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There was a line call that didn't look so great. I went ballistic. Called the umpire a jerk. Whacked a ball into the stands. Then smacked a soda can with my racket, and got soda all over the King of Sweden, who was sitting in the front row.

Whenever you have a tight situation and there's a close pitch, the umpire gets a squawk no matter how he calls it.

If you watch a guy go out on court and have a meltdown, you're not going to think, 'Oh my God, now I'm screwed.' Or you're not going to think, 'The umpire's going to give him calls because he's just told him he's an idiot or the pits of the world.'

Most umpires are good about letting the argument go, but you can only go on for so long, or go so far. If you don't leave it alone after a minute or two, you're in trouble. They want to keep the game moving, so they've got to throw you out. I had trouble leaving it alone, I guess.

I didn't mean to hit the umpire with the dirt, but I did mean to hit that bastard in the stands.

You argue with the umpire because there is nothing else you can do about it.

I made a game effort to argue but two things were against me: the umpires and the rules.

Sometimes you've just got to let an umpire know that you're not satisfied with his decision. That they've missed the play in your opinion. Not that it's going to do you any good, but you've got to let them know.

In the olden days, the umpire didn't have to take any courses in mind reading. The pitcher told you he was going to throw at you.

I always told my young umpires, 'Don't get mad. Whatever you do, don't show it. But no matter how long it takes, get even.'