now hear this. Nasty wants Agassi to give up his titles:
Nastase: Agassi, give up all your titles
David Hill
Romanian tennis legend Ilie Nastase is asking US tennis star Andre Agassi to give up all his titles as he has cheated in tennis.
The move comes following Agassi's confessions in his autobiography "Open," which will be launched this week. It contains references to legendary Romanian tennis player Nastase, according to quotes from the book published by The Observer.
Agassi calls Nastase the "big, stupid Romanian", as the young Agassi had felt wounded by him.
Nastase said today (Mon) in an interview in Romanian daily Gandul: "He should be the one to regret a lot of things, not only that he doped. If he didn’t like tennis, why doesn’t he renounce at all his titles. Anyway, for me, it’s clear that Agassi cheated in tennis. I may have been crazy, but I was never stupid".
Agassi shocked the world by his confession in his autobiography as he admitted having used crystal meth in 1997 and lied to tennis authorities after failing a drug test.
He asked for compassion in a TV interview and said he had never played while high.
Agassi, one of the most-popular tennis players, won eight Grand Slam singles titles before retiring in 2006.
**it would seem that the world according to Drugassi Sheep Exploits International consists mostly of sheep. and accordingly, the sheep can be had pretty much at will. this is why his book is flying off the shelves all over the globe.
Drugassi Sheep Exploits International understands this well and will surely have another book out in a year or so. and it doesnt end there: there will be a movie based on his life and his carrer as well. Do not keep the sheep waiting Mr. Drugassi.
take a look at Drugassi`s world as it is known to him:
here is what some of the global tennis personalities are saying about Drugassi`s confessions. check it all out and discuss your own final thoughts on this.How tennis world reacted to Andre Agassi’s admission of taking crystal meth
Andre Agassi’s autobiography, ‘Open’, has been the talk of tennis since extracts were published in which he admitted to using crystal meth, with Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal, Boris Becker, Andy Roddick and many others having an opinion.
By Steve Wilson
Split opinion: Andre Agassi's admission that he took crystal meth and then lied about it to the ATP has seen a mixed reaction from peers in the sport.
Rafa Nadal:
“If the ATP covered for Agassi then I think that’s dreadful. If they covered for the player and punished others for doing the same kind of thing then that would seem to me to be a lack of respect for all sportsmen.”
“It was a shock when I heard the news. I am disappointed and I hope there are no more such cases in future.”
Darren Cahill (Agassi’s last professional coach):
“[Agassi is] extremely proud of the book and I’m proud of him for giving such an honest and revealing look at his life”.
Boris Becker:
“I’m the last person to throw stones, as there have been some difficult times in my own life, but to hear that he took crystal meth, that certainly puts a whole new light on Andre and it’s not a beautiful light.
“I’m struggling to get my head around why Andre would want to confess to something so damaging as taking drugs and then getting away with it? Why would he want to be so brutally honest?
“I’m really surprised that he would want to discuss such a private part of his life, to talk about such a bad period in his life. I’m sure this will help to sell his book. He doesn’t need the money, though. He’s a rich man.”
Andy Roddick:
“Andre is and always will be my idol. I will judge him on how he has treated me and how he has changed the world for the better.
“If anything we (the top players) are subjected to way more testing and attention. That’s just a fact. And, to be fair, when Andre wrote the reported letter (which deceived the authorities), he was well outside the top 100 and widely viewed as on the way out.”
Venus Williams:
“I’m sure his book will sell. But I can’t say anything about Andre Agassi’s life.”
Serena Williams:
“I don’t know what crystal meth is, that’s my reaction,” said the newly-crowned year-end world number one. I haven’t read anything about his book.”
Martina Navratilova:
“Shocking. Not as much shock that he did it as shock he lied about it and didn’t own up to it.
“Andre lied and got away with it. You can’t correct that now. Do you take away a title he wouldn’t have won if he had been suspended? He beat some people when he should have been suspended.”
Nick Bollettieri (Agassi’s former coach):
“I don’t condone what he did – I’ve made mistakes too, but I’ve done more good than bad.
“Let’s look at what Andre has done, he funds a school for 400 kids from the inner-city. I know underneath he’s a hell of guy.”
your final thoughts on all this. have at it. the floor is all yours. i still maintain that its all a very tactical financial ploy. read this other article below:
Agassi's drug revelations smack of financial ployAssociated Press
add this RSS email print
Updated: October 29, 2009, 6:23 PM EDT 8 comments
PARIS (AP) - Imagined conversation between literary agent and retired tennis megastar with a dirty secret: "You want to get richer with me?"
