Monday, December 19, 2016
Open-An Autobiography by Andre Agassi
Andre Agassi
is a tennis player. One of the very best of all time. Andre Agassi
hates tennis. In the preface to the book, he writes that he has
always hated tennis. He will admit, however, that tennis has been
pretty good to him.
There is a
positive note to his tortured life. His foundation has raised more
than $ 85 million for a school for underprivileged children in Las
Vegas. Naturally, the school is named “The Andre Agassi College
Preparatory Academy”. The road he took to establish the school had
its twists and turns. This autobiography will take you down that
road, warts and all.
His father
moved the family to Las Vegas, so that he could build a court to
teach his son the game. When Agassi was four, he was hitting balls
with tennis greats as they passed through Las Vegas, beginning with
Jimmy Connors. Agassi's father strung rackets for the great players.
Mike Agassi
was born in Iran, and had represented that country at the Olympic
Games, as a boxer. He worked in Vegas as a casino captain, seating
people at the shows. When he is not at the casino, he is obsessed
with the notion that his son must become the best tennis player in
the world. He arranges tennis matches against celebrities passing
through Vegas for Andre, when Andre was nine. A match against Jim
Brown, one of the greatest running backs of all time in the NFL, as
an example. For ten thousand dollars. They settled for $ 500, and
Andre won easily, 6-2.
Andre
remembers harrowing rides with his father. If someone bumped his
fender, Mike Agassi would fly out of the vehicle and fight the other
driver. If there was an incident of road rage, his father would open
the glove box, remove his pistol and aim it at the head of the other
driver.
Agassi moved
to Florida in his early teens to improve his game, attending the
Bollettieri Academy. There is constant pressure, and the competition
is intense against the best young players from around the world. He
hates the place, but realizes it is the best place to improve his
game.
Then begins
a series of adventures through the tennis world, with the end result
that Agassi becomes the number one player in the world. He is pitted
against Boris Becker, Patrick Rafter, and his arch rival, Pete
Sampras. He is paired with some very impressive ladies: Barbara
Streisand, Brooke Shields etc. In fact, he was married for two years
to Shields. He dabbled in illicit drugs, and was suspended for a
time.
It is easy
to group him with many of the other spoiled tennis brats that have
taken the courts over the years: Connors, McEnroe, Ille Nastasse.
During his career, tennis became entertainment, moving from the
dignified days of Rod Laver and Ken Rosewall, Cliff Drysdale, Roy
Emerson, John Newcombe, and Lew Hoad.
To conclude,
it appears as if Agassi and his family are now on the right track. He
and his wife, also a former number one player, Steffi Graf, are in
the process of raising two children. (Agassi says that he does not
care if they play tennis.) They are busy with the administration and
fund-raising for the school.
A phoenix
from the ashes.
This book is
now in the Wellington Public Library. Enjoy.
December 19,
2016.
Thursday, December 15, 2016
The Enforcers-A Dying Breed
We will
always remember that, without intending to do so, he endeared himself
at the 61st All Star game in Nashville to the entire
hockey world. Prior to the game, he was tossed around like a small
rag doll, figuratively. At 6'8”, and 260 pounds, there are few who
could move him very far. He was waived by the Coyotes, signed by
Montreal, then quickly demoted to the American Hockey League. It was
all too obvious to most sports fans that the league tried to shove
him aside.
Scott had
been an NHL player since 2008. In 286 games, he had amassed 544
minutes in penalties. He also scored 5 times, and added 6 assists. He
was an enforcer.
One of the
last, according to Rob Del Mundo, author of “Hockey's Enforcers-A
Dying Breed”. In the book, he presents us with 48 tiny chapters,
bits and pieces of information about most of the toughest guys ever
to play in the NHL. He begins with Eddie Shore, infamous for ending
Ace Bailey's career.
I recently
asked him why he chose this particular subject. “A while ago I
noticed this trend moving away from fighting in the game. There did
not seem to be as many 'policemen' as there were previously, like
John Ferguson.”
In the
Introduction to the book, Del Mundo tells the reader that in
2008-2009 there were 734 fights in 509 of the 1230 games played that
season. Last year, there were 344 fights in 288 of the 1230 games
games played. That's a drop of more than 50 %.
One rule
change that took place in 1987 curtailed hockey brawls. “Any player
leaving the bench or the penalty box for the purpose of starting an
altercation automatically received a ten game suspension,” quotes
Del Mundo. The instigator rule has also dramatically affected the
number of fights in the game. No player wants to leave his team a man
short when evening up a score, in a pugilistic sense.
