Crouching Tiger

The hate train rolls on.   Tiger woods ousted in the first round of Match-Play!  He’s done!  Finished!  Will he ever win again?

Give me a break.   It’s the usual short-sighted, selective memory, moronic media searching for a story line.

Fact:  Tiger Woods has not won in his last 16 PGA Tour events.

Fact:  Phil Mickleson hasn’t won in his last 17 PGA Tour events.

Whaaaat?  Sir Eats-A lot has lost more consecutive events than Tiger?  Inconceivable!

But there is more…

Let’s look at a few big events they both played SINCE The Masters.

1.       US Open:  Tiger and Phil tied for 4^th. 

2.       British Open: Tiger  T-23^rd   Phil T-48^th

3.       WGC Invitational:  Ok, Tiger blew up on this one and ended in 78^th while Phil scrapped a T48th spot.  Neither very good.

4.       PGA Championship: Tiger Struggled to a T-28, but Phil fell out of the top 10 and T-12

Then the Fed-Ex Cup Playoffs started.  Basiclly the best field of competitors possible.

1.       Barclays:  Tiger finished T-12… Phil MISSED THE CUT!

2.       DBank Invitational: Tiger T-11… The Almighty Phil T-25

3.       BMW:  Tiger T-15 … Phil 8^th

After That was the Ryder Cup.  I know the US didn’t win it, but in this battle Tiger went 3-1 for 3 USA points while Phil bombed with a 1-3 record and a measly single point.

Then cap off 2010 with another World Golf Championship event where Tiger tied for 6^th and Phil puked up a T-41 finish.

I’m not saying Tiger had a good 2010, but other than Phil winning the Masters (only three spots ahead of Tiger), Phil got whooped by Mr. Woods. 

So why on Earth is the media bashing Woods, saying he can’t compete and deeming his reign over, while Phil can barely keep up with Tiger?  The media makes Phil out to be a contender every week.   He always has a shot.  He’s hitting the ball longer than ever.   His game is as sharp as it’s been in years.   Why the horrible bias?

Now, some may say Phil has had a better 2011 PGA Tour so far, but come on.  The Farmer’s Insurance, Waste Management Open, AT&T Pro-Am and the Northern Trust Open?!

Phil finished 35^th in the Northern Trust and no one said a word.

Tiger loses in extra holes in match play to a hot golfer, Thomas Bjorn, who just spanked a stacked field in the Qatar Masters.  HELLO! Match Play! A hot golfer can beat anyone.  So boo-hoo Tiger lost. 

If Tiger won the whole event people would still say “yeah, but it’s match play.  Not the same as a 4-day grind.”

If Tiger won the Farmer’s Insurance Open people would say, “Yeah, but it’s early season.  Let’s see how he does in the Masters.”

And WHEN Tiger wins the Masters people will still grouse, “Yeah, but he loves Augusta. It’s a easy course for him.”

To all of you I say simple…Shut your moronic pie-hole and watch the greatest player play.

And I leave you with things to think about:

1.       In 2010 Dustin Johnson did not finish Top-5 in any Majors… Tiger finished Top-5 Twice.

2.       In the Ryder Cup Tiger tied Steve Stricker for most points… Stricker was his partner in 3 matches.

3.       In 2003-2004 he changed his swing and dropped to 4^th on the money list. He had an equally long losing streak at that time.  Once he worked through the issues he won 4 or the next 8 Majors.

4.       Tiger Woods has finished in the Top-6 in 7 of the last 10 majors he has played in.

…Tiger hasn’t gone away.  He’s just getting warmed up

PGA Tour Buffalo Wings

The new wave is infiltrating the traditionally old stuffy world of the PGA, and never is it more evident than when Phoenix hosts the Waste Management Open!  St. Andrews this is not!  Augusta National…far from it.

Phoenix has created the single greatest golf arena in the history of the game. The 162 yard, Par 3, 16^th hole.  Surrounded tee to green with stadium bleachers, hospitality tents, and beer vendors galore it is the opposite of golf.  It’s loud. It’s rowdy. It’s unsophisticated. It’s AWESOME!

