Justa Rollin’ Right Along


My New Prince O3 Speedport Black Team Tennis Racquet

Saturday, September 13th, 2008



I know, I know, you have been getting “Jay’s Blog withdrawal.” I haven’t written in a few days. It’s not because I don’t love all of you, it’s just because I have been a little tired.

Ever since we got this and I started playing again, it seems as though I am constantly sore. I mean, my are always in recovery. My shoulder hurts, my back hurts and I think I pulled a butt muscle.

The in my shoulder is from twelve years ago when I “over served” a few days in a row. I was so thrilled that I could actually serve, that I went to the club day after day to practice. Well, lets just say that I must have served about a thousand balls. I am not sure I even got any better. If today’s playing is any indication, I didn’t. Oh well, it’s working itself out, with the help of some and ice.

I remember when I could do a good and then go back and hit the gym the next day. I am trying that now, but unfortunately, it’s not the same. Apparently, it now takes two and a half weeks to recover. Maybe that is exaggerating a little bit, but for any of you over 30 years old, go out and get drunk. Then, come back here and tell me how long it took you to recover from that. My point is that we are falling apart. That is why I am trying to stay in shape as best I can.

I have now been to two clinics and have had two . I learned a lot in yesterday’s lesson, only to apply none of it in today’s clinic. I don’t know what happened. I guess I am going to have these kinds of days. Tomorrow, I am going to hit with a youngster from the club. He is a really cool kid (17 years old) and is going to kick my butt. He has been playing since he was four years old. His father is the pro that gave me yesterday’s lesson. I think he is pretty lucky to get free lessons for life. I told him that today. Tomorrow, we are just going to hit back and forth, with no games. He is great at giving advice too, which I appreciate.

At least I am now learning the proper way to hit a ball. After all these years of playing , I never actually had a real lesson. I mean, I guess I had a few lessons over at the town beach when I was like five, but those don’t count. These are real, hour long lessons. I walk away actually thinking I might get better.

Now to the point of this blog post. I have been using the same racquet since I was 21. It’s one of those cheap ones from some store like Jamesway or Caldor. I am not even sure where I got it. I have been using it with some success, but thought that since I am going to need to get it restrung soon, I may as well get a high quality racquet to play with. I tried a few different racquets at the club and there is a huge difference in quality and playability.

A few days ago, I ordered a new Prince O3 Speedport Black Team racquet and received it today. It’s the latest from Prince. I did a lot of research on different racquets and am hoping this is the one.

Prince O3 Speedport Black Team Tennis Racquet

O3 Black Team Racquet

Prince O3 Speedport Black Team Tennis Racquet

O3 Black Team Racquet

Prince O3 Speedport Black Team Tennis Racquet

O3 Black Team Racquet

Here are the specs:

- Length: 27.0”
- Headsize: 100 sq in
- Cross Section: 23-24-22mm
- Weight: 9.9 oz/280g unstrung
- Balance: 13.6 in/34.5 cm, 1 pt. Head Heavy
- Grip: DuraPro+
- Rec. Strings: Syn Gut w/ Duraflex 16
- Power Level: 975
- Swing Weight: 295
- String Pattern: 16 x 19

If you notice in the photos above, the great feature of this racquet is the “Os” on the sides, where the strings go through. These “Os” are supposed to make the racquet more aerodynamic. When I read that, I said, “Yeah right.” Well, as is turns out, you can actually hear the wind whistle through the racquet when you swing. It cuts through the air much easier than my other one.

I had this racquet strung at 57lbs, which is too loose. The recommended stringing tension is 58lbs, plus or minus 5. 57lbs is too loose for me and I may play with it for a while and then cut the strings out to get it strung tighter. We’ll see. I can always wait for them to break too.

I am going to give this racquet a try tomorrow and let you know how it plays.

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It Feels Like Autumn

Wednesday, September 10th, 2008



Even the sun is getting lower in the sky.

I just read an article about “Lipstickgate.” I am sure you know what I am talking about. said, “You can put …” and is allegedly crying about it. Well, this is what it’s come down to folks. While a friend of mine is waiting to see if his house will be foreclosed on, we are arguing about pigs wearing lipstick, 55 days away from the .

Now, let me first tell you that I have mixed feelings about the whole mortgage issue. I don’t feel like getting in to them here. My point is, the mortgage thing is a valid issue that we can and should be discussing instead of beautiful pigs. Catch my drift?

I remember waaaay back a few weeks ago, right after the , I told my mother that I was finally proud to be a . I wrote an email to an old colleague the same day and ended it saying, “It’s a great day to be a .” Man, it felt great to say that. After eight years of cowering in our unpatriotic caves, someone with some guts was standing up to all the nonsense in this country. Sure, I wasn’t flying one of those ridiculous little flags on my car, but I still felt proud and (finally) patriotic. We had a good ol’ fight on our hands.

Oh well, I should have known that sort of pride and confidence in wouldn’t last long. Now we have the tit-for-tat that will bring us all the way to another election day. Anything to stay away from the real issues, I suppose.

I have already been to the club three times since I joined. I took one lesson and went to two clinics. There were about twelve people in the first clinic and four in the second. The clinics don’t give me as much individual attention as the , but they do keep me on top of my game. I also get the opportunity to meet and play against a wide variety of people, which is important. I like the clinics, but I think I prefer the more. My goal is to go to both the Wednesday and Saturday clinics and have one per week. I hope to also get some matches, or just hitting, in too. Without a doubt, I am having a good time, I just wish I was there more.

If you have been sneezing or have felt allergies more than normal lately, that may be because of our good friend, the Ragweed. Our other good friend, the Goldenrod usually gets blamed for the allergies, but it isn’t the most likely culprit, due to its heavy . Both at the same time, so it’s hard to tell which one is causing the issue.

I took this photo in the side yard this afternoon.

I have been thinking lately that I need some more . I probably have enough, but they are getting kind of old looking. I was actually on the Old website yesterday with my cart full, when I started having second thoughts. I remembered back to my disappointment every time I buy something other than jeans from that place. The really aren’t quality.

I left that website and went over to L.L. Bean’s website. I found a few things I like and then changed my mind again. I looked at a few of their models and thought I would have to stamp a big “L” on my forehead to wear some of that stuff. Why do their models look like such herbs? They need some new ones (call me).

I decided that it might be best to go out and buy some in person. Maybe tomorrow we can take a trip up to the Prime Outlets in Lee, MA. Those are usually pretty good and I find good stuff up there. It’s not too far from here either. With the crisper air now, it can make for a good day.

Other than that, I am not sure anything too interesting is happening. Any questions?

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