From Portland

Mornin', Tribe. We have boots on the ground in Portland, in the form of frequent poster GVGirl (not to mention Steve Tignor, from next door at Concrete Elbow). She gets the photo credit here, too.

GVGirl is the posting handle for Karen P., a native of "Lawn Guyland" (that narrow atoll east of New York city) and a resident of northern New Jersey. Karen has a 3-year old boy who's so speedy that she calls him "Rafa Boy", even though she is a Roger Federer KAD. But, as her handle indicates, her heart belongs to Guillermo Vilas - it has ever since, in the first tennis match she ever attended, she saw Vilas's historic upset of Jimmy Connors in the 1977 US Open final. I think Karen was all of five at the time.

Karen is a TennisWorld regular as well as a major force over at Talk about Tennis (check out her NetHead blog). I could tell you that she's a big fan of old-school disco, or that she loves Guga, but all you really need to know is that her "hot tub bunch" consists of: Safin, Blake (James, not Robert), Lopez (Feliciano, not Jennifer) and Moya. I don't know how Robredo failed to make this list, him being "disco Tommy" and all. I guess Karen's got a small hot tub. . .

I'll be back with a Davis Cup Crisis Center post a little later - Pete

Karen writes from Portland:

I arrived in Portland on Thursday afternoon under gray and rainy skies. The cold, rainy haze does not hamper the activities at Portland’s Memorial Coliseum.  Hosting the Davis Cup final is no small task. Outside and inside, the Coliseum is buzzing with activity. Volunteers are setting up the venue, while  various media entities practice their “run throughs.” Signs featuring the US Davis Cup team are hung, not just all over the Memorial Coliseum and the Rose Garden areas, but throughout Portland’s entire downtown area.  Banners featuring former US Davis Cup team members flap in the wind on the Coliseum grounds. John McEnroe, Pete Sampras, Brian Gottfried, Jimmy Connors, Jim Courier, Michael Chang, Andre Agassi- they're all there, larger than life, waving in the chill breeze.

Under the guidance of the Portland Children’s Museum, children from the city created giant paper and cardboard racquets to hang in the Memorial Coliseum, and some of the downtown buildings. Portland had been waiting to host the Davis Cup Final and they're making the most of their chance to make it shine.

As coverage of the first day of the Davis Cup Final begins, look for a revelers outside the Memorial Coliseum - that we would be me and my fellow NetHeads, tailgating. Inside the arena, I'm expecting a pure atmosphere with lots of cheering, as if it were an NCAA tournament basketball game. I'll be among those watching, live - and screaming my lungs out.

--- GVGirl (aka Karen)