MISSION VIEJO, Calif. -- If leadership counts for anything, New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez might have a leg-up on teammate Geno Smith for the starting position. Sanchez has been the engineer of Jets West Camp, a three-day get-together at his former high schl for several of his teammates, which concludes Saturday. The itinerary includes classrm work to study film and plays, as well as on-field passing drills. The camp has given some of Sanchezs teammates a chance to see him in a somewhat new role. "Hes kind of an extension of the coaching staff," said tight end Konrad Reuland. "It shows that hes taking the initiative and you always want that out of a leader. When we have our meetings, he runs the meetings. I think thats important. I think guys respect the fact that he puts this on. Hes done a gd job with it." For Sanchez, its all about the competition and preparing for it. Being the star quarterback at Mission Viejo High Schl and USC helped him realize the importance of being prepared on the field, and building bonds off of it. The camps schedule included off-the-field activities that allowed the players to build a rapport and grow closer to each other. Thursdays extracurricular activity included go kart racing, while Fridays passing drills ended with a water-balln toss. "Any time you spend time away from the (Jets training) facility to be out here with the guys is never a bad thing," Sanchez said. "Teams that are closer generally do pretty well. You just trust those players. You develop that rapport off the field." This is the fourth year that Jets West Camp has been held. It is strictly voluntary and Sanchez doesnt worry about who attends and who doesnt. One noticeable no-show was Smith, who remained in Florida. He claimed that he wasnt aware of the camp. Sanchez said he invited everyone. "I dont hold it against any of the guys that cant make it," he said. "I probably should have said that right away. There are no hard feelings about anything like that. "Guys are on vacation and some guys are getting married. Theyre doing stuff. There are plenty of other things they could be doing. If they can make the sacrifice and be here, awesome. If they cant, totally fine." Smith wasnt the only Jets quarterback to miss this weeks trip to Orange County. Greg McElroy and Matt Simms were also no-shows. That prompted Sanchez to call on USC quarterbacks Max Wittek and Cody Kessler -- the winners of the water-balln contest -- to help out when he needed a break. Sanchez is aware that things havent gone his or the Jets way recently. Hes not hiding from the mistakes he has made on or off the field. That includes a recent video on which he was caught exposing his bare backside while dancing with two women. "The video is a little embarrassing but its a gd reminder that youre in the spotlight and you need to be ever-watchful and careful of who youre with and what youre doing," he said. "Whether its harmless, whether youre in the privacy of your own setting, you feel like everything is fine and safe, youve just got to be careful. Thats just a gd example of that." After last seasons 8-8 record, the Jets brought in a new general manager in John Idzik and a new offensive co-ordinator in Marty Mornhinweg. Shortly thereafter, Idzik announced that there would be a competition for the teams quarterback spot. "This is a league that changes very quickly," Sanchez said. "Its What have you done for me lately? "(On) teams that dont make the playoffs a couple of years in a row, coaches get fired, players get traded, things change, organizations blow up and start over. Were with a new regime, John Idzik wants a quarterback competition. Im still here, lets compete. Thats all I can control. Thats really what Im focused on. I cant worry about anything in the past except getting better from it and moving on." Sanchez is lking forward to the competition with Smith -- and to retaining his starting spot. "Any kind of competition is gd," he added. "When it comes down to competition, I put my money on myself. I bet on myself and go play and go win the job." Hes not alone. Sanchezs teammates are equally as passionate about turning things around for the organization. They see Jets West Camp as a gd place to start. "This is great because Im behind on offence," said tight end Kellen Winslow, who had 75 receptions in 2011 but played in only one game last season because of contractual issues. "I need to catch up. Im just coming in trying to be a piece of the puzzle, trying to make plays for the team. "In this league youve got to get better or youre just getting worse. Its all about repetition and getting better every day. Im lucky to have job. Im happy to be back." Jarred Vanderbilt Jersey .Y. -- Sabres forward Drew Stafford has witnessed plenty of turmoil during his eight seasons in Buffalo. Gary Harris Nuggets Jersey . Ferrer, trying to win his fourth title on Mexican soil, will next play South Africas Kevin Anderson, who eliminated American Sam Querrey,7-6 (2), 6-4. Also Wednesday, Gilles Simon (6) of France beat Donald Young of the United States 6-4, 6-3, Ukraines Alexandr Dolgopolov downed Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 6-4 and Croatias Ivo Karlovic defeated Dudi Sela of Israel 7-6 (4), 6-2. http://www.nuggetsproshop.com/Nikola-Jokic-Nuggets-Jersey/ . The Croatian served 21 aces and hit 42 winners against Sijsling, who double-faulted to give Cilic a 4-3 lead in the deciding set. "All