Entry 25: "U.S. Open for Business"

Yo!

1987. The Sul America Open tennis competition in All Saint's Bay's Itaparica island, near Salvador. A then-unknown Andre Agassi would win his first top-level singles title there, barely a year after turning professional. Age 17 at the time, he wasn't even old enough to get drafted into the Armed Forces. The beginning of a sports legend. 2006. September 3rd. Round three of the 2006 U.S. Open. Agassi loses to Benjamin Becker, a former (read: 2004) NCAA Men's Singles Tennis Champion. A very appropriate standing ovation roars out from the audience. Agassi's goodbye speech:

"The scoreboard says I lost today, but what scoreboard doesn't say is what it is I have found. Over the last 21 years I have found loyalty; you have pulled for me on the court and also in life. I have found inspiration. You have willed me to succeed, sometimes even in my lowest moments. And I have found generosity. You have given me your shoulders to stand on to reach for my dreams; dreams I could never have reached without you. Over the the last 21 years I have found you and I will take you and the memory of you with me for the rest of my life."

I'm not into tennis very much, but this is the first time I can say with all certainty that I tuned in to a match willingly, without looking in on a game my mom was watching at the time, paid attention to and Iwas genuinely excited and enjoyed witnessing it. Even though the only game I managed to see this year so far was Agassi's 1st round match against Andrei Pavel of Romania last Monday night. Yes, I missed Agassi's retirement match yesterday. But that 1st round match was sure one heck of a way to start a tournament!

Anyway, hands-down, this has to be one of the more eventful Opens in recent years. ...Or at least that's what my mom tells me. ...Mainly because of Agassi's retirement. Being a big fan of the Williams sisters, she's way more into tennis than me. She also tells me that one of the players to watch this year is James Blake, who currently ranks #7 on the official U.S. Open website's Top 20 Players page (men and women) seen HERE... Could be something big there......But that's just me.

Bottom Line: Mr. Agassi, professional tennis won't really be the same without you. Good luck in the future, and thanks for the memories. If you readers want to catch some of this action for yourselves, apparently USA is doing the bulk of the cable TV coverage (if not all of it). Also, the Open tournament ends on the 10th. Next week on the BTJM Blog... My final verdict on the Post-Kids' WB Pokemon..... and Yu-Gi-Oh episodes..............

SYNM! See Ya Next Monday!

-D.