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Discussion in 'Classic Racquet Talk' started by plasma, Feb 18, 2009.
Plasma, this is such a great racquet
As I mentioned before, only have a couple the Lendl and the Twin, is there a difference with the others?
I love hitting the GTX when I get a chance. What would you say is the difference between the GTX and the White Stars?
Oh and if anyone has any of these, really like to buy some, great prices paid etc
i have another kind of kneissl white star racquets
when i use it to play against people who use the modern racquets, i don't feel i am at a disadvantage at all.
kneissls play like made in Belgium Pro Ones drenched in Merlot (like a fine tuned stratavarius making love to a Les Paul), gtx's play stiff like a prostaff. Total opposite ends of the Spectrum. Only the mold is similar. unless its the red star pro(boron), which is stiff and somewhat similar to the gtx:
I am also after many more kneissls, nothing gives me as much joy to hit with....
the first generation were all white, after that came the all white with the blue and green dovetail, followed by the classic red and blue dovetail. I would love to find the super pro vario or the bluestar pro....the pro-t has lots of flex like the kneissl, but feels rubbery and modern, in contrast to the sweet natural organic powerful yet humble yogic kneissl pro masters.
Those are nice mono shafts. And the damper too.
isn't Mr. Bill hangin a bit lo there??? thought he was supposed to be at the intersection of cross and main, not on the main tracks....I believe white star mid (monoshaft) was 98???ish, from what I can tell all white kneissls before the aero have similar composition and superb feel and performance...
i use the dampener just for decoration, so i don't know exactly where it should be
my racquets are the white star "BIG" and the "BIG" are 98 sq-in. they didn't specify this on the frame but I measured it by lining it up against the prince precision mono and they had about the same headsize. I have seen the "MID" version for sale at the auction site and the headsize for the "MID" has got to be smaller.
Similar architecture (grip on frame shaft), but different composition and vastly different feel and performance across the White Star model range.
I used the White Star Pro Masters as a ranked junior in Europe from 1984-1986, then the Masters 10 (same racket beneath the paint) through early 1988. During this span of time, I also had their model line available to me to see what would make me happiest.
The 10% larger than standard Pro Masters/Masters 10 was a G/F/K composite with hollow core; really there was nothing quite like it except for the same-mold, different comp Adidas Lendl GTX Pro (which was a heavier G/F comp) and the later Lendl GTX Pro-T (which was the same comp as the GTX Pro, just with refreshed graphics for the '85 season). The Adidas frames were awful for S/V play, but were good serve cannons and excellent for groundstrokes, if one had enough time to set up properly. By comparison, the Kneissl WSPM/M10 was lighter and had a more lively feel - less stiff than the Adidas - and with its dense string pattern was pinpoint-accurate and could be volleyed with, if the player wasn't lazy or used bad technique.
The Adi Lendl GTX Pro was a ubiquitous frame in Germany in the mid-80's. Lots of ranked juniors used them, including Claudia Kohde-Kilsch and Boris Becker. I tried them for part of a season, but I wasn't big or strong enough to operate the L3 without getting elbow problems, so I switched back to the Kneissl and was quite comfortable and did OK.
The White Star Twin was a G/F composite, 20% larger than standard size. It was basically Kneissl's attempt to make a Rossignol F200, down to the head size, two-fisted grip, and flex. Apart from the Blue Star aluminum frames, if had to be Kneissl's flexiest frame of that era. I kept one for a while, played tournaments in Hamburg and Norway with it, but even on clay felt it was not as good an all-round weapon as the WSPM.
The WS Mid (later Masters 30) was a 30% larger than standard sized mid, G/F composite, flexier overall than the WSPM/M10 and with a more open string pattern. A fun racket to play, lighter than the WSPM it was their offering at the time for the dedicated S/V player as it lacked some automatic "oomph" off the ground. Milan Srejber used it for a while on tour. When Kneissl introduced the interesting Aero 20 (in 1984) and Aero 30 (in 1985), the WS Mid/M30 basically became redundant, although it was available until 1987.
The WS Big was aimed at recreational players and was a 40% larger than standard "oversize" (now considered a midplus). This again was a G/F comp, flexier than the others (except perhaps the Twin). Initially (1980-1982ish) it was a monoshaft frame, as was the first iteration of the WS Mid, but from 1983-1985 it was a split-shaft. Kneissl dropped this frame when they switched their graphics and naming for the 1986 line, hoping players who liked this frame would move over to the Aero 30C.
The Masters 25 should be included, as it replaced the WS Twin in 1986 with a new mold, slightly larger in the head and stiffer overall, without the big, blocky shoulders of the Twin. However, it didn't make much of an impression as it was discontinued after two years.
Kneissl made some great frames. In 1985, the White Star Pro Masters was used in more grand slam finals than any other model of frame on tour. I still find it disappointing that economic considerations and the widebody craze of the late 80's effectively killed Kneissl's involvement in the tennis market. Although their newer models (Muster specials) have had their place, they are nothing like the originals.
the white star twin and lendl pro (or masters) really capture that wonderful feel. Retrowagon said it perfectly, the gtx was a shrunk down yamaha secret, or keubler profile...stiff! The brilliance of kneissl is the feel, feeling every millimeter of the racquet resonate and respond, brilliant!!!! their closed throat monoshafts were interesting. Still looking for headsize on the mid monoshaft. Rumors say that lendl pj'ed kneissl 20's as opposed to using the adidas.
I have the same mono White Star as Mick, only mine is the Mid version.
please Virginia, what is the headsize? would absolutely love some pics as well.....Heard about your neighbors drought, heartbreaking, the stories of Aussies left with nothing but the burnt clothes on their back is sad. 12 year drought sucks too...Wish I could drop everything and help...
The headsize is less than 85si - hard to measure exactly, because of its shape.
