I know he’s won the U.S. Open, but Andy Roddick has to be one of the great underachievers in U.S. tennis history. Last night at the Open, he was at it again, losing early in the tournament to a Serbian I’ve never heard of….
As usual, he relied on his huge serve and forehand; which isn’t going to get the job done against elite players. It worked for Pete Sampras, but he was 6’4″ and could literally overpower oppoments with better technical skill….
Roddick, however, can’t get away with it; because he’s not as big or powerful as Sampras….
A few years ago, Roddick showed up unannounced at Jimmy Connors Santa Barbara home; requesting Connors become his coach and reinvent his game….
The results were positive, with Jimbo insisting Andy come to the net and play more aggressively. Roddick shot back up in the world ratings and nearly won a couple of Grand Slams, but soon after seperated from Connors with a vague explanation….
Both of them say they parted as friends and everything is great, but I don’t believe it and neither does anyone in the tennis community….
Now Andy is making a habit of early departures, outside of a brilliant performance in the Wimbledon Final against Roger Federer two years ago….
By the way, that five set match was a classic and one of the best I’ve ever seen….
Watching last night’s broadcast, I could head the disappointment in Connors voice as he called the match. If I’m Roddick, I’m going back to Connors and beg him to coach me again….
I had no idea they played basketball in Iran, but there was the Iranian national team last night on ESPN 2 against Team USA….
They hung close for awhile, trailing only 19-13 after a quarter and 42-28 at halftime….
From then on, the American’s superior skill and athletic ability took over and the rout was on; with Team USA winning 88-51….
One impressive player, though, was Iran’s Hamed Haddadi, the 7’2″ center who plays for the Memphis Grizzlies. He not only scored 19 points, but showed a nice shooting touch and even an ability to put the ball on the floor and finish….
I know he’s a project, but maybe he’ll become a decent NBA player….
Now we’re the #1 seed heading into the single elimination knockout round; which the final 16 teams against each other….
Call me a skeptic, but I don’t think we’re going to win this thing. International coaches tend to sandbag and lose on purpose in the opening rounds to ensure better matchups in the knockout round, and this year is no exception….
Once we get into the Final 16, we’re going to see lots of zone and teams slowing down the pace and playing pick-and-roll….
Yes, we have the most talented team and would win a seven-game series against any of these opponents; but on a given night our propensity to go one-on-one and shoot too many threes will come back to bite us….
Brazil, Spain, France, Lithuania, Argentina and Greece could all beat us on a given night….
I know one thing, this knockout round is going to be fun to watch….
For some reason, Americans believe the Olympics are the be-all-and-end-all of international basketball, but the rest of the world considers the World Championships the premiere event….
And I agree with them….
This is all basketball all the time, with the world’s best players gathered in one place. There’s no diving, ballroom dancing, gymnastics, bridge or any other silly sports forced down our throats in the Olympics….
I know nobody in America cares, but I’m enjoying every second of the Worlds….









































