If you've ever turned on a tennis tournament on NBC, even for a few minutes, you've probably either seen or heard Bud Collins. Colorfully-dressed, exuding enthusiasm for the sport he loved, Collins always strove to make even the most casual fans into devotees. He may have even succeeded in a few cases (though for me, those little skirts Chris Evert wore on the court were what did the trick).Unfortunately, this will be Bud's last Wimbledon for NBC, as the network has decided not to renew his contract. Collins, 78, was with NBC for 35 years. He plans on continuing to cover tennis in some fashion, because, as Collins put it, he's "too young to retire."
He spent his years before NBC writing about tennis and other sports for the Boston Globe, and he still writes for the paper to this day, so it's not like he can't just continue doing that. Indeed, he's writing a diary from Wimbledon on his own website, and it is quite entertaining; he opens the most recent entry by talking about this year's damper-than-usual conditions: "So much has fallen during five of the seven tournament days that the place may double as an aquarium."
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