As passive-aggressive as Sampras is verbally, He’ll probably take his time accepting.

March 15th, 2010 at 5:11 pm

that’s not much of an apology

March 15th, 2010 at 5:14 pm

I’m glad Andre has Steffi to keep him in line! He is a bad boy and needs an occasional ear tug. On the other hand, Pete is a bit of a bad boy too and could benefit from a pinch. That serve to the head wasn’t exactly NICE.

March 15th, 2010 at 5:17 pm

well done for apologising Andre – would be a huge shame if pete doesnt call a truce – andre was trying to be funny,and like he said “it fell flat” in a split second – best to move on.

March 15th, 2010 at 5:38 pm

I agree w/Siddy..They both had some poor choices, and Sampras, after imitating Agassi, looked at him pretty nasty and said “SAY SOMETHING”..and I guess Agassi did, so they both can apologize to each other or not.

March 15th, 2010 at 5:41 pm

Sorry but I don’t understand English, no?

March 15th, 2010 at 5:51 pm

“I was trying to get past it, but Pete didn’t really let me get past it. He didn’t really roll with it.”

And how exactly were you trying to get past it, by saying “its not personal, Pete. everyone knows” ?

Haha. Nadal was funny.

March 15th, 2010 at 6:15 pm

jane – that’s not me, jane (the jane who blathers on here all the time) @ 5:41 just to clarify. I think it’s right that Andre apologise to Pete personally, and hopefully he manages to do that. It’s also good he made it public that his attempt at humour fell flat.

Fed and Rafa reacted characteristically in their interviews, lol. Nadal “they talk to fast” and Fed “they needed a time out” – though I hope Fed’s not giving those babes time outs already! : P

March 15th, 2010 at 6:36 pm

Agassi will always be remembered by his tennis. He really didn`t need incidents like this one or even the bad stuff on his book. Its simple. If you don`t know what to say. Just don`t say anything.

March 15th, 2010 at 6:47 pm

Jon Wertheim was talking ahead of Hit for Haiti 2 how the efforts to put these two events together really could be the subject of a documentary about all that is right with tennis. Then the actual second event took place and … I am glad Andre did apologize. I hope he and Pete have a second man to man discussion at some point. Still, the event took the oxygen out of a feel good story for the sport and how it can come together and instead focused it on a man retired since 2002 and a man retired since 2006, even if both are legends, the sport could have used the focus on more current players and feel good events than what we got in terms of media coverage.

March 15th, 2010 at 7:10 pm

Seems like Federer and Nadal are picking their words wisely. Best not to get involved.

Good on Agassi to apologize. I’m sure Sampras will issue some sort of statement, too. I don’t think he’ll hold a grudge or anything since he immediately said he only has love for Agassi. Things will get sorted out but a shame that it did put a cloud on such a great event.

March 15th, 2010 at 7:18 pm

Jon Wertheim’s take on the agassi/Sampras fiasco:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/jon_wertheim/03/15/best.three/index.html

March 15th, 2010 at 7:24 pm

Von,

I liked Wertheim’s take. Wertheim did buy me a sandwich at Cincy last year so I am biased.

March 15th, 2010 at 8:18 pm

I actually did not care for Wertheim’s take on it. He sensationalized it way too much.

“Unfortunately, the event was clouded — if not outright hijacked –…by the sniping of Agassi and Sampras.”

Was it an awkward moment? Yes. Did it ruin the whole evening and “hijack” the event? Absolutely not. They moved on, changed the subject, and got a lot more laughs. For the most part, everyone except the media moved on and did not get hung up on it.

Oh well, Wertheim is just a journalist being a journalist. Making much ado about nothing is his job.

March 15th, 2010 at 8:37 pm

Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 2,701

Default
Really poor apology….I can’t believe Agassi keeps doing this…Pete wouldn’t let us get past it….HE kept pushing it….he may claim that was trying to roll with it, but if he knew he went over the line, harping on it isn’t going to make it better….I guarantee all he had to say immediately was “no, just joking, sorry Pete, that was a cheap shot…have to get my revenge for all those aces somehow!”…and Pete would have at least pretended everything was fine.

