Pam Shriver

Congratulations to the Comeback Queen of Flushing Meadows, Pam Shriver. The 29-year-old Baltimorean bouncing back from shoulder surgery and recent obscurity, teamed with a 20-year-old Russian new partner, Natalia Zvereva, served and volleyed to her 22nd Grand Slam doubles title in winning the U.S. Open women's doubles crown.Those 20 titles that Pam won with Martina Navratilova need to be reassessed, with more of the credit going to the taller one. This time, Shriver and Partner beat the pair that beat Navratilova and Partner.

It was raining bugs on a hot, humid evening. The runways facing Court 3 at the National Tennis Center were crammed with fans rushing into Louis Armstrong Stadium to see the night matches. The lights were flickering.But Pam Shriver didn't mind. She was stuck on an outer court last night against Rika Hiraki of Japan, and she was going to win a first-round U.S. Open match, 6-1, 6-1."I kept saying to myself, 'Put blinders on, Pam,' " Shriver said. "I didn't want to look. You wait all day to play, you get out on to a court at twilight, and the officials tell you that you're going on to a court where the lights aren't up to standard."

It was a sporting night at M&T Bank Stadium, but the sport in center court wasn't football, but tennis. As in Pam Shriver's "Mercantile Tennis Challenge." The tennis matches themselves would happen the next night. This evening, some 350 tennis fans gathered in the stadium's club-level lounge to enjoy a cocktail party and rousing live and silent auctions. There were also sports heroes to pass the time of day, with folks like Pam Shriver, pro tennis player Ashley Harkle-road, former tennis player Andrea Leand, former Oriole B.J. Surhoff, and Ravens president David Modell.

The event is about donating proceeds to area children's charities by the Baltimore community. In excess of $3 million has been raised since new Hall of Famer Pam Shriver inaugurated the Chevy Chase Bank Tennis Challenge 17 years ago and celebrities from the tennis world responded to the cause with their time and talent. But mere exhibition matches they are not. When the umpire says "play," the competitors are all business. "We go out there and try the hardest," said Lindsay Davenport, who defeated Monica Seles, 6-4, 6-4, in the feature match.

NEW YORK -- She was wearing an Orioles shirt, the home whites, no name or number on it. When somebody asked the symbolism in her choice of wardrobe following probably her last singles appearance at the U.S. Open, Pam Shriver said, "It was the only shirt I had in my locker."Then she laughed. It's a good way to mask the feelings.She's having a bad week. The Lutherville native owns a tiny piece of the Orioles, and she's protesting the baseball strike -- "the whole scene, I won't pick sides." In a quiet conversation, she brought up the frozen faces of Richard Ravitch and Donald Fehr, the two negotiators, and she gave a dainty shudder.

The Camden Club inside Oriole Park at Camden Yards was hoppin' last week, as Pam Shriver hosted the annual Kickoff Reception and Auction the night before her big Mercantile Tennis Challenge. Folks loaded up on food and drink and laid down a few bucks at the auction. Among the celebs in attendance: Tom McMillen, Jim Beattie, Mike Flanagan, Geoff Grant, Elise Burgin, Scoville Jenkins and Phillip Simmonds. Of course, we had the hostess herself - and new mom - Pam Shriver. Pam had left 5-month-old Georgie at home.

Orioles center fielder Brady Anderson had only one thing on his mind yesterday when Pam Shriver announced the lineup for her 11th Signet Bank Tennis Challenge."

After beating Peanut Harper, 6-2, 6-2, yesterday in the first round of the Virginia Slims of Chicago Tournament, Pam Shriver said she still has some tennis life left in her 29-year-old body."

WIMBLEDON, England -- Pam Shriver would have liked to have obliged, but she couldn't find a telephone booth."I called home [Thursday] night to tell Mom and Dad I'd won my singles match," said Shriver. "And they knew I was facing both singles and doubles today. Mom said my dad said I should just go into a telephone booth and come out Superwoman."The Lutherville, Md., native laughed, but yesterday she could only be human.Shriver lost her noon singles match to Florencia Labat, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, in 1 hour, 36 minutes, but came back two hours later to team with Liz Smylie for a 6-2, 6-3 doubles victory over Irina Spirlea and Noelle Van Lottum.

NEW YORK -- Never say never in doubles.Down a set, down 2-5 in the second set, Jim Grabb and Richey Reneberg were about to pack it in during the men's doubles final at the U.S. Open.But a strange thing happened on their way to a second consecutive Grand Slam final loss. Grabb and Reneberg rallied and won, defeating Kelly Jones and Rick Leach, 3-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-3, 6-3."It was bizarre," Grabb said. "I was playing about as bad as possible. And then we just came back."The victory was particularly satisfying since Grabb and Reneberg were runners-up at Wimbledon, losing the fifth-set final to Michael Stich and John McEnroe, 19-17.