Jason Biggs

00:00:01
Speaker 1: One went long and then the other one hit the net and I was like, oh my god it and everyone's a booo.

00:00:17
Speaker 2: Renee.

00:00:18
Speaker 3: Today on the show, we have somebody who is another one of your heading partners. He's an actor. He's one of the funniest people I've ever met, and I met him through you.

00:00:27
Speaker 4: Jason Biggs. Yeah, Jason's in studio.

00:00:29
Speaker 3: Jason the New Yorker now joins us to talk tennis and aviation.

00:00:34
Speaker 2: Yeah, Jason Biggs. First of all, he loves tennis. He's a total tennis ghee. We find out something very interesting about Jason, even more geekish than his tennis love. You're gonna have to wait for that, which was also interesting for me to find out. But he is a great guy. He's the father of two kids now, he has a great marriage to Jenny Mullin, who, of course the New York Times bestseller as well. But Jason is a truly great guy, great actor. Of course, he's role in American Pie, and of course Orange is a New Black, has so many others. But he's a good man and he is funny.

00:01:07
Speaker 3: What I like so much about our talk is not only did you fail to restrain yourself? In offering us both free coaching and Jason and I are going to apparently hit the courts as a mixed doubles doo. But you got him nerding out about some of his most embarrassing moments on the tennis court, and it sounds like there were plenty.

00:01:25
Speaker 2: Yeah, and I believe it or not, he has played on author Ash Stadium here at the Billy j and King National Tennis AENA in New York more than many people. And you'll find out when that happened and why.

00:01:38
Speaker 3: All right, so stay tuned for our talk with the luminary Jason vas.

00:01:46
Speaker 4: Let's jump in the middle.

00:01:47
Speaker 3: Renee has a an overarching theory of life, of the world of human psychees, and she believes, and I agree with her completely, that you can tell a person's personality they're yearning, their downfall, their you know, fundamental flaws by watching them play tennis.

00:02:05
Speaker 2: Well, no, no, no, by playing by me playing tennis with them and Jason, And does that apply this conversation.

00:02:13
Speaker 1: Yes, but just remind me, though, Stubs, does that apply to if you're playing with them as doubles partners and also playing against them, or only if your partners with them or only if you're against Are.

00:02:26
Speaker 2: You trying to confuse at this point? But no, it was always as I was playing against against or hitting with them, which I have done with you several times.

00:02:38
Speaker 1: And we never so we were never on the scene. We never partnered up.

00:02:42
Speaker 2: No, we didn't we So okay, so let me preface by saying I met mister Jason Biggs here at Chris Evatt's charity event in Boca Raton. We played at Delray and we met for the first time. Actually, you were opposing me in the pro am, that's right, which I was very happy about, which usually means you have two pros and then people pay money to play with us.

00:03:05
Speaker 4: Clearly, I'm a pro, clearly.

00:03:07
Speaker 2: And clearly they thought Jason was a pro all so they put him down the other end of the court. But I was happy to say he was pretty good, and I was very thankful he was the other pro because I did have a lot of fun for those few hours.

00:03:20
Speaker 1: So, so about your theory, then, how did it play out when you played against me for the first time. You said you had a lot of fun, But what could you tell about my pro And by the way, I agree with her on this. We do, and I don't believe that anyone can do this. I believe that it's certainly the potential exists because so much of your personality I do believe comes out on the court. But I believe Renee has a particular.

00:03:45
Speaker 3: Skill both a player, a broadcaster, somebody who's professionally.

00:03:50
Speaker 2: She can tell right away I'm smart.

00:03:53
Speaker 1: Yeah, And she's.

00:03:54
Speaker 3: Smart and she's smart, and she's played with both of us. I want, and it's I have very very humbling.

00:03:59
Speaker 1: Oh to say the least.

00:04:02
Speaker 2: Well, listen, I haven't written a piece for Time magazine, which you have done, and I certainly haven't been in any you know, blockbuster movies. So hey, listen, take a clap for yourself.

00:04:10
Speaker 1: No, no, we meant humbling for you. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I got it.

00:04:15
Speaker 4: It was an honor.

00:04:16
Speaker 2: Right now, I don't want to answer this question. I want you to answer this question because I said what I thought about you, and your wife Jenny agreed with me.

00:04:25
Speaker 1: What was it again? I know I forget, though, I forget. Wait, just that I'm fun and cool and cool and handsome. I think you said handsome and gifted? Yeah gift? Did No? Just that I I like to have a good time, I think was sort of the overarching kind of thing, wasn't.

00:04:42
Speaker 2: It Or No, it was a little bit of that you don't take yourself very seriously, right, and that I think that you at times don't.

00:04:52
Speaker 1: Go ahead ahead. Is there an insecurity factor? Yes, yeah, totally.

00:04:57
Speaker 2: Yeah, there was a little bit of an insecurity factor for Jason on the court, which I think translates sometimes.

00:05:04
Speaker 1: My whole life to his life, which yeah, exactly right.

00:05:07
Speaker 3: Okay, So let me let me pick into that question just for a second, because having been a decently good tennis player myself who's not unconfident on the court, I too felt an insecurity playing against you. So could you tell the difference? How did you know I'm not an insecure person? I don't How can you tease those two different things out or with you?

