The Sports Truth

We’re no different than any American with a heart: we love Andre Agassi. The talented, drives, ageless, admirable wonder finally said goodbye to the tennis world this week when he lost in the third round of the U.S. Open.

Before exiting the court, however, Agassi gave thousands of fans in the stadium, and millions watching on TV, a final reward for their loyalty. He delivered as genuine a speech as any athlete could ever muster.

So move over, Lou Gehrig, we’ve transcribed the adieu word for word below. It should be required reading for all athletes.

The scoreboard said I lost today, but what the scoreboard doesn’t say is what it is I have found. Over the last 21 yesar, I have found loyalty. You have pulled for me on the court - and also in life.

I have found inspiration. You have willed me to succeed, sometimes even in my lowest moment. And I have found generosity. You have given me your shoulder to stand on, to reach for my dreams. Dreams I could never have reached without you.

Over the last 21 years, I have found you. And I will take you and the memory of you with me for the rest of my life. Thank you.

Another season of college football is here at last! If you are anything like The Pundit, you have been waiting for this moment since the final gun sounded at the Texas-USC slugfest in the Rose Bowl.

What a game! The Pundit has been pretty hard on the money-grubbing, soul-sucking farce known as the Bowl Championship Series in the past, but they finally got it right last year.

The Rose Bowl featured Reggie Bush of USC and Vince Young of Texas, the two best players in the country, dueling to the end with one breathtaking play after another. It was easily one of the best games of the year, with USC-Notre Dame and Texas-Ohio State also standing out.

So what does the 2006 season hold?

Will it be able to stack up to 2005’s high drama? Will it have another championship game for the ages or a shared national championship clusterf—? Exciting late-season conference races or one-horse shows? Huge, spread-busting upsets or just the status quo?

The Pundit doesn’t really know the answers (or how to talk in the first person, for the matter) but he will offer up his insights regardless. So sit back, hold onto your butts, and prepare for The Pundit to drop some knowledge on you! Let’s begin with a critique of Sports Illustrated’s preseason Top Five…

1. Ohio State: This offense will be nuts, but with the defense might not hold up after losing so much talent to the big dance. The Buckeyes will be good, but some Big 10 team will burn them.

2. Notre Dame: I think SI has this team too low (not that they can go much higher). As with Ohio State, the offensive pyrotechnics from Charlie Weis & Co. should be impressive with the Irish returning all of their skill players. The difference for the Irish, however, is that almost their whole starting defense from last year is back as well. They were blasted several times by more athletic teams in ‘05, but Weis won’t let that happen again. The big negative? A brutal schedule every week of the year (except for Army, of course).

3. Texas: Mack Brown has built the ‘Horns into a perennial top program with tons of talent. Only USC can rival his stockpiling of NFL level talent over the years. However, can anyone be expected to replace Vince Young? He was the reason for the national title. End of discussion.

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He did it again. It took five sets, 3 hours 48 minutes, and a ton of physical and mental anguish, but Andre Agassi got it done. In a match he had wrapped up in the third and fourth sets, then appeared to have let slip away in the fifth, Agassi prevailed through sheer will.

He won because he would not let Marcus Baghdatis beat him. Because his body was the less weakened of the two, and because the New York crowd would not allow this legend to go quietly into the morning. Agassi had to prevail in this match somehow. He just had to.

He did, prolonging his career at least two more days, and one more match. The score of Agassi’s epic win over eighth-seeded Marcos Baghdatis in the second round of the U.S. Open last night reads 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 7-5, although that doesn’t begin to tell the whole story.

Neither does what follows below, but here’s a quick rundown of the sequence of events transpiring at Arthur Ashe Stadium, August 31-September 1…

• Agassi takes the first set, 6-4, aided by a lengthy point in the eighth game in which Baghdatis took a spill and hurt his left wrist.
• Playing his prototypical game, using clean and efficient groundstrokes and just enough first serves Agassi conserves energy and rolls to another 6-4 set. John McEnroe uses both “tight” and “loose” to negatively describe Baghdatis, who is obviously off his game, either playing tentatively or going for way too much.
• Andre has a break point at 3-3 in the third set, prompting McEnroe and his announcing counterpart, Ted Robinson, to discuss how he was about to finish the Cyprus native off in an hour and a half.
• Baghdatis holds serve, then capitalizes on a rare weak service game from Agassi to break for a 5-3 advantage. He serves out the set handily and is right back in this thing. We learn that a person from Cyprus is called a “Cypriot!” Who knew?
• While he overcame whatever mental bloc afflicted him earlier, Baghdatis can’t stop spraying the ball. Clusters of unforced errors land him in an 0-4 hole to start the fourth set, as Agassi fans prematurely celebrate a second time.

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No pulsating intro music or pyrotechnics are necessary when the Sports Truth’s Starting Five takes the floor. Primarily because our budget won’t allot for such things. That would be so cool, though!

Every Friday, our panel of experts takes a current sports topic and sounds off on it — five times over. These guys have been researching constantly, poring over endless data and bouncing ideas off each other in preparation for this feature. Prepare to be amused, perplexed, enraged and maybe a little awed by their collective brilliance.

This Week’s Topic: THE UPCOMING NFL SEASON

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1. Obligatory Terrell Owens question: Which will he record more of: fines or TDs?

EVAN CHRISTOPHER: I’m going to go with fines since he already has a few of those against zero touchdowns. Plus, with Bledsoe in the pocket, T.O. will be on defense most of the time trying to break up obvious interceptions.

LUCAS DWYER: It’s hard to wager against fines at this point considering fines already leads touchdowns 1-0 and the season hasn’t even started. Touchdowns suffered a major loss when Owens’ got injured during the pre-season. A statement by touchdowns issued later that day showed a steadfast resolve not to let the injury affect performance and touchdowns seemed determined to overcome the 1-0 deficit it faces against fines. You can say all you want, but the track record of fines speaks for itself. I think TDs will retake the lead early in the season, but fines will mount a furious late season charge to win, 5-4.

MICHAEL BRIAN: I think he’ll record more episodes of Veronica Mars. Turns out he really got into the show during his downtime last season, but this year he’s got practice during the show’s time slot. Hopefully his DVR doesn’t tweak its hamstring.

THE PUNDIT: More TDs. I don’t think he’ll turn into a $h!thead until after the season.

MICHAEL STEPHENS: If he’s healthy, he’ll probably get a minimum of 9-10 TDs. Amassing that many fines will to be tough, however, even for a man of T.O.’s ilk. After 6-7 disciplinary infractions, Dallas may elect to rid itself of Owens and just eat his contract. And it will taste bitter.

LEVI MATTHEWS: He’ll have some fine touchdowns, trust me on that one. Drew Bledsoe throws a very pretty deep ball. But the answer to the question is obviously fines, the guy is a horrid human being.

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