Visors off to the Open!

In the spirit of the US Open - in NYC starting this week - I thought a little comedic break was in order. All this talk of possible love and love gone bad can get quite heavy.

I was reading an article in Time Out on the Open and the first paragraph cracked me up so badly - that I wanted to share it with you all before continuing. Apparently, in 1951, a tennis player named Earl Cochell displayed some serious bad sportsmanship - putting the John McEnroe that we all probably remember to shame. Here is the quote:

"Cochell snapped after a line call, at one point even trying to climb the umpire's chair. 'let me talk with those sons of bitches" Cochell snarled at the tournament referee Ellsworth Davenport."He was outrageous" says Boston Globe columnist 'He wanted to address the crowd through a microphone"

Ok, that sounds bad but get ready for this:

"A right-hander, Cochell played left-handed and served underhand for the remainder of the match". After losing, Cochell cursed at Davenport and was promptly banned for life by the United States Tennis Association."

Ahhh, life before road rage...