FanHouse BillieJeanKing

Venus is not Serena. They don't dress alike, sound alike, play alike or look alike. They stand out alike, yes, because they are a novelty together, they are great and they are sisters.

But we have combined them in every way for some obvious reasons, but frankly, that's not fair to Venus.

Venus Williams is a better champion than Serena Williams. More elegant, more gracious.

On Tuesday, Venus starts defense of her title at Wimbledon, where she has a royal feel. She is the queen. And in the most elegant place in tennis, Venus stands apart.

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NEW YORK -- FanHouse was all credentialed up for Monday night's BNP Paribas Showdown for the Billie Jean King Cup. From Bill Clinton's speech, to what Serena's triumph over her sister means moving forward, here's a list of 20 observations from a night of tennis involving Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic, Serena Williams and Venus Williams at New York's Madison Square Garden.

The BNP Paribas Showdown for the Billie Jean King Cup might have included four of the top women's tennis players, but the Madison Square Garden crowd wanted only two to make it to the finals.

They got their wish when Serena Williams took down Ana Ivanovic, and Venus Williams beat Jelena Jankovic to set up an all-Williams final that Serena took, 6-4, 6-3.

LeBron James recently called Madison Square Garden "The Mecca." It's the first arena you think of when basketball comes to mind. Well, Monday night, Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic will turn the Garden into a tennis "Mecca" in the four-player BNP Paribas Showdown for the Billie Jean King Cup

And Serena, for one, couldn't be more excited about it.

"I think growing up I've always watched tennis on Madison Square Garden," the 2009 Australian Open champion said via conference call. "You know, there was the WTA event that was there as long as I can remember, and I've always wanted to play there and you know, I never thought I would actually have a chance in my career to play once that tournament was removed and then here I am."

On March 2, Madison Square Garden will showcase some of the finest talent the women's game has to offer.

Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic will be competing in the four-player BNP Paribas Showdown for the Billie Jean King Cup. On Wednesday, Venus talked about competing in the tournament (via conference call), and said as much as she respects the other players, an all-Williams final is what she wants.

When Oscar De La Hoya purchased a piece of Major League Soccer's Houston Dynamo last week, the news didn't get much attention because, well, the MLS never gets much attention.

But it pointed to one quietly simple fact about De La Hoya, a champion in six weight classes: As fine a boxer as he is, his savvy as businessman is on a whole other level. This is the smartest businessman in sports.

Many elite competitors understand that it's the athletes who do the work but the owners who make the money. But De La Hoya is the one who has used his business acumen to control the means of production after years being used by it.

While professional athletes in the 21st century make the kind of money that their predecessors (not to mention you and I) could only dream about, they do not run their own show. As noted economist Chris Rock explained, "Shaq is rich. The white man who signs his check is wealthy."

De La Hoya is wealthy: Next month this extraordinary pugilist will make millions on a boxing match without ever stepping into the ring.