ESPN is touting excellent ratings, about 2.3 million viewers last night.  That’s good for tennis, proving that the sport is strong enough to overcome Mary Carrillo’s idiocy and the constant babble of the McEnroe brothers. 

John basically says two things about players during matches — they need to come to net more, and they need to show more emotion. He should just shout, “Play like I used to play!”  I have a mental image of riding in the car with the two McEnroe brothers on the Long Island Expressway, both of them constantly critiquing how people are driving.  ESPN2 would be much better off with Cliff Drysdale, who once described his own style as trying to be like the ball boys and not interfere with the match.   Jim Courier and Jimmy Arias are also much more pleasant announcers.  (I’m still stunned about how badly the McEnroe’s mangled the facts about Bill Tilden’s record, and U.S. Open/Championships history in general. ) 

My biggest worry is that this ratings success could prompt a network to give John another shot at a talk show. Here’s a promo from his short-lived show if you forgot it or missed it.

But it could be worse.  Imagine if Mary Carillo got a show.  Check out her obnoxious rant about Badminton from the Olympics if you want to see what she would consider entertaining.

Are these the two best people America has to talk to us about tennis?

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