VIDEO VAULT: Babies under assault, targeted at major tennis tourneys

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Did you hear that David Ferrer went all Charlie Sheen during his 7-5, 6-2 loss to Mardy Fish in Miami? It's true. He beamed a crying baby in the stands with a ball then grabbed the unconscious child, ran to the players' area, shoved it in a locker, had a massage and a quick bit to eat then came back and resumed his match. Blasphemy! Outrageousness! Impressive!

Actually, the baby was crying and it was an annoyance and he did lob the ball in that direction in the stands but it didn't come close to the child. The crying did stop, though. Afterward he told the press, "It was in one moment of the match, but nothing special. It was not the problem." The problem, according to Ferru, was a stomach thingy.

I agree it wasn't the most professional move; he should have just tried to ignore the crying and kept playing. I also think the parent(s) of the child should have left the stands if the crying could not be controlled. You know, respect for the ballers playing the match and the other fans watching. But if you go by how the U.S. national media, in this case ABC News, described it in their segment and on screen you'd think he went on a rampage and all but bit the child's head off on the changeover. Literally.

It's a real shame the only coverage tennis seems to get these days in the U.S. national media is crap like this "story" or incidents like Serena Williams going ballistic on a linesperson at the U.S. Open. I have yet to see anyone cover the tours efforts to raise funds for the relief efforts in Japan which occurred at major U.S. tourneys in the last few weeks. If you're not a hardcore fan of this sport you would not know about it since you're probably not living on the sites, blogs or other social media where the game is dissected to its minute detail daily. You might have the impression that tennis was only comprised of privileged athletes (there are some) who have temper tantrums (some do) on the regular and do not have control over themselves or their emotions. I understand sensationalism sells and grabs eyeballs but they really could cover both angles if they wanted. Step it up, guys.

[Video: ABC News]