March 15th, 2010 at 8:54 pm

Dan: I remembered your past posts on Wertheim and your interaction with him at Cincy in ’09(?), I think? I know you like him, so when I saw your post today, I thought I’d post that link immediately just for you (hoping to catch you). I didn’t want to say that you were my reason for so doing, but in all sincerity, you were. I’m glad you enjoyed it.

March 15th, 2010 at 9:13 pm

Sean, I think Pete likes it. Sampras credits Agassi for making him a better player. He saw a bright side in their rivalry (I guess it’s easier when you usually win). But then again, he enjoyed tennis. Federer has a losing record to Nadal but he still appreciates their rivalry because he loves tennis and he’s familiar with its history and previous rivalries. Nadal surely appreciates the rivalry because he also enjoys tennis and he admires Federer’s game and so on. Agassi is the only one who, whether he hates tennis as much as he says, definitely doesn’t appreciate it the way the other guys do. He may have taken ownership in the latter stages of his career but you can still see he doesn’t care about the sport the way these other guys do. And of course he hates being tied to Sampras since their tie stems from tennis.

March 15th, 2010 at 9:27 pm

I could be very wrong, but my instincts tell me that Agassi was nervous in that exho,(he looked nervous especially from his forced smiles) hence his run-away talking and juvenile actions.

I think after the bad publicity of his book, he was uncertain as to how he’d be received by the crowd and the other three players, especially Sampras. Ergo, his constant talking. I’m sure many of us have been in such situations where we try to over-compensate by talking too much (sticking our foot in our mouths) and acting silly in an effort to lighten the mood and/or deflect more awkward moments, but that more often than not, always seems to backfire, as in Andre’s case.

March 15th, 2010 at 9:34 pm

Just to make the discussion a little fun… I think I’m going to dress up for the next Halloween party as an ice cream waffle cone.

See link below:
http://i39.tinypic.com/24pfomc.jpg

March 15th, 2010 at 10:38 pm

Agassi’s comments were over the line, he tried too hard to be funny. Sampras couldn’t have responded by bringing up Agassi’s “baggage” but didn’t.

March 15th, 2010 at 11:20 pm

Von thanks :) Wertheim grew up in Bloomington, IN and I grew up in Louisville, KY we discussed childhood trips to Kings Island and how much Mason, OH had changed as much as the tennis in our brief but cordial talk last Summer. My sister attended Indiana University where his parents taught. Midwesterners have to stick together.

March 15th, 2010 at 11:31 pm

Sampras won his first and last grand slam beating
Aggasi in the finals.Pete’s last game a win against
Andre.Andre’s last game a loss to Becker.Benjamin Becker that is.Andre will never get over his inferiority complex vs Pete.Never.Pete was a prince
on the court agassi a bowlegged punk .

March 15th, 2010 at 11:32 pm

agassi ruined it from the beginning, he was
so annoying that i turned it off, but thought
why should i let this guy ruin it for me.
that is no apology he is blaming sampras for
it. dre said it once then said it again with
the valet guy thrown in for good measure.
he is a punk and phoney and always has been.
if not for rafa and roger it would have sucked.

March 15th, 2010 at 11:46 pm

Dan: It sounds like you and Wertheim will not only stick together but you’ll be joined at the hip forever in view of the history that’s taking place. Who knows your son/daughter could marry one of his kids, and the friendship will live on. Is he married?

March 16th, 2010 at 12:17 am

“They speak very fast for me. … I was very happy I didn’t understand nothing…. I didn’t understand. I don’t feel — I didn’t feel any tension. That’s what can I say, no? ”

LOL :-) Poor Rafa…

March 16th, 2010 at 12:17 am

What did Agassi say so disparingly about Sampras during the course of the match ? Can anybody enlighten on that ??

