THE SAUERBRUN REPORT

The United States Tennis Association should be applauded for its ongoing remake of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in nearby Flushing, NY.

Extend that ovation a little longer for its policy of allowing the regular Joe to come in and see what’s happening over there.

While a visit to the two-week US Open tennis tournament remains an awfully expensive outing for tennis fans, the USTA offers freebie public access in the week-long run-up to the event. I visited on Sunday to see the facility’s infrastructure improvements and was wowed. A bunch of new birds-eye GA seats have been built so fans can watch the practice courts. In years’ past, you’d have to peek through open gaps in a tall covered fence to see those playing surfaces. The grounds are immaculate, complete with permanent info-rich displays of the Open‘s vast history. I joined hundreds of visitors who simply occupied a seat in Louis Armstrong Stadium under blue skies. There was no action on the court but it was fun just sitting there. Later, over on court 16, I watched the Bryan brothers play a practice match against two guys at least a decade their junior. Prominent players including Genie Bouchard and Caroline Wozniacki mingled with fans and signed oversized tennis balls with black Sharpee pens. Several of the food and drink outlets were open which gave the feel that you were there on a regular tournament day. The centerpiece of physical change at Billie Jean is the retractable roof that’ll be built over the primary court inside Ashe Stadium. That’ll be ready to go for the 2016 tournament.

When I exited toward the Unisphere, kids were skipping through the fountains and a pair of young newlyweds posed for photos in front of the big steel globe. Flushing-Meadows Corona Park was teeming with activity. There were more than a dozen soccer matches of varying skill levels unfolding simultaneously. Old ladies sold cut-up fruit from baby carriages. People were drinking beer non-discreetly on yet another perfect summer day in the big city.

On Monday night, I took the ferry over to Staten Island to see single-A baseball at the ballpark Rudy built. Hard to believe this is the 14th season for the Baby Bombers at their picturesque home in the St. George neighborhood.

Moments after the national anthem ended, the game’s home plate umpire Ryan Wilhelms ejected Brooklyn Cyclones third baseman Jhoan Urena. There was no immediate explanation via the public address and Brooklyn’s coaching staff didn’t argue strenuously. Brooklyn fans were stumped about what could possibly have caused the ump to issue a heave-ho so quickly. Later, the Cyclones twitter page said Urena had been tossed for standing on the 1B chalk line. Several reports in the aftermath said Wilhelms took action on Urena because of a recurrence of “stand-offs” or stare-downs between teams in the NY-Penn league. Apparently, Urena had lingered on the field longer than Wilhelms believed appropriate. Still, it’s way harsh to banish a player for something nobody in the building but Wilhelms bothered to notice. Urena had started every game this season prior to the ejection and should not have been made an example of by Wilhelms and the league given the trivial nature of the offense.

I got my first look at the newly-signed number one 2014 draft pick of the Mets Michael Conforto. The Mets locked up Conforto after lengthy talks with his agent Scott Boras, finally agreeing to pay out a $3 million signing bonus.

Conforto is the real deal. He hits all day and has a good eye. A lefthanded bat with moderate power, Conforto tattooed balls in all of his at-bats Monday night. He also gunned a runner down from medium-short left field. You’d expect Conforto will start 2015 in Binghamton and see the bigs as early as next September. I was impressed.

Some sprinkles fell in the hour or so before Kevin Morby hit the outdoor stage at a fenced-in lot on Crescent Street a few blocks from Queensboro Plaza late Saturday afternoon.

It appeared during that time that the dark rain clouds above might make for a dud of an event with few attendees.

Morby had played a show the night before at Baby’s All Right, a venue he says he really likes because of the accommodating manner in which the staff there treats musicians.

But a little before 5 PM Saturday, the rain clouds drifted southeast and the sun came out in Queens as Morby, drummer Justin Sullivan and bassist Mike Campbell launched their 40-minute set at The Lot with “The Jester.” About 50 people were assembled at that point including Morby and Sullivan’s Babies bandmate Cassie Ramone (whose solo debut is formally released on Loglady this Tuesday).

The stage’s backdrop included the beautiful building at 2 Court Square which houses the CUNY School of Law. The 50-story Citibank tower also stood large. A steady flow of 7 trains passed.

Sarah Obraitis of M. Wells helped work the beer and food concession at the Lot which is steps from the famous M. Wells steakhouse. 16-ounce plastic cups of Mermaid Pilsner (Coney Island Brewing Co.) cost eight bucks. Admission was free thanks largely to underwriting by a prominent real estate developer with heavy interest is what’s sprouting up in ever-changing Long Island City.

This was Morby’s first performance in the borough of Queens since embarking on the solo career. There was a Babies set at a Chinese buffet restaurant in Ridgewood, Queens back in January 2012 but I had to work that night. Queens doesn’t see a lot of bands stop here so this series of shows at The Lot this summer is something I’d hope would have success. The remnants of a small outdoor swimming pool fills the center of the space with the diving board still intact. Alex Bleeker will play the Lot in a couple weeks. The only small drawback I detected with the venue was a noisy fuel-powered generator behind the sound board but it was only noticeable during quiet lulls between songs. Not a big deal.

A formal announcement on the release date for Morby’s much-anticipated second record will be made this Tuesday. The jewel of a number Morby closed with Saturday is certain to be included. It’s called “All of my Life.” It’ll knock anybody’s socks off for its catchiness. Depending on what’s happening in your life, it can really tug at you – or have intense applicability to the day-to-day view of things. Whether you‘re up – or down. It sounded especially sweet Saturday as I stood there solo with the 7 going by in the background.

-One bit of news picked up at the show: The great and versatile Cate Le Bon is expected to join Tim Presley’s White Fence for a string of dates in late October. It’s spectacular to think about these two being on the same stage at the same time – and it only heightens the excitement of the White Fence show in Brooklyn scheduled for Rocktober 13th.