Topic: Monster

[dmastous]

O Buck that's a mighty long haul for the Monster Truck, though it would be a blast!
DMast and I against you and Scotty?

Any chance of you guys comin' east for the Open?
Am so ticked I missed Sampras in Schenectady last week, I may go for a tourney tri-fecta this fall-
  Gibson tourney Newport, RI
  Pilot Penn Hartford CT
  US Open

In reality I may get to 2 out of the 3.


Anytime you guys get "back east" give a holla and we'll make it happen.

Just a minor correction. The Pilot Pen is in New Haven (a bit more of a drive, well almost twice the drive). Both of them are, it's a combined event. But if you're going, let me know when and I'll be happy to tag along.

[OSU Buckeye]

O Buck that's a mighty long haul for the Monster Truck, though it would be a blast!
DMast and I against you and Scotty?

Any chance of you guys comin' east for the Open?
Am so ticked I missed Sampras in Schenectady last week, I may go for a tourney tri-fecta this fall-
  Gibson tourney Newport, RI
  Pilot Penn Hartford CT
  US Open

In reality I may get to 2 out of the 3.


Anytime you guys get "back east" give a holla and we'll make it happen.

Ahhh, tis but a cheap flight and a couple days!   Anyway, no biggie either way, I just thought you might be interested and be able to fly around on a whim.    I have never been to the USO but I would love to go.  I don't know if it is feasible as all my vacation time is spoken for I fear.  I might have to look closer at this possibility but also might have to wait a few more years before I can hook that up.

[monstertruck]

O Buck that's a mighty long haul for the Monster Truck, though it would be a blast!
DMast and I against you and Scotty?

Any chance of you guys comin' east for the Open?
Am so ticked I missed Sampras in Schenectady last week, I may go for a tourney tri-fecta this fall-
  Gibson tourney Newport, RI
  Pilot Penn Hartford CT
  US Open

In reality I may get to 2 out of the 3.


Anytime you guys get "back east" give a holla and we'll make it happen.

Just a minor correction. The Pilot Pen is in New Haven (a bit more of a drive, well almost twice the drive). Both of them are, it's a combined event. But if you're going, let me know when and I'll be happy to tag along.

Duh!  Thanks for the correction.
Will be going to at least one of the 3 and hopefully more.
Will keep you posted, as I am the new "tour" director for our group.

[monstertruck]

I've made the mistake??? of agreeing to play in another tourney next month.
I just can't say no when it comes to tennis.

My buddy "Little Dan the Tennis Man" talked me into playing a local clay court  doubles tournament.  After 15 years, we are both still searching for a doubles partner we are comfortable with.  Although we are good friends and our games should compliment each other, we just don't seem to have much success on the court.  After discussing this at great lenth over a rack of Molson Canadien we agreed to play some practice dubs together and make a run at the tourney.
Boy is he going to have a heavy load to pull!!!
I am still severely out of shape and on the comeback trail, not back to full strength yet.

Oh well.  It will be fun if I/We can keep our expectations in check.

[OSU Buckeye]

I've made the mistake??? of agreeing to play in another tourney next month.
I just can't say no when it comes to tennis.

My buddy "Little Dan the Tennis Man" talked me into playing a local clay court  doubles tournament.  After 15 years, we are both still searching for a doubles partner we are comfortable with.  Although we are good friends and our games should compliment each other, we just don't seem to have much success on the court.  After discussing this at great lenth over a rack of Molson Canadien we agreed to play some practice dubs together and make a run at the tourney.
Boy is he going to have a heavy load to pull!!!
I am still severely out of shape and on the comeback trail, not back to full strength yet.

Oh well.  It will be fun if I/We can keep our expectations in check.

Yeah, this is a tough one!      This has been a problem for me in the past where you build up a nice run and lots of confidence only to be severely let down by some mediocre loss or something.   Anyway, have as much fun as you can!  

[monstertruck]

Our entry into the clay tourney was canceled last night by my partner.
August is too busy for him and the scheduling involved for this unique tourney.

It's played in a neighboring town with numerous private clay courts on gorgeous estates.
The court owners allow tourney play on their courts with the scheduling left up to the players.  i.e. you have a window of time in which to play each round so that vacations etc. can be worked in.  Dan and I played in it a few years ago and made the 3rd round.  Aside from some excellent competition, it was fun to play on these "exclusive" courts.

All for the best that we are not playing as I am severly out of shape and practice.

[OSU Buckeye]

Our entry into the clay tourney was canceled last night by my partner.
August is too busy for him and the scheduling involved for this unique tourney.

It's played in a neighboring town with numerous private clay courts on gorgeous estates.
The court owners allow tourney play on their courts with the scheduling left up to the players.  i.e. you have a window of time in which to play each round so that vacations etc. can be worked in.  Dan and I played in it a few years ago and made the 3rd round.  Aside from some excellent competition, it was fun to play on these "exclusive" courts.

All for the best that we are not playing as I am severly out of shape and practice.