00:05:28
Speaker 2: I think it was you played college tennis, so you you know, being in that environment, you've played a lot of tennis. And I'm sure I mean, I don't want to pump my own tires, but you were probably thinking I'm getting to play with Renee, like I don't want to fuck this up. I don't want to play well so terrible, And I'm sure you were really nervous. Guess what when I practiced with Stephie and when I practiced with great players, I was shitting myself like I was super nervous as well because their level was so much better than mine, and I wanted to play well for them. So we all have it. With Jason, it's fun because he knows he's not a tennis player. He doesn't want to try and a tennis player. But it was more his personality that came out Yours was wanting to actually play decently with.

00:06:06
Speaker 3: Me, right, but mine was more of a garden variety fear and his was more of a holeless baked in personality.

00:06:14
Speaker 2: It comes out.

00:06:16
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, I think too for me when I when I find myself doing something that I have insecurity around. So in this case it's tennis, right, like I ideally I will play well, Okay, like my goal there is to hit well return just just get it over the net. But my goal is to play well right hold my own if I can short of that, the thing that I'm really trying to do, because if I can't hit a winner on Renee Stubbs, which I can't, then what I can do perhaps is make a joke or do something funny that has everyone else laughing, and then it's then I sort of my time there is it's it's it's worthwhile. Right, I've contributed, I've contributed something to the event. Right, So at a certain point, probably first point, I realized that, ah, I'm not bringing the tennis so much as Okay, now I need to bring something else, that other thing that I do. So then my insecurities are around that if I if I'm not right, but usually I found I, you know, find a way to cause Then I can tie the two together. I can tie my poor performance into a joke somehow, and it can all kind of come together. But she's not wrong to see that there's insecurity around my whole being on that court right until I make that first joke. But then even after the first joke is I go, okay, Now I gotta either play. Now there's another point I had. I gotta play. I gotta hit this crazy backhand winner, or I have to make another joke, the latter of which is more likely, but the pressure exists. Nonetheless, Listen, we play.

00:07:58
Speaker 2: First of all, he had to do that in front of fans. It's not easy to play. Chris Evitt's event. For any of the m's, it's certainly not even for the pros, like I don't play that much anymore. So even for me, I'm like, oh, it gets a little bit scary.

00:08:09
Speaker 4: What are they expecting?

00:08:09
Speaker 2: So for the ams it's really kind of scary. I mean, Elizabeth Shu like refuses to come back and play Chrissy's event because she's always so nervous when she plays matches, and she's probably one of the best, you know, actors we've had.

00:08:21
Speaker 1: You said, yeah, yeah, she's really good, but.

00:08:23
Speaker 2: It's just it's not easy for them to play in that event. But Jason, yeah, he's hysterical kid.

00:08:30
Speaker 3: I actually imagine it's there are a lot of pressure for both of you, but possibly more for the sort of traditionally entertaining folks because you're you're both trying to hold your own in the court, knowing that the expectations for your game are not as high. But you also, I mean, what are you like, you're supposed to supposed to be fans.

00:08:46
Speaker 1: They might not be as high, they might not be as high. They shouldn't be as high, obviously, but they still but still you're at this event, right the presumption is that you play some tennis, right, or you have some interest in it enough to be to come and support and to be at this event. I mean tennis people come.

00:09:05
Speaker 2: It's I mean, to be honest, there's some plays that go there that are terrible.

00:09:08
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's true, but but they we.

00:09:10
Speaker 2: Love Themson, I mean I love him to death. Although he's improved. So he's coming back this year, Hawson Cristley, he is coming back, but again.

00:09:18
Speaker 1: Hysterical, hysterical exactly.

00:09:21
Speaker 2: So Donald played one year he didn't even know where to stand. So you, my friend, like Roger Federer compared.

00:09:26
Speaker 1: To him, that's amazing, that's great.

00:09:27
Speaker 4: I think the already yeah, Roger Fetter.

00:09:32
Speaker 1: Of when Celebrity Tennis compared to Tom Arnold, the Roger Federer of the Tom Arnold World perfect, yes, I still but still yeah. I think the other thing is like actors already come in and athletes. I mean, you're talking about a lot of ego, right, You're talking about people that are have achieved a fair amount of success in the field that they work in, and consequently they're egos have been built up enough to at least to where they're fairly strong, healthy egos and it doesn't matter what it is, whether it's tennis or any sport or another sort of some something else in entertainment, whatever it is, you don't want to be embarrassed. You don't want to be embarrassed. You want to bring it. You want to bring it people there. It's a competit it's all.

00:10:26
Speaker 2: I think we might be talking to Chrissy, So that's funny.

00:10:30
Speaker 1: Yeah, okay, okay, okay, Well I would like to I would like to come back. I took last year off because I just had shoulder surgery and at least that was my excuse. It was actually in May. I was definitely healed by November. But whatever. And you have.

00:10:46
Speaker 4: A small child, yes, living in New York City.

00:10:48
Speaker 1: I mean, now there's two kids. The year that I went, two years ago, Yeah, two years ago, I brought Sid. It was just Sid and he was like two years old, and and he had a good time. We were at that. You know, the resort's great, and he had a fun time with you know, he went swimming in the whole thing. But yeah, I don't know. We'll have to see. We'll have to see. I mean, for Jenny, those things are not she doesn't play and you know, so it's a little I don't know, it's it's it's hard. She's a tougher cell on those things.

