Thoughts about Tennis Tradition...

[don_budge]

Arnold Palmer...passes away at 87 years old

First it was Gordie Howe at the age of 88 and now the sports world loses another legend Arnold Palmer at the age of 87. These men were from the "Romantic Age" of sports. When it was about the game...and not the business.

http://golfweek.com/2016/09/25/arnol...es-away-at-87/

Of course money is important. It pays for the golf or the hockey. It pays for the food we eat. These men considered it an honor to play a boys game and to get paid for it was a bonus. These two men might just be considered icons as they were one of a kind. Not only were they one of a kind...they broke the mold. Now they are gone. A little bit of traditional thoughts in sports dies with these men.

“We loved him with a mythic American joy,” said Palmer biographer James Dodson. “He represented everything that is great about golf. The friendship, the fellowship, the laughter, the impossibility of golf, the sudden rapture moment that brings you back, a moment that you never forget, that’s Arnold Palmer in spades. He’s the defining figure in golf.”

"We loved him with a mythic American joy"...from the "Romantic Age" of golf these kind of feelings were once possible.

[hockeyscout]

Gordie Howe..."never refused an autograph".




Gordie Howe...they broke the mold with men like him. When sports was about loyalty, dedication and team. The money was secondary. One of the last of the traditional legends. A great athlete and a really, really fine gentleman.




http://www.freep.com/story/sports/co...idel/85953820/

You have a romantic version of things don_budge, but, it was a bad era in professional hockey that is best buried and forgotten. The sport took a lot of years to heal from those turbulent year where players were abused by owners.

Ask players what they think of those times - I have, and there was nothing positive sports owners did to benefit the young men (players) what-so-ever at the rink or away from the ice.

The majority of the owners ended up in jail, and even the head of the players association arrested, charged and spend serious ass pounding time in jail.

Hockey players we're the laughing stock of pro sports for many years, however, the unions eventually got smart, took initiative and gained control over the sport.

Howe was basically broke $$$$ at the end of his career and was taken advantage of by everyone being a nieve farm boy from Saskatchewan. The unions at that time really needed Gordie to take a stand, and he didn't.

Later on he learned “loyalty, dedication and team” were just phrases used to m manipulate players - in the 1980's Gordie wised up when he saw his pension plan was problematic, and players around him were dying with no access to proper coverage that they were promised. He joined forces with Carl Brewer, and sued, and they opened the books up to the NHL’s crooked pension business.

Gordie was not a sophisticated individual, but, he clearly had the presence of mind to marry a woman who had more balls than any owner, coach, manager, scout, agent, sponsor or businessman that crossed paths with the Howe family.

Years of hard lessons.

In 1971 he retired over a contract dispute (he wife did not step in, and negotiate).

At 43 Gordie realized his wife was right, and in 1973 she stepped in to negotiate professional contracts for her two sons Mark and Marty (before that Gordie would have to meet with the owner, and the wife was not allowed into the conversation).

Years later he learned journeyman NHL players like Bobby Baun were making more money than him.

Fortunately, the Howe's (Gordie and Colleen) really looked after their boys, and made sure they did not make the same financial mistakes they did.

She was a lady who learned the system, and wasn't going to allow anyone to walk over her sons.

Mark (the youngest son) became the highest paid professional player in the world at 18, and Gordie signed for 2.2 million dollars (his salary in Detroit was $13,000) as well in 1974. No one thought he had anything left in the tank, but, he sold tickets. Gordie had a personal career best year at 45. He was, a one of a kind athlete, but, not much of a businessman (thankfully, his wife was a heck of a business woman).

Gordie was a true pro's pro. His wife was a great sports wife who put her foot down, and a heck of a mama who didn't take anyone's crap. It was a combination that proved to be a winning one in the end.

[don_budge]

The Game...the way it used to be

Great video find. Great serving. Great volleying. Great attacking.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

It's all that klacr...and more. There is so much subtle stuff going on. What I find perhaps most amazing is the incredible amount of "work" Laver is putting on the ball. It is simply incredible. The seeming ease with which Gonzalez moves around the court is rather interesting as well. To me the video does do justice to the skill in both players but to the modern day tennis aficionado who is accustomed to watching this "reality" tennis that has been "discovered in modern times" it probably looks slow and antiquated.

