Hey everyone,
Pete's up north in Andes with no internet—which is probably just the way he likes it. Power problems, he said. Can the dude catch a break? But he wanted me to give you a place to talk tennis, as we have four events going on around the globe.
Couple of comments, while I'm here: First, how is John Isner not wearing red and black at the Atlanta Tennis Championships? He sported a Bulldog t-shirt at his post-epic press conference at Wimbledon; I figured he would give the locals something else to applaud by donning the Athens colors. Maybe he will for his singles match.
Also, Pete wrote a fine piece comparing the fan experiences at baseball games and tennis matches; I just wish he would have watched a different team, if not another sport. Yeah, Yankee fans—from those dwelling in Bronx apartments to those perched atop Park Avenue penthouses—come together each game and cheer on the Pinstripes. But the "new" Yankee Stadium, with its blatant separation of the rich and poor (remember this image?), doesn't strike me as a place where the fans truly fuse. I also think that has to do with the sport itself, whose stop-start nature is rivaled only by rush-hour traffic on the Van Wyck Expressway. On Sunday, the Yankees led the Rays by four runs in the top of the ninth inning, with two outs—and manager Joe Girardi promptly made a pitching change after Joba Chamberlain gave up a run. I should also note that the game was nearly four hours old at this point. Fans simply can't keep their attention, or emotions, running at fever pitch for that long, something which I think makes for a great sports experience. Maybe see a New York football team next time? There's only one, and it plays right off I-90 in Orchard Park.
But I digress. It is the summer, after all, and football season is still months away. It can't come soon enough, considering the bleak sports landscape of the moment (baseball, golf, post-Wimbledon/pre-U.S. Open tennis). Talk soon,
—Ed McGrogan