First Tennis Memory: “Watching the Davis Cup final in 1964 in my father’s apartment, Fred Stolle and Dennis Ralston playing their five set match. I got the bug a little for tennis then. Then the real turning point came in June 1965 when my father had moved to London. One day he said, ‘We’re going to Wimbledon.’ I watched Rafael Osuna play Ingo Buding of Germany on a cloudy day. I felt like I was immersed in that match. After that match, every day in the newspaper the first thing I looked for was the tennis agate results. From that point forward I’d go to Wimbledon and the U.S. Open each year. That day with Osuna drew me in completely. Osuna was a beautiful player, very elegant, so smooth and stylish, he made it look easier. He was the right guy to see at the time.”

Last Book Read: “Was the biography of Howard Cosell. A very compelling story.”

Favorite Movies: “I just saw the Clooney film The Descendents, which was excellent. The Apartment with Jack Lemmon. Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner. I’m leaving out a few.”

First Job: “My first job was with my father who was running a business in London. I did a lot of errands, delivering packages all over London. It was a great way to learn your way around London, taking all the subways. I was 17 or 18.”

Favorite Meal: “Either an excellent hamburger or steak. I’d say steak with baked potato with spinach. I never lost my taste for steak though I don’t eat it as much now.”

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “Coffee. And I don’t drink coffee by the way.”

Greatest Career Moment: “It’s so hard to narrow it down. I would single out…I’d say the two Wimbledon finals of Borg and McEnroe in 1980. And Federer-Nadal in 2008. I was lucky enough to have been there to experience those. Then, I’d have to say, for a lot of reasons, the Sampras win over Agassi for his last major. Knowing what he’d been through and endured the last two years of his career. I thought that was an exhilarating moment to see him do that. So it’s a three-way tie.”

Most Painful Moment: “I think it was the 1984 U.S. Open final when Chris Evert lost to Martina Navratilova for the 13th time in a row. It looked like she was going to win, she won the first set but lost in three. I’d known her for a long time. I thought that was going to be one of her golden moments. She played some great tennis, the crowds were behind her that day. I found that painful.”

Favorite Tournament: “Is Wimbledon. Maybe because it’s the first major I’d went to. The eyes of the world are watching that tournament, even the casual sports fan.”

Funniest Player(s) Encountered: “Nastase was. He could drift from humor to anger very swiftly. He was a multi-faceted character. He was a natural comedian at times, when he was not losing his temper. Obviously, there were a lot of scenes that were not funny. He’d lose emotional control and get nasty. But there were times he was very, very amusing.”

Toughest Competitors: “I think Nadal, to me, is a standout. Without his ferocity, he’d have won maybe four or five Grand Slam tournaments, not ten. He’s shown more resilience to me than anyone else. Pancho Gonzales would lose his temper and play twice as well. He was an incredible competitor. He would impose his will on a match. It was very hard for even players like Rod Laver to play Gonzales – they knew how fearless he was. Sampras learned to dig very deep. The best example was the Corretja match at the U.S. Open. He was in just terrible shape, sick, dehydrated, yet he found a way to win. I don’t think he was given enough credit for his competitiveness, because Pete was more low key compared to Nadal and Gonzales. Chris Evert had the ability to draw on mental fortitude to win matches. She was going to be there until the very end. And she would never lose her cool. Another very tough competitor I thought was Monica Seles. There was an intensity and a fierceness to her that was intimidating to all her rivals, including Graf, at times.”

Favorite Players To Watch: “Rod Laver would be one. I was lucky enough to watch him when I was very young, in 1969, when he won the Grand Slam. Laver was so dazzling, such a shotmaker, so complete. I liked watching Arthur Ashe, he was electrifying, so adventurous, sometimes to his own detriment, especially in his younger days. In his latter days he was much more or a strategist than a flashy shotmaker. His most brilliant strategic performance was winning Wimbedon in 1975 against Connors. I liked watching Sampras, he had the most beautiful serve I’ve ever seen. Who am I leaving out? There’s just so many. I like watching Nadal and Federer, for different reasons. The grace and elegance of Federer. I loved watching Maria Bueno. She was like a ballerina on the court. Goolagong as well. I like watching Serena Williams, when she’s in the best of shape and is competing at her best and fully into it. I like the spunk and spirit she brings to it. The list could be endless.”