Nothing could be more contrary to the truth. Can you imagine one single tennis player playing tennis today that would look even remotely comfortable playing balls from the positions that these two maestros do? I can only see one and I am curious to see how well he would fare. I'm not so sure.

Laver is really trying to work over his left handed spin with his serving to the ad court on Gonzalez. It's a fantastic find. The best of its kind that I have seen. The video certainly belongs here...Traditional Thoughts.

[klacr]

I like this clip...all of it...even though it's fractured stuff. Plus we get a gorgeous look at the Gonzales serve in slow motion at 2:27...and from an unusual angle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nd7YqmMyDg

Also, here is an instructional video on the one-handed backhand by Arthur Ashe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I16WkSFetfg

Stotty

Great video find. Great serving. Great volleying. Great attacking.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[don_budge]

I like this clip...all of it...even though it's fractured stuff. Plus we get a gorgeous look at the Gonzales serve in slow motion at 2:27...and from an unusual angle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nd7YqmMyDg

Also, here is an instructional video on the one-handed backhand by Arthur Ashe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I16WkSFetfg

Stotty

Dear Stotty...

Thank you so much for the honor of your posting on "Traditional Thoughts". That video of Richard Gonzales and Rod Laver is simply the best that I have ever seen. Watching those two raw and extraordinary artist duel back and forth with their wooden racquets was a sheer pleasure to watch. It was amazing how Laver "worked" that ball with spin. Its easy to see how he was thought to be an innovator at the time. Its easy to see how the Great John McEnroe would think of his as his idol.

How about that Richard Gonzales? Any questions as to why he is my model tennis player in my teaching paradigm? God Bless you Brother...thanks again. Your Friend...Steve

[stotty]

I like this clip...all of it...even though it's fractured stuff. Plus we get a gorgeous look at the Gonzales serve in slow motion at 2:27...and from an unusual angle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nd7YqmMyDg

Also, here is an instructional video on the one-handed backhand by Arthur Ashe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I16WkSFetfg

Stotty

[don_budge]

The Individual...

"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. To be your own man is hard business. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself.": Rudyard Kipling (1865--1936)

No price is too high to pay.

[don_budge]

Gordie Howe..."never refused an autograph".

Gordie Howe...they broke the mold with men like him. When sports was about loyalty, dedication and team. The money was secondary. One of the last of the traditional legends. A great athlete and a really, really fine gentleman.

http://www.freep.com/story/sports/columnists/jeff-seidel/2016/06/15/gordie-howe-funeral-jeff-seidel/85953820/

[don_budge]

Gordie Howe passes at 88...in Toledo, Ohio

Gordie Howe passed away yesterday in the city where I was born...where my parents were born. Toledo, Ohio.

http://www.freep.com/story/sports/nhl/red-wings/2016/06/10/gordie-howe-obituary/70049812/

I used to watch the Detroit Red Wings as a boy and Gordie Howe was the man. My father who is also 88, used to take me down once in a while to the old Olympia to see the Wings play. He will always be the man...a sports hero from an era when sports were really sports. He was a man when men used to be men. What a man...rest in peace Gordie Howe.

A real man who knew the score...

Once, at a dinner, Gordie was talking in his usual, self-deprecating way when Colleen interrupted.

"Gordie, don't talk with your hands in front of your mouth," she said.

"Dear, don't give me orders," he responded. "People will get the wrong impression that you're the boss."

There was no acrimony in the exchange, just tenderness and a little irony. Their children said they still held hands in their 70s when they walked on the beach or attended a movie.

"It's been a mutual agreement, a partnership," Gordie said. "I married a strong lady who has been very, very good for me because there are a lot of departments where I know I lack."

[don_budge]

Victor Amaya versus Björn Borg...

I remember that match with Victor Amaya. Big old Victor…a protege of none other than Welby Van Horn was a great big left handed classic player. He had some beautiful strokes and a huge left handed serve. Was it five sets? I think that it was. Borg getting by the skin of his teeth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VteJVIjsCKg

It was five sets…6-3 in the fifth. A narrow escape for the iconic Swede. First round match in 1978.

[klacr]

Victor Amaya. Michigan man. A Wolverine. Stayed in the state to play at University of Michigan. Clearly a smart player as well with that decision. Go Blue!

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[don_budge]

Analysis Corner: Arthur Ashe vs. Jimmy Connors for 1975

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39PiSwtUwoQ

Amazing revelation from Mats Wilander…his success story against Jimmy Connors.