00:11:21
Speaker 2: Let's talk about Jenny then, yeah, sure, I mean, does Jenny even have any inkling to want to play tennis? We talked about it. Got caught the other day. Just so you know, you played for the first time, Am I right with me? After your shoulder surgery?

00:11:34
Speaker 1: That was the first time in a Yeah, my shoulder surgery was a year ago, so it was certainly since it was the first time since since my surgery, but it actually goes back even about maybe six to eight months before that the last time I played, so it's well over a year and a half.

00:11:49
Speaker 2: You want to tell people how that went.

00:11:54
Speaker 4: You were insecure?

00:11:55
Speaker 1: Yeah, I made a lot of jokes and everything went great. I had I had the people laughing. He could not I couldn't breathe. I could not breathe was the issue. So I couldn't even open my I couldn't catch my breath enough to make a joke, let alone get a syllable out. I was I will say this, I did just turn forward. I will say this. I was happy for I guess you could say, I guess happy with where my shoulder was at. I was really nervous because I've actually since the surgery, I've still have had some complications and I've been like, God, do I have to go get another series? So I was really nervous about my shoulder. But my shoulder was actually okay, a little tender the next day, but nothing like it didn't pop out. Everything was actually good on that front, so I was actually it was positive. I was actually psyched. Yeah, I was actually psyched on that. However, what did occur to me? Which I kind of knew, but I didn't realize the extent. I am horrifically out of shape.

00:12:57
Speaker 3: There's nothing like being on a tennis court alone without any like water breaks or place to hide.

00:13:02
Speaker 1: No, we had water breaks. That's very sweet of you. I had water breaks. I And by.

00:13:09
Speaker 4: The way, there's no word to hide on a tennis.

00:13:12
Speaker 1: Court, thank you. Okay, yeah, thank you, there's there really is.

00:13:15
Speaker 4: I'm sympathizing because there's no where to happen.

00:13:17
Speaker 1: I mean, Renee though, of course so sweet and wants me to succeed and like doesn't need to like be the you know, the asshole and you know prove to the people looking that she can, you know, just crush me. She wants to engage me. She's she's such a great playing partner, she really is. She's she's an instructor without trying to instruct. She's she's really, as you know, so great to play with. So she could tell right away that this is going to be hard for me. But she was, you know, she was being very gentle with me. She kept it at my forehand. She I think she gave like one she once to my backhand and was like, I could see it in her eyes. She was like, Okay, I'm gonna not do that again for a little while until next session. So literally all she gave me was four hands for the rest of the time, and the ones that were even slightly behind me. I of course turned everything into a forehead. I would have if it was on the step, Yeah, totally. I was just like it was practical, yeah, tactical, sure, sure, yeah, But I was dying. I mean, I like, it's a great work, oh my god. And it's muscles I haven't used in so long. You forget how much sprinting there is. That's the things these bursts. I mean, okay, not spread, but seemed to me.

00:14:33
Speaker 2: That every ball came back in the middle.

00:14:35
Speaker 1: This is true. What I mean by sprinting is oh, are you watching me sprints? Yes?

00:14:40
Speaker 2: Yes, And you were getting exhausted by doing that.

00:14:43
Speaker 1: Honestly, it was just swinging the racket, I think war I thought.

00:14:46
Speaker 2: It was the hardest day in New York we've had in along.

00:14:49
Speaker 1: It was very That was another reason it was about.

00:14:51
Speaker 3: Yeah, as a bone to anybody who's sort of an am, as you called both of us, which I still am.

00:14:57
Speaker 4: Decided if that's a.

00:14:58
Speaker 3: Perdurative term for mature, for anybody who's an am, hitting with a pro is however the pro wants it to be. She could pall wherever she wants, she can hit her she wants, she can keep the rally going as long as she wants. She's not gonna miss. And for people like us, we are used to at least collecting on some errors some you know, basically, what.

00:15:19
Speaker 2: You're saying, Kitlin, is that you get a chance to go pick the balls up.

00:15:21
Speaker 3: We get a chance to go pick the balls up, whereas you decide when the points are over.

00:15:25
Speaker 2: For a great thing for us is that somebody had left about fifteen balls on the tennis court that day.

00:15:29
Speaker 4: So you didn't have to even pick up even get a minute.

00:15:33
Speaker 1: I know.

00:15:34
Speaker 2: I want to bring up one thing because speaking of tennis, speaking of New York, you're so open, you believe it or not. There's three of us in this room. Two of us have actually played on author resh thing.

00:15:48
Speaker 4: I'm seeding with jealousy.

00:15:50
Speaker 2: Yeah, so why don't you talk about that moment and how much you were truly shitting yourself.

00:15:54
Speaker 1: I've actually played twice, wow, twice Center.

00:15:58
Speaker 4: Court amazing under what circumstances.

00:16:02
Speaker 1: Well, once was the US Open semifinals in ninety eight.

00:16:05
Speaker 4: Of course you and Aaron Christina.

00:16:07
Speaker 1: Erotic erotic match. He won whatever it's close ish fourth set, tiebreak, okay, and then that was its classic.

00:16:19
Speaker 4: I'll never forget it.

00:16:19
Speaker 1: Yeah, they've replayed on Tennis Channel sometimes ESPN Classic.

00:16:23
Speaker 3: Uh.

00:16:24
Speaker 1: Both circumstances were well. The first time was for do they still do the Arthur Ashe Kids Day? It's the Saturday, it's like this, Yeah, is it the first Saturday of the Open or.

