Running From City To City

So much excitement in the world of sports, just over the weekend. I wish I had another person to write for me, but thus far, it's just me (if you want to guest blog, let me know!) So that means not enough time to cover everything. My selection:

1. Exciting first weekend in the NFL. My brief observations: Brett Favre looks good in his new suit, eh? Did he really call them "New Yorkians"? As I told Novak Djokovic, I'm available for American culture lessons...Way to go Aaron Rodgers, even doing the "Lambeau Leap" like that other guy. Keep winning, they'll forget all about him...More and more the NFL seems like it stands for "Not For Long" with all of these significant injuries on day one, including Brady, Vince Young, Nate Burleson, at least 15 others. What gives?...What happened to the Colts?...The Philadelphia Eagles, and more specifically, Donovan McNabb, look very good...St. Louis looks...the same. And with the Lions performance, that makes two of them...Kudos, though, to Atlanta Falcons QB Matt Ryan. Keep winning, they'll forget all about him...Happy to see Jay Cutler (with his Denver Broncos) doing well in his first regular season game since learning he has diabetes. Very much looking forward to seeing how the rest of this season shakes out, and I don't even have a fantasy team. Go figure.

2. U.S. Open wins by Roger Federer and Serena Williams. I love seeing people (around) my age still getting it done. Serena's final was much more interesting than Fed's, but the best matches were definitely played in their quarterfinal and semifinal rounds, respectively. Each got a "milli"* and a half for their efforts and regained their respective perch at the top of the rankings - Fed, of course, not having left that long ago. This is a huge deal for Serena though, hence the high racquet throw at the end of the match. Her win effectively silences all of the critics who said her and her sister weren't dedicated to the game. They don't need to do what everyone else does. They're really just that good. And so is that Oreo commercial featuring the Williams sisters vs. the Manning brothers (see video in right corner). I love the concept but must admit I'd prefer it was for something healthy like, PowerBar, rather than Double Stuf Oreos. Ah, well.

3. I am really curious to know what in the world Monta Ellis did to his ankle that would cause him to lie to the Golden State Warriors about its cause. He claimed he hurt it playing basketball, but then it was discovered that he tore his deltoid ligament and had multiple scrapes and scratches, "not typical of a basketball injury." I got scratched in basketball once and still have the scar on my arm to prove it, but yeah, he really should have made sure his story would check out better than this before he decided to lie. I don't know him, but I'll guess it's something silly that violates his contract like wheelies on an ATV or motorcycle, parachuting, extreme jump roping, bear-wrestling, etc. I'm kinda hoping it's one of the latter two and not any of the first three. The truth comes to the light eventually...

4. Marion Jones left prison. Sad. (Some of these news stories are a little harsh, don't you think? I don't see other admitted dopers getting treated this harshly.)

5. I saw an ad the other morning for a new show on National Geographic called Dogtown: Saving the Michael Vick Dogs. Normally, I would think this was a great idea...if it weren't the season premiere of the Dogtown series and if it didn't include his name in the title. It seems a bit exploitative, premiering not coincidentally within a day of the Atlanta Falcon's own season. Not that I expect much out of Hollywood these days, but I thought National Geographic was different. I guess I was wrong. Why can't we let sleeping dogs lie?





*If anyone caught the MTV VMA's last night (DVR is again my new best friend!), 'Lil Wayne has officially taken over James Brown spot as the hardest working man in showbiz. The Kid Rock set confirmed it. I think his pants are the same length as the sleeves of my coat, though - he's not even sagging, he actually has them cut to only come up to his hip. What next?

Coming Soon: U.S. Open trip recap

FYI, I did make it to the U.S. Open again this year. It's quickly becoming an enjoyable annual tradition. Stay tuned for my pics and post on my trip . . .

And another FYI . . . since Marat Safin did NOT stay in the tournament long enough for me to snap any pics of him, I'll use this one instead. (He did stay long enough to get fined, though). I don't think I could have captured this in person anyway.

An Apology Is In Order . . .

Today's post is sponsored by the NBA and NCAA basketball. Ok, no not really, but that seems to be most of what's happening in sports these days that's actually related to the game itself. With one off-court tennis story thrown in for good measure:

1. Recently, I sat within a few feet of J.J. Redick who was riding the Orlando Magic pine (i.e., sitting on the bench), and I feel kind of bad because I gloated about his presence. But just now I realized it's not his fault that he was overrated. It must be hard to go from being the premier player at one level to playing garbage time, so J.J., I'm sorry for yelling at you during the game.

2. The Celtics lost to the Denver Nuggets, putting them in the double digit loss column. I just wanted to point that out. Nothing further.

3. Go west, young men. The Jason Kidd trade is complete, with the Dallas Mavericks picking up Devin Harris and a few other players and items added to the shopping cart. I almost forgot he was with the Mavs when he first came into the league, so this is a reunion of sorts. With Shaq set to debut with the Phoenix Suns against the Lakers tomorrow night, this will make for a very interesting western conference battle. It seems like everyone's defecting for the west these days, which just might explain the sagging ticket sales on the opposite shore.

