Agassi Interview on NY Times Site
There's an interesting video interview with Andre Agassi on the NY Times site today. Check it out here.
Please don't forget to bid on our YMCA membership -- or at least tell all your Manhattan friends about it!
YMCA Membership on Ebay
Yet another great donation to McCarren Tennis is on the block: a 6-month "Family II" membership to the McBurney YMCA, which is located on 125 W. 14th Street between 6th & 7th Avenue in Manhattan. The normal fee for this is $150 to join, plus $125/mo., so the total value is $900. The Y has a pool, basketball courts, classes, weights, a steam room and a sauna. It's a great way to stay in tennis shape over the winter, so please place your bids here on eBay or go to our AUCTIONS tab. There also are some sweet Fred Perry tennis sneakers up there. Good luck!!
Wojtek Defeats Moshan
Some news sure to please the legions of Wojtek fans: Wojtek defeated Michael Moshan today, 4-6, 6-3, 10-6 (the last set was a superbreaker). You might remember that Moshan was the runner-up in this year's inaugural Williamsburg Open tournament; this result unfortunately supports Wojtek's claim of cosmic injustice and/or conspiracy, which resulted in him being seeded against the eventual victor, Arthur Bobko, in the first round of the Open. Whatever the case, Moshan will kindly donate $20 to McCarren Tennis -- all for a good cause. Judging from this photo, however, Moshan may be looking for a rematch.
Well, one of them is happy....
Wojtek Challenge Update
Unfortunately (from the perspective of this writer), Wojtek remains undefeated in this fall's Wojtek Challenge. At this point, he has lightened the wallets of Meng Ai (twice, we believe), Lars from Upscale Lighting, and most recently, Sean Hoess, all of whom have paid $20 to McCarren Tennis for their losses. Now Wojtek is clamoring for a match up with Mike Moshan or Jeff Krasno. This is, after all, a challenge, so we felt the need to make this public: Moshan & Krasno, where are you guys? Emerge from your holes and step up for McCarren Tennis. It's time Wojtek contributed to the cause!
Round One of the Wojtek Challenge
We've been having a friendly little series, unofficially dubbed the Wojtek Challenge. As you may have noticed in the comments section, Wojtek was dissatisfied with his position in the draw - he faced the eventual victor, Arthur Bobko, in the first round and lost. To back up his statements that he should have been in the final, he's been challenging some of the other tournament participants to grudge matches. The loser of each Challenge match has agreed to contribute $20 to McCarren Tennis. So far, Wojtek is 1-0; he beat semi-finalist Meng Ai, 6-3 6-3 earlier this week. Meng contributed his $20 to McCarren Tennis already. Do we have any other people out there who will risk a $20 donation to McCarren Tennis for the chance to beat Wojtek?
The Auctions Continue
We have a winner for the first McCarren Tennis auction -- after furious bidding, Jessica Glorieux won the 2 hours of free bowling at Brooklyn Bowl for the face value of $100. In the next few days, we'll make this procedure a bit easier by opening our eBay page, but for now, we have another item:
We have a $100 gift certificate good for anything at all at the online store at www.upscalelighting.com. This is a large online store owned by one of our local supporters. Looking for a wall sconce? How about a desk lamp? Or maybe a new, energy efficient LED lightbulb? Or tables, desks or chairs (it's not just lighting!)? No reserve! To bid, please click on our Auctions tab and bid as normal on eBay. Your payment (if you win) will go 100% to McCarren Tennis, after deducting eBay and PayPal costs. The winner will be announced on the site.
Good luck.
The Count is Official
We're proud to announce that our little event officially raised $3520 for the courts -- and that's after all expenses, like flyers, the banner, making the t-shirts, etc. Thanks again to all the participants and to the generous Brooklyn businesses who donated products or services to our cause. Please make sure you take a peek at our Sponsors page so you know who they are & can support them, too.
Since the tournament, we've been busy doing research on the full costs of resurfacing, nets, etc., as well as figuring out what our winter fundraiser will be. Can't reveal too many details about that yet, but we can promise that it will be at Brooklyn Bowl. And speaking of the Bowl, we have a gift certificate for two hours of free bowling at Brooklyn Bowl -- that's a $100 value. If you want it, please email info@mccarrentennis.org and name your price, which we'll collect in the form of a donation to McCarren Tennis. The highest bidder gets it. Bidding closes on Friday, Oct. 23, 2009 at noon EST and the winner will be announced then on the site. The gift certificate does not expire -- just show up when it's convenient, get a lane, and play for 2 hours for free. UPDATE: we now have one bid for $60. Any others?
Finally, we're in the news again, this time in the Greenpoint Gazette. Keep spreading the word.
McCarren Tennis on Flickr
All the photos from this weekend's festivities are now up on the official McCarren Tennis Flickr page. Check it out. Permalink is to the right under "Links."
Thanks to Fred Perry for the fine gifts.
Bobko (right) def. Moshan, 7-6 (7-5), 6-1
Don’t You Want One of These?
For those of you who forgot to get your t-shirt at the match, we still have some available. All you have to do is go to the Donate tab and send us $20. When that's done, send an email to info@mccarrentennis.org with your mailing address (if different than your PayPal addy) and size. Note that we're out of mediums, but we have small, large, and XL.
T-shirts are only $20
The Fundraising Continues
Now that the tournament is over, we've got a number of schemes to continue to raise money for our mission. The first is this:
Not only did he play at our tournament, but Lars at Upscale Lighting also donated a $100 gift certificate good for anything at his fabulous store. The first person to donate $125 to McCarren Tennis (click the Donate tab) will get this gift certificate for free. Given that the $125 donation is tax-deductible, you're probably making money here. By the way, if you're NOT the first person to donate, we have plenty of other great offerings from local businesses to cushion the pain of the donation. Let's keep this rolling!
We'll be rolling out "donation incentives" every few days, so please check back soon. In the meantime, visit our Forums to find partners and schedule matches.