Mornin', folks. I've got an ESPN chat coming up in about 20 minutes, and will be back with a post after that. Meanwhile, when I opened up the email from the ATP Tour this morning to see the results from Indianapolis, I finally felt like the US Open Series is truly starting. There they were, Andy Roddick and James Blake, winning matches on hard courts. Mardy Fish too, although he had to dispatch two match points and god knows how many awful rhymes to subdue rap-monsta Vinnie Spadea.
For some reason, the hard court season starts - for me - with Indy and comes to a head in Canada and at Cincinnati. So next week, we'll be looking at some tournament and players in earnest. But first, here's a blogging update - I'm leaving for Newfoundland and three days of salmon fishing on Thursday (tomorrow), around 11 AM. I will be out of commission until Sunday night, but am trying to get something set up so that y'all can have some place to play and mingle. I also have a family vacation of one week planned for the week of August 12 (I think).
A few housekeeping notes: Some of you are still posting long URLs to link to material at other sites, and when those URLs are too long, they throw the entire layout of the TennisWorld pages out of whack. Ptenisnet and others kindly sent methis link, to Tiny URL.com, where you can shorten all those extra long links. Please use it.
I'm happy to announce that I finally have the prizes for those of you who won Andrew's Picks Game and and the Suicide Pool (TW division) hosted by TAT. Feel free to shoot me a reminder with your name and address, just in case it didn't make it into my file (although it probably did). Your prize is the official, not-for-sale 2007 ATP/WTA media guide, which is the Bible for we press pariahs. It does contain tons of information. I will try to get those guides out to you by the end of next week, certainly in time for you to consult them during the US Open, should you very quickly want to look up, say, the quarterfinal results from the Australian Open of 1972, or check how often Elena Dementieva made it past the third round at a major.
Reading Comments the other day,I noticed that someone (Jenn, Celia? [ed. note - I have since been informed it was our one and only Tangi! -PB] suggested that we do TW profiles, which, if I read the comment correctly, would be kind like those Dewar's scotch-drinker profiles that have been such a staple of magazine print advertising for - what? - four decades now. I think this is a wonderful idea. We could come up with a standard, one-size-fits all template that the subject would just fill out via email. So why don't you all think of the kinds of things you most would like to know about your fellow posters (best Christmas present, ever; least favorite tennis player; If TW gave you a million dollars tomorrow, you would. . .; place where you experienced your first kiss; preferred caliber for moose hunting. . . whatever). Maybe we could come up with something interesting to amuse each other with during some US Open rain delay . . .
Another thing: Ed McGrogan will be incorporating TV listings into upcoming Monday Netposts. I think he may also have an important announcement to make re. US Open media coverage, but I think Heidi and Ed will share that with you in an upcoming Deuce Club post.
Remember, if you have any news, announcements, or questions, email us at this address. That's especially true if you plan to attend any of the upcoming tournaments (I know many of you are going to drop by the Cincinnati Masters Series), and would like to hook up with fellow Tribe members. You can also post your travel/tournament plans in the Comments at the weekly Deuce Club entry.
If any of you are attending US Open Series events over the next few weeks and would like to file dispatches a la Beth, or Rosangel (most recently), email me. I think everyone enjoys those first-person tournament reports, right?
Now I'm going to go and write you a post with a little red meat in it. . .
BTW, anybody care to name the player at the top of this post?