Wimbledon didn't have news conferences after matches in the old days.
To get the story, Bud Collins went hunting.
"I chased down the player I wanted," Collins said.
Now, they come to him.
The 74-year-old, who doubles as a tennis columnist for the Boston Globe and commentator for NBC, is a mainstay at Wimbledon, where fans have watched him on TV every year since 1972.
Known for his colorful outfits and rainbow neckties, the man Sports Illustrated once said "is to tennis what pasta is to Italy," calls matches with unique words and distinctive pronunciations (like Na-Vra-Teeee-Lo-Va). His high-pitched voice is as recognizable to tennis fans as John Madden's is to NFL junkies.
"I'm a very lucky guy," Collins said recently from his seat on press row at the All England Club. "I feel very fortunate. I've been in this career longer than most in TV and longer than most in the newspaper business. And I've been able to combine them."
Collins, the author of several tennis-related books, joined the Globe in 1963 and soon after did his first TV commentary for Boston's PBS station. He worked the U.S. Open for CBS in 1968 and joined NBC four years later.
A little-known fact is that Collins, a native of Berea, Ohio, was an accomplished amateur. He won the U.S. Indoor mixed doubles title in 1961 and was coach at Brandeis University from 1959-63. One of his top players was future hippie icon Abbie Hoffman.
"I never dreamed as a kid I'd be doing this," Collins said.
NO HARD FEELINGS: After American Andy Roddick faltered in the first round at the French Open, he said he was committed to his coach, Tarik Benhabiles. But six days later, Roddick ended his four-year partnership with Benhabiles and hired Brad Gilbert, a man largely responsible for resurrecting Andre Agassi's career.
Why the change?
"Tarik's a great coach, he did a lot of great things for me for a long time," Roddick said before Wimbledon. "But basically, I just felt that I needed a little bit of a fresh voice. It was very emotional for me when I made my mind up to do it."
Roddick is 9-0 since making the switch, but says he and his former coach remain friends.
"We've been in e-mail contact even since the breakup, and we'll always be pretty tight," he said.
CAN YOU REPEAT THAT NAME?: NBC announcer and three-time Wimbledon singles champ John McEnroe was asked last week what he thought about the excessive shrieking made during points by Russian teen Maria Sharapova. McEnroe confessed he didn't know who Sharapova was.
Chances are, he isn't alone.
The 16-year-old, who lives and trains in Bradenton, began the year ranked No. 186 and was a virtual unknown before jumping to 88th after a strong showing at a recent grass-court tuneup. Now ranked No. 91, she reached the fourth round at Wimbledon before losing to countrywoman Svetlana Kuznetsova on Monday. Sharapova is being touted as one of the WTA Tour's top up-and-comers.
DESENDING: What's happened to Lleyton Hewitt? The 22-year-old Australian is without a title since winning back-to-back events in March. He lost in the third round at the French and the first at Wimbledon, which he won last year, to qualifier Ivo Karlovic. Hewitt is second in the world, but 12th on the ATP Champions Race, the tour's season points list.
McENROE SAYS: "Wimbledon has done what I consider to be an excellent job of keeping the tradition, but also changing with the times in a successful way. They've made it more accessible and better for the players and in turn the players have appreciated it more. I think they've kept a certain magic to it by keeping it on grass courts. There's a beauty and an aura to it that I think is still here."
