I Got An E-mail

I got an e-mail that I like to share with all of you, jai-alai fans. The message comes from a former jai-alai star that truly loves the game. He dedicates his thoughts to those young players that play in the Florida frontons, especially to those who get there for first time and start their jai-alai career. An find out that once the initial excitement is gone only the risk of routine remains.
"How can a young player that makes his debut motivates himself? That`s the issue. We all know that greay records are beaten in front of big crowds. When time goes by and the previous dream come true of the young pelotari is gone, so the excitement of his debut, then he realizes that he has to play daily in an empty fronton. Now is the moment to seek for real reasons in order to motivate himself!
Play as if you were playing in front of 10.000 people. Put yourself a meta goal, seek and find the excellence of jai-alai, there's always something to learn about, ways to improve your play.
Set yourself principles. When wearing a jai-alai uniform you have to give a hundred percent. It wont matter if fifty people instead of a thousand bet on you. It has to be the same. The audience deserves a respect. People out there and those that follow you through the internet have to enjoy with your play because they are true fans.
When you are the favorite, fine, that's an extra motivation, but when nobody bets on you, not even a single tourist, then you have to clench your teeth and say: ´now I'm going to show you`.
Have a respect to the great super stars that played in the same fronton.
Out there in the audience there`s a guy that you don't see but you know that he is there. He is like your conscience. He is watching you, the one that forces you to play same way as if you would in front of 10.000 people.
All of these details and some more will make you play better. And above all, they will make you be abetter person. It's worth to try.

A Great Partido?

Biarritz, Final partido of the Gant D'or. Goikoetxea-Alliez vs. Erkiaga-Lopez.
I went last Monday night to Biarritz hoping to see a great partido. I had solid arguments. The two best players of the world, once again, facing each other in a doubles game. It was a final of one of the most preciated trophies of the summer season: The Gant D'or. Sold out audience, a fact that motivates the players. Master Jai Producciones´ cameras all over the place, the partido will be offered August the 31th, on Eurosport for fifteen countries. Besides all that, I had an inner desire to enjoy with the best jai-alai as possible.
Well, as far as the scoreboard concerns nothing to complain about, suspense all over the partido, a rollercoster for both teams. How about the level of play? Did they play as four stars are supposed to performance?
I saw an irregular match. The best plays mixed with mediocre ones. I cannot blame the players for it. Biarritz´s cancha is a difficult place to play. Its front wall is not a natural one, the ball comes out of it fast and unpredictable sometimes, it is like a pitcher in baseball throwing curve balls once in a while deceiving the batter. This kind of frontis is a temptation for two hitters like Goiko and Lopez who, as I saw, tried to "break the front wall". That`s the reason why part of the match became a duet, a contest between the two; Alliez and Erkiaga, in the meantime, with little to say, mute witnesses.
"Shotgun" Lopez was the most regular player. He used both hands artillery harming badly Alliez most of the times, Goiko was the victim also. Biarritz's rebote wall is also as fast as the front, the ball comes out of it much faster than in any other cancha. When Lopez releases his reverse a hundred percent the ball travels faster and faster, more than once Goiko saw balls coming from the rebote flying like migratory birds.Alliez took the worst part. When Erkiaga (Aritz at Miami) played his rebote, the Frenchman felt lost, the curve balls killed him and the chance to win the match. Besides, how can someone that is playing with Goiko can use his right hand more than a dozen times, throwing cortadas and two-carom shots? Alliez, a left-hand player with a poor fore-hand, did it. Amazing. Whether is Goiko's fault for saying nothing about it or Alliez is the kind of autistic player that does anything he pleases.
Playing with Lopez is an easy task for the frontcourter. He dominates, always in command. Twenty-two years old Erkiaga did a fair job. Few mistakes and playing rebote like the best, thanks to the front wall. This young blood is improving and we will see how far he gets. Some already talk of a future super-star. Even though he does things finely, he lacks the power needed to be a super-star. Without power you have to have the skills of a killer like Joey, Inclan or Miami´s Zulaica, former great killers. And Aritz Erkiaga is not either such a great killer.
Final score: Goikoetxea-Alliez 32; Erkiaga-Lopez 35.

Jai-Alai In China

The industry of Jai-Alai has known epochs of real splendor. Just one look to the past to realize that Basque Jai-Alai players have been travelling all over the planet since the nineteen century. Thanks,especially, to the effort of visionary people who had the courage to risk their money and put the strength to make happen. One of those prominent empresarios was Teodoro Jauregi, Jai-Alai´s Marco Polo, a businessman that took Jai-Alai all the way to China from the Basque Cuntry.