Agassi shocker Andre Agassi's new book is full of stunning revelations about his life and has caused an uproar in the sporting world. Check out the latest in this ongoing story:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Excerpt: I was jealous of 'Friends' star
Agassi book excerpts reveal shockers
AP: Admission looks like a ploy
Navratilova: He lied and got away with it
Publisher holds back Agassi e-book
"How?"
"With ker-plunk."
"What the hell's ker-plunk?"
"A tell-all autobiography."
"Why do they call it ker-plunk?"
"Because that's the sound the dollars make as they drop into our bank accounts."
Should we be surprised that Andre Agassi now tells us, 12 years after the fact, that he snorted crystal meth when his life and tennis were at a low? Absolutely not. You could fill a rehab center with all the top athletes who succumbed over the years to cocaine, weed, alcohol, binge-eating and the rest.
But we are entitled to feel manipulated by the manner in which Agassi's sordid confessions are being dished out, in tantalizing — even addictive? — little doses that will likely have readers, mugs that they are, heading for stores, hungry for more.
Was that taster good? Now buy the whole dose.
In the same way that Agassi's assistant Slim cut and readied "a small pile of powder on the coffee table," choice morsels from "Open: An Autobiography" — on sale Nov. 9, folks! — have been sliced, diced and pushed on us.
"Andre Agassi reveals his drugs shame," "sensational confession," trumpeted this week in the Times of London, among four publications that paid for rights to print headline-grabbing excerpts.
"Slim is stressed," read the juiciest part of the Times' extract. "He says, 'You want to get high with me? On what? Gack. What the hell's gack? Crystal meth. Why do they call it gack? Because that's the sound you make when you're high ... Make you feel like Superman, dude."'
Get that, kids?
Agassi took crystal meth and still won five more Grand Slams, reclaimed the No.1 ranking, wed Steffi Graf and tugged heartstrings with his tearful 2006 adieu to pro tennis at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
So either counselors have been overdoing their warnings that crank, ice, call it what you will, is one of the most addictive and ruinous drugs out there. Or, more likely, it's simply easier to kick the habit when you're rich enough to hire personal trainers to beat you back into shape and not living in misery with no future beyond your next high.
In short, was Agassi's drug-taking really worth sharing because it offers a universal and valuable lesson about how mistakes can be corrected? Or, mindful of its potential impact on those who look up to him, should he have kept this to himself?
The Times' extracts don't really allow us to answer those questions. Guess we'll have to buy the book. Instead, the message that comes across loudest is that crystal meth seems pretty fabulous. Too bad it makes your teeth fall out.
"A tidal wave of euphoria that sweeps away every negative thought in my head. I've never felt so alive, so hopeful — and I've never felt such energy," Agassi says.
Andre Agassi at the 1997 U.S. Open. (Jon Levy / Getty Images)
Perhaps recalling this high was cathartic for Agassi, but lacing his account with a bit more soul-searching might have been more educational.
As IOC president Jacques Rogge noted, "If his admission would go together with the message to young athletes that it should not be repeated, then that would be useful."
Equally as disturbing is Agassi's revelation that he failed a drug test but escaped sanction by telling a dog-ate-my-homework lie to the ATP that he "drank accidentally" from a drink that Slim had spiked, "unwittingly ingesting his drugs."
Question for those who run tennis: how many other stars were let off the hook like this? If Agassi, by then a three-time Grand Slam winner, hadn't been such a crowd-pleaser, would he have been punished?
The year Agassi snorted was also the first to see a tennis player suspended for drug use. But who had ever heard of Ignacio Truyol of Spain, ranked No. 127 and convicted for a steroid and a stimulant?
Given retired players' subsequent autobiographical confessions about how they toked and sniffed, it now seems a glaring failure that the sport didn't clean house as vigorously as Agassi says he did on meth's high, tearing around dusting his furniture, scouring his tub and making his beds.
Bidding among publishers competing for Agassi's memoir reportedly topped $5 million — more in line with what a former U.S. president might expect — when Alfred A. Knopf acquired the rights in 2007.
"White House money," a rival publisher, David Hirshey of HarperCollins, said at the time.
Now drip-drip-dripped excerpts are creating pre-sale buzz.
Maybe money from the book will go to one of Agassi's philanthropic endeavors. Having earned more than $31 million in career prize money, perhaps cash wasn't his motivation for this at all.
But if not, then, as with drugs, don't be taken in.
