Just wandering by...nothing yet to look at.

Footfault judge at USO tirade speaks via SI interview:

http://tinyurl.com/ykbvxb3

So Nick will be on the ballot again next year? And who was actually voted in in the "contribution" category? I suspect it will just be a matter of time, and a matter of a few more pieces like this which point to the fact that Bollettieri's contributions certainly are worthy of HOF status.

MA - thank you for that. Fascinating in what it didn't say.

BTW- did you see the other SI tennis article...about the US men's game?

Oh Come on Mr.

FWIW, Campbell Soup Company was started (in neighboring Camden, NJ) by Joseph Campbell and Abraham Anderson, who left the company. John Dorrance, also a local, became a partner. His family is still involved in the company today, as well as with various Philadelphia charities.

Shame on the HoF! Having lived in Rhode Island off-and-on for a few years, it's a state I still can't figure out. There's that patrician WASP thing - and then there's "Family Guy". A number of those WASPS got the family money from rum-running during Prohibition. The man I refer to as "Uncle Nick" surely deserves a place based on his contribution to the sport. I'm rescinding my membership in protest.

Oh Come on Mr. bodo,

Who really gives a toss about this- why would one even waste time pondering Mr. Bolletieri's supposed injustices-is it b/c you are of the same septugarian age bracket?And who is this old guy anyway?

Fan Child: that's what I was thinking. There's always next year. And maybe he shouldn't lobby so hard? It's been my impression that these committees want to have the pleasure of bestowing these honors freely rather than being rassled into it.

Interesting, Pete. And, I agree that it's crazy not to have NB in the HoF.

"""
Nick Bollettieri has confirmed that he was bypassed for induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, that odd institution situated in the once-formidable bastion of the America's elites, Newport, R.I.
"""

What does this mean? Bypassed forever? Bypassed this year, with potential to get in next year? Bypassed pending Sharapova's career?

Is the selection process like the NFL HoF? With a list of nominees and a ballot? Who votes?

CL,
Yes, I did on about the Americans and what direction is going.

Pspace,
Bypassed in this text means for 2010. Ballot does have a list of nominees and it is voted on by the tennis establishment(ie - Bud Collins). Think doubles rule this year lead by the Woodies.

MA, thanks. Well, I'm sure they'll rectify this situation at some point. NB is a truly iconic figure in tennis (hey maybe we could make a few NB icons) and the HoF would be a joke without him. It's like not having Harry Hopman or Ion Tiriac...did I just put those two in the same sentence? Sorry, Harry.

Thursday Order of Play:

WTA: Kuala Lumper at 1 AM - Amanumuradova vs Bammer, Scheepers vs Malek and Lertcheewakrn vs Rybarikova scheduled
WTA: Kuala Lumpur at 5 AM - Zheng vs Chang
ATP: Dubai at 5 AM - Melzer vs Cilic to be followed by Tipsarevic vs Youzhny(LIVE or delayed by a few minutes on Tennis Channel)
ATP: Dubai at 10 AM - Ljubicic vs Djokovic to be followed by Baghdatis vs Berrer(LIVE or delayed by a few minutes on Tennis Channel)
ATP: Delray Beach at 12:30 PM - Matches to be determined
ATP: Acapulco at 4 PM - Matches to be determined(LIVE or delayed by a few minutes on Tennis Channel)
WTA: Acapulco at 4 PM - Matches to be determined
ATP: Delray Beach at 7:15 PM - Matches to be determined
ATP: Acapulco at 10 PM - Match to be determined(LIVE or delayed by a few minutes on Tennis Channel)

Pspace,
Mr. X. will get on you for mentioning the Evil Blue Lord with Hopman.

I think this smacks of NOKD. Not our kind dear.

Cool post, Pete. Thanks. I love hearing you talk about the historical stuff, in addition to the story about Bollettieri.