On February the 7th, 1.930, the doors of the Shanghai (China) Auditorium opened for the first time. The players´roster included names such as Teodoro, Rafael, Tomas, Urbieta, Olalde, Salsamendi, Careaga, Maguregi, Aranzibia, Felix... Most of the players came from frontons such as El Cairo, Alexandria, Barcelona...

At the beginning they played only doubles games. Soon after singles were included obtaining a good response from bettors.

On February 15, 1.931, Julio and Bilbao "The Bounding Basque" joined the roster, those two came from Brasil. On June 27th, Artia, Solongo and Vicente arrived from Cuba. Little by little, Teodor Jauregi was completing the best jai-alai roster of the world.

Funny thing about this Vicente. A neighbor of mine, a lady called Rosa, told me a couple of months ago that she had heard that her father-in-law, whom she never knew, was a jai-alai player. I told her that if she could find any document or fotograph I would gladly take a look at them... About two weeks ago Rosa handed me a portion of articles, fotographs and two original contracts that belonged to Vicente, her father-in-law. ( I include in this post one of the contracts and reding them what really amazes me is that Vicente signed a contract with $1.350 dollars per month. A fortune considering that this takes place in 1.932). No doubt that Jai-Alai was living a golden age.

By the third year, Auditorium´s attendance increased gradually. Air-conditioning and a heating system were introduced in the fronton. A circular bar. And to keep fans informed management published a magazine called La Cesta. Berrondo, the best back-courter of the moment, signed for Shanghai also. Things going really well. Sixteen quinielas were played daily, 25 points partidos on Saturdays.

In 1.937, the Auditorium of Shanghai besides having the world´s best roster , more than 4.000 people worked for the fronton.

Unfortunally, because of the Chinese-Japanese war and the posterior Japanese invasion, the Auditorium closed its doors.

The splendor of Shanghai´s Auditorium would not shine anymore. Players´jobs destroyed and the efforts and dreams of people like Teodoro Jauregi victims of the war, too much of an opponent. It would not be the last time in Jai-Alai´history. China became a barren land for Jai-Alai

The Partido Is Over For Barrondo

Sad news. One of the finest catchers of the last decades has decided to quit pro jai-alai. During last year´s summer season, while playing with Goikoetxea, Barrondo threw a right-hand shot when something tore in the biceps. Pain crippled him. Barrondo, like others, should gracefully yield to the judgment of years. Retire. Not this way though. This is not what he wanted; this is not what he deserves.
Barrondo played for many seasons in Tampa (Florida), Mexico and the Basque Country. Right now he is well over forty years old, but still had a lot of jai-alai in his cesta. His fuel tank is still full of diesel, that was the kind of stuff he used to move around the cancha; but his right arm broke, badly.
Barrondo was not the type of player that menaced the opponent with arms of mass destruction. Quite the contrary, he was rather a technical player, what we call in Jai-Alai´s lingo: a "Pelotari". A pure jai-alai player. Someone that has some kind of radar in his head, someone tha tknows how to move on the cancha, like bats do at night among trees.
Another player that reminds me of Barrondo was Garamendi, a player for Miami and Hartford. Same style, good positioning on the court, finest soundless smooth and easy "enceste" (catching tha ball). Kind of player that any front-courter dreams to play with. Garamendi told me once how he acquired such a nice ability getting the pelota into the cesta. When he was just a kid in Markina they used to practice with tennis balls instead of real Pelotas. If you ever tried to catch a tennis ball with a cesta, you know that is a terrible frustrating under taking, the dam ball bounces out of the cesta unless you move the wrist the way yhat Barrondo, Garamendi and Elorrio used to.
I played against Barrondo whe he was a teenager, Bolibar was his partner and Elorrio was mine. Throughout the entire partido the young prospect only lost three balls; he already knew how to play like a real veteran. They beat us ptretty badly.
I saw him playing a Pro-Am partido last year at Durango. This time a seventeen year old front-courter was his partner. Barrondo protected of the young prospect like a father protects his son, leading the kid through victory. This time, too, Barrond only missed three balls. It could not be any other way.
The Partido is over for a true "Pelotari". Barrondo, one of the finest catchers in decades, a player that any front-courter dreamed to play with, is abandoning the canchas. Not the way he wanted, not the way he deserves.

