San Diego Crisis Center (8.05)

Today marks the last day of the Acura Classic, a tournament with a rich, long history. I wrote a blog item for ESPN on this sad fact, comparing San Diego (actually, the tournament is played at the La Costa Resort and Spa, in Carlsbad - a fixture in the sport every since the early 1970s) to the Volvo International tournament that once took place in North Conway, New Hampshire - before the event moved to Stratton, Vt. and, ultimately, New Haven.

In fact, today's New Haven event is the direct descendant of the VI, which grew out of a four-man exhibition played at the historic White Mountains hotel, Bretton Woods.

The Acura Classic has not had quite so checkered a past, although it did endure a few venue changes. Yesterday, I spoke with the (now former) co-owner of the event, Racquel Giscarfe. She and her partner, Jane Stratton,  were the women who built the AC into the successful - if doomed - event that it has been in recent years. Both of the women played on the tour. Racquel, from Argentina, was always one of my favorites - she was a fun-loving, irascible girl who was always ready to crack a grin and have a laugh. Jane was the shy one, with a pale complexion. She would turn beet red in the heat, but she fought hard an played a stylish, attacking game. They are a couple of journeywomen who made good - big-time. Racquel told me:

If you go the the AC website, click on Press Box and then History, you'll get good sense of just how much this event meant to the tour over the years.

This reminds me: a few years ago, I edited a book for Volvo International promoter Jim Westhall, Nonsense at the Net. Jim self-published the book, in a nice hardcover format. I still believe it is a unique volume - a little corny (hey, it was Jim's book, I was just a hired hand) here and there, but a fine look at the rise and fall of a tournament, and the players who took part in it. It's full of eye-opening material for someone interested in the logistics and problems of promoting a big-time tennis event, especially in a rural area. And in its heyday, the VI was as big-time as they came.

You can ignore the price listed at the website; I'm sure Jim, who's sitting on a lot of copies, will cut you a great deal. So if you're interested, email Jim and tell him I sent you.