On the Coffee Table: Andre Agassi

Over our holiday travels, I whipped through Open: An Autobiography by Andre Agassi fairly quickly. It is rare for me to find a book which I devour so enthusiastically. My admiration for the book goes well beyond the subject matter. Agassi and his ghost writer, J.R. Moehringer, did a very nice job of compiling a highly engrossing book. The present tense takes a little getting used to but I think it ultimately helps to draw the reader into the emotional moment.

Now, full disclosure: Andre Agassi was never my favorite tennis player. In fact, I think it's fair to say that I rooted against him in almost every match I ever watched him play. Early on, I bought into the style over substance portrayal and always preferred Sampras's walk softly and carry a nasty cross-court forehand approach to the game. Even in reading the book, I rooted for Sampras in their matches and bristled at Agassi's criticisms of Pete. I almost feel as if I should read Sampras's book out of loyalty.

Off the court, it's a different story. I'm not sure there's an athlete in the world more worthy of admiration than Agassi. The man built a charter school, for crying out loud. By the time of his retirement, he was donating $10 million a year to charitable causes, twice as much as Lance Armstrong, the next most generous athlete. He's also the best color commentator on Earth. Whenever he stops in the broadcast booth to share his thoughts on tennis, I always come away with a greater understanding of the sport. No one else even comes close, in my mind - in any sport.

All of the shocking revelations in the book had lost impact by the time I actually got around to reading it. The crystal meth admission, in particular, has gotten plenty of press in the tennis world. I would never advocate for illegal drug use but I really don't feel Agassi's use and subsequent cover-up are so unforgivable. Everyone's got skeletons in the closet. Just look at how quickly and completely Tiger Woods has lost his halo. Federer and Nadal sure have beautiful images these days but it seems inevitable that something will come out someday. Would it be better for tennis if Agassi had never sinned? Of course. But I really like what he said in his NPR interview, that the aim in testing players for recreational drugs should not be to punish but to help them. Performance enhancing chemicals are another matter but nobody's going to play better with a meth or coke habit. If tennis wants to maintain a clean image, fine, but then take some responsibility for addressing addiction as a medical issue.

I feel that the most troubling revelation of the book is his admission - on the first page, no less - that he hates tennis. This hatred is, in many ways, the central theme of the book. Andre Agassi is, by any measure, a tennis grandmaster and yet he makes it very clear that this career was chosen for him by his abusive, tyrannical father. Andre has been held captive by his gift essentially from birth.

One does wonder how many professional athletes feel the same way. I am reminded of an exchange in Searching for Bobby Fischer:

Bonnie: How many ball players grow up afraid of losing their fathers' love every time they come up to the plate?

Fred: All of them!

It's hard to feel too sorry for Agassi over the long run. In addition to bringing him considerable wealth and fame, tennis has brought him to the extraordinary people with whom he has shared his life. Indeed, the great eureka moment of the book is when he finally comes to the realization that most people hate their jobs but they do them anyway because they must.

Agassi is often uncharitable towards his rivals, which can be difficult to read. I suppose it's to be expected in an individual sport but calling out Sampras for being a lousy tipper is rather petty. And Pete got off easy compared to some. Michael Chang, Boris Becker and Jimmy Connors all get slammed pretty hard. This is offset by his reverence for others: Federer and Nadal, certainly, and even Sampras earns some praise over the years.

Of course, Agassi's favorite player is his own wife. The chapter on his courting of Steffi Graf is worth reading on its own - I made my wife read that part as soon as I finished the book. They really do seem meant for each other. I will be genuinely upset if the two of them ever split.

I recommend the book very highly. It's a good read even if you're not a sports fan, I expect.

Bowl Season: Happy New Year

Happy New Year to all! May 2010 and indeed the new decade bring good things.

In as much as football can be elegant, the traditional January 1st bowls are. Back when I first started paying attention, it was still just the big four on New Year's Day: Cotton, Rose, Sugar and Orange. The Rose Bowl is a particularly significant one in my family as my father marched with his high school band in the parade in 1959. Even my sister, who grew up hating sports with a passion equal to my enthusiasm for them, thinks the parade is great and was actually thinking of going this year (she lives in LA County).

