The 1984 French Open tennis final between John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl. Most commentators say that John McEnroe gave away the match including McEnroe himself. However with the exception of Ivan Lendl and his circle, I believe Lendl did win the match through his own volition. How he got that maybe due to his training? He was the first to use a sports psychologist about thinking positive thoughts when situations didn't go his way. Likewise, he got on a heavy physical regimentation and kept himself in top condition at all times. Lendl in previous finals always seemed to fold in tough situations where things didn't go his way. He did it once against Borg, twice against Connors and once against Wilander. McEnroe thought he would do the same after leading 4-2 in the 4th set but Lendl refused to fold and got stronger. McEnroe played well despite some errors but it was Ivan's day. I think credit needs to be given where its due. The better player won.
McEnroe will talk about yelling at the cameraman and ticking off the French crowd. However, it was his first final on a clay surface. Whereas, Lendl played a French Open final against one of the best clay court players of all time in Bjorn Borg and took him to 5 sets. Likewise, he lost to eventual champions the next two years before meeting McEnroe. He won a lot of clay court titles before the 84 final but he couldn't win the French because Wilander and Noah were better athletically and larkish in the big moments. It was more of a hit and miss effect where they didn't built up a reputation as great players before hitting the big stage. They were not target players for opponents to aim at unlike Lendl. McEnroe, on the other hand, was a target player because he was No. 1 with a loud, bratty personality and often a target of media and fans as well as players. As a result, both players came in to the final with expectations and burdens to deal with.
McEnroe didn't win or play many clay court tournaments like Lendl did. Ivan was very confident and commading when playing on a clay surface. However, McEnroe did play on it as a youngster, won tournaments on that surface, and proved that he could beat the best on that surface. Yet, Mac's game was fast surface oriented and tended to avoid the slower surfaces such as clay. Likewise, John didn't play in Europe much due to his commitment to Davis Cup and the indoor tennis season that took place mostly in America. To win the French, you had to beat Ivan. Therefore, inexperience was on his side due to Ivan's established prowess as a clay court player and that no American had won the French since 1955.
Reputation is one thing but he had game to back it up. Ground strokes from both wings like that inside out forehand, the backhand slice (probably better than Rosewall), top spin (which Ken never had) from both sides as well as that crushing forehand (running or stand-still) that could explode at any point unexpectedly to the surprise of the opponent. Oh, I forgot to mention about his serve, power and slice. But the most important: is his anticipation of where the ball was going to be when he made contact due to his ability to scout and take notes of player's tendencies of their swings, movements, and strategies from the start, middle, and end. In short, he prepared like a coach for all his opponents like fellow Czech, Bill Belichick. Likewise, he practiced himself to death on all his strokes to make sure they were perfect. The ability was there to win but not the belief.
If you look at the match between points, during changeovers, or court positioning, Lendl had a commanding presence. He never seemed to lose control even when he was down. Yes, he was a bit worried and a bit anxious but he didn't have the lumpy, dopey, mopey feel like he did against Connors, Borg, Wilander, or even Noah. It looked as if he kept saying this my time and he just not going to stop me. I think sports psychology helped but his experience on clay and playing in Europe really helped because he maintained an even keel throughout the match. He really worked the surface and his opponent. Whereas, McEnroe's emotions were in check for the most part but very volatile and ready to erupt over anything. He didn't want to be there the point where he had to work the court and Lendl. McEnroe took the "I came, I saw, I conquered and I'm out of here" approach.
The first two sets, McEnroe really outplayed him. It looked like Lendl just got out of bed. I noticed in the second set that Lendl started to work the court and got just a little teeth in the match though he was being thoroughly outclassed by McEnroe. I thought it was too late with McEnroe leading and serving 4-2 but he started to slow things down, moving into a saunter rhythm. McEnroe made an error here in there but would back it up with a service ace or an incredible volley. But, I noticed McEnroe started to reach more for his volley and seemed to be a bit off balanced on Lendl's shots. I thought McEnroe would hold on but he didn't. The Ivan Lendl machine game was on.
McEnroe will tell you that he was tired after the third but I don't really buy that because he didn't quit or start the countdown of losing the match in 4th and 5th set. It was just that Lendl figured out what McEnroe was going to do on his serve and his shots. Lendl was a bit of a slow starter but he was really into the match in the last two sets. Lendl should have finished McEnroe quickly but he was trying too hard to finish the match. McEnroe had no chance against the Lendl machine because it was clicking on all cylinders. He really hit a zone. I don't think he hardly made an unforced errors except when he was trying to finish. McEnroe did a great job of hanging in there. I thought, Lend's machine would eventually crash or slow down but never did especially in tough situations.
Of course, Mac really behave badly during the trophy presentation and all (running off the podium). He blamed himself for the loss and felt that he let his country down. But to conclude, I really think McEnroe should give himself more credit of playing well in that match. He just lost to a better opponent who had more experience and a better game suited for clay. Lendl would also prove that his machine game would work on other surfaces like hard courts, carpet and grass but it wasn't enough to win Wimbledon. Likewise, McEnroe's game was good enough to win on clay but not good enough to win the French.
Final conclusion: Lendl wins without dispute.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Elgin's fault as well
This 2007-2008 Celtics were like the Lakers of 1968-1969 except some things, all three Celtics were healthy and the bench stepped up as well the assistant coaches. The head coach made the right decision but didn't try to be the star. In short, it was a team effort which included the stars, role-players, and practice players working in unison with the coaches from day one.
The 2008 Celtics: Garnett, Allen, and Pierce. The 1969 Lakers: Chamberlain, Baylor, and West. The role players for the Celtics: Rondo, Posey, Perkins, Powe, T.Allen, Davis, House, Cassell, and P.J. Brown. P.J. Brown didn't play much during the regular season but played significant minutes in the championship series as well as the Detroit series. The role players for the Lakers: Counts, Erickson, Egan, Hawkins, Hewitt, and Crawford. In those days, you went 7 deep but all contributed but the loss of Gail Goodrich to the expansion draft really affected because the guys in the Lakers were slower and very vulnerable to a fast-break game of the Celtics. The Celtics guys were old but the Lakers though taller were generally slow particularly the guard position of Johnny Egan and Tommy Hawkins. Most of them were injury prone like West, Baylor, and Keith Erickson. So, player-coach, Bill Russell decided to run the Lakers to death. The strategy worked for 3 quarters but age caught up with the Celtics as well but they held on.
Elgin Baylor should have been at fault in this game 7 but nobody ever seems to mention that. Elgin was Butch Van Breda Kolff's favorite player but he took him out during that game 7 because he was ineffective against the running game of the Celtics for the 3 quarters. The injury from 1965 affected his consistency. Look at Youtube when they show the last quarter, you don't see Elgin much.
Butch was the first designer of the motion offense that NBA teams used throughout the 70's as well as college teams. However, he couldn't handle pressure moments or criticisms(he quit after 10 games in Detroit because of the fan heckling from Leon "The Barber"). Yet, he wanted to be the star and kept Wilt out in the last minute when Wilt was ready to come back. People forget that knee injury sidelined him for almost the whole 1969-1970 season.
Butch didn't like the signing of Wilt Chamberlain and got into a fight with him during that season in Seattle. Wilt didn't respect Van Breda Kolff as a man. Though a tireless worker and courageous, Butch was a bit of a bully towards players he didn't like (Wilt) and sissy with outsiders in that he didn't command a strong presence. On the other hand, Frank McGuire was strong, handsome and classy on and off the court. He handled losses but wasn't going to get pushed around by nobody like refs or coaches like Red Auerbach. Wilt played hard for Frank, Alex Hannum, and Bill Sharman because they were tough on him and outsiders.