I thought you had been playing alot lately??    Too bad you couldn't play in this tourney so you could get some work on the game and shape in!?  

[monstertruck]

Our entry into the clay tourney was canceled last night by my partner.
August is too busy for him and the scheduling involved for this unique tourney.

It's played in a neighboring town with numerous private clay courts on gorgeous estates.
The court owners allow tourney play on their courts with the scheduling left up to the players.  i.e. you have a window of time in which to play each round so that vacations etc. can be worked in.  Dan and I played in it a few years ago and made the 3rd round.  Aside from some excellent competition, it was fun to play on these "exclusive" courts.

All for the best that we are not playing as I am severly out of shape and practice.

I thought you had been playing alot lately??    Too bad you couldn't play in this tourney so you could get some work on the game and shape in!?  

Keep pushin' OHB, every little bit helps.
Heat and humidity have me pretty well sapped and I haven't put forth effort at cross-training that I was a few weeks ago.

Dude, when I say Monster Truck I don't mean some scrawny Ford F150.  I'm haulin' some serious cabboose over here!  DMast will fill you in at some point.  My movement is limited to my anticipation + 2 steps.  Thank goodness my serve and my hands still work fine.

Just returned from a 3.5 hour session of dubs.
Started out as singles with "Old Dan" and it morphed into  Canadien dubs with his son who's playing Div. 1 next semester.  We finally rounded up a fourth and had 3 good sets of doubles.

As I've alluded to before, "Old Dan" and I never seem to click as doubles partners, tho' we did ok tonight, 2-6 ,6-4, 5-7.  Possibly the best we've played togther.

[OSU Buckeye]

Our entry into the clay tourney was canceled last night by my partner.
August is too busy for him and the scheduling involved for this unique tourney.

It's played in a neighboring town with numerous private clay courts on gorgeous estates.
The court owners allow tourney play on their courts with the scheduling left up to the players.  i.e. you have a window of time in which to play each round so that vacations etc. can be worked in.  Dan and I played in it a few years ago and made the 3rd round.  Aside from some excellent competition, it was fun to play on these "exclusive" courts.

All for the best that we are not playing as I am severly out of shape and practice.

I thought you had been playing alot lately??    Too bad you couldn't play in this tourney so you could get some work on the game and shape in!?  

Keep pushin' OHB, every little bit helps.
Heat and humidity have me pretty well sapped and I haven't put forth effort at cross-training that I was a few weeks ago.

Dude, when I say Monster Truck I don't mean some scrawny Ford F150.  I'm haulin' some serious cabboose over here!  DMast will fill you in at some point.  My movement is limited to my anticipation + 2 steps.  Thank goodness my serve and my hands still work fine.

Just returned from a 3.5 hour session of dubs.
Started out as singles with "Old Dan" and it morphed into  Canadien dubs with his son who's playing Div. 1 next semester.  We finally rounded up a fourth and had 3 good sets of doubles.

As I've alluded to before, "Old Dan" and I never seem to click as doubles partners, tho' we did ok tonight, 2-6 ,6-4, 5-7.  Possibly the best we've played togther.

Good stuff!  Keep on truckin'!  

[monstertruck]

Some singles this a.m. with a rusty 3.5 college professsor I met yesterday.
Monster Truck rolled over him easily and never got out of first gear.

One of my favorite things about tennis is meeting new people and helping to bring them back into the game.  Seems like it's some internal debt I have to pay back.  I so appreciated my current tennis buddies bringing me into their group some 12-14 years ago, when I couldn't find anyone around my hometown that could play.  Now I enjoy hitting with almost anyone regardless of skill level as long as they're interested in tennis.

Man, ya gotta love this game!


Oooops, almost forgot...
Am hitting with DMast tonight to tune him up for his Ohio visit!!!
Dubs with a couple of my buddies should be right up his alley! hahaha

[monstertruck]

DM made the journey and had the good fortune of hitting with the Monster Truck crew.
Never have you seen such a merry band of misfits!
DM and I partnered up for 3 sets of dubs against several variations of tennis clowns.
We actually beat the best pair and had a serious letdown against the other 2 teams.  DM was the master of the put away with some great smashes and good movement at the night.  I did my best to disrupt his concentration with my one step poaches and other miscues.
Lots of great shots mixed in with plenty of unforced errors.  All in all a good night to hook up with old friends and make some new ones.

[dmastous]

DM made the journey and had the good fortune of hitting with the Monster Truck crew.
Never have you seen such a merry band of misfits!
DM and I partnered up for 3 sets of dubs against several variations of tennis clowns.
We actually beat the best pair and had a serious letdown against the other 2 teams.  DM was the master of the put away with some great smashes and good movement at the night.  I did my best to disrupt his concentration with my one step poaches and other miscues.
Lots of great shots mixed in with plenty of unforced errors.  All in all a good night to hook up with old friends and make some new ones.

Lots of unforced errors and a few great shots. But lots of tennis, and that's always a good thing. I really appreciate the invite.