4. It looks like the Indiana Hoosiers are going to have no choice but to fire coach Kelvin Sampson for all of his NCAA recruiting violations. I don't feel too bad for the school because it seems that they knew what they were getting themselves into but went ahead with it anyway. Just another case of reaping what you sow.

5. So after nearly a year and some change of sniffing around, the ATP tour finally found a rat among its ranks. Although other players (almost all of them Italian, "coincidentally" says the ATP) have been fined for betting on tennis matches, they finally found the guy who pulled a Pete Rose and bet on his own games. Only his name is Giorgio Galimberti. Lovely. Like Rose, Galiberti denies ever betting on himself to lose, but that contradicts the ATP's own findings that he bet on himself to lose on at least one occasion. Galimberti is now out of the top 1,000 ranked players in the game, so perhaps he's just desperate for a few more dollars. The ATP isn't throwing the book at them, although perhaps they should if they want to send a message to others. This could be very bad for an already struggling game depending on how high up the rankings this thing really goes . . .

Five But Still Alive

I know I said that there would be something coming by midday Monday, but life happened which made that impossible. And if you are reading this, then you're witnessing dedication at its finest because I am one pillow shy of a passing out. Ahem . . .



1. Federer's 10 years of making it to all of the Grand Slam finals (ok, not that many, but a lot) came to an end when he lost to Novak Djokovic - the eventual winner of the Australian Open. Hey, Tiger loses every now and then. Whether this signals the beginning of the end for Fed, I am not quite ready to predict his demise just yet. At least we know he's really human. When pressed, he admitted that he had a little food poisoning that could have affected his preparation, but he was sure not to blame the loss on that. After that match at the U.S. Open where Pete Sampras puked out his guts courtside from the flu and winning the match in five sets, that excuse isn't really available, so good choice, Fed.



2. After starting 29-3, the Boston Celtics are now 5-5, or pretty average. Their latest loss (I almost wrote "laws" - I need sleep) came at the hands of Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic. The game before that, they beat Kevin Garnett's old team, the Minnesota Timberwolves, by 1 point. Of course, KG has been sitting out now (taking turns with Ray Allen) but I still think you're looking at their playoff team. Why? One of these guys is bound to be hurt by then (Allen, most likely), so they better figure out a way to drive the tricycle with at least one flat tire.



3. Come on, boys. Let's raise the level.



4. I read an article in the SportsBusiness Journal discussing the intersection between politics and sports. The article included a pie chart showing the breakdown of Democratic vs. Republican support by executives acrosss several of the major sports (I think hockey was included, too). According to their contribution history, NFL execs are overwhelmingly Republican supporters, and the NBA execs are overwhelmingly Democratic supporters. Does that really surprise anyone? What did surprise me is that 1) a lot of execs support both parties; and 2) our friend and Atlanta Falcons' owner Arthur Blank has given money to both Hillary Clinton'a and Barack Obama's campaign; and one thing that did not surprise me: I don't recognize any of the three execs listed as supporters of John Edwards. That's all I'll say.



5. Back to tennis. Regular people were talking about Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who lost to Djokovic in the final. it's funny when you have unique knowledge or experience with something the average person does not - i.e., competitive tennis. Whenever something happens in tennis, people ask me questions like I get e-mail updates on every player. (They stopped sending those e-mails years ago.) Unfortunately, I don't know that much about Tsonga nor was I able to see many points of the final, but from what I did see, this kid could definitely be great if he keeps working and getting more consistent. He wiped out Rafael Nadal like Nadal was #200 not #2 in the world. Although, on hard court, that just might be a more accurate ranking for him.

And congrats to Maria Sharapova on winning the Australian Open on the women's side. She played some very tough matches and made them look easy. But it's not.

Yes, I ended on tennis. If you read this far and don't like tennis, pat yourself on the back. And keep living on the edge in 2008. It's good for you.

Four for Four . . .

I warned you yesterday that today was going to be a long day, and it was, and the result is a rundown. I might stop giving an intro after this one . . .

1. The Miami Heat lost its 15th game in a row, this one to the San Antonio Spurs. By one point. Yep, it's still an L. They haven't won in over a month, and their coming schedule isn't getting any easier with their next six games including the Boston Celtics, Toronto Raptors, Orlando Magic, and Detroit Pistons. These are all good teams who will probably beat up on the Heat unless they figure out a way to get out of this mess. This has sped past ridiculous and is now in the territory of busting apart at the seams.

2. Kelly Tilghman returned to the air and gave an apology. Rehearsed but pretty good. She has learned her lesson, and hopefully people will start thinking before they speak. She is lucky to still have her job in the post-Imus era, so hopefully this is the last out of line thing we hear from her. I won't hold my breath, though.

3. I love (no pun intended) how Oregon still hates Kevin Love so much for going to UCLA to play baskebtall that they boo him when he comes home. Yes, they booed when his name was announced in the starting line up in Thursday night's game against the Oregon Ducks. I know that the kid said he was prepared for it, but all the preparation in the world won't take away the sting of hearing your hometown boo you. If it had been just a few booes, then fine, but it sounded like the entire arena. Come on, people, grow up. How many NCAA basketball championships does Oregon have again?

