Dave Smith

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….

Watching the Angels-Mariners game last night was another example of two managers doing everything in their power to cost their team a win….

After seven innings, the game was scoreless and Felix Hernandez of the M’s had a three-hit shutout. For some reason, the Mariners manager (I think his name is Daren Brown, but I could be wrong) removed baseball’s best pitcher; even though he was unhittable….

Naturally, his bullpen gave up a run in the top of th eighth and it seemed Brown had managed himself out of a win….

Not to be outdone, Mike Scioscia decided he also didn’t want to win the game; removing Dan Haren after the seventh, even though he was also tossing a shutout….

It’s a good thing Don Drysdale wasn’t alive to see this, because this would have had his blood pressure at the boiling point….

Can you imagine what Twin D or Bob Gibson would have done to Scioscia had he asked for the ball after seven innings in a scoreless game? They would have given a death stare to him if he made a move to the mound and if the manager was silly enough to come to the mound he would have probably been punched in the mouth….

But baseball in 2010 is all about pitch counts and six inning starters….

Even though his counterpart had made a colossal blunder by removing King Felix, Scioscia trumped his stupidity by removing Haren; and naturally the Angels bullpen gave up three runs and cost them the game….

I guess one stupid move deserves another….

Anothert example of an organization’s stupidity is the Washington Nationals handling of young phenom Steve Strasburg; who has already broken down and needs career-threatening Tommy John surgery….

Instead of toughening up the kid and having him throw complete games, they babied him from the minor leagues all the way to the majors. He had six inning starts, pitch counts, five days of rest and mother hens looking over him from the day he signed….

I was fortunate enough to interview Drysdale before he passed away and he was livid about how soft starting pitchers had become. “You need to toughen up and strengthen up your arm just like any other muscle,” he told me. “We’d pitch a complete game, then we’d throw betweeen starts and play long toss. When you baby these young guys and have pitch counts, they’re going to break down and be injurde all the time”….

Growing up, I used to watch Drysdale, Gibson, Goose Gossage, Catfish Hunter, Fergie Jenkins, Tom Seaver, Nola Ryan, Steve Carlton and several others throw at least 280 innings a year and have 20 complete games….

And none of them had pitch counts or went on the D.L. You could count on them every year to make 40 starts and throw 280 innings….

It was a man’s game back then and pitchers considered it an insult to be removed from a game. Nowadays these guys are looking over to the dugout after six innings and begging to come out….

One thing I can’t understand about this philosophy is the result of pitch counts, five man rotations and six inning pitchers; which is more injuries, more surgeries and more time on the D.L….

Can’t these organizations see this overprotecting and babying is counterproductive and causing more injuries?….

Old school Nolan Ryan seems to understand and has banned the pitch count in his minor league system. He also wants to see more complete games and four man rotations….

God bless him….

If Team USA didn’t realize it was going to be extremely difficult to bring home the gold medal in the 2010 FIBA World Championships, last night’s escape against Brazil should make it clear….

Down 28-22 after the first quarter, we fought back, took a late lead and then had to watch Leandro Barbosa miss two last second shots to win 70-68….

And by the way, the Brazilians played without Nene and Anderson Varejao….

I picked Brazil as my dark horse team and they didn’t disappoint….

I also like Australia, who look good so far even without Andrew Bogut. Their point guard, Paddy Mills, was a star at St. Mary’s and first round pick of the Trail Blazers last season….

I’ve always liked him and he’s playing brilliantly….

As usual, we shot too quickly, didn’t have good ball movement and struggled mightily whenever Brazil went to a zone….

The Brazilian coach, Ruben Magnano, is one of the best coaches in the world and the only coach with two wins over our Dream Team. As the coach of Argentina, he handed our NBA all-stars their first loss at the 2002 Worlds and then repeated the win in 2004, when the Argentinians won the Olympic gold medal….

Watching the game, it was vintage Magnano; spreading the floor, running pick-and-roll and keeping Team USA’s defense confused and out-of-position. He also mixed in his zone defense beautifully and we played right into his hands by firing quick shots….

When Rudy Tomjanovic was canned as Lakers coach a few years ago and it wasn’t certain Phil Jackson was going to return, I suggested Magnano as a candidate. He’d just come off a win over our Dream Team in the Olympics and with all the international players in the NBA, the game was changing….

It might not be Magnano, but the time is coming when an international coach gets his chance in the NBA….

And if some team is smart, that guy will be Magnano….

One of my favorite sporting events is the U.S. Open, which began yesterday in New York. The crowds are rowdy, the tennis is fantastic and the night matches are as good as it gets….

Quarterfinal Thursday is arguably the best night in American sports, because we get multiple matches that often go late inot the night….

Unfortunately, they make the men play the Final on Sunday afternoon, usually after a grueling semi-final on Saturday, and we rarely get both players at 100%….

The guy who plays the late match on Saturday is at a severe disadvantage, because it’s often a brutal five-setter….

Then he has to come back less than 24 hours later and is gassed and less than his best….

The solution is simple; since the best moments at the Open always happen at night, the men’s final should be played on the Monday night before the NFL season begins….

The whole world could watch, it would happen in prime time and both players would be rested and 100%….

Instead, the idiots who run the Open have the semis and finals directly against the opening weekend of college and NFL football, ensuring almost nobody will watch….

Move the tournament up a week and play the final on Monday night, with no sports competition….

Makes too much sense….