Nobody wanted individual glory but team glory including the coaches. I don't like Red Auerbach because he was a hog that is why he is turn off for today's game but Phil Jackson used his assistants well in the past but in this 2008 series, he tried to be a star and looked what happened (defend the pick n roll, please). Doc Rivers maybe the first coach to win a championship without getting into the Hall of Fame but showed great leadership concerning his coaches and players.
The 2008 Celtics: Garnett, Allen, and Pierce. The 1969 Lakers: Chamberlain, Baylor, and West. The role players for the Celtics: Rondo, Posey, Perkins, Powe, T.Allen, Davis, House, Cassell, and P.J. Brown. P.J. Brown didn't play much during the regular season but played significant minutes in the championship series as well as the Detroit series. The role players for the Lakers: Counts, Erickson, Egan, Hawkins, Hewitt, and Crawford. In those days, you went 7 deep but all contributed but the loss of Gail Goodrich to the expansion draft really affected because the guys in the Lakers were slower and very vulnerable to a fast-break game of the Celtics. The Celtics guys were old but the Lakers though taller were generally slow particularly the guard position of Johnny Egan and Tommy Hawkins. Most of them were injury prone like West, Baylor, and Keith Erickson. So, player-coach, Bill Russell decided to run the Lakers to death. The strategy worked for 3 quarters but age caught up with the Celtics as well but they held on.
Elgin Baylor should have been at fault in this game 7 but nobody ever seems to mention that. Elgin was Butch Van Breda Kolff's favorite player but he took him out during that game 7 because he was ineffective against the running game of the Celtics for the 3 quarters. The injury from 1965 affected his consistency. Look at Youtube when they show the last quarter, you don't see Elgin much.
Butch was the first designer of the motion offense that NBA teams used throughout the 70's as well as college teams. However, he couldn't handle pressure moments or criticisms(he quit after 10 games in Detroit because of the fan heckling from Leon "The Barber"). Yet, he wanted to be the star and kept Wilt out in the last minute when Wilt was ready to come back. People forget that knee injury sidelined him for almost the whole 1969-1970 season.
Butch didn't like the signing of Wilt Chamberlain and got into a fight with him during that season in Seattle. Wilt didn't respect Van Breda Kolff as a man. Though a tireless worker and courageous, Butch was a bit of a bully towards players he didn't like (Wilt) and sissy with outsiders in that he didn't command a strong presence. On the other hand, Frank McGuire was strong, handsome and classy on and off the court. He handled losses but wasn't going to get pushed around by nobody like refs or coaches like Red Auerbach. Wilt played hard for Frank, Alex Hannum, and Bill Sharman because they were tough on him and outsiders.
Nobody wanted individual glory but team glory including the coaches. I don't like Red Auerbach because he was a hog that is why he is turn off for today's game but Phil Jackson used his assistants well in the past but in this 2008 series, he tried to be a star and looked what happened (defend the pick n roll, please). Doc Rivers maybe the first coach to win a championship without getting into the Hall of Fame but showed great leadership concerning his coaches and players.
Monday, April 28, 2008
1975 Eastern Conference Final
This piece is edited from a letter that I wrote to some writer for Newsweek. He commented about Black College segment for ESPN. This was about Al Attles coach of the 1974-1975 Golden State Warriors. He mentioned that Al was wrong saying that his own fans booed him because they were going to win the championship in 1975. I said, they booed him because of his coaching relationship with Rick Barry from the next year when they were trying to repeat. Moving on. Careful about film editing.
To me, the 1975 Bullets/Celtics fascinated me beyond belief. Both teams won 60 games but the Celtics won home court advantage due to a coin toss. I know that the 1969 Bullets and the 1973 Celtics are one of the best teams without winning a championship but the 1975 one was fascinating.
Boston had their stars but the role players like Paul Westphal, Kevin Stacom, Don Chaney, Jim Ard, Hank Finkel, and Glenn McDonald really made that team go in '75. Dave Cowens played 65 games while recovering from a foot injury. Don Nelson stepped in had one of his best scoring seasons of his career at 14.0. Silas and Havlicek were themselves.
That year, there was no ebb and flow but pure consistency. Coach Tom Heinsohn was more relaxed and won more games that year than the year before. However, there was a resentment between Jo Jo White and Paul Westphal concerning starting. Westphal was in his third season and was improving. He felt that he was the better player than JoJo but JoJo could control tempo and knew how to deliver passes to his teammates like Havlicek. The tension between Jo Jo and Paul didn't destroy the team during the season instead it forced the team to really focus. However, it was soon apparent that Paul needed to be with another team to start and Jo Jo was still in his prime and not about to give up his job.
Celtics beat the Rockets 4-1 (no first round playoffs for the top 4 teams then) while the Bullets beat the Buffalo Braves (Los Angeles Clippers) in a tough 7 games series. They had a great team and former Celtic, K.C. Jones as coach . Players such as Elvin Hayes, Wes Unseld, Kevin Porter, Mike Riordan, and Phil Chernier. They had 60 wins as well but struggled occasionally. After reaching the finals in 1971, the Bullets were eliminated by the New York Knicks from 1972-1974 in the Eastern semis. With the 7 game series with the Braves, the outlook look bleak for the Bullets. Likewise, Unseld, recovering from knee surgery from the year before, lead the league in rebounding but averaged under 10 pts for the first time in a full season.
It looked like the Boston Celtics were going to the finals due to experience and a mixture of young and old players. The season series with the Bullets was even but looking back, they didn't match up well in the center and forward position. Hayes was on a shorter Silas who couldn't defend him on the blocks or his turnaround. Cowens though considerably taller and quicker than Unseld on offense had trouble rebounding against a shorter man on defense because Wes would play the high post forcing him to come and guard him due to his passing abilities and occasional offense. If a Bullet put up a shot, Wes would come underneath him for a rebound like he did with all taller players. Dave was not use to a smaller man due to the fact that Dave was a small center himself. Washington had players like Mike Riordan who matched up well with John Havlicek who had trouble defending players who moved to their left. On top of that, Riordan was left-handed. Truck Robinson, Jimmy Jones (injured in Game 4 and out for the playoffs), and Clem Haskins were big guys that could handle the ball and rebound out for the bench. The Boston bench of Stacom, McDonald, Ard, and Finkel couldn't match up with the Bullets bench due to the inexperience, their inability to handle the ball in tight situations, and rebound.
However, the key was role player, Nick Witherspoon (Rick Barry found out that he couldn't go left through his videotape machine that recorded his games)beat the Celtics with those crazy shots which forced to Celtics to play everybody straight up. As well the quickness of G Kevin Porter who made those great assists to Chernier and the big guys hit their shots. As for Westphal, he could guard big guards like Oscar Robertson but small quick guards like Porter gave him trouble from both ends of the floor. Celtics didn't have an answer and Tommy Heinsohn couldn't put the run and jump defense with a guard like Porter or double team due to their lack of height from the guard position.
The final factor was Bullets coach, K.C. Jones was a Celtic who knew Red Auerbach's system that Tom Heinsohn used concerning plays, substitutions, and time management. Likewise, he used a psychological ploy after the Buffalo Braves series where the Bullets looked very lackluster on the road (losing all three in Buffalo), he told everyone that he didn't think his team wasn't good enough to win on the Celtics home floor (Celtics had home court advantage over the Bullets despite sharing 60 wins). Washington beat the Boston on their home floor for game 1 win. From then on, their confidence just grew. They finished the Celtics in 6 games to head to the finals where they were eliminated in 4 straight games by the Golden State Warriors.
