Tag: Golf

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Golf

Golf and gambling… so happy together



Owww my arm

Whether it’s nassau, skins, wolf or flying camel…wait, scratch that last one… golf is a game that is so much better when there’s a little money at stake. So… welcome to the World Series of Golf.

Here’s how it works. The buy in is $10,000. In each round, a player plays against those in his group of 5 or 6. Each hole starts with an ante. After each golf shot, a player can stand, bet, or fold. The objective is to take all the other players’ money from your group and advance to the next round. Theoretically, you could knock everyone in your group out playing one hole. The final “table” is a group of six playing for $450,000 in prize money. The winner takes home $250,000.

This tourney is open to amateurs only but anyone who wins loses their amateur status so there will be no repeat champions. This rule makes it a little hard to get any kind of momentum as viewers won’t be able to pick favorites and villains year after year. Unless of course the same amateur loses every year and goes kicking and screaming like Phil Helmuth. Hmmmm… that could be an easy way to get famous even if you suck at golf. NBC has signed on to air the tournament.

We’ll be watching for it in May but what we’re really looking forward to is the World Series of Flip Cup. Now, why can’t that be on NBC?

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All Other Sports

Odds and Ends: Around the Blogosphere


Two great stories in the blogosphere today. The first from There’s Your Karma, Ripe as Peaches: “I couldn’t wrap my brain around the possibility that a person I once revered as more than a man could get in a dancing competition and proceed to out-gay Mario Lopez…”

The second is from Can’t Stop the Bleeding. We don’t know what the story is actually about but he managed to make a reference to Roland Przybylewski AND use the word effect as a verb correctly. Well done, sir.

In other news…

[CNN Money]: Why I hate Monday Night Football

[ESPN]: Here’s an idea – how about Bonds just leaves baseball period?

[USA Today]: Average college coaches salary up to $950k a year

[ESPN]: LPGA to start drug testing… cause you know, everyone was so up in arms about steroids in womens golf

[The Offside]: The High Cost of being a WAG

[Awful Announcing]: Dissecting Jemele Hill’s first ESPN Page 2 Column

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Philadelphia 76ers

Nov 9 in Sports History: Larry Bird vs Dr. J


In 1984: Usually in sports, if two teams don’t like each other, they’ll let the scrubs fight it out. Not on this night, as Larry Bird and Julius Erving went toe-to-toe against each other on the court. At the Boston Garden, the Celtics were pounding the Sixers, and a frustrated Erving (who was held to six points) and a red-hot Larry Bird (who had 42) began throwing punches at the end of the third quarter. Both were ejected and fined $7,500 each. Players on both teams were fined for their involvement, including a rookie named Charles Barkley, who scored 27 points off the bench up to that point. The Celtics won 130-119.

In 1961: If you thought baseball was bad, it never touched golf in terms of racism. Baseball had an “unwritten” rule that blacks were not allowed to play in the major leagues. Golf, on the other hand, actually made sure to include it in their constitution. Only in 1961 did the PGA finally remove it’s “Caucasians only” clause. Charlie Sifford was the first African-American to play on the PGA Tour, and he was soon joined by Lee Elder, Jim Thorpe, Calvin Peete and Pete Brown. Sifford became the first black player to win a Tour event in 1964 at the Greater Hartford Open. Tiger Woods is the only African-American on tour today.

Categories
Golf

Nobody cares what Greg Norman thinks


Hey look, it’s Greg Norman opening his mouth — and it’s not even cause he’s choking away another major! Norman said that golf was in big trouble in America because of Tiger Woods and better technology.


With fewer and fewer people watching golf in America, the sport has become stagnant…Players need to bring the spirit back. There have always been great players to bring people to the game to lighten it up so that it’s not so serious.

Look at what (Rafael) Nadal has done for tennis because of the way he is, like a boxer. You never hear anyone coming out and saying I want to beat Tiger Woods — I haven’t heard that. Nadal comes out and says he wants to beat Roger Federer because he’s No. 1 and that’s great for tennis.

…
I have a problem with someone winning a golf tournament without using a driver. The game has always been dominated by power-hitter players, but today you can’t tell the difference between the players because of the technology.

