"Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now."
My Boog Pages
Saturday, July 1
Andre The Giant
Andre Agassi announced last week that he was retiring after the U.S. Open, and today he played his last match at Wimbledon, defeated by rising star Rafael Nadal. Agassi's career has taken many twists and turns. He showed promise early but was soon eclipsed by Pete Sampras. Andre turned it around in 1992, finally winning his first major, and it looked as if he and Pete and the other young Americans (Jim Courier, Michael Chang) would be duking it out for the rest of the decade.
But within a few years his ranking fell below 100, and he resorted to playing Challenger events, tennis' minor leagues. Then he teamed with new coach Brad "Winning Ugly" Gilbert and returned to the top of the sport, completing a career Grand Slam in 1999 and winning the Australian and U.S. Opens.
Last year he made a run to the U.S. Open final by winning three straight five-set matches, and gave Roger Federer some trouble before finally falling in four sets.
Throughout his career Agassi has always been considered a gentleman, and he may eventually be remembered more for that than for the titles he won. Case in point: His career went off the rails during his brief marriage to Brooke Shields. Later, he was asked if he regretted making tennis a secondary priority. He said no, that would be to say that his time with Brooke wasn't special, and didn't mean anything. He wouldn't do that.
Now of course he's married to Steffi Graf and has a couple of kids. Fatherhood seems to suit him. Throughout Wimbledon he's been wearing a necklace made by his son Jaden that says "DAD ROCKS".
So goodbye, Andre. Thanks for being a good guy and a good player.
All The Cool Kids Are Doing It, And So Is Dave White
A new meme:
1. Have you ever been searched by the cops? Once, when I was selling encyclopedias door to door.
2. Do you close your eyes on roller coasters? Nah, but they do pretty much scare the crap out of me.
3. When’s the last time you’ve been sledding? I'm from Louisiana, so the list is a short one... I remember going down a hill covered in 2" of snow on a cardboard box when I was maybe 10.
4. Would you rather sleep with someone else, or alone? I've been married for almost ten years, I can't sleep when my wife's away.
5. Do you believe in ghosts? I'm not ruling it out.
6. Do you consider yourself creative? Yeah, not just writing but coming up with solutions at the day job (computers).
7. Do you think O.J. killed his wife? Absolutely.
8. Jennifer Aniston or Angelina Jolie? Jen fer shur.
9. Do you stay friends with your ex’s? No, because all of my break-ups have been fairly painful.
10. Do you know how to play poker? Know the rules? Yeah. Know the game? Nah.
11. Have you ever been awake for 48 straight hours? I've come close, but always managed to get a couple hours in their somewhere.
12. What’s your favorite commercial? The cell phone "theft deterrent" commercial was pretty funny.
13. What are you allergic to? Cigarette smoke.
14. If you’re driving in the middle of the night, and no one is around do you run red lights? No way. "History is made at night! Who you are is who you are in the dark!"
15. Do you have a secret that no one knows but you? Not as far as you know.
16. Boston Red Sox or New York Yankees? Sox. It takes guts to keep fighting when the situation is hopeless.
17. Have you ever been Ice Skating? I've been a few times and really enjoyed it, but that pretty much ended when I hurt my achilles tendon a few years ago.
18. How often do you remember your dreams? Fairly often.
19. When was the last time you laughed so hard you cried? Can't recall.
20. Can you name 5 songs by The Beatles? Puh-leeze. "Please Please Me", "Twist And Shout", "Love Me Do", "Saw Her Standing There", and "A Taste Of Honey". And that's from their first album.
21. What’s the one thing on your mind now? Cleaning the house before my wife gets home tonight.
22. Do you know who Ghetto-ass Barbie is? Considering that my blond, blue-eyed wife grew up in the 'hood - it's her! Plus she's bootylicious.
23. Do you always wear your seat belt? I can't even get in a car without putting on the belt. Makes me feel naked.
24. What cell service do you use? Cingular, or New AT&T, or whatever the hell they're calling it these days.
25. Do you like Sushi? Barf. My wife loves it, so I tried it once. That's like the tenth time I've mentioned my wife in this post - can you tell I miss her?
26. Have you ever narrowly avoided a fatal accident? That was NO ACCIDENT!
27. What do you wear to bed? Jockeys. Oh, and underwear too.
28. Been caught stealing? Only in baseball.
29. What shoe size do you have? 12D.
30. Do you truly hate anyone? Can't really think of anyone, though there are a few people who disgust me, which is totally different.
31. Classic Rock or Rap? Classic Rock. I don't hate rap, I just don't care for it.
32. If you could sleep with one famous person, who would it be? First, let's assume my wife becomes famous. So, my wife.
33. Favorite Song? "Girlfriend", Matthew Sweet.
34. Have you ever sang in front of the mirror? Yup. One of those three-panel jobs. The other people in Men's Suits were not amused.
35. What food do you find disgusting? Escargot.
36. Do you sing in the shower? Of course. I have a 28-shower tour later this year.
37. Did you ever play, “I’ll show you mine, if you show me yours”? Nah, too shy when I was a kid. Much to my chagrin, I found out that line doesn't work when you're older.
38. Have you ever made fun of your friends behind their back? Yes, but I wouldn't say anything that I wouldn't say to their face.
39. Have you ever stood up for someone you hardly knew? Yes. You gotta help a brother out when the man's keeping him down.
40. Have you ever been punched in the face? I'm sure, but it's been over 20 years.