the players, they know me and they were really happy to see me and they were really happy that this is over for me," Cilic said. Thomas Welsh Jersey . Roman Josi had a goal and an assist to lead the Predators to a 4-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Monday night. Michael Porter Jersey . The 18-year-old American had five birdies in her bogey-free round for a 17-under total of 196. Lee held the overnight lead but mixed three birdies with two bogeys for a 70. CINCINNATI --?Milos Raonic?isnt interested in losing, even if its just a silly game of Jenga.On one off day during the Cincinnati Open earlier this month, Raonic would have preferred to be at the art?museum indulging in his favorite pastime. Instead, the rain had trapped the 6-ft-5 Canadian in a playful PR setup by the ATP: a game of Jenga with benign personal questions scribbled on each piece.If you really want to get inside the head of tennis most deadpan star, placing an increasingly unstable wden tower in his hands is a gd place to start. What might on the surface appear to be a media gimmick for the ATP, for Raonic, it is most certainly not. Raonic doesnt do gimmicks. With the camera rolling, he attacks the board like hes on Centre Court at Wimbledon.Opting almost exclusively for the center pieces, hes able to lay waste to the game quickly (23 pieces in five minutes), while the stack barely shifts from its axis. His answers to the questions posed on the back of each piece dont exactly shake the ground, either.What superhero would you be? Superman. Favorite color? Canada red. Favorite karaoke song? Dont Stop Me Now by Queen. Person youd most like to meet? Michael Jordan. Favorite hobby? Visiting art galleries. Can you show us your best dance move? Its not late enough at night for me to do that. Do you want to hear more? Probably not.Raonic, with his perfectly coiffed hair, athletic build and a smile that corporate sponsors dump their wallets out for, should be one of the bigger names in the game. Hes got the girl -- Canadian model Danielle Knudson, who skyrocketed to prominence when Justin Bieber inquired on Instagram, Who is this Guess Model. Shes Stunning. He is a thoughtful, cerebral athlete who on one hand can wax poetic about Julian Schnabel and Bruno Bischofberger and then with the other hand serve up 150-plus mph heat. So what gives?His off-court demeanor belies an on-court persona. Playing with bottled up emotions he has been labeled Iceman and Stoic. An athlete distanced from the crowd, only briefly letting lse when his serve erupted in that cathartic explosion.When Im on the court theres no such thing as a joke for me. Everything is with a purpose, with a specific objective and with a goal, says Raonic, who is seeded fifth at the US Open, where he won his first-round match against Dustin Brown in straight sets Monday. Thats a quote you might attribute to Nick Saban and not a guy who is paid to rock a Rolex like its casual sportswear.In some ways Raonic is as much a victim of his big serves as his opponents are. Theres nothing particularly attractive or charming about delivering aces indiscernible to the naked eye, especially when those aces are being delivered from a preposterous launch angle. The result can make Raonic lk like a brute delivering a missile straight to the heart of the beautiful game. If tennis is art, then Raonic is its Jackson Pollock.The way I try to play, I try to take rhythm away from guys and try to keep it quick and short, says Raonic. Whereas you have other guys who are willing to run around for four hours on court. It might not come off that way, but I believe that I clearly work harder than anybody else on tour.It might sound like repetitive bravado coming from an athlete trying to develop an image, but his coach of three years, Riccardo Piatti -- who also mentored Ivan Ljubicic, Richard Gasquet and Novak Djokovic -- doesnt dispute it.About working hard, he is one of the best ever, says Piatti. The most important thing for him is improvement. Improvement in everything -- the fitness part, the mental part, tennis, fd, everything -- and he wants that.It would be an understatement to call Raonic obsessive when it comes to bettering himself. He wears a mouth guard to prevent his teeth from grinding during play and to help realign his spine. He even perturbed his seven housemates during his stay in Cincinnati by vigilantly making sure the thermostat was set to 67 degrees before bedtime -- because it is, according to Raonic, the ideal temperature to aid in recovery.Even if its a rest day, its always, Am I better today than I was yesterday? says Raonic. And that kind of mentality has sometimes caused a high level of impatience and frustration and maybe loss of energy emotionally. But I think that kind of mentality has brought the best out of me.Reaching the top is a never-ending quest for Raonic. He will repackage and consume even the most leisurely of tasks to gain an edge. Hes an avid reader yet professes to avoid fiction. He says he has never flipped through The Great Gatsby, and begged his parents to purchase the Harry Potter series but got through only one of the bks. He read To Kill a Mockingbird strictly because it was a schl requirement.I really do struggle with that creativity side of my mind, he says. Ill read autobiographies. Ill read bks about different processes in life to try to make myself more aware of different things, but with the goal to help me improve.His current