Despite the loss, there is a special charisma about the 1975 Eastern Conference. final that I can't put a finger on. Maybe, it is that they didn't fulfill that year despite their huge success with a championship.
To me, the 1975 Bullets/Celtics fascinated me beyond belief. Both teams won 60 games but the Celtics won home court advantage due to a coin toss. I know that the 1969 Bullets and the 1973 Celtics are one of the best teams without winning a championship but the 1975 one was fascinating.
Boston had their stars but the role players like Paul Westphal, Kevin Stacom, Don Chaney, Jim Ard, Hank Finkel, and Glenn McDonald really made that team go in '75. Dave Cowens played 65 games while recovering from a foot injury. Don Nelson stepped in had one of his best scoring seasons of his career at 14.0. Silas and Havlicek were themselves.
That year, there was no ebb and flow but pure consistency. Coach Tom Heinsohn was more relaxed and won more games that year than the year before. However, there was a resentment between Jo Jo White and Paul Westphal concerning starting. Westphal was in his third season and was improving. He felt that he was the better player than JoJo but JoJo could control tempo and knew how to deliver passes to his teammates like Havlicek. The tension between Jo Jo and Paul didn't destroy the team during the season instead it forced the team to really focus. However, it was soon apparent that Paul needed to be with another team to start and Jo Jo was still in his prime and not about to give up his job.
Celtics beat the Rockets 4-1 (no first round playoffs for the top 4 teams then) while the Bullets beat the Buffalo Braves (Los Angeles Clippers) in a tough 7 games series. They had a great team and former Celtic, K.C. Jones as coach . Players such as Elvin Hayes, Wes Unseld, Kevin Porter, Mike Riordan, and Phil Chernier. They had 60 wins as well but struggled occasionally. After reaching the finals in 1971, the Bullets were eliminated by the New York Knicks from 1972-1974 in the Eastern semis. With the 7 game series with the Braves, the outlook look bleak for the Bullets. Likewise, Unseld, recovering from knee surgery from the year before, lead the league in rebounding but averaged under 10 pts for the first time in a full season.
However, the key was role player, Nick Witherspoon (Rick Barry found out that he couldn't go left through his videotape machine that recorded his games)beat the Celtics with those crazy shots which forced to Celtics to play everybody straight up. As well the quickness of G Kevin Porter who made those great assists to Chernier and the big guys hit their shots. As for Westphal, he could guard big guards like Oscar Robertson but small quick guards like Porter gave him trouble from both ends of the floor. Celtics didn't have an answer and Tommy Heinsohn couldn't put the run and jump defense with a guard like Porter or double team due to their lack of height from the guard position.
The final factor was Bullets coach, K.C. Jones was a Celtic who knew Red Auerbach's system that Tom Heinsohn used concerning plays, substitutions, and time management. Likewise, he used a psychological ploy after the Buffalo Braves series where the Bullets looked very lackluster on the road (losing all three in Buffalo), he told everyone that he didn't think his team wasn't good enough to win on the Celtics home floor (Celtics had home court advantage over the Bullets despite sharing 60 wins). Washington beat the Boston on their home floor for game 1 win. From then on, their confidence just grew. They finished the Celtics in 6 games to head to the finals where they were eliminated in 4 straight games by the Golden State Warriors.
Despite the loss, there is a special charisma about the 1975 Eastern Conference. final that I can't put a finger on. Maybe, it is that they didn't fulfill that year despite their huge success with a championship.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Digger Needs a T.O., Baby!
This should have been a Rant portion but it deserves to be in this setting. I will tell you las we go.
Last Tuesday (Feb. 12, 2008), I was watching ESPN College Basketball. Forgot the teams. During halftime, they had a segment with Rece Davis, Digger Phelps, and Stacey Dales. In the highlights of the featured and non, they all made comments except Digger here refused to talk during highlights of women's games. Rece and Stacey were trying to get Digger to say something but he widn't. When they are in the studio, he refuses to acknowledge her. He will kind of turn in a angle on a three shot for a solo shot. But, you can tell the director wants him to engage with Stacey about a particular game, player, or a team because he hasn't changed the shot until the camera reluctantly zooms in to Digger's caricature, up close. Digger holds his ground and turns away from her and gets away with it. He has not had a legitimate conversation with Stacey since they have been working (Stacy tries to whore up to him during men's highlights). While with Rece and other guys, he engages either in a brief or long dialogue and then goes solo to his monologue. I have seen him work this pattern for the 20 or more years at ESPN and CBS. Digger, I don't want to hear that crap about the director slipped and the cue was for you to go solo because for the year and a half with Stacy, you have always turned to side (making it look incidental) when Stacy tries to speak to you.
Now for Digger's side, Stacey is mature for her age but she has no perspective for history concerning coaching, player's styles, and rules for her women's basketball much less for men's basketball. Heck, she was born the year after Digger's Irish went to the Final Four. She is Canadian and grew up playing a sport that nobody really care or is passionate about. She had to love it on her own. Rece and Digger know about coach Iba, Clair Bee, and others. Rece doesn't always know the history but he has the passion to suck it up (My only question is: where is John McClendon in this? Did you know that John Wooden could go to the rack?). The real problem is that Stacey is too young to build a resume for basketball history. Unlike jobs at the workforce, in basketball, it has to be more than 15 years. She only has 7 years out of college.
When it comes to women's players and even men at times (why do women analyst have to do both and men analysts don't) Stacey is a lot like Jerry West. She looks for new players and perspective who are going to make their teams better and why and how they can be pros. Likewise, she does a great job of analyzing high school players coming to college. Digger and Rece do not possess this trait because they get caught up with the prejudices and myths of the past concerning players now and even in the past. Old-timers like a John Issacs or George Yardley get turned off by these folks because they act like, they own their past and have a snob attitude about it because Digger loves the coaches and the accomplishment of the players but not what these old-timer players can bring to the table concerning their experiences to the new players. Even with the lack of history, Stacey is preferred by these old-timers because she is willing to learn and listen without the assumption and trophy attitude.
Rece Davis is a professional and that is his main priority. Yet, he bonds more with Digger. Due to their preparation habits and importance of tradition in sports. With Stacey, he absolutely respects her abilities and work ethic but it doesn't mesh with his journalistic and conversational talents. Likewise, she is not able to mesh with his fan perspective of the sport. Many times, she is thinking one way and he the other. The main problem is that Digger is the leader of the show and he doesn't step up to bridge the gap. Rece isn't the type of person or is any position to tell a legend like Digger, to fuck himself when he is out of line. Not even Jim Thacker did that to Billy Packer.
Very few star players who become analysts have reflective qualites except for Bill Russell and Rick Barry. Both ended up being coaches but weren't good reporters because they either got caught with themselves or analyze too much. Stacy works very hard but Stacey is a reporter not a reflector. She needs the action. She has the mentality of a player, "forget the previous play, good or bad" and move to next play and let the coach worry." This causes her to lose her timing and rhythm with the Rece and Digger who are obsessed with reinactments. With Digger, he is a natural and he honed his speaking skills at his coach's show in Notre Dame but he can't report a lick. With Rece, he is trained to be both a reporter and host.
