I'd like to thank Bret Favre and the Green Bay Packers for lying down like dogs in Cincinnati tonight, something that's given me the oppotunity to switch over to USA Network to watch Andre Agassi play his opening round match against Andrei Pavel at the U.S. Open.
As just about everyone in the world knows by now, this year's tournament is going to be Andre's swan song, giving him a chance to say goodbye to the fans in New York -- the ones who loved him the most.
I guess this ought to be the time where I lament that Tennis isn't nearly as entertaining as it once was -- something that was never more apparent than earlier this evening when a ceremony honoring Billy Jean King brought Chris Evert, Jimmie Connors, John McEnroe and Martina Navratilova together at Arthur Ashe Stadium -- but I'll take a pass this time.
Besides, it's these late night early round matches like the one I'm watching tonight that have provided some incredible memories over the years. August humidity in New York is a killer, and the weather is what made the U.S. Open the ultimate test of endurance once it moved to Flushing Meadow decades ago. This year, at least, I'll be making some time for the sweet agony.
UPDATE: Down 4-0 in the third set (one set all), Agassi just stormed back to tie it at 4-4. Amazing. Shades of Connors in 1991.
UPDATE: Three sets, three tiebreakers, tied one set all, and 6-6 in the 3rd set tiebreak. Amazing. Pavel just saved three set points.
UPDATE: Agassi down 0-4, rallies to win the third set in a tiebreaker, 8-6. And he only has a 2 sets to 1 lead.
GOOD NIGHT: It's over, Agassi wins, 6-7, 7-6, 7-6, 6-2. Looks like this will be the match you see in the highlight films in years to come.
C’mon, Eric… no mention of The Return? Carson Palmer? Hello? Cripes!