history is in the offing nearly every time a racket is in her right hand. So while the stakes are different from what they were at Flushing Meadows in 2015, Williams does have something significant to play for yet again.After equaling Steffi Graf for the most Grand Slam titles in the professional era (which dates to 1968) by winning Wimbledon last month, Williams now can break that tie by earning No. 23 in New York. Only Margaret Court owns more major singles trophies, with 24, but more than half of that total came against amateur competition.Not that Williams was immediately ready to think about topping Graf after pulling even with her at the All England Club.One thing I learned about last year is to enjoy the moment, Williams said. Im definiteely going to enjoy this.ddddddddddddGood thing, too, because not everything has gone smoothly since that most recent triumph. Slowed by a bothersome right shoulder, Williams lost in the third round of singles and first round of doubles at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics -- she was a 2012 gold medalist in both events -- and then pulled out of a hard-court tuneup event in Ohio.Williams is assured of remaining at No. 1 until the end of the U.S. Open, which will bring her current streak to 186 weeks in a row, tying another mark held by Graf. Depending on what happens in the tournament, Williams could be overtaken in the rankings by No. 2 Angelique Kerber (who beat Williams in the Australian Open final in January), No. 3 Garbine Muguruza (who beat Williams in the French Open final in June) or No. 4 Agnieszka Radwanska.Its definitely intriguing, Roger Federer said about tracking the women vying for No. 1. Its nice to see this race.Federer, who won five of his mens record 17 Grand Slam titles in New York, will be sitting out the U.S. Open for the first time since 1999 as he takes the rest of the season off to let his left knee heal. A year ago, Federer lost in the final at Flushing Meadows to Novak Djokovic. In Federers mind, the top-ranked Djokovic is the favorite this time, even though No. 2 Andy Murrays summer has been phenomenal.One reason: Federer thinks the installation of the new $150 million roof at the main arena will limit the wind even when its open, which will help Djokovic.Not too long ago, Djokovic appeared to be close to unbeatable no matter the surface or conditions, and a buzz was building about whether he could chase a true Grand Slam. But he exited Wimbledon in the third round, then the Olympics in the first round, while Murray won both of those titles.Novak, obviously, the last two years, really, has played amazing tennis. His consistency -- what Ive done for, like, the last four months, hes been doing for, like, the whole year, Murray said. So I need to try and keep that going, and the U.S. Open is always the next big goal.---AP Sports Writer Rachel Cohen contributed to this report.---Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich ' ' '