Roger Federer’s win in Paris has a rugby connection. The president of the French Rugby Federation – or should that be Federeration? – is Jean Gachassin, the diminutive halfback who played for Les Bleus 32 times.
Known as Peter Pan, in his playing days he was an inch shorter and 35 pounds lighter than George Gregan. He recently told somebody “thank heavens I never had to tackle Jonah.”
Regarding Federer equalling Pete Sampras’ record – Sampras never won more than two slam titles in the same year (he did it once in ’93, and again in ’94). While Federer has won three titles – so far – three times in the one year: ’04, ’06 and ’07.
RACING
Calvin Borel, the jockey who won the Kentucky Derby on Mine That Bird, switched to Rachel Alexandra to win the Preakness, then switched back to Mine That Bird for last Saturday’s Belmont Stakes, the third in the annual Triple Crown series, told everybody in America that the race was as good as over. Swore that he and Mine That Bird had it in the bag.
He rode a bad race, went too soon (as was pointed out twice on the broadcast) and another bird, Summer Bird, won it and Calvin had to settle for third.
Moral? Be careful what you brag about because it may not come true.
By the way, had you put two bucks on 4,2,7,6 in the supertrifecta in that race, you would have won a neat, even $852.
SQUASH
Still hoping for a berth in the Olympics, the proposal is for two kinds of courts to be built – singles and doubles, or for the singles courts to have sliding walls to make them wider to accommodate four players.
The doubles game goes back to 1907 but never really caught on outside of the States. Currently, there are doubles courts in Edinburgh, Singapore, KL and Bangkok, but precious few in Australia.
However, there are well over 100 doubles courts in the US, which should give American players an edge if the sport is admitted into the Games along with the doubles variety.
WHO INVENTED WHAT, WHEN?
It’s generally conceded that the first form of tennis was invented by French monks in medieval times.
However, they hit the ball with their hands. The racquet came later.
Who introduced it? The Dutch.
The Dutch also gave their word “Letten” to a ball that hits the net, or the rope that was used, on a service. But the French names survive in tennis for most everything else except if they’re Arabic, as some authorities claim. The name itself, tennis, derives from the cloth balls that were originally used, or the French verb Tenez, To Hold (the ball). Or, from the town of Tinnis on the Nile where the Egyptians played a form of hand ball in Cleopatra’s time.
Bottom line, nobody knows for sure who invented the game (except the French). But then the French also claim to have invented cricket.
But watch out, here come the Dutch again.
Language experts point to the first printed mention of the game, at the turn of the 16th century, when it was referred to by the Dutch name Creckett. Or was it the Middle Dutch word Krickstoel, a low milking stool that resembled the two-stump wicket used in early games of cricket?
At any rate, the Dutch krickstoel team beat England at the ICC World Twenty20, so maybe they did invent the game.
Unless the Assyrians did.
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