ESPN's take on Leisure Suit Larry's resignation. Here's an excerpt:
It's quite possible the daily grind of functioning in consensus-building mode in a sport that has no centralized government was a major factor, too.
"The top three jobs, or the three toughest jobs?" Kantarian said Tuesday night, laughing when the subject was broached. "Regardless of the differences the three of us had, we had one common agenda: to shake up the sport a bit and leave it better for the future.
"Some people were surprised by this. In my case, I'm not surprised. You've got to plow through these initiatives with tremendous patience. The ability to build a consensus, to be thick-skinned and take shots from the purists ... that's not the reason I left, but it certainly wears on you."
As Kantarian pointed out, it can take two or three years to achieve change like instant replay, equal prize money or more combined women's and men's events when there is no buck-stops-here commissioner. Tennis is a complicated matrix composed of the two tours and their players, four Grand Slams that wield enormous power and a galaxy of smaller tournaments with vastly different agendas spread across the four corners of the world.
Remember, before Scott's run as WTA chief, he spent a dozen years in various management capacities at the ATP, including chief operating officer. When Israel's Shahar Peer was refused entry into the United Arab Emirates before February's Dubai Tennis Championships, it was just another reminder how difficult it can be to lead a global sport.
"Certain folks have the self-confidence to move along at the top," Kantarian said. "That's the case with Larry. He moved the needle in one of the most difficult, politically charged sports in the business. Looking at the picture today, you could ask what more is there that one could accomplish."
There was a time not so long ago when it looked like the ATP and WTA tours might merge. People who know him say that Scott thought he was a person uniquely qualified to lead that mega-entity into the future. The window on the merger appears to have closed and, after apparently falling out of consideration for the vacant ATP job, Scott has made the decision to cast his lot with major college football and basketball.
As my colleague Bonnie Ford pointed out, there are probably fewer visa problems in the Pac-10.
For more coverage see Doug Robson's and Charlie Bricker's comments.