Digger makes his living of the mantra of three years: 1974 (I beat Sam Gilbert's team), 1978 (screwed me in St. Louis), and 1981 (Nobody on Ainge!!!). On good basketball days, it is 1974; bad days, its 1978; and good or bad coaching decisions its 1981. My only question to you is on the Tennessee vs. Rutgers in Knoxville where Rutgers lost to a clock operator, you should have been on 1978 mode to give perspective and maybe an example like 1986 NCAA Tourney game, Kansas vs. Michigan State where the clock operator messed up. But, you just sat there and let Rece and Stacy talk, waiting for you to step in while getting into your mantra of "I don't do women." Your silence said a thousand words!
I blame ESPN for this bullshit. ESPN should have put somebody like Jody Conradt, Mickey DeMoss, or Carol Ross because those three have history because they were pioneers for women's basketball. Being coaches, they would kept Digger in line as well as the ESPN network. They don't care about being fired; they want things done right and they ain't afraid to cuss out the boss when need to. They would have gotten Digger's and Rece's respect because of their great knowledge and depth about coaching, players, and rules from women's basketball as well as men's.
Last Tuesday (Feb. 12, 2008), I was watching ESPN College Basketball. Forgot the teams. During halftime, they had a segment with Rece Davis, Digger Phelps, and Stacey Dales. In the highlights of the featured and non, they all made comments except Digger here refused to talk during highlights of women's games. Rece and Stacey were trying to get Digger to say something but he widn't. When they are in the studio, he refuses to acknowledge her. He will kind of turn in a angle on a three shot for a solo shot. But, you can tell the director wants him to engage with Stacey about a particular game, player, or a team because he hasn't changed the shot until the camera reluctantly zooms in to Digger's caricature, up close. Digger holds his ground and turns away from her and gets away with it. He has not had a legitimate conversation with Stacey since they have been working (Stacy tries to whore up to him during men's highlights). While with Rece and other guys, he engages either in a brief or long dialogue and then goes solo to his monologue. I have seen him work this pattern for the 20 or more years at ESPN and CBS. Digger, I don't want to hear that crap about the director slipped and the cue was for you to go solo because for the year and a half with Stacy, you have always turned to side (making it look incidental) when Stacy tries to speak to you.
Now for Digger's side, Stacey is mature for her age but she has no perspective for history concerning coaching, player's styles, and rules for her women's basketball much less for men's basketball. Heck, she was born the year after Digger's Irish went to the Final Four. She is Canadian and grew up playing a sport that nobody really care or is passionate about. She had to love it on her own. Rece and Digger know about coach Iba, Clair Bee, and others. Rece doesn't always know the history but he has the passion to suck it up (My only question is: where is John McClendon in this? Did you know that John Wooden could go to the rack?). The real problem is that Stacey is too young to build a resume for basketball history. Unlike jobs at the workforce, in basketball, it has to be more than 15 years. She only has 7 years out of college.
When it comes to women's players and even men at times (why do women analyst have to do both and men analysts don't) Stacey is a lot like Jerry West. She looks for new players and perspective who are going to make their teams better and why and how they can be pros. Likewise, she does a great job of analyzing high school players coming to college. Digger and Rece do not possess this trait because they get caught up with the prejudices and myths of the past concerning players now and even in the past. Old-timers like a John Issacs or George Yardley get turned off by these folks because they act like, they own their past and have a snob attitude about it because Digger loves the coaches and the accomplishment of the players but not what these old-timer players can bring to the table concerning their experiences to the new players. Even with the lack of history, Stacey is preferred by these old-timers because she is willing to learn and listen without the assumption and trophy attitude.
Rece Davis is a professional and that is his main priority. Yet, he bonds more with Digger. Due to their preparation habits and importance of tradition in sports. With Stacey, he absolutely respects her abilities and work ethic but it doesn't mesh with his journalistic and conversational talents. Likewise, she is not able to mesh with his fan perspective of the sport. Many times, she is thinking one way and he the other. The main problem is that Digger is the leader of the show and he doesn't step up to bridge the gap. Rece isn't the type of person or is any position to tell a legend like Digger, to fuck himself when he is out of line. Not even Jim Thacker did that to Billy Packer.
Very few star players who become analysts have reflective qualites except for Bill Russell and Rick Barry. Both ended up being coaches but weren't good reporters because they either got caught with themselves or analyze too much. Stacy works very hard but Stacey is a reporter not a reflector. She needs the action. She has the mentality of a player, "forget the previous play, good or bad" and move to next play and let the coach worry." This causes her to lose her timing and rhythm with the Rece and Digger who are obsessed with reinactments. With Digger, he is a natural and he honed his speaking skills at his coach's show in Notre Dame but he can't report a lick. With Rece, he is trained to be both a reporter and host.
Digger makes his living of the mantra of three years: 1974 (I beat Sam Gilbert's team), 1978 (screwed me in St. Louis), and 1981 (Nobody on Ainge!!!). On good basketball days, it is 1974; bad days, its 1978; and good or bad coaching decisions its 1981. My only question to you is on the Tennessee vs. Rutgers in Knoxville where Rutgers lost to a clock operator, you should have been on 1978 mode to give perspective and maybe an example like 1986 NCAA Tourney game, Kansas vs. Michigan State where the clock operator messed up. But, you just sat there and let Rece and Stacy talk, waiting for you to step in while getting into your mantra of "I don't do women." Your silence said a thousand words!
I blame ESPN for this bullshit. ESPN should have put somebody like Jody Conradt, Mickey DeMoss, or Carol Ross because those three have history because they were pioneers for women's basketball. Being coaches, they would kept Digger in line as well as the ESPN network. They don't care about being fired; they want things done right and they ain't afraid to cuss out the boss when need to. They would have gotten Digger's and Rece's respect because of their great knowledge and depth about coaching, players, and rules from women's basketball as well as men's.
My biggest wrath is with other ESPN and ABC employees, announcers who do other sports or the same sport, and media, local and national. You know that Stacey is being harrassed, yet you aren't doing a damn thing about it and hope it will go away. What the hell is this, easier to tell on outlaws than your in-laws, isn't it? Where is Real Sports? Why aren't newspapers, reporting this.
Digger, call a T.O. and get your head straight, you are an embarassment to everyone! You better get going or you will be dropped just like the players you dropped who weren't willing to participate as a team. That is my rant!
Saturday, January 19, 2008
QB innovator nobody knows, Benny Friedman
Benny Friedman revolutionized the passing game and the quarterback position in football as we know today. Yet, few people including the so-called experts and historian have heard of this man. Born in Cleveland Ohio to Jewish immigrants from Russia on March 18, 1905, Benny was a small, skinny child who was bullied and roughed up by his older siblings and kids in his neighborhood. His goal was to be the world's strongest man. He devoted himself to books on weightlifting exercises and technique, beginning at grade school till high school. Without any help, he developed his own training regiment of exercise and diet with devotion for many years.
As he got into his teens, he realed he wasn't going to be the world's strongest man when he saw other kids who were bigger than him. Instead, he decided to utilize his strength and speed to become a football player at East Tech in Cleveland. However, East High cut him saying he was too small at 5'8 and 170 lbs. He transferred to another school, Glenville High where he made the football team as well as the basketball and baseball team. In 1922, Benny beat his old team, East High in the regular season 31-0 and in the City championship 13-0 and National Championship against Oak Park, Illinois. In the classroom, he was ranked as top student, president of his senior class, and chosen to deliver the graduation commencement speech.
After graduating from Glenville in 1923, Benny decided to attend Michigan when Penn State said he was too small. With the help of his godfather and working at a Chinese restaurant, he paid his Michigan tuition. He developed his own strength training methods, squeezing tennis balls and using his hands only to slide across stair railings and armrests to become an effective passer. He still maintained his physique from his weight training as a youth and grew to be 5'10 and 175 Ibs. He became All-American in 1925 and 1926 as well as Big Ten MVP in 1926. Michigan won Big 10 tiles in '25 and '26 due to teammate, Benny Oosterbaan blocking and pass-catching abilities and Friedman's passing, kicking, and defensive abilities. After graduation, he turned professional due to his father's illness. He started with the Cleveland Bulldogs which folded in his first season of 1927 and the next year played for Detroit Wolverines.