Yes, the fires in Australia have been absolutely devastating and they think around half of them were lit deliberately!
that was an awesome frame!!!!!!!!! yes, the one Lendl used and Curren, it sure seemed like the white star had more inate power and feel than the addias GTX. what an astonishing collection !!!!! just Great!!!!
please provide some links so that we can research this. as well as kneissl pics. Under 85 but bigger than a kneissl? do yours have the blue and green dovetail graphic or is it blue and red dovetail??? don't you love that kneissl feel? I play with a ps 85...the kneissls have about 5 times as much feel!!! like playing tennis with a viola or violin...
Kirkos comment on innate power and feel of white Star vs. gtx was accurate.....Kevin Curren vs. Boris Becker....wow....the kneissl vs. the Puma Winner...
So the Red Star Pro (with boron) that you have pictured here was different in its composition from the regular Red Star (grey with red pinstripe cosmetics and red grommets), right? The Red Star Mids I had were VERY flexible, at least as much as a Rossignol F200. The one in your picture looks so great!
What about breakage problems with 1980s Kneissls? The hollow core design was not the most durable, apparently.
I only noticed two problems during everyday use of these frames for several years, when they were new:
The first came from throwing them on hardcourts on my bad days.
The other was that I preferred mine strung at tensions of 2.3 Kg (5 pounds) over the manufacturer's suggested limit... And within a few hours of play, the spaces of frame between the grommet holes in the upper hoop would collapse.
my white stars are strung with poly, waaay above the reccomended tension....never any problems...I beleive these are tougher than ps 85's, 200g's and f200's combined...only thing soft about kneissl is their touch, and that's by design...
Retrowagen, weren't the Aero models also available in blue cosmetics? I remember an Aero 30 C with light blue paint. The Aero line was an interesting move from Kneissl, considering that their previous models were rather bulky in comparison. In my recollection, the Aero models felt less solid and had a lot of lateral flex in the head.
About the demise of Kneissl in the widebody era: didn't Bruguera win his first French Open with an unmarked Kneissl semi-widebody? Of course the brand did not adjust well to the widebody craze and disappeared soon after.
The 2007 White Star are very different from the originals, apart from the white paint. The extended length, Head-shaped grip, and the overall shape of the frame are just too different. They're still decent frames, though.
Thats right I remember the White Star Aero 20C and 30C or Club were a pastel blue with a pink grommet spoiler.
Fabrice, you have a good memory. The Aero 30C (Club) was pastel blue. The Aero 20C was pastel grey with pinkish grommet and slot cover.
The triangular cross-section of these frames wasn't as torsionally solid as the more conventional, traditional White Star "box beam." Nevertheless, the Aero series were interesting frames. Matt Anger, Heinz Gunthardt, and Andreas Maurer used the Aero 20 on the pro tour for a while. I'm not sure which Kneissl model Brugera used in his first Roland Garros win.
It seems like the newer generation of the Kneissls were almost clones of the Head PT630, thanks to a certain Herr Muster being catered to.
Helena Sukova moved form the white star masters to the aero. She had much better form and timing than even Navratilova and Smapras. One of the most technically underrated yet greatest players of all time...a tall czech hottie...mmmm. Helena
Wow, Heinz Gunthardt... He also had a contract with Browning for a while, and played with their monoshaft white frame. Didn't Pavel Slozil and the Maleeva sisters use Kneissl as well? Remember Juan Aguilera?
Two of the Maleeva sisters did, IIRC, and Slozil, and Aguilera, and Jakob Hlasek, and Marian Vajda (Czech ATP player), and Petra Huber (Austrian WTA player), and ...
the classy sassy Boer Constirctor, Kevin Curren:
Here's a pic of some of my white frames, which includes the White Star:
Was it this one?
the blue and green dovetail are earlier versions than the red and blue dovetial ( I was thinking of using "skidmarks" but I like "dovetail" better as a description). The very first vesions are all white. Looks to have an adidas steincil and the classic air rifle technology typical of white stars.
Better feel than a wood racquet... when used with proper long strokes the ball makes love to the racquet and Mozart is heard!!!
Yes that's the Browning indeed (BT 400). There was also a standard size open throat model (BT 500??). They made a whistling sound when swung, and were very very stiff. They were made at a gun factory not far from where I grew up. Strange honeycomb structure, unlike anything else ever produced. I once found one left in a teaching basket at an indoor facility in the late 90s, and hit ten balls with hit. It was still much stiffer than the Pro Staff 6.1 I was using at the time, which itself had an RA of 70! Browning made midsize frames with that design, but they were prone to cracking, and gave many club players a case of tennis elbow!
Plasma tell me more about this stiffer Red Star. Have you played with it much. Give us reviews of all of your babies.
red star did not have the snap resonance and fine tuned brilliance of the kevlar white star. The Boron stiffened the layup too much. Unlike the gtx pro-t which is a more forgiving, stiff, rubbery, and consistent manuverable high performance version of the gtx, the red star pro and the adidas boron are less responsive, less unified, less resonant, and more serious. Response time off the string bed seems shorter, they seem less patient and less friendly.
What about the other ones you have? You have like 5 other ones on your pictures, I want to know about each of these. What are the differences, which one plays the best? Weight, Balance, swing weight, etc.
there's no best or worst. All white stars with the box beam have the same feeling. It's an angelic snap. The pro masters is underpowered, the Masters 30 is much more powerful than a prostaff and plays like an aeropro drive with a soul. The aero is unique but I prefer the box beam, even though the aero is a decent pro racquet perfect for modern lendl wannabees. White star twin is sublime. Like a vacuum pro, the lendl pro is one of the best feeling racquets ever; packed with herbs spices, gooey caramel nougat and ceramic nectar, and a rich buttery, savory hearty home-cooked flavor, the lendl pro is more of a universe of blessed experience than a mere racquet per se, my favorite of all time, a symphonic dyonisian masterpiece!