Another
factor diminishing the role of the enforcer relates to increased
awareness of the long term ramifications of blows to the head. The
concept has been considered for years related to prize fighting.
Football players are likely suspect in this regard. More than a few
of hockey's tough guys have had their careers shortened because of
blows to the head, although not always from fights. And there are
some who have passed away at a young age, perhaps due to their hockey
activities: Wade Belak, Derek Boogaard, Rick Rypien, and Bob Probert.
Bobby Orr
writes that there is a need for fighting in the game: “I would say
this about the place of fighting in the game. I believe that
especially at the pro level you need to be held accountable for your
actions, and the threat of a fight can accomplish that.”
The main
difference between hockey and all of the other pro sports is that
hockey players carry a stick. And use it, sometimes illegally.
Many of the
old-time enforcers in the game were actually protectors. Marty
McSorley was assigned to keep the idiots away from Wayne Gretzky. Rob
Ray sat patiently on the Sabres bench, biding his time until the
opposition took liberties with the better players on his team. I sat
in the stands at a Buffalo game, and heard the mob scream, “We want
Ray! We want Ray!” Robbie confided in me that he did not always
want to fight, especially when he was nursing badly-bruised hands and
fingers. “It was a matter of grabbing the opponent, to see who
would go down first.”
Del Mundo
has covered the Maple Leafs for 16 seasons for the Fischler Report.
His Leafs articles appear at: “TMLFans.ca”. Copies of this book
are available at Chapters and Indigo Books, and also on line at
Chapters and Indigo. My copy of the book will be available tomorrow
at the Wellington Public Library. Enjoy.
“Wanna
Go?” Just kidding!
James Hurst
December 13,
2016
Thursday, December 01, 2016
Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles Men's Basketball 2016
Last night
the Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles scored the first 16 points
in their game against Ave Maria. The finished the game with 120
points, registering their third straight victory. The margin of
victory was sixty points, one of those games that you appreciate
every now and then. A cakewalk.
Two nights
previously, the result was anything but a “slam dunk”. The lead
changed hands several times approaching the final buzzer. Christian
Terrell made the front end of a “one and one” foul shoot, but
missed the second shot to send the game into overtime. The Eagles and
their opponents from Long Beach, California, were tied at 60 after
the buzzer sounded.
Christian Terrell, and the winning score!
In the
overtime, with 15 seconds remaining, the Eagles trailed by one point.
They pushed the ball into the Long Beach court, and Zach Johnson
fired a pass into the left corner to Terrell. Terrell put the ball on
the floor, evaded a 49er defender, and dropped a nifty layup over two
defenders. Game. Set. Match. 68-67 Eagles.
Full credit
goes to the Long Beach squad, in the middle of a horrendous travel
schedule. They had just traveled 5 000 miles in the first leg of
their road stand: Wichita, North Carolina and Louisville, then UCLA
and Washington. They will travel over 23 000 miles in the course of
the “non-conference slate of games”.
Evan Payne
One of their
key players, Evan Payne, from Akron Ohio, is the second leading
scorer on the team. He collapsed in the offensive zone in the first
half, and spent the rest of the game nursing a sore ankle.
The Eagles
evened their season at 3 and 3, and are preparing for a busy schedule
in December with 9 games. They had one significant loss in November
against 13th ranked Michigan State, losing by one point
78-77. They have a full schedule until the end of February when the
contest the ASUN Championship. From there, the ultimate goal would be
to get into the national championships, the round of 64 teams, and
move up from there.
The Eagles
did not play particularly well against Long Beach. Caoch Joe Dooley
put it this way: It seemed like we were on our heels all night. We
weren't sharp, and part of that was due to their aggressiveness. We
had bad shot selection, and coupled with 18 turnovers, that's a
recipe for disaster, and it almost cost us.”
The Eagles
shot a dismal 43.6% in the game, with 6 out of 20 shots hit from
beyond the arc. They shot 70% from the foul line.
The 49ers
shot well in the overtime, converting 3 of 5 attempts. But it wasn't
enough, and they ended up shooting 38.5% for the entire game. They
turned the ball over fewer times, but failed to convert in key
situations.
Alico Arena
was not jumping as loudly as it usually is with most of the students
away on their Thanksgiving Break. The cheerleaders were there to fire
up the crowd, tossing tee shirts, and firing a few to the cheap seats
in the grandstands. Once this season unfolds a little more, all games
will be sold out, and it will rock from start to finish. Put the head
sets on the babies, Ethel, she's gonna be a loud one!
The Eagles
play their first January game on the 19th against USC
Upstate. See you there!
James Hurst
December 1,
2016.