Newspaper accounts say:
• Friedman led the league in rushing and passing in 1928.
• He threw 20 TD's in 1929 with the old rules and the old, blob ball (4 in one game).
• From 1927-1930, he threw over 50 TD's and passed over 5,663 yards as NFL leader.
New York Giants owner, Tim Mara, bought the whole Wolverine team and paid Friedman 10,000 a year to play for the Giants. He figured that with Friedman's talent, he could attract Jewish fans to come to the Polo Grounds (Giants home). In 1928, the Giants lost 54,000 dollars; 1929, the Giants made 8,500 dollars; 1930, the Giants made 23,000; and in 1931, the Giants made 34,000 dollars (Willard Manus in his article Passing Recognition). In 1932, Benny asked Mara if he can invest with the Giants, Mara said no, because he wanted to give it to his sons. Feeling slighted and exploited, Friedman left the Giants and played 3 more years for the football Brooklyn Dodgers. Throughout his playing days, his mom prayed for his safety by dropping 18 cents in a charity box before each of his games. The number eighteen stands for chai in Hebrew which means "life" according to this mother (Willard Manus, Passing Recognition).
Because of Freedman's passing ability:
1. The football was simmered down from a blob ball to an oval shaped ball in 1933.
2. Passing rules changed where a passer doesn't have to stand five yards from scrimmage to throw.
3. Eliminating 2 incomplete passes as a five yard penalty and an incomplete pass to the end zone as change of possession.
After his playing days, Friedman coached at CCNY in New York till World War II where he served in the Navy. When the war was over, he became athletic director and football coach at Brandeis University. In later years, he was an outspoken critic of the 1970 NFL pension plan which did not include pre-1958 players and ran QB summer camps for teenagers till diabetes cost him one of his legs in 1980. Not wishing to be burden, Benny took his own life on November 23, 1982.
Elected to the College Hall of Fame 1951 and the NFL Hall of Fame 2005.
Copyright 2005 by Davan S. Mani as unpublished work
As he got into his teens, he realed he wasn't going to be the world's strongest man when he saw other kids who were bigger than him. Instead, he decided to utilize his strength and speed to become a football player at East Tech in Cleveland. However, East High cut him saying he was too small at 5'8 and 170 lbs. He transferred to another school, Glenville High where he made the football team as well as the basketball and baseball team. In 1922, Benny beat his old team, East High in the regular season 31-0 and in the City championship 13-0 and National Championship against Oak Park, Illinois. In the classroom, he was ranked as top student, president of his senior class, and chosen to deliver the graduation commencement speech.
After graduating from Glenville in 1923, Benny decided to attend Michigan when Penn State said he was too small. With the help of his godfather and working at a Chinese restaurant, he paid his Michigan tuition. He developed his own strength training methods, squeezing tennis balls and using his hands only to slide across stair railings and armrests to become an effective passer. He still maintained his physique from his weight training as a youth and grew to be 5'10 and 175 Ibs. He became All-American in 1925 and 1926 as well as Big Ten MVP in 1926. Michigan won Big 10 tiles in '25 and '26 due to teammate, Benny Oosterbaan blocking and pass-catching abilities and Friedman's passing, kicking, and defensive abilities. After graduation, he turned professional due to his father's illness. He started with the Cleveland Bulldogs which folded in his first season of 1927 and the next year played for Detroit Wolverines.
Newspaper accounts say:
• Friedman led the league in rushing and passing in 1928.
• He threw 20 TD's in 1929 with the old rules and the old, blob ball (4 in one game).
• From 1927-1930, he threw over 50 TD's and passed over 5,663 yards as NFL leader.
New York Giants owner, Tim Mara, bought the whole Wolverine team and paid Friedman 10,000 a year to play for the Giants. He figured that with Friedman's talent, he could attract Jewish fans to come to the Polo Grounds (Giants home). In 1928, the Giants lost 54,000 dollars; 1929, the Giants made 8,500 dollars; 1930, the Giants made 23,000; and in 1931, the Giants made 34,000 dollars (Willard Manus in his article Passing Recognition). In 1932, Benny asked Mara if he can invest with the Giants, Mara said no, because he wanted to give it to his sons. Feeling slighted and exploited, Friedman left the Giants and played 3 more years for the football Brooklyn Dodgers. Throughout his playing days, his mom prayed for his safety by dropping 18 cents in a charity box before each of his games. The number eighteen stands for chai in Hebrew which means "life" according to this mother (Willard Manus, Passing Recognition).
 |
| With the Giants |
1. The football was simmered down from a blob ball to an oval shaped ball in 1933.
2. Passing rules changed where a passer doesn't have to stand five yards from scrimmage to throw.
3. Eliminating 2 incomplete passes as a five yard penalty and an incomplete pass to the end zone as change of possession.
 |
| As coach |
Elected to the College Hall of Fame 1951 and the NFL Hall of Fame 2005.
Copyright 2005 by Davan S. Mani as unpublished work
Monday, January 7, 2008
Wilmeth Sidat-Singh
WHO IS WILMETH SIDAT-SINGH?
A Tuskegee airman, athlete and scholar, Wilmeth Sidat-Singh is a class of his own. A man considered friend to all those who knew him. Born in Washington D. C. to Elias and Pauline Webb in 1917, Elias died of a stroke when Wilmeth was 5 years old. Pauline remarried to Samuel Sidat-Singh, a medical student from India. The family moved to New York City where Dr. Sidat-Singh set up his pharmacy practice in Harlem.
It was in the Harlem playgrounds where he developed his character of toughness and level-headedness by playing many sports like baseball, basketball, football, and tennis. He attended Dewitt Clinton High and led his basketball team to the Public School Athletic League championship in the 1933-1934 year and named All-City in 1935. Yet, Syracuse was the only school that offered Sidat-Singh a basketball scholarship despite being one of the top students at DeWitt Clinton. His goal was to be a doctor like his step-father and chose his step-father’s last name of Sidat-Singh. Local newspapers publicized him as Hindu, fully aware of his real ancestry.In Wilmeth’s sophomore year at Syracuse, Roy Simmons, Sr. an assistant football coach asked him to join the varsity team for his junior year after he saw him throw a football at intramural game for 55 yards. He became a lead halfback in the single-wing offense which is equivalent of today’s quarterback. Passing as a Hindu, Syracuse coaches decided to play road teams that discriminated against African-Americans until an article by Sam Lacy, an African-American sportswriter, told the truth about Sidat-Singh’s ancestry. This action resulted in him not being allowed to participate in a game against Maryland in 1937 and against Navy as a basketball player.
A star on the basketball team, Syracuse went undefeated in his senior year at 14-0 with overall record at 40-13 during his tenure. He is credited with the no-look pass. On the football field, he was dominant as ever in 1938 when he beat then undefeated Cornell 19-17. In that game, Sidat-Singh threw 6 passes for 150 yards and 3 touchdowns in the final 9 minutes of that game. The same year, Syracuse beat Maryland 53-0 in Syracuse and played Duke in Durham by agreement from the two University presidents.After graduation with a degree in zoology, he played barnstorm basketball for the Syracuse Reds, New York Renaissance and Washington Bruins.
