Random observations

... about NYC, US Open, tennis & transportation.

~ The US Open is an amazing, high quality pro sports experience... as long as you're not too pinched by $7 hot dogs and the surly people that make and sell them.

~ When you can get a stadium packed with 23,000 tennis fans, PLUS Jack Nicholson, Lorne Michaels, Will Farrel, Gwen Stefani, Paul Simon, Bill Clinton and Stanley Tucci, something good is going on.

~ New York City is a tennis city and New Yorkers love tennis, and so the energy is high. The US Open belongs in New York.

~ (Some) NYC cab drivers are straight-up crazy, and won't hesitate to put your life in danger. And they still expect a tip.

~ NYC is a town that understands subways and public transportation. Bay Area/BART: take notes, get a clue... DO SOMETHING, you're an embarrassment to the paradigm of rail transit.

~ NYC is a town that understands cuisine. Just as easily as—and probably better than—dropping a fortune in the best French bistros in town, you can walk into a random pasta joint in Little Italy and ask for 2 Peronis and a plate of grilled anchovies that aren't on the menu. They don't even think about it: the answer is YES. (That was Holden's idea... brilliant.)

~ Virgin America is the newest cool/coolest new airline, and ordering drinks at will from the digital touch-screen on the seat-back is a feature I like. But don't expect the high speed internet to be fast.

~ Live, professional tennis is thing of great beauty, intensity, motion and emotion.

~ Six-foot-nine John Isner is a giant AND a giant killer. With towering serves and a cool head, he took down Andy Rodddick and cemented his status as the up-and-coming men's young gun.

~ Melanie Oudin may have been dismissed in the quarterfinals, but her run through the Open was the most exciting thing in women's tennis in a decade. And yes, I mean more exciting that Kim Clijster's return and surprise win, and certainly more interesting than a Sarena Williams meltdown. Melanie Oudin is the FUTURE of women's tennis in the US.

~ Roger Federer is unbeatable. His general perfect-ness and The Miracle Shot against Novak Djokovic in the semifinal proves that his game is more complex, developed and polished than any player in history.

~ Roger Feberer CAN be beaten, as proven by Juan Martin del Potro, who showed us that the impossible is possible by winning the five-set mens final and claiming his first Grand Slam title. Expect more.