March 16th, 2010 at 12:19 am

Hey Skorocel: This is similar to a case of where ignorance is bliss. In Rafa’s case, no comprende is bliss.

March 16th, 2010 at 12:20 am

Agassi was being a prick, but Sampras does take things very personally. Every untoward incident in his career — and perhaps also every inspirational event — can be tied to this characteristic.

March 16th, 2010 at 12:43 am

Von: Or a blessing in disguise ;-) Obviously, I’m not here to mock Nadal’s English, but it was kind of funny to hear this from him :-)

March 16th, 2010 at 12:49 am

This apology makes serena’s apology look like a whole-hearted confession ;)

Roger-Rafa’s rivalry has been elevated a notch with this stupid incident. Go Roger and rafa!

March 16th, 2010 at 1:05 am

Skorocel: I like yours more. A blessing in disguise it was for a certainty.

March 16th, 2010 at 1:08 am

Clijsters just lost to Kleyby :(

Congrats to kleyby, she was the stable one!!

March 16th, 2010 at 1:20 am

Samprass didnt take things personally, he just doesnt know how to react in that situation, he is a guy who lacks comedy and pretty much reserved all the time.I feel Agassi is egocentric and he want to see himself in everyone. And guess what Samprass does not have any Agassi in him, yet so successful might be irking Agassi to the core.

March 16th, 2010 at 1:35 am

I used to be a great fan of Agassi. In my books, he has hit new lows. After the low blow that night, what if Sampras said “Tennis is not for cheats and liars” or something like that? If countered by Agassi, he too could have said “everyone knows already”. Though he did’t hide his frustration, Sampras didn’t do that.

Shame on you, Agassi. This so-called apology phone call to some random reporter doesn’t cut it.

March 16th, 2010 at 1:56 am

Sampras has never been as savvy as Agassi and this is one reason why he works so hard whenever he’s playing Agassi. While Agassi looks more fluid on the court, by comparison, Sampras can look (even more) awkward. Agassi should respect, that even without being rude to Sampras, his athleticism alone is enough to make Sampras look and feel clumsy. Yes, Sampras did instigate Agassi into a response on the court. Still, Agassi’s apology (which I believe was adequate) was necessary -not only because Agassi took the exchange below the line by calling Sampras “cheap” during a live public broadcast, but also because Sampras has always brought a methodical work ethic to the game that has made Agassi a better tennis player. And in Agassi’s book “Open”, instead of showing Sampras the respect he’s earned, he referred to him as “robotic” -which is pretty rude. I know from reading the book, Agassi was attempting (though he hacked this too) to give Sampras some credit for his disciplined game style. In the book Agassi words it wrong so it comes off as a put-down to Sampras even though he was acknowledging Sampras’s superior temperament and ability to stay focused and keep his emotions in check during a match. Agassi saying he’s sorry shows that he is at least partially awake to some of this and that he’s a pretty stand-up guy.

March 16th, 2010 at 2:31 am

Agassi is a pure hypocrite. On the record he said that he hated tennis but he still plays it. He is a man who spoils everything with his loud mouth and to please the crowd he displeased Sampras.

March 16th, 2010 at 3:11 am

you guys are overreacting.

March 16th, 2010 at 4:03 am

I don’t think they’re over reacting. Imagine if your personal morality and behaviour was dissed in front of a crowd of thousands, how you’d feel. Sampras had no comeback to the snide accusations without evidence in Agassi’s book either. Nor can I see what business it is of Agassi whether Sampras is mean or generous, let alone bring it up at a charity event which is supposed to be about real victims of disasters.

March 16th, 2010 at 7:19 am

That’s right – blasting a ball right at someone is a mature response. They both behaved like children.
Agassi apologized. I hope Sampras will too (he started that with the imitation of the Agassi walk and upped the ante with the blast at the body followed by the “say something” invitation to tangle on…). But it was a two minute deal. No need to churn it.