If Fabrice is going to bring up Browning racquets, I have to throw out an early Kneissl pro who final'ed at the WCT Forest Hills T of C in '81, beating McEnroe along the way with monoshaft Kneissl White Star Mids: Carlos Kirmayr (BR).
Just trying to not be out-obscured.
plasma, I love your prose, and agree if you're saying that the Lendl/Pro Masters/Masters 10 has a more solid, bulkier feel than the larger headed White Stars. I got my first Lendl around 84, as they were disappearing, and the feel was awesome - wood-like but with more snap and energy return. This is consistent throughout the small-headed Pro line. By contrast, I've also tried the Twin and the Mid (open throats both), and they were lighter and while solid played almost hollow in feel, less substantial than the Lendl and its successors. This all makes sense because the Lendl was Kneissl's "pro" frame which they notoriously set out as "tournament level" only - one would expect a difference in feel.
Fabrice. You're right.
The Browning split-throat is the BT 500. This it. And it does whistle when you swing it. It's one of my favorites, actually, a very interesting frame. The throat says it has a "light alloy cellular structure." The cover is actually from a BT400, so I should send it to you, Virginia. What will you give me for it?
That's the one. I haven't seen those in ages! Super-stiff frame, even by today's standards. My tendons are hurting just looking at it.
Carlos K., yes, of course... Great memory, Colpo.
It so happens I have a cover for mine, schu47, otherwise I might have been tempted to enter into some negotations.
Actually that BT 500 looks very nice - it's the first time I've seen a Browning anywhere, other than my own.
in terms of playability white racquets usually signify ceramic flexiness. It breaks my heart that the browning is said to be stiff. The grommets give me kneissl flashbacks. I guess that making a unique sound and being beautiful enough to put in a museum is the only thing it shares with kneisls. Too bad. I'd still like to try one with a dampener and rate its performance, would look sweet on my wall as well...graphics are almost cartoon like, fantastic!!!!!
How much would a Kneissl White Star Big would be worth these days? I have an opportunity to pick one up really cheap
Anyone know????
When I hit with a Lendl Pro aka air rifle a few months back, I remember, even the people at three courts down started staring at me...POP!!! I love that sound...this and the RD7 with a multi...totally sounds like a Smith & Wesson lol..
do you like to hit straight through the ball??? it's impossible to do accurately with modern racquets which are only good for topspin. Connors and Lendl owned with monoshafts but withered with mids. Thats' because monoshafts are more powerful and accurate, just takes a really strong player to use them..
White Stars for sale
I have a couple of White Star Masters 50 for sale.
ad posted in for sale. condition 7/10
email for pics
masters 50, you mean a 116 in white star?.....even I'VE never seen one of those!!!
He meant Masters 30. I tried to buy them, but he lost my email, now he has sold them
you guys don't realize how rare kneissls are.....plasmas favorite.... would BARELY pick a fortnight of wild passionate (sweaty, nekkid) love with Kournikova over a single white star masters....I saw pics of them as well....also sad that they are not in my hands....did I mention how rare and great these are?....
What's a reasonable price for a Kneissl White Star, Twin White Star (Austria), Boron, Graphite, Fiberglass? Is $60 okay?
the white star twin feels as good as Kournikovas tushy, I would gladly pay $60 for either...
how about a Kneissl White Star Big?
that's more like Serenas Booty, between kneissl 25 and 30 is not 5 square inches but 25 square feet. That's because by Plasmas Formula (yup I invented it) every square inch increases the legth of a baseline drive by 1 foot. 30's, or bigs play just like aeropro drives. After a certain point a kneissl is no loger a kneissl, this is not heaven, I am not Jesus, this is no forum, this is no arrow....Aguire the wrath of plasma!
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subset: commoncrawl


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Twitter User Exposes Crazy Rapper Tweets From Years Ago
Do you remember what you tweeted last week, let alone five years ago? Surely, some embarrassing posts are lodged between those inspirational words and deep thoughts. Well, a few rappers got their 140 characters thrown back at them early in the a.m. when Twitter user @SargeWP started retweeting old tweets from artists that date as far back as 2009. They're full of contradictions and straight shots at fellow peers and, worse, their current bosses. Yikes. Hopefully, this doesn't stir up old emotions. Click through for the amusing throwback tweets.


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Time for football. Hope you will join me in this walk down memory lane and then keep walking with me to help create cool new memories for Chapelboro visitors.
A few years ago, Art, Ryan and I went to South Bend, Indiana for the Carolina/ Notre Dame game.
Let's greet their fans – the Elon Phoenix in maroon and gold – with a smile and a warm "Welcome to Carolina". If you run a business in town, ask your staff members to do the same. Put up signs that say Welcome Elon Fans.
To the manager they said, "We weren't sure we'd be welcome here at all. It was nice to see your sign."
Wonderful! They had just gotten in to town and already felt welcome to Carolina!
See Also: 10 Ways to Get the Most from Game Day
Ready-to-print signs:
For best results:
- set "Preferences" to "landscape".
- print and cut in half as shown by cut lines.
- print on white paper, preferably recycled.
- print in color.
- print responsibly.
Problems with link to Elon signs? Try this.
Problems with link to Go Heels signs? Try this.
Welcome signs for future games are available at: SignsForGameDay.biz
See Also: 10 Ways to Get the Most from Game Day


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For the first time ever, hear Woody Allen's Mere Anarchy in the author's own distinctive and hilarious voice. Here, in his first short-story collection since his three classics Getting Even, Without Feathers, and Side Effects, Allen has managed to write a book that answers the most profound questions of human existence.
In 18 flights of inspirational sanity, we are introduced to a cast of characters only Allen could imagine: Jasper Nutmeat, Flanders Mealworm, and the independent film mogul E. Coli Biggs, just to name a few.
