Great Day for Home Town Players at ATC

Day two of the Atlanta Tennis Championships and it was time for area players to shine. Both Robby Ginepri and Donald Young got to see their dream come true. They played in an ATP even while while staying at home..For Ginepri , it has been a long wait for pro tennis to return to Atlanta. The Kennesaw resident and Wheeler High School alum was feeling some nerves playing in front of friends and family , but rallied to take charge of the first round match with Nick Lindahl.  I was sitting near Robby's Father , who is also his business partner with the Olde Town Club in Marietta. A proud father looked on as his son battled through 90 degree heat for a victory..He can playin the heat, said Rene Ginepri. He actually hoped that Robby's next match would be during the day, but the ATP decided otherwise, scheduling Ginepri's next match against fellow American Mardy Fish Wednesday night.  The other home town product , Donald Young, played on court 1, which only has bleaches on eastside of the court. That means those spectators were facing a boiling sun. Like Ginepri,Young got off to a shaky start, then regrouped to win th first set 7-5 over Dudi Sela. Young , is a junior tennis legend who has struggled to find the right formula for success in ATP tournaments..Earlier this year, Donald's parents surrendered their coaching duties to the USTA  and it seems to be working. Young now shows patience on court instead of rushing through his matches. That was the differnce today, and it frustrated Sela so bad he flung his towel over the fence after going own 4-0  in the second set. Young won the set 6-0 to complete an impressive opening round. Young will face Kevin Anderson Thursday. I spoke with Donald Young's Parents and they were all smiles, looking ahead to the next round..With his ranking now at 105, a second round win could send Young into the top 100 in the world.. Also seen at the Atlanta Athletic Club. James Blake falls to Taylor Dent in three sets and I got to perform my duties, interviewing the winners after each match on the court, like US Open.. This is a great week for Atlanta and today the homeboys made the spectators proud.. Let's hope we get to see more tomorrow..

Showtime for Pro Tennis in Atlanta

 This is it!!! Curtains up on the long awaited Atlanta Tennis Championships. The stars of the ATP tour are in Atlanta for first time in almost 10 years. Last week's adddition of Andy Roddick was just the right injection of star power , and area sports fans have responded by making a run on tickets. The blazing heat of Georgia in July didn't keep spectators away from the Atlanta Athletic Club on the first day of play in the main draw. We media folks were getting a chance to huddle with Lleyton Hewitt, and Roddick, who raised a few eyebrows when he practiced wih no shirt on. Meanwhile the guys were keeping their eyes peeled for Roddick's wife, Sports Illustrated Swinsuit Model Brooklyn Decker. Even I was keeeping and eye out for Mrs. Roddick. If she shows up this week, you will hear it here first..After the opening ceremonies American Mardy Fish made short work of James Ward 6-1, 6-2. Ward is a young British player who got a Wild Card into the Atlanta tournament, and it getting dashed by Fish wasn't bad enough, the public address announcer called him JOHN Ward..The young Brit smiled and waved the crowd as he walked toward the gate.. See you in L.A, James, er John.. The other two Wild Cards for this event went to Roddick and Atlanta resident Donald Young, who is coming home to play with some momentum. Last week he made the final of a USTA Pro Curcuit event in California..His ranking is now up to 105 in the world and he will play Tuesday evening against Dudi Sela . Also in action Tuesday will be Kennesaw resident Robby Ginepri, who faces Nick Lindahl in the first match of the day at 4pm. The first evening match on stadium court will feature James Blake and Taylor Dent in an All-American showdown. The late match of the evening will feature the doubles team of Mardy Fish and Andy Roddick..Roddick, who relaxed with a round of golf, will begin singles play Wednesday, as will John Isner.. We also Taped segments for this week's Matchpoint show.. Be sure to watch Thursday on Sportsouth, and Sunday Morning at 11:30 on 11Alive...

