Master of Ceremonies: Rod Daniels, WBAL Channel 11
Steve aka "Lightning" amuses Rod Daniels, his family and the crowd!
LARGE. VERY
There’s only one indoor sports arena in the world that could attract twelve thousand fans on a Nor-easter night where Polar Bears would be scurrying for cover. During probably the worst winter storm of the worst winter in recent memory, Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Jelena Jankovic, and Ana Ivanovic squared off in the world’s most famous arena, Madison Square Garden in New York City for the Billie Jean King Cup.
Somehow, yours truly managed to snag an invitation to this historic event, which turned out to be a night of tennis fun. HBO Sports covered the matches. Bill Clinton was there to honor his old friend, Billie Jean. Ivan Lendl, former number one player in the world, organized the event with his long-time friend and business partner Jerry Solomon. Jerry’s company Star Games put it all together. BNP Paribas Bank put up the prize money. Fila USA did six apparel shops.
Mark Mason, of Mason’s Tennis Shop in Midtown Manhattan got some great exposure for helping out with the night’s activities. Johnny Mac, Mary Carillo, and and Billie Jean did the commentating for HBO. Michael Goitein, Senior Project Manager for Strategic Domain, was seen at the Paribas Dinner Party in a serious conversation with former New York City (and professed tennis fanatic) Mayor David Dinkins about the state of tennis in the New York area.
All this, topped off with a star-studded field at the Garden. Jankovic and Serena squared off, and Ivanovic took on Venus. But this was not Serbia’s night of tennis glory, as Venus and Serena marched to another meeting in their historic rivalry. Younger sis Serena took out Venus in the final, 6-4, 6-3.
The night’s big winner was definitely Billie Jean King. She is without a doubt the most influential person in the game of tennis today, and deservedly so. Billie Jean has accomplished so much. Warm congratulations to her on the success of this event, and I’m definitely heading back to the Big Apple for next year’s Monday’s Night Tennis Across America, and the second annual Billie Jean King Cup Showdown.
Will be reporting next time from Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.
Until then, this is Steve “Lightning” Krulevitz. Strength and honor!
This is turning out to be one of the craziest weeks in sports for quite awhile. We have the Alex Rodriguez baseball steroid scandal. Investigators have claimed that A-Rod injected steroids during the 2001-2003 baseball seasons. He is the highest paid player in professional baseball. Sad story!
Another sad story is playing out this week at the Barclays Dubai Professional Women’s Tennis Championships at the Dubai Tennis Stadium in the United Arab Emirates. Many of the world’s top professional female tennis players are competing for the top prize. Shahar Peer, the number 48th ranked female player in the world and who is from Israel, had an opportunity to play against the best competition in her sport. Not to mention that her ranking is high enough to get her into the main draw. The problem is the United Arab Emirates did not grant her a visa to enter the country, citing security reasons.
What a lot of people do not know is that the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) sent an advanced security team to Dubai to access the situation. They reported back that everything was in place to ensure the players’ safety. After much discussion, the WTA announced that they will continue with the event. Sad! Where does this leave Peer and what kind of ramifications does this send to athletes around the world?
This does not end here. Next week in Dubai is the men’s professional tennis event. It just so happens that the number 7 doubles player in the world is from Israel. Andy Ram, guess where he wants to try and make a living next week. As of this publication he is still waiting to hear from the UAE government if they will grant him his visa. Andy, don’t hold your breath!
Also this week in tennis related issues, the Swedish Tennis Federation has announced that the first round of the Davis Cup match from March 6-8 in Malmo, Sweden between Israel and Sweden will be played in an empty 4,000 seat arena because of security concerns. The International Tennis Federation said in a recent statement that the decision by Malmo’s Recreational Committee was “very unfortunate” and “not in the long term interests of the Davis Cup.” Very sad!