Whether he is writing about art, sex, food, or crime, Allen is explosively funny. In "This Nib for Hire", a Hollywood bigwig comes across an author's book in a little country store and describes it in a way that aptly captures this magnificent volume: "Actually," the producer says, "I'd never seen a book remaindered in the kindling section before."
Woody Allen's short story collections Mere Anarchy, Getting Even, Without Feathers, and Side Effects are available separately or together as part of The Woody Allen Collection.
Listen to Without Feathers, Getting Even, Mere Anarchy, and Side Effects - or all four in The Woody Allen Collection.
©2007 Woody Allen (P)2010 Audible, Inc.
"Throughout my life, literally thousands of people have made me feel inadequate, but none more so than Woody Allen."(Larry David, Producer, Writer, Actor)
"Woody Allen brought modern comedy to the cinema screen." (Ricky Gervais)
"Nostalgically enjoyable....The stories in Mere Anarchy deliver the same joys and foibles that have been with its author from the start." (The New York Times)
"Brilliant neurotica...unfailingly entertaining...[an] obsessive and seriously funny book." (Los Angeles Times Book Review)
"It's Woody Allen!"
If you're a fan of Woody Allen then buy it. If you're not a fan of Woody Allen then still buy it ;)
"What can I say…?"
One thing about Woody Allen--you can count on him to either hit it out of the park or strike out. In "Getting Even" he hit it out of the park and in this collection he…well, you can figure it out.
Listening to these 2 audiobooks in sequence, I am reminded of how thin the line is between brilliantly intelligent satire and overblown, pretentious nonsense. While this book has its moments, it definitely leans towards exemplifying the latter. It is a collection of essays in which Allen uses news snippets or minor personal experiences as inspiration for fictionalized comic sketches. In finding the ridiculous in these things, he ends up going too far and ends up being tiresomely ridiculous himself.
Nevertheless, I certainly will never give up on Woody, because, who knows, next time it could well be a home run!
"Don't buy it"
Wish I could get my money back. Terrible. The only humor is his attempt to use the most convoluted language to express the most simple of thoughts.
"Best of Woody Allen's Four Humor Books"
Each of Woody Allen's four humorous books is a compilation of New Yorker articles. Woody reads all four for Audible and gives a great performance in each. This one seems to be the funniest to me though certainly each chapter can be hit or miss depending on individual tastes.
"Big Woody Allen Fan!"
5 Stars all the way! You can't beat this, Woody Allen reading his own words is just downright hilarious. Great pick up!
"2 ½ stars. Ok but not as funny as I expected."
I had a few chuckles but no laugh-out-louds. Sometimes my mind wandered. I like his weird mind. Woody Allen has a strange relationship with food. Several times he mentioned something odd with food. Many of the vignettes did not have endings. He just sort of stopped.
Woody Allen narrated this. It was better than his narration of some of his earlier works. In those he spoke too fast, not pausing enough for ideas to settle and for a laugh.
Genre: humorous thoughts.
"Masterpiece of humorous personal essays"
Having read these essays (yes, I said essays for they are in the classical sense essays, using many formal techniques and employing great erudition) before, I found them more profoundly funny than anything I can think of as read by Allen. Most of them are so tightly written they could be used as examples in composition classes, yet they are hilarious! And it's interesting to note how influential Allen's style has become. Most of today's best humorous writers--Sedaris, Vowell, and the stable of clever New Yorker essayists--owe great debts to Allen's approach to the essay, using personal excavation balanced with ironic twists to make strong comments on being an American right now.
Even though I've always thought Allen a good comic actor, he becomes a great reader interpreting his own writing. Excellent on the page, these essays rise to the level of greatness when Allen reads them.
Mere Anarchy read by Allen represents what heights Audible books can reach. It's hard to imagine Woody Allen the actor maintaining such restraint in his performance, but as a reader he experiences his essays so sincerely that he rises above himself as an artist. Anyone who hasn't read Allen's essays may be floored to find his humor can reach such levels of profundity. He ranks with Joseph Epstein and John Updike among the greatest contemporary personal essayists of our time.
"Great performance - confused story"
This was the fourth Woody Allen book I've enjoyed from Audible. As always, Woody's voice is the best part about it; his narration is spectacular, and these books definitely benefit from his skilled reading.
The stories themselves are reasonable, with a healthy dose of nonsense thrown in. I found this strange style disconcerting for the other books, but by the time I reached this one, I was fairly comfortable with Allen's style.
There are a few absolutely outstanding lines; for example, when making a hasty retreat: "Now I really must be going. I have a raccoon at home that needs milking."
"Crafted Absurdity"
This is like Monty Python but with frequent references to those who are more well read. These aren't joke books but series of stories with major non sequiturs as the source of humor. The little gags keep coming but don't expect many (or any) full on belly laughs. This is a little amusement for people who those who will pride themselves on "getting" the historical, philosophical, or literary references. Still much of it is just plain silly.
Buy the set it's a MUCH better deal.
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A smiling Brad Guzan fielded point-blank shots rocketed off the foot of U.S. goalkeeper coach Chris Woods in the corner of the University of Denver's soccer field. Watching Monday afternoon were a few bored students resting in the stands and media more interested in coach Jurgen Klinsmann's shooting drill on the other end of the field.
For Guzan, quiet anonymity was his career companion for four years.
But today, that obscurity is a speck in his rearview mirror while living in the white-hot pressure cooker that is Premier League soccer in England and World Cup qualifying in the United States.
Few soccer players in the world are under more pressure this month than the balding 28-year-old from suburban Chicago. First, he's about all that stands in the way of tradition-oozing Aston Villa from getting relegated to England's second division.