True, this may not be the way golf was meant to be played, but oh baby is it the way golf was meant to be watched!  Gone are the ascots and pleated pants.  Enter tank tops and jean shorts!  Gone are the gin and tonics and in are pounders of PBR and beer funnels.  Golf claps?! How about screaming, cheering, booing, jeering fans who are watching AND CARING about every shot on that hole.

Stick it close, a cheer equal to a David Ortiz walk-off homerun in Fenway erupts.  Plug it in the sand or bail out right be prepared for a course of boos echoing your own thoughts of aggravation over a poor effort.  Oh, and if you don’t acknowledge the fans… you’re dead.  Not just for that one time either.  The fans will remember and you will become Lebron James walking into Cleveland.

Players bring fans candy, throw souvenirs into the crowd, joke with fans, wave at fans, APPRECIATE THE FANS!

The Phoenix Open is THE most attended golf tournament on tour.   Not the Masters.  Not the Players Championship.  The Waste Management Phoenix Open…and that is without one Tiger Woods in attendance.   Is it because it’s just that much more exciting?  No! It’s because it is FUN…god forbid.

Put it this way…

Legal Seafood is a great dinner, but more people go to Hooters. Does that mean buffalo wings better than grilled salmon? Not really, but often I rather roll out of the house in jeans and a tee-shirt, suck down a pitcher of beer, and go home with some money left in my pocket.  I certainly enjoy a nice dinner every now and then, but not every time I eat.

The PGA needs more buffalo wings.  That’s all I’m saying.  And The Phoenix Open this weekend is the biggest, rowdiest, PGA Tour Hooters in the world.

This one is for the fans…and the PGA should take notice.

Tin Cup Vegas

I was first introduced to Phil Mickelson back in 1996.  I was a very young caddy at a golf course near Boston and I was just struggling to play and enjoy the game of golf.  I tried to get out as often as I could, but as a caddy you are at the bottom of the list for late afternoon tee times.   Relegated to only Monday play, and often sharing the course with the grounds crew making repairs, it was hard not to develop an animosity to the members who viewed me as “just a caddy”.

1996 marked the release of the great golf movie “Tin Cup” starring Kevin Costner.  Early in the movie a baby-faced Phil Mickelson played in the group with David Sims (played by Don Johnson) and took bets on if the caddy, Roy “Tin Cup” McAvoy would be able to make a challenging shot.  My memory is Phil betting against the caddy as mumbles of “he’s just a caddy” wafted through the crowd.

And so it was. Phil Mickelson, albeit just in a movie, represented every country club member who didn’t think a simple caddy could play on the same course as him.  I’m sure Phil is actually a good guy, but my young brain was set that day.

Fast forward to this past Sunday.  18^th hole. Par 5. Long carry over water. Hmmm….sounds familiar.

It’s a three way battle between Bubba Watson, Phil, and newcomer Jhonny Vegas.

Watson is sitting a million miles down the center of the fairway with 186 yards in for what is a sure 2-putt birdie and a two shot lead.  Vegas is first to play.

Jhonny is starring at 217 yards out of the first cut of rough. He’s assuming Bubba makes birdie so he needs to make Eagle to force a playoff.   He pulls out the 5-iron and really leans on it.

As the ball sailed in the air Vegas is yelling, “GO BALL!” eerily similar to Roy McAvoy willing his ball over the water on 18 for an eagle try that would give him the US Open title.  No playing it safe for either of these guys.  Go Ball!  Clear the water! Give me a chance!

Splash and splash. Both McAvoy and Vegas met the same fate.  Ball in the water.  Title hopes dashed and a disappointed following.  Vegas would make bogie and finish in a tie for third. Vegas failed, but he failed valiantly.

Then, standing 226 yards away from the pin, like a Clint Eastwood character with a club in hand, Mickelson is starring at the pin. It’s time to go big or go home.  Eagle and we go to extra holes.  A birdie and it’s steak knives. 226 yards from the rough.  This is the man who laced a fairway metal from between two trees, over water, 6 feet from the pin on the way to a Masters green jacket. He’s got this.

