"You Cannot Be Serious" Two: John McEnroe Up to Old Antics Once Again

Today, while watching the mother ship that is Sportscenter, there was the “Not Top 10” plays of the weekend segment, and one in particular tickled my fancy.

John McEnroe, the king of outbursts in the gentlemanly game of tennis, is up to his old antics once again.

McEnroe, at the ripe age of 50, apparently plays in the Word TeamTennis league, something I personally had never heard of, until now.

During McEnroe’s doubles match Friday night, his teammate, Robert Kendrick, was hit accidentally by the opponent, Leander Paes.

What ensued was classic McEnroe.

McEnroe and Kendrick went across the net to confront Paes, as the spry 50-year old got into Paes’ face.

McEnroe reportedly yelled out, “C’mon Leander, that’s bulls**t!” and went up to challenge Paes’ teammate Oudesma saying, “You gonna bark all day, little doggie, or are you gonna bite?”

Can you imagine McEnroe actually throwing a punch at one of these guys, especially the much bigger and younger Oudesma? That would be something to see. Maybe McEnroe should follow suit of Tonya Harding and jump into the celebrity boxing ring.

This was not the only exchange of bad blood between the teams though, as the next time Kendrick was up to serve, he blatantly hit a ball with all his might directly at Paes, nailing him in the thigh.

A few more minutes of heated exchanges went by, as McEnroe reportedly called the DC Kastles’ coach a “bitch.” You can see the whole scene take place here, although the quality is somewhat poor, it's worth watching.

McEnroe continues to bring rude and crude behavior to tennis, something I wish he would bring more to his coverage on NBC. At least then it would be watchable, and more entertaining than the usual “golf-like commentating” during matches.

Overall, McEnroe is the anti-tennis player, manners-wise, but gets the casual fan like myself to pay attention to tennis. But, as much as any tennis purist wants to deny it, McEnroe is actually good for the game for the increased popularity he brings.

What shouldn’t be lost here though is the exposure the WTT is getting, and the popularity that could come from these antics. Think about this as a MasterCard ad, “Two tickets to a WTT Event, $60...Two hotdogs and drinks, $40...Seeing John McEnroe explode in a fiery rage…Priceless.”

Or, if McEnroe can commit to playing angry like this all the time, at least showing some WTT matches on TV. I for one would tune in, just for the chance of seeing McEnroe blow up one more time.

Because, let’s face it, when McEnroe is done, there will be a huge void left of biggest jerk on the court.

So, let’s take it all in, enjoy McEnroe for who and what he is, and hope one day he gets what he deserves—some opposing player, or even better, an umpire punching him in his loud mouth.