Funny Tennis Memory: “I think it was – in 1976 Nastase been disqualified in Palm Springs for bad behavior by Charlie Hare, a great, dignified British chair umpire. Then later in the year Hare was back refereeing a U.S. Open match with Nastase and Hans Pohmann. Again, the worst side of Nastase came out, he spit at photographers, almost got into a fist fight with Pohmann. I wondered why Charlie Hare didn’t disqualify Nastase again, like he had earlier in the year. After the match I went to see Charlie in the office and asked him about it. And he replied, in his British accent, ‘You must understand that what we saw out there today was great human drama. For me to interrupt that would have been the wrong thing to do.’ I had trouble containing my laughter, that was one of my more amusing moments.”

Favorite Sport Outside Tennis: “Baseball. I enjoy a lot of games over the summer. (Mets or Yankees?) Yankees.”

Favorite Tennis Books: “Handful of Summers by Gordon Forbes was a beauty. I loved the Fireside Book Of Tennis. It culled all the great articles from newspapers by Allison Danzig, the British writers, Bud Collins, it covers the spectrum, from the 1920′s to the 70′s. That was a treasure. I still love to go back to it. Joel Drucker’s Jimmy Connors Saved My Life was a great book. And I thought Steve Tignor’s book High Strung (Bjorn Borg-John McEnroe and the Untold Story of Tennis’s Fiercest Rivalry) was beautifully done and the best written tennis book I have ever read. I thought it was excellent.”

People Qualities Most Admired: “Dignity. Composure. Earnestness. True to yourself, no pretenses. Decency. Integrity. Humor. Compassion.”

Education: Stetson University

Career Accomplishments: Inducted into the Eastern Tennis Hall of Fame in 2010; Former Editor World Tennis Magazine; Contributing Editor Tennis Week magazine; Author of “The Greatest Tennis Matches Of The Twentieth Century” and “The Greatest Tennis Matches Of All Time” which will be published in June 2012.

Hobbies/Interests: “I’m normally pressed for time – I’m the single father of a seven-year-old girl – I’m normally looking after her. If I’m not looking after her, I’m normally riding motorcycles. That’s my favorite thing to do.”

Favorite Movies: “Apocalypse Now – I was in the British Army when it came out. It became like a cult movie for us. Angel Heart is a cracker, with Mickey Rourke. Taxi Driver. 9 1/2 Weeks.”

Musical Tastes: “A little bit of old-fashioned. I like a lot of British ’70s and ’80s stuff – The Jam, Puella, Joni Mitchell, contemporary, Norah Jones. I listen to the Rolling Stones, David Bowie a bit, 10,000 Maniacs.”

Career Journey: “I was an officer in the British Army. We did a tour with the United Nations in Cypress. I did media operations between the U.N., Cypress and the press. When I came out of the army, my journalistic experience that I got in the army, I ended up becoming the editor of a defense magazine in the U.K. I left that then worked in Bosnia during the war in ‘92. I was in Sarajevo for a while, Split. After that, I had a studio in London which was quite successful. Then I made the huge mistake of coming to New York City. And I found that, as a foreign person, it’s almost impossible to get a job over here. And I ended up in the wild and wacky world of paparazzi, simply because I couldn’t get a job in anything else.”

Greatest Career Moment: “The greatest moment of my photography career was getting a front page shot from Sarajevo (‘92) of an old lady gathering from the ruins of some bombed homes. It was on the front page of The Independent which is renowned for its quality of photography. (What did it pay?) About $200, whereas I can make thousands and thousand and thousands of dollars from paparazzi pictures. Thousands.”

Most Painful Moment: “I have to think about it. Because nothing is springing to mind immediately. Most frustrating moment – I can tell you that. And that happens kind of regularly. And that’s the shocking abuse that I get from hotel security, private security, bodyguards, publicists, and not so much cops. The unpleasantness I receive from security and bodyguards who break the law as a matter of course. They grab me, push my camera in my face, push it down, hold my arms down, it happens to me all the time. And I find it very annoying, very frustrating. And I try to tell cops about it and nobody cares.”