4. I saw this article discussing a "caddy snack" and was curious as to what was meant by that. I'll give you 10 guesses, I don't think you would come close. What happened? Two caddies in Hawaii stole and ate a man's dog for whom they were caddying. A German shepherd puppy. Would that happen on the mainland U.S.? We have some sick people here but that might be too brazen even for us. The fact that it was two people makes it even more crazy. I've heard of puppy chow, but this crosses the line.

5. World #2 Rafael Nadal was summarily swept out of the semifinals of the Australian Open by France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Some may call this an upset but real tennis fans know that "Rafa's" ranking is artificially inflated because of his awesomeness on clay. Now he's definitely a great player, and has notched some wins on other surfaces, but he is not the #2 player in the world on the hard courts like the ones they are playing on now. Great win for Tsonga though, catapulting him into his first ever Grand Slam final where he will meet the winner of the other semi between Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. Djokovic has the goods, but this is Fed in a slam so my money is with him. Either way, Tsonga has his work cut out for him, but kudos are in order for just making the final. On ESPN, they said Tsonga (pictured above) resembles Muhammad Ali. They also said he has a head the size of a turkey. So are they implying that Ali's head is the size of a turkey? Or is that a faulty syllogism?

Rundown . . .

My apologies for doing this two days in a row, but I lost several hours earlier that I can never regain and now I am paying for it. On to RFTR . . .

1. First Serena, now Venus has lost in Australia. But Maria Sharapova outlasted Justine Henin, hitting her with a bagel (that's 6-0) in the second set. This means all of the people who would normally beat Sharapova are gone, and absent some hiccup, she will probably win it all.

2. Shaquille O'Neal is out again for at least two weeks. Shaq is missing about 1/4 of the season or more every year. This time he's out with a hip ailment, proof that he really is getting old. When you're 7'1" tall, I don't think your body can take too much stress for too long. I would say his team needs him, but after losing 14 games in a row, it can't get much worse, and maybe they will start winning with him on the sidelines. Hopefully.

3. People are making a big deal about the above picture (and others like it) of Tom Brady in a foot cast - carrying flowers no less, allegedly on his way to Gisele Bundchen's home. Sounds staged to me. I don't know why he'd even walk down the street in NYC. He's just trying to psych out Eli, that's all. I believe if he had a crushed foot, I believe he would still play, so I don't expect this to mean that he won't be in the Super Bowl. Carry on.

4. Proving that the depth in the college basketball is very real, University of Kentucky beat the #3 ranked University of Tennessee Volunteers Tuesday night. Kentucky has been up and down (more down than up) this season but every now and then, they can produce a good game. I did not get home until really Wednesday morning so I missed this game, but this is obviously a great win for them. As I said before, in a single-elimination format, this year is going to make for a very interesting NCAA tournament.

5. R.I.P. Heath Ledger. I know this is not sports related, but it's my blog so I can break the rules every now and then. A very talented, underrated actor, in my opinion. Just a reminder to cherish every day you have with the people around you.

Rundown From the Run-Down: 'Jones'ing For Some Rest

Running it down before I retire:

1. I hate to say I told you so. Actually, no, I don't. So I do have a record saying that UNC was going to receive their first check in the "L" column fairly soon. I can't say that I didn't think it would be this soon, because I did. I can say that I'm surprised they held on as long as they did. Then came the University of Maryland, with a just OK record (including losses to VCU and Ohio(?)), who exposed their defense. No fluke here, though, because Maryland coach Gary Williams enjoys a great rep as a top team slayer. And UNC is starting to enjoy a rep as a team that doesn't play D. Back to the basics for the other Williams (UNC coach Roy).

2. Speaking of holding on as long as he could, did anyone catch the Roy Jones, Jr./Felix "Tito" Trinidad fight? If you saw Jones knock out Tito twice (FYI, that second time was not a slip, he lost his balance after getting HIT. It counts.) then you know that Jones is as much a showman as he is a fighter, and I can appreciate that. He is honestly a bit of a nut, but judging by their talk post-fight (where Jones won in a unanimous decision), I think Trinidad "gets" him, so he probably didn't mind the antics as much as one might have thought. If it brings more fans to the sport, they all win. So says Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather, who are, as we speak, planning a Part Deux of their last affair. Just because they get punched in the head doesn't mean they aren't shrewd businessmen.

3. Eli! In the NFC Championship game, I was sentimental for the Green Bay Packers' Brett Favre, because I wanted to see the "old-timer" defeat the odds and make a run for another Super Bowl title. But alas, the bigger underdog won and won me over, and his name is Eli Manning. Manning has finally emerged in the fastest time ever (an instant) from the shadow of big brother Peyton to make the premier national stage. I've always liked Eli because he was the "other" Manning, behind his brother and his dad, Archie, who never really got the glory even though he was a starting QB in a major sports market (the NY Giants). Reminds me of a post I once wrote. I am sure Giants fans are still reeling from the shock. The fact that exactly no one is expecting them to beat the New England Patriots has to make this that much better because Eli will still be a hero (forever, to little brothers everywhere) either way. Bravo, kiddo.

