Tag: Golf

Categories
Denver Nuggets

Tiger Woods and Carmelo Anthony top charitable athletes


The Giving Back Fund released the 2006 Giving Back 30, which lists the top 30 most charitable individuals in sports and entertainment. Tiger Woods was the top athlete on the list, with $9.5M in donations but the next most charitable athlete had most people surprised — Carmelo Anthony sits at #8 with his donations to CAF Youth Center in Baltimore, AAU
Basketball, Syracuse University Recreational Center, and other charities, totalling $4.3M.

This comes as somewhat of a surprise because Carmelo Anthony seems to be such a punk, with that sucker punch in the Knicks-Nuggets brawl, and especially because he appeared in that Stop Snitchin video. While a lot of people will cynically think that all the charitable donations are meant to repair his image, we’re going to give Melo the benefit of the doubt and give him his kudos for helping out. If you want to donate money just for the PR, you donate something like $10,000, not $4.2M. It doesn’t matter how big his contract it, that’s a lot of scratch.

Other athletes on the list are: The Rock ($2M), Andre Agassi ($1M), Tiki and Ronde barber ($1M), Tony Stewart ($1M), Mike Sexton ($560k), and Lance Armstrong ($500k). These figures are only the publicly announced donations. There might be athletes who donated privately.

Links:
[The Giving Back Fund]: The Giving Back 30

Categories
Sacramento Kings

Odds and Ends: Ron Artest makes perfect sense


Here’s Ron Artest on the brawl in Detroit, courtesy of The Big Lead:


The Detroit owner, he’s a trip. He said if [Ron] wouldn’t have been laying on the table, the guy wouldn’t have thrown the beer. That don’t make sense cause I lay on tables a lot. I lay on benches in my neighborhood and nobody throws cups of beer or rocks at me. That just doesn’t make sense. One guy in the front row was calling me and Jermaine O’Neal mother hoes and bitches the whole game, and you didn’t see us attack him.

Yep, that’s Ron Artest, laying around master. Words cannot describe.

In other news…

[Our Book of Scrap]: Talk about a fruitless exercise: NASCAR promotes literacy

[Hockey Rants]: Disney Presents: The Haka on Ice!

[The 700 Level]: Temple Sports Put on Single Public Probation (for what? sucking?)

[The Offside]: Ice Soccer? Really?

[Steroid Nation]: For chrissakes, she’s paralyzed! Let her smoke as much pot as she wants.

[Yahoo ]: Stupid old people and their stupid holes-in-one

And finally, the soccer world is buzzing with goal by Andres Vasquez, which some are saying is the greatest goal every scored. The video is below so you can decide for yourself.

Categories
General Sports

The world’s highest paid athletes 25 and under



Highest paid athlete 25 and under

Business week released their list of 27 athletes under the age of 25 who are stuffing their bank accounts. They took the top 3 earners each from nine sports and compiled a slideshow — which means you have to click next 26 times to get the full list. We hate that. So here is the list for you lazy clickers. Note that this list is based on salary and does not include endorsements.

Basketball
Joe Johnson: 25 years old, $12.7M in 2006-2007
Zach Randolph: 25 years old $12M in 2006-2007
Carlos Boozer: 25 years old $11.6M in 2006-2007. (ripped off blind man in 2004)

Football
Vince Young: 23 years old, $9.7M in 2006

Reggie Bush: 22 years old, $9M in 2006
Mario Williams: 22 years old, $9M in 2006

Tennis
Roger Federer: 25 years old, $8.3M in 2006
Justine Henin: 24 years old, $4.2M in 2006
Maria Sharapova: 20 years old, $3.8M in 2006

Soccer
Cristiano Ronaldo: 22 years old, $12.4M in 2006
Wayne Rooney: 21, $11.7M in 2007
Landon Donovan: 25, $900,000 in 2006

Formula One
Fernando Alonso: 25 years old, $20.4M in 2007
Lewis Hamilton: 22 years old, $2.8M in 2007
Heikki Kovalainen: 25 years old, $2.8M in 2007

Baseball
Carlos Zambrano: 25 years old, $6.7M in 2006
Dontrelle Willis: 25 years old, $4.35M in 2006
Francisco Rodriguez: 25 years old, $3.8M in 2006

NASCAR
Kyle Busch: 21 years old, $4.8M in 2006
Brian Vickers: 23 years old, $3.9M in 2006
Reed Sorenson: 21 years old, $3.5M in 2005

Golf
Lorena Ochoa: 25 years old, $2.6M in 2006
Camilo Villegas: 25 years old, $1.8M in 2006
Julieta Granada: 20 years old, $1.6M in 2006

Hockey
Ilya Kovalchuck: 24 years old, $5M in 2007
Rick DiPietro: 25 years old, $4.5M in 2007
Eric Staal: 22 years old, $4M in 2007

It turns out that if you want to get rich quick, the sport to play is basketball. But based on the top earning athletes without age restrictions, the long term smart bet is either Formula One (Michael Schumacher) or golf (Tiger Woods).