00:16:36
Speaker 2: It's the this Saturday before the Open?

00:16:39
Speaker 1: Okay? Right, So I did a doubles match. It was myself and Martina never at Tlova, Oh, never Tilova. Sorry, And against James Blake and she Elizabeth Wow, my co star from the American Pie films. And you know, we played a couple of points. I think.

00:17:07
Speaker 2: Tell me someone didn't bring a pile out.

00:17:10
Speaker 1: I don't believe there was a pie. But the only thing I remember from that match, well, I remember two things. I remember. So we played, you know, like we warmed up and then it was okay, we're gonna play a point, and I think Shannon served first, and we played. I don't know who won the point, and then we switched survey every point. I think it was like one of those and I so then I served and I double faulted, of course, and I was like, but they were both horrific double faults. Like I was so nervous. So the stadium was packed, packed, packed, okay, And again I think it was a situation where i hadn't played tennis in a long time and I'm playing against James Blake and with Martina and Nevertilova, and I'm like, and Martina would be and she wasn't. She was no renee stubs.

00:18:08
Speaker 4: She didn't. She took it dead.

00:18:09
Speaker 1: Seriously, I mean, yeah, yeah, she did. She did. I don't really remember a smile. Yeah, I don't really remember a smile.

00:18:18
Speaker 2: There's a reason why she was one, like a exactly.

00:18:20
Speaker 1: Yeah, so I double just like I was like, so it was just like the pussiest little serve that I was just just please get in, please get in, and like I think one went long and then the other one hit the net and I was like, oh my god, and everyone's like boom, kids, mostly kids. I'm like, fuck you kids, Jesus, you tried doing this.

00:18:42
Speaker 2: Before you had kids, yeah, exactly, be like like fuck you kids.

00:18:49
Speaker 4: You'd be like, dare you?

00:18:51
Speaker 1: So I was like no, please please, and like I forget. I think it was like a celeb chair ump too. I forget who who it was not that year was someone fun who was like, oh, do it again, Jason, take it. So I was like, I don't know what was more embarrassing having to do it again and I and because then I was like, if I don't get the third serve in, I just need to like yeah, I think I'll just take I gotta do something, whip my penis out, something, bring a pie, you know it's kids. Yeah, yeah, yeah, well this was before you know hashtag me. This was before me too, when you could in front of chill exactly. Yes, so that's gonna get one of us in trouble, probably both, more likely me.

00:19:42
Speaker 4: I don't know. We both have school aged children in the public school.

00:19:46
Speaker 1: We're both fucked.

00:19:48
Speaker 4: So we just guaranteed ourselves.

00:19:50
Speaker 1: Maybe we cut that part out so anyway, so I don't know what was. I was like, I have to get this third serve in or I am you. I did, thank god.

00:20:02
Speaker 2: But then like that's the one thing.

00:20:05
Speaker 1: But then it was like I think we won the point too, Like we ended up winning that point and I remember like, oh, oh yeah, we did win the point. Shannon. Shannon was taking it very seriously like Shannon I guess had played. I mean I played in high school, but she like was really good and like state champion or something. I think she was like good or by her by her standards, and she took it so seriously like she wanted to. She was like out there and like really like like during warm ups. I was like, oh god, it's gonna be one of these, right because like because you know, of course James and Martina can turn it on like they can whip, they can be serious or not serious. They can be great, they can be some some version of great, but they can adjust it. And so the hope is like that the other celeb I'm playing with is like, okay, we're we're just gonna have fun, right you got and like she was not that at all. She was like, this is my chance to maybe go pro. I'm like, okay, and she took it way seriously. And so when I triple served and then we won that point, she was like.

00:21:16
Speaker 2: But we technically won that point because.

00:21:19
Speaker 1: She was not happy with it. I don't remember her saying that, but I remember just being like, you know, like look into the chair rump who was like, you know, I don't know. It was like it was like heavy D or something. It's like, who knows who it was. It was like really, it's like but I could tell that that it was like a thing, and I was like, oh my god. So it was one of those like I think we played maybe two or three games, maybe not even did it.

00:21:42
Speaker 2: Become easier.

00:21:46
Speaker 1: A little bit the other The only other thing I remember from that, Okay, two more things I remember. The second thing was James and Martin. Since I could, yes, I took a therapist about it. I have PTSD over this. So James and Martina ended up at NET and they did this amazing thing where they were just boom boom boom boom boom boom boom, back and forth.

00:22:11
Speaker 4: You guys are just sitting there like chumps.

00:22:13
Speaker 1: Is that what it's called bolleying? Yeah, we were just sitting in the back like chumps. But of course, like you know, I think Shannon was like ready, She was like ready with it, yeah yeah, yeah, spinning your racket like waiting for it to come back down the baseline, and I'm just sitting there. I like threw my racket down and I'm just like watching having fun. But they had it was great. I mean they went back. It was maybe like five minutes bollying. You'll keep doing that, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah.

00:22:37
Speaker 2: Let me make a joke.

00:22:38
Speaker 1: It was pretty awesome. And then the third and only other thing I remember, and this is kind of okay for me maybe, is that, uh I think I found myself at NET and Blake went to nail a shot past me on the baseline, and all I did was were right at me. It was actually right at me me.

00:23:02
Speaker 2: Close your eyes.