The NFL had an unofficial rule of banning black players from 1933-1946. Yet for Sidat-Singh, his goal was to be a doctor in the surgery field and basketball was there to pay for his medical education. When World War II broke out, he returned to his birthplace and became a policeman as well as basketball In 1943 to serve his country, he passed the U.S. Army Air Corps exam to serve with the Tuskegee Airmen. On May 9, 1943, Sidat-Singh lost his life during air-training exercises over Lake Huron, Michigan. On February 26, 2005, Syracuse retired his basketball jersey number 19. He is buried in National Arlington Cemetery."We are certain he would feel that his life was not in vain," "if it served to put a spark into the lives of aspiring youngsters and to impress upon them that ability, slowly but surely, receives recognition." ---Dr. Samuel Sidat-Singh, Wilmeth’s father speaking at his funeral.
© 2006 as unpublished work by Davan Mani
A Tuskegee airman, athlete and scholar, Wilmeth Sidat-Singh is a class of his own. A man considered friend to all those who knew him. Born in Washington D. C. to Elias and Pauline Webb in 1917, Elias died of a stroke when Wilmeth was 5 years old. Pauline remarried to Samuel Sidat-Singh, a medical student from India. The family moved to New York City where Dr. Sidat-Singh set up his pharmacy practice in Harlem.
It was in the Harlem playgrounds where he developed his character of toughness and level-headedness by playing many sports like baseball, basketball, football, and tennis. He attended Dewitt Clinton High and led his basketball team to the Public School Athletic League championship in the 1933-1934 year and named All-City in 1935. Yet, Syracuse was the only school that offered Sidat-Singh a basketball scholarship despite being one of the top students at DeWitt Clinton. His goal was to be a doctor like his step-father and chose his step-father’s last name of Sidat-Singh. Local newspapers publicized him as Hindu, fully aware of his real ancestry.In Wilmeth’s sophomore year at Syracuse, Roy Simmons, Sr. an assistant football coach asked him to join the varsity team for his junior year after he saw him throw a football at intramural game for 55 yards. He became a lead halfback in the single-wing offense which is equivalent of today’s quarterback. Passing as a Hindu, Syracuse coaches decided to play road teams that discriminated against African-Americans until an article by Sam Lacy, an African-American sportswriter, told the truth about Sidat-Singh’s ancestry. This action resulted in him not being allowed to participate in a game against Maryland in 1937 and against Navy as a basketball player.
A star on the basketball team, Syracuse went undefeated in his senior year at 14-0 with overall record at 40-13 during his tenure. He is credited with the no-look pass. On the football field, he was dominant as ever in 1938 when he beat then undefeated Cornell 19-17. In that game, Sidat-Singh threw 6 passes for 150 yards and 3 touchdowns in the final 9 minutes of that game. The same year, Syracuse beat Maryland 53-0 in Syracuse and played Duke in Durham by agreement from the two University presidents.After graduation with a degree in zoology, he played barnstorm basketball for the Syracuse Reds, New York Renaissance and Washington Bruins.
© 2006 as unpublished work by Davan Mani
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Darlene Hard (Forgotten care)
Darelene Hard was a tennis champion in the 1950’s-1960’s amateur era. In her time, professionals were not allowed to compete in the Australian, French, Wimbledon, and U.S. until 1968. Darlene’s game consisted of a strong serve and volley. Her forte was doubles which she won numerous Grand Slam titles with players like Althea Gibson, Maria Bueno, Jeanne Arth, and Lesley Turner. In addition, she was a mixed double champion with such players as Rod Laver and Mervyn Rose. Finally, she won three Grand Slam titles in singles despite her main expertise in doubles.
Darlene was born in Los Angeles, California. Her mom Ruth was a well-known amateur tennis player in that area. However, Darlene didn’t like the game because you had to wear white, couldn’t make noise, and couldn’t share. Therefore, she played team sports like baseball, basketball, and football. Her father coached her in softball. Friends and family had to manipulate her to play tennis. When she won the Southern California championship for 13 year olds, she committed herself to the game but didn’t beat her mom until she was fifteen.
Through her mom’s tennis reputation and her success, Darlene was taught by legendary players like Alice Marble, Pauline Betz, and Sarah Palfrey Cooke. Also, a famous Australian coach, Harry Hopman, allowed her to play and practice with Australian players like Laver, Roy Emerson, and Neal Fraser at the prestigious Los Angeles Tennis Club. In 1955 at the age of 19, she participated in the Pan American Games in Mexico but lost her father to a heart-attack at the same time. Later that year, she won the French in mixed doubles with Gordon Forbes and women’s doubles with Beverly Baker Fleitz (Anna Kournikova of her time but better). She entered Pomona College in 1957 and won the first National Women’s intercollegiate title in singles. She is the only woman to win a grand slam title and a collegiate title.
Her first moment of impact came in the 1957 Wimbledon final against Althea Gibson. She lost the match 6-3, 6-2 in 49 minutes but her congratulatory kiss to Miss Gibson, an African-American, forced a newspaper in South Africa to shade the photo off Darlene. Her second impact was her rivalry with Margaret Smith from Australia. During the 1962 season (in which Smith won 3 out of the 4 grand-slams), both players were bickering at each other and a rivalry ensued which climaxed at the 1962 U.S. Championships. After winning two straight U.S. Nationals, she lost to Margaret 9-7, 6-4 and cried on an over-rule call in the second set. Her final and biggest impact came at the 1961 French, her doubles partner, Brazilian Maria Bueno, suffered hepatitis and couldn’t play Wimbledon. Her country’s federation could not afford her medical expenses or bring her back to Brazil because her hepatitis could spread to others. Darlene canceled her trip to Wimbledon to take care an ailing, quarantined Maria at a Paris hotel for nearly a month.
In 1963, she won the US Hard Court championship in singles and doubles. The same year, she led the U.S. team over Australia (with Margaret Smith on the team) in the Fed Cup Tournament. Likewise, she won the doubles in the Pan American Games from that year. She retired from the game in 1964 to become an instructor at a country club. After 5 years away from the game, she was a last minute replacement in the U.S. Open doubles with Francoise Durr. Despite her lack of fitness throughout the tournament, Darlene and Francoise got to the finals and but were down 0-6, 0-2 to the duo of Virginia Wade and Margaret Smith Court. In the past, Darlene was known to give up on matches when things weren’t going her way particularly in singles. This time, Darlene was laughing and joking at her circumstance saying “isn’t this fun.” Francoise was not laughing though but they came back to win 0-6, 6-3, 6-4. This was Darlene’s last Grand Slam title. She soon retired from tennis in 1971. In honor of her career and her achievements, Darlene was elected to the tennis Hall of Fame in 1973 and elected to the collegiate Hall of Fame in 1974. Afterwards, she disappeared from public view and is now working at the University of Southern California.
I really believe that Darlene’s sacrifice of her ambition and health for Maria displays an unlimited compassion and care in the heat of competition. Tennis is a game of individualism and sometimes cruel fate favors a player’s outcome. For instance in 1956, Darlene’s ex-doubles partner Beverly Baker Fleitz was favored to win Wimbledon in singles but had to withdraw when she was confirmed pregnant. Fast forward to five years later, Darlene could have taken advantage of Maria’s situation by playing and winning Wimbledon. Yet, Darlene nursed Maria back to health and in the process, caught hepatitis. Eventually, Maria came back and won Wimbledon in 1964 and many U.S. singles titles afterwards. As for Darlene, she won her last singles title at the 1961 U.S. Nationals, never to win a singles title at Wimbledon. However, it is her sacrifice that will stay true to heart.
