BUD Collins walks around the U.S. Open, and angry people keep coming up to him.
They’re not mad at Collins – how could they be, really? – they’re ticked at the people who fired him.
Collins – the voice of tennis in America – found out during this summer’s Wimbledon it would be his last one for NBC. After 35 years with the network, they let him go – by phone!
“People stop me on the grounds and want to talk about it,” Collins says from the Open. “I know there was a lot of negative [feeling] directed at NBC.”
Surprisingly, that emotion isn’t shared by Collins, who, at least publicly, refuses to volley back.
“I don’t want to be a crybaby about it,” Collins says. “It doesn’t suit me . . . That’s not the way I am.
“I think it’s a waste of time to get angry.”
Besides, Collins immediately had more pressing things to do.
“I was startled, is the best way to put it,” Collins says. “I hung up and told my wife that we have to figure out another way to get to these tournaments.”
It didn’t take long. ESPN last month signed Collins to be part of its tennis coverage. He is set for all four majors, with ESPN as the primary network at the Australian Open, French Open, and, yes, Wimbledon.
(USA Network and CBS handle the rest of the Open this week.)
Believe it or not, since he was fired, the 78-year-old is busier than ever. In addition to ESPN’s tournament coverage, he’ll appear on “SportsCenter,” ESPN Radio, ESPNEWS and even the online operation, ESPN.com.
Collins – who calls still-working 89-year-old Mike Wallace his hero – also will contribute to the Tennis Channel, all while regularly writing for the Boston Globe, as he has since 1963.
“I think I’m better off,” Collins says cheerfully. “NBC didn’t do anything other than Wimbledon.”
That doesn’t mean Collins wanted to leave – especially the way it went down. Colleagues, including writers Frank Deford, Bob Ryan and John Feinstein, were outspoken in their support of the Tennis Hall of Famer.
Deford, on SI.com in July, wrote, “It is just so narrow and petty of NBC to cut Collins loose.
“NBC fire Bud Collins?” he wrote. “It might as well axe the peacock.”
Some might say it did – Collins’ colorful trousers were his trademark. And he’ll be just as difficult to replace.
“I hope they give the job to some young guy who does a good job with it,” Collins says. “It’s an important role.”