Which Celebs are the hardest to deal with?: “I’ve had a number of little run-ins with Gwyneth Paltrow. And to be fair to her, it just genuinely upsets her – being photographed by paparazzi. And she’s been very, very difficult about it. Having said that, she’s calmed down a little bit now and she’s not too bad. Rappers – I avoid them. Because their security is out of control. They’re dangerous people. They threaten to kill you. For what? Taking a picture? Forget about it. It’s not worth it. Sara Jessica Parker – she went through a phase of being very unpleasant. She’s calmed down. This goes in phases with paparazzi. Like someone will become really really super popular and you have to get them. And so the pressure’s on and everybody gets aggressive and nasty. So there’s always this phase of unpleasantness when there’s a big story.”

Which Celebs are the nicest to deal with?: Jennifer Lopez is nice. She smiles and poses up, she doesn’t mind. Madonna is so used to it she finds it…she doesn’t find it anything. She ignores us. She does her thing, she doesn’t smile, doesn’t say hi, she’s not unpleasant, she doesn’t hide her face. She just goes about her business. So she’s nice to deal with. Robin Williams is a very nice man. Jim Carrey can be nice sometimes. Sometimes he’s a little funny.”

Favorite Meal: “Indian food.”

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “Chocolate.”

Funny Career Memory: “The funniest thing that ever happened to me was being assaulted and attacked by Leonardo DiCaprio’s mother, who set about me with her handbag. A big one. Over and over again. And he was standing in the background going, Leave him alone mom! Leave him alone! (Where and when?) That was last summer, down on 15th Street, outside Milk Photography studio.”

People Qualities Most Admired: “Honesty. Certain level or morality. Politeness. English things – you don’t get that much in New York [smiles].”

Embarrassing Moment: “A lens fell off a camera once. That’s pretty embarrassing. In front of all the other photographers. Just dropped straight off, onto the floor. It was a big lens. (Where?) It was a pop video – Christina Aguilera was shooting down by the Brooklyn Bridge. My most embarrassing moment was I had a fantastic opportunity to shoot the Olsen twins, when they just arrived in New York City. I was in the best position. They came out of the restaurant. I shot my pictures and I looked at them, the camera was just completely out of focus. I had like five or six shots that would have sold for at least $10,000. I mean, at least. They were just so soft they were unusable. And that was right after a culmination of five, six hours of chasing and following them and standing outside restaurants and stuff. And it was a two-second photo opening and it just failed to focus. I should have pre-focused it. And I ended up getting these soft shots. Useless. Blew $10,000.”

Most Valuable Shot: “Personally, the biggest seller for me is Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake. It got a set of them right here, right where we’re standing. Heidi Klum – a good set after she had her baby. I have a partner – he shot Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin coming out of a sex shop. That made about $100,000 – enormous amount of money.”

Who are your clients: “We sell all over the world – People, Us, In Touch, Star, all the tabloids, sometimes the newspapers, but not that often. In U.K. we have an agent and sell to all the big London-based gossip paparazzi style magazines, Hello being one. They’re huge. They pay more money. Sell in Australia, Germany, Sweden, we have an agent in France. We have an agent who specializes in South and Central America. Stuff goes all over the world.”

Who’s Hot right now: “Nicole Kidman always. Tom Cruise always. Johnny Depp always. Sara Jessica Parker is always good. Liv Tyler because she’s pregnant right now is a nice little shot. Gwyneth Paltrow always. Especially if she’s with Chris Martin. The ideal scenario is to get a set of these people doing something. Especially if they don’t know that you’re there – like a set of them shopping, or filling their cars with gas. Kissing on a balcony. Oh, the biggest shot in the world right now is Julia Roberts and her two babies. If you get a good shot with all their faces, you would comfortably realize I would say $100,000 for it. If you can get it. You can’t get it. No one can get it. But if you could – $100,000, maybe more, 150.”

Who is the best in the paparazzi business now: “I don’t know, there’s a lot who do it. There’s a couple hundred out in LA. There’s about 20 or 30 in New York City. We all have our successes. We all achieve a certain amount of success financially and actual published images. The best? I don’t know. I don’t think there is one.”

This interview was conducted on 60th Street Central Park South in NYC in 2005.

DOB: April 15, 1955 In: New Jersey

Residence: Closter, NJ

Inspirations: Seeing Winslow Homers’ “Gulf Stream” at the Met in NYC.

Last Book Read: Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”

Favorite Movies: Dr. Zhivago, Bridge on the River Kwai, Deer Hunter, Tale of Two Cities.