4. Serena Williams made an exit out of the Australian Open Monday night. I can't say that I watched a single point, but I've seen her play enough to get an idea of what happened. If you are not familiar with the term "unforced errors," watch a match where Serena is losing and you will hear it a lot. Why? Because when she's not making errors, this woman is virtually unstoppable, which is how she won the Australian Open crown last year as an unseeded, 81st ranked player in the world. But when she's off, she can be hard to watch. And apparently she was pretty off at times. She did lose to the 3rd seed, but like I said, on a good day she can dust anyone, so I'm not impressed. . .

5. In other Australian Open news, Justine Henin, the #1 ranked player in the world (yeah, I have to tell you, and that's sad. Not for you, but for tennis) is playing Maria Sharapova (a little more familiar, I hope) at 3:30 a.m. Eastern standard time on Tuesday. To some that's Tuesday morning, but I prefer to call it Monday night when it's before 5 a.m. What tennis should be calling it is a total waste of what could be the best match of the tournament.

G'day, mate!

Run It, Run It

Rundown from the Run-Down, quick and dirty:

1. $3 million to be an assistant head coach? More than a lot of head coaches - good ones, too - are making. All of the reward and none of the pressure? I'll take that! In his press conference, Garrett said that especially in coaching, there's a natural inclination to want to advance. I thought about it and said, well don't most people want to advance in any job? Then I see people do the exact same job for 20+ years (that's definitely going to change with the newest generation), so I guess he has a point. Hopefully the Dallas Cowboys won't be so disappointing next year and will make him earn his keep.

2. Starbury is out indefinitely following his ankle surgery. I have been going easy on the guy since he lost his dad, but the New York Knicks are playing better without him. Despite his flaws, I think he has a good heart overall, though, and I do wish him a speedy recovery.

3. The San Antonio Spurs are showing they are capable of slumping, losing at home to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a "rematch" of last year's final. In an 82-game season, there's not too much shock when one team beats another. If they actually beat them in a series, then I'll be shocked.

4. The Australian Open is going on. I haven't kept up with it much because it comes on around what should be my bedtime. All the seeds are pretty much advancing as usual. The most exciting event thus far is some controversy over alleged anti-Turkish comments made by one player that appeared on YouTube - don't worry about his name, just know that he beat Roger Federer. Apparently he sparked an Israeli-Palestinian-type conflict with his comments, and he's not apologizing for them either. I hope he has security.

5. The woman who sought a restraining order against Randy Moss defended herself following comments from Moss claiming his innocence. Among other things, Moss said, "In my whole entire life of living 30 years, I've never put my hand on one woman, physically or in an angry manner." Is he coming out?

More Assault On Athletes

Scary story out of Moscow today. 20 year old, #6 tennis player in the world Anna Chakvetadze was bound, along with her dad and a housekeeper, in her own home by 6 men who took off with over $300,000 worth of cash and jewelry.

Of course this brings to mind the Sean Taylor murder, but something doesn't sound quite right here. For starters, why do they have that much cash on hand, and who would know that? It makes me wonder if this wasn't some kind of revenge or set up to avoid another incident from occurring. I won't be surprised if that turns out to be the case. .

In the past, we might have told her that she needs to leave Moscow to avoid situations like this, but as we have seen recently, things like this can happen here, too. But once again, if this truly was a burglary, then just a few extra precautions go a very long way.

I hope this doesn't affect her too much, and at least she wasn't physically hurt like when Monica Seles was stabbed. She has studied psychology, which she credits with helping her break into the top 10, so maybe that study will benefit her here, too. Although it would be understandable if she takes time off, I do hope that the returns soon because she's a very talented player and tennis would be less well off if in her absence.

American Men's Tennis Woes, Part II: Top 10 Ways to Make It Better

Yesterday, I expounded at length on the topic of what ails American men's tennis. Today, I'm giving my top 10 suggestions on righting this shi...p. Some doubt that we'll ever see greatness like we saw before, but I think it's a different day, and a different game (real athletes rule, no smoking in the locker room, etc.) and anything is possible. Without further ado:

1. Take it to the streets. If the USTA wants to fulfill its mission statement, it need look no further than its own backyard. Kids playing basketball, football, basketball (hockey?) exhibiting signs of being gifted tennis players. Sponsor them. Give them shoes, racquets, and some instruction, hook them up with opportunities to get college scholarships to play tennis. Boom.

2. Advertise the game. As I said yesterday, tennis has to advertise playing the game. It has to look cool to play again. Celebrities need to be "caught" playing it. They ought to hire people to play on the courts in populous neighborhoods and invite their friends to play. People want to be a part of something that looks cool. Make tennis cool again.