summer reading: How to Win Friends and Influence People and Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less. The lessons from that first bk: You should smile more when you talk to people. I think that goes a long ways, explains Raonic. Also, sometimes I can be t demanding of people and Ive had maybe the wrong approach with how Ive communicated that message.ddddddddddddRaonic demands a lot from a lot of people. Ask him how he views his career, and he might tell you hes CEO of Milos Raonic Tennis. Considering he currently employs a staff that would have to be transported by clown car, he has a point. He estimates there are up to 15 people he consults with on his tennis career. As for people who travel with him on a regular basis, there are three coaches, two physiotherapists, one fitness coach, a ck and an agent/manager. Some might think its overkill in a sport that rests solely on the actions of one person, but the chief executive disagrees.That post-career sadness, lossness or maybe some kind of depression is one of my biggest fears, says Raonic. Im the one that has to live with whatever happens or doesnt happen for me. ... I wouldnt necessarily say its a fear that I have nightmares over, but its definitely an awareness that I want to do everything I can to avoid that emotion.Its not exactly groundbreaking to tell you that theres an athlete willing to do whatever it takes to win. And Raonic isnt exactly a groundbreaking athlete; rather hes an athlete who by sheer force of will is aiming to break into a hierarchy that has held the sport on lockdown for well over a decade.Considering his results in this years majors (a semifinal berth at the Australian Open, final appearance at Wimbledon), hes at least jiggling the foundation more than his Jenga puzzle. No small feat when noting that Raonic was an afterthought as a junior player. He didnt break into the top 100 until 2011 at the age of 20. The son of two engineers, his professional tennis career was so in doubt early on that it kept his father, Dusan, up at night -- and prompted him to enroll his son in college every semester just in case Raonic had a change of heart and hung up his racket.If Raonic has been criticized for appearing dull and stoic and like hes playing for his tennis life, well, its because he has been. I try to get every single inch of potential out of the time that I spend on the court, he says. I wasnt the greatest junior by any means, and I have always felt like time has sort of been running out on me, and I try to maximize it.This laser focus seems to be cut from the same cloth as his parents, who worried so much for his future. The family settled in Thornhill, Ontario, by way of the former Yugoslavia when Raonic was 3. Dusan would coach his son from 6 to 8 in the morning and 9 to 11 at night, before and after work for 16 years, at Blackmore Tennis Club. Raonic is grateful for the sacrifices his parents made for him, and making the most of what they gave him is one way for him to express his appreciation.That drive has served him well, but Raonic has begun to see its limitations. You can see it in his deliberate effort to smile more on court, to not-so-subtly communicate to the crowd that he does love the game. And to maybe not-so-subtly impose himself on his opponent.Attribute some of that to Raonics recent part-time hire of John McEnroe for a 10-week stint before Wimbledon and for another temporary stretch before the US Open, a celebrity hiring Raonic hopes will reap success similar to what Boris Becker did for Novak Djokovic and Ivan Lendl for Andy Murray.The coupling has turned out to be a perfect intersection between Raonics love for art and his deficiencies on the court. Art at its core is pure expression, and no one was better at breaking the bottle of his emotions than McEnroe, a tennis icon as famous for his on-court success as for his emotional theatre. With McEnroes prodding for Raonic to become more assertive at the net and to show more intensity, Raonic reached his first Grand Slam final at Wimbledon.I think if youve watched me play maybe the last 15 matches or so since Ive started with John, youll find moments where I actually smile on court, which is a rare thing, says Raonic. Even in difficult moments during a match I will be out there smiling, which is nice and it takes something off of me and I think it carries a long way, because Ive heard players say that they think Im doing it tactically. I dont know if its getting into their heads, but if they are talking about it, then they definitely have to be thinking about it.With Raonic now knocking on the dr of a Grand Slam, the question becomes, how much of tennis is art and how much is physics? Because despite Raonics penchant for art, he doesnt pretend to create any. Im more the guy that tries to break everything down into facts and logical thinking and tries to have a reasoning for everything, he says. Tennis is art mostly when you see it. But at the basis of it, it is logical and it is about understanding the possibilities that can happen, cutting off angles and the geometry of the game. Some things are possible, some things arent; those are the laws of physics. But it is, at the end of the day, beautiful art.So can tennis be broken down as efficiently and precisely as a game of Jenga? Or is this generation of tennis destined to be reserved for the Renoirs and Monets of the game? This years US Open should provide insight into that answer. ' ' '