March 16th, 2010 at 9:41 am

Von yeah he has a wife and 2 kids. I have a second due in June!

March 16th, 2010 at 10:09 am

Andre Agassi claims its a spur of the moment reaction that he had to bring up the tipping incident. But if any one had watched the whole match, it appears as if he planned it all along. From the very beginning he was hell bent on getting on people’s nerves and especially keen on instigating Sampras. He was being a high school bully right from the get go dissing the nerdy kid (Sampras) and a foreign boy (Nadal). If people had watched the whole match, no one would believe that it was spur of the moment. All the you tube links and the videos posted on web sites (and commented by tennis journalists) show only part of the story and doesn’t convey the full picture. One has to watch the entire match to understand the dynamics and weird nature of the evening. One thing is for sure people who did know that Agassi had written a book will now be inquisitive to read or know about what is written there. Folks that means more money in Agassi’s coffer. And he can continue to mask his larger than life ego under the name of charity. By the way Agassi should stop blowing kisses to all 4 sides. It looks so forced and awkward and stop pretending (during speeches) that he is the only one who knows about what happened in Haiti.

March 16th, 2010 at 11:12 am

very odd all around. it will blow over, but it will make people think twice about inviting andre to other tennis related events, especially if pete will be there.

and many people have stated this so i’m just agreeing…but thank god nadal and fed seem to be above all of this kind of bickering. maybe in 20 years nadal will write his memoirs and call fed a sissy for crying at the AO award ceremony, but somehow i doubt it. they both strike me as men that will rise above all of this.

March 16th, 2010 at 11:52 am

Believer, I watched the whole match and I don’t know what you’re talking about. Agassi was trying to be funny and attempted to cross some lines. With this joke, he went too far, but not at first. It seemed like Sampras didn’t take it well and Agassi should have stopped after the initial imitation. He kept it going and Sampras was getting more and more agitated.

If you look at their facial expressions, at first things weren’t too serious, but then they both started to get pissed. The serve at Agassi didn’t help matters, either. But the problem was that Sampras thought that he had put this bad tipping business behind him. Instead, Agassi brings it up again. That’s why it was disrespectful.

Texastennis, imitating other players is not insulting. It’s been done by countless players before and it’s always understood as good fun.

March 16th, 2010 at 12:23 pm

Ben: As I’ve said in my multiple posts and echoed by others, people went there to see a tennis match played by legends. Not to see some comedy show. If they wanted to see a comedy show they could as well go to one of the many comedy clubs in LA. Roger was trying to be funny without stepping on others shoes. Pete was uptight and every one knows that is his personality. Rafa was basically playing his part with no non sense. Agaiss was the one who was garrulous through out the match. When Pete hit a winner he said “You’ve got to take everything serious huh Pete” But he was the one who was trying to prove something by ripping winners (104 or 120 mph) at Federer’s feet. He was insecure and had too much ego. He wanted to be the star of the show. My point is he wanted to score some sort of victory over Pete. If you did not plan this you would not go so low (like with his comments about no money). He set it all up by telling Pete “be funny” and when pete responded he went right to the “tipping comment” as he was waiting for it. He made sure that every one knows about it and if they didn’t know atleast they will be curious to know about it. I would have given him a “pass” with his apology if Agassi did not mention “that pete did not roll with it” comment. How the hell Pete is supposed to roll with it when some one is disparaging you in front of thousands of people and millions of tennis fans in TV. May be Pete should’ve bent over??!!. My point is what would any one of us would have done in Pete’s shoes? This apology is meaning less.

March 16th, 2010 at 12:44 pm

Ben, I didn’t say it was insulting. I said that it started the personal ball rolling. Obviously Agassi could have and should have responded differently, and equally obviously Sampras could have and should have reacted differently.

