Cleaning out the Inbox

    The inbox cleaning starts with The Athletic's celebration of the 35th anniversary of the release of Tecmo Bowl for the original Nintendo.

Super Tecmo Bowl was a better game since it included every team (Tecmo Bowl did not) than the original but there's always a special place for the groundbreaker in any field!

The Athletic picks the best players from the original game, and Bo Jackson is included!

The Athletic wrote this article before the college basketball season on then-new Texas Tech basketball coach Grant McCasland.

My college basketball interest has waned through the years, so I didn't know very much about McCasland, who was hired away from North Texas after winning 135 games for the Mean Green and last season's NIT championship. Still, the article is fascinating on the Red Raider coach.

Texas Tech finished dead last in the Big 12 last season but in their first season under McCasland, the Red Raiders are 16-5 and appear headed to the NCAA tournament.

FanBuzz writes of the legality of the famous Happy Gilmore putt that won Gilmore the fictional Tour Championship and broke the hearts of Shooter McGavin fans everywhere.

The article discusses the situation involved, the film ruling by the rules of golf, and whether Gilmore should have been forced to take the shot then and there.

After all, those are the rules- I didn't write them.

The Athletic writes of the making of the film Slap Shot and of the parallels between the real-life Johnstown Jets that inspired the "Charlestown Chiefs" in the film.

The article covers the screenplay, the film, and just how much of the film is pretty dead-on compared to the stories of the actual team!

And yes, that includes the Hanson Brothers!

Cleaning out the Inbox

   Cleaning out the inbox returns with several nuggets that hopefully will catch one's eye for a few minutes of interest!

Mike Oravec sends this ESPN article on Gary Davidson and the World Football League.

Davidson was also involved with the creation of the ABA and WHA but it was the WFL that Davidson was most involved in and served as the league's commissioner.

It's a long article with interesting portions on how and why the Memphis Southmen targeted Paul Warfield, Larry Csonka, and Jim Kiick to poach from the Miami Dolphins, the always hilarious financial stories, the only World Bowl and others...

The Athletic has been working on a series based on football programs that have struggled to reach the level of their previous success.

The Texas Tech article discusses the Red Raider's struggles since the departure of Mike Leach and the three coaches that have tried to win in Lubbock Post-Leach and how they (Tommy Tuberville, Kliff Kingsbury, and Matt Wells), how they managed to not win with Patrick Mahones, and the hopes that Joey McGuire can return to Texas Tech at least a perennial bowl team.

The article on Arkansas might have been even better as it wrote about the Razorback's steep decline from the day that Frank Broyles took the Hogs from the now-defunct Southwest Conference for the trip to the SEC.

One fact that I didn't know and always wondered about was a claim by the now-deceased Broyles that had Arkansas not headed to the SEC and waited for the eventual Big 8 to add four SWC teams (Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and Baylor) which would have seemed to be a better fit with long-time rivals than the SEC, Arkansas would not have been invited to join the new Big 12.

I didn't know that and it would have sent Arkansas to either an independent or group of five status in the AAC.

While the Razorbacks may have struggled on the field since joining the SEC, the financial coffers swelled by multiples over what they would have received had they decided to pass on the opportunity.

The article on Kansas shows just how easy it is for a program to go south with one or two wrong decisions.

It details how then-athletic director Lew Perkins was determined to fire head coach Mark Mangino, who has been the only coach in the last fifty years to get any kind of momentum going in Lawrence (Mangino actually finished 12-1 and won an Orange Bowl? I still can't believe that a decade and a half later) and hired Turner Gill over Jim Harbaugh, who actually interviewed for the job!

Kansas would later run through Gill, Charlie Weis, David Beaty, and Les Miles before their current hiring of Lance Leipold.

It's a great series and there are other schools written about as well.

The Athletic scores again as Brendan Quinn writes about what it is like for the regular everyday golfer to play at Augusta National during Masters week.

The Masters holds a media lottery each year before the tournament and allows the winner to play the course.

Quinn writes of his round, how the experience felt, and took questions from his readers.

Fred Landucci sends this from the New York Post as columnist Phil Mushnick writes of just badly the analytics crowd is damaging baseball.

