Andre Agassi was an amazing tennis player. And apparently he wasn't trying a lot of the time.
Agassi is releasing a tell-all book where he admits to tanking tennis matches, hating other tour players and being hooked on crystal meth for a little while. It has the makings to be a great read.
You have one of the best tennis players ever to play the game, and apparently he hated the sports for the majoirty of his career and lost matches on purpose. He took drugs because he was so pissed off about playing tennis and marrying Brooke Shields. Seriously, the stuff that is in this book could make an excellent movie with Seth Rogen playing Agassi. There is no question I'll read it, but I have to ask one question of Mr. Agassi. Why now?
He has told journalists that he is releasing the book because he was sick of holding it in for so long. I love Agassi, but I'm not buying that story.
If he just wanted to get it off his chest, why not hold a press conference? Why not schedule an interview on a major network and do it there? And the answer is a book could make a whole lot of money.
I have no problem with Agassi releasing a book to make some extra cash. I just don't like when athletes or movie stars release these types of books and say it's because they wanted to raise awareness or come clean. It doesn't mean what's in the book isn't true or entertaining, but don't try and tell us you wanted to take the moral high ground.
It's like Jose Canseco's "Juiced". He said he wanted to get all the information to the public so baseball would change. No, he released it because he wanted the money that would come with a controversial book. We've learned since that a lot of what Canseco said had merit, or was true, but don't believe for a second he did it because he wanted to help anyone.
Now Agassi is a better person than Canseco. Just look at the school Agassi runs to help educate kids who would probably not graduate high school if Agassi's school did not exist. But don't tell me he is doing it because he wanted to admit his wrongs and set things right.
Now I am going to digress a little bit and ask another question. Why does the media glorify athletes who get hooked on drugs at one point, but get clean and find success again?
Don't get me wrong. It's great that the Josh Hamiltons, Brett Favres and Andre Agassis rallied from drug abuse and returned to the spotlight as stand up athletes. But why don't we focus more on the guys who stayed clean for their whole careers? Aren't these the better role models we should be telling children and upcoming athletes about?
This might be a stretch, but what if a young athlete hears about Agassi's or Hamilton's comeback and thinks, "Well, if he could beat drugs, I could give them a try and quit them later?"
Great. Now I sound like a middle school guidance counselor.
There is an NFL game tonight! So I will give my pick and get the rest up by Sunday.
Chicago Bears 27, San Francisco 49ers 17: I would have liked the 49ers if Vernon Davis didn't start talking. Seriously, Vernon? You are finally having a good season and think you have room to talk? You've also lost four games in a row. I think Cutler takes advantage of a weak 49ers secondary (Nate Clement is out) and Alex Smith can;t rally the 49ers for a late score.
Steve Winwood - Valerie
As someone who enjoyed watching Agassi during the highs and lows of his tennis career, the revelations in his book make me sad and disappointed in him. However, the crystal meth use and the period in which he took it certainly explains a lot. He was out of shape, had gained some weight and was awful during the 1997 tennis year. I think more than anything I am bugged that he tanked some matches and blew away at least a year or so of his career because he couldn't stay on the straight and narrow. Makes you appreciate Pete Sampras a little more as well. The only thing he ever did wrong was not win the French Open. Some might also include his dumping the future Mrs. Brad Paisley after like 5 years of dating but he traded up there with the teacher from Billy Madison.
ReplyDeletePretty much agree on all points. I absolutely hate Jose Canseco. Like you said, he wasn't full of shit, he just did it for the wrong reasons. Does anyone actually think he did that stuff to better baseball? Making it public is one thing, but Jose had the intention of cashing in on his knowledge of cheaters...nice. I hope everyone remembers that he was trying to get back into baseball as a knuckleball pitcher at this time.
ReplyDeleteAlso, great analysis on Cutler.
Ok here's a fun fact that Greg reminded me of. Canseco once fought the former Green Ranger from Mighty Morphing Power Rangers, MMA style.
ReplyDeleteExcellent fact Zanic. I completely forgot about his MMA days. That huge Japanese guy pounding him into the ground was amazing.
ReplyDeleteSo I checked your blog today looking for analysis for the two major worldwide sporting events today, and I come away fairly disappointed.
ReplyDeleteFirst, where's the preview for the first leg of Greece hosting Ukraine for a world cup birth? Will Greece be able to contain Andrei Shevchenko (and as a sidebar, do you think he should be brought into the MLS next year as rumored)?
Second and more importantly, how about Juniata hosting Eastern in the sweet 16? Nobody comes into the Kennedy Sports and Recreation Center expecting to beat us. #1 seed overall and defending champ Emory (who we lost to in the Semis last year) was upset last night. They are in our bracket, so do you think this bodes well for us?
Wow, same comment in two posts. But all comments are welcomed here. Haven't had five in a while.
ReplyDelete