While switching channels between NFL playoff football and the Australian Open, I could not help but notice the difference in the production value of each broadcast. The NFL telecast is polished like a Broadway show. Their graphic technology is cutting-edge, and the announcers are polished journalists, likeable, interactive, knowledgeable and aware of when to let the action speak for itself. No one would expect…
The $399 Babolat Play Pure Drive was showcased at the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas last week. This racket features tiny sensors embedded in the handle to measure swing consistency, power, spin and just about everything else that happens between the racket and ball. This information is instantly sent over a Bluetooth…
Ladder drills, shuttle runs and cone drills will help your footwork on the tennis court, and according to a recent study in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, they could make you smarter. People who did agility training three times a week for six weeks raised their scores on a memory test by 11 percent….
Former world number one John McEnroe made his widely anticipated appearance on Dec. 18 at Sportime Roslyn, and as one of the junior players in the program, I was very eager to meet him. McEnroe cordially introduced himself and individually shook hands with me and the group. McEnroe started the practice by discussing focused volley…
Is hitting tennis balls on a racquetball court (or squash court) helpful to your tennis game? The answer is unequivocally … YES! I am living proof … 63-years-old and still improving. It is amazing! For 100 days in a row (a little extreme), I have been hitting on the racquetball court at my local JCC for a half-hour. That's a lot…
Martina Navratilova spoke at the United Nations on Tuesday and urged the International Olympic Committee "to take their heads out of the sand" and do more to support the rights of gay athletes. This talk of part of International Human Rights Day and is on the heels of the upcoming 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics in Russia which has…
I felt a little cheated by the highly anticipated HBO Sports special, "Trophy Kids," that premiered Dec. 4th as part of HBO's "State of Play" series. "Trophy Kids" explores the relationship between parents and children in junior tennis, golf, football and basketball. While it's an important topic, Executive Producer Peter Berg's adult subjects were a little too obsessive to be mainstream representatives of the…
Newsday.com just published an article entitled "Get to Know 11 Home Remedies for Tennis Elbow," and it is likely advice that you already know like "ice the area," take aspirin," "use compression," and "rest." Tennis elbow or "Epicondylitis" is a painful condition that can cause pain, swelling and movement limitation on the outside, "lateral" or inside "medial"…
I have a natural skepticism of many things, and two of my personal favorites are the social crusades of celebrities and tennis politics. When these forces mix, the results can range from the sublime to the ridiculous. The watershed moment between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs in the "Battle of the Sexes" is a glorious example of…
He is the holder of 14 Grand Slam doubles titles and recently became the oldest Grand Slam winner at the age of 40. Pete Sampras had a losing record against him in singles too. He has old school volleys in the age of power with great precision, a deft feel, uncanny anticipation and incredibly quick hands. Nevertheless,…