In advertising the game, I think it's important to emphasize the health benefits over a sport like golf. The move to golf as the social game of choice seems to be resulting in less physically fit people these days. When the importance of still doing cardio comes back into focus, tennis should be leading the way. "Cardio tennis" programs have picked up, but this is more for adults who just want a good workout. However, tennis-playing parents will likely produce tennis-playing children.

3. Support the ones they already have. I think the USTA should put more effort into building up the ones they do have, and expanding the assistance they provide to include the players who want it, not just the ones they think deserve it. People blossom at different points in their playing careers. People should be trained to recognize pure talent that needs molding. Maybe a formal mentor system with former players would do the trick so that they don't have to use their own resources.

4. Look here. In truth, most of the tennis academies in this country are filled with players from other countries. Nothing wrong with that, but I think sometimes the locals suffer at the expense of the foreign players. From my experience, I think part of this is because these guys who are here are considered to have "raw talent" and are pretty much like their children since their parents don't live in the States. It will take a coach or academy that wants to build their reputation on developing champions rather than making money. Good luck with this one.

5. Show tennis on TV more often. This one may be hard, because no network is going to want to take a chance on a sport that doesn't have a proven audience, and this is not something that the people who play and run the sport can necessarily control. But I think if people saw tennis more often than just during the four major tournaments, they might actually start watching it, and eventually start playing it.

6. Stage American Idol-type auditions. Seriously, American Idol has found some pretty good talent over the years. The USTA could do the same thing by holding "tournaments" of sorts -- maybe just showcasing skills -- in order to win sponsorships or "support packages" from the USTA. Then you could see who really wants it.

7. Look for opportunities in unexpected places. Here's one: At every charity auction, there is usually some kind of lesson offered, whether it be golf or horseback riding. The USTA should make sure that tennis lessons make it in these packages. Every little bit helps at this stage.

8. Make it less expensive. This is related to the first one, but involves some simple economics. Lower the cost of something, more people will buy more of it. Racquets nowadays cost $300 or more. Only the well-to-do can afford one, but every tennis player needs at least one back up racquet in case the strings break. The shoes cost over $100. Lessons are about equal to buying a new tennis racquet every week. And if you live in a cold climate, you have to pay for a membership to a tennis club. This adds up. There should be a "starter" line for tennis. Stop being elitist and make it affordable for the people who just might be the next Pete Sampras.

9. Ease up on the NCAA regulations. Not every tennis player goes to college first. Some do, some don't. Blake and Roddick are examples of two divergent ways of getting close to the top, the former having attended Harvard for a few years, and the latter foregoing college altogether. To the extent that a player might want to go to college, at least for a little while, current NCAA regulations make it a violation to do just about anything that could help the men compete. Whereas a lot of foreign players have been playing international competition since they were 13 or 14 years old, here, it's hard for most American players to play in those events because it costs a lot of money to travel everywhere and get good playing experience. (Note: The Williams sisters played exactly zero junior tournaments, but the key is not junior tournaments, but getting good international competition, which they did.) Not helping matters much, the NCAA rules prohibit players from accepting a dime for playing any sport. If they do, then they are ineligible, period. I see the point of the rule for most sports, but we're not talking about getting perks when it comes to tennis. Unlike the most popular sports in this country, the majority of the tennis events (major and minor) do not take place in the United States. Unless you're one of the top 50 players in the world and have endorsements , accepting money for winning matches is only just enough to help you get to pay your coach and get to the next tournament. Without it, it's hard to access the competition. If we want Americans to be able to compete on an international playing field, then I think the rules have to be relaxed to allow American players to afford to play the best in the world.

10. We need a hero. Although this list is not necessarily in order, I would still place this last, after everything above has been done. Not that the current crop doesn't have pizzazz, because I think the American men are quite likable, but I don't think every kid wants to be like them. Kids go on the basketball court because they want to be like Michael Jordan. They want to be Michael Jordan. Guitars have a hero. Where is tennis' hero?

American Men's Tennis Woes, Part I: The 'Whys'

Continuing from yesterday's post on the U.S. men's Davis Cup team winning the title, I said that I was going to do two things: 1) explain why the game is in the valley, and 2) what can be done to get back to the mountaintop. Today, I'll give you my opinions on its valley-status. Tomorrow, we'll cover climbing Mt. Everest.

Before I begin, I have excluded the American women from this discussion based solely on the fact that Venus and Serena are holding it down pretty well. They have fans, they win tournaments, and they are single-handedly keeping the American women relevant in tennis. There's an issue, though, of the women coming behind them, but the issues are slightly different for different reasons, so I'll save that discussion for another time.

Just in the way of background, American men's tennis had its heyday in the '70's and '80's, when John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, and Arthur Ashe were at the top of the game and winning their fair share of Grand Slam titles. Since then, there was a sizable blip around Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras, but since those two retired, the Americans have not reached the heights they once did.

As I said yesterday, Roger Federer's dominance has done nothing good for U.S. men's tennis. But there's a problem when one of the richest countries in the world, in resources, technology, facilities -- where almost every foreign player comes to train at some point -- can't produce a serious champion of its own.