I could write about the awful changes to the game that I once loved but Mushnick does a better job and hits all points as the Ivy League invaders that think that they are revolutionizing a game that they are actually slowly choking to death.

ESPN writes of the thirty-year anniversary of the basketball film "White Men Can't Jump", which I haven't seen in years but always enjoyed the many times that I have viewed the film.

The article tells the stories of the casting, filming, and the many bets that were placed during filming on the Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson led cast including the many bets placed on Harrelson's ability to actually dunk and how the bests were actually settled.

We wrap with this Washington Post article on Chiney Ogwumike, who not only plays for the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks but spent her off-season this year on ESPN's NBA studio show as an analyst and I was impressed with her performance and besides her future with the Sparks and judging by this article Ogwumike has an excellent head on her shoulders and certainly has a future outside of basketball when and if she chooses to travel that path. 

Cleaning out the inbox

The cleaning of the inbox continues with a few notes from the sports world and outside of it as well.

Voyager 2 has sent its first interstellar space message to Earth after crossing the heliosphere as the second man-made object to do after its twin craft Voyager 1 did so in 2013.
Voyager 2 is sending far more detailed reports than Voyager 1 since some of the instruments used to measure particle charges on Voyager 1 had broken way back in 1980.
The Voyagers are expected to operate until the mid-2020s when they run out of power and will thereafter float through space.

WUSA sends word of the departure of "Bei Bei", a four-year-old panda from the National Zoo and will be returning to China.
Part of the National Zoo's agreement with the Chinese Wildlife Conservation Agency that allows panda bears to stay at the zoo stipulates that any baby pandas born at the zoo (in captivity) will be returned to China at the age of four, which "Bei Bei" has now reached.

The Athletic takes a trip to a small town in Nebraska to check out a college football prospect that is waiting for a potential offer from the Cornhuskers.
Ty Hahn hails from the small town of Johnson with a population of 300 and with a high school so small, Johnson plays eight-man football rather than the conventional eleven.
Hahn currently holds a scholarship offer from neighboring Wyoming but has not been offered by the home state Huskers, although Nebraska has not ruled out offering Hahn before the signing deadline.
The article is just as much about small-town Nebraska life than it is about Hahn, so it's not just a football story.

And from Golf Channel, here is one story that has to make you feel good.
Brandon Matthews is playing in the third hole of extra play for the Argentina Open championship.
Now, that's fine, but the real prize is an automatic entry for the champion into next year's British Open.
Matthews' opponent in the playoff has just drilled a thirty-foot putt for a birdie which forced Matthews to make an eight-footer for a birdie and continue to a fourth playoff hole.
Matthews draws his putter back and as he does, someone screamed in the background, which caused Matthews to clutch a bit and miss the putt.
Matthews loses the tournament and automatic trip to the British Open, but the story doesn't end there as Matthews hits the locker room and is told what happens.
I won't spoil it for you, but if Brandon Matthews ever makes the major tours, he'll be an easy player to root for...

Wrapping up with a passing that is the only thing remaining for now in the inbox, as Bernard Slade passed away at the age of 89.
Slade was a screenwriter and playwright that created television shows The Flying Nun, The Partridge Family, and Bridget Loves Bernie, which to this day is the only program to be rated in the top five in the Nielsen ratings and not be renewed for the following season.
Slade also wrote Same Time Next Year, which won both Tony Awards (for Broadway) and Academy Award (for the film adaptation) for Slade's writing.
The film, which starred Alan Alda and Ellen Burstyn (who also starred on the Broadway version) is still occasionally shown on television.

Cleaning out the inbox

Time for another cleaning of the inbox, as we'll begin with a goodbye of a good type, as Ken "Hawk" Harrelson stepped away from the Chicago White Sox broadcast booth at the end of the season a few weeks back.

As an announcer, he was certainly a polarizing figure, and his blatant homerism certainly was a throwback to radio days long in the scrapbooks.
ESPN looks at Harrelson, the difference between Ken and "Hawk", the routine at the ballpark and at home, and more.
I've always liked Hawk, but I can easily understand why other fans would not!
Still listening to Hawk's calls, I always thought he added fun to a game that needs more and more of just that.