It's OK for the HoF to select and honor those persons whose contributions to tennis may not be very well known to the public; in fact, that should be one of the purposes of the HoF -- honoring those who have done great work behind the scenes for the good of tennis. But for the HoF not to have already honored a man whose contributions as a coach are stellar and well-known is, to put it mildly, ridiculous.

At the risk of being mean...yes, Bollettieri has been tirelessly dedicated to tennis. But as much as I like Courier, Seles (who claimed later that NB nearly derailed her game by trying to make it more orthodox), Agassi (who was the only NB pupil to begin to achieve real success while still *with* NB), Pierce, Jankovic, and all the many others who've spent time at NB's using the facilities, it is completely arguable that NB's style of teaching, optimized for hard court bashing, is a big reason that tennis, especially American tennis, is by and large a boring monoculture. Where are the Americans who can play on clay? Where are the Americans with games even half as varied as Federer, Henin, Mauresmo?

Perhaps the HOF's reluctance has something to do with blaming NB for the death of volleying, for persistently telling players to hit as hard as they can and not worry their pretty little, none-too-bright heads about strategy. Maybe that's not entirely fair because the equipment (racquets, strings, shoes) has changed too.

If they let in Lansdorp but not NB, *then* it's personal.

wg

Thanks Pete for this most interesting post.

I agree with Ruth I would have thought by now Nick would have been honored

Makes me think,what does one have to do.

CL: continuing a conversation from the previous thread.

It's true I haven't been around TW much in the last few days - tons of other stuff going on. So if I missed lots of Fed fans saying, "hey, Nadal types, this not only reminds us of mono/back days, but also what you guys have been dealing with in the last 9 months or so. Hang in there," well, my bad.

As an Englishman *waves to Anglophiles out there* the Hall of Fame concept is not quite our sort of thing, but I wish Mr Bollettieri well. I'm not convinced his impact on the sport has been aesthetically positive, but it's a considerable impact.

I want to know who is responsible for the screaming that I find so abhorrent in the women's game. Sometimes Nick gets blamed for that and I don't know if it's accurate or fair.

anybody having trouble with typebad? getting weird messages about
previewing comments?

"anybody having trouble with typebad? getting weird messages about
previewing comments?"

me too, plus I couldn't post for some time...

Wow, it's been ages since I've seen or used "NOKD". LOL!

testing I am

Reeshard has taken the first set 6-3 from Almagro...

What has this got to do with anything? Eh?

"""
“I thought that maybe I needed someone I could in some way identify with. And Rafael Nadal is a person who has been totally committed to his career since he was very young, since he was 17, I believe,” she said.
"""

http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=352754&CategoryId=13003

Courtesy C Note.

Oops...sorry, wrong thread.

After Hopman stopped coaching the Australian Davis Cup team, he spent time as an advisor/unofficial coach to the Romanian Davis Cup team featuring . . . . Tiriac and Nastases.

So Hopman is owed no apologies.

Meanwhile, NBC Sports has once again incensed sports fans. On the U.S. West Coast, NBC is time-delaying showing the U.S.-Switzerland hockey game.

Great post "Wendy Grossman" and I couldn't agree more with what you said. Yes the equipment has changed, but NB has delivered nothing but baseline clones who can neither serve, volley or come up with a plan B...

Allez Richard!

VC I forgot to congratulate on Tendulker's amazing score and made history in one day cricket.

Urgh, Nico. This is clay and you're playing Richard Gasquet.

Meanwhile, Monty Python was serving for the set, but Pablo wins 3 games to take the set 7-5. Vamos!

Thanks, Aussiemarg, it was nail-biting to watch at the end, fortunately I woke up in time. :-)

I checked with my Mom, the Spanish teacher, regarding the phrase, "I identify with," as used by Colombians.

Apparently, when a Colombian lass says that she "identifies with" some guy she wants to sleep with him.

OK. I made that up.

BTW, one of the most pathetic excuses I've heard for missing a few weeks of classes was given by one of my Mom's students.

His excuse: A snowmobile accident

Involving? Not the student.

Not one of the student's parents.

Not one of the student's children.

Not one of the student's siblings.