So what's the problem? Before I answer that, I want to be clear that this is not an indictment against any of the current top men's players, but is rather about the general state of men's tennis in the United States as a whole. With that out of the way, here are a few of my explanations for this issue:

1. Other sports are taking tennis players. With the dollars being made both on and off the court/field in other sports like football, basketball, and baseball, everyone wants to be LT (1 or 2), Michael Jordan, or A-Rod, the latter standing to make close to $300 million for 10 years of work. By comparison, Roger Federer made $10 million on the court this past year, which was a record-setting amount. Yeah, if I'm an elite male athlete with a choice in the matter, I'm not going with tennis. One American player on the tour is 6'6", and I apologize to him in advance, but I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that he is probably far, far better in tennis than he is in basketball. Because I don't believe that there is any way that anyone in their right mind would choose to play tennis, which often requires spending at least 45 of the 52 weeks in a year on the road, without a good reason.

Especially when the Americans in these more popular sports are among the best in the world, if not the best. In tennis, that is hardly the case. Roger Federer is an awesome athlete, likely the best athlete from Switzerland, and some might say the best athlete ever, in any sport. And while he has been more fallible lately, he is still virtually untouchable by the American players ranked below him. I bet the American who could be ringing his bell is out playing golf somewhere. I know more than a few people who never picked up a tennis racquet again when Tiger came on the scene. The cream of the crop is not coming out for the tennis team.

For boys in particular, there are so many options in sports, and now tennis has to compete with new professional lacrosse and soccer leagues in addition to the other Big 3 (or 4 - if you count hockey . . . ). Tennis just hasn't kept up with the newer options.

Not to mention that tennis is fairly technical. It's not something you can just go out and start playing if you want to do well without having someone show you what to do (even if it's from a book or magazine . . . but who does that these days?).

American tennis hit a skid in the mid-90's, when Sports Illustrated infamously asked if the sport itself was dying, and the babies born then are now the "next generation of tennis" who never grew up playing tennis or being exposed to it. So, consequently, they don't play it.


2. The USTA isn't really doing "development." For some reason, in many areas in American life, training has fallen by the wayside. No, now we expect people to pull themselves up by their bootstraps, know everything when they come in the door, and if they don't, it's their fault, not the people who didn't train them in the first place. Development does not occur. You either come in the door ready, or you're done.

If you're not familiar with the United States Tennis Association (USTA), it is the governing body that controls everything having to do with American tennis, from the amateur to the professional ranks. They run the U.S. Open as well as sanction 12 year old & under tournaments. They also provide training facilities, coaches, and staff for "top" junior (18 and under) players, and provide similar support for top American players on the professional tour. Their mission, they say, is to promote and develop the growth of tennis.

Perhaps the USTA just stopped developing talent. But whether or not the USTA ever did train players, I am going to explain my theory on what happened: Back then, when Connors, McEnroe, and Ashe were coming up, men's tennis was in a different era. The pool of talent was bigger, and the top players that made it through were easy to train because they really were the best of the best. Very little extra work was required to put these players at an elite level, and the U.S. had the top facilities in the world, where players from other countries came to train (more on this later).

Now, the pool is smaller, but the USTA appears to be preferring the ready-made, low-hanging fruit option. Rather than adjusting by, say, going out and recruiting players to play tennis who might be playing other sports, they're taking what comes to them (i.e., who's winning the tournaments). And what comes to them may not always be the cream of the tennis crop.

3. No marketing. At all.

Be honest. You didn't really know that the USTA was before a few moments ago. But it's not your fault. They aren't visible. Tennis is not visible.

Andy Roddick may talk to you about his American Express around U.S. Open time, but he's not telling you to pick up a racquet or making tennis look like something you want to do. Similarly, while it is great that Blake, Roddick, and the Bryan twins (Bob and Mike - tops in men's doubles) participated in the festivities at a Portland Trailblazers game during Davis Cup, I doubt too many folks went out and played tennis the next day. While marketing of the sport itself may not be important in a sport like football or basketball, tennis is not those sports. Because playing tennis is not that popular anymore, promotion of actually playing the sport needs to occur. It's hard when tennis is not seen on TV often enough to register with its target audience (in my experience, tennis courts are in short supply every year when Wimbledon is on TV). When poker seemingly gets more airtime than tennis on ESPN, something is wrong with that picture.

4. Americans don't want it as much. This may be one of the most important - and controversial - factors in why the American men's game is at its nadir. My father has always made a big deal out of being hungry. He has mentioned in a few discussions about American sports in general that parents should take the "creature comforts" from their children if they really want them to be good.

Now, I think that might be a little extreme, but I do believe he has a great point. Kids need to be hungry.
There are a lot of foreign players in college these days. Not just at the big, Division I programs, but everywhere. A lot of people complain about this phenomenon, which has been on-going for many years now, but I think they just want to be there more than Americans do.

