Tiger Woods is coming back to golf...at the Masters. If you had been anywhere near a sports website, or a television that had a sports channel on, you undoubtedly heard the news. And from the standpoint of a fan of the game of golf, I for one, am excited. It certainly helps that I am a fan of Tiger Woods as well.
Competitively speaking, Bay Hill a week before The Masters would have been a far better tournament to return to. Having a week of the grind under his belt would have done nothing but helped the world's #1 player. However, from a comfort level, The Masters is the perfect place for him to come back. The crowds at The Masters are always calm and collected, because if you aren't they rip your pass away from you and you're out. This will help Tiger out a lot, because the hecklers will not be out in full force as they would be in Orlando.
Now let me touch on Tiger's character. Did he mess up? Yes. Is he sorry he did it? More than likely. Is he sorry that he got caught? You betcha. Should we NEVER forgive him for what he did? No way. In a time of athletes getting high and running people down, allegedly being a witness to a murder, being brought up on rape charges, and running illegal dog-fighting rings, this is small potatoes. I think we all need to take a big spoonful of perspective here, and take this for what it is. He showed a serious lack in judgement, integrity, as well as character...and for this, people should be bothered. But this is still an issue that he needs to work out with his wife and family, not with Joe-Golf-Fan who feels let down by him, Jane-Golf-Fan who feels bad for his wife, or Accenture+AT&T+Gatorade, or any other sponsor that dropped him during this time. He owes it to Elin and his kids...and that's it.
I look forward to watching him at The Masters, because how often does a player as special as this come around...anyone who loves the game should be happy to witness one of the greatest of all time. This guy is hoping that he comes out and drums the whole field.
~Golf Czar
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Sunday, March 7, 2010
King James
First of all, before I start my overwhelming-Pistons-fan-driven hatred of LeBron James, let me say that I admire his desire to switch from #23 to #6...if it actually is for the reason that he stated. He said that it is based on him wanting to see Michael Jordan honored and his number retired by the league...I can dig that. If it has something to do with the team that he plans on being with next basketball season...I cannot dig that. With that said, here is the real reason I am on here talking about James.
I think the main thing holding him back is Mike Brown. Seriously...what has the man ever done as a coach aside from coaching a team crappy enough to win the LeBron James lottery? The Cavs were not a playoff team under him, they secured the #1 overall pick, and took James. That was a no-brainer. Now he has the daunting task of standing there and yelling at the other players on the team, pretending to draw up plays during time-outs (when everyone knows it's LeBron who is making all the calls), and looking completely dumb-founded and lost everytime they show him on camera. Jordan was the best to ever play the game (in this guy's opinion), but he still had Phil Jackson. It wasn't all Michael...someone taught him to run and operate The Triangle Offense.
A couple of weeks ago I watched the end of the Cavs/Magic game. The Cavs were down late so LeBron decided that it was time for him to take the game over and will his team to a win, like all great players do. Instead of driving to the hoop where he is most dangerous, he decided to jack up one missed 3-pointer after another, and the Cavs eventually lost the game. At that point Mike Brown should have called a time-out, gotten LeBron's attention, and reminded him that he is one of the biggest and strongest players in the league, and that he has a great first step. Drive the ball to the hoop, get the easy bucket, or force the Magic to foul you. Instead, Mike Brown stared up at the jumbo-tron looking dazed and confused like he always does, unable to figure out why his star player isn't knocking down every shot from 32 feet away. If for no other reason, James should leave Cleveland this summer to get away from the man holding him back. The Knicks have a coach that could really use LeBron's run-and-gun abilities...just sayin'.
LeBron is a tough character to hate. He has fun playing the game, he seems to be an upstanding dude, and he is certainly a VERY talented player. As a Pistons fan, I have to dislike him...but dammit I respect what he has done, and is doing for the game of basketball.
~Golf Czar
I think the main thing holding him back is Mike Brown. Seriously...what has the man ever done as a coach aside from coaching a team crappy enough to win the LeBron James lottery? The Cavs were not a playoff team under him, they secured the #1 overall pick, and took James. That was a no-brainer. Now he has the daunting task of standing there and yelling at the other players on the team, pretending to draw up plays during time-outs (when everyone knows it's LeBron who is making all the calls), and looking completely dumb-founded and lost everytime they show him on camera. Jordan was the best to ever play the game (in this guy's opinion), but he still had Phil Jackson. It wasn't all Michael...someone taught him to run and operate The Triangle Offense.
A couple of weeks ago I watched the end of the Cavs/Magic game. The Cavs were down late so LeBron decided that it was time for him to take the game over and will his team to a win, like all great players do. Instead of driving to the hoop where he is most dangerous, he decided to jack up one missed 3-pointer after another, and the Cavs eventually lost the game. At that point Mike Brown should have called a time-out, gotten LeBron's attention, and reminded him that he is one of the biggest and strongest players in the league, and that he has a great first step. Drive the ball to the hoop, get the easy bucket, or force the Magic to foul you. Instead, Mike Brown stared up at the jumbo-tron looking dazed and confused like he always does, unable to figure out why his star player isn't knocking down every shot from 32 feet away. If for no other reason, James should leave Cleveland this summer to get away from the man holding him back. The Knicks have a coach that could really use LeBron's run-and-gun abilities...just sayin'.