But a cousin of the student.

Apparently, my Mom accepted this excuse.

Unfreakingbelievable.

VC, yeah, congrats on Tendulkar's amazing performance. Now, all he needs is a World Cup, and we can crown him ODI GOAT.

Can someone please explain this post to me? Tennis snobbery is bad (boo Mercedes! yay Corona! boo International Tennis Hall of Fame! yay Nick Bolletieri). Wait, except for that aristocrat who invented the tiebreak. But he was small and red, not very aristocratic, and a man of the people.

Still, since an aristocrat (albeit one in a "flexible society where lines of class and other imposed distinctions... are not as clearly drawn or as difficult to cross, one way or the other or even back and forth, as in many other societies") invented the tiebreak, there's a connection between tennis then and tennis now.

And so, Nick Bolletieri. The Nazi (long knives?) administrators didn't elect the man to the Hall of Fame even though he is responsible for the respect in which Agassi is held in the game. In fact, all Bolletieri's players are paragons, proving he is classy after all. So classy is Bolletieri that, in conclusion, were a populist patrician in charge we'd live in a world in which we could celebrate tiebreaks and Nick Bolletieri's election to the Hall of Fame. Did I get the gist?

Pete doesn't seem to know the difference between analysis, commentary and puffery.

Hi everyone.
Would it be wrong if i said i'm looking forward to "identifying" with some lady this weekend?:)

Seriously now, what's going on with the top guys in the ATP. I never thought i would say this a year ago, but Nole seems to be the only one who's able to avoid injury/illness problems. Now, Kolya retires from Dubai with wrist problems (there are a lot of wrist problems going on lately), Lestat loses to Tipsy, and apparently he was feeling his back, and Jo also loses, and reportedly he had some stomach discomfort. I think every top ten guy has had some injury issues so far this year, and we arent even in March!

Mr.X: nole has a weak stomach. No really, it's the walking wounded in the atp right now. I hope the field isn't too decimated at IW.

okay, tell me what you think of this guy's theory. I understand it's much more fun to envision the she-wolf and baby bull doing the dirty but anyway:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/blogs/match-tough/nadal-and-shakira-little-chance/article1479555/

I wasn't sure what tina was referring to in her earlier post but in case she wasn't aware, Shakira's albumn is called "she-wolf."

Great lob by Gasquet to go up 4-0 in the third against Almagro.

in case anyone is not looking - just gonna point out
that at present Reeshard is up 4-0 in the third over Almagro - in Acapulco - on clay

that is right - Gasquet is on track to bagel Almagro on clay - at the tournament Nico has won the past 2 years ( I believe )

Am I dreaming ?

FYI, the 31 ITHF contributor honorees (courtesy of Wikipedia, since I could not find the contributors listed separately anywhere on the official HoF site):

Members
Contributor category
Name Nationality Year inducted
Adams, Russ United States 2007
Adee, George United States 1964
Baker, Lawrence United States 1975
Chatrier, Philippe France 1992
Clerici, Gianni Italy 2006
Collins, Bud United States 1994
Cullman III, Joseph United States 1990
Danzig, Allison United States 1968
David, Herman Great Britain 1998
Dell, Donald United States 2009
Gray, David Great Britain 1985
Griffin, Clarence United States 1970
Gustav V of Sweden Sweden 1980
Heldman, Gladys United States 1979
Hester, William United States 1981
Hunt, Lamar United States 1993
Jones, Perry United States 1970
Kelleher, Robert United States 2000
Laney, Al United States 1979
McCormack, Mark United States 2008
Myrick, Julian United States 1963
Nielsen, Arthur United States 1971
Outerbridge, Mary United States 1979
Scott, Eugene United States 2008
Tinling, Ted Great Britain 1986
Tobin, Brian Australia 2003
Van Alen, James United States 1965
Wingfield, Walter Clopton Great Britain 1997

Come on Richard.Dont lose focus now

ok - well - no bagel to be served
but still - Gasquet is ahead 4-1

( sadly ,knowing Gasquet - if anyone can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory - he is a most likely candidate )

No Beth you arent dreaming lol!

