Confessions of a Parking Valet.

You have to be a complete knucklehead to trust that guy with your car and what’s in it. Not sure?

Click here.

Murray does not plan to engage a new coach until after the U.S. Open. Really?

That has to be a huge slap across Miles’s face.

Not only were you not performing, just having you along for the next Slam was detrimental. It’s not that I needed a new coach to win the next Slam, I just needed to get rid of you – Isn’t that the freaking message here?

The kind of beating these tennis coaches take year after year, it’s no wonder only desperate ‘have nothing to do’ clowns elect to participate. Umpires should be a close second. Why would anyone with a pulse choose either profession? Front seat? What’s that song? ‘Some want to abuse you, others want to get abused’? And who freaking marries these people? Other umpires and coaches?

Even I have a prospective mate – that ‘mentally my age’ neighbor’s daughter. At least she is not in my line of ‘work’. Yeah, that puts me ahead of these jokers. Hey, have you even lived in a basement ever? No, you haven’t and don’t know that it’s lot of work.

Byran brothers about to set another record.

Most doubles titles ever won by a team: 61 – by Hall of Famers Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde. Bryan brothers have already reached 61 and a title in Los Angeles will get them to stand alone atop their chosen field.

They have already bagged the career Slam and own eight Slams overall together.

Here are some other facts:

Their mother Kathy Bryan (née Blake) is a former women’s circuit player. She is a 4-time participant at Wimbledon, and made the mixed doubles quarter-finals at the 1965 edition. She still teaches tennis.

Their father, Wayne Bryan, is a lawyer, musician and tennis instructor. Both their parents are involved in various ATP Kids’ Days and clinics on tour.

In their early days as junior players, they were forbidden to play each other in tournament play by their parents. If they were to play each other in a tournament, they would alternate defaulting to each other.

The Bryans have a penchant for music, forming a band of their own, with Mike playing on the drums (and occasionally guitar), Bob on the keyboard, and father Wayne on the guitar. Fellow tennis players and friends Andy Roddick, Mardy Fish and Jan-Michael Gambill often join in. The band has played at several special events, including the ATP Tour Smash Tennis event at New York’s Central Park before the 1995 U.S. Open.

Between 2005 and 2006, they set an Open Era record by competing in seven consecutive men’s doubles Grand Slam finals, three of which they won.

On February 26, 2010, they recorded their Open Era record 600th match win by defeating Taylor Dent and Ryan Harrison in the semi-finals of the Delray Beach ATP 250 tournament.

Records:

61 ATP World Tour Tournament Wins (tied with Woodies)
6 time ITF World Champions (5 straight from 2003–2007)
5 time ATP Team of the Year (tied with Woodies)
16 Grand Slam Finals
600 tour level match wins
7 consecutive Grand Slam Finals (2005 Australian Open-2006 Wimbledon)
99 ATP World Tour Tournament Finals
16 Davis Cup World Group Wins
15 Masters 1000 titles
27,200 – Largest crowd in tennis history (Seville,Spain 12/04/2004)

Photos.

Looks like someone’s been eating someone else’s lunch.

Multi-tasking?

Those are Tipsy’s. What does that freaking mean?

Separating Myth from Fact.

Myth: Aerobics is better for shaping up than weight  training.
Fact: To transform your physique, you MUST train with weights.

Myth: If you exercise, it doesn’t matter what you eat.
Fact: If you exercise, it matters EVEN MORE what you eat.

Myth: If women lift weights, they’ll get ‘bulky’.
Fact: Resistance exercise helps women create lean, toned bodies.

Myth: Weight training is only of young athletes.
Fact: People of all ages should be weight training.

Myth: Muscles grow while you are working out.
Fact: Muscles grow while you are resting and recuperating.

Myth: A certain number of sets and reps gets the job done.
Fact: High-intensity effort produces the best results.

Myth: You need to drink water only when you are thirsty.
Fact: You body needs more water than it’s telling you.

Myth: You have to eat perfectly all the time.
Fact: There’s no such thing as eating ‘perfectly’.

Source: Body for Life.

If Nadal reaches No. 16, which argument will be more compelling?

1. Federer underachieved? With the talent and a complete array of shots Federer owns he is REQUIRED to create enough separation between him and the rest of the field to transfer that perception from thinking to paper. Kind of separation that not only is unreachable but the kind that demoralizes the prospect from even ‘thinking’ about getting there.

If not, there have been many many many many talented and gifted players in practically every sport who couldn’t do justice to their talent for whatever reason leaving them far short of the mark needed to claim the top spot.

So what would be a realistic minimum Slam number that would match Federer’s skill set? 20? And 25 would be that ‘don’t even think about it’ number? Surpassing Sampras by just two knowing how limited Sampras was in comparison just doesn’t cut it.

Maybe it’s not all good to expose yourself too early in your career and build that hype. LeBron may be the next athlete discovering that cruel truth. Did Nadal camp deliberately orchestrate the ‘flying under the radar’ scenario from the get go to not just shield Nadal from that bright light but to also heighten the build up Federer had already managed about himself? Maybe. Maybe not. But it surely is showing now.

2. Nadal overachieved? With the stark contrast Nadal’s tool shed faces against Federer’s, the best most would have hoped for from Nadal – solely on grit and determination – would be about 10-12 Slams – with most of them at Roland Garros. But to reach Federer’s stratosphere with that talent – while shutting Federer out completely (H2H) – has to highlight the intensity with which Nadal has used his intangible abilities to more than compensate for lack of pure skill.

It brings up that age-old question of how much farther can you get on just ability testifying to my famous saying “It’s not how good you are, it’s how bad you want it”. Lendl fits right in with that group – maybe even Sampras. McEnroe – not.