John Leicester is an international sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jleicester@ap.org.
Nastase: Agassi, give up all your titles
David Hill
Romanian tennis legend Ilie Nastase is asking US tennis star Andre Agassi to give up all his titles as he has cheated in tennis.
The move comes following Agassi's confessions in his autobiography "Open," which will be launched this week. It contains references to legendary Romanian tennis player Nastase, according to quotes from the book published by The Observer.
Agassi calls Nastase the "big, stupid Romanian", as the young Agassi had felt wounded by him.
Nastase said today (Mon) in an interview in Romanian daily Gandul: "He should be the one to regret a lot of things, not only that he doped. If he didn’t like tennis, why doesn’t he renounce at all his titles. Anyway, for me, it’s clear that Agassi cheated in tennis. I may have been crazy, but I was never stupid".
Agassi shocked the world by his confession in his autobiography as he admitted having used crystal meth in 1997 and lied to tennis authorities after failing a drug test.
He asked for compassion in a TV interview and said he had never played while high.
Agassi, one of the most-popular tennis players, won eight Grand Slam singles titles before retiring in 2006.
**it would seem that the world according to Drugassi Sheep Exploits International consists mostly of sheep. and accordingly, the sheep can be had pretty much at will. this is why his book is flying off the shelves all over the globe.
Drugassi Sheep Exploits International understands this well and will surely have another book out in a year or so. and it doesnt end there: there will be a movie based on his life and his carrer as well. Do not keep the sheep waiting Mr. Drugassi.
take a look at Drugassi`s world as it is known to him:
here is what some of the global tennis personalities are saying about Drugassi`s confessions. check it all out and discuss your own final thoughts on this.How tennis world reacted to Andre Agassi’s admission of taking crystal meth
Andre Agassi’s autobiography, ‘Open’, has been the talk of tennis since extracts were published in which he admitted to using crystal meth, with Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal, Boris Becker, Andy Roddick and many others having an opinion.
By Steve Wilson
Split opinion: Andre Agassi's admission that he took crystal meth and then lied about it to the ATP has seen a mixed reaction from peers in the sport.
Rafa Nadal:
“If the ATP covered for Agassi then I think that’s dreadful. If they covered for the player and punished others for doing the same kind of thing then that would seem to me to be a lack of respect for all sportsmen.”
“It was a shock when I heard the news. I am disappointed and I hope there are no more such cases in future.”
Darren Cahill (Agassi’s last professional coach):
“[Agassi is] extremely proud of the book and I’m proud of him for giving such an honest and revealing look at his life”.
Boris Becker:
“I’m the last person to throw stones, as there have been some difficult times in my own life, but to hear that he took crystal meth, that certainly puts a whole new light on Andre and it’s not a beautiful light.
“I’m struggling to get my head around why Andre would want to confess to something so damaging as taking drugs and then getting away with it? Why would he want to be so brutally honest?
“I’m really surprised that he would want to discuss such a private part of his life, to talk about such a bad period in his life. I’m sure this will help to sell his book. He doesn’t need the money, though. He’s a rich man.”
Andy Roddick:
“Andre is and always will be my idol. I will judge him on how he has treated me and how he has changed the world for the better.
“If anything we (the top players) are subjected to way more testing and attention. That’s just a fact. And, to be fair, when Andre wrote the reported letter (which deceived the authorities), he was well outside the top 100 and widely viewed as on the way out.”
Venus Williams:
“I’m sure his book will sell. But I can’t say anything about Andre Agassi’s life.”
Serena Williams:
“I don’t know what crystal meth is, that’s my reaction,” said the newly-crowned year-end world number one. I haven’t read anything about his book.”
Martina Navratilova:
“Shocking. Not as much shock that he did it as shock he lied about it and didn’t own up to it.
“Andre lied and got away with it. You can’t correct that now. Do you take away a title he wouldn’t have won if he had been suspended? He beat some people when he should have been suspended.”
Nick Bollettieri (Agassi’s former coach):
“I don’t condone what he did – I’ve made mistakes too, but I’ve done more good than bad.
“Let’s look at what Andre has done, he funds a school for 400 kids from the inner-city. I know underneath he’s a hell of guy.”
your final thoughts on all this. have at it. the floor is all yours. i still maintain that its all a very tactical financial ploy. read this other article below:
Agassi's drug revelations smack of financial ployAssociated Press
add this RSS email print
Updated: October 29, 2009, 6:23 PM EDT 8 comments
PARIS (AP) - Imagined conversation between literary agent and retired tennis megastar with a dirty secret: "You want to get richer with me?"