Great Giving, Great Caring, Great Sharing

I've never been much for card games of any kind. Not that I don't like cards, just never spent much time trying to learn. I don't even play computer Solitare. So you can imagine what went through my mind when I was invited to be a featured blackjack dealer for a fundraising casino night. Lucky for me a co-worker came to the rescue with a crash course. Our Executive Producer for Sports, Tracy Carmony, brought her deck of cards to work and tought me "Blackjack Dealing 101." So, after reporting LIVE, from the Georgia Tech baseball game it was off to the Marriott Marquis downtown to help people "gamble" for good. Atlanta-based Morrison Management Specialists (http://www.iammorrison.com/) was the host for MPower, its charitable giving foundation. 100% of the proceeds went to Meals on Wheels Association of America. It was a night of great food prepared by celebrity chefs and music by Rupert's Orchestra. Everyone was dressed for an elegant evening and in this atmosphere yours truly was shown to the blackjack tables to begin my duties. I had company: my co-worker Chesley McNeil was there to participate in the evening's activities. Chesley ended up at the craps table and I heard occasional screams coming from that direction. I hope they were for good reason, for Chesley's sake. I managed to deal several hands to some delightful people who were caught up in the spirit of the evening, just having fun. I would like to thank my friend Claudia Brooks D'Avanzo for inviting me to be a part of such a wonderful event. The second annual "Great Giving, Great Caring, Great Sharing" casino night was a big hit, and I'm going to sharpen my dealing skills in hopes of being invited back again next year.

Up, Up and Away! Parks Sisters Update

It's the first weekend in June and it's an important weekend for the Amazing Parks Sisters. Alycia and Mikayla traveled to College Park, Maryland, to take part in a High Performance Tennis Combine. It's the first of several trips they'll be taking during the summer months to participate in training sessions at facilities that are designated as High Performance Facilities by the United States Tennis Association. This weekend's trip comes a week after the Parks Sisters spent two days participating in workout sessions that were taped at Rick Macci's academy in Florida. Alycia and Mikayla were among some of the nation's elite junior talent that will be seen in future installments of Tennis Channel Academy. The Tennis Channel's cameras came to Florida to show Macci's special brand of instruction and the Amazing Parks Sisters were there. In all, four segments were taped last Friday and Saturday. According to Michael Parks, " The producers of the television project were amazed at what they saw from Alycia and Mikayla."

Remember, this is June, so now we can say that the Parks Sisters have been playing tennis for two years. They now have their summer workout schedule that has them on the court twice daily, from 8 to 10 a.m. followed by school work, then back on court from 3-5 p.m. After the afternoon workout it's time to go to the beach, or ride on their bikes and scooters for awhile before doing homework. This time is important to Michael Parks, who wants the girls to have fun, and when workout time is done Alycia and Mikayla usually leave the facility to keep their lives balanced.

Finally, Alycia and Mikayla would like to give a special thanks to Airtran Airways for their assistance with travel to the High Performance Tennis Combine in Maryland this weekend. It may be the start of a long relationship  that could include a feature on the Parks Sisters in the "GO" inflight magazine. We'll keep you posted. Meanwhile, the segments that were shot at Rick Macci's will be shown in July and August on the Tennis Channel. Also, don't forget to read about the Amazing Parks Sisters in the July/Augusta edition of USTA Magazine. And keep an eye on Sam's Passing Shots. There's more to come....

America SCORES Cup: Great Soccer for a Great Cause

Sure enjoyed meeting the good folks at America SCORES this weekend, where I got to kick off the 2010 SCORES Cup, now in its fourth year. More than 10 corporate and local teams came together to compete for the championship title at Georgia Soccer Park in College Park. Concessions International took home the coveted SCORES Cup after a heated final match with law firm King & Spalding that went into overtime and ended with 11 rounds of penalty kicks. Great soccer for a great cause. America SCORES helps underserved youth succeed on the soccer field and in the classroom. Check them out at http://www.americascoresatlanta.org/. 

