In the eyes of American casual tennis fans — even some serious ones — the season essentially ends on a Sunday in early September when the U.S. Open crowns its men's champion. Everything that happens in the fall is barely noticeable, as most of it takes place in Europe and none of the events carry the significance of the Grand Slams.

But something is happening this week that I feel local readers should realize, and its importance should not be ignored: Fairfield's James Blake will compete in the year-end championships in China that begin today.

This is a first for Blake, as only the top eight players in the entire world, for the entire year, are invited to the prestigious tournament. That means that since the season started in Australia in January, Blake has been one of the elite eight in men's professional tennis.

Now that's a big deal.

And Blake got to China with consistent play (and, I guess, an airline ticket). He won a tournament in January. He won another in March, reached a Masters Series final that same month, beat Andy Roddick to win a title in July, and won two more tournaments in October, including successfully defending a title in Stockholm.

Blake, a rare top-10 player who actually attended college, has endured his share of physical issues, and we're not talking about just ankle sprains and elbow tendinitis. And he has come through it all to become a bona fide tennis star. He's exciting to watch, fans love him, and now he has results to go

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along with it.

That's not to say Blake is without flaws on his resume. He's reached just two Grand Slam quarterfinals, both at the U.S. Open, and his record in Masters Series events isn't spectacular. To make that next jump, he'll have to contend for more major championships, which will be difficult since the majority of his success has come on one surface — hardcourt.

But Blake's accomplishments still deserve recognition. And since he's clearly a late bloomer, who knows just what his ceiling will be?

He starts the Masters Cup on Monday against Rafael Nadal, and his four-player group is certainly the more favorable. After round-robin play, the top two from each group reach the semifinals, and it wouldn't shock me to see Blake advance to that round. That would be another impressive feather in his cap.

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(Jeers) To the end of the Keith Foulke era in Boston. I've occasionally been chided for my undying support of the embattled reliever, but I simply will never forget what he did for the Red Sox.

He opted not to exercise his option with the team Friday, and his last two years in Boston were filled with inconsistency, injuries and some regrettable comments. But in 2004, he was an absolute warrior, and there's no chance the Sox have that championship flag flying at Fenway Park right now if not for Foulke. Thirty years from now, Foulke will still be one of the first players I'll think of when the 2004 Sox come up in discussion.

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(Cheers) To the 10-year anniversary of ESPNEWS. The truth is, I watch ESPNEWS considerably more than ESPN these days. It's not even close. I want news, analysis and highlights, but I don't want to sit through a 90-minute show to see what I tuned in for. ESPNEWS is no-nonsense and very informative, and I'm a big fan.

Contact Chris Casavant at c.casavant@yahoo.com