"Camera´s Other Side"

SAN SEBASTIAN, August 12--- In today´s Berria, the only newspaper entirely published in the basque language, there is an interesting interview with different members of Master Jai Producciones staff, the only jai-alai production company. According to Berria´s journalist, Imanol Magro, television has supposed a revolution in today´s world of pelota. The cathodic dictactorship has drastically changed customs and traditions involved with the sport (he means hanball, pelota a mano, when talking about pelota). Fronton´s color, time schedule, season programation, all have been conditioned by television´s demand.

(....) "Handball, pelota a mano, companies in the Basque Country have succulents contracts with ETB (Public Basque Television) and Tele 5, the rest of pelota modalities get almost none, leftovers. For companies like Master Jai the only choice to get acces to television space was to create its own production company.".

(...) "To create our own production company was not a mere caprice; it´s been a real necessity, a must. Nowadays, there is not jai-alai business without television",
Company´s President, A. Totorika, said.

Last year Jai aive, the other jai-alai company that operates in the Basque Country, sued Master Jai. According to Jai Alive, Totorika´s company was monopolizing jai-alai business with the complicity of ETB Basque television. After a year of legal fighting, the court of justice obliged ETB to give Jai Alive same treatment as Master Jai was geting.
As a consequence, Totorika decided to become a producer. His company has invested so far 900.000 euros for equipment and a studio. It´s been eight months since they started producing over 200 programs, more than 100 partidos and debates and documentaries and interviews.

(...) "Without television presence jai-alai as business is not possible", Totorika said. "To make it clear, jai-alai´s future depends on our capacity to obtain television presence". Mikel Plaza, Master Jai Producciones´vicepresident, said, "when we negotiate jai-alai festivals, especially with French-Basque fronton owners, first thing they ask you is if you have television; next, they ask you what kind of players you have".
Master Jai produces a debate and one partido a week. Those programs can be sintonized in two local televisions: Bilbovision and Teledonosti. Partido games they produced can be followed as well on France´s Canal Plus. Eurosport offers two partidos twice a year. According to Juanma Sanchez, Master Jai Producciones´ Chief, the quality of or retransmisions is getting better. In six months they have fulfilled Canal Plus and Eurosport quality standars. Sanchez said, "the concept of jai-alai is very global. Not just partidos, we offer documentaries based on jai-alai, over 40 so far. On the digital technological level, we are planning on associating with some cable television network"...
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A couple of days ago, Craig G posted a reply on Tiger´s Chalk Talk to my "Jai-Alai Needs Salesmen" article. Craig wrote, "I think your desire to have jai-alai on famous networks all over the world is both unrealistic and unnecessary". He continues, " People are watching more and more video over the internet, whether live, replayed or YouTube-style. That is the future".
After reading Craig G´s opinion I let my mind range. What´s wong with networks all over the world showing jai-alai games?
Are not television and the internet and YouTube compatible, all of them? Nowadays, can you obtain enough income from the internet and YouTube to pay the players and the rest of employees?...
"Since the partido was already being streamed at a very good quality, all you really need now is the publicity part", Craig g wrote. And I wonder, where you get the sponsors, who are they, do you make enough money out of it in order to make businees succesful?
As I said it before, Jai-Alai needs first class opinions like Craig´s fresh ideas. Who knows if in ten or fifteen years the way things are changing paradigmas will be changed and instead of listening Totorika talking about television he has to change his mind and talk about the internet or YouTube, or about some kind of multimedia mix.
Craig G´s opinion about the need of "Part of "publicity" is to have first class commentators or analysts predicting, covering and summarizing the match". I agree a hundred percent. Unfortunally there are not good enough jai-alai commentators. And I would go further, you wont even find any, at least here in the Basque Country. The answer to such a lack is an easy one, the good ones are doing their job covering mass sports, the ones where you get the money.

Jai-Alai Needs Salesmen

A couple of weeks ago I wrote on this blog a post titled "Great News". I mentioned the fact that a Jai-Alai company: Master Jai had created a sister company: Master Jai Producciones, related with the production for television of jai-alai partidos. Instead of depending on, specially, the public Basque Television, for first time in Jai-Alai´s history, a pelota company itself was "being the media", instead of "hating the media". However, besides producing a lot of festivals, the key question is: Are they selling the product?