Second, at 8 p.m. Friday, in a sold-out Dick's Sporting Goods Park, he'll replace injured Tim Howard against Costa Rica in a World Cup qualifier for a U.S. team already one step deep in the CONCACAF hole. The U.S. must merely finish in the top three in the six-nation CONCACAF to automatically qualify for its seventh consecutive World Cup. But after losing to Honduras, 2-1, and with ensuing games at Mexico and Jamaica, starting 0-2 won't bode well for a nation still running in place trying to join the world's soccer elite. This is his first World Cup qualifier in four years.
Brad Guzan? Your nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
"We all know the magnitude of the game," he said. "We know how big it is, how important it is to our country, to our team. For me, you prepare as you would any normal week. Come Friday, we'll be ready."
Howard has played every major U.S. soccer game for the past four years. However, he broke bones in his back Feb. 26 and will be out four to six weeks. So Guzan not only must help beat a Costa Rica team that has gone 3-0-2 against the U.S. its last five games but must face Mexico Tuesday in Mexico City where the U.S. has won once in history.
"He's played World Cup qualifiers already successfully and most importantly, he became the No. 1 at Aston Villa," Klinsmann said. "So, we have total trust in him."
Guzan is also coming in fine form. He made two spectacular saves Saturday as Aston Villa edged Queens Park Rangers, 3-2, to move three points clear of the Premiership's bottom three teams designated for relegation to the second division at season's end.
This came off the heels of a 2-1 win over Reading. Aston Villa, founded in 1874, hadn't won back-to-back Premier League games since May 2011.
Said Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert after the QPR win: "I have already said I wouldn't swap (Guzan) for anybody else but I'm getting sick of speaking about him."
Much will be made of the United States' injury-ravaged defense. Not to say that the defenders called up for Friday are young but after Tuesday's practice, Klinsmann took them out for ice cream.
That's nothing new to Guzan. Aston Villa's defenders include 22-year-old Joe Bennett, 21-year-old Nathan Baker and 23-year-old Ciaran Clark. The savage British press hammered the trio for making mistakes leading to goals in three straight games while Guzan is trumpeted as Aston Villa's guardian angel.
Guzan doesn't pile on, praising their skill and, instead, emphasizing the challenge in playing in the best league in the world.
"You look at the quality of the internationals that are over in England," Guzan said. "There's a reason they're getting paid 200,000, 250,000 pounds (about $300,000-$375,000) a week. The best players in the world are going there. As a young goalkeeper you want to go against the best in the world."
That was Guzan's plan when he left Chivas USA for Aston Villa in 2008. But after four years, including a half-season loan to Hull City, he had appeared in only 52 games playing primarily behind compatriot Brad Friedel. Even saving four penalty shots against Sunderland in October 2009 didn't nail down a starting job.
He has been Howard's backup on the national side since 2006. He's 3-1-1 in his five World Cup qualifiers and also blanked Egypt, 3-0, in the 2009 Confederations Cup.
He finally came into his own at season's end last year when he earned a new contract from Aston Villa and beat out Shay Given, Ireland's national goalkeeper.
"When you're able to work with world-class goalkeepers like Brad and Tim and Shay Given, you get better," Guzan said. "During that time I knew it was an important time. I knew I was going to get a chance."
He has succeeded on the English stage. Now he must do the same on the world stage. And America is watching.
John Henderson: 303-954-1299, firstname.lastname@example.com or twitter.com/johnhendersondp
Following in the footsteps of …
If Brad Guzan takes the title of starting U.S. goalkeeper, he could become the next face of U.S. soccer. U.S. goalkeepers have long been among the most recognized American players worldwide:
Tony Meola 1988-1995
The godfather of modern American goalkeepers, he was in goal (with a notorious ponytail) in the 1994 World Cup in the U.S., becoming one of the faces of a burgeoning American team.
Brad Friedel 1996-2002
Made his World Cup debut in 1998, but excelled in 2002, helping the U.S. in a surprising run to the quarterfinals that included a shutout victory over Mexico.
Kasey Keller 2003-2006
The most-capped goalkeeper in U.S. history with 102. Led the Americans to the 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup title. Played on four World Cup rosters between 1992 and 2006.
Tim Howard 2007-2013
Considered by many the world's best goalkeeper in recent years at Everton in England. Started each game in the U.S. run to the 2010 World Cup round of 16.


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No pause for intermission
An innocent man who has been framed for murder races across England and Scotland in pursuit of answers even as he is being pursued by the police and German spies in "The 39 Steps," a tour de force theater piece for four actors that begins previews Saturday night at Shakespeare & Company's Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre where it officially opens next weekend. And just as the play's central character, Richard Hannay, is off and running, so too is the Berkshires' fall theater season.
Actually, the first of the fall shows -- C-R Productions' "In the Heights" at Cohoes (N.Y.) Music Hall, "Hedda Gabler" at Hartford (Conn.) Stage, and "The Little Dog Laughed" at The Theater Barn in New Lebanon, N.Y. -- are all ending their runs Sunday.
For The Theater Barn, it's the end of the 2012 season. For C-R, which came perilously close to folding after its August production of "Guys and Dolls," "In the Heights" precedes Jerry Herman's "Hello, Dolly!" Nov. 1 through 11.
Hartford Stage follows "Hedda" with a brand new musical, "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder," Oct. 11 through Nov. 4, and then its traditional "A Christmas Carol," beginning Nov. 25 and running through late-December.
Just a few blocks from Hartford Stage, the funky TheaterWorks is getting ready to open its 2012-13 season with "Venus in Fur," David Ives' recent two-character Broadway hit about a most unusual theater audition. Performances begin Oct. 5 and continue through Nov. 11.
Back in our neck of the woods, Capital Repertory Theatre in downtown Albany is a week away from "Pride @ Prejudice," an ingenious look at Jane Austen's literary classic that had its first performances in the summer of 2011 at Chester Theatre Company. The director and four of the original Chester cast members are making the trip to Albany and playwright Daniel Elihu Kramer says he's done some tweaking.