Yeah, Greg, cause pro tennis is doing so great in America. We’re all riveted watching Nadal and Federer. Would that be the tennis that has rackets with sweet spots the size of trampolines? When an actual legend like Jack Nicklaus or Arnold Palmer has something to say about the state of golf, let us know.

Links:
[Sportsline]: Norman: Technology, Tiger stagnating PGA Tour in U.S.

Categories
Golf

Sep 26 in Sports History: US wins its last Ryder Cup



Man those were ugly uniforms

In 1999: In a stirring Sunday comeback predicted the day before by captain Ben Crenshaw, the United States defeated Europe 14 ½ to 13 ½ to win its 25th (and most recent) Ryder Cup. Trailing 10-6 going onto Sunday’s singles matches at the Country Club in Brookline, MA, the U.S. won 8 ½ points, the most ever for a final round. Justin Leonard’s dramatic 45-foot putt on the 17th green to defeat Jose Maria Olazabal was the signature moment, as the United States team swarmed to Leonard (and stepped on Olazabal’s lie, miffing the Europeans) as the putt dropped.

In 1981: Nolan Ryan of Astros no-hit the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-0 at the Houston Astrodome. It was Ryan’s fifth career no-hitter, surpassing Sandy Koufax’s record of four. Ryan would go on to throw two more no-hitters in the 1990s, becoming the only player to throw no-no’s in three different decades.

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Golf

Tiger says: lay off my wife


Tiger Woods is furious at The Dubliner, an Irish magazine that called his wife “filth” and published a photo of Elin Nordegren nude that wasn’t really Elin Nordegren. A columnist for the Dubliner protests that he didn’t know that photos that have been floating around the internet of a “topless Elin Nordegren” are really some other blond with large cans. He put the photo next to copy that read “Most American golfers are married to women who cannot keep their clothes on in public. Is it too much to ask that they leave them at home for the Ryder Cup? Consider the evidence. Tiger Woods’ wife can be found in a variety of sweaty poses on porn sites.”

Tiger Tiger Woods yall was not amused.


My wife, yes, she has been a model prior, and she did do some bikini photos. But to link her to porn Web sites and such is unacceptable, and I do not accept that at all. Neither does our team.

The Dubliner responded by issuing a lame apology that the piece was satire. I realize the Ryder Cup stirs up some American-European rivaly and fun but this was really weak. Do you really want to rile up Tiger? He’s going to destroy the Euros now.

By the way, how could the Dubliner possibly not know the topless photo wasn’t of Elin Nordegren? If such a photo existed, we’d have found it by now. After all, she is a woman we love.

Links:
[AP]: Woods rips Irish mag for story on wife

[Fox News]: Irish Magazine Calls Tiger Woods’ Wife ‘Filth’

Categories
Golf

Odds and Ends: Can we put a moratorium on Michelle Wie coverage?



Al Czervik is more interesting that Wie

The latest headline from ESPN says that “Michelle Wie getting buried at 84 Lumber“. As of press time she is 13 over par. So besides the fact that she’s young and (fairly) good, what is the fascination with Michelle Wie? How did it become that her losing was news? When Tiger Woods loses it is news because he’s earned that right. He is so dominant that an off day like the one he had at the Match Play Championship is newsworthy. (By the way, Bill Simmons has a great article on Tiger Woods that reminded us how good Bill Simmons can be when he’s not writing about the Red Sox or the Yankees.) But Michelle Wie? Please. She hasn’t won a single thing since she announced she was going pro.

We are proposing a moratorium on the Michelle Wie coverage. It’s never going to happen though. People don’t call ESPN the Worldwide Leader in Hype for no reason.

In other news…

[Sign On San Diego]: Woman gets $2.75M for her house and land where new Cowboys stadium will be built

[Fox Sports]: Police think backup punter/stabber had an accomplice

[Cubbiepalloza]: Nobody Likes Jay Mariotti

[NY Post]: CBS’s NFL Pregame show gaining traction

And finally, via Twin Cities, Minnesota, a video of Brad Johnson throwing a TD to himself in 1997.