My all-time favorite basketball coach (as far as the NBA anyway) Larry Brown is still coaching at the age of 78- this time in Italy.
Brown, who always seemed to be looking for Camelot and, as a result, lost many opportunities through the years to build dynasties, although he almost always delivered winners at his various stops, has run out of teams in the states between his vagabond ways and his age.
The Athletic checks in on Brown and offers a few notes that I didn't know about, including why he didn't pick Paul Pierce when he was with Philadelphia, even though he knew he was making a mistake.

The SWC Roundup writes of a rivalry between two teams that usually are at or near the bottom of Division I, but usually play very close games that offer memorable endings.
New Mexico State and UTEP play in the "Battle of I-10" and two rivalry trophies are on the line in the Silver Spade and Brass Spittoon.
Often the most torrid rivalries are from teams on the same level and both of these teams that usually (New Mexico State did win six games and a bowl last year) struggle to win more than two or three games look at each other as not only rivals, players from the same high schools that have played against each other before, but as a good opportunity for a victory.
This article looks at three games between 1989-91 where UTEP won all three games by a combined six points.
Their game this season was reasonably close, with the Aggies defeating the Miners 27-20.


Another rivalry from schools of similar quality seems to be fierce despite the teams only playing each other twice as of now, as Texas State (Sun Belt) and UTSA (Texas-San Antonio, Conference USA) have developed some hate with each school drawing over 30,000 for their home game in the series thus far.
There is a nice ( but pretty generic-looking) trophy given to the winner, but it looks more like a larger and shinier version of a fantasy football league trophy.
A regional supermarket (HEB) sponsors the game and trophy, but a fan has come up with an idea that favors neither school but plays to the sponsor with a golden shopping cart.
Weird? Yes, but that's college football!

18 Birdies covers the evolution of the golf ball over the years, going way back to the first golf ball in 1550, which was an all-wooden ball!
Imagine hitting a ball made of wood with the limited clubs of the time and think about just how far that ball "flew"!
The article moves through several other phases that the ball went through in how they were made during each change of the ball, and it was quite interesting to read about what the balls were made of and contained on the inside.

We leave with the passing of former Philadelphia Eagles safety Wes Hopkins at the age of 57.
Hopkins was a second-round pick of the Eagles in 1983, was a first-team all-pro in 1985, a devastating thumper in the Ronnie Lott mold, and seemed to be on his way to an outstanding career.
A devastating 1986 knee injury ruined all of that, and even though Hopkins would return from the injury to be a starter and a fine player, he was never able to reach his previous form, which, had he been able to maintain that level of play, might have placed him in Hall of Fame consideration. 

Cleaning out the inbox

Time for a cleaning of the inbox,which is more than overdue.
Mostly a non-sports cleaning this time,so lets get started.

The picture on the right is actress Alicia Witt, who has guest starred on several series (I first saw her on Justified-a great and missed show) and does a lot of those Hallmark/Lifetime-style movies.
Witt is also a singer and I found her interview with Forbes to be fascinating as she discusses just how Hollywood works (and shortchanges) its guest stars on television shows,an upcoming album that she funded through Kickstarter and why even recognizable actors aren't nearly as rich as one would think.
Witt is honest enough to say that she makes more than enough to support herself, but she is far from wealthy.
I thought it was a very enlightening interview and learned a few things about the entertainment world...

I've written before about my Buffy the Vampire Slayer fandom and I saw a link on my Facebook timeline about a recent interview with Buffy star Sarah Michelle Gellar on her new food venture-
Foodstirs.
Gellar discusses her most recent series (The Crazy Ones with the late Robin Williams, Foodstirs, and the various difficulties of a startup business, no matter how famous you may be.

I've written before about FS1's Katie Nolan and her willingness to take anyone on, but this one is gutsy as she takes on a titan of her own media company in Sean Hannity.
Nolan fired off some tweets against Hannity that showed not only no fear of Hannity but of her own company.
I'll let you read just what she said (Language), but it will be interesting to see if Nolan gets any payback-publicly or privately...