© 2006 by Davan Mani as unpublished work
Maria Bueno (Latin Superstar)
WHO IS MARIA BUENO?
She played during the amateur era where professionalism was disallowed in major tennis tournaments. She won 19 Grand Slam titles (7 in singles, 11 doubles and 1 mixed doubles) and won many others in non GS tournaments. In all, she amassed 589 titles in her career. She was the first to win a Grand Slam in doubles in 1960 (Australian with Christine Truman and the others with Darlene Hard). She also won. Leading the way for Latin American athletes, she was the first woman from Latin America to win Wimbledon. Her prime years were from 1958 till 1968 before injuries curtailed her career.
Sportswriters described her moving swiftly and gracefully like a swallow (a bird) that moves swiftly to hunt its prey. Her game was an expression of art and poetry. Her canvas: the tennis court. She had to play the game beautifully and gracefully. Winning mattered but thinking about winning would not allow her to play her fullest: stroke to stroke; point to point; and game to game. By combining the game as art and war, she appealed to fans who like the aesthetic and competitive aspects of tennis. A writer described her as an “ugly ducking who moves beautifully.”
Maria Esther Aldinion Bueno was born on Oct. 11, 1939 in Sao Paolo, Brazil. She learned to play on the clay courts of Sao Paolo where her father was a member of a country club. She never took lessons, instead became a disciple of tennis legend’s Bill Tilden’s book. She read his book very carefully and practiced with her older brother as well as club pros for hours, everyday. The clay surface gives the ball a higher bounce and less speed off shots. Therefore, players learn patience and point construction but Maria was a restless soul who wanted to finish off points quickly. By her own teachings, she developed an attacking style of serve & volley and power-hitting ground strokes from the forehand and the backhand. Likewise, she developed those half-volley touches where she can make contact on the ball at any angle or speed with any type of spin off the bounce. Finally, she was an avid swimmer which provided consistent strength to her eventual, lean body of 5’7 and 115 pounds. Nancy Richey, her former opponent, commented that she was the hardest consistent hitter that she ever faced because the ball felt so heavy compared to others including Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova.
The results of her work were quickly put into effect. At age twelve, she won her first tournament; at fifteen, she was on the Brazilian National team; and at eighteen, a world class player. Her first grand slam title came at the 1958 Wimbledon doubles where she teamed up with Althea Gibson beat Margaret Osborne DuPont and Margaret Varner Bloss. That same year, they go the finals at the U.S. Nationals despite protests by the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association of wanting only Americans to play doubles with each other. At that time, Althea Gibson was the dominant singles player. She won back to back titles in both Wimbledon and U.S. in 1957 and 1958. Therefore, Althea threatened to boycott the U.S. Nationals if Maria was not her partner and the USLTA acquiesced. In singles, Maria showed glimpses of championship caliber by winning tournaments at the Italian and other smaller venues but struggled in the major tournaments and against better players like Althea in 1958.
Then in 1959, Maria broke through by beating Althea at the Italian, winning Wimbledon, and the U.S. Nationals over French champion, Christine Truman. She was ranked No. 1 in women’s tennis and voted Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year. The next year she repeated her success of winning Wimbledon but lost in the U.S. finals. Throughout her career, she never won the major that mattered to her the most, the singles title at the French. The fans appreciated her artistic approach to tennis and she grew up on the clay surface. While she grew up in clay, the grass surfaces at Wimbledon and at U.S. Nationals (then Forest Hills, NY) suited her game because the balls moved faster and quicker off the surface. Despite her failures in singles, she won the French in doubles and mixed doubles.
With Althea Gibson’s retirement during 1959, Maria found a new doubles partner in Darlene Hard. Though adversaries in the singles and mixed doubles, they became great friends off the court and artistic intuitionists on the court. They seem to be in synch spontaneously concerning self, court, and opponent awareness and knew how to respond to each situation, non-verbally with cohesion. Together, they won 5 grand slams in seven appearances. When Maria played in Australia, Darlene didn’t accompany her because Australia was far and expensive for an amateur. Maria played because her Brazilian Tennis Federation was willing to pay for her expenses due to her winnings and World No. 1 ranking. Yet in 1961, the BTF could not pay for Maria medical expenses when she suffered hepatitis during the French. After the canceling the French doubles finals with Darlene, Maria was quarantined at a Paris hotel for one month. Luckily, Darlene took care of her while sacrificing her chance to win the 1961 Wimbledon and her body as she was infected with hepatitis. Darlene would overcome her hepatitis and win the 1961 U.S. Nationals. As for Maria, she recovered to fly back to Brazil but was out of tennis for 1961.
In 1962, a new player was coming in full force to tennis. Her name was Margaret Smith (later Court) from Australia. That year, she won 3 out of 4 majors and the next year won 2 out of 4. She was the first woman in tennis to add weight training to her physical regiment: pulleys, curls, and barbells weighing over 150 pounds. Opponents were intimidated of her size, speed, and her competitiveness. She stood 5’9 and weighed 150 pounds. Margaret beat the smaller and stocky Darlene at the 1962 U.S. Nationals, so bad that Darlene eventually gave up trying to beat her. Maria kept trying despite Margaret’s dominance and her physical problems. Recovering gradually from hepatitis, she did not win any majors in 1962 but optimistic when she reached the semifinals of Wimbledon. In 1963, she won Gold at the Pan American games by beating Mexico’s, Yola Ramirez in singles (Darlene won bronze). The same year, she beat Margaret at the U.S. Nationals in straight sets but Margaret was still the No. 1 player of the year for winning the Australian and Wimbledon. In 1964, Darlene Hard decided to retire from amateur tennis to become a professional instructor at a country club. Maria remained an amateur and took on the challenge of beating Margaret for No. 1 in the world.
With Darlene out of the picture, Maria concentrated on beating Margaret for amateur supremacy while maintaining her doubles game with different partners such as Nancy Richey, Billie Jean King, and Margaret Court. She may have resented her dominance but she respected her play. The year 1964 did not start out too well for Maria, losing to Margaret in the French finals and suffering various other ailments when they met at the Wimbledon finals. The 1964 Wimbledon final is considered a classic with Bud Collins describing it as a “potpourri of shot making by both players” as well as speed and movement. The outcome was close with neither player gaining an advantage until the final set when Maria broke Margaret’s serve and closed the final set winning 6-3. Maria would go on to win the 1964 U.S. Nationals and become the No. 1 player.
Maria would go on to face Margaret many times but would lose to her at the 1965 Australian (default due to cramps) and at the Wimbledon finals. She would win one more major at the 1966 U.S. Nationals but arm and leg injuries would end her career at the end of 1968. That year, tennis became a professional sport and all 4 majors would become open tournaments. Maria missed out on getting paid for her profession. The five year period she missed from 1969-1974 was spent on rehabilitation with weights were added to her regiment. She would make comebacks in 1974, 1976, and 1977. But her injuries were too much to overcome and eventually retired for good in 1977. For her achievements and accomplishments, she was elected to the Tennis Hall of Fame in 1978.
As an older stateswoman, she has become an “ugly ducking” that has aged beautifully. Though no long moving swiftly and gracefully like a swallow, she still in attacking mode when it comes to today’s players. She doesn’t like all the screaming and the power that today’s tennis players display because it takes away the expression of art and poetry. It is all war now. She says that only Justine Henin plays the game with beauty and grace as well as power with a touch of a sculptor. Winning does matter but thinking about it does not allow players to play to the fullest. By combining the game as art and war, Maria has appealed to fans, young and old who like the aesthetic and competitive aspects of tennis.