First Job: Caddy at a Country Club.

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: Chip Mint ice cream

Greatest Career Moment: Hasn’t occurred yet. it’s coming.

Most Painful Career Moment: Being rejected from an art organization

Pre-Work Feeling/Mindset: Everyday is exciting and could bring great things.

Funny Memory Of Painting: A horse came up behind me and looked as if it was about to EAT the paint

Favorite Quotation: “The sun never rises or sets without my thanks and praise.” – Homer

Favorite Artists: Antonio Mancini, Sorolla, and too many more to list here…

People Qualities Most Admired: Integrity, courage and conviction.

College: Rutgers University, BS Economics.

Early Career Memory: “I’m a sports reporter so it’s always nice and fun to be working and watching sports and also be a part of my job. To me, it’s been exciting to be able to see live, firsthand, which I love, sports. And I think the best memory is that, to be there, watching things that I used to watch on TV, now I’m watching them live and it’s great.”

Last Book Read: “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.”

Favorite Movie: “I like Pretty Woman [laughs].”

First Job: “I worked at a medical office, In California.”

Current Car: “I have an Xterra Nissan (black).”

Favorite Meal: “Mexican food, I think enchiladas and pozole.”

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “I love them all, vanilla, strawberry, chocolate.”

Childhood Dream: “I always said that I want to be a stewardess because I want to travel around the world.”

Greatest Career Moment: “Probably being at the World Series games and the Super Bowl when the Giants beat the New England Patriots. Being there live was like, Wow, you’re here. It’s something that’s not going to happen too often.”

Most Painful Career Moment: “I think it was an issue with my boss. When I did a story and he said we were late, he was trying to be upset with me, saying that story is not going to air. For me, it was very frustrating because, You’re not just hurting me, you’re hurting the news show. One of those sad moments I ended up crying. (What was the story about?) Opening day, baseball.”

Funny Career Memory: “Probably walking on the field, on a baseball field. And all the sudden my shoe got stuck and I couldn’t do a step over. So I’m just gonna wait for the players to come this way [laughs]. I can’t walk over. (Where?) Yankee Stadium.”

Favorite Sports To Cover: “Being Mexican I love soccer. I think the top three are soccer, baseball and boxing.”

Favorite Interview Subjects: “You know what? I think it’s always nice to interview people like Mariano Rivera, like people that you could learn from. Like they are just so nice on the field and also off the field. Like great people. It’s so nice to interview people who are so down to earth.”

Favorite Sports TV Reporters: “You know, I watch them all. I watch them all. I think it’s amazing how so many people have been in this business for such a long time. They have like a library of memories. And I always like to watch and try to learn something.”

People Qualities Most Admired: “Honesty. And when they’re fun. They make you laugh.”

Ht: 6-2 Wt: 215

DOB: March 19, 1973 In: New York City

Early Handball Memory: “Was playing in Thompson Square Park with kids at junior high school. I remember just hitting the ball around and having fun playing with the girls (age 14).”

Handball Heroes/Inspirations: “Mostly all the top players when I watched them play – they inspired me to want to be a top player – Angel Marquez, Buddy Gant, Joe Durso, legends in the game, Albert Appuzzi, Al Torres.”

Nicknames: “I have two – Rookie – which is ironic because I was Rookie of the Year. And my second is The Machine. Because I’m very consistent, I don’t miss and I’m great under pressure. It’s almost like playing against a machine, someone was saying when they were playing against me.”

Last Book Read: “Was Donald Trump, Rich Man Poor Man.”

Favorite Movies: “Terminator, sci-fi movies, anything to do with sci-fi, I love it.”

First Job: “On the books legitimately, was Off Track Betting. I worked for the city for ten years.”

First Car: “Was a Grand Am.”

Current Car: “I’m not currently driving.”

Favorite Meal: “Spaghetti and meatballs.”

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “Would be chocolate.”

Pre-Match Feeling: “It’s like a nervousness, an edge on you. I’m thinking and focusing on beating my competition.”

Greatest Career Moment: “Becoming the #1 player in the game. That happened in Queens, Peak Pyramid when I won the singles against the top eight players. It was going back 20 years.”