CSN Washington is moving former Bullets (yes, I said Bullets) guard and longtime color commentator Phil Chenier out of the game analyst role after being the only analyst in the history of the network.
No word on a replacement for the veteran, who was always a favorite of mine.
My all-time favorite Phil Chenier story: The Bullets used to have a half hour pregame show from the old Capital Centre- the Bullet Report,which consisted mainly of Chenier sitting in a chair answering viewers phone calls on the team.
Ryan and I were watching the Bullet report and this guy called in for this.
Chenier: Let's go to Insert Name Here, you're on the Bullet Report.
Caller: Yo, Phil- tell me why the Bullets Succcckk.
Chenier looked like he had no idea what to say and sheepishly moved to the next caller...
Ryan and I laugh about that to this day!

When I was on my trip to Charleston,I saw this link on CNN for a recall for hash browns and other potato products for one of the crazier recalls that I have seen in quite a while.
The recall of products from McCain (no,not as in Battlin' Bob) products for "possible extraneous Golf Ball materials" makes me really think.
Is McCain growing golf balls in their patches? Are they near a golf course and if so imagine the amount of wayward drives that had to have been hit to have that many "materials" in their bags of potatoes?
That's one crazy recall and I'm just having real problems stifling laughter from just how on earth all of this "golf ball material" found their way there!!

MPT finishes this cleaning session with a discovery of something that might go a long way toward an eventual cure for the flu.
A recently discovered frog has a slime that has a molecule that can eliminate viruses and yet leave the basic cell intact.
Many tests to be done in the future and researchers are unsure how this works,but it certainly is a positive development to be part of the future process of creating cures...

Been looking at the stats and readership is rising, hope some of the new readers stick around for a while.
I'm caught up for now and I didn't even mention the Cavaliers' two dominant wins over Toronto.
Thinking about either a Forgotten Superstar for tonight or a thought or two on the health care bill/debate of today, so hope to see you there...

Travesty in LPGA

I'm asked on an odd occasion just why I watch golf.
Usually that's followed by a statement about how slow and boring that golf on television can be.

I usually respond with one of the most dramatic scenes in sports is a final round back nine in a men's major (especially the Masters and U.S.Open) or the fun of watching the LPGA as a tour that is extremely fan friendly,but my third answer is often one that surprises the questioner-the game is more often than not,the most honorably played by the participants.
Sadly,the stern and often archaic rules of golf and its various tours leave little room for nuance and often the past rules smash head on into modern technology with the results being often mind numbing.

In this weekend's first LPGA major,the ANA Inspiration,Lexi Thompson was the dominant player and after 12 holes of the final round,Thompson looked to be cruising her way to a victory.
That was until a fan watching the tournament on television sent the tour an email after looking at a replay from SATURDAY that showed Thompson marked her ball on the 17th green (a 1 foot putt,which almost any of us would have drilled),but placed the ball roughly an inch out of position.
It was a violation that common sense would say was harmless considering the length of the putt and that likely the hairline spot might happen several times during a tournament.
The tour looked at the replay and penalized a stunned Thompson four strokes and only an incredible show of composure by Thompson saw her finish with three birdies to force a playoff,where she lost to So Yeon Ru.

Was the rule broken? Yes,as Missy Jones explains far better than I here,but this is the type of thing that makes golf look like this stodgy unyielding game that fails to use good sense to use the rulebook as a guideline rather than this written in stone binder.
I think the listening to someone at home is dicey at best anyway since the broadcast is focusing on the leaders and not all of the players,so the opportunity to find an error is top loaded towards the front of the field.
That would be similar to me seeing a receiver's foot land out of bounds in the second quarter of an NFL game,sending them an email and the league looking to see if I was right and then taking points off the board in the fourth quarter!
Not to mention that this mistake was caught the next day!
That's unreal in its stupidity.

A common sense fix would say-no penalty if a competitive advantage was not gained,no call-ins from anyone allowed (although a NFL style video room makes sense to catch large mistakes) and once the tournament is closed for the day (say an hour after the final group finishes),the statute of limitations kicks in and no further penalties can be served.

I thought the players gained a lot on Sunday as Lexi Thompson likely gained a lot of fans with her late charge and classy handling of the situation,while I thought So Yeon Ru was understated in her celebration and came out well too.
The LPGA followed its rules,but needs to make a fast decision as rules changes are being mulled for 2019.
There doesn't need to be that large of a time frame to make these types of corrections.
The time is right-let's do the right thing and fix this before it happens again...