The game plan…just stay alive until you get the ball low with no speed to Jimmy's forehand.

An interesting discussion of tactics from yesteryear. There were more than one way to skin a cat back in the days of Classic Tennis. The Modern Game is very one dimensional by comparison. Sooner or later tennis aficionados are going to wise up…or not. They are as dumbed down as the American political public. Dumber.

The game has devolved into a sort of cave man mentality. The big racquets…the dumbed down tactics. It's hard to believe for those not old enough to know any better. It's hard to believe for those old enough to know better. It is frankly…just hard to believe. But it's true. As sure as Donald Trump is going to be the Republican nominee for President of the United States of America…it is true.

The Borg interview was interesting. He felt the first two matches at Wimbledon we're critical to him being able to progress to win the tournament. The early rounds produced the lowest, shooting bounces you can imagine. I was there so I know this to be true. And when you think Borg used what would these days to be considered to be nothing other than a strong eastern grip, you have to wonder how strong semi-western gripped players would fair on truly fast grass. Borg was on the cusp of trouble himself back then but just had enough margin to squeeze through the early rounds. I doubt Nadal and Djokovic would stand a chance. The biggest part of their game would be removed.

But that's the game these days. Volleys and mild grips have been extracted out of the game never to be seen again. It can of course be reversed, but I doubt there is the will amongst the players or the organisers.

Another factor is players played in drizzle or light rain back then. Players couldn't run for cover at the first drop of rain as they do these days. Players had continue playing while the courts simply became ever slicker and slippery. But that was how it was, players simply had to find a way to cope. Tricky conditions like these greatly influenced matches and players had to use great guile to win. Borg had to defeat Victor Amaya in drizzle. How dreadfully difficult must that have been.

I cannot remember how these changes crept in over the years. When did it become unacceptable to play in drizzle? Many old enough will remember photos of Nastase playing with an umbrella at Queen's Club. Yes it was raining quite hard. I was there!
Someone how these things crept in...no play in drizzle...slave boys holding towels...trainers taping up minor grazes...trainers coming on for no reason....toilet breaks...nappy changes...entourages and hangers on. All this stuff got by me yet I cannot remember how and when.

I think if Federer remains in the game in some capacity after he retires then he might be able to influence playing surfaces. Once he no longer has a vested interest he may have the power to change things. In fact, he is probably the only one who can.

So basically what our good man from the grounds of the sacred Wimbledon is saying to you…the culture has been robbed. As sure as all of European culture is being robbed and ransacked.

I remember that match with Victor Amaya. Big old Victor…a protege of none other than Welby Van Horn was a great big left handed classic player. He had some beautiful strokes and a huge left handed serve. Was it five sets? I think that it was. Borg getting by the skin of his teeth. Victor was the high school champion of Michigan when I was a junior and senior in high school.

Federer? He will be nothing but another shill. His interests will always be vested in the sport that created his net worth. This thing has gone way too far for any corrective measures to be applied in any meaningful manner. klacr says it is a marathon not a sprint. Let's put it this way…not in your lifetime. Not in any of our lifetimes. This is a classic example of man interfering with the natural causes of things…and mucking it up in the process.

Short soft balls to the forehand…who would have thought?

[klacr]

I think it may be that it is more difficult to learn and master serve and volley. People start playing earlier nowadays, and little kids get no results playing serve and volley. The pressure to win matches and ranking occurs too soon, so that the baseline game brings more of a quick return for results.

It's a marathon, not a sprint.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[gzhpcu]

I think it may be that it is more difficult to learn and master serve and volley. People start playing earlier nowadays, and little kids get no results playing serve and volley. The pressure to win matches and ranking occurs too soon, so that the baseline game brings more of a quick return for results.

[stotty]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMULAeGo5nI

This isn't necessarily "Traditional Thoughts" but the question posed to Ivan Lendl at 1:20 of this video in 1989 is an existential one. Existential, that is, with regards to Classic Tennis. Listen to the questing and enjoy some tennis with Ivan Lendl and Thomas Muster. It's Mister Muster's comeback after a car accident.

It was a trade off back then. Bigger rackets helped volleys but had a habit of ballooning groundstrokes. These days that trade off no longer exists. Bigger rackets are good for both. Though it never ceases to amaze why volleyers today are so inferior to those of the past when they have vastly superior equipment. Are players today failing to take advantage of the biggest ACE in the pack?