I was shocked. I was stunned. My friend and co-blogger at Curling, Alan Adamson, wrote on his Facebook page,
Alan Adamson thinks CBS/ESPN has a great team covering tennis - the McEnroe boys, Darren Cahill, and the very fetching Pam Shriver, Mary Jo Fernandez, and Mary Carillo. How did such a team get assembled?
I completely disagree. Earlier this week, when watching the U.S. Open, I found the only way I could bear it was to mute the commentary; and in the end, I actually just turned it off rather than listen to John McEnroe ramble on. And the women commentators need to learn that the show is about tennis, not about them. Cutesy interactions and inane questions just don't cut it for me.
What is it about McEnroe that I can't stand? First let me state up front that, yes, he was a great tennis player, and, yes, he is quite knowledgeable. What I think irritates me is his arrogant yet whiny condescension that both says and implies that if only the players had done what he thought they should, they'd have won the point/game/set/match/whatever.
Update: Alan responds on his own blog.