US Open! Best event in all of Sports! (Besides the NFL Draft. [and maybe the Combine though I haven't been yet])

I went to the US Open Thursday (8.3) night and Friday (8.4). I saw Kohlscreiber def. Devarrman and Roddick def. Giquel on Thursday. I spent 12 hours there on Friday and saw Tsonga def. Niemenen, Del Potro def. Melzer, Simon def. Bellucci, Monfils def. Beck, and finally, the 5-setter instant classic Dent def. Navarro. Before I recount my Dent-Navarro religious experience (serve and volleyism), here's what I liked.

1. On Thursday, they didn't check tickets at the outer gates or at Ashe. I never used my ticket. They checked my bag.

2. They allowed me to bring my telephoto lens in! The NFL Draft did not. Stupid.

3. My friend bought 2 beers at $9 each, gave the guy a $20, and received $18 change.

4. Shortly thereafter, I found an $85 ticket to Ashe which would have been handy but I didn't even need to use it.

What I didn't like:

1. They confiscated my stainless steel water bottle on Friday but not on Thursday. They checked my ticket too.

2. Monfils was too popular. People went crazy for him which is legitimate because he's entertaining and the most athletic guy on tour; but I was disappointed about being hip no longer. I first heard about him when my friend played him in juniors. I first saw him play when he almost won the Jr. Grand Slam (Murray beat him in the Jr. US Open wearing a hoodie). He appealed to me as an athletic dark horse, under-the-radar underdog type players. While I'm a front-runner, I am no bandwagoner.

3. My camera and cell phone died so no Monfils or Dent pictures.

4. I was disappointed with the ball people at the US Open. I'd rather just say ball boys so I will. Kramer, Kenny Mayne, and Rick Reilly have all tried out (overused idea?) so I expected this job to attract great talent. Many ball boys did not throw well. Even if the ball reaches the target alright, the ball boy should look proper when throwing. Kenny Mayne was QB2 (ahead of Randall Cunningham) at UNLV so he has a live arm. This gave me the idea that ball boys should be required to have throwing experience, probably from football or baseball (sorry no cricket, that would look weird). They also shouldn't be too old. I saw one older guy working the net which was annoying because his body was not built for speed and he was out of breath the whole time. Why did they put him on the net? He did not have Kramer's "gusto." The players are allowed to be tired, not the ball boys. There should be an age limit, say 22, because I might ball boy at next year's open. Actually I would rather be the usher who sits on the court in a chair and does absolutely nothing. Then I could really watch the match. I wouldn't have to trouble myself scrambling around collecting balls, and fumbling with towels and umbrellas. Or they could just use supermodels like at the Madrid Masters. If they do switch to supermodels, don't have them throw it. Teach them to roll it.