The Sports Info Business

Sunday mornings offer me a time when I’m able take you on a personal road trip with a sports related story that has happened during my career.  Today is no different.

Ever since I was a young kid, I have always enjoyed playing racquetball. It started when I was living in Chicago and my parents used to take me to a racquetball club. My father says I have a great memory and if I am not mistaken it was called the Courthouse and was located in Northbrook.  During one visit as a young boy, I was able to meet a couple of heroes of mine in Cubs shortstop Don Kessinger and Ron Santo. If you are an older Cubs fan who know who these guys are. I remember watching them in awe and they seemed larger than life.

I have played on and off throughout college and well into my adult life.  Never consistent but have always had fun.

Until they build a good Pickleball court near my home I will continue to play racquetball.  One of my favorite stories happened on a fog filled morning during the off-season after the 2004 Major League Baseball campaign.   I was invited to play cut-throat with Angels closer Troy Percival.  My days of looking at players as if they were an idol were lost a long time ago, yet  I had immense respect for the Angels legend as an athlete.  I immediately began to wonder as I took the court if I even had a chance against the 6′-3″ right-hander from Fontana, CA.

Cut-throat, by the way, is a three man game of racquetball where each player plays against the other two in a rotating fashion.

One of the advantages I have always had playing sports, be it baseball, basketball, tennis or racquetball was that I am left-handed.  Most people are used to playing other right handers and in a racquet sport, it certainly can help.  Well, I was dreaming if anything was going to help in the first game of cut-throat.  I did not win the game.  When it was finished, my friend tossed me the ball and said, you guys go one and one and I will take on the winner.  He disappeared to another court and I was left to see if I could keep up with Percy.

He began serving and immediately scored a point.  I do not recall point for point, but we had a decent battle of a game.  I certainly remember that I could not use a ceiling shot easily to move him to the back of the court since he was so darn tall.  In the end I was able to close out the game and beat the Angels pitching legend.

What made it so interesting is that I am an average athlete yet was able to beat a world class athlete in a different sporting event.  There has been no stopping Troy on the mound, but on this morning, I had enough for a win.

It is not the first time I have played a major leaguer in racquetball.  While working for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1990′s I was often asked to travel with the team on road trips and serve as the company spokesperson.  I was always happy when we would travel to Philadelphia to play the Phillies.  The hotel that we stayed at always had a half a dozen racquetball courts built into the facility.

The problem was, I was not able to ask a player to play racquetball and risk injury.  Those types of bonehead moves could have cost me my job.  I did find a player however and it came in Dodgers coach Ron Roenicke. Currently the bench coach on Mike Scioscia‘s current Angels team, Rags was always up for playing when his back cooperated.  He did be me some, but I think I got the better end of our times on the court.  I do not think there is a nicer man in baseball.  Ron Roenicke deserves his shot at being a manager.

As for racquetball, I still remember the day I beat Troy Percival.

If you not know the rules of racquetball, I have included a short video I found on the web.  it is not more than a minute.

The will to compete is something that has been inside of me since the day I was born.  It is one of the reasons why I love sports.  As an individual or as part of a team, to compete is to challenge yourself against others.  It started as a kid on a baseball, basketball and football.  It has stayed with me as a grew older.  It has not mattered if it was racquetball, pickleball, backgammon or cribbage, I have always loved the challenge of competing vs. an opponent.

Even though I have not seen too many tournaments this year, I tuned in for the entire 2009 British Open final on Sunday and was puling for Tom Watson to pull off a miracle.  It had been 26 years since Watson captured a major and here he was the leader heading into Sunday.  He battled with professionals 30 years his junior and when it came down to the 18th hole, there he was, still standing and in the lead by a stroke.

I just loved listening to the ovation Watson received as he approached the final hole.  For a 59 year old athlete to receive the attention and respect he so much deserved was such a delight.

While everyone always talks about Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods I was fully vested into pulling for one of the wise old man.