LeBron is a tough character to hate. He has fun playing the game, he seems to be an upstanding dude, and he is certainly a VERY talented player. As a Pistons fan, I have to dislike him...but dammit I respect what he has done, and is doing for the game of basketball.
~Golf Czar
Monday, February 8, 2010
Oh When The Saints.....
So I watched the Super Bowl (no big shocker there) last night. Yes, it was entertaining, all the way down to the half-time show. Yes, I said it...I loved the half-time show. The Who rocked the house. The music was good, the lighting was cool, and they played Pinball Wizard AND Teenage Wasteland.
But now onto the football game. If you had told me at the end of the first quarter that the Saints would hold the Colts to one more TD and put up 31 on them for the rest of the game, I may have spit my BL Smoothie (Bud Light) right out of my nose in a fit of laughter. But it really did happen. In a way in which I have never seen the Colts play, they got a lead and they sat on it. They did what I like to call "playing not to lose". The Saints however, did the exact opposite. They were a team that wasn't going to get down and out because of a 7 point deficit. They were hungry, aggressive, and played to win the game. Take the goal-line stand by the Colts defense. Now Indy has the ball in the shadow of their own goal-posts, up 7, with a chance to put together one of those drives that doesn't just take the wind out of the other team's sails, it straight up sinks their battleship. But instead, it's three straight runs and a punt. I consider this single posession to be the one that cost the Colts the game. The subsequent points on the Saints drive allowed them to get back in the game, and I don't think they do what they did to open the second half if they're down 2 scores.
Which leads me to the onside kick to start off the second half. In my opinion (which is what you get, it's my blog!), it was the single dumbest and most brilliant play call in Super Bowl history. I know I know, it worked and they got the ball back, and Manning had to sit on the sidelines and watch. But had it not worked, it would be talked about as the worst idea ever.
So the Saints came back to win, Tracy Porter had that interception before Manning even snapped the ball, and now we can all stop talking about the amazing recovery that New Orleans has made since the hurricane. Call me insensitive, but what does a Super Bowl win have to do with getting the city back on track? I don't hear anyone in an uproar because The Lions haven't won one...and Detroit has one of the highest jobless rates in the nation. Now all we have to deal with is Brett "Awe Shucks" Favre flip-flopping on his decision of retirement.
~Golf Czar
But now onto the football game. If you had told me at the end of the first quarter that the Saints would hold the Colts to one more TD and put up 31 on them for the rest of the game, I may have spit my BL Smoothie (Bud Light) right out of my nose in a fit of laughter. But it really did happen. In a way in which I have never seen the Colts play, they got a lead and they sat on it. They did what I like to call "playing not to lose". The Saints however, did the exact opposite. They were a team that wasn't going to get down and out because of a 7 point deficit. They were hungry, aggressive, and played to win the game. Take the goal-line stand by the Colts defense. Now Indy has the ball in the shadow of their own goal-posts, up 7, with a chance to put together one of those drives that doesn't just take the wind out of the other team's sails, it straight up sinks their battleship. But instead, it's three straight runs and a punt. I consider this single posession to be the one that cost the Colts the game. The subsequent points on the Saints drive allowed them to get back in the game, and I don't think they do what they did to open the second half if they're down 2 scores.
Which leads me to the onside kick to start off the second half. In my opinion (which is what you get, it's my blog!), it was the single dumbest and most brilliant play call in Super Bowl history. I know I know, it worked and they got the ball back, and Manning had to sit on the sidelines and watch. But had it not worked, it would be talked about as the worst idea ever.
So the Saints came back to win, Tracy Porter had that interception before Manning even snapped the ball, and now we can all stop talking about the amazing recovery that New Orleans has made since the hurricane. Call me insensitive, but what does a Super Bowl win have to do with getting the city back on track? I don't hear anyone in an uproar because The Lions haven't won one...and Detroit has one of the highest jobless rates in the nation. Now all we have to deal with is Brett "Awe Shucks" Favre flip-flopping on his decision of retirement.
~Golf Czar
Sunday, January 24, 2010
How Bad Can They Be?
There are certain things in professional team sports that simply amaze me. Things like the Detroit Lions managing to go 0-16 in the course of a single season. And now there is another team that is going to follow suit. The NBA's New Jersey Nets. The Nets are currently a dismal 3-40...that just seems unacceptable to me. These are professional athletes, supposedly the best of the best at their respective sport. How is it, that out of 43 games they can only manage to win 3 of them? Wouldn't you assume that they could win a few more by accident? I don't really have a lot to say about this topic, just wanted to bring it up and see if anyone had any opinions on it. I personally like the idea of withholding pay or being allowed to release players from their contracts without being required to pay the remainder of the contract if performance continues to slip. Why should it be any different than the standards that regular people working regular jobs are held to?
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