Annie,
If you want my honest opinion, i dont think this is an issue at all. Nadal went and did a music video with Shakira. So what? Whatever they are doing there, they are acting (well, she is acting, and he's trying). It probably took as long as making one of the several commercials he has done before, and i dont take it any farther than that. End of the story. Thing is, it's good to make some jokes about it.
Ok, end of the "serious" stuff. Back to making ironic comments about identifying.

come on , Reeshard

prove me wrong
prove all the naysayers wrong

keep your focus and win this match
you can do this

Pspace : I wish... :-( Indian bowlers have historically sucked, so I don't fancy our chances. Individually, his World Cup performances have been brilliant though, so it shouldn't affect his ODI legacy.. but it would be great if India could win a WC in 2011 under home conditions. Actually, I'm not even sure I care much about limited overs cricket anymore because it's a contest between two batting sides, bowlers are reduced to an irrelevance. A Test century is worth a lot more. This particular record will probably be broken much sooner than you expect, when a top side takes on a minnow in the next World Cup.

However his record of 93 (let's hope he gets to 100!) centuries in International Cricket should stand the test of time.

ESPN360 always cuts off the match at the 2 hour mark until they can start a new stream. It's incredibly frustrating. Why can't they just allocate fours hours for a match and then trim the archived match?

And now it's back in time to see that Almagro has won 3 games to make it 4-3.

Mr.X: in my best singsong voice..."she's not acting..." :)

Ruth: thank you so much for getting that list. I'm going to give it a look see. the first name that popped out at me was Lamar Hunt. huh? I think he was an early backer
of WTT?

About the field for IW, i dont want to ruin for the TW ladies attending, but things certainly dont look very good. Let's see:
Fed- doubtful at best, since we dont really know how sick he is. He attended the players' party, so it doesnt seem very bad, but attending a party is one thing, playing a Masters 1000 a very different one.
Rafa- Looks like he will be there. Form is questionable, of course.
Nole- Unless soemthing weird happens, he will be there, but he's prone to weird stomach things, and he isnt at his best.
Muzz- He'll be there, but he seems to have some issues. Hopefully, he will get his form back and Dubai was just to get some match play.
Delpo- According to the recovery times they gave when his injury was announced, he's probably gonna be out.
Kolya- Just retired from a tournament, although he'll probably be there.
Roddick- He'll probably be there, but he's been having injury issues this year.

Gee, it looks like an episode of ER. It could still be an almost full field, as Delpo is the only one who appeard very doubtful, but it could also turn into a retirement-fest.
Hope the TW ladies will enjoy a great tournament though.

Almagro the head case?

Come on Richard Allez and all that!

I tend to agree with the view that Nick has maybe had a lot of successs but that it's more dubious how good a direction it's been for American tennis.

I seem to remember that Agassi in his book was rather dismissive of Nick's actual tennis knowledge and even his ability to be supportive in high stress situations such as in the rain delays of his first finals at RG. It wasn't clear just why he hung on to him for so long, and then only to have Nick dump him by letter after telling the media before he told Agassi.

Yet Another Lurker, I saw your comments on the OTT British commentators on Murray and I heartily agree. As a colonial who married a Pom and lived in Britain, I found the media there quite schizophrenic, from ouststandingly good to unbelievably dire. But when it comes to sport they've got a massive chip on the shoulder. They're making it very tough for Murray. He already looks a bundle of stress with his mouth openings like a stranded fish and his clutching at every available body part.

"Back to making ironic comments about identifying."
You're getting really good at this English language thing. Kudos.

Nico/Gasket is archived in espn360? Sweet.
Back on serve? Vamos Nico!

Oh Richard. Up two breaks and now back on serve. What does it take for you to close out a match?

"fingers in ears , and eyes covered"

La , la , la , la , la , la , la
I am not watching this match
geez- dude - beat this little creep
He leered at "your girl " - get mad - kick his butt
you were ahead - hold on man

Le sigh

So much for my thinking almagro was injured with a broken arm.