However, it was not meant to be.  Watson’s birdie putt on the 18th for the win went by the hole and left him eight or nine feet shy of the drain.  His putt for the win was tentative and  short.  The bogie on the 18th sent him to a four hole playoff with fellow American Stewart Cink.

Watson immediately went down a stroke after the first playoff hole, a bogie for Watson.  When the pair got to the second hole, #6 and a par three, he shanked the tee shot and was hitting from a blind spot on the side of a hill.  Watson scrambled and came through with a pitch that left him about 10 feet away to save par.  You could feel the crowd as well as the ABC TV announcers exhale as Watson knocked down the putt to save par and stay one stroke back of Cink.

It did not get any easier on the 17th hole as Watson completely missed the fairway off the tee.  It sent volunteers on a hunt in very tall grass, looking for a needle in the haystack, which Watson was lucky to find.  The second-guessing began on the hole  that Watson was beginning to tire and/or had lost energy after missing the winning put on 18th hole to win the championship.  The playoff unofficially ended here as Watson Shot a 7 while Cink clocked a par and went up by four strokes with one to play.

“This ain’t a funeral you know,” Watson joked afterwards.  ”It would have been a hell of a story.  It wasn’t meant to be.  It is a great disappointment.  It tears at your gut.  It is not easy to take.  I put myself in the position to win, but I did not do it on the last hole.  The playoff was one bad shot after another.  I did not give much competition in the playoff.”

When interviewed by ABC following his win, Stewart Cink had this to say about the five time British champion.

“He turned back the clock,” said Cink.  He just did a great job and it was fun watching him all week.  I have such an admiration for Tom.”

Tom Watson may have finished second in the British Open, but he won me over all week long.  He is a true champion.  I will take the wisdom of age over the enthusiasm of youth any day.  Thank you, Tom Watson.

PLAYOFF

Hole              5       6       17      18

Cink              4       3        4       5

Watson         5       3        7      3

If you cross a tennis court with a ping pong table and what do you get?  A Pickleball court of course.  I recently learned about this new racket sport and I feel obligated to share it with you.  Let it be known, if there was ever an opportunity to become CEO of Pickleball USA, I would apply tomorrow.  Where do I send my resume because I am ready to apply for the title I just made up.  I am absolutely passionate about this sport.  You know the saying about older people being wise?  Listen up, because I think they’re on to something. Pickleball is a sport being found more and more across the United States.  I discovered it while visiting an active retirement community.  I do not know why every community park doesn’t convert one or two tennis courts to Pickleball courts.  The best part about the game is that is allows people of all ages to play together, on an even field.  I personally witnessed three generations from one family — from kids aged nine and 11 to retirees in their mid 60′s playing and laughing together.  Where also can you actively do this with everyone at the same skill level AND get decent exercise at the same time?

BRIEF HISTORY LESSON

Pickleball dates back to the 1960′s when, according to Pickleball Central, it was created during the summer of 1965 on Bainbridge Island, just outside of Seattle, Washington. The game actually was created by three men – U.S. Congressman Joel Pritchard, William Bell, and Barney McCallum and the goal was to have a sport for the entire family. So why the funny name?  One family owned a dog named Pickles and it would chase after the wiffle balls used in the game.

If anyone at the Orange County Great Park Corporation is listening and wants great ideas for the developing California park, hire me now to run Pickleball.  I’m ready.  

Here are a few things more you should know about Pickleball.

* The playing surface is the same you play as an outdoor tennis court.

* You can develop four Pickleball courts on one existing tennis court.

* While you do not run as far as you would playing tennis, I can personally attest you still get a great workout.

* A court is 20 feet wide by 44 feet long.

If you would like to see a new story about the emerging sport, Good Morning America ran this feature on it ABC Story on Pickleball

I have also included a few slides from a recent trek to play Pickleball.  This shows you court size, as well as racket sizes.

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Here are a few news stories about the sport

New sport, Pickleball, winning enthusiasts

Five Minutes With: Joe Huber, president of the Sun City Pickleball Club