During our holiday travels, I didn't get to watch much except to check scores from time to time. I am, however, doing well in the pick-em group at the moment. I'm in first place but everyone's about to take a big bite out of the margin. I was the only one who picked Cincinnati in the Sugar and it's pretty clear at halftime that the Bearcats are toast. Fortunately, I only risked one confidence point.

I commend Brent Musberger, not usually my favorite, for complimenting the camera and tech crews during a play review in the Rose Bowl. There is loads of downtime in football and it was nice to hear the on-air talent using the time to recognize the people who do the heavy lifting in the television industry.

I got some good quality time with The Washington Post while visiting my parents. Growing up, every day started with the Post over breakfast. My sports sensibilities were influenced as much by Thomas Boswell, Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon as anything else. Newspapers will never compete with the Internet for immediacy but it was a treat to be reminded of what a luxury a well-written paper can be.

In other news, Vernon Davis (TE, San Francisco), the season MVP for my fantasy league team, is going to his first Pro Bowl as the NFC's starting tight end. Two of my quarterbacks are going, too: Philip Rivers (San Diego) and Drew Brees (New Orleans). DeAngelo Williams (RB, Carolina), my first round draft pick whom I ultimately had to trade away, is going. My defensive units also included Pro Bowlers: Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis, both Indianapolis defensive ends. I suppose I can also claim the AFC's special teamer, Kassim Osgood (WR, San Diego).

I also finished Andre Agassi's new book, Open. A review will soon follow.

Bowl Season: A Little Hawaii, A Little Vermont

Boy were we all wrong about this one. SMU kicked the snot out of Nevada, the heavy favorite and the pick for everyone in our group. It was the school's first bowl appearance in 25 years. They made the most of it.

The current Hawaii Bowl has been around since 2002 but bowl games were being played in the islands as early as 1936, well before statehood. Be happy for the SMU and Nevada marching bands who got a free vacation in the sun.

We went on a quick snowshoe hike yesterday, just up to the top of our road and back. It is my unfortunate tendency to watch my feet when snowshoeing but I did take a moment or two to look up and admire the winter wonderland we call home. There are times when I wonder what madness drove us to move to Vermont but then I look around and the scenery never fails to take my breath away. I had a lot of things growing up where I did but my neighborhood was nowhere near as beautiful - not even in the same league. This is the childhood we have given our daughter. Deer and wild turkeys in the backyard and a forest of snow-frosted hemlocks for a decent portion of the year - this is her normal. Lucky kid!

Merry Christmas to all!

Peace on Earth.

Bowl Season: Not a Flower

So, I finally got another one right as Utah beat Cal in the Poinsettia Bowl, held in San Diego since 2005.

In other news, NBC Bay Area has done a piece on Vernon Davis's creative works. Here is the link: http://www.nbcbayarea.com/enjoy-this/The_Art_of_Vernon_Davis_Bay_Area.html/.

Bowl Season: Las Vegas

I had Oregon State in the Las Vegas Bowl and crapped out again. I'm 1 for 4 so far, not too impressive. I take a little bit of comfort in the fact that Sports Illustrated's Stewart Mandel, who knows a lot more than I do, has picked every game wrong thus far. I didn't watch much of the game as the rout was on early but it was good to hear Mark May, a former Hog, doing color commentary.

The Maaco Bowl Las Vegas used to be the California Bowl, also known as the California Raisin Bowl, and was held in Fresno until 1991. There was also a Raisin Bowl in Fresno back in the '40s. While referring to these games as bowls has to do with the shape of the stadiums and nothing to do with crockery, I like it when the games are named for things you might actually put into bowls: fruit, flowers, etc. What are you going to put in a Maaco Bowl? Cans of spray paint? I had a friend in elementary school who came up with the idea of having the two worst teams in the country play in the Toilet Bowl.

I'm a sucker for lists and SI.com is doing its end of decade wrap up with bests and worsts of the past ten years. I highly recommend "The Decade in Sportsmanship": http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/magazine/specials/2000s/12/07/sportsmanship/index.html. The softball story gets me every time. Victory comes in many forms.

In response to Roppongi Moose's comment about Vernon Davis's site (http://www.vernondavis85.net/), I thought I would look into other well-regarded pro athlete Websites. Pro windsurfer Sean O'Brien created a top 25 list of his favorites at http://www.design.aus120.com/design/top-25-pro-athlete-websites/. His favorite is Rafael Nadal's (http://www.rafaelnadal.com/) while his least favorite is Roger Federer's (http://www.rogerfederer.com/).

