WHEN THE RAIN ALLOWS, tennis consumes Scott and Steve, friends from high school — they try rain once : the rock-heavy ball skips across the court / lake, water slinging centrifugal .

   Now, Steve is Lendl, Scott is McEnroe in this future tennis champions’ pair : Steve, methodical ; Scott, apocalyptic .

   Racket innovation spells the end of the wood–framed classics of yesteryear, but one day a broken, tangled mass of abstract racket of this ilk is uncovered amidst leafy debris by the fence edge .

   Henceforth, instead of the usual anger outlet of launching his good tennis implement, Scott would intone :

   — Bring in the stunt racket !