00:23:03
Speaker 1: I totally closed my eyes, threw my racket up in front of my face to protect myself. It hit the racket and it went down, and I don't know if it won the point, but but the fact that I returned it everyone like because it was literally just the kids and it was just like and it like hit like and the crowd went kind of crazy. You had the kids, so I won them back. I won the back.

00:23:23
Speaker 3: Did he know you were gonna possess cat like reflexes or was he body tag?

00:23:28
Speaker 1: I know that's a great question that's in.

00:23:30
Speaker 4: Front of children.

00:23:31
Speaker 2: I'll tell you what they do.

00:23:33
Speaker 1: I'm like, wait, what if I didn't get my racket up with the hell in the eye?

00:23:40
Speaker 2: Let me tell you what happens.

00:23:41
Speaker 1: Just lose an eyeball.

00:23:44
Speaker 2: We know exactly where to hit it where we know if you do miss it, you're not going to lose a testicle or an eye.

00:23:51
Speaker 1: Okay, but you.

00:23:52
Speaker 2: It could reflect onto you and hurt you a little bit. But most of the time we do it to an area that we know that it's possible for you to put your rack up.

00:24:01
Speaker 1: Basically, these celebs.

00:24:03
Speaker 2: Not at your nose, for example. Okay, I'm sure it was just a little bit to the left of your ear.

00:24:08
Speaker 4: That's how good?

00:24:09
Speaker 1: Yeah, I probably right. But what's amazing to me is this idea that literally the ams and the celebs that you guys play with are just they just have targets on them, Like for you, you're just like I could drop it here, I could drop it here here, that doesn't matter.

00:24:24
Speaker 2: That's called ten thousand hours of practice as a sad child out there on the court.

00:24:28
Speaker 3: This is the same thing she told me when we were practicing and she said, I'm going to help you hit her backhand down the line, and then one of them she moved out of the way like I wouldn't notice. She was like, oh, great job, you hit a great passing chat and I was like, no, no, no, I saw you literally like move out of the way.

00:24:40
Speaker 4: I mean, come on, well, at least stand there and had.

00:24:43
Speaker 2: A couple of opportunities to hit. Those opportunities hit winners past me, and it didn't happen. One or two he made. Yeah, it was good. Sad we didn't get to play yesterday because it rained in New York. So I think there was part of him secretly that was happy about it, because he was like it wasn't quite physically prepared to play. But now we're going to play apparently on Friday.

00:25:05
Speaker 3: Well, here's the thing, and I think we should make a solemn pledge, which is the point.

00:25:09
Speaker 2: Of the show. He's every week playing.

00:25:11
Speaker 3: With Well, as you noted, she can't help but coach, which is to our mutual benefit.

00:25:16
Speaker 1: Oh my god, of course.

00:25:17
Speaker 3: Then I think you could do us all a favor by teaching her how to act just a little bit more so when she's diving out of the way to make me it seems real.

00:25:25
Speaker 4: It just seems like I earned it.

00:25:27
Speaker 1: That's a great idea.

00:25:29
Speaker 4: Why not a little exchange.

00:25:35
Speaker 2: We'll bring this up because marytown and Bound, who's a friend of both of ours, is the producer of Oranges and the New Black, which, of course you were on for how many seasons? Because well, according to Neary today that said he didn't she didn't really have some fun stories about you, which was really sad. But you're because you're on the show for one season five years ago, and you then returned the volley to say what because now he may hear this.

00:26:01
Speaker 1: Neary has been a lead producer on the show for all the years that it's been on, and she thinks I've been on for one season many years ago. I was on for two seasons, the first to the whole seat, the whole first two seasons.

00:26:19
Speaker 2: Basically when it became you know the show that it is today, thanks to you, because you're on it for how many seasons?

00:26:26
Speaker 1: Two? NEARI two seasons.

00:26:29
Speaker 2: And the reason I bring up Nary's name is because she is an There is not many bigger tennis fans than the producer of Orange is a new plagu which is Nary ten about and her best friend is married to Paul Annacon.

00:26:41
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, so there's a lot.

00:26:43
Speaker 4: Of former coach of Router Frederer. Well, let's use this opportunity.

00:26:46
Speaker 3: If she's listening to ask Neery, where's the Litchfield subplot about the tennis to tennis team? Because there is there's a there's a folesome State tennis team.

00:26:57
Speaker 2: Huh?

00:26:57
Speaker 4: Could there be a Litchfield tennis That's interesting.

00:26:59
Speaker 1: I like to ask her a different question though, if I may first, which is why don't you love me or remember me? No? No, no.

00:27:08
Speaker 2: At the end of the text, she said.

00:27:09
Speaker 1: That she loves you, well, not enough to remember that I was on her show two years Nary actually she said, but he's a love No, that's very sweet.

00:27:18
Speaker 4: Well let's just put it out there in the ether.

00:27:20
Speaker 3: Larry Bloom comes back coaches the Litchfield tennis team. It's a way to get his character right back in the they're slocking.

00:27:27
Speaker 1: That's a great call. I mean, that's a great call.

00:27:29
Speaker 3: This is why I run a magazine, because we just come up with on the fly.

00:27:33
Speaker 2: Speaking of Racket magazine, this is a Racket podcast. It is you actually like Recot magg You get it.

00:27:42
Speaker 4: Yeah, this isn't just a favor no celebrity.

