Rainy Day Crisis Center 8.21

Mornin' folks. I don't just feel an idiot today, I feel like and idiot and a dork, which is a pretty  deadly combination. More on that a little later. Meanwhile, here in New York it's been  raining like all get-out all morning,  so I doubt there will be any tennis played in New Haven or at the BJKNTC (US Open qualifying was supposed to get underway today)  until later in the day. This gives me the opportunity to handle a few housekeeping chores; feel free to discuss anything you like until play starts at the Pilot Pen. I'll be back with a post on some thoughts I've had about Wimbledon and the GOAT debate later.

Now where were we? Oh, yeah - idiot. Well, I neglected to thank Rosangel for the terrific job she did posting the Crisis Center entries while I was on vacation. She, Heidi and the Mod Squad have become invaluable to TennisWorld. We've evolved into a 24/7 site where the lights are always on, and that would simply be impossible for me to have pulled off without the help of such bright, passionate, well-informed and literate folks.  Many, many thanks to all of you. . .

Okay, that takes care of idiot. Now dork.Yesterday, I erroneously wrote that the word "flove" originated as a typo in one of Mrs. Santa's posts, but has since become part of the tribal patois. This is wrong, as Mrs. Santa's 11:55 PM post in the previous post made abundantly clear (see: http://tinyurl.com/2p76th). This is kind of like standing there, wondering why everyone is snickering and tittering, until you realize that your fly is open. I guess that's what I get for trying to hang with the cool kids.

And finally - Unless the weather is really snotty, I am heading out to the BJKNTC on Thursday, to collect my credentials, catch some qualifying, and write a late-afternoon post for y'all. When I mentioned that tentative plan yesterday evening in our late-night chat session at the previous thread, the responses were so enthusiastic that I decided we ought to make Thursday a TW day at the US Open.

This will be a great opportunity to meet some fellow TW readers, and consider the pluses: the qualifying is free (and hey, Frankie Dancevic has to qualify, because he just missed the cut-off for direct entry into the US Open a few weeks ago. He's the top seed), and there will be lots of room for folks to move around, watch matches together, hang out in the food court - whatever. I will suss things out later and suggest a meeting point - it will probably be near the media center at Arthur Ashe, perhaps at the Heineken Red Star Cafe, which is No. 18 on this map (you can click to enlarge it if the numerals are too small). And here's the schedule, which is loaded with names you'll recognize. I'll post final details tomorrow, but try to make it, it will be a blast! Rolo is bringing his three-year old nephew, who is the youngest member of the Tribe as far as I know.

Oh, and I'm posting this picture of Gael Monfils (aka Bambi, which was something else I learned while hanging around the cool kids last night) because it was taken especially for Mrs. Santa (with flove) by Snoo Foo, a few days ago in New Haven. The shot below is yet another Snoo Foo image, in which our official TW New Haven photographer manages to capture the sensitive, contemplative, gentle nature of Luis Horna, as expressed in this wonderful still life tentatively titled: Hurting Racquet with Water Bottle and Shoe. That Snoo, she really is a poet with the camera, n'est pas? Snoo tells us this was but one of the two racquets Luis Horna destroyed "In his totally off-the-chain three-setter with Teimuraz Gabashvili. . ."

!Phpu1gygkpm