Believer, I think there was some uncertainty in the format about what people were there to say – a match between legends a la the very successful Wimbledon exos last year or a hit and giggle charity deal. The miking suggested the latter, and the former might have been better I agree. But with everyone miked, there has to be talk (as the strangely awkward silences and totally flat audience in the women’s match showed).
Leaving this aside, the miking was a bad idea as various players have commented – Nadal and Fed after, Davenport and Graf during their match. I noticed by the end Graf and Davenport were moving their mikes away from their mouths at the changeovers, so they could chat freely.

Agassi – he was an idiot and he apologized. If he hadn’t apologized, no doubt you’d be criticizing that too. It’s always good to apologize in my universe and I hope Sampras will likewise – not so much to each other but to everyone for generally being idiots, albeit briefly.

And on the briefly, much ado about not much – I’ve checked with numerous of my sports absorbed colleagues the last couple of days and discovered they either don’t know anything about it or think it’s a typical guy trash talking hoot and can’t see anything to get upset about.

March 16th, 2010 at 1:29 pm

A match between legends? This is not simply an exhibition but a charity event. Remember the first Hit for Haiti where the players would take turns serving during games? It was a joke of a tennis match but great fun to watch and very successful.

Federer and Nadal were in no position to play like “legends” considering they have to conserve themselves for the actual Masters event. I was hoping to laugh and I did. This moment made it hard to laugh. It just got too awkward. I took everything Agassi said about hitting winners and the other things as sarcasm. Otherwise it wouldn’t have been funny. The tipping joke seemed to start as sarcasm but when Sampras tried to deflect it, Agassi decided to make a point. There was no need to make a point.

March 16th, 2010 at 1:37 pm

Then Sampras decided to make a point with the serve blast, right? Don’t leave that part out… Takes two to tango.

March 16th, 2010 at 1:40 pm

TexasTennis: I am pretty sure your friends are from US. Americans (let me add majority of them) hardly watch or follow tennis and I am not all surprised about this. Outside of US these 4 people are revered as supremely talented and gifted atheletes. There is an ardent fan following for each one of them and some are fans of all of them (myself included). Yeah I agree the match was supposed to be light but not a freakin’ comedy show. Most people who had gone to watch or watched it on TV were clearly intrigued by the match-ups and wanted to see a bit of competitive tennis here and there. Did any one watch the matches between Roger and Federer in 2007/2008 in Asia? There were funny moments too but some stretches of those matches were intense. My point most people went to see tennis and less of comedy (of errors).

March 16th, 2010 at 4:49 pm

I should correct “Pete and Federer in 2007/2008”.

March 16th, 2010 at 4:50 pm

Imagine what would’ve happened had Sampras’ serve hit Agassi in the head and injured him! That would’ve been a total catastrophe! So, the upside to take from the event is that the worst did not happen.

March 16th, 2010 at 5:25 pm

Believer, I spent the first half of my (now long …) life in the UK and I’ve lived in France as well as here in my adult life. So your “pretty sure” isn’t quite right:-) I’m well aware of attitudes outside the US as well as here. In the UK at least, I find “revered” a bit strong, given that neither the tabloids nor the broadsheets seem to revere anyone any longer. In my long lost youth, there were some revered figures. (I could start to lament here but I won’t…)
But as I said before, I don’t think this “mixed” format was the best use of talent in any event – organizers didn’t seem to know what they were trying to produce ie more serious tennis would have been good but the mikes indicated more chit chat. The Wimbledon exos last summer were much better organized – some serious tennis and mixed for fun. Frankly I thought the women at HforH played at a pretty low level and since they didn’t talk much either, I’m a bit at a loss at the people admiring that. (I should say of course I think at least Graf and Davenport play very little these days so their rustiness is to be expected.) I noticed the audience was asleep for most of that match. Mixed doubles would have been better there I think and as at Wimbledon, could have provided the fun. We should be the organizers!

