Time with Anna too quick, but a big hit
OK, more like Quick Hits finally had the chance to meet Anna Kournikova.
After all these years of chronicling the tennis starlet, the big day had come.
An actual face-to-face interview.
A sitdown before her mixed-doubles match with Jim Courier (an eventual 8-6 loss to John McEnroe and Jana Novotna) after the men played a best-of three match.
Before that, however, it was a time for figuring out questions -- the first one being: What to wear?
Solid shirt and patterned sportcoat? Or patterned shirt and solid sportcoat -- and if so, which one? Corduroy or perhaps a worsted wool? Something from the Bud Collins collection of loud colors? Pleated pants? Cuffed or uncuffed? Tie or no tie? And if a tie, one with a tennis theme? A writing theme?
Any suggestions?
''Keep it dapper,'' The Wife said. Gladly, if Quick Hits only knew what that meant.
Anything else?
''No drooling,'' she said, aware of such a possibility.
It's incredible the preparation a responsible journalist must go through. And Quick Hits, too.
A twentysomething's perspective on all this could help. Maybe The Son has some insight.
''What do you think?'' Quick Hits wondered. ''What should I be -- casual, dressy, urban hip and/or hop?''
''About 30 years younger,'' he said.
Son of a ...!
Any advice from a helpful female?
''Just be yourself,'' The Daughter said. ''On second thought. ...''
Maybe Quick Hits should add a wrinkle to the outfit with a short-sleeve casual shirt featuring a tennis scene. Except the shirt had too many wrinkles. Ironing out the problem would require more ironing skills than Quick Hits likes to admit to having, so forget that.
Omigod, it's almost 3, and the date is set for 7:30. Time to go to Hoffman Estates (if this sounds like a case of premature evacuation, then so be it).
4:55: In the club area at the Sears Centre, an Eagles medley interrupts the silence, beginning with ''Take It Easy.'' Somehow Carly Simon's ''Anticipation'' seems more apropos.
5:20: An Anna sighting? An attractive blond woman in a fur-trimmed jacket slips behind a black curtain before Quick Hits can be certain. After all these years of gratuitous (and non-) photos, you'd think I'd have a clue (at least about what she looks like).
6:02: Another Anna sighting? The same blond surrounded by security wanders past the media room. Could it be? And as quickly as she appeared, she disappears through a door that closes in the distance.
6:20: The interminable wait continues. A beautiful blond in a brown sweatsuit smiles as she passes the media room. Unquestionably Anna. No doubt whatsoever. This was the real thing. Graceful, gliding, smiling, beautiful. And, as with any fantasy, ever-elusive.
6:43: Here's Anna. Alone at last. Not counting Sun-Times photographer Tom Cruze and a couple of PR people. She enters the stark media room and brightens it with her presence.
''All right,'' she says. ''Finally, we get to meet.''
Our hands clasp.
All in a day's work.
She is dressed in that brown warmup outfit with a gray sweater for additional warmth. Diamond earrings, beautiful complexion, flowing hair of varying shades.
So, what's it like to be a sex symbol?
''It's really something that never bothered me,'' she said. ''I never felt somebody was ultimately just treating me as a piece of meat. I always felt the love and support of the fans. It was always like in a cool way. I always had great fans. But sex symbol or whatever, it was fine. It wasn't something that I felt was degrading or bad or anything. I just tried to look at the positives and say, 'Thank you.'''
OK, to the real reason for meeting you after all these years: Could you help my tennis game?
''Yeah. Of course. Did you bring your sneakers?''
No. Sadly, they were a casualty in a wardrobe change.
''Next time. Do you come down to Florida at all?''
Well, if that's an invitation, Quick Hits will be there momentarily.
''All right. We've got to set it up, a tennis lesson.''
In slightly more than 10 minutes, the time together ends.
''Thank you,'' she says. ''Very nice to meet you. You're very sweet.''
The feeling is mutual.
For once, reality was even better than fantasy.
So what exactly would the Memphis Grizzlies big man bring, other than the inside scoring presence the Bulls need?
Probably not a girlfriend, if an interview in the February issue of Dime magazine is any indication.
''It's really hard to maintain a relationship with the lifestyle of the schedule and the travel, and me not being [in the U.S.] over the summer and not being from here,'' Gasol said in the interview. ''I go back to Spain in the summer, but then I'm over here for eight months. So it's really hard to sustain a relationship.''
As for his preference?
''Spanish girls know more,'' he said. ''I mean, they know more culturally. Memphis girls, or at least a lot of the girls in the United States, haven't really traveled out of the country. That knowledge and that maturity level gives you a different look at life ... a different appreciation that you won't know if you haven't ventured abroad.''
And who doesn't want to venture a broad ... uh, abroad?
The former NBA star assessed the Bulls' 35-point first half Thursday at Sacramento.
''I hear [analyst] Doug Collins talking about Chicago wants to be [the No. 2 seed],'' Barkley (right) said, referring to the Eastern Conference playoff positioning. ''Well, I want to be skinny, but my [posterior] is too big. They have 35 points, and they are playing against a Sacramento team that isn't any good.''
As for an Eastern Conference team that is good, how about the Detroit Pistons?
''They are the best team in the East,'' he said. ''Are they better than Dallas? No. Are they better than Phoenix? No. Are they better than Utah? Maybe. They'd be like the fifth-best team in the West. They're going to win the East by default unless Miami can beat them. But don't go crazy now; just because an ugly girl got a date doesn't mean she's hot.''
Well, in all fairness (and Quick Hits would be referring to basketball teams but will go along with Barkley's analogy), it doesn't mean that she can't be.
The Westminster Dog Show in New York.
Harry, his prize Dandie Dinmont terrier, could capture best-in-show honors tonight.
The New Zealand-bred pooch is 6 and top dog in America after success in Australia.
In an e-mail to the Associated Press, comedian Cosby wrote:
''Dog shows are somewhere between a sport and an admiration society.
''The dogs and the handlers are the athletes and, believe me, the dogs are like racehorses. They feel and know who they are and what they have to do.
''The handlers groom and train the dogs. They have the reins and try to keep up with them. The fans go to the shows to see and admire the wonderful dogs in person. They cheer for their favorites, and the dogs respond to the cheers."
''The dog breeders and owners are like parents who have kids in soccer games, swim meets, ice skating, etc. Only the breeders are better behaved.''