Who Gave Vince Spadea A Microphone?

Vince Spadea is an American tennis player. He’s 34-years old, has won just one ATP singles title (Scottsdale in 2004), desperately needs a new mug shot and is currently ranked 113th in the world. His highest world ranking was No. 18, which he reached in Feb. 2005. His career mark on tour is 309-344.

I’m a tennis fan, so I know who he is. He’s from Boca Raton, Fla., which is five minutes from where I lived for eight years. So again, I’m fairly familiar with Spadea.

In 2006, he published an autobiography - yes Vince Spadea published an autobiography - titled “Break Point: The Secret Diary of a Pro Tennis Player.” The book, which takes shots at fellow American James Blake and U.S. Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe, actually sold well when it comes to sports books, and in particular tennis books.

When he’s not penning books and battling through injuries that have nagged him his entire career, he’s either rapping (awfully) or joking it up with reporters. Either way, he’s definitely not playing computer games. (“Those things are for nerds.”)

Prior to this week’s Wimbledon Championships, Spadea was cornered for an impromptu interview with the BBC. I’m telling you, you really need to watch this.

Here are some quick snippets:

“I’m more like a Wolverine. More like a warrior. More like a cat…A cougar. A black panther. I used to be a puma. Now, I’m just a mountain lion. I want to escape everybody.”

While it’s true, Vince, that mountain lions prefer to avoid human contact, a cougar, puma and mountain lion are the same animal.

Q: What was the last sporting event you’ve been to, not tennis related?
A: I was at the parking lot of the Lakers game. I almost made it in. I was trying to get some tickets on the slide. We waited until the first half was over and it was still three-hundy each for two tickets and I decided that the $50 parking fee was enough.

On Monday, Spadea steamrolled Paul Capdeville 6-0, 6-4, 7-5 in the first round at Wimbledon. His “buddy” James Blake, was the first seeded player to be knocked out of the tournament when he lost in straight sets to Italian Andreas Seppi.

So at least we’ll be seeing a little more of Vince in the coming days. And in case you wanted more, here’s a video of Spadea “rapping.” I don’t know what’s worse, the video below or the Young Cons on FoxNews last week.