Road Trip-Oakmont and the U.S.Open

Now that we have caught up with various news items (and didn't it take up enough time?),I'm going to start chipping away on my four day road trip.

The start came on a Thursday before my weekend trip with Ryan as I attended my first golf tournament with my friend Bruce Begole.
I had never done golf and I wanted to give it a try.
Bruce is a great guy and over the winter had bought us tickets for the U.S.Open at Oakmont near Pittsburgh.
I reimbursed Bruce of course and brought some stuff to hopefully get signed.
I didn't bring lots of stuff because I had been warned by Bruce that the usual briefcase would not be allowed,but with all the walking involved,it wouldn't be a good idea even if it was allowed.

If you travel on the Western part of the extortion that is also known as the Pennsylvania Turnpike ,you should have passed under part of the Oakmont Country Club and if you are traveling East,you can even see the grandstands on the 18th green (more on that when I get around to day four).
Bruce and I had an enjoyable trip until reaching our "shuttle bus" located at the Pittsburgh Mills Mall.
It was only when arriving there,that the disorganization began to be clear.
I was surprised since Oakmont has the Open roughly once a decade,one would think that they would have a grip on what it takes to run a tournament.

After waiting in line for security checks,I was informed that my kindle wasn't allowed through security.
Cell phones were OK,but the kindle wasn't.
It wasn't that big of a deal,but what it did do was take away any chance of pictures of my day.
Bruce being in far better shape than I volunteered to run it back to the car,which of course was located on the other side of the mall.
After we waded through that without issue,we had a decent length school bus ride that seemed a lot longer on the way than the way back before arriving at Oakmont..

You actually cross over a walking bridge at Oakmont,so you literally are above the Pa.Turnpike!
I'll never look at that bridge in the same way again,that's for sure!
The course involved lots of walking,which wasn't great for a fat man with a bad wheel limping around,but we wound our way around before a huge rainstorm stopped play and turned the place into a mud pit.
Bruce and I did get to see some of the golfers walk by us,close enough to touch.
We didn't ask them to sign anything because they were still in playing mode due to the delay,but it was still neat to see them up close in person-most notably Jordan Speith,Rory McElroy and Bubba Watson.
We also were able to see the Stanley Cup in person,with Bruce diving forward to get a finger on the Cup.
I would have,but I didn't think of it until it was just by me,but it was still very neat to be that close to the Cup.
Bruce got his picture taken with Phil Kessel of the Penguins and we saw many members of the team walking by often to the clubhouse for beer refills!

We tried various way of access,but the tournament still hadn't moved on,but I saw huge storm clouds on their way and since by this point,I wasn't moving very quickly,I left Bruce to look for graphs as I moved towards the front of the facility to get a head start.
I reached the front and suddenly the skies opened for about an hour of one of the most torrential downpours I've ever seen.
I managed to duck inside a hospitality tent and found myself standing next to Kentucky head basketball coach John Calipari.

Finally,Bruce showed in the middle of this godawful mess and as it continued to pour,we dodged into the merchandise tent for even more rain to the point of feeling like the tent was going to collapse.
The rain kept falling and we decided to traverse a small stream (literally) to try to get to the parking lot for another lovely shuttle bus.
Problem was we were walking uphill through inches of water flowing back at us!
It was quite a grind and then due to more of the poorly organized bus issues,we had a huge wait and the bus loading filled with people that didn't want to wait their turn.

Soaked,hurting and tired,we finally returned to the car,where Bruce took pity on me (I really am old and out of shape) and picked me up rather than having me wobble across another parking lot.
The ride home was great and Bruce apologized for having a bad first time experience with golf.
I laughed because despite the pain,the company was good and it was still fun creating memories.

I'll have more soon on the next three days with Ryan,but the passing of Buddy Ryan has to be written and with luck,I'll have a podcast (I've been promising) on Buddy,the Cavaliers,the Hagerstown Suns and more.
It's a planned ThoughtsofRS with more than you can take of R.S.!!

