Start Spreading the News About Ideal Davis Cup Site

Newport Beach is a wonderful place to sail, surf, shop and, I’m sure in most instances, watch tennis.

When it comes to the Davis Cup, however, there is only one city for the United States to play its home matches.

New York, New York.

It’s the one site where we would be guaranteed the kind of rude, obnoxious fan behavior that creates a genuine home center-court advantage.

Not only because the United States’ second-round Davis Cup matches over the weekend were held in Orange County did the Netherlands’ players feel like they were playing amid tulips and windmills.

About 100 orange-clad, Heineken-drinking fans wearing styrofoam wooden shoes on their heads blew air horns, chanted, sang songs and outshouted the more than 5,000 U.S. fans each day at the Palisades Tennis Club.

These were not, mind you, the hard-core Holland sports fans, like the hooligans and lager louts who follow their soccer teams. Supporters of Amsterdam Ajax and Rotterdam Feynoord recently arranged to rumble on a day when their teams weren’t even playing, like the Sharks and the Jets in “West Side Story.”

These fans were more like the fresh-faced Disney cheerleaders who performed last season at Angel games, students sponsored by an insurance company to travel with the team, lend encouragement and pose for news photographers seeking colorful pictures.

When the chair umpire asked these fans for quiet, they gave him quiet.

The only controversy they created came when they accused the U.S. fans of stealing one of their chants.

In New York, they’d be grateful the only thing stolen was a chant.

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U.S. Davis Cup Captain Tom Gullikson wasn’t particularly charmed by the Dutch fans, claiming Americans wouldn’t expose themselves to ridicule like that. . . .

Earth to Captain Tom. Gullikson, who is from Wisconsin, can’t tell me he’s not familiar with Cheeseheads. . . .

The Surinam-born Dutch captain, Stan Franker, played at USC from 1975-77, then graduated to the life of a “backyard pro.” Among his students as he commuted from one Beverly Hills mansion to another were Charlton Heston and Sidney Poitier. . . .

We were fortunate to have Jack Kent Cooke as a sports owner here, even if for a short time before he transferred all his allegiances to the Washington Redskins. . . .

Cooke was quirky but never lacked for respect. To the day he died Sunday at 84, he was referred to by Chick Hearn as “Mr. Cooke.” . . .

Considering he’s had his starting lineup of Shaquille O’Neal, Nick Van Exel, Eddie Jones, Elden Campbell and either Cedric Ceballos or Robert Horry together for only 11 of 75 games, Del Harris shouldn’t be the subject of any rumors. . . .

One could, I suppose, criticize Harris’ substitution pattern, if he had one. . . .

The benefit of his system is that even players at the end of the bench have to stay alert. Answering the call lately has been Corie Blount. In his first 230 games, he had one double-double in points and rebounds. In his last 14 games he has had six. . . .

Sean Rooks is in Shaq shape. . . .

When is Shaq back? NBC votes for Sunday, when one of its national games is Utah at the Lakers. . . .

The annual Dodger luncheon sponsored by the L.A. Sports Council and the L.A. Area Chamber of Commerce is scheduled for Tuesday at noon at the Westin Bonaventure. If the New York tabloids can be believed, the Dodgers will be feasting on the Mets. . . .

When the Mets won their first game Thursday after dropping the first two, the New York Post’s back page headline read: “CAN’T LOSE ‘EM ALL.” . . .

On the same day, after a victory, Post columnist Joel Sherman wrote, “The Mets’ season is over.” . . .

Met General Manager Joe McIlvaine could hardly complain about unfair treatment from the media. After the opening game, he referred to his own team’s bullpen as a GM’s nightmare. . . .

Just how bad a fielder is Larry Walker? The Colorado Rockies benched him for a defensive replacement in the eighth inning Saturday while leading Montreal, 15-1. . . .

You can’t blame Madeleine Albright for that one-hopper she delivered while throwing out the first pitch at Baltimore’s opener. She only recently discovered she’s right-handed.

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While wondering if there’s any athletic contest more meaningless than a Davis Cup match after the winning team has been decided, I was thinking: the Ducks and Kings should sign their coaches to new contracts now, Darryl Strawberry must be relieved to see Angel pitching coming up next, Angel pitchers must be relieved to see Strawberry coming up next.