Being human in Memphis

It is ironic that the blog I was going to write about is the aggressive personality of past male racquetball champions,sorry I do not know that much about the history of women players except a few. Lets go down the list of of past champions. Marty Hogan-Mr Humble personality, Cliff Swain-ego maniac with a temper personality, Jason Mannino-abusive to opponents and fans alike at times personality, Jack Huczek(sp)-the anti-fan personality, and Kane the thug personality. These are definitely the best players discluding Sudsy,always a fan favorite,who played the best ball ever seen. From pure power players, to great court sense , these players dominated for the past thirty plus years. Is it just coincidence that these players all share major character flaws ? This racquet fanatic does not think so. That same aggressive tendency off the court is carried onto the court. A win at all costs attitude. I will not mention names but there are many very good players I know who become way to timid on the court especially on tournament day. This costs them a mark in the win column. This brings me to Kane's game tonight against up and comer Jose Rojas. I never saw someone enter the "arena" more relaxed than Kane tonight. Of course he won, but he was helping Jose up after his dives and joking with him on the court about how to clean up wet spots on the court. He came out with Sudsy's bagel shirt to warm up and was chatting with Jason and Sudsy(they were commentating)between games. To put the icing on the cake he gave kudos to Jose after the game and told him he remembers what it is like to be an up and coming junior.HMMMMM what is this all about ? A) Kane becoming a father has turned him into a human being B)Jim Winterton has been telling him to straighten up his post game speech. C)He is getting bored of his Ali like speeches after his victories D)Big rumored Nike contract has a conduct clause. E) Someone slipped him some Prozac. You decide . Jon "Hit Smarter not Harder"

The right time and the right place,I guess

It is funny how some days I still find myself thinking about Latell. I still find it strange that I per say did not know him that well and this still occurs. Before I went to his memorial I wrote something that I wanted to say. My intentions were good but once I saw how well the people speaking knew Latell ,it started to seem like I would be out of place speaking that day. I did find a quote from Shakespere that I felt was so appropriate ,and I would like to write it here. Above all Latell was a good man with a good heart,and on this sad day I would like to recall Shakespere's words. A good leg will fall.A straight back will stoop. A black beard will turn white. A curled head will grow bald. A fair face will wither and our eyes will fail us. But a good heart is like the sun, for it shines bright and keeps it's course truly. He taught us how to hope and how to live. He taught us how to win and how to lose,he taught us how to live and finally he taught us how to die. Pretty appropriate I thought. Jon "Hit Smarter not Harder"

Apology to the fans

I really wish I knew what I was writing the other night about Juan Valdez ,when I was punch drunk tired,please forgive the stupidity. Thank, Jon

Juan Valdez

What the heck does a Colombian coffee bean picker with his donkey have to do with the greatest sport in the world ? For those of you who don't know about Juan and his ass,he supposedly picked every bean by hand to make the perfect cup of coffee. That is why the Colombian coffee is supposed to be superior,perfect beans making perfect coffee every pot. This is know as consistency. If we could have the perfect game wouldn't we do the same? Play the same way every day ,and always have the same results,wouldn't that be nice. Another correlation would be Dungeons and Dragons,yes I was and still am, a little geeky at times. Same character is used every adventure ,but you have to roll dice for everything that happens except for farting. The flip side to our human imperfections is what makes sports so darn interesting. Could you imagine infallible robots playing sports,where would the excitement of perfection and 0-0 scores? The difference between the club player and the pro is consistency. Sometimes watching a good A or B match is more fun .I like to watch the unnecessary diving and banter between the players. So if you feel like you are not playing well and are getting upset you are probably entertaining someone . So remember Juan Valdez is a fictional character,and if he was real he was probably smuggling cocaine anyway. Be true to yourself and always play hard and always try to get better because in the real world there is not perfection just the desire to be so. Jon "Hit Smarter not Harder"

Economics of racquetball

As I was doing some yard work today I looked down at my wheel barrow and saw the made in China symbol. As much as it irates me to purchase foreign goods it is almost impossible to make a minor purchase without it coming from a third world country. I am not going to rant and rave about fair trade practices but I am sure you know where I stand as an American. To my knowledge every racquet company has their racquets produced over seas in an Asian marketplace. Most quality issues in the past have been inferior in the manufacturing or quality control end. Lets face it the Chinese would make the racquets with asbestos if they could save money. In comes my argument,Penn balls were the leader in the industry when the balls were being produced in the good old USA. Ektelon has now grabbed a large part of their business due to the lack of durability and playability by watching their standards overseas. Most people know that if you are a serious player you have to cut your strings off when you get a new racquet because of the inferior stringing job and the trip in with temperature fluctuations that greatly effect the string bed.When talking about small items like headbands and balls I can see where it is hard to compete, but larger ticket items like racquets,sneakers and goggles could be cost competitive. New balance makes sneakers here cheaper than any other major sneaker manufacturer. They also successfully have a wide range of the types of sneakers that they offer. I have worn them for fifteen years(I have wide feet and they specialize in that)and find them hard to kill. The profit margin on a 200 dollar racquet must provide some wiggle room for profit if produced here,and quality control would be much easier to respond here than overseas. I do not blame any one company for these practices but I would love to see someone step up and help some Americans for a change. I guess I will keep playing the lottery since I do not have that kind of cash laying aqround,but if I do watch out Asia. A racquetfanatic racquet,I think I like the ring of that.