Tennis star Andre Agassi speaks up for the first time about his meth addiction and obsession with his Mohawk mullet toupee that almost ruined his career in an exclusive, tell-all interview with Katie Couric for 60 minutes (watch videos below).

The 39 year-old claims actress Brooke Shields, who he was dating at the time, convinced him to drop the fake hair and go bald and proud. Agassi also emotionally recalls of dark self-destructive pattern of crystal meth abuse and asks for compassion because he believes he had a problem but he won the battle in the end and became a better man.

More On Andre Agassi
Andre Agassi Admits Using White Trash Crystal Meth (Photos)
Andre Agassi and His Fake Mohawk Mullet Toupée
Andre Agassi’s Secrets Revealed In ‘Open: An Autobiography’

Andre Agassi 60 Minutes Videos Below go on reading »

Tennis player Andre Agassi will launch his first autobiography ‘Open’ next month but some of his biggest secrets have already been leaked. Those shocking revelations include the use of crystal meth, a failed ATP drug test, numerous lies and a fake mohawk-mullet toupee (read more details).

Andre Agassi & Steffi Graf Pictures

[image: E!]

Yesterday we learned that tennis legend Andre Agassi used crystal meth in the late 90’s, failed an ATP drug test, then lied to the ATP to avoid a tour suspension.  This according to excerpts from his upcoming book, ‘Open: An Autobiography.’

Today, we are just as shocked to find out that Agassi was sporting a fake mohawk-mullet toupee during that same time period according to ESPN’s Rick Reilly.

Why would a son admit how much he feared his Iranian father — feared him and hated him since the age of 7? And why — why! — would a man admit he wore perhaps the world’s only Mohawk toupee?

Agassi bucked against tennis like a horse with a two-sizes-too-small bit. But he could not escape it. And so his life became a kind of lie, from his shoelace groundstrokes to perhaps the world’s only fake Mohawk, a hairpiece that once came apart in the shower before the French Open. The day was saved by bobby pins.

My oh my! The world as seen through my childhood has now been rocked off its axis.  The ‘haired wonder’ was famous back in the day for his ‘Image is everything!’ commercials and obviously that was true for Andre (one of the only true things out of him back then).

Image is everything until two decades later you are exposed as the King of taped on mullets.

Who am I kidding? Is it really a surprise that a down on his luck, mullet man, from Las Vegas was doing crystal meth in 1997?  The more we learn, the more it all makes perfect sense.

Sportscasm: Can Andre Agassi Shut Up Now?

Former tennis champion Andre Agassi admits to have used crystal meth while he was playing back in 1997 in his new autobiography titled “Open: An Autobiography” to be released on November 9.

Sport Illustrated writer Richard Deitsch broke the news on Twitter [@richarddeitsch: Book excerpt from Andre Agassi in the forthcoming SI: He admits to taking crystal meth during his career.] but the tweet was later deleted.

Paul Bogaards, director of media relations at Knopf, a division of Random House, confirmed the news: “Those excerpts contain revelations about Andre’s use of crystal meth when he was a tennis player”. The official publisher’s description of the book does not mention Agassi’s struggle with drugs.

Agassi did not win any major tournament in 1997 but he won the Olympic gold medal in the 1996 Atlanta Games and the French Open and US Open in 1999. The 39 year-old is currently married to former Grand Slam champion Steffi Graf with whom he has two children.

UPDATE: Released Book Excerpt Offers More Details:

“Slim is stressed too … He says, You want to get high with me? On what? Gack. What the hell’s gack? Crystal meth,” Agassi recounts in the book. “Why do they call it gack? Because that’s the sound you make when you’re high … Make you feel like Superman, dude.

“As if they’re coming out of someone else’s mouth, I hear these words: You know what? F*** it. Yeah. Let’s get high.

“Slim dumps a small pile of powder on the coffee table. He cuts it, snorts it. He cuts it again. I snort some. I ease back on the couch and consider the Rubicon I’ve just crossed.

“There is a moment of regret, followed by vast sadness. Then comes 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.