Links:
[Business Week]: Highest-Paid Athletes 25 and Under

Categories
Golden State Warriors

Odds and Ends: Everybody on the Warriors Bandwagon



When did Snoop adopt 2 white kids?

There’s still time to jump on the ever expanding Warriors bandwagon folks. Their second round series begins tonight against the Utah Jazz. Don’t be ashamed, folks, the Warriors barely register in NBA rivalries and nobody actually hates the Warriors so it’s ok to front run with the boys from the city of Golden State. You can join notable bandwagoners as Owen Wilson and Kate Hudson and Snoop Dogg! We’re gonna give Jessica Alba a pass as she can do no wrong and her boyfriend went to high school with Baron Davis. Game 1 is in Utah so expect no celebrities to show up but Game 3 will be chock full of em. We wouldn’t be surprised if Jack Nicholson showed up.

In other news…

[Seattle PI]: The unwritten rules of sports — in writing

[YouTube]: Nerf Dunk Contest… some people have way too much time

[The Age]: Eight-year-old gets hole in one. Damn kids.

[Our Book of Scrap]:Royals Fans Loves Them Some Bagels

[WBRS Sports]: Brady is a Chump

[Steroid Nation]: Florida: Home of dirty elections and clean high school athletes

And finally, don’t forget to register for the 2007 World Egg Throwing Federation Championships.

Categories
Golf

CBS says new John Daly spot is long and wrong

John Daly is known for three things: long drives, an alcohol problem, and a slot machine problem to fix his alcohol problem. Giving John Daly a beer is like sending Paul Lo Duca to a sorority house. So what does Maxfli do? They create an ad with John singing in a honkytonk bar, grabbing a beer and driving off in a golf cart. Understandably, CBS didn’t like it.


It did not meet the standards of the CBS network,” spokeswoman LeslieAnn Wade said Tuesday. “Any implied or direct reference to excessive consumption of alcohol would not meet network guidelines.

The Golf Channel, which apparently has no standards, said that the ad passed their test but are looking into possible options like an alternate cut. Meanwhile, the 90 second uncut version of the commercial, which has John saying “I’ll just drink the pitcher, thanks,” teeing off with a beer can, and throwing a beer bottle at a dart board (wha?) was available on the maxfli site. You can check it out below.


John Daly’s Go Long Or Go Home Commercial – Watch the top videos of the week here

Links:
[LA Times]: CBS rejects ad showing Daly and beer

Categories
Golf

Odds and Ends: Zach Johnson is enjoying his 15 minutes


Must…look…comfortable.

Winning the Masters as an unheard of underdog has got to be the thrill of a lifetime, but reading a Top Ten list on the Late Show with David Letterman probably ranks as a close second for Zach Johnson. Last night Johnson made an appearance with Dave and proudly proclaimed the “Top Ten Things I Can Say Now That I’ve Won The Masters.”

10: I’m going to spend the prize money on Mountain Dew and beef jerky

9: I once beat a caddy to death with a 7-iron.

8: It’s so weird – before this weekend, I’d never broke 100.

7: The jacket’s okay, but I’m most excited to win the “World’s Greatest Golfer” key chain.

6: Even I’ve never heard of me.

5: If you like golf, you’ll love the sleek looks and smooth handling of the 2007 Volkswagen Golf Sedan — I just made 50 grand.

4: I just wrote down “3” for every hole. Nobody checked.

3: Maybe I can parlay this into an appearance on “Dancing With The Stars.”

2: It’s a magical week: first I win the Masters, and now I get to tell lame jokes on a third-rate talk show.

1: Thanks to global warming, next year I’m playing without pants.

Our personal favorite is No. 3 because it’s probably the truth. Hey, if Billy Ray Cyrus can make the show, then so can you Zach.

In other news…

[Sports by Brooks]: Oh no he didnt: Sports By Brooks says an outbreak of equine herpes in Hong Kong might scare away womens basketball players. That’s just not right.