Podcast with Special Guest Anya Alvarez

We welcome special guest Anya Alvarez to the podcast and I think it's a great show.
Anya pulls few punches on golf,the LPGA,The Golf Channel,her background and more.
I personally think it's a great hour.....

Podcast with Carling Coffing Nolan!

We talk with Carling Coffing Nolan from Big Break,18 Holes and the LPGA!

Carling discusses her career in golf, television on 18 holes and her passion and fight with Type 1 Diabetes....

Fun with the Solheim Cup

The Solheim Cup starts in a few hours from Germany and I'm sure I'll be watching a lot of it.

Just what is the Solheim Cup?
It is the ladies golf version of the Ryder Cup and in many ways,more fun.
The Cup is currently in the hands of team Europe,which has won the last two cups and this years is being held in Germany.

I like team golf,especially when it is held every two years.
The infrequency of the event makes it special and the two teams are generally pretty equal.

It's also fun to watch the patriotic aspect of things,particularly on the American side with the uniforms,colors etc.
Sometimes these things can be overdone,but the tournament directors do an excellent job of getting this right.

What I really like most though is the various games of golf that come into play in the Solheim Cup,which again is most similar to the Ryder Cup.
28 matches comprise the tournament with two members of each team playing in alternate shot (I really enjoy watching this) using a ball for each team in eight matches, each team using two players in foursomes which has four balls in play and each team uses its lower score for its score in eight matches and then 12 singles matches on the final day.
Each match is worth one point and in the event of a overall tie,the team that holds the cup retains it...

Even though Jessica Korda (my favorite player) didn't make this years team,I'll still pay close attention to the cup because I love the format.
Since the Cup is in Germany it's early in the morning,so I'll be watching on-line from the road office.
I'm sure the time will work against you people that work normal hours,but if you happen to be up,flip over to the Golf Channel and give the Solheim Cup a try.
You just might get caught up in it!

Cleaning out the inbox-Sports Version

Time to clean out the inbox and we have accumulated so many items that we have to split between sports and non-sports...

Since we are in the middle of the final golf major of 2015 with the PGA Championship returning to Whistling Straits in Wisconsin,Golf Channel writes an oral history of the last visit to the course and the controversial ending of Dustin Johnson's two shot penalty for grounding his club in a bunker.

Hardball Times writes on how many times when baseball teams trade their problems for yours,it often becomes just changing your problems rather than solving them.
Hall of Famers Rogers Hornsby for Frankie Frisch is one trade discussed as is the huge swap of near HOF'ers Dick Allen (and others) for Curt Flood (and others) .
The article is more than just about the trades,it writes a great deal about all four of the mentioned players above...

Most fans of bad teams complain about their teams woes and often (maybe even usually) a talking point is about the lack of a strong farm system or having (seemingly) talented players and not doing a very good job in developing talent along the way.
Grantland writes about the Seattle Mariners and their poor drafting along with a lack of player development in recent years.
Between draft busts and the lack of talent flow,the Mariners have become the team with the largest playoff gap in the AL and this article expresses a major reason why this has occurred.

Sports Illustrated writes about the Raiders hiring the NFL's first woman to do play by play with Beth Mowins doing the Raiders pre-season games.
Every team's pre-season broadcasts are managed by the individual teams,so they can hire whoever they like.
Mowins does college games for ESPN and is not terrible to me (although my friend Ian cannot stand her),so there could have far worse hires-male and female.
Mowins is a million times better than ESPN's past female play by play person,Pam Ward to me.
Now there was someone's work that I really disliked!

Grantland finishes us off with a really interesting article on the Lingerie Football League,which is of course played by women,although might be hilarious to see played by men!
Seriously,the league plays a physical level of football,I've been told and this article was terrific,considering I'm not a fan of the league,
The article talks about the league,its players,what they go through,how tightly the league controls dollars and how little the players really get out of it other than the proverbial love of the game.

That trims the inbox,but hardly finishes the cleanup,so look for a non-sports version soon!!

Why I love the British Open

Yes,I love the British Open.
There's times that I even think that it is my favorite of all the majors in golf,although in the end the Masters barely hangs onto the top spot.

