Word: backhanded
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...effortlessly glide to my left and, at the last second, flip a backhand shot over an outstretched glove into the net. Goal...
...then came what looked to be the clincher--a Hobey Baker Special from Captain Ted Drury. Starting from mid-ice, knifing through two defensemen, forehand-backhand stickhandling, finally slipping the biscuit under Skazyk...it was a world class goal if ever there...
...helped if the good name was accompanied by a serve that sprayed aces and by ground strokes that delivered tennis balls with laser-like precision deep into his opponent's backhand. In fact, his game was the antithesis of his public persona. It was the fire that flowed out from behind an impassive mask and through his fingertips. In John McPhee's 1969 book Levels of the Game, Davis Cup teammate and occasional opponent Clark Graebner described Ashe's game: "He comes out on the court and he's tight for a while, then he hits a few good shots...
Tantrums took over tennis after that. Connors, John McEnroe and others transformed the courts into arenas where invective upstaged the delicacy of a drop shot, where insulting the umpire became more important than applauding an opponent's cross-court backhand. Ashe would have none of it. The game, like life, of course had to be conducted with passion, but dignity had to be maintained...
Still, with about 1:30 to play, Harvard got one last golden opportunity to tie the game when senior Steve Homenhoft had a good luck at the net. But his backhand just couldn't find the back...