00:27:44
Speaker 1: No, no, I saw no. In fact, it's I would never be doing this for Renee. I'm doing this because of the magazine for you. Yes, for the t shirt and the canvas back available. I believe it's it's a tote. Is it a tote? It was a tote. I was in my favorite magazine store in the West Village. I was like, Racket. That's interesting because you know they have all these cool you know, there's so many cool magazines these days that kind of cover all different things, and obviously they're getting more niche and getting more sort of specific, but this clearly looked like a magazine that was even just from the cover. It was a cool illustration. But I was like, this seems more like a literary mag like a you know, something of substance, not just some sort of interesting angles into the racket world. Right, So some of the stories and subjects were like I was like, oh, this is very cool. And I took that first issue home and I read it. But I read this morning. I was like, I didn't finish reading it on I was like, let me take another look before I see you guys. And I read Andrea's She's a good writer.

00:28:52
Speaker 2: We're talking about of course ol fashion editor and Pekevich.

00:28:55
Speaker 1: She's a great writer. I was like, this is very cool. I love I love the idea. Did she you that idea? Yeah?

00:29:01
Speaker 4: She pitched me like four ideas, and I was like, yes to all of them. Let's do it.

00:29:04
Speaker 1: You want to pitch an idea? Maybe. So I'll tell you my tennis my history. My history with tennis is when I was thirteen or twelve. When I was twelve, I was doing a play on Broadway No Big Deal, NBD called Conversations with my father with jud Hirsh. Remember jud Hirsh. You know jud Hursh. He's still around great actor and a great guy, and he had still has this crazy spread up in the Catskills and every Sunday night after our show we had off on Mondays in theater, and they he would drive up to his place in the Catskills and spend Monday there and then come back Tuesday afternoon. And it was me and another kid that were in this show with the rest were all adults, and jud was very sweet and would take people up to his house, and the cat kind of you know, extended the offer to everyone, and people went up different weekends, and one weekend he invited me to go up with him and his then wife, and I was like, yeah, that that'd be awesome. And we went up there and we kind of like we hiked and we watched movies and just kind of it was the It was really cool. I mean I grew up in like, like you said, in Bergen County, but like right over the bridge and we're through its own right there, like very dense New York suburbs, not like rural or yeah yeah, no, this was like whoa. And his estate was massive, and he had a tennis court and he's like, do you want to play tennis? I was like, I love, I've always wanted to try tennis, absolutely cool, right on, and like, so he took me to his tennis court on his property and we played tennis for an afternoon and I fucking loved it. And so that year later that year, for my birthday, he got me my first tennis racket.

00:30:51
Speaker 4: Cool.

00:30:51
Speaker 1: And then when I the following year in when I started high school, I was trying to figure out what sports to play. And the problem at this point when it came to my involvement in sports was I was because of my acting. I really, like, you know, like big time acting. I couldn't commit. So so when I was like little little, you know, like in grade school, I played football and I wrestled, and it just look at me, you see you see but you see football player, you see wrestler. Yeah. I mean it's the sort of thing I couldn't miss a practice and then expect it was to It was.

00:31:32
Speaker 2: Just like guys, I was on Broadway.

00:31:33
Speaker 1: Give me b yeah, seriously, guys, the football guy would be like, oh yeah, hey, yeah, me too, Hey Broadway, get over here, we're doing some linebacker drills. I would I lived across the street from this, you know, VFW Veterans of Form, and there was a big Veterans of Foreign Wars building in a parking lot that was basically our playground growth. It was our backyard growing up. So they played their stickball totally and we played football and like stickball and everything on this parking lot. And it had one of the walls. Most of the walls had windows, but one wall was a big just empty wall no windows, And so I would play tennis like against the wall, right, that was yeah, that was my that was my tennis.

00:32:13
Speaker 4: Anyway, what kind of racket do you remember?

00:32:15
Speaker 1: I do? It was real. It was a pro Kennis.

00:32:19
Speaker 4: Kind of off brand for the nineties.

00:32:22
Speaker 1: Yes, yes, So when so I started freshman year and I was like, huh, we had our high school had a tennis team, and we actually had a couple of courts behind the high school. And I was like, I wonder if I could play some tennis like but I wonder if they were it was a spring sport, and I was like, I wonder if they are a little bit more, if the coach would be a little more understanding, like like I wonder how the schedule is basically, like what is the schedule like for tennis. Is it practice every day and then obviously if it's raining, were not playing, Like, what is this sort of And so I went and talked to the coach and he was like, you know, we have matches like once or twice a week after school, and we try to practice every other day, and but you know, look we've if.

00:33:09
Speaker 2: We'll accommentate you.

00:33:10
Speaker 1: Well he was. He was just this coach in particular who I loved, super great guy who was also obviously a teacher in the school, and he was just a great dude. And he was like, look you can. I mean, hopefully you're not missing matches and we're gonna have to replace you, and your playing time is going to depend on how often you're here and contributing and practicing. But if you want to give it a shot, I'll try to be as accommodating as I can. Sort of. Thing's not a lot of people were signing up for tennis right like. It was definitely not. It wasn't like the sport in our school where I grew up. It was all about football and wrestling and you know, basketball and I guess base For the spring it was baseball and track and tennis was sort of the whatever it got like, it was kind of the app It really was, though, but there were like one or two players who were like, they were really good at it, and they showed up, and then everyone else was just kind of trying to get a sport for their college application, like literally literally, which is great for you, right, Which was good for me because as long as I showed some skill, I probably would end up playing, right, And I did, And so I joined the team and I played, and I played, and I loved it, and.