Scenes from the America SCORES Cup, May 15, 2010:

Parks Sisters Update

I just want to bring you up to date on the Parks Sisters as they are working every day and visiting the USTA Training Center. Alycia, who is 9, and Mikayla, 10, are continuing to amaze the experts in South Florida. While they continue to work with Rodney Harmon each day, they are getting to train at some of the other top facilities in the area near Boca Raton. They have been to the renowned Rick Macci Tennis Academy. Alycia and Mikayla took part in a recent showcase at Macci's, and performed better than players who were older and who have been in high performance progams longer. Remember, it was June of 2008 when the Parks Sisters got tennis racquets for bringing home straight A's. They have been playing less than two years.

Get ready to see more of these young ladies as they will be the subject of a story in the July issue of  USTA Magazine. Alycia and Mikalya will also be among the young players who will be training at Rick Macci's Academy later this month when Tennis Channel cameras are expected to visit. Wait until Tennis Channel viewers see these girls showing off their incredible gifts. The girls will also be on the road this summer, visiting some of the USTA's high performance training centers. They will be in Washington, D.C. July 3-6. Be sure to check back here at Samspassingshots to see where the Amazing Parks Sisters will be working out this summer. Maybe you'll be able to stop by and get a rare look at "The Future of Tennis" in the USA.

..... I'm Just Saying

Now that the Hawks' season is done, we are free to speculate about who will and won't be returning next season. It seems that All-Star Guard Joe Johnson may have talked his way out of town after that 30 point loss in game 3. When asked about the home crowd booing the Hawks' effort, Johnson replied, "I don't care if they show up or not." Nice choice of words for a player who failed to show up for the entire Orlando series.

It brings to mind a young David Justice who took a shot at Atlanta Braves fans for sitting on their hands, while the fans in Cleveland were on their feet and yelling for entire games. It was the 1995 World Series and while Braves fans voiced their displeasure with Justice's comments, they were all smiles when number 23 hit the solo homer that produced Atlanta's only major league sports title. Justice's 1996 season was shortened by injury and before the 1997 season began he was traded to Cleveland. Braves fans were stunned, and years later Justice admitted that he was heartbroken. While he had productive seasons in Cleveland and a super season with the Yankees in 2000, I will always feel that Atlanta was where David Justice belonged. In coming seasons we will see a numbers of star players from the Braves run of division championships retired to he outfield wall of Turner Field. The 31 of Greg Maddux will be followed by the 29 of John Smoltz, the 47 of Tom Glavine, the 6 of Bobby Cox, and finally the 10 of Chipper Jones. What a shame that the 23 of David Justice won't be there. Justice did return to Atlanta three years ago for induction in the Braves Hall of Fame, a bittersweet moment indeed. His departure from Atlanta was very much like that of Ron Gant, Fred McGriff, Deion Sanders and Gary Sheffield. All were African-American players who were fan favorites, yet they were seen as expendable by the club's front office. Those decisions, along with the shrinking number of African-American players in the majors in recent years, made Turner Field an un-cool place to go for Atlanta's black community.

This may be the summer that Turner Field becomes cool again and the reason is a rookie in right field named Jason Heyward. Heyward is a 20-year-old local product who leads the team in home runs and runs batted in. Oh, and by the way, he's African-American and the good folks in the Braves offices are watching to see if the black community will return to the ball park to see him. On my first visit to a Braves game this season I was asked  if I liked Jason Heyward, and what was I hearing in the community. I am a Braves fan, and I am a Jason Heyward fan. I have talked to folks at church, barber shops and the mall. They like Jason Heyward, and they also think that as soon as he reaches All-Star status the Braves will trade him away. At 6-4 , 245 pounds, Heyward is a big guy with broad shoulders. It seems unfair that he be saddled with the job of bringing an entire community back to the ballpark, but that is the case. My hope is that Jason Heyward will have the long productive career that he seems headed for, and that he gets to play every game in a Braves uniform. We may not get to see David Justice's 23 on the outfield wall, but maybe in time we'll see Jason Heyward's 22 there.  I'm just saying....