“I’m seized by a desperate desire to clean. I go tearing around my house, cleaning it from top to bottom. I dust the furniture. I scour the tub. I make the beds.”

Agassi goes on in the book to tell of how he failed a drug test in 1997 and lied in a letter he wrote to the ATP stating that he mistakenly ingested the drug from a spiked soda.  The ATP discharged the positive test and the incident never came to light until now.

Andre must be desperate to sell books or need some cash because he should have kept this unknown confession buried back in 1997.

UPDATE: Andre Agassi and His Fake Mohawk-Mullet Toupee

Andre Agassi & Steffi Graf Pictures Below go on reading »

Infamous tennis player Serena Williams, who recently made headlines after an outrageous tirade at the 2009 US Open (read more details and video here), poses completely naked for ESPN Magazine’s first ‘The Body Issue’.

[image: FYB]

Tennis player Serena Williams tried to explain the unexplainable after her US Open 2009 semi-final loss to Kim Clijsters due to a point penalty on a match point for yelling and threatening a line judge (read more and watch Serena’s outburst video here).

“I used to have a real temper, and I’ve gotten a lot better,” Williams said in her postmatch news conference. “So I know you don’t believe me, but I used to be worse. Yes, yes, indeed.”

“I didn’t threaten [her]. I don’t remember anymore [what I said], to be honest. I was in the moment. And, you know, everyone’s fighting for every point. It was a really crucial point,” Williams said.

Asked if the line judge deserved an apology, Williams added: “An apology? From me? Well, how many people yell at linespeople? Players, athletes get frustrated. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen that happen.

“All year I’ve never been foot faulted, and then suddenly in this tournament they keep calling foot faults. I said something that I guess they gave me a point penalty for. Unfortunately it was on match point.”

Does Serena owe the judge and apology or not!?! Serena’s arrogant answer to that question shows she has no respect for the game, the judges or her adversaries. It really doesn’t matter if everyone yells at “linespeople”. It is wrong and deserves an apology!

Unfortunately, after so much drama and hype about this incident, it will seem like Serena could have won the match if it wasn’t for that line judge “wrong” foot fault call. The truth is Kim Clijsters was stronger and totally deserved to win the match.

Serena William Press Conference Video

[image: wenn.com]

What did Serena Williams said to the line judge?? The Serena William vs. Kim Clijsters US Open 2009 semi-final match ended dramatically after Serena Williams’ unacceptable outburst at a line judge.

UPDATE: Serena Williams Press Conference VIDEO

Serena was serving at 5-6, 15-30 in the second set and faulted on her first serve. On the second serve, a line judge called a foot fault, making it a double-fault, which made the score 15-40, putting Kim Clijsters one point from victory. Then Serena turns to the judge yelling, cursing and threatening the line judge.

Dropping the f-word liberally, Williams said, “I swear to God I’m [expletive] going to take this [expletive] ball and shove it down your [expletive] throat, you hear that? I swear to God.”

When the line judge went over to the chair umpire, tournament referee Brian Earley and Serena joined them, and the 27 year-old player was heard defending herself, saying, “Sorry, but there are a lot of people who’ve said way worse. I didn’t say I would kill you. Are you serious? I didn’t say that.”

The decision was made. Serena was assessed a point penalty for a code violation of unsportsmanlike conduct, which gave the stunned Kim, who didn’t exactly know what was going on, the match.

“She was called for a foot fault, and a point later, she said something to a line umpire, and it was reported to the chair, and that resulted in a point penalty,” Earley explained. “And it just happened that point penalty was match point. It was a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct.”

Despite the controversy, Serena would most probably have lost the match anyway and Kim Clijsters is the fair winner. Kim and Caroline Wozniacki will compete for the US Open 2009 title on Sunday (September 13).

Serena Williams Temper Tantrum Photos

Serena Williams Foot Fault Tantrum Video

[images: wenn.com]

Australian tennis player Jelena Dokic revealed to be a victim of physical abuse perpetrated by her own father, Damir Dokic, in an interview for Sport & Style.