Most Painful Moment: “Would be injury, a loss due to injury. Torn meniscus in the beginning of the year in Arizona. Arizona singles tournament $4,000 WPHA. But you get over those when you have so much years in the game, when you’ve done so much. So it’s all relative.”

Favorite Tournament: “Is King of the Courts, it’s a singles tournament where all the top players get together and finally have to play against each other. So there’s no running or hiding. It’s all in, all out. One man standing. That’s held in Liberty Park in Queens.”

Toughest Competitors Encountered: “I can’t narrow it down to the toughest competitor. Because any given day, any competitor can be the toughest competitor. You never know when one is gonna come out with the animality and just destroy you [laughs].”

Funniest Player Encountered: “Joe Durso. He’s pretty much a character. He’s the Howard Stern of the game.”

Funny Handball Memory: “Oh I have many funny memories. These guys were arguing about losing against me. And they were like, ‘It’s your fault, it’s my fault.’ And I calmed them down by saying, ‘It’s not your fault, it’s my fault. I caused this by punishing you guys [smiles].’”

Strangest Match: “I played a guy one hand with a chair in my hand. My weak hand, off hand, with a chair in my hand. And I beat him. It was a wagering match but it was more about the hype of the game. It was a great game. I barely pulled it out. It turned out that the chair was much heavier after the fifth point. It felt like a 50-pound dumbbell. We were trying to handicap to make the game as even as possible. And it actually was an even game which made it a great game. Because it could have went either way.”

Which Match(es) Were You At Your Best: “There were so many times where I played tight ship. I was winning King of the Courts where I was zipping players, meaning I was taking top players – supposedly on my level – and leaving them on zero.”

Favorite Sport Outside Handball: “Would be probably tennis.”

Favorite Tennis Players To Watch: “I like John McEnroe. I liked Venus Williams. All the top players in the game. They’re very intense, very aggressive, they’re complete professionals. I like the whole professionalism of tennis.”

Ever Been To U.S. Open: “I was there a couple of times. I was actually training in tennis. But my coach couldn’t continue to teach me. I was actually coming along pretty well. I’m pretty decent. If I would have started tennis as opposed to handball, you’d be interviewing me in the Tennis Open as the #1 player [smiles].”

Why Do You Love Playing Handball: “Well, handball is great exercise. It’s fun. And I’ve excelled at it. And it’s just you and the wall and hand-eye coordination. When you have complete control of your body and obstacles – when you can achieve that in any fashion, it’s a great feeling.”

Childhood Dream: “I actually didn’t have any aspirations to be a star or anything. I basically just wanted to be set. Like, well off. I’m kind of a roamer. Free-willed person.”

People Qualities Most Admired: “Basically I want to see high integrity and high morals. It just brings out the best in people. Positive brings greatness.”

Residence: “Harlem now. I grew up in the Lower East Side, Alphabet City.”

Current Occupation: “I’m a car salesman and handyman. I sell used cars at High Line Motors in Queens 134th and Liberty.”

Career Accomplishments: Winner of 2008 USHA National Big Ball Championship; Two-time USHA Big Blue National Champion; Two-time Sky Bounce Champion; Four-time King of the Court Champion; 2001 Semifinalist and Doubles Champion at USHA Nationals; Winner of 2001 ICHA Mayor’s Cup in singles.

Age: 33

Birthplace: New York

First Art Memory: “Probably in my room drawing. I used to copy comic books and I’d pull athletes out of magazines, Michael Jordan, and I stuck with that subject matter, interesting enough.”

Inspirations: “Athletes, music, art. It ranges.”

Last Book Read: “Well, I like Dan Brown. I was reading a lot of his books. I didn’t finish the last book. Then I started Pillars of the Earth. I got about 15 pages in and I haven’t had time to read. So I guess that’s a good thing, but…”

Favorite Movies: “Shawshank Redemption. I have a million but that’s probably top of the list.”

First Job: “I worked at a deli for a few months. Woodrow Deli in Hewlett.”

First Car: “Was a Honda.”

Current Car: “Is a Honda (black).”

Pre-Work Feeling/Mindset: “(Think about) When’s my deadline and how the hell am I gonna get it done?! And, I’m cursed with being a perfectionist.”

Hobbies/Leisure Activities: “I love playing sports. I love being outside. So any chance I get that’s what I’m doing. Soccer, basketball, baseball.”