Jai-alai is an amazing sport, spectacular, nothing like it... It has tremendous super-stars, we all know who they are, their names... Frontons in Europe, the U.S.A., Mexico, the Philippines... Last week though the Singles World Championship final game was covered only by ETB (Basque Public Television). Fortunately via satellite as well, giving the chance to follow the game all over the world if you have the acces to ETB-SAT. Is that enough? Such a magnificent partido between two giants of the sport, should not have bigger audience, more television coverage? I´m talking about having the possibility of watching the final on famous networks all over the planet. It may be a matter of time, but I feel that we are moving too slowly, that we are missing something. The industry has all the pieces but one. Nowadays, to complete Jai-Alai´s puzzle we need salesmen all over the world. Take our industry for instance, we know how to produce machines, but not until recently were able to travel and them abroad. As a consequence of the free market, of the globalization process, things have changed. Now you find supliers in any market, from China to Buenos Aires.

Same thing for Jai-Alai, over the decades the sport was inmersed in a "comfort syndrome" situation thanks to the Florida Pari-Mutuel industry, where all seemed beautiful, that things would not change in centuries.... Almost all that has gone down the tube. It is almost over, but not all lost. We still have the product, a golden product. But the value of jai-alai should be measure by our ability to sell it and, for that we have to find the right kind of salesmen doing their job in the right places. Unfortunately, I don´t see any of them here in the Basque Country. People around here are too short-sighted, locally oriented, extremely disappointed because Basque Television ignores jai-alai, complaining over and over because ETB offers, 90 percent, hand-ball, pelota a mano.

I hardly imagine something like Christian´s Fronton or Tiger´s website created by basques. A guy from Sweden or Connecticut or somewhere else has to enter the Jai-Alai scene to bring innovation, independently appealing products, showing that it´s possible to make the product more popular. Same weakness if we analyze jai-alai´s situation over here. The Spanish-Basque frontons, besides the big events, have levels of attendance similar to those at Miami Jai-Alai: depressing. On the other hand, we get into what I call "the French summer success phenomenom". Crowded frontons every night at Biarritz, San Jean du Luz, Hossegor, Mauleon... all of them, where are they located?... France. The French-Basques (a different branch of the Basque culture) know how to sell cesta-punta, mainly,to parisiens tourists, but what the hell !... They get the crowds, full house, again and again. By the way, thanks to the "French summer success phenomenom" Spanish Basque jai-alai companies don´t collapse.

It may be an illusion, I might be having a dream, being naive. I picture a future where the sport depends on a World Jai-Alai League (or Global Jai-Alai League), not depending so heavily on "the French summer phenomenom" for its survival. For that what we need is a bunch of Christians and Tigers. Talented and worldly people, uncontaminated with the past, without the baggage of nostalgia and able to convince sponsors and mass-media " movers and shakers" that the sport is worth propelling into a new era.

Can Lopez defeat Goikoetxea?

Definitevely yes. Some day, maybe next year or in two, Lopez will be able to beat Goiko "The Boss" playing singles. I know that it is hard to believe that anyone can beat him. Goiko played near perfection last friday, I did not recall that he commited any unforced error. I mentally analyzed his game and it seems to me that no computer machine programmer would do it better, amazing. Even so, I also believe that in any year Lopez will defeat Goiko.

Goiko, 29 years old, is at the top of his game. He has learned the job since he made his pro debut at Milano (Italy), 15 years old at the time. He can maintain his game level and he will do it for years, he is God-gifted strong and he is got the skills to be the best frontcourter for a decade. However, he wont be able to play bettert that what he did last friday.
Lopez is younger, just twenty-five years old, backourters need more time to improve. He is got another ten years to reach his peak. If you have followed him last couple of years it´s amazing how much he has improved, diet and training have done a miracle in him ( he is got his own physical trainer). He moves pretty good on the court to be such a big man, his reverse is the best I have seen since Tximela. His left-hand rebote it´s okay, so is his right-hand rebote. He has improved the most with his right-hand, and still he can get better. If he is able to improve his right-hand, Lopez will have the key to beat Goiko in individuals. The way Lopez throws right now it´s too much sideways, waist level, and the ball gets the tendency to come out too much from the txik-txak, instead of dying there, allowing a skillful player like Goiko to return the ball with not problem. Instead, if Lopez gets the posture of throwing right-hand head level, the ball drops dead in the txik-txak, almost impossible to return keepìng in mind the speed that Lopez gets. This is what Gorroño, a former Tampa star, thinks about Lopez´s right-hand. Gorroño knows what he is talking about, he had one of the best right-hands in jai-alai. He was along with Almorza, the principal Bolibar´s opponent playing individuals.
Tips, little details that can help defeat a superstar.