"Pride @ Prejudice" runs Sept. 28 through Oct. 28, followed by "Next Act! New Play Summit," a weekend of readings of a new musical and two new plays, Nov. 2, 3 and 4, and then "This Wonderful Life," a one-actor treatment of Frank Capra's classic film, "It's a Wonderful Life," Nov. 23 through Dec. 22.
South of Capital Rep in Hudson, N.Y., StageworksHudson will present "The Rivalry," a play about the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates, beginning Oct. 3 (ironically, the night of the first of three Obama-Romney debates) and running through Oct. 21.
Time was when these neighboring regional theaters drove the fall theater schedule. Not any more.
For example, if you think "The 39 Steps" is all that Shakespeare & Company is planning for the fall, think again. "The 39 Steps" closes Nov. 4 and will be followed Nov. 30 through Dec. 30 by "The Santaland Diaries," David Sedaris' account of his time as an elf in Macy's Santaland. And on Dec. 14 and 15, Shake & Co's conservatory company will perform Shakespeare's "King John" in the Tina Packer Playhouse.
And Pittsfield's Upstreet Cultural District is humming with theater this fall.
Barrington Stage Company has brought back its summer hit, Mark St. Germain's "Dr. Ruth, All the Way," starring Debra Jo Rupp as the popular sex therapist. It's in BSC's St. Germain Stage at the Sydelle and Lee Blatt Performing Arts Center now through Oct. 7. And beginning Oct. 3, BSC will present a stage adaptation of William Golding's classic novel, "Lord of the Flies," on its Boyd-Quinson Mainstage. It runs through Oct. 21.
Berkshire Theatre Group has brought back its summer season-opener, "The Puppetmaster of Lodz," now through Oct. 7 in its Unicorn Theatre in Stockbridge. Back in Pittsfield's Upstreet Cultural District, BTG's Colonial is home to a pre-Broadway workshop presentation of a new musical, "FOUND" tonight and Saturday. And next Friday, evening, BTG will present a staged reading of "Moby Dick Rehearsed," also at the Colonial.
Words -- plays and poetry, short stories and monologues -- along with music and dance are the stuff of "Made in the Berkshires," a full weekend of original works by Berkshires playwrights, poets, authors, composers and choreographers performed by Berkshires actors, narrators, dancers, musicians, writers -- Oct. 5, 6 and 7 at the Colonial Theatre, The Garage (in the Colonial lobby) and the Unicorn in Stockbridge
Then, in December, it's BTG's annual "A Christmas Carol," at the Colonial.
Next door to the Colonial, WAM Theatre is setting up shop at Berkshire Museum with a world premiere, "The Old Mezzo" by Berkshires-based writer Susan Dworkin. The gifted Eileen Schuyler heads a cast of professional actors from the Berkshires, the Pioneer Valley and New York's Capital Region. The drama begins Oct. 12 and runs through Oct. 28.
Town Players of Pittsfield, one of the oldest community theater groups in the country, has a series of play readings at the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts on Renne Avenue. First up is "What's Wrong With This Picture?" a comedy by Donald Margulies, this Sunday afternoon, followed on Oct. 28 by Lucille Fletcher's "Sorry, Wrong Number" and another reading Nov. 25 TBA.
In South County, Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington is showing an HD telecast of London's National Theatre production of Shakespeare's "Timon of Athens" with Simon Russell Beale, Nov. 1 and 10. On Dec. 4, the Mahaiwe will host a touring production of the musical "Menopause --The Musical."
Nothing yet from Great Barrington's Mixed Company but you can be sure they will have something for us before the year is out.
Elsewhere, Ghent Playhouse in nearby Ghent, N.Y, begins its 2012-13 season Oct. 12 with "The Countess," running weekends through Oct. 28, followed Nov. 23-Dec. 9 by its annual holiday panto. This year it's "Robin Hood and His Merry Men."
In Cambridge, N.Y., Hubbard Hall Theater Company opens its 2012-13 season Nov. 9 with Kaufman and Hart's endearing Pulitzer Prize comedy, "You Can't Take It With You," running through Nov. 25.
In Sharon, Conn., Aglet Theatre Company, which performs in the spring at BTG's Unicorn, is presenting staged readings of Yasmina Reza's "Life X 3," Saturday evening; Jerome Kilty's "Dear Liar," Oct. 12-14; and David Ives' "All in the Timing," Nov. 17, all in TriArts' Bok Gallery.
And if you're looking for big Broadway musicals, Proctors in Schenectady, N.Y., has them -- the national tours of "Mary Poppins," Oct. 2 through 7, and "Wicked," Nov. 7 through 25.
If you'd like to leave a comment (or a tip or a question) about this story with the editors, please email us. We also welcome letters to the editor for publication; you can do that by filling out our letters form and submitting it to the newsroom.


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Free ZoneAlarm. How can I restore the original default settings without reinstalling the program. This is an excellent program but I have uncontrolled fingers!
Free ZoneAlarm. How can I restore the original default settings without reinstalling the program. This is an excellent program but I have uncontrolled fingers!
1.) Hold down the Ctrl and Shift keys together
2.) Right click on the ZA icon near your clock
3.) Choose 'Reset' from the box that comes up
4.) Choose Yes on the Reset Settings dialog box
5.) When prompted, choose OK to restart your system
6.) Follow the on screen configuration prompts after reboot
If you are not able to do the automatic reset you can perform a manual reset booting in SAFE MODE:
To repair this problem, please follow these steps. Please note that this will remove your program permission settings (so you may want to make note of them), but re-establishing them is a simple process. If any of the steps below does not apply to you, or you are unable to perform the function listed, please continue to the next step. This MUST be done with an Admin account if your Operating System supports these!