00:34:21
Speaker 3: It was your high school mascot, like just so I can like the Aviators.

00:34:26
Speaker 4: I've never heard that.

00:34:27
Speaker 1: Yes, because we the town is right next to Tearborough Airport, literally right next to Teoborough across the street.

00:34:33
Speaker 2: And so it was almost the same as playing Flushing Meadow, I mean really yeah.

00:34:38
Speaker 1: Well, and and we were under the flight path of Nork as well, Nork Airport, so it literally was like like the LaGuardia of planes taken off. So literally basically my high school tennis courts were Arthur Ashe Stadium and the right. Yes, the U said you for that moment totally totally, and then you just you.

00:34:55
Speaker 2: Know, sadly gave it up because you became a you know, yeah, you know, you know time.

00:35:01
Speaker 1: Super stuff by fucker. Yeah exactly.

00:35:03
Speaker 4: We weren't going to bring it up.

00:35:04
Speaker 1: Well I saw it in your eyes. Yeah, so yeah. So I played and then like my high school in terms of acting, like high school was kind of ebbed and flowed and like it kind of just worked out. Like most of the times I was busy was like in the fall or the summer, and like I was able to show up for tennis and I actually like played all four years and senior year I was first doubles with one of my best friends. So one of my best friends ended up joining and he's like six ' three and so we had a good thing going. He would play net as much as possible and I was, yes, and uh we we had a good thing going. And I think we made we made All League and I think all this all counties, Yeah, do we make all I think we were like maybe first team All League and like third team or honorable mention or something.

00:35:57
Speaker 4: All counting accolades piled up, guess piled up.

00:36:00
Speaker 1: They piled up the accolade.

00:36:02
Speaker 2: Do you get the sports?

00:36:04
Speaker 1: I don't know that I got any award, but but.

00:36:07
Speaker 4: It's aok a question. Were you a hothead? Were you the same sort of joke cracking?

00:36:11
Speaker 1: Got?

00:36:12
Speaker 4: Like, what was your teenage.

00:36:13
Speaker 1: Pers That's a great question.

00:36:15
Speaker 3: I'll buy you some time because in high school I played high school tennis, which was very you know, for anybody who doesn't know, is very separate from the junior league. So the junior leagues are like parents are getting into fist fights and your kid is like this, and my kid is ranked that, whereas the high school tennis scene is actually really nice and kind of relaxed totally and it's not that thing. It's not a feeder for college, and as such, you get this sort of camaraderie.

00:36:36
Speaker 4: My favorite memories.

00:36:37
Speaker 3: Were, you know, winning state and like smoking cigarettes on the van right, you know, like that kind of stuff.

00:36:42
Speaker 2: No wonder the am was still there.

00:36:45
Speaker 3: I think cigarettes were probably pretty low on my list of why I didn't become a stellar Renee Stubs level professional, on.

00:36:51
Speaker 1: The list on the lists I actually showed up. So my my thing, I I was smoking cigarettes. But one day, I'll never forget it. One day after school before practice started, you know, we would go across the street to like the deli and we'd get like a snack or you know, water we'd bring after. I don't think we even had like a water jug at our time. I mean that's how like low rent it was. So we'd go and get our drinks and stuff. And one day I went and I was like craving chocolate milk. I went and got like this giant thing of you who as my like drink for when I was like thirsty and like in between like sets, between games, and my coach is like, did you just really buy you hoot? And I was like, It's fine, I could. I'm not gonna what am I gonna get sick? I got sick.

00:37:40
Speaker 4: I got yes, I got woot it on the court. I got sick.

00:37:44
Speaker 2: I got sick on the court.

00:37:46
Speaker 1: So yeah, So anyway, but I loved it. It was so much fun. I ended up playing with my buddy. And yeah, and you didn't get a college scholarship. No college scholarship. I don't think anyone from Hasburg Heights High School got a college scholarship to play well, any sport probably, but especially tennis.

00:38:04
Speaker 3: Okay, final question for you, what your favorite players?

00:38:07
Speaker 4: I want to layer onto that.

00:38:09
Speaker 3: Sure, favorite players, but more impartably, like why do you relate. Do you see yourself out there and anybody? What do you what are you looking for when you look at the professional tournaments.

