Tank McNamara by Bill Hinds for January 27, 2014

Ah yes, those four words that reminded me that when you remember Connors, you can’t forget about McEnroe as far as jerk tennis many years ago! Thanks Sir Hinds!

Conners took lessons from Illie Nastase. McEnroe brought it all himself.

And nowadays, “Are you kidding me?” is the most overworked phrase among sports announcers out there. I cringe whenever I hear it because it shows a lack of originality…it’s a crutch for lazy PBP guys.

How do I nominate someone for Biggest Sports Jerk of the Last 40 Years? I don’t do Twitter, Facebook, or any other social media, and the “TankMcNamara.com” just leads me here.

Never mind — I finally found the link at the top of the strip’s page.

Over the 40 years, so many Sports Jerks have been relegated to blessed obscurity, irrelevance, or have gone on to annoy everyone in the Great Sports Arena in the sky.

My disdain for Connors comes mostly from his run at the 1991 US Open. I had to endure a week and a half of all Connors, all the time coverage, and no one seemed to notice that he hadn’t really beaten anyone and benefited A LOT from a couple of upsets elsewhere in his draw.

I’m never sure how much is real and how much is for show (to get people to watch a sport, in this case tennis, who wouldn’t otherwise).In 1979, he married PMOY Patti McGuire. It’s going on 35 years, and they’re still together. If he was really such a jerk in real life, I’m sure she could have left him for someone better.

Jimmy Connors was dead to me after he split from Chris Evert, whom he trashed in his autobiography.

Connors and McEnroe are good. But I’m sorry, the SJOTL40Y is Peter Edwin Rose Senior, hands down, and it’s NOT. EVEN. CLOSE.