Dykstra: How to Keep This Rally Alive

The Business of Sports

September is synonymous with the baseball pennant races, the start of football season, and the U.S. Open tennis championships at Flushing Meadows, N.Y.

Special Open moments, including the pugnacious Jimmy Connors' incredible comeback against Aaron Krickstein at age 39, the colorful wizardry of John McEnroe, a severely dehydrated Pete Sampras -- vomiting between points, yet somehow holding on to win -- are indelibly etched in the collective minds of the sports world. This year's Open had several poignant story lines, particularly the personal triumphs of Mary Pierce, Kim Clijsters and James Blake. Moreover, the fluid elegance and consistency of Roger Federer are wonderful to behold.

However, the feel-good story for me in this tournament is Andre Agassi, the onetime brash, "Image is Everything" poster boy, who has graciously developed a humility which parallels his maturation as a husband and a father. By the way, I would highly recommend purchasing futures on his children as he is married to Steffi Graff, who won 22 women's grand-slam championships. But seriously, Agassi's match with James Blake epitomizes my strategy with the market.

Despite losing the first two sets, Agassi did not panic, nor wilt away. On the contrary, he continued to chip away at Blake with his trademark relentless ground strokes from the baseline. Adhering to Warren Buffet's adage of "buying when others are fearful," Agassi gambled with high-risk shots when perhaps others would not, enabling him to claim victory in a fifth-set tiebreaker.

Similarly, staying the course with a sound investment strategy -- augmented by timely, calculated gambles -- is a winning recipe, which I will continue to outline in the weeks ahead.

Life is a journey, enjoy the ride. I trust that Andre is doing so, despite ultimately falling to Federer in the finals.

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