The only bright spot in this week’s world of sports has come from the cable network, The Tennis Channel. They have the rights to cover the women’s final weekend of matches from Dubai. This is not going to happen after The Tennis Channel and their Chief Executive Director Ken Solomon said it is a no-go. They won’t be covering any tennis from Dubai and instead will be showing Shahar Peer’s best tournament performances all weekend long. One has to love The Tennis Channel and say “thank you” for stepping up to a truly honorable decision!
So folks, that is the week so far in sports. As for the WTA, Dubai, Swedish Tennis Federation – good luck with living with your decisions.
Personally, this writer thinks you are “weak.”
Until Next Time, Strength and Honor!
Steve “Lightning” Krulevitz
Hey everyone – quick update – the latest Summer 2009 Camp schedule is out, so please click below to have a look and make your tennis plans for the coming season!
Click here to view the latest PDF of my Summer 2009 Camp Schedule
Strength and honor…
I will live this day as if it is my last.
And what shall I do with this last precious day which remains in my keeping? First, I will seal up its container of life so that not one drop spills itself upon the sand. I will waste not a moment mourning yesterday’s misfortunes, yesterday’s defeats, yesterday’s aches of the heart, for why should I throw good after bad?
Can sand flow upward in the hour glass? Will the sun rise where it sets and set where it rises? Can I relive the errors of yesterday and right them? Can I call back yesterday’s wounds and make them whole? Can I become younger than yesterday? Can I take back the evil that was spoken, the blows that were struck, the pain that was caused? No. Yesterday is buried forever and I will think of it no more.
I will live this day as if it is my last.
And what shall I do? Forgetting yesterday, neither will I think of tomorrow. Why should I throw now after maybe? Can tomorrow’s sand flow through the glass before today’s? Will the sun rise twice in the morning? Can I perform tomorrow’s deeds while standing in today’s path? Can I place tomorrow’s gold in today’s purse? Can tomorrow’s child be born today? Can tomorrow’s death cast its shadow backward and darken today’s joy? Should I concern myself over events which I may never witness? Should I torment myself with problems that may never come to pass? No! Tomorrow lies buried with yesterday, and I will think of it no more.
I will live this day as if it is my last.
This day is all I have and these hours are now my eternity. I greet this sunrise with cries of joy as a prisoner who is reprieved from death. I lift mine arms with thanks for this priceless gift of a new day. So too, I will beat upon my heart with gratitude as I consider all who greeted yesterday’s sunrise who are not longer with the living today. I am indeed a fortunate man and today’s hours are but a bonus, undeserved. Why have I been allowed to live this extra day when others, far better than I, have departed? Is it that they have accomplished their purpose while mine is yet to be achieved? Is this another opportunity for me to become the man I know I can be? Is there a purpose in nature? Is this my day to excel?
I will live this day as if it is my last.
I have but one life and life is naught but a measurement of time. When I waste one I destroy the other. If I waste today I destroy the last page of my life. Therefore, each hour of this day will I cherish for it can never return. It cannot be banked today to be drawn on the morrow, for who can trap the wind? Each minute of this day will I grasp with both hands and fondle with love for its value is beyond price. What dying man can purchase another breath though he willingly gives all his gold? What price dare I place on the hours ahead? I will make them priceless!
I will live this day as if it is my last.
I will avoid with fury the killers of time. Procrastination I will destroy with action; doubt I will bury under faith; fear I will dismember with confidence. Where there are idle mouths, I will listen not; where there are idle hands, I will linger not; where there are idle bodies, I will visit not. Henceforth I know that to court idleness is to steal food, clothing and warmth from those I love. I am not a thief. I am a man of love and today is my last chance to prove my love and my greatness.
I will live this day is if it is my last.
The duties of today I shall fulfill today. Today I shall fondle my children while they are young; tomorrow they will be gone, and so will I. Today I shall embrace my woman with sweet kisses; tomorrow she will be gone, and so will I. Today I shall lift up a friend in need; tomorrow he will no longer cry for help, nor will I hear his cries. Today I shall give myself in sacrifice and work; tomorrow I will have nothing to give, and there will be none to receive.