Agassi shocker Andre Agassi's new book is full of stunning revelations about his life and has caused an uproar in the sporting world. Check out the latest in this ongoing story:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Excerpt: I was jealous of 'Friends' star
Agassi book excerpts reveal shockers
AP: Admission looks like a ploy
Navratilova: He lied and got away with it
Publisher holds back Agassi e-book
"How?"
"With ker-plunk."
"What the hell's ker-plunk?"
"A tell-all autobiography."
"Why do they call it ker-plunk?"
"Because that's the sound the dollars make as they drop into our bank accounts."
Should we be surprised that Andre Agassi now tells us, 12 years after the fact, that he snorted crystal meth when his life and tennis were at a low? Absolutely not. You could fill a rehab center with all the top athletes who succumbed over the years to cocaine, weed, alcohol, binge-eating and the rest.
But we are entitled to feel manipulated by the manner in which Agassi's sordid confessions are being dished out, in tantalizing — even addictive? — little doses that will likely have readers, mugs that they are, heading for stores, hungry for more.
Was that taster good? Now buy the whole dose.
In the same way that Agassi's assistant Slim cut and readied "a small pile of powder on the coffee table," choice morsels from "Open: An Autobiography" — on sale Nov. 9, folks! — have been sliced, diced and pushed on us.
"Andre Agassi reveals his drugs shame," "sensational confession," trumpeted this week in the Times of London, among four publications that paid for rights to print headline-grabbing excerpts.
"Slim is stressed," read the juiciest part of the Times' extract. "He says, 'You want to get high with me? On what? Gack. What the hell's gack? Crystal meth. Why do they call it gack? Because that's the sound you make when you're high ... Make you feel like Superman, dude."'
Get that, kids?
Agassi took crystal meth and still won five more Grand Slams, reclaimed the No.1 ranking, wed Steffi Graf and tugged heartstrings with his tearful 2006 adieu to pro tennis at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
So either counselors have been overdoing their warnings that crank, ice, call it what you will, is one of the most addictive and ruinous drugs out there. Or, more likely, it's simply easier to kick the habit when you're rich enough to hire personal trainers to beat you back into shape and not living in misery with no future beyond your next high.
In short, was Agassi's drug-taking really worth sharing because it offers a universal and valuable lesson about how mistakes can be corrected? Or, mindful of its potential impact on those who look up to him, should he have kept this to himself?
The Times' extracts don't really allow us to answer those questions. Guess we'll have to buy the book. Instead, the message that comes across loudest is that crystal meth seems pretty fabulous. Too bad it makes your teeth fall out.
"A tidal wave of euphoria that sweeps away every negative thought in my head. I've never felt so alive, so hopeful — and I've never felt such energy," Agassi says.
Andre Agassi at the 1997 U.S. Open. (Jon Levy / Getty Images)
Perhaps recalling this high was cathartic for Agassi, but lacing his account with a bit more soul-searching might have been more educational.
As IOC president Jacques Rogge noted, "If his admission would go together with the message to young athletes that it should not be repeated, then that would be useful."
Equally as disturbing is Agassi's revelation that he failed a drug test but escaped sanction by telling a dog-ate-my-homework lie to the ATP that he "drank accidentally" from a drink that Slim had spiked, "unwittingly ingesting his drugs."
Question for those who run tennis: how many other stars were let off the hook like this? If Agassi, by then a three-time Grand Slam winner, hadn't been such a crowd-pleaser, would he have been punished?
The year Agassi snorted was also the first to see a tennis player suspended for drug use. But who had ever heard of Ignacio Truyol of Spain, ranked No. 127 and convicted for a steroid and a stimulant?
Given retired players' subsequent autobiographical confessions about how they toked and sniffed, it now seems a glaring failure that the sport didn't clean house as vigorously as Agassi says he did on meth's high, tearing around dusting his furniture, scouring his tub and making his beds.
Bidding among publishers competing for Agassi's memoir reportedly topped $5 million — more in line with what a former U.S. president might expect — when Alfred A. Knopf acquired the rights in 2007.
"White House money," a rival publisher, David Hirshey of HarperCollins, said at the time.
Now drip-drip-dripped excerpts are creating pre-sale buzz.
Maybe money from the book will go to one of Agassi's philanthropic endeavors. Having earned more than $31 million in career prize money, perhaps cash wasn't his motivation for this at all.
But if not, then, as with drugs, don't be taken in.
John Leicester is an international sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jleicester@ap.org.