Mr.X: It's one of the reasons I chose the first weekend. better chance of seeing the top guys before they retire/lose/throw up. If Fed is a no, I'm hoping Nole is asked to be the fourth in the exo. Apparently he was belly dancing at the player party. He will give rafa so much grief. It will be beautiful.

Mr X - as long as Feli , Nando and Rafa are there - I will have something to watch
don't you worry about me

but thanks for the thoughts

Annie, likewise having problems with TW.typepad.

CL - maybe I am asking for too much this year
first the Saints - now Richard ?

but - all the tennis gods can say is no , right ?
so I will ask

Besides , Mr X - Richard will be there - so I will be able to watch and be frustrated , thus having a reason to drink those desert rose martinis -
see something good in all things
good - the bleeding has stopped - he held serve for 5 all

what 'hopper said about your english X. I'm in awe of all the posters here who chatter away and write in english and it isn't their native language. makes me feel terribly inadequate that i can't speak a second language. or write one apparently because my spelling has been terrible lately as well.

I wonder if Muzz is a little mentally hurt after the Oz final. Loss like that is like a blow to the family jewels. Might take him some time to get over it. Anyways, he mentioned that he hardly practiced for Dubai...tad unprofessional if you ask me.

Anyways, it's GS or bust this year for him. And, he needs to show some improvement on clay.

beth: more importantly for richard missie will be there!!

Pspace Andy is a professinal tennis player last time I checked

If he cant take the heat of losing maybe Playstations is the way to go

Mean while Richard pls!

Beth,
Actually, you were probably the one i thought would do better no matter what, just judging from the general tone of your comments here:) But obviously, going to such a big tournament and not getting the big guys at their best would feel anticlimatic. I know it would for me, althought to mirror your thoughts, with the Hott Woz, Ana I and Flavia there, i would probably be just fine.

Maybe Almagro is upset that he didnt get in the DC team. However, many guys have to fall out of the team for him to get in. I'm interested in watching these new doubles team we are gonna bring.

Well, Annie and greenhopper, thanks for the kind words, but my spelling is often very wrong, although most of it is due to typos. I do a lot of those even in Spanish, because of trying to type faster than i have the ability to do.

What's the issue with TypePad, Peg? Because it has been doing something weird to me for some time, but i found a way to get my posts through.

exactly , Annie
He will be much happier to see her , than to see me at his matches , I am sure

typebad is acting up. boo.

refreshing 2X seems to get that weird message to go away.

AM, hehe, cut him some slack. Even our boy took a little time to recover after Wimby '07 ;-). Though, that was worse than this one.

So this is where everybody is, I was talking to myself on the other thread, apparently.

Almagro with a match point.

Hey, Pspace, since you are such a proud Rafaelite now, what do you care about this vampiric being?:)

Seriously, probably he just went to Dubai for the appearance money, and to get some match practice. I wonder if the physical issues have some relevance or not. About the not practicing thing, i guess he couldnt really tell the people at Marseille: "Well, i know i've commited, but this videogame just got truly interesting, and i just cant leave it now, man!"

Annie, word about Nole for the exho if Fed is out. Although the star power would clearly go down, he can be more entertaining than Fed. Between him and Andre, they would probably spend the whole exho asking Rafa about Shakira:)

this is s really long tough game here
Almagro has had 3 match points - but RIchard has saved them all
so far

How many match points did he save with aces? Ridiculous.
201 points in this match so far.

"I see a parallel in the "journeys" taken by Andre and Nick. Care to elaborate Pete?

Pspace Cut him some slack.I have been for some time

He had a perfect draw into the final of the AO losing one set on the way? Come On I was live at that final

Also at Dubai he could have made a statement the court suits his game.