March 16th, 2010 at 5:48 pm

what i got out of it is this- agassi had bad taste and sampras had no wits. Up to that point I was enjoying Agassi’s chatter. A lot of you say he should have given other players more air time. That would have just led to silence. Pete wont say anything, and up to that point he was not only dull but playing pretty badly. Nadal is not fluent in english. Federer was the second most talkative but it’s not in his nature to start the chatting. There was no Djokovic or Roddick there, two players who could’ve fit into that role. And for those of you thinking the chatting was rude, it was a f’ing charity exhibition with mics. They would occasionally throw in a few good shots and points to entertain the crowd, but for the most part they could’ve not gone by rules for all I care. Anyway, Andre was being stupid, Pete couldn’t laugh it off. It was regrettable that it happened because both player’s reactions turned a very fun atmosphere completely cold.

March 16th, 2010 at 6:05 pm

Dan: Well, maybe a joining of the two tennis families would certainly produce a future tennis great, don’t you think?

All my very best to you and your wife on the upcoming blessed event. Now it’s back to the 2:00 am feedings and diaper changes. Better you than me.

March 16th, 2010 at 8:46 pm

I find this situation very ironic. About five years ago, Andre and Graf came into the private airport I used to work at. They were in a charted Quarter Share Gulfstream IV. These things cost $5,000.00 per hour to charter, give or take. They had their kids with them. Three of us line guys spent almost 20 minutes unloading their cars and putting their stuff in the jet. There were numerous heavy bags, baby strollers, play pen type stuff, etc. We got jack from Agassi and Graf. We would normally get at least a couple of bucks for doing this for someone (anyone) with one bag that only took one minute jumping on an aircraft much smaller. Agassi is one to talk. FYI, Phil Mickelson, Robin Williams, Charles Barkley, Wayne Gretzky, Michael Jordan and most others were great tippers.

March 17th, 2010 at 4:16 am

I was there! The night started by a salute to military heroes followed by a classy exhibition by the ladies (Henin, Davenport, Navratilova, and Graf).

In the men’s exhibition, Agassi actually carried the night with his wit until the tension rose between he and Sampras. When he crossed the line with the “tipping” joke, the mood of the entire audience dropped with a thud.

Acknowledging that they both behaved badly, Agassi undid all the goodwill he’s been building lately with his charitable work. His apology was very necessary and not just to Pete. He owes everyone in that stadium an apology.

March 17th, 2010 at 9:36 am

Texas: There are tennis fans outside of US and UK (infact many of them) and they rever these great players. That’s why you will never see an empty seat if these guys play. The tennis matches (exhibition) that were played in Asia (Federer Vs Sampras) was a big hit in Malaysis and Maccau. It was also good fun at MSG. The exhibition here mean exhibiting their core skills (that is tennis) in a lighter setting. No one neccessarily asked Agassi to be the “comedy man of the hour” or to be the man of the hour. Agassi should have kept his wits strictly tennis related. It was his undeftaigble ego that led to this incidents. My question is how else Sampras should have reacted in this secenario? How would any one of us would react?

March 17th, 2010 at 10:08 am

Was Agassi really the ONLY one who needed to apologise? Yes, he was out of line, but so was Sampras. Pete COULD have been the bigger man and let it go, but he stooped to Andre’s level of pettiness. And yeah, Agassi tried to out-stoop him, and on it went. Still. Agassi at least DID tender some semblance of an apology. I’m yet to hear of one from Sampras.

March 17th, 2010 at 10:10 am

Sampras does not need to apologize, especially to Agassi. Agassi was clearly out of line and disrespectful to Sampras. He acted as if he was the only one that mattered in that court. For somebody who claims to hate tennis, he should never be invited to play, especially in an exhibition match. He looked like he was doped again that night.