Americans, on average, are a fairly comfortable bunch compared to the rest of the world. When it comes to tennis in this country, one of the most expensive sports (perhaps only surpassed by golf), then the vast majority of the participants are people who aren't wanting for much. Here, we are playing tennis because it's fun and we like it, or we're just good at it, and we're competitive.

Now, take your average top player from another country. They are growing up in an entirely different system than we have here. They probably started playing tennis earlier. Tennis pays a lot more than their other sporting and "normal" options, and so they may be playing tennis to make a way for their family. Not only that, but they have a large talent pool of players trying to do the exact same thing, so they represent the best athletes in their country, not just the best tennis players. For many, tennis represents a way out for them and may be the only way that seems within their grasp. When you come from less and have more on the line, your performance is going to take on a different level of significance, I don't care who you are.

Now, we bring these two types of players into the same competitive environment. The American player, who will just drive his nice car to his nice condo if he loses vs. the non-American player who may not be able to afford a plane ticket home. True story.

The bottom line is that American men -- and women -- just aren't as hungry as their non-American counterparts. They simply have too many options available to them in terms of other activities, and including living a life as or more comfortable than they would if they never picked up a tennis racquet. I don't exclude myself from this category, either. Had my options been more limited or I really wanted to make a run on the tour, I think I would be in a totally different place than I am right now. So I am not suggesting that it's necessarily a bad thing that we're not as hungry, but I do believe that it is affecting the quality of the game.

Having different levels of motivation simply cannot be underestimated. (I avoided making a "no match for . . . " pun here. You can thank me later).

So what can be done to reverse the course in light of the above? Stay tuned for tomorrow's post where I will give my Top 10 suggestions on fixing this quagmire.

American Men's Tennis Did Something Cool . . .

Newsflash: The United States men won the Davis Cup for the first time in 12 years.

What? You didn't hear about that?

Well, take heart because I am ashamed to admit I didn't either until someone told me. I didn't even watch a single point of the entire Davis Cup. They beat Russia, by the way. And the Davis Cup, is an international team tennis event akin to the World Cup in soccer, an event that the American men have won 32 times since 1900.

And no one even knows it took place. Why? Because, as much as I hate to admit this, American men's tennis is just not relevant.

Unfortunately, I think American men's tennis would be more popular if there wasn't this guy named Roger Federer around. I've had enough of seeing Andy Roddick and James Blank make it to the semis and finals of a tournament just to see them ultimately lose to Federer or someone else - but mainly Fed.

If they didn't get dealt with so handily, then perhaps it might be sort of interesting to watch them play. It's not really fun when you know someone is not going to win. I've seen Roddick play (and lose very badly) to Federer enough times to know that this guy just has his number, maybe for life. Once he or Blake, or some other American breaks through against Fed for the first time, or Fed retires then maybe people will start watching again. Even then, I see another hungry Fed-like player right behind him.

Add that to tennis just not being anywhere close to football (or even basketball, for that matter) in the realm of interesting sporting events going on in December. It really hasn't seen a serious base in this country since Agassi first came on the scene.

And, I have seen the new crop of players coming up and the sad part is that there are just not as many kids playing anymore. It's just not as popular.

People will watch a Federer match at least once just to see what the hype is about. I'd put money on the fact that less Americans have seen Roddick and Blake combined play than have watched a Federer match.

Because the American men are not winning, they haven't really drawn people in or received the endorsements. Because Blake may be a nice-looking guy, but you have to have some on-court results to get Anna Kournikova publicity if you're a man.

Will this Davis Cup win do more for their popularity here? Maybe. But if you didn't know that they'd even won the Davis Cup before you read this post, then I think we have our answer right here.

Stay tuned tomorrow when I will give my theories on why the American men's tennis is not as good as it could be, and my 10 suggestions for making it better . . .

Another One Snorts Bites the Dust

Martina Hingis, former world tennis #1 and five-time Grand Slam champion, shockingly retired for the second time after admitting that she tested positive for cocaine at Wimbledon this year. She denies that she used cocaine and says she's leaving (for good, this time) because she doesn't want to spend the time and effort fighting the results.

(To borrow from an e-mail that I wrote earlier:)

Cocaine use by an athlete typically means you a) really have a problem and/or b) can't be serious about whatever sport you're playing. Len Bias was probably the former, and you see what happened to him. You're asking your body to do a lot if you're going to push it to the edge and use cocaine on top of that.

I don't buy her denial at all. She came out of the blue with this one, and now they can't do anything to really check it out. The only reason she's not going to jail like Marion Jones is because BALCO didn't give it to her and her "dealer" wasn't a part of a federal investigation. Instead, she just up and retired before it could become an issue.

It's actually sad because she really was a talented youngster. I sat courtside and watched her at the U.S. Open this past September and she looked way off her form of 10 years ago, both mentally and physically. Her heyday ended the same day the Williams' began. It became apparent that these girls were too big and strong for her game. She was better off finding a new job anyway unless she was happy just hovering in the top 20.

But if she does have a drug problem, I sincerely hope she takes care of that first.

Flushing Meadows, Here I Come!