Greatest Career Moment: “Oh. I’ve had a lot. I did Michael Jordan’s (Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame) induction ceremony (in 2009), some art work for that. That was a pretty good highlight.”

Most Painful Moment: “No comment [smiles].”

Favorite Subjects: “Wow, that’s interesting. I like painting people.”

Funny Career Memory: “I’m sure I have but I can’t think of any!”

Favorite Artists: “I have many. Normal Rockwell. Drew Struzan. J. C. Leyendecker. Chuck Close.”

Embarrassing Career Memory: “Wow. Put me on the spot here [smiles]. I’m sure I do, I just can’t think of any. Maybe if you find me later I can come up with something [laughs].”

Musical Tastes: “All different types, rock, alternative, Dave Matthews Band, Ryan Adams, Zach Brown Band.”

Childhood Dream: “Professional athlete. I still do actually want to be one. There’s still hope, I’m only 33!”

Favorite Athletes To Watch: “I’m a huge basketball fan. I’m really in awe of some of the things Kobe Bryant does. But then there’s players like Dwyane Wade, LeBron James – they’re pretty incredible. I was growing up a huge, huge Andre Agassi fan. I got to see him play an exhibition in New City, N.Y. That was really cool. We were close to the court and we could hear them chat on the court. I really admire him. (Baseball?) Growing up I was a big Mets fan, ‘86 Mets, Daryl Strawberry. (Boxing?) I watched part of the Floyd Mayweather boxing match (vs. Victor Ortiz) which was pretty interesting and bizarre. I love Mike Tyson – PRE-ear-biting [smiles]. (NFL?) I always watch the Giants and the Super Bowl – the commercials.”

People Qualities Most Admired: “Good-natured.”

Career Accomplishments: Official artist for Elvis Presley Enterprises; Attended Syracuse University School of Visual and Performing Arts (BA in Fine Art); Clients range from NBA, Michael Jordan, Dwyane Wade, Ray Lewis, Justin Tuck, Sacramento Kings, jay-Z’s 40/40 Club; Michael Vick, The Topps Company, Allan Iverson, John Salley, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, among others. You can see more of his work at www.AdamPort.com

DOB: August 22, 1963 In: Fort Walton Beach, Florida

Hobbies/Interests: “Play golf, time with family.”

Favorite Movie: “Top Gun.”

Musical Tastes: “I like all different kinds, R&B, all country, old Motown, Isaac Hayes.”

Favorite TV Show: “SportsCenter.”

Favorite Book: “The Bible.”

Early Career Memory: “I was a sophomore in college (1984). My suitemate was Reggie White. I worked as a manager for the Tennessee football team. The USFL paid my way to go to the Hula Bowl, to keep an eye on Reggie White because they were interested in signing him. At the end of that week, he signed with the Memphis Showboats of the USFL and said I was his agent. I was 20-years-old. It was (a contract for) over a million dollars…a five-year contract for $5.5 million. At the time, the highest-paid defensive player in the NFL was $400,000. So it was huge. It was what they offered.”

Favorite Meal: “Cheeseburger, fries [smiles].”

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “Chocolate.”

Funny Career Memory: “The funniest…I really can’t talk about some of the crazy stories players deal with in their every day lives. (Pause) I had a player one time who was getting married, who was worth a decent amount of money. We discussed a pre-nuptial agreement. He told me we had no need for this, he and his future wife were in love. Then, after a week after his honeymoon, he got into a huge fight with her. Three o’clock in the morning my phone rang. He told me as soon as I get in the office in the morning, to draw up that pre-nuptial agreement. By then it was too late [smiles].”

Childhood Dream: “I probably wanted to be a trial lawyer (prosecutor), as a kid.”

Greatest Career Moment: “Probably when the players you’re close to, that you represent for a long time…finally win a championship. Like when Scottie Pippen won a championship with Chicago (‘91). Reggie White and Green Bay down in New Orleans (‘97). Another big moment was when Reggie White went to Green Bay (‘93).”

Most Painful Moment: “Probably last year. It might sound crazy…Jason Witten, a kid we got out of Tennessee, he came out early as a junior. He was supposed to be a first or second rounder last year. He went in the third round. And it magnifies. You don’t want a player who comes out early to fall.”

Favorite Vacation Spot: “Destin, Florida.