March 17th, 2010 at 11:56 am

Ben Pronin Says:
Sean, I think Pete likes it. Sampras credits Agassi for making him a better player. He saw a bright side in their rivalry (I guess it’s easier when you usually win). But then again, he enjoyed tennis. Federer has a losing record to Nadal but he still appreciates their rivalry because he loves tennis and he’s familiar with its history and previous rivalries. Nadal surely appreciates the rivalry because he also enjoys tennis and he admires Federer’s game and so on. Agassi is the only one who, whether he hates tennis as much as he says, definitely doesn’t appreciate it the way the other guys do. He may have taken ownership in the latter stages of his career but you can still see he doesn’t care about the sport the way these other guys do. And of course he hates being tied to Sampras since their tie stems from tennis.
——–

Ben,

Agassi has resentment and disparaging comments for Sampras for one very simple reason. Sampras had the career Andre thought he should have had.

All this BS from Andre about hating the game because of his father is nothing more than revisionist historical trash. The guy played tennis for 17 years and owes everything he has to tennis. If he hates tennis than he’s just plain stupid. If I hate something, I stop doing it. Andre loved the limelight tennis brought. Getting his ass kicked by Sampras is nearly every big match they played was the part of tennis he hated.

As for Federer and Nadal, I don’t buy that they like and appreciate on another. If not for Federer, Nadal’s pushing a Borgian 10 slams already. Federer would’ve been very happy if Rafa never saw a tennis court. He’d have at least 20 majors by now.

Ben, I like your articles and your blogs. This blog was a little to PC for me though.

March 17th, 2010 at 12:27 pm

After all, making a living playing tennis at the highest level isn’t like working in a coal mine. Right Andre?

March 17th, 2010 at 12:31 pm

I wasn’t trying to be PC, that’s honestly the way I see it. For any tennis player, they don’t want to lose. Especially not consistently to the same person. But for Federer and Nadal, they’re stuck with each other. I’m not saying they prefer having a rivalry of this sort, but it is what it is. They have a lot more appreciation for rivalries than Agassi does, clearly. But I somewhat agree with you on the Agassi part.

March 17th, 2010 at 1:24 pm

Andre is very insecure, depression and anxiety ridden, as told in his book and now at his undermined Haiti scam. Pete should have hit with the ball between the eyes. So he tipped $1.00 not a meth user.

March 18th, 2010 at 1:19 am

Blah: You summed it up nicely. I was enjoying Andre’s wit up until the tipping comments. He was playing kick ass tennis, even though he was just going for broke and it was a coin flip on some of those shots. And he got everyone laughing too (initially).
But I was shocked when I saw his reaction to Pete’s imitation. I think the book writing reawakened some bad memories and made them alive again. As for the imitations, it was the only think Pete could think of to lighten up and try to be funny. Pete did the same thing with Andre at a charity event a couple yrs ago, and Andre simply did his own imitation of Pete – they both were laughing and there were no issues. So it’s bizarre for Andre to pull a cheap shot with the tipping taunt. And to Jane who suggested Pete goaded Andre by saying “Say something”. You are not perceptive. Pete said that, I think, because he could sense Andre getting irritated, which Im sure surprised Pete since they’ve done the imitation thing before. That’s why Pete said “Say something”… he was desperate to be reassured that things were ok with Andre and that Andre wasn’t pissed (with his extended silence and lack of response during Pete’s imitation of him).
True, the serve to the head wasn’t a good move, it just kept Andre’s sense of “I have to keep this guy as a villain of some sorts in order to come to terms with my losses to him” alive.

Gimelstob tried to smooth things over, but Andre’s response about “Better for Pete’s serves to land in the box than at my head” told me everything I needed to know about Andre’s perception of Pete. I still think Andre’s record against Pete is respectable at 14-20, and Andre on most days would own Pete on Clay).
People looking for a “great charity match” should keep in mind everyone had on wireless mics. You go through that kind of trouble for the expressed purpose of chatting and talking, saying things to entertain the crowd.

Anyhow, really, really disappointed and shocked Andre acted the way he did. It exposed him far more than his book did. I honestly think Andre could use some therapy. He had an awesome career with many, many distractions, has the career grandslam, and overcame some major faltering along the way. He should learn how to be proud, not consumed with angst at Pete…

March 20th, 2010 at 11:37 am