Commentary

The Buzz

By Times Staff Writer
Published July 10, 2005

WHO'S HOT?

Michelle Wie. Be honest. Did you care about the PGA's John Deere Classic before she entered?

The Olympics. After baseball and softball were dropped from the 2012 London Games, Australian IOC member John Coates said, "Problems with doping in U.S. baseball probably cost the sport dearly."

Well, it's a good thing that's not a problem with swimming or track.

Did you see a former UConn backup quarterback put his playbook for sale on eBay before being asked by team officials to remove it? This, of course, begs the question: How much do you think the playbook of former Buccaneers offensive coordinator Clyde Christensen would net?

Chris Barnes, who played blond brat Tanner Boyle in the Bad News Bears (1976), one of the all-time sports classics, recently turned 40.

Oh, crud.

Quotes. Just quotes.

In Paul Fein's You Can Quote Me on That: Greatest Tennis Quips, Insights and Zingers, a book that features notable remarks from the biggest names in tennis, that's all you get. And well, in this case, that's more than enough.

Fein, whose articles have appeared in tennis, sports and general interest publications, has captured the sport's personalities by keeping things simple.

One of the book's best quotes comes from Chris Evert, speaking about former fiance Jimmy Connors: "I remember when Jimmy and I went into confession and he came out a half-hour later, and I said, "How'd it go?' He said, "I wasn't finished. The priest said come back next Sunday.' "

Fein's work makes for easy reading, for sure, but it also gives great insight into tennis, especially its golden age of the 1970s and '80s. There are great one-liners that make you chuckle but also profound statements that take us deep into players' minds and shed light on the price of success.

Seriously, people, there's no need to panic.

The Rays have a plan.

- Compiled by Keith Niebuhr, Times staff writer

[Last modified July 9, 2005, 23:35:17]