Categories
Golf

Odds and Ends: Tiger Woods finally loses



Bitter beer face? Switch to
Keystone Light

Tiger Woods is human. After a two month winning streak, Tiger played his worst golf since the U.S. Open. Tiger lost in the first round of the World Match Play Championship to Shaun Micheel 4 and 3, his worst loss ever in match play. Micheel is ranked 77th in the world golf rankings.


I just had a hard time with my pace, and if you have a hard time with your pace, it’s hard to read greens,” Woods said. “It got a little better in the afternoon on the back nine, but by then it was already too late.

Asked what he would do, Woods said he was going to go home, roll around in his money and then bang his ridiculously hot wife. Or maybe he said he’d go hit the gym. We’d choose the former though.

In other news…

[Detroit Free Press]: A state representative is proposing a bill that allows Lions fans to start drinking and dawn and wave signs ripping management. Re-election!

[SignOnSanDiego]: Former home of Bush’s parents put on market for $775,000

[Inside Bay Area]: Chargers’ Steve Foley might face DUI since getting shot wasn’t punishment enough

[The Offside]: Celtic (Scottish soccer team) fan will only eat green foods for an entire season

[No Man’s Land]: Who the hell thought of Beach Tennis?

[Flyers Fan Central]: So long Primeau, you will be missed

Categories
MLB General

August 15 in Sports History: The Other Babe Ruth


In 1915: George Sisler of the St. Louis Browns pitched a complete game, but lost 1-0 to the Cleveland Indians. Sisler came into the big leagues as a promising young pitcher in 1915. He won five games, including two against Walter Johnson. Much like Babe Ruth, however, his bat was too good to keep out of the weak Browns’ lineup, and he was converted into a first baseman. He hit .340 for his career (including over .400 twice), held the record for hits in a season with 257 (broken by Ichiro in 2004), and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1939.

In 1993: Paul Azinger won the PGA Championship at Inverness Club in Ohio with a 272. Azinger defeated Greg Norman, who once again failed to capture a major on U.S. soil, in a sudden-death playoff. After helping the U.S. win the Ryder Cup, Azinger would be diagnosed with cancer. He returned to golf quickly, but didn’t win again until 2000 in Hawaii.

Categories
Golf

August 11 in Sports History: John Daly wins PGA Championship


In 1991: An unknown rookie qualifier named John Daly shocked the golf world by winning the PGA Championship at Crooked Stick in Indiana. Daly, who only made the field when another golfer dropped out, shot a 276 and defeated Bruce Lietzke by 3 shots. Known as Long John for his booming drives off the tee (at least we think), Daly would become one of the most popular golfers on the tour despite only five wins in 15 years. He would be just as well known for his life off the golf course. Daly has battled alcoholism, a gambling addiction and a slew of ex-wives throughout his professional career.

In 1951: The New York (baseball) Giants lost to the Phillies 4-0, while the Brooklyn Dodgers beat the Braves 8-1 (in the first ever game televised in color). The loss put the Giants 13 1/2 games behind the Dodgers in the National League standings with 49 games left to play. The Giants would eventually make one of the biggest comebacks in baseball history, leaping over three teams to tie the Dodgers on the last day of the season. The rivals would play a best-of-three playoff, with the Giants winning the pennant on Bobby Thompson’s famous home run, which became known as “the shot heard ‘round the world.”

In 2005: Philadelphia Eagles’ wide receiver Terrell Owens was sent home for the week during training camp after a shouting match with Head Coach Andy Reid. Owens, who reported to camp unhappy with his current contract (“only” seven years, $49 million), supposedly told Reid to “shut up” in a team meeting. Owens returned to his home in New Jersey, where he did a bizarre series of interviews while working out in his front yard. Owens would continue his feud with Reid and quarterback Donovan McNabb throughout the regular season. He was suspended from the Eagles for the remainder of the season in November for criticizing the team for not recognizing his 100th career touchdown reception and for reportedly getting into a fist-fight with Hugh Douglas. He signed with the Dallas Cowboys in the offseason.