- If you are running Windows 95/98/Me/XP/2000, reboot your system into Safe Mode. Your OS determines the method, but normally pressing F8 at the beep, or holding the control key during bootup, will work. For more information on rebooting in Safe Mode, click Start, then Help. Click the Search tab, and type in "Safe Mode". Double- click "Start Windows in Safe Mode" for the instructions.
- Open the Internet Logs directory (in 9x/ME this will be "c:\windows\internet logs", in NT/2000 it will be c:\winnt\internet logs, in Windows XP it could be either of these folders).
- Delete all files that have the extension .RDB, .LDB, or TMP.
- Empty your Recycle Bin.
- Reboot your system.
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Kick saves, leaping parries, reaction saves, penalty-kick stops – whatever your favorite flavor of goalkeeping heroics, odds are it's represented among the latest batch of Save of the Week nominees.
Maybe you'll like Colorado keeper Clint Irwin's rob of Houston's Brad Davis. Or New England keeper Bobby Shuttleworth's sprawling block on Michael Farfan's shot. Or a save by Portland's Donovan Ricketts, Chicago's Sean Johnson, or Houston defender Kofi Sarkodie.
Whichever one you pick, it's a worthy choice? Voting runs from until 11:59 pm PT on Thursday.
Check out complete Save of the Week coverage — including a full archive of 2013 winners.


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With Christian Abbiati's contract set to expire in the summer, Milan have a goalkeeping decision to make. Antonio Labbate looks at their options.
You didn't need to be an expert lip reader to understand what Adriano Galliani said. Sitting uncomfortably in the stands at the Stadio San Paolo, he was caught on camera screaming a couple of unpleasant obscenities at Milan goalkeeper Christian Abbiati. "Portiere di m... Portiere del c..."
"I've seen that shot again on 100 occasions and every time I don't know how I wasn't able to stop it," Abbiati said of his failure to get behind a soft Gokhan Inler effort in the recent 2-2 draw in Naples. "I was a bit too far to the left, but the ball changed direction. It was like what Andrea Pirlo used to do to me in training a few years ago."
Vice-President Galliani later apologised to the Rossoneri veteran in public and private, insisting that his inner fan had momentarily overtaken him. But that emotional outburst of frustration is one that some Diavolo supporters can relate to when it comes to a goalkeeper who has far too often mixed the sublime with the ridiculous.
No matter what reserve custodian Marco Amelia may say – "Abbiati and I are the best pair of goalkeepers in Italy" – the club have a serious decision to make at the end of the present campaign when it comes to the gloves. Abbiati's contract will expire in June. He'll then turn 36 in July. Do the outfit offer him a new one-year deal, do they replace him with Amelia or even a goalkeeper of the future?
It's a tricky choice to make and obviously one dependant on two factors – the quality of the net-minder whom they could bring in and the costs of such an operation.
The Italian market has a number of interesting options, but all come with a footnote of doubt. Atalanta's Andrea Consigli is someone whose career is heading in the right direction, but he lacks experience. He's the kind of player who would benefit with a stint at a bigger mid-table club before potentially making the leap to San Siro.
It's a similar scenario for Genoa-owned Mattia Perin, who joined Pescara on loan in the summer. A fine prospect no doubt, but it might be too much to ask him to play in such a responsible position for a club like the Diavolo when he's not yet even assured of a regular place in the Italian Under-21 side.
Lazio's Federico Marchetti could be a suitable target as he has the right mix of age, talent and experience, but capital chief Claudio Lotito notoriously sells at inflated asking prices. Marchetti, much like Abbiati and Amelia, can be prone to the odd costly error too.
It's not going to be an easy decision to make for the Milan hierarchy, one complicated by the fact that signing a replacement for Abbiati should have been a problem posed in the past and subsequently already resolved. One can comprehend the strong bond between the club and a player who joined them in 1998 – he made key saves in the Scudetto success of 1999 and 2011 – but time waits for no man.
Last summer, Inter showed the kind of ruthlessness that is sometimes needed when they unceremoniously told Julio Cesar to find a new club. They replaced him with Udinese's Samir Handanovic, a player who earns just €0.3m a season more than Abbiati, and an individual who has looked ready for the biggest stage for the last three seasons.
Handanovic was clearly a missed opportunity for the Rossoneri, but they now have the next six months to look around Italy, Europe or even South America if needed, and ponder their next move. If the conditions are right, they have to bring in a new shot-stopper, otherwise they'll have to swear by Abbiati and accept that errors will be made.
Keep up to date with the latest news and action from Spain's Primera Division with Football Espana - from the team behind Football Italia. [13]


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Chicago Fire Head Coach and Director of Soccer Frank Yallop
On where the breakdown occurred:
"We seemed flat from the first whistle. The guys seemed up for the game, but we weren't sharp. We had a couple chances here and there. Same as them, but they were sharper in front of the goal but we were poor defensively. For us, we have to address that but it's difficult. We have a few guys out at the moment, so there's not a lot we can change. We just have to keep working, and it's one of those games were Columbus was better than us tonight they deserved to win the match. You have to take the defeat and move on."
On having five players out:
"You can understand how it's not just the defense. You have key guys not playing, six or so. It's not an excuse I never make excuses. I'm not blaming them they haven't played for a while. Steven Kinney came in and he hasn't played all season. Grant Ward made his debut and he hasn't played for four months. Tough night around we kept going to the end but, we were pretty naïve generally all over the pitch, especially defensively. We have to make better decisions where we don't give chances to the opposition. We left the game mentally flat. Maybe it's because we came off two wins, and we don't think we have to earn the right to play a game. We do every game."
On dealing with Higuain's ability to spring players:
"He's pretty close to the best in the League. The game plan was as soon as he got the ball to drop. We couldn't really figure it out. He does it at the right time and he finds space. He's a good player, take nothing away from that guy. He's a very good player. He sees the game well. He sees the game how it should be looked at. Offensively, we couldn't handle it. It wasn't just him they had good runners off the ball. We made poor decisions defensively to give them the chances to score."