The 26 year-old player, who was born in Osijek, Croatia, to a Serbian father and a Croatian mother, Ljiljana, went through years of abuse before she finally escaped in 2002.

Jelena says: “I’ve been through a lot worse than anybody on the tour. I can say that with confidence.”

“When you go through stuff like that, playing a tennis match is a pretty easy thing to do. When I win today it’s so much more satisfying,” Dokic was quoted as saying in the article.

Jelena confessed her boyfriend Tin Bikic helped her recover and she has finally come to terms what she has been through: “Whatever has happened, good or bad, will always stay there. It makes you what you are,” Dokic said.

Jelena Dokic Photos

[images: wenn.com]

Tennis player Andy Roddick is set to marry his Sports Illustrated swimsuit model, Brooklyn Decker, this weekend in Austin, Texas. The happy couple wants to keep the ceremony private with only close friends and family amongst the guests.

Andy reportedly saw the beautiful model in a magazine spread, immediately asked his agent to get her number and that is how they met.

“I was stalked. He’ll tell you that,” Brooklyn joked. But “it was charming. He was charming. Eventually, I fell for it, and five months later I called him back and that was that.”

How romantic! I actually think it’s offensive to pick a girl out like she’s in a catalog, but they make one hot couple. Congratulations to Andy and Brooklyn!!

Brooklyn Decker’s Nude & Body-Paint Photos Below go on reading »

German tennis player Sarah Gronert wants to compete in the woman’s tour but has been target of discrimination and cruelty by coaches and fellow tennis players.

The 22 year-old woman was born with both male and female genitalia, which makes her a hermaphrodite. Although Sarah had her male genitalia removed and is a medically certified woman, she is not yet accepted because she is considered a different gender. She’s definitely not a man but she might have an advantage being a different woman on court.

Julia Glushko’s coach Schlomo Tzoref paints a very clear picture of unfair strength and overall performance that Sarah is capable of - that other women cannot achieve: “There is no girl who can hit serves like that, not even Venus Williams.”

“When I heard her story, I was in shock. I don’t know if it’s fair that she can compete or not. She does have an advantage, but if this is what the WTA have decided, they probably know best. If she begins to play continuously, within six months she will be within the Top 50.”

“This cannot be. This is not a woman, it’s a man. She does not have the power of a woman and no woman has such a technique. She serves like a man. It’s very strange.”

Is it not enough the discrimination this girl went through while growing up!?! Sarah is medically a woman, it’s not like she had a sex change. She is different and fellow tennis players needs to stop fearing a little competition. Strength isn’t everything in tennis! Let the girl play!!

Ashley Harkleroad might have never won much on the on the women’s professional tennis tour, but she likely now has more fans than perhaps even the sexy, yet professional tennis challenged, Anna Kournikova who retired just to focus solely on being hot.

Harkleroad broke into professional tennis when she was 15-years old and was hailed as the next and biggest thing.  She failed to live up to expectations.  The highest ranking she has achieved since turning pro is #39.  Her career singles record is 201-128.

She can now be seen on the August 2008 cover of Playboy (seen above) and the extremely revealing photo spread inside Uncle Hugh’s mag.

You can view the NSFW (it’s Playboy you know) photo spread HERE.

ESPY Awards 2009 Winners & Red Carpet Photos

Here is a complete list of the winners from the 2008 ESPY Awards.  It is always anti-climatic when an award show is filmed several days before it is set to air. To top that off ESPN.com, on their front page, tells everyone who won every single award from last night’s 2008 ESPY Awards. The ESPY’s will air July 20th on ESPN.