Mr. X, Muzz doing well would keep Fed from gaining too many points, and Rafa can make a quicker jump back to #1...where he rightfully belongs. Is that the party line? ;-)

Pspace By the way you can Cut Out Our Boy business by the way

tiebreak - exchanging mini breaks
RG - up 2-1

Give me strength I did see this coming

Mr X and Pspace together

Just what Rafa needs at this point in time

LOL, AM. I see Madame President isn't too welcoming of newcomers. Ok..Shakira's boy then.

Mr X - weird intermittent comment-form hang since Sunday.

Wait, Richie was up 4-1 and it's Almagro with the match points? Oy.

Good grief Richard.Pfft.

Pspace Oh yes I am

One Demerit Card coming your way

For mentioning Her Name

They're exchanging mini-breaks like it's Christmas. Is anyone watching this?

Simple comment, as I don't know much about it.....but I'll say this:

If you hear about an acadamy, and a student, it's almost always Nick B's (I know there's others...but not by name, and no, it's not cause i'm American, cause i'm not). That alone should carry some favor in it.
Jankovic, Sharapova etc...I'm sure there are many many more.

That's sad for him.....recognition for effort is important, don't punish him for wanting it that much more!

Next year I suppose.

How many MPs is that for Almagro already?
This is the tiebreak they both want to lose, I think.

well- at least both men are fighting for this one
probably not the prettiest match if I could see it - ( no espn 360 here )
but they are fightin for every point

Forking finally.

Sorry Gakset lovers.

and Almagro takes it -
oohh Richard - le sigh

oh well - at least Almagro is a good clay courter and there was a battle out there
now - gotta run

Oh Drama! Can't believe Nico won that. Congrats to his fans. Commies to beth, Arun, and other Reeshard fans.

"Even our boy took a little time to recover after Wimby '07 ;-)"
HAHAHAHAHA! Now, i think i've seen it all:)

That's a good start, Pspace, but remember this: ranking is not the important thing, no? Important is to be able to win tournaments:)
After all, in this camp, we arent chasing the GOAT thing. Also, you need to start worrying about the knees:)

Hey, AM, i thought as madame president, you would think that the more Rafa fans, the better. I was even thinking you would be willing to welcome one of the newest Rafa fans, who apparently "identifies" with him:)
SO, know i'm gonna have to share all those demerit cards with Pspace? Not fair.

Peg,
I dont know if this will work, but for a while, the first time i hit "Post". the post doesnt appear. But if i do it twice, it does, and not as a double post. Dont know if it will help.

Ah good...my dinner menu is set...Muzz-Tipsy, followed by Reeshie-Nico. Good times.

Congrats to Nico fans. Commies to Reeshie fans.

Btw, did any1 watch Cilic-Koubek? I'm curious as to how Koubek plays....stylistically? Was it a good match?

Nico, you bad, bad boy.

First, you leer at Missy.

Second, you come back from the grave to beat one of Missy's cutest heartthrobs.

Third, you are constantly thinking of returning to IW so that you can resume your very inappropriate leering.

Bad, bad.

Very bad.

I see Almagro overcame his choking tendencies to eventually beat Richard. Sorry, beth and the rest of Gasquet fans.
Good win for Nico, though. He is the 2-times defending champion, but the tournament has a strong draw. I dont know if he will be able to three-peat. With all due respect, unless Richard has seriously improved towards his best level, having so much trouble beating him on Nico's best surface doesnt look too prmising for Almagro.

I think it's a different problem, Mr. X - sometimes when I load the page a captcha form appears, but with no keyword. I'll try Annie's F5 2x tip if it pops up again.

Mr. X, hehe, good points. Ok, let's get those knees healed up, and hopefully, he can have the calm while playing open stance backhand.

Le Sigh indeed.Bad luck Richard

Well Almagro continues to impress me.

Pspace At least Rafa is strong enough to play open stance b/hand regardless.

AM, yeah, but he was not putting them as deep as he can in Oz. And, he missed too many bhs in important points against Murray. It will take some time. Hopefully, by RG.

I see Kubot is up next against Verdasco. I ought to find me a stream (is there any?)