February 11, 2009 8:30 PM
Price And 'Friends' At US Open
It has been the most rain the US Open had experienced in a row. Ball boys became towel boys. Maintenance people became roller people. Greeters became squeegee men, reports The Early Show weatherman Dave Price who was at the US Open Friday morning.
Along with him were the unsung heroes of the wet and postponement-filled week, who demonstrated their rainy-day work. Earlier this week, one crew member boasted he could have the court dry in 17 minutes.
Price says no one knows how much all this rain is all going to cost. The driers are "about 800 bucks a pop," he says. And the US Open is the only grand slam event that pays its ball persons; it employs about 270 ball persons each year. About 75 rookies, who earn minimum wage, are in this year's crop.
Thursday's better weather got the U.S. Open back on track and it's likely to finish Sunday as scheduled. On Friday morning, CBS Sports Analyst Pam Shriver and actor Matthew Perry from the TV show "Friends" participated in the inaugural US Open Pro-Am Event.
The event allows amateurs to experience what it's like to be a US Open player. The USTA Tennis & Education Foundation, the philanthropic entity of the USTA, has Perry joining 15 amateurs who will play against 16 senior pros, like Shriver.
Perry notes, "I played a lot when I was a kid. I was a really good tennis player when I was 10. But now unfortunately, I'm 33." But he says he still gets to play three to four times a week.
Established in 1994, The USTA Tennis & Education Foundation tries to change the lives of at-risk children. Shriver says the non-for-profit organization "raises money in a year and gives it out in the same year to programs, mostly in urban areas that help at-risk youth that combines tennis with education."
The Pro-Am charges a $5,000 participation fee for amateurs who get breakfast in the official Player Dining Room, use of the Player Locker Room and two invitations for the women's semifinals matches and lunch in a luxury suite.
But before the game, Shriver and Perry played some tennis with Price, while Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith commented on the game.
If you missed the show, here is a snipped of what Smith saw on the court: "There's Dave Price with the worst back hand in captivity. And doing a very bad Jimmy Connors/John McEnroe railing against the ref. I tell you what, there's a kind of athleticism to Dave Price, especially the view we have of his backside that is incomparable in all sports."
The game concluded with Price hitting the net. But not before Smith asked Shriver why she declined to go out with him 20 years ago. To which she responded, "No comment."
Along with him were the unsung heroes of the wet and postponement-filled week, who demonstrated their rainy-day work. Earlier this week, one crew member boasted he could have the court dry in 17 minutes.
Price says no one knows how much all this rain is all going to cost. The driers are "about 800 bucks a pop," he says. And the US Open is the only grand slam event that pays its ball persons; it employs about 270 ball persons each year. About 75 rookies, who earn minimum wage, are in this year's crop.
Thursday's better weather got the U.S. Open back on track and it's likely to finish Sunday as scheduled. On Friday morning, CBS Sports Analyst Pam Shriver and actor Matthew Perry from the TV show "Friends" participated in the inaugural US Open Pro-Am Event.
The event allows amateurs to experience what it's like to be a US Open player. The USTA Tennis & Education Foundation, the philanthropic entity of the USTA, has Perry joining 15 amateurs who will play against 16 senior pros, like Shriver.
Perry notes, "I played a lot when I was a kid. I was a really good tennis player when I was 10. But now unfortunately, I'm 33." But he says he still gets to play three to four times a week.
Established in 1994, The USTA Tennis & Education Foundation tries to change the lives of at-risk children. Shriver says the non-for-profit organization "raises money in a year and gives it out in the same year to programs, mostly in urban areas that help at-risk youth that combines tennis with education."
The Pro-Am charges a $5,000 participation fee for amateurs who get breakfast in the official Player Dining Room, use of the Player Locker Room and two invitations for the women's semifinals matches and lunch in a luxury suite.
But before the game, Shriver and Perry played some tennis with Price, while Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith commented on the game.
If you missed the show, here is a snipped of what Smith saw on the court: "There's Dave Price with the worst back hand in captivity. And doing a very bad Jimmy Connors/John McEnroe railing against the ref. I tell you what, there's a kind of athleticism to Dave Price, especially the view we have of his backside that is incomparable in all sports."
The game concluded with Price hitting the net. But not before Smith asked Shriver why she declined to go out with him 20 years ago. To which she responded, "No comment."
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