And this comes from a guy that says if we ever plant more trees (and we have some that I'd like to remove),they have to be Magnolia trees to represent the Masters!
I like links golf  and even though I wasn't really a fan of the style at Chambers Bay for the U.S.Open,I really enjoy the version in the U.K..

I have more than a few reasons for liking the British so much,so here are they are!

I get to watch most of the tournament at work!
The difference is starting time and it comes on the air at either 3 or 4 AM and I am able to watch the tournament from start to finish,which is something that I cannot say about any of the three American based majors.

The Courses!
The greens and fairways aren't the perfectly trimmed with brilliant green coloring as in America.
Rather,it is a clunky mix of dirty yellow,crispy brown and some off green tossed in for color.
It's different and once a year-it's golf!

The Bounces
The ball can't be counted on to do anything until they slow to crawling speed.
No matter where the ball hits,there is no guarantee it's final destination.
The humps and bumps make it far more random at the British than the other majors.

The Weather
Cold,damp and often rainy-the British features more sweaters and overcoats in July than lightweight golf shirts and the winds can often lift an odd player to the victory circle.

The Bunkers
Huge and deep,the bunkers in the British can determine a winner (or more often a loser) should a ball find its way into one.
Unlike their thinner American counterparts,the British Open truly can be a determent instead of a mere chipping contest...

The Players
Because this is an European event,it's almost like watching major league baseball when a prospect comes up from AAA.
Every year,the British has a contender (and sometime winner) that you have barely heard of and many times it is the first glimpse of a star...

And finally two honorable mentions.
The fuzzy satellite look that European events always seem to have on television,although that gets better by the year.
The squeaky high pitched voice of the fellow that introduces the starters and then with the winner as
"Champion Golfer of the Year"...
Both neat items that set the mood for the British Open.

Enjoy the tournament!!!!

Podcast-Welcome to our new sponsor!

New podcast with a welcome to our new sponsor!
Also Cavaliers draft,U.S.Open and the return of Battlebots....

A few notes

Just a few observations/notes on a very cold night/morning and boy,do I hate this weather.
Ugh,Just horrible.
I often say when the topic comes up-I could handle living in Canada until winter-those folks up there are a different breed.
They put up with this almost every day during this time of year-far tougher than I am when it comes to the cold.
I often think about going back to Ohio and I've kinda resigned myself that it likely will not happen for two reasons.
The first is that I want to stay close to the kids and unless they move away from here,I'm likely not going anywhere.
The other? It's colder there than here and this is too cold for me!!

Hoping to have my podcast equipment here soon.
The tracking says sometime today,but I'll believe that when I see it and I still need a USB cord too.
If all breaks perfect,I could have the first show early next week,if I can figure out what I am doing,that is....

I have some questions for a future Q and A ready and I still need to knock cards out to put away from last season,so there will be some signing fronts coming.
I always start the season well on the signing front and then the cards start to accumulate and I jsut get behind.
Once the season ends,then the urgency isn't so important....

Not sure,if I would have ever seen this coming,but I like to watch golf more than college basketball anymore.
Any of the three tours (PGA,Champions or LPGA) I enjoy watching and with my slowly decreasing interest in the college game-mainly to the loss of rivalries and the "one and done" players,I give golf the edge,
I do still enjoy the conference tournaments,especially the smaller ones and March Madness,but with a few exceptions,I just don't watch much during the regular season....

I also have begun to casually collect the 1965 Topps baseball set.
I rather doubt that I'll ever finish it,but visually the 1965 set is my favorite of the 60's and I decided to go after it.
The lovely Cherie was surprised as I usually collect things within my lifetime,but sometimes one mixes things up.
If I ever did a set from the 1950's though,it would not be one of the mainstream Topps sets-it would be either the 1951 Topps red and blue back sets or the Red Man chewing tobacco sets for sentimental reasons.
Don't bet on me doing either,although I might buy a few just for fun....

Finally,a short note on other things that I am adding to the collection soon-I need to add a 2014 National Champions Buckeye helmet to the mini helmet collection and another possibility is beginning to collect things from the Batman TV show.
The lovely Cherie has given the provisional OK for that-IF I get rid of some other things to make space.
I'm amenable to that,but not until things warm a bit.Just too cold to spend time in the attic......