OMG! Justin Gimelstob is growing on me as a commentator! He does an awesome job (to use one of his fave phrases) when it comes to spilling the insider info. Listen carefully, and you never know what he’ll say. Here are some golden nuggets from this weekend:
Gimel sez: Federer and Mirka have “organized” things so that their baby will arrive between Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. Rogers Cup and Cincy organizers, take Roger off your advertisements now.
Gimel sez: Marat Safin has some serious post-retirement job leads, including working for the Russian Olympic Committee and running some tournaments. I’m especially happy to hear that he and super-agency CAA are planning something – still hoping he’ll replace Daniel Craig as the next James Bond (or play the racquet wielding Russian villain!)
Gimel sez: There’s a push to switch clay court tournaments over to hardcourts, and Nadal is adamantly opposed. Rafa half-jokes that he’d like to able to walk when he’s 27 years old.
Also of note: Lindsey Davenport’s sensing a Justine Henin comeback!
So while I still despise FSN with a passion, I like the younger, clued-in commentators. Makes it even more frustrating that the network doesn’t show more tennis!
Note: still processing all the carnage on the WTA side this weekend – hope to post a summary for Monday.
Photo: Getty Images via Eurosport
Tags: ATP, Federer, Justin Gimelstob, Justine Henin, Miami Open, Mirka Vavrinec, Nadal, Safin, Sony Ericsson Open, tennis, WTA
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Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh, I already bought my tickets for Cincy because I figured Roger would be there. This kid better show up in July or wait until September!
Well, don’t despair, Lynsey! R&M are so organized, they probably already have the cesarean scheduled for the second week in July. So you never know, Roger and family could make their debut on the American hardcourts. . .don’t put those tix on ebay yet!
Aww I wish we have some awesome commentators all the time!
Oh man, I was really hoping it would be born after the US Open. Just me being selfish. Oh well.
Yeah, Roger will be so tired! All those 2am feedings and stuff. He’ll show up in NYC with big bags under his eyes, wearing unmatched socks! Hehe!
I think BabyFed will be a Wimbledon baby. Foreshadowing and all that. O_o
The baby would have it’s own little Wimby outfit – little blazer or tennis skirt. So cute!
Oh, that Gimel. What fun.
Here’s my take as someone who has actually given birth to an amazing child.
Fed is seriously rich. Mirka will have a scheduled C section so she can cheer him on at Wimby and the USO. Because they are seriously rich, they will have nursemaids and nannies up the whaz until Roger retires. I hope the grannies gather, because that’s as close as the baby will get to fam in the first few months.
After that I hope it’s cowbells and chocolate and raclette.
Yeah, Fed mentioned in his post-match presser that they have the financial ability to make the whole traveling with baby thing pretty easy. . .
You must be kidding! GimelSLOB is by far the WORST commentator that has ever graced the tube. The guy is pathetic with a CAPITAL “P”. He makes incorrect & biased statements regarding players form, play, psychology, etc and then, to augment his lack of expertise, he chimes in with player “gossip” tidbits so that he will seem “in the know” and intimate with players. By most accounts, he is abhorred by most players, seeking to avoid his obvious attempts to muscle into their personal lives. I wish TTC and FSN would fire him ASAP – he is a disgrace to his “profession”, both old and new.
Your comment is making me do something that I never thought I would do – defend Justin Gimelstob! First off, I totally agree that he sucks and is annoying in many ways – his comments about Anna Kournikova and other female players were completely inexcusable and I’ll never respect him after that. I’m NOT a fan.
But Girlfriday, I think you are exaggerating about his performance in the booth. Al Troutwig is much worse than J.G. And Mary Carillo drives me up the wall with her pretentiousness and obvious hogging of the spotlight. Bud Collins is a nice guy, but it gets very awkward whenever he opens his mouth. Then there was that guy on FSN a couple years back who could barely pronounce “Roddick” – he was so bad that there was an online petition to get ride of him!
So while I’d still like Gimel off the broadcast desk – for his obvious disrespect of women – I have to admit that if I didn’t know his history, I would think he was a decent commentator (at least based on his work in Miami – he obviously still has a lot to learn.) I didn’t find him to be making “incorrect and biased” statements – at least not more than the other guys and girls in the booth. I also appreciate that he hasn’t jumped on the “Fed is dead” bandwagon and makes sure to point out that Roger is still one of the dominant guys on tour and deserves respect.
I have no idea if the players find him “abhorrent,” but would love to hear your gossip on that end (I know, I know, you don’t like gossip.) He mentioned having dinner with Mirka and Roger during Indian Wells, and as a fan, I didn’t mind hearing about that. He’s also on the ATP Board and is therefore privy to the behind the scenes governance of the tour. So he’s definitely more “in the know” and “intimate” than us slobs who haven’t played tennis professionally, or spent time in the lockerrooms and boardrooms with Rafa/Roger/et al. And as a blogger, I appreciate hearing what he has to say about that stuff. I know you can’t take him seriously, but this is tennis, not issues of national security.
So there you have it – my first (and hopefully only) defense of Justin Gimelstob.
dear girlfriday:
Search Gimel on this site and you’ll see that freaky is not zactly a huge fan.
I’m a new commenter, but have been lurking for awhile and am a little familiar with commenter’s names.
(Babz, don’t you have a blog? And comment hilariously on Rich’s Down the Line?)
Personally, I think if that baby knows what’s good for it it should be born on Roger’s birthday, 08/08, as a fitting tribute to His Fatherer the King that will not interrupt either the July or September portions of the Slam schedule.
Oh, and can someone tell me why in this economy Gimelslob still has a job commentating? His voice is like nails on a chalkboard and his attitude is like the iron filings the nails came with.
when did Roger and Mirka get married. I missed that info. I knew about the baby and everything else?
Hey Cassandra, Roger and Mirka got married this past Saturday. They kept it completely under the radar, and Roger announced it on his website, later in the evening.
http://www.gototennisblog.com/2009/04/11/roger-federer-mirka-vavrinec-married/