Special Awards

• Arthur Ashe Courage Award: John Carlos and Tommie Smith, 1968 Olympic medalists
• Jimmy V Award for Perseverance: Kevin Everett, former Buffalo Bills TE
• Best comeback: Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers

Best in Sport

• Best Female Athlete: Candace Parker, Tennessee Basketball/Los Angeles Sparks
• Best Male Athlete: Tiger Woods, Golf
• Best Moment: “Great Sportsmanship” (Central Washington University’s Mallory Holtman and Liz Wallace, Western Oregon University’s Sara Tucholsky)
• Best Team: Boston Celtics
• Best Coach/Manager: Pat Summitt, Tennessee Women’s Basketball
• Best Game: New York Giants over New England Patriots at the Super Bowl
• Best Championship Performance: Tiger Woods, 2008 U.S. Open
• Best Play: New York Giants Eli Manning’s pass to David Tyree at the Super Bowl
• Best Finish: Western Kentucky over Drake in the first round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, winning on a buzzer beater by Ty Rogers
• Best Upset: New York Giants over New England Patriots at the Super Bowl
• Best Breakthrough Athlete: Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings
• Best Record Breaking Performance: Brett Favre, Green Bay Packers
• Best Sports Movie: Semi-Pro
• Best Male College Athlete: Tim Tebow, Florida Football
• Best Female College Athlete: Candace Parker, Tennessee Basketball
• Best Male Athlete With a Disability: Ryan Kocer, Wrestling (Wagner, SD)
• Best Female Athlete With a Disability: Shay Oberg, Softball (Montana State-Billings)
• Best International Male Athlete: Rafael Nadal, Tennis
• Best International Female Athlete: Lorena Ochoa, Golf

Individual Sports

• Best Baseball Player: Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees
• Best NBA Player: Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
• Best WNBA Player: Lauren Jackson, Seattle Storm
• Best NFL Player: Tom Brady, New England Patriots
• Best NHL Player: Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
• Best MLS Player: David Beckham, Los Angeles Galaxy
• Best Male Action Sport Athlete: Shaun White, Skateboarding/Snowboarding
• Best Female Action Sport Athlete: Gretchen Bleiler, Snowboarding
• Best Bowler: Norm Duke
• Best Driver: Jimmie Johnson
• Best Fighter: Floyd Mayweather, Boxing
• Best Golfer: Tiger Woods
• Best Jockey: Kent Desormeaux
• Best Outdoor Athlete: Captain Scott Smiley, Mountain Climber
• Best Male Tennis Player: Roger Federer
• Best Female Tennis Player: Maria Sharapova
• Best Track and Field Athlete: Tyson Gay

Rafael Nadal won a classic final over Roger Federer to win his first Grand Slam tennis championship at Wimbledon.

Federer battled back from down two sets to prolong the match to five sets and a historic victory in one of the best finals in tennis history.  But Nadal gathered his composure and proved to Roger that he can win on a surface other than the French clay.

It would have been the sixth straight Wimbledon championship for Federer.   Nadal had opened Federer at the French Open but had never beat him at Wimbledon.

Federer was 10-0 at Grand Slam finals outside of the French Open heading into Sunday, but Nadal brought that streak to an end.

The match lasted 4 hours 48 minutes and ended after 9:17 pm local time in London.

Nadal beat Federer 6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 6-7, 9-7

Venus Williams won the battle of the Willams sisters on Saturday to win her 5th Wimbledon singles tennis title.  She beat her sister Serena Williams 7-5, 6-4 to win in just one hour and fifty-one minutes.

Venus will play with Serena for the doubles title later on today against Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur.

Venus won $1.49 million dollars for taking home the grass title.

Belgium tennis player Justine Henin is retiring from the game today to have more time to travel and work on her education. She is just 26 and is currently the #1 ranked women’s tennis player in the world. She has been on top of the rankings for 61 straight weeks.

Henin, who is 26 next month, won no new fewer than 10 titles in 2007, and has already won two this season, but she has in the past mentioned her wish to return to studying.

She said: “I also want to travel, to get away from the pressure, and to do many things I can never do.”

The Belgian has won 41 career titles, including seven Grand Slams and an Olympic Gold medal in Athens, with the grass court title at Wimbledon the only major prize to elude her.

Her retirement could be temporary as she is likely burnt out of her days and nights being consumed by tennis since she was a little girl.