[Seattle Times]: Former Seahawk Warren Moon arrested for DUI

[Gheorge: The Blog]: Kevin Millar does his best Ray Lewis impersonation (the dance, not being an accessory to two murders)

[Steroid Nation]: Australia wants to test school kids for steroids

[The Big Lead]: An Interview with Mike Vaccaro of the NY Post

[Awful Announcing]: The guy from Awful Announcing has lost his mind

And finally, we have two soccer stories from our favorite soccer blog, the Offside. First, Ronaldo will be on a episode of the Simpsons. The slim Ronaldo, not the fat one. Second, this David Beckham thing is out of control: Beckhams toilet paper.

Categories
Golf

You almost had us Zach Johnson


Even though we root for Tiger Woods for every tournament, as soon as Tiger hit the drink on 15, we accepted and were almost happy that Zach Johnson, underdog, was going to win the thing. But then a funny thing happened: Zach Johnson pulled out his Jesus card.


Being Easter, my faith is very important to me.
I felt Jesus, I felt my grandfather, my family, everybody. So it was awesome.
…
Regardless of what happened today, my responsibility was to glorify God. Hopefully I did.

Jesus is totally awesome. Now we know this plays well in a lot of states around the country but athletes need to give it a rest already. Jesus didn’t help you win the Masters or the Super Bowl or anything else. Jesus doesn’t hate Tiger Woods. Look, you can believe whatever you want to believe, but the Masters is no place for your proselytizing.

Plus, wasn’t Jesus already busy considering it was Easter?

Links:
[Metronews Canada]: Winning on Easter makes Masters more special for Zach Johnson

Categories
Golf

Attention Sportscenter: We have found your next anchor


Every year the world’s best golfers head to Augusta, GA, to compete in the Masters. And every year the media coverage descends on the city in droves to bring you all the news that’s fit to print. Columbia, SC, TV station WLTX had a slightly different idea of what the public would find interesting to know about some of the most precisely skilled athletes on the planet. So, they sent their local sports douche, Matt Barrie, down to the links to ask these guys if they use body wash or bar soap. Wow, groundbreaking stuff.

This hick is trying way too hard to be funny when he’s really just a pathetic loser; but hey, the same gimmick worked for Stuart Scott. Now all Barrie needs is a lazy eye.

Links:

[WLTX.com]: Bar Soap vs. Body Wash

Categories
Golf

Sergio Garcia can’t putt but he can hit the bottom of the cup

Tiger Woods wins another trophy at Doral but the buzz around the blogosphere is about Sergio Garcia spitting into the cup after missing a short putt. This shows not only the dominance of Tiger but also the lack of class of Sergio. Who the hell spits into a cup after missing a par putt? Not even the neanderthals wearing jeans and wifebeaters who play the public courses we go to do this.

When asked about it, Sergio said that he made sure it went through the hole at the bottom of the cup so that the next person to drain a putt wouldn’t have to clean his spit off the ball. Right. I’m sure that’s exactly what’s on his mind as he’s hocking a loogie into the cup. Klassy.

Links:

[NY Post]: COMMISH DOWNPLAYS SERGIO’S SPITTING FIT

Categories
Golf

The Fast and the Furious: PGA Drift


India’s first player on the PGA Tour, Arjun Atwal (Vijay Singh is Fijian…) is under investigation for a street race in Orlando that left the other driver dead. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Atwal was racing John Noah Park when they lost control on a suburban road. Atwal’s car spun and came to a rest but Park’s car slammed into a tree.


Witnesses tell us they were engaged in a street race,” [Florida Trooper Kim] Miller said. “They estimated speeds at or about 100 miles per hour (160 k/ph). Park’s vehicle hit a tree and basically just shattered. Part of the axle was found in the tree. It was a very violent crash.

The PGA has no comment but we’ll see how they react to this incident. Aside from Fuzzy Zoeller’s fried chicken and watermelon comment, the PGA doesn’t usually have to deal with any controversy. We suspect that if Atwal is found guilty of anything, the PGA will drop him before the judge’s gavel comes down. This isn’t the NBA or the NFL. The corporate sponsors that make professional golf go round won’t stand for anything that might affect their brands. Of course, Atwal was driving a BMW and Park was driving a Mercedes so you know some sick marketing exec at BMW has already got a powerpoint deck ready to go.

Links:
[The Star]: PGA player investigated in fatal crash