I will live this day as if it is my last.
And if it is my last, it will me my greatest monument. This day I will make the best day of my life. This day I will drink every minute to its full. I will savor its taste and give thanks. I will make every hour count and each minute I will trade only for something of value. I will labor harder than ever before and push my muscles until they cry for relief, and then I will continue. Each minute of today will be more fruitful than hours of yesterday. My last must be my best.
I will live this day as if it is my last.
And if it is not, I shall fall to my knees and give thanks.
Attributed to Og Mandino
Thanksgiving weekend was anything but quiet at The Greenspring Racquet Club in Lutherville, Maryland. One hundred and sixty junior tennis players ranging in age from 7 years (8 and under division) to 18 years (18 and under division) whom participated in the annual Turkey Bowl Junior Tennis Classic.160 boys and girls playing for 3 days. Busy, two weeks before their onslaught, 30 juniors just in the 14 and under division played in the Yonex Junior Open at Greenspring Racquet Club run by yours truly.
American tennis on the professional level might be somewhat declining, but the junior tennis across the country is booming. The kids are good, dedicated and hungry. Where we’re losing out however is the second step, the next step after the juniors, the college level. I came up through the collegiate team concept at UCLA. So many of my era played college tennis and thrived. It was and is a great training ground to develop your game. Jimmy Connors, Harold Solomon, John McEnroe, Roscoe Tanner, Arthur Ashe, Stan Smith, Eddie Dibbs, Dick Stockton, Brian Gottfried, Vitas Gerulaitis, Bon Lutz. Believe me this list could fill the entire page. They all played college tennis and went on to excel on the pro tour.
In today’s world Americans get shafted at the collegiate level. The scholarships by far go to the foreign players. This prevents our own from developing their games. I suggest! Let’s put a limit on this! NOW! Why can’t someone please stand up for our own kids? This is ridiculous. Maybe Patrick McEnroe could get involved. He has the connections and is well respected. We’re losing out here, there’s talent out there. Let me say it again. College tennis is a training ground for the pro tour period! American kids need it; and deserve better!
Until next time. I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving Holiday!
Just a quick heads-up if anyone other than my wife and daughter go looking for me around the Labor Day weekend of the summer holiday. I’ll probably be in New York at the United States Open Tennis Championships in Flushing Meadows. Why do I say this? The record shows that thirty-six out of the last thirty-eight years (but who is counting) you can find me roaming around the boughs of Manhattan and Long Island, New York.
Such wonderful memories over the years with so many great friends. Lenny, Roz, Harold and Jan Solomon from Ft. Lauderdale, Gerry Goldberg from Montreal, Bob, Helen and Darron Moore from Studio City California, Richard Ramer from Santa Monica. The Jeffer, Miller, and Zimmerman Families of Great Neck, New York. My sister Terry and her two boys from Ocean Port, New Jersey, Gilad Bloom, the Israeli pro player now living and teaching tennis in New York City. The rock of the US Open Dick Savitt and his lovely wife Anne. (I hope her back is feeling better.) Eric Fromm and his highly successful charity event. David Schoen from Atlanta. Chris Lombardi from down my way in Timonium, Maryland and Steve Turner and Lance Shanet from the Big Apple. The list could go on, great fun!
Okay Steve we can see where this is going. We can take a hint… so Steve who were you hanging out with at the Open this year? Thanks for asking! This years Open was FANTASTIC! There were so many great matches. Nothing compares to attending a night match at the Open. And the day matches weren’t bad either, as 720,000 witnessed the two weeks of tennis matches. That is a Big Event! I was fortunate to be part of the crowd Monday, Labor Day evening sitting in the Ashe Stadium, under the lights on the “50-yard line” watching Andy Murray from Scotland against the Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka. The number six and number ten players on the planet battling it out, not bad.