© 2007 by Davan S. Mani
She played during the amateur era where professionalism was disallowed in major tennis tournaments. She won 19 Grand Slam titles (7 in singles, 11 doubles and 1 mixed doubles) and won many others in non GS tournaments. In all, she amassed 589 titles in her career. She was the first to win a Grand Slam in doubles in 1960 (Australian with Christine Truman and the others with Darlene Hard). She also won. Leading the way for Latin American athletes, she was the first woman from Latin America to win Wimbledon. Her prime years were from 1958 till 1968 before injuries curtailed her career.
 |
| Serving ballerina style with power! |
Sportswriters described her moving swiftly and gracefully like a swallow (a bird) that moves swiftly to hunt its prey. Her game was an expression of art and poetry. Her canvas: the tennis court. She had to play the game beautifully and gracefully. Winning mattered but thinking about winning would not allow her to play her fullest: stroke to stroke; point to point; and game to game. By combining the game as art and war, she appealed to fans who like the aesthetic and competitive aspects of tennis. A writer described her as an “ugly ducking who moves beautifully.”
Maria Esther Aldinion Bueno was born on Oct. 11, 1939 in Sao Paolo, Brazil. She learned to play on the clay courts of Sao Paolo where her father was a member of a country club. She never took lessons, instead became a disciple of tennis legend’s Bill Tilden’s book. She read his book very carefully and practiced with her older brother as well as club pros for hours, everyday. The clay surface gives the ball a higher bounce and less speed off shots. Therefore, players learn patience and point construction but Maria was a restless soul who wanted to finish off points quickly. By her own teachings, she developed an attacking style of serve & volley and power-hitting ground strokes from the forehand and the backhand. Likewise, she developed those half-volley touches where she can make contact on the ball at any angle or speed with any type of spin off the bounce. Finally, she was an avid swimmer which provided consistent strength to her eventual, lean body of 5’7 and 115 pounds. Nancy Richey, her former opponent, commented that she was the hardest consistent hitter that she ever faced because the ball felt so heavy compared to others including Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova.
The results of her work were quickly put into effect. At age twelve, she won her first tournament; at fifteen, she was on the Brazilian National team; and at eighteen, a world class player. Her first grand slam title came at the 1958 Wimbledon doubles where she teamed up with Althea Gibson beat Margaret Osborne DuPont and Margaret Varner Bloss. That same year, they go the finals at the U.S. Nationals despite protests by the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association of wanting only Americans to play doubles with each other. At that time, Althea Gibson was the dominant singles player. She won back to back titles in both Wimbledon and U.S. in 1957 and 1958. Therefore, Althea threatened to boycott the U.S. Nationals if Maria was not her partner and the USLTA acquiesced. In singles, Maria showed glimpses of championship caliber by winning tournaments at the Italian and other smaller venues but struggled in the major tournaments and against better players like Althea in 1958.
Then in 1959, Maria broke through by beating Althea at the Italian, winning Wimbledon, and the U.S. Nationals over French champion, Christine Truman. She was ranked No. 1 in women’s tennis and voted Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year. The next year she repeated her success of winning Wimbledon but lost in the U.S. finals. Throughout her career, she never won the major that mattered to her the most, the singles title at the French. The fans appreciated her artistic approach to tennis and she grew up on the clay surface. While she grew up in clay, the grass surfaces at Wimbledon and at U.S. Nationals (then Forest Hills, NY) suited her game because the balls moved faster and quicker off the surface. Despite her failures in singles, she won the French in doubles and mixed doubles.
With Althea Gibson’s retirement during 1959, Maria found a new doubles partner in Darlene Hard. Though adversaries in the singles and mixed doubles, they became great friends off the court and artistic intuitionists on the court. They seem to be in synch spontaneously concerning self, court, and opponent awareness and knew how to respond to each situation, non-verbally with cohesion. Together, they won 5 grand slams in seven appearances. When Maria played in Australia, Darlene didn’t accompany her because Australia was far and expensive for an amateur. Maria played because her Brazilian Tennis Federation was willing to pay for her expenses due to her winnings and World No. 1 ranking. Yet in 1961, the BTF could not pay for Maria medical expenses when she suffered hepatitis during the French. After the canceling the French doubles finals with Darlene, Maria was quarantined at a Paris hotel for one month. Luckily, Darlene took care of her while sacrificing her chance to win the 1961 Wimbledon and her body as she was infected with hepatitis. Darlene would overcome her hepatitis and win the 1961 U.S. Nationals. As for Maria, she recovered to fly back to Brazil but was out of tennis for 1961.
In 1962, a new player was coming in full force to tennis. Her name was Margaret Smith (later Court) from Australia. That year, she won 3 out of 4 majors and the next year won 2 out of 4. She was the first woman in tennis to add weight training to her physical regiment: pulleys, curls, and barbells weighing over 150 pounds. Opponents were intimidated of her size, speed, and her competitiveness. She stood 5’9 and weighed 150 pounds. Margaret beat the smaller and stocky Darlene at the 1962 U.S. Nationals, so bad that Darlene eventually gave up trying to beat her. Maria kept trying despite Margaret’s dominance and her physical problems. Recovering gradually from hepatitis, she did not win any majors in 1962 but optimistic when she reached the semifinals of Wimbledon. In 1963, she won Gold at the Pan American games by beating Mexico’s, Yola Ramirez in singles (Darlene won bronze). The same year, she beat Margaret at the U.S. Nationals in straight sets but Margaret was still the No. 1 player of the year for winning the Australian and Wimbledon. In 1964, Darlene Hard decided to retire from amateur tennis to become a professional instructor at a country club. Maria remained an amateur and took on the challenge of beating Margaret for No. 1 in the world.
With Darlene out of the picture, Maria concentrated on beating Margaret for amateur supremacy while maintaining her doubles game with different partners such as Nancy Richey, Billie Jean King, and Margaret Court. She may have resented her dominance but she respected her play. The year 1964 did not start out too well for Maria, losing to Margaret in the French finals and suffering various other ailments when they met at the Wimbledon finals. The 1964 Wimbledon final is considered a classic with Bud Collins describing it as a “potpourri of shot making by both players” as well as speed and movement. The outcome was close with neither player gaining an advantage until the final set when Maria broke Margaret’s serve and closed the final set winning 6-3. Maria would go on to win the 1964 U.S. Nationals and become the No. 1 player.
Maria would go on to face Margaret many times but would lose to her at the 1965 Australian (default due to cramps) and at the Wimbledon finals. She would win one more major at the 1966 U.S. Nationals but arm and leg injuries would end her career at the end of 1968. That year, tennis became a professional sport and all 4 majors would become open tournaments. Maria missed out on getting paid for her profession. The five year period she missed from 1969-1974 was spent on rehabilitation with weights were added to her regiment. She would make comebacks in 1974, 1976, and 1977. But her injuries were too much to overcome and eventually retired for good in 1977. For her achievements and accomplishments, she was elected to the Tennis Hall of Fame in 1978.
As an older stateswoman, she has become an “ugly ducking” that has aged beautifully. Though no long moving swiftly and gracefully like a swallow, she still in attacking mode when it comes to today’s players. She doesn’t like all the screaming and the power that today’s tennis players display because it takes away the expression of art and poetry. It is all war now. She says that only Justine Henin plays the game with beauty and grace as well as power with a touch of a sculptor. Winning does matter but thinking about it does not allow players to play to the fullest. By combining the game as art and war, Maria has appealed to fans, young and old who like the aesthetic and competitive aspects of tennis.
© 2007 by Davan S. Mani
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