Checking in with the Redskins: In the Beginning

The Commish called yesterday to firm up our New Year's plans. The subject of this week's Monday Night Football game also came up. The Commish is a die-hard New York Giants fan and this week, they're playing my team: the Washington Redskins. He actually expressed greater faith in my side than I felt. As I write this, the Skins are being mercilessly pounded, certain to keep the Giants' playoff hopes alive.

Before tennis and even basketball, my sports interest began with professional football. To say that the Skins are a big deal in the DC area is putting it mildly. In perhaps the world's most contentious city, love for the Skins is the best hope for consensus. When I was 9 years old, the team shrugged off years of mediocrity and followed the great Joe Gibbs in only his second season as an NFL head coach to win the franchise's first Super Bowl. I was hooked for years afterward, never missing a game if I could help it.

Two more titles would come during Gibbs's first reign. His genius was manifold but his main contributions to the pro game were in the run offense. Gibbs favored a single-back set, allowing for an extra tight end on the offensive line. His plays and blocking schemes have become essential to the arsenal of any rush-heavy NFL offense. But perhaps even more extraordinary than his chalkboard work was his ability to win despite an ever-changing roster. He won his three Super Bowls with three different quarterbacks and three different halfbacks. There were plenty of changes on defense and in the receiver corps as well. One thing remained constant. For 11 years, the Redskins had the best offensive line in football - perhaps the best the NFL has ever seen. When the Hogs were on their game, the Skins were unstoppable. Gibbs could put whomever he wanted in the backfield and still win. The results speak for themselves. And yet, none from that unit has made it to the Hall of Fame - criminal!

Just as my basketball sensibilities were formed by the Hoyas of the '80s, so too were my football concepts shaped by Gibbs. I worshiped the man. The whole city did. We were excused from school for the victory parade after they won in '88. I stood ankle-deep in a fountain on a ridiculously cold day just to catch a glimpse of the conquering heroes along with half a million fellow fans.

I liked Gibbs almost enough to care about NASCAR when he switched sports in the '90s. The organization hasn't been the same since his initial retirement in 1993. My interest quickly waned as well. The fact that I'd gone to college in another part of the country didn't help.

In May of 1999, the team was bought by Daniel Snyder for $800 million, at the time, the most ever paid for a sports franchise. While his pockets are plenty deep, Snyder has been a notorious micro-manager, running a long string of big-name head coaches out of town, including Gibbs himself in a return engagement. Always willing to shell out money for free agents rather than build a talent base over time, the Redskins never seem to fulfill their promise in a given season. What was once the organization's greatest strength has become a liability: a patchwork offensive line which can't protect QB Jason Campbell to save its life.

But this is the NFL and perhaps the league's greatest strength is the reasonable belief that a bad team will come around someday. As I have written previously, the NFL, with its Any Given Sunday philosophy, preserves parity better than any other American sports league. Every franchise has its ups and downs. Even Snyder can't hold the Skins down forever. He hired a new general manager this past week, the first person to hold the position during Snyder's tenure. He's a Redskins legacy: Bruce Allen, son of George Allen, the Redskins' coaching hero of the early '70s. Current head coach Jim Zorn is surely on his way out so there will be a fresh start there as well. One hopes that Snyder can learn from the George Steinbrenners of the world that meddling less might actually produce a happier and more effective organization. Plus, this year's miserable record will mean a decent draft position. Win or lose, the Redskins are one of the most powerful brands in sports. They've broken the NFL attendance record for eight years running. So, there is hope.

But not tonight. Game over. Giants win, 45-12. The Commish is surely happy.

Now, if we could please do something about the name of the team...

Bowl Season: New Orleans

None of us had Middle Tennessee State in the New Orleans Bowl so no points for any of us. The Blue Raiders are quite an exciting team. Dwight Dasher (QB), Desmond Gee (WR) and Danny Carmichael (LB) are all top-notch college players. All too small for the NFL? Did anyone else notice that the end of their fight song sounds like "Take Me Out to the Ball Game"?

The New Orleans Bowl has been around since 2001. They were displaced by Hurricane Katrina in '05, playing the game in Lafayette that year.