Warren Buffett sounded like a polite tennis player in the press release announcing that he would play in the Rock-n-Rackets exhibition Friday at Qwest Center Omaha:
“I haven't played tennis in 20 years, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to play with Andy and Pete in this great community event,” the release quoted Buffett as saying. “I am honored Andy asked.”
Andy is Omaha native and tennis pro Andy Roddick, and Pete is retired champ Pete Sampras.
“Wow, Warren Buffett!” Roddick said, according to the press release. “I have played against the world's best stars, and playing with Mr. Buffett certainly stacks up with them all.”
Asked later to pose with a racket for the coming event, Buffett was cagey.
“Warren thinks any pictures before would scare off his opponent,” a spokeswoman said.
Could Buffett, 80, be cooking up a surprise for the unsuspecting pros? Is a fierce Buffett, headband in place, secretly working on a spin serve, a killer drop shot or an overhead, backhand slam?
In his day, Buffett has flung a supposed curve ball at baseball great Ernie Banks while throwing out the first pitch at an Omaha Royals game. He once defeated NBA MVP LeBron James in a one-on-one match, a supposed feat documented in a video shown to Berkshire Hathaway Inc. shareholders one year.
Last spring, Buffett pulled out a giant paddle after junior table tennis champ Ariel Hsing smacked several shots past him.
And Buffett used to hold an annual celebrity golf and tennis event, hosting business leaders, athletes and others at the Omaha Country Club. He mostly stayed on the golf course, playing a few shots with each group during the day, but would venture down to the tennis courts as well.
One year, according to Omaha tennis sources, Buffett was headed for the courts, still wearing his golfing togs, including shoes with metal spikes. The courts had just been resurfaced, and one of the players stopped Buffett before he could walk onto the court and poke holes in the new surface.
He good-naturedly removed the spikey shoes and went ahead in his stocking feet, lobbing a few shots back and forth with his guests.
Rest assured, Buffett will have the proper footwear for the upcoming exhibition, which sends part of its proceeds to ConAgra Foods' Shine the Light on Hunger program.
Reaction to letter
Buffett's recent praise of the government's actions during the financial crisis of 2008 is drawing online criticism from commentators who believe, for various reasons, that the government overstepped its boundaries and used taxpayer money unwisely.
Buffett sent a “thank-you” letter to Uncle Sam, published by the New York Times, saying the government's swift actions two years ago averted a financial disaster.
The letter's praise was no surprise to the 2,400 Omahans who heard Buffett and Henry Paulson, the former U.S. Treasury secretary, speak at the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce's annual luncheon meeting last February. (The video is still up on the chamber's website.)
In 2008, Paulson was at the center of the action, cajoling business and political leaders to push through the rescue plan that eventually was signed by Congress and President George W. Bush and later carried on by President Barack Obama.
For their discussion, also at the Qwest Center, Buffett and Paulson sat in chairs on a stage and discussed the near-meltdown, which Paulson had described in a new book.
Buffett said then that he believed the government acted properly and that the taxpayers' money eventually would be repaid at a profit. So far, that's holding mostly true.
Buffett praised Paulson's actions as well as those of Timothy Geithner, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York at the time and now Treasury secretary; Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke; and Sheila Bair, chairwoman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
“Our financial world went into cardiac arrest,” Buffett said. “I can't think of four (people) that would have done a better job of getting us through that.”
The business-savvy audience gave them a standing ovation.
Contact the writer:
402-444-1080, steve.jordon@owh.com
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