[OSU Buckeye]

DM made the journey and had the good fortune of hitting with the Monster Truck crew.
Never have you seen such a merry band of misfits!
DM and I partnered up for 3 sets of dubs against several variations of tennis clowns.
We actually beat the best pair and had a serious letdown against the other 2 teams.  DM was the master of the put away with some great smashes and good movement at the night.  I did my best to disrupt his concentration with my one step poaches and other miscues.
Lots of great shots mixed in with plenty of unforced errors.  All in all a good night to hook up with old friends and make some new ones.

Lots of unforced errors and a few great shots. But lots of tennis, and that's always a good thing. I really appreciate the invite.

Sweet!  Good news you guys getting together like that!  Lots of other good stuff over the past few days MT.

[monstertruck]

No tennis through Sunday of this week!!!
How am I gonna survive?

Taking a little vacay up to Lake George NY with some family.
Should be a good time.
Am bringing my sticks just in case!

Hope you guys have a ball in OhighO this weekend!

[OSU Buckeye]

No tennis through Sunday of this week!!!
How am I gonna survive?

Taking a little vacay up to Lake George NY with some family.
Should be a good time.
Am bringing my sticks just in case!

Hope you guys have a ball in OhighO this weekend!

"Its round on the ends and high in the middle"

Have fun on your trip and thanks, I am sure we will have a blast this weekend!  

[monstertruck]

Got a few hours of hitting with my bro-in-law on vacation last weekend.
He's better acquainted with a hockey stick than a tennis racquet, but has a knack for keeping the racquet face on the right plane and consequently the ball stays in play.  Did I mention he could hit with pace despite having some ugly strokes?  We had some great rallies and plenty of laughs.  It was a nice reminder to me that tennis doesn't always have to be super competitive to be fun.

[monstertruck]

wooohooo!
Off to hit with a college kid (son of my regular tennis buddy), should be a classic battle of the tortoise and the hair.  The kid plays big but not as consistent as his dad.  
Hopefully I can get in his head and out last him...

[OSU Buckeye]

wooohooo!
Off to hit with a college kid (son of my regular tennis buddy), should be a classic battle of the tortoise and the hair.  The kid plays big but not as consistent as his dad.  
Hopefully I can get in his head and out last him...

Good luck and have fun!  

[monstertruck]

wooohooo!
Off to hit with a college kid (son of my regular tennis buddy), should be a classic battle of the tortoise and the hair.  The kid plays big but not as consistent as his dad.  
Hopefully I can get in his head and out last him...

Good luck and have fun!  

Well, the hare brought a cannon and some shell piercing armor to the ocurt tonight.!  The poor tortoise didn't stand a chance.

Dropped 2 sets 4-,1-6 and then a couple of super tiebreakers.
Kid has a bomb of a first serve and a nasty kicker.
He also pounded any forehands I either left short or didn't smack myself.
Was fun trying to play up to his level and hit with a bit more focus and pace than I've been used to the past few months.

Thinking back on it, I'm sure I over hit in an attempt to match or exceed his pace. :no-no:
My slice backhand seems to be improving a bit as I keep a visual of DMast's nasty slicer in the back of my mind.  I noticed his back swing is much higher than mine was and may contribute to the drive and skip action on his ball vs. the float and stop action on mine.

My serve was nowhere to be found this evening thanks to a toss that either landed 5 feet behind me or 3 feet in front of me.  Very uncharateristic.  Must be time to get some practice in on that shot.

Tho' he wiped the court with me, we still had some good points, a few laughs and some interesting discussions regarding strings and tensions.  All in all, another enjoyable time on the court.

[dmastous]

wooohooo!
Off to hit with a college kid (son of my regular tennis buddy), should be a classic battle of the tortoise and the hair.  The kid plays big but not as consistent as his dad.  
Hopefully I can get in his head and out last him...

Good luck and have fun!  

Well, the hare brought a cannon and some shell piercing armor to the ocurt tonight.!  The poor tortoise didn't stand a chance.

Dropped 2 sets 4-,1-6 and then a couple of super tiebreakers.
Kid has a bomb of a first serve and a nasty kicker.
He also pounded any forehands I either left short or didn't smack myself.
Was fun trying to play up to his level and hit with a bit more focus and pace than I've been used to the past few months.

Thinking back on it, I'm sure I over hit in an attempt to match or exceed his pace. :no-no:
My slice backhand seems to be improving a bit as I keep a visual of DMast's nasty slicer in the back of my mind.  I noticed his back swing is much higher than mine was and may contribute to the drive and skip action on his ball vs. the float and stop action on mine.

My serve was nowhere to be found this evening thanks to a toss that either landed 5 feet behind me or 3 feet in front of me.  Very uncharateristic.  Must be time to get some practice in on that shot.

Tho' he wiped the court with me, we still had some good points, a few laughs and some interesting discussions regarding strings and tensions.  All in all, another enjoyable time on the court.

Anytime you want a little first hand examples of that slice I would be happy to oblige.