I'm writing about tennis. College and professional basketball are over. Euro '08 is
over. The MLB pennant race doesn't start for another 6 weeks and the NFL doesn't start for another 3 months. So, yes, I'm writing about tennis.
Well, technically I'm not writing about tennis--about tennis commentators, specifically. You'd think there'd be a surplus of likeable analysts and former pros to turn to the booth or go behind the desk to commentate on the sport. Why? Tennis players seem intelligent, there's not a lot of nuance to the sport, and you're actually supposed to be hush-hush when calling the game--sounds like an easy gig.
Jensen in his Hay Day
For the past ten years or so though, ESPN's head tennis dude has been Luke Jensen. Through the years, we've seen Jensen's personality cause millions to change the channel, and we've seen his hair range from
Color Me Badd pony-tail, to
Steven R. Covey, to "
AAAAHH!!" The other day, however, I was watching coverage of Wimbledon on The Deuce and I didn't see Luke (or his hair) anywhere. Instead, I saw a cool
Patrick McEnroe, former pro and brother of
Jon, sitting in the I-run-the-show seat. He's made the transition from athlete to awesome desk jockey pretty seamlessly, and his cool factor blows Jensen out of the water. Turns out Luke is still doing segments for The Network, but as long as there's someone else to buffer his neuroticism, I'm cool.
So that's it. Do your thing *Patty Mac!
*Every Irish person named Patrick automatically gets renamed Patty
Jensen in his Hay Day
2 comments:
I saw him on the tv last night in all his bald glory.
What about Bud Collins? He's the older guy who looks like he never sleeps, but always looks dapper with the preppy sweater over the shoulders look.
As much of a D-I-C-K as Jon McEnroe was on the court, I actually find him quite likeable when he's commentating. I don't know enough about Luke, but apparently you are very well versed.
Tennis is actually quite fun to watch, only, I don't like the women's matches because since Monica Seles started grunting back in the day, they all think they have to and it's down right annoying. Why don't the men have to grunt to get the ball over the net? They even hit it much harder and faster than the women do with no grunting involved. This comment just proves that I am T.J.'s daughter.
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