TENNIS, ANYONE?

The Davis Cup men's final is coming to Portland from November 30-December 2. This is the first time in 15 years that the finals have been held in the U.S., according to the United States Tennis Association

The 3-day event pits top men's players from the U.S. and Russia, the final two teams in a 16-team, months-long tournament. The U.S. beat Sweden and Russia beat Germany in the semi-finals last weekend.

The U.S. team, captained by Patrick McEnroe, features Andy Roddick, Bob Bryan, Mike Bryan and James Blake. The Russian roster includes Marat Safin, Mikhail Youzhny, Dmitry Tursunov, Nikolay Davydenko and Igor Andreev, and is captained by Shamil Tarpishchev.

If you plan to attend and watch the action on the court, act early -- tickets will be sold beginning in mid-October. USTA spokesman Chris Widmaier predicted with confidence that the event "will sell out all three days."

Also act early to secure housing reservations. USTA organizers say they expect to draw tennis buffs from all over the West Coast and draw international attention.

Since there's also a Van Halen concert scheduled the same weekend, The Fulton House will fill its room and suite early. We're only about 10-minutes away from both the tennis and the music venues if you drive, and only a half-block from a bus stop if you decide to take public transportation to avoid all the hassles and expense of parking.

Please book now! Innkeepers Wendy and John hate to tell would-be guests that we're all filled up already. Check our website: www.thefultonhouse.com