People Qualities Most Admired: “Honesty, integrity and most of all, loyalty.”

Family: Wife, Kris; sons, James, Parker, Blake.

Ht: 5-5

DOB: November 17, 1988 In: California

First Memory Of Tennis: “Oooh. Probably getting really angry after missing a shot (age 6).

Tennis Inspirations: “All the small players that have done well, Justine Henin.”

Last Book Read: “Outliers.”

Favorite Movie: “Shawshank Redemption.”

Pre-Match Feeling: “Definitely listen to music. And focusing on getting my feet going, and a good start.”

First Job: “Tennis.”

First Car: “An old Mercedes (black).”

Current Car: “A black Lexus.”

Favorite Meal: “Lobster.”

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “Chocolate chip cookie dough.”

Greatest Career Moment (so far): “Winning NCAAs with the team at Stanford.”

Most Painful Moment: “Losing the final of NCAAs with Stanford (vs. Florida).”

Funniest Player Encountered: “Irini Falconi is pretty funny.”

Toughest Competitor Encountered: “Hmmm…I don’t know, that’s tough…Never played Serena but I’d say Serena. She looks scary [smiles].”

Favorite Sport Outside Tennis: “Basketball.”

Embarrassing Tennis Memory: “Probably whiffing a ball in front of a crowd. That’s pretty common [smiles].”

Funny Match Memory: “I like to laugh a lot on the court. Maybe after a bad shot that I hit. I remember a skateboard dropping down on the side of the court, from one of the fans, a kid who was playing with it. Dropped down the stairs. Made a huge thud.”

Favorite Players To Watch: “Obviously, Fed, Nadal. I like watching Stosur play. And Serena.”

People Qualities Most Admired: “Definitely caring. Genuine. Funny. Intellectual – good conversation.”

www.tennis-prose.com

Scoop’s tennis book “Marcelo Rios: The Man We Barely Knew” will be published later this month and available at www.Amazon.com

DOB: September 29, 1960  In: Montorps, Sweden

First Racing Memory:  ”Gosh, I was born in harness racing, so it’s very difficult to say. So I can’t really answer that, it’s my life from the beginning.”

Inspiration:  ”What inspires me? I love to work with young horses. I love to develop horses into big races. And I love to be in the excitement, to be in the big races. That’s what turns me on in this game.”

Favorite Movie:  ”I gotta say Forrest Gump.”

Last Book Read:  ”Gosh. Don’t have much time. I’m the kind of guy that reads more about something I can learn from, regarding conditioning or horses and things like that. Nutrition. I more try to stay in the field I am working in. Sometimes I read a book but I don’t have time.”

First Job:  ”I worked with my father (Bo).”

Current Car:  ”Mercedes 300 whatever (grayish).”

Favorite Meal:  ”Fish. Sushi. Sashimi.”

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor:  ”Vanilla.”

Greatest Career Moment:  ”I don’t know, that’s quite a bit. I think Prix d’Amerique in France. It’s such a tough race to win. Take a horse from U.S. over to France and win that. That just happened once and I loved that. That was special (1999 with Moni Maker).”

Most Painful Moment:  ”Gosh. I try to take them away [smiles]. I’m sure there’s been quite a few. Well, I gotta say one of the most painful was when Tom Ridge was in Hambletonian and as the favorite, and he choked himself behind the gate. That was heartbreaking (2004).”

Favorite Racetrack:  ”Meadowlands.”

Funny Career Memory:  ”Ron Pierce in the stretch with Passionate Glide in the race of Kentucky Futurity, when he took up the hands and waved the guy when he passed by. That was unbelievable. We won that race. He waved. You gotta see that on You Tube.”

Embarrassing Career Memory:  ”I gotta say when we have the positive testing at Pocono Downs. It was a major error from our veterinarian. Something that should occasionally be up in two days and somehow show up four-and-a-half months later. That was very embarrassing for me.”

Strangest Race:  ”When I drove myself in Canadian Classic. My horse was – he popped a curb and he was absolutely horrible. I’m thinking in the last turn, I mean, he can’t even drop out. I even let the guy out just to not be in the way for him. And my horse took off in the straightaway  and I end up winning [smiles]. That was the strangest. I never could picture myself winning that race.”

Hobbies/Interests:  ”I love skiing. And yoga.”

