The Magic of New York in Late August

Amidst the former Virginia Tech quarterback's legal issues, the Little League World Series, and The World Series of Poker MAIN EVENT, there is another little event going on in the sporting world. It's called...The US Open.

Many say that the US Open is the greatest championship in tennis. It's second in my opinion behind Wimbledon, but it is most certainly the biggest thing going on in sports until tomorrow when LSU kicks off the football season. That leaves us with: today.

The cool thing about the US Open is that they play at night under the lights. This is great because we still get to watch after work, after dinner, etc. Sadly for me, when I flipped through the channels yesterday and saw Andy Roddick playing, I chose to watch Snakes on a Plane on HBO instead. That should tell you something about my opinion of Roddick.

Roddick has gotten a little better in my book. He went through a ridiculous cocky stage for a while and now he's still really cocky, but not quite as bad. My problem with this? Roddick has won one major in his career (2003 US Open). He is called the only contender the US has in tennis and on his native soil, he brings the support of an entire nation (of tennis fans) with him. Roddick has been in the top 5 in rankings for how long? Say since '03. He's won one major. You know what we call people who win one big event in their careers and never do it again? A fluke.

At least Roddick brought home a big one. That's one more than Michelle Kwan. What's up Rich Beem?

Unfortunately for me, Snakes on a Plane ended last night. After being mesmerized by a movie of such utter sophistication, brilliant acting, and the greatest plot known to man, I scrolled the channels again to find Roddick on Match Point. I said fine, I'll watch this.

Roddick broke Justin Gimelstob to win the match. When I first heard he was playing Gimelstob I thought to myself, "This guy has to be French or from one of those crazy former Soviet countries that always has random players qualifying for tennis events and nothing else. I think everyone from the Balkans plays tennis." I then found out he was an American. I think this is where I turned on Snakes.

After the match, we the fans heard from Gimelstob. It was his last US Open as he will retire later this year. Did anyone know that he played in a first US Open? We then had to listen to this joker talk for about 15 minutes and then interview Roddick, then have Roddick interview him. Finally they both shut up and left. But Gimelstob, who I think has made it to a couple of Rounds of 16 had his moment for a lifetime. After he got thrown around by Roddick, so the score says. I was watching Sam Jackson throw snakes around a plane.

I remember watching Andre Agassi play his final match at the US Open. It was a big deal. Agassi, who won multiple majors making him not a fluke, was a great American tennis player for a long time. It seemed that the celebration of Gimelstob's humor went on just as long as Agassi's.

So congratulations on the end of your career to Justin Gimelstob. Thanks so much for entertaining us for one night of our lives. Sadly, though you are most certainly cooler than Andy Roddick, it's sad that you never won a major title.

But hey, at least Gimelstob will never be a fluke.