I know I missed the first day of play at the U.S. Open and for that I should probably be a little ashamed. But the Mike Vick show was on, so I tuned into that instead. Luckily, the show will only be in re-runs until December 10th so I can get back to my regularly scheduled programs.

Which brings me back to tennis. This Friday, I will be heading to the U.S. Open tennis tournament in Flushing Meadows, NY. I will be leaving my tennis shirt, skirt, socks, tennis shoes, wristbands, tennis bags and tennis racquets at home because I don't need these to watch a tennis match, but apparently not everyone gets this memo (I think they include it with the tickets). I can see wearing one, or maybe even two of these, but I really wonder about the guy who, every year without fail, comes dressed in full gear, only to be told that he will be relegated to the status of "fan" and, no, Roger Federer will not be asking him to warm up before his match.

I haven't watched much tennis since the French Open, but I know I need to brush up on my Russian and Serbian. This is an annual Labor Day event for me, when I get to spend up to 18 hours at the National Tennis Center watching tennis. If this sounds boring to you, then you probably haven't partaken in the festivities. Chief among them for me, watching Marat Safin.


Man, he's a talented young fella. While he did manage to keep it together long enough to win two Grand Slam tournaments - the 2005 Australian Open and the 2000 U.S. Open - he's what I'd call a bit of a loose cannon.

Federer (aka "Cool Fed"), whom I and apparently others might call the most dominant athlete in any sport, tends to keep his emotions in check.



In contrast, my dear Safin wears his heart, valves and all, on his sleeve.


I just need him to last until I get to town.

As for the other johnny-not-gonna-make-it's competing for a chance to win the U.S. Open, I do believe Cool Fed has this one in the bag, so I'm just hoping to see him get a few good matches. While his domination of tennis is more than impressive, it kind of takes all the fun out of it when you know who's going to win. Just ask the ten people in America who have ever watched an entire Federer match.

On the women's side, I'm looking forward to seeing Maria Sharapova (get beaten) and to watching Venus and Serena Williams. I guess I'm not the only one. If you haven't seen them play in person, you have no idea how strong and powerful they really are. I lucked up on 2nd row seats to watch Serena play Amelie Mauresmo in last year's Open, and I have to say I was quite impressed - even though she eventually lost.

What I do not want to see is a Venus vs. Serena showdown. Try more like a "show is over." I can think of at least 100 things I'd rather do than watch the two of them play, and yes, watching paint dry (#98) and peel off (#99) is on that list. Their matches have to be among the most non-competitive outings I've ever seen. Their all-time head-to-head record is 7-7, probably because they take turns letting the other one win. At least we'll be spared a meeting in the final since they are on the same side of the women's draw (tennis speak for a bracket) this year. But when they aren't playing each other, I am a big fan of theirs, and they're popularity is certainly good for the game. You go, girls!

Lastly, I am embarrassed to admit that American Express does such a good job of promoting the U.S. Open that I was inspired to apply for a card just so I could get all the perks (including free pedicab rides across the "boardwalk" from the subway to the vicinity of the main entrance). And they gave me a lot of credit. And the card is pretty. But what they don't tell you is that about the only place where the American Express card is accepted is at the U.S. Open. D'oh!

Race Car Driving is Not a Sport . . . yeah, I said it

So for my first official post, I thought I would give you a list of activities that I consider to be a sport. For a definition, I turned to the trusty Answer.com, which offered this among the many definitions:

"An activity involving physical exertion and skill that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often undertaken competitively."

Note the phrase "physical exertion." I know that some of you may disagree and that is fine. You may even go on Answers.com and see that the first definition says only "physical activity." Nevertheless, the following is my not-so-exhaustive list, in no particular order, of some activities that I consider to be sports:

Sports

1. Basketball
2. Jai alai
3. Baseball
4. Football
5. Tennis
6. Boxing
7. Soccer
8. Hockey (Yep, few cared when it was gone a year but it's still a sport)
9. Track & field
10. Golf* - ONLY thanks to Tiger Woo

* But as long as people like this are playing, too, it's always going to be fringe in my eyes.


Whether or not the above sports will appear on Pleats 'n Cleats (i.e., does anyone care who's the next Carl Lewis?) is another question, but suffice it to say they made the list. What did not make the list? These are activities that involve skill, but just because you get a winner and a loser doesn't make it a sport. They are:

NOT Sports

1. Race car driving (If something really eventful happens, I MAY mention it)
2. Bowling
3. Poker
4. Fishing
5. Iditarod (maybe for the dogs, not the people chillin' on those sleighs)
6. Hunting or shooting at anything, especially clay pigeons
7. Billiards
8. Bocce ball
9. Spelling bees
10. Eating competitions

I believe what all these non-sports have in common is that sweating - and therefore, physical exertion - is due to lighting, outside temperature and/or pressure/nervousness, and not in any way related to the activity itself. Let me know if you have any others to add to this list.

Someone has already taken me to task for race car driving, saying that NASCAR and that other league are popular. I said, "Well, so is the circus." Also not a sport.

Remember: Just because you see it on ESPN doesn't mean it's a sport!