Nickname:  ”Chestnut in Sweden.”

Favorite Sport Outside Harness Racing:  ”I like American football. (Team?) Eagles.”

Most Emotional Victory:  ”I think…I don’t know, it’s quite a few. I’ve been spoiled the last two years. All the moments when I won some big races myself, in Sweden was very touching when my parents were around.”

Favorite Horse:  ”Right now – See You At Peelers. Like all the great ones, she’s got tremendous heart and desire and just won’t let another horse finish in front of her.”

People Qualities Most Admired:  ”Honesty. Forgivers. And listeners.”

(Photo: Jimmy in navy blue shirt with Pastor Stephen, wife Christina and driver  Ron Pierce moments before the sixth race Hambletonian elimination on July 30 at the Meadowlands.)

DOB: December 16, 1950  In: St. Augustin, PQ

First Racing Memory:  ”Started to drive when I was 12 years old. In the fair track, no pari-mutual. In north of Canada, a small place called Lantier.”

Harness Racing Inspirations:  ”My brother (Gilles). I have  a brother that’s in the Hall of Fame in Canada. I think we are the only two brothers in the Hall of Fame, living brother. So I follow him. The driver I follow when I got in my 20’s was a guy by the name of Keith Waples. One of the best ever in harness racing. So that was my idol.”

Nickname:  ”Everybody calls me Iron Mike [smiles].”

Favorite Movies:  ”It’s Godfather, by far.”

Last Book Read:  ”Biography of Guy Lafleur, the hockey player.”

Favorite Meal:  ”Swordfish.”

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor:  ”Just plain, plain vanilla.”

Current Car:  ”Chrysler 300 (gray). All my life I had either a Cadillac or a Lincoln. And about five years ago I bought a Chrysler and I love it so much I bought another one so I’ve got two Chryslers. And I’m really happy with them.”

Greatest Career Moment:  ”The greatest moment of my career…I have a lot of great moments. But I would say winning the Prix d’Ete in Montreal in front of my parents and my family. And I first did it in 1988. (Horse?) Matts Scooter.”

Most Painful Moment:  ”When I got suspended in 1987 in New York, I was suspended. I didn’t drive for five months.”

Funny Career Memory:  ”The funniest thing that happened to me in harness racing was right here at the Meadowlands. A guy came by the fence and he told me, he says, ‘Lachance, you are the worst driver I’ve seen in my life!’ I said, ‘I know but they’ve been paying me four-five hundred thousand a year to do that.’  Said, ‘What do you want me to do?’ The guy, he never forgot about that. Three years after he was still coming and telling me about that [smiles].”

Embarrassing Career Memory:  ”Not really.”

Strangest Race:  ”When I won North American Cup, for a million dollar race. And I was sitting last at the top of the stretch. I got a horse at the last minute to drive. And I came all the way on the outside. And I was hoping that I got a check – and I won the race – for a million dollars [smiles]. (Remember the horse?) I even forget the name of the horse. He was trained by Bill Robinson.”

Most Emotional Victory:  ”Winning the Hambo here with Self Possessed.”

Favorite Horse:  ”Was a horse called Docs Fella. (Why?) Because he was little and he had a heart as big as he was. And he was so good to me. At the time of my life that I came. He wasn’t the most powerful horse, by far, that I’ve driven but that’s the horse that I admire most.”

Pre-Race Feeling:  ”I’m not the kind of guy that spends a lot of time reading the program. Especially in the big race because I usually know every horse. And I make up my mind behind the gate most of the time.”

Favorite Racetrack:  ”I would say, right now, it’s Meadowlands.”

Favorite Sport Outside Harness Racing:  ”I prefer hockey.”

People Qualities Most Admired:  ”I hate people that are hypocrite, two-faced. That talk behind your back. I can’t stand that.”

Career Accomplishments: His horses have earned over $176 million – only John Campbell has earned more ($253 million); Won Hambletonian four times; Amassed 770 race victories in 1986 – 133 more than the Herve Filion old standard; Won The Little Brown Jug five times and North American Cup three times; Also won Prix d’Ete, Confederation Cup, Yonkers Cup, Cane Pace, Woodrow Wilson, Mistletoe Shalee, The Adios and Meadowlands Pace; Inducted to Hall of Fame in 1993.