00:38:19
Speaker 1: So I've had different players that I've loved over the years. Back in the day when I was like first getting into tennis, I loved Agasy, loved love, love, loved everything about him, and especially when it when the Agassy Sampress years. I liked Sampress as well, like I loved watching him, but I was always the Agassy guy sidebar. One day at Teterborough Airport during the US Open, I was because I live right there. Literally, I drove by and I saw the Agasy plane, the Agasy plane with the tennis ball in the flames on the tail and he did. At the time, I never knew that, And I was like, whoa, that is the coolest thing I've ever seen, Like my two favorite things together, tennis and airplanes. And I was like and Agasy Andre and I was like, oh my god, he has his own plane, the coolest thing and it's tennis fall on five with flames coming out of I was like, that's the coolest thing I've ever fucking seen. So I love the Agasy and but this is interesting and I root for him every journey, so I when I when I did the last with Rain. Oh, so we didn't finish tell Meser. So that was the first time I played center court was for the kids thing, and then I went back again a couple of years later and I played with Chrissy and who else was it Martina again? I think it was Martina again, yes, and Rain Wilson. I remember going into that night having had my previous experience during the kids night, where like I am myself with a triple serve and like all this stuff and this was not but hold on, and this was at night now, and I was like super nervous because I'm like, oh my god, I really have to now I have to make up for the last time. But then we get there and they give us these outfits. They give Rain and I not Chrissy and Martina, Rain Wilson, this is and myself. They give us these crazy old school like Macenroe, bjorn Borg headbands, short shorts, high socks, the whole thing, which made me relieve because immediately sets the tone of oh, we're just joking around. So it took the pressure off of having to But I think again I had the worst serve because I'll never forget because then when I went down to Chrissy's tournament. So at her tournament, chrisy You made some comments like oh, I see you finally started working on your serve and I was like, okay, I like that. She kept yeah seriously, she didn't want to embarrass me in front of twenty thousand people. After that event, I went to you, I was like, can I use this show? I would think I had like something else to go do on a like can I shower? And the guy was yeah. And the guy was like sure, you could use the men's locker room and I was like, oh okay, And there was about oh so it was bright before or after him. It was between real matches. So I went into the locker room and there were players, no one that I had recognized. It was like early rounds. But coming out of the shower, as I was like going in and I was like shirtless and grossly out of shape. Was looked like we was Stan Wavrinca and he was so nice. He was like hey man. He came up to me like hey man, just want to tell you you know, I'm a big fan. I was like, oh, thank you so much. I didn't really know stant this was like his, that was like his. It was his breakout year like five years ago.

00:41:48
Speaker 4: With the Raspberry shorts.

00:41:49
Speaker 1: Yes, very short year, Yes, exactly right. So I fought I like, I was like who, I was like, Stan, nice to meet you, and I was like, stand, oh stare war warrinko. Okay. And I watched him through that tournament, and I've because I had that personal interaction with him, of course, I'm like, I'm gonna keep him in minds and I've watched him do so well, and I he just seems to me like I watched him in interviews and when he seems like an awesome dude.

00:42:14
Speaker 4: Okay.

00:42:15
Speaker 3: So I think we have two commitments from you. You and I are going to enter some sort of tournament.

00:42:18
Speaker 4: Together, yes, and win it and win it and win it. The stakes are high.

00:42:23
Speaker 2: I'm going to coach.

00:42:24
Speaker 1: We have to have you as a coach, Ugly.

00:42:26
Speaker 4: She's gonna chew us out so hard.

00:42:28
Speaker 3: And then we have to have you back on when you make your Racket magazine debut as a writer.

00:42:31
Speaker 1: Done great. I'm gonna start pitching you ideas. I'm gonna try to come up with something.

00:42:35
Speaker 2: You should write a story about growing up with the Plians, coming over your obsession with them, Tennis, I mean it has.

00:42:43
Speaker 3: To end with Teterborough Airport. And then we get a picture.

00:42:48
Speaker 1: In front of Vagazy's plane. Oh, I have the plane. I thought of me flying in Agassy's plane.

00:42:53
Speaker 4: Commission of portrait.

00:42:55
Speaker 1: Me as a centaur in front of Agassy's plane.

00:42:59
Speaker 4: So cover I know I might be able to cover material.

00:43:04
Speaker 3: Jason, thank you for coming, and we're playing.

00:43:09
Speaker 2: Again. I can't wait to what you've done.

00:43:14
Speaker 3: We're almost done, but before we go, listen up for an insane fashion report from our correspondent Andrea.

00:43:24
Speaker 5: Pa Welcome to fashion with Andrea Patkovic b and Vinnidos and Olas de Majorca, Spain, where the essan always shines and the olive oil never disappoints. Put on your best flamenco shoes, gather around the Latin guitar player and listen carefully. Are you and macho machisimo? Then why don't you pick out your best pastel colored Banta alonees and pair them with a polo shirt and the darkest shades you own. Don't be stingy and spend your last penny on a quality tube of hair jail and slick.

00:44:03
Speaker 2: It back all the way back.

00:44:06
Speaker 5: As for the ladies, pat your hand in the middle tied into a knot and throw on your best hoop earrings and don't forget a little charcoal eyeliner. Never hurt nobody when it comes to wardrobe. Red is the answer to all the questions you've ever asked yourself Off the work when you're crying in the shower. Cherry rose, jam mary, low crimson, ruby, blood blush, scarlet and wine. You can do no wrong. Wanna be fashionable and practical as sombrero corradores will round up every look, even yours. Dave no offense, So gether your white horses, boil your sangria, and grill your pullpo. You've arrived in Spain, where everything is possible, but can wait until Maniana, maybe forever fashionable and forever broke. Tempre adios, mocacos, adios, amigos, astella proxima, I am Petsko And this was fashion.

00:45:12
Speaker 3: And that's it for this episode of the Racket Magazine podcast.

00:45:15
Speaker 4: Thanks for listening. Our host is Renee Stubbs.

00:45:18
Speaker 3: Our co host and producer is me Caitlin Thompson music by internationally renowned DJ Stretch Armstrong. Thanks to Tim Or, Jerry, Taylor Dalton, and the team at ACAST. Find us at racketmag dot com, slash podcast, and subscribe to us at any of your favorite podcatchers.