On not being able to score:
"That's kind of us. We looked like we were going to score most games. We went through the game and had some good chances. Quincy [Amarikwa] has gotten some good spots. I just talked to him he's a little calmer, a little bit picking guys out. I've only seen him once but we had chances to score but you can't keep conceding goals and win matches. At some point you need to shut it down and make it difficult. It's the whole team; it's not just one or two guys. The whole team has to do it."
Chicago Fire Midfielder Jeff Larentowicz
On the backline:
"Columbus guys are tricky, they know how to run off your back shoulder, they know how to find time on the ball and it allows guys in the midfield to pick out runners. I think that both goals come off of passes from the midfield with runners off of our back shoulder. They both ended up as goals. They also had other opportunities that were similar that didn't come off for them."
On Columbus tactics:
"They overload the midfield so we have to find a way to get pressure on the ball. If we turn the ball over then there is no pressure on the ball and then he can pick his head up and make those passes. Like I said, the forwards and the wingers are tricky enough to run off his shoulder and find that space. It's dangerous."
On missing players on the road:
"Every road game in this League is a difficult game. However, every road game is a winnable game if you're playing right, if you're turned on at the right moments. Today we weren't."
Chicago Fire Goalkeeper Sean Johnson
On new players in new positions:
"I think you can't really come up with any excuses. You can't really look to blame a different lineup or different person. We are all on the same team. We all train together on the pitch and prepare ourselves for match day. I think it's down to what we do when we step on the field. We are more than capable of meshing together for 90 minutes and getting a result."
On Higuain:
"Higuain is a class player. He's not just been doing that for our game, he didn't really come out of anywhere, he's been doing it all season. We've got to do a better job of being aware of the kind of things he likes to do. He's a crafty player, very good on the ball. I think just putting ourselves in better spots. It's not any surprise to us that Higuain is capable of threading those passes and putting himself in those spots. It's just up to us to deal with those things better."
On goals:
"On the first one I put him out wide and I think it was still an angle where he had a difficult finish. It could've been saved, possibly. The second one was in no man's land and I came out to close the angle and he did well to put it past me."
On needing a win:
The starting point is it is always better to win then to lose or draw. We're happy. I think we've been frustrated that we've been playing well and not getting the results. We're still trying to focus on the product we're creating and how we're playing. It's nice when you get results. From that standpoint were happy. I think it was a good effort. Obviously we're missing some guys but we did a great job.
On Ethan Finlay's first start of the season:
He was excellent. This game isn't something that comes out of the blue. If we look at what he's been doing these last couple of weeks, he's been leading up to this. I'm most happy with the fact that he was a guy that isn't a starter, he works his way to the 18, he works his way to the starting lineup, then he performs like this. You can see the progression and he makes other guys believe there's a chance. He makes other guys believe that if they work hard and train hard that they will get an opportunity.
On defense:
Chicago hasn't been shut-out yet this season I think that speaks for itself. The guys did it with determination. Guys like Eric [Gehrig], Tyson [Wahl], Hector [Jimenez]. I mean I thought Chad Barson was great as well with his defensive responsibilities. Steve Clark was very secure today. On crosses, he didn't give up any rebounds today and that's what you want from a goalkeeper. I think these guys really responded. You can see some of the guys that played last week and played again this week they are getting a rhythm and they are getting a lot more comfortable.
On Michael Parkhurst and importance of getting him in the game:
I think the fans were spectacular to give him that ovation and really cheer him on. He's been through a lot these last couple of days and it's nice for him to feel that everyone supports him. It's the team, the fans and the community supports him. He had a tough session on Thursday, followed by a weight session followed by a red-eye across the country. It was too much for him, he wanted to play but I didn't think it was worth the risk of an injury after all of that travel and training.
On replacing Federico Higuain:
You don't replace Federico, simple as that. We get someone on the field that can play their game and we're not going to ask someone to come in and play like Federico that would be foolish of us. We're going to ask someone to come in and play to the best of their ability. I'm confident that we are going to be able to get that out of someone.
On tonight's game:
We had a fantastic game. We knew that there were a lot of players on this team that could play and Eric [Gehrig] obviously stepped up tonight. The thing about Eric is that he is a gamer, the whistle blows and we don't have a problem.
On second shutout of the season:
For me it's more important to win and I knew that if I continued to play the way that I play every game then shutouts are going to come and a lot of them. For me it's about process not results all the time, especially in the goal keeping you have to keep your head and blinders on from distractions. Shut outs come and they go.
On Chicago's playing before first goal:
You have to give credit to Ethan Finlay for figuring that out, he had a fantastic run. He is a very intelligent kid and a very intelligent soccer player. He spotted that and he was in behind.
On Crew's teamwork tonight:
I think that our backline had a good game but I can't tell you compared to their backline. We didn't give them a goal and they gave up two but I thought that we played very well.
On playing tonight:
It's nice to be back home. It's a few weeks earlier than I participated or that I wanted but it's really good to be home. And it was a really nice motivation when I came on the field and I heard everybody. I was really appreciative of that and the support that everyone has given me here.
On the last 48 hours since being cut from the final U.S. Men's National Team roster:
It's tough. We didn't know that the cuts were going to come in that day so no expectations there. It's difficult of course, I just lost my dream. You have to bounce back and be professional. Now my whole propose is the Crew.
On leaving with his "best foot forward":
Yeah I think so, I don't think that there is anything else I could have done. I don't think that there was anything negative that was on my part that made them not choose me. I think that's just how it was set up. It makes it a little easier for me to swallow knowing that I had done my best.
On moving on from the roster announcement:
Absolutely, it's great to be back around the guys. I wanted to come back here and get back to business as quick as possible to get my mind off of it.