Friday, September 7, 2007


So I look at the racquetball leage schedule last night and.....

who do I draw? Chris G (a 20 year old college kid who is sponsored by Ektelon), and some dude who ripped both of his hammies about a month back...."some dude" ended up a no-show.

So Chris G plays a match before me against a stiff named Timid Tim. He's a nice guy, looks like Dave Stout, but at least Stout can hit a jumper from 20 with a hand in his face. Timid Tim lasted all of 15 minutes with Chris G. I was cold on the couch waiting to play Chris G - 2 minute warm-up, and we are off.

He waxes me 15-4 in the first game. I was cold, but not that cold. He just surprised me with his power, and it took me until the last 5 minutes of the game to catch on to his strategy. Next game - I pegged it early and took him 15-4. Primarily, I just took advantage of any marginal shot he made, and I got on a good roll. So we're standing by the drinking fountain, and I says to the guy I says "So this game is to 11, right?" He says "yeah..11". I say "Sh*t....I don't do well in short games as I have a hard time getting my engine running". It was a little mental warfare, but it worked. I turned on the gas early - got out to an 8-2 lead, and took him 11-5. We talked after, and I was thinking he had been playing since he was 16.....played a lot of tourneys, been sponsored for a few years etc etc etc. Nope. The f*cker picked up a racquet 9 months ago playing with his buddy on outdoor cement courts in Phoenix. Played in 3 tourneys this summer, and moved to Flagstaff in August. He got sponsored after his 3rd tourney which he won.

He was three, f*cking 3, when I graduated from college. I have been playing competitively for 21 years, and we are at about the same level. I wanted to pull a Tanya Harding on his left knee so I don't have to play him in the tournament in 5 weeks. The bright side, is that I can still play with these dudes. The dark side is I'm absolutely positively as good as I will get at this sport. Sure, I may pick up some new shots but the trade off is that I'm physically declining. I felt it getting out of bed this morning.

After one more match with Monster Mike - we split the match - I was ready for the garbage. Home, shower, bed.....done.

I'll be at Havasu Falls Sunday through Wednesday. Pics to follow and surely some good stories.


CB


1 comment:

  1. Dave Stout was deadly from 25 feet and in. He was unstoppable. Sure, time has caught up with him a little, but he still dominates in the driveway. Just needs a little ice on the knees and in the vodka afterwards. One helluva a natural athelete...

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