None of this excitement could have been possible without the generosity of two great friends who set the evening up to include me. Mark “Buzzy” Mason from Mason’s Tennis Store in Manhattan and my host in NYC (where two days can feel like two weeks) Michael Goitein, aka Mike Hammer. For the past twenty-five years Mark’s tennis shop on 53rd and Madison has been voted the #1 specialty tennis shop in the USA by Tennis Industry Magazine. I picked up a nice US Open t-shirt for my daughter and some US Open programs.
Michael Goitein is the senior project Manager for Strategic Domain. Strategic Domain is a full service e-marketing company serving the healthcare industry with a broad range of services including digital and web development, search engine optimization, strategic planning, advertising and promotions. Mike “Hammer” was kind enough to introduce some terrific ideas for my website.
I’ll tell you one thing since I first participated in the 1970 US Open qualifying rounds at the Westside Tennis Club (I am dating myself with this statement) the Open has changed, a lot …I mean a lot! Of course the tennis has always been great, it is a Grand Slam tournament, our National Tournament. But now I would almost call the Open a “happening”. The grounds have been fixed up beautifully and one can really just hangout, eat, people watch and tennis. Good combinations. “Buzzy”, Mike “Hammer” and I “chowed” down at the Fulton Seafood stall on the food court. We ate lobster rolls and salmon sandwiches. We watched the tennis on the big screens before going into the night session on Ashe Stadium, $18.95 for the Lobster Roll and $12.95 for the Salmon. Not too bad and you know what the food was pretty darn good. Mike Hammer made the class move of the night, supplying dessert in the box with three Haagen Dazs chocolate ice cream bars, very large! We gobbled them up while watching the Entourage guys (my favorite HBO Show, also Andy) being introduced on the Big Screen. Life was good.
Night matches never end early at the Open. You have to prepare yourself for this. And of course there’s the subway ride back into the city, always fun at 1 o’clock in the morning, sure! At least now they have the express trains straight into Manhattan. How do the people do it? Don’t they ever sleep in New York? Our subway train pulled in to Washington Heights Station at 1:40 am eastern standard time. Mike lives with his finance JJ and cat Yoda near the George Washington Bridge and right across from the apartment is the Hudson River, very nice. Henry Kissinger and Dr. Ruth have lived on his street, that’s a fact.
Mike is the ultimate host. One can never leave in the morning without a “Hammer” breakfast and cappuccino, now that is hospitality. Another good Labor Day weekend in the Big Apple, at the US Open. I am already looking forward to coming back for the thirty-seventh year.
See you next time,
Steve Krulevitz
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Our dear friend Tricia Brooke Bowley lost her courageous fight against Cystic Fibrosis on Friday, July 4th, 2008 at the Gilchrist Hospice Center in Towson, Maryland. She was 37 years old. All prayers go out to her, her family, and her husband Jeff Carlson.
May peace be with you all.
Read more…
Cystic Fibrosis is an inherited chronic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system of about 30,000 children and adults in the United States (70,000 worldwide). A defective gene and its protein product cause the body to produce unusually thick, sticky mucus that:
· clogs the lungs and leads to life-threatening lung infections; and
· obstructs that pancreas and stops natural enzymes from helping the body break down and absorb food.
In the 1950s, few children with Cystic Fibrosis lived to attend elementary school. Today, advances in research and medical treatments have further enhanced and extended life for children and adults with CF. Many people with the disease can now expect to live into their 30s, 40s, and beyond.
What teenager came crashing into men’s professional tennis with a semi-final showing at the 1988 French Open exhibiting racket head speed and power seldom ever seen in the world of professional tennis? A career characterized by demin and flash. Over the years, fans saw him grow into his talent; sometimes they were disappointed. They felt that he had been cheating himself and them with so much wasted talent. But not the day he was lying on the green grass of the All England Club’s Centre Court savoring a five set first Grand Slam Title at the big “W,” Wimbledon.