But then, in David Simms style, Phil pokes an iron down to 100 yards.  A perfect layup, but a layup nevertheless. 

Theatrics and bravado aside, the chances of holing out from 100 yards is slim at best. Sure he came close, but golf doesn’t give partial credit for close shots.  Phil made a tap in birdie and walked away with sole possession of 2^nd place. Bubba Watson walked away with the trophy. 

Nice birdie, Phil.

Resolving the Brady v. Big Ben Debate

If Ben Roethlisberger wins Superbowl XVL next Sunday will he be on the same pedestal as Tom Brady?

That seems to be the question batted around in the media this week.  Will the history books view them as equals?  Will Ben surpass Tom as the golden boy?  Who’s better?  Who would you rather have in the big game?  Blah, blah, blah…

Instead of a long, drawn out, statistic laden diatribe on why Tom Brady if superior to Big Ben… I present to you; The List

1.       Ben hasn’t won yet, so shut it.  Brady has three rings. Ben has two.  Stop with the if’s and let’s see who wins.  Then start the debate. 

2.       Brady has 2 Suberbowl MVPs…Big Ben zero. 

3.       Brady has been to 4 Superbowls and won three of them. This will be Ben’s third appearance.   

4.       Brady has 4,407 passing yards, 30 passing TDs and 16 INTs in the postseason.  Ben has 2,598 yards, 17 TD and 14 INTs. .. Now I know what you are going to say, “But Brady has played in more games than Ben.”  You are correct, but if one is going to say that Roethlisberger is an equal to Brady if he wins another SB, one needs to do so based on everything done to date.  If neither played another game these would be career stats.

...Wait a minute.  Come to think of it, why is everyone just throwing out the regular season?! Just because Big Ben may get a third ring he belongs on the same level as Brady?   Peyton Manning  and Brett Farve only have 1 title each.  Dan Marino doesn’t have any.  Does that mean they are worse than Jim Plunkett? You can’t have a “who’s better” conversation and only look at the playoffs.  It’s like reviewing a movie by only watching the last 20 minutes.  Sure it’s the most important, but without the first hour and half the finale would not even make sense.

5.       Tom Brady will have 2 League MVP awards after this season is complete.  Ben will have zero.

6.       Brady has the most consecutive playoff wins, most consecutive regular season wins, most consecutive regular season home wins, most consecutive passes without an INT, and most TDs in a regular season.  Advantage Brady.

7.       Tom Brady’s career regular season record is 111-32.  That gives him 143 career starts.  Big Ben has only 98 career starts BUT his career record is 69-29.  Brady, in 45 more starts, has only three more loses than Ben.  Incredible! To put that in perspective, Roethlisberger  would need to go 15-1 in his next three seasons to equal Brady’s current mark.   

I don’t want to downgrade Ben Roethlisberger as a quality QB or diminishing his accomplishments as a winner, but a third Superbowl win won’t put him on par with Brady.  It will just give him the same amount of Superbowl wins.  He has a long way to go to be Tom Brady.

Dan Shaughnesy: Village Idiot

Dan Shaughnesy concluded his recent article with the line, “It’s not as stupid as it sounds.”

That line is in reference to the misguided article he penned about how the fans of the New England Patriots should have cheered for the New York Jets to beat the Pittsburg Steelers in the AFC Championship Game and for them to go on and win the SuperBowl.

It is articles like this that make it very hard to argue with many Boston locals who think Mr. Shaughnesy is a complete twit and wastes every piece of paper his words are printed on.  He is still riding a minor wave of fame that came from creating the now broken “Curse of the Bambino”, and his dwindling fame is evident in his pessimistic, depressing, over-critical coverage of Boston sports

In this case, Shaughnesy is right though.  Routing for the Jets is not as stupid as it sounds.  It’s so much worse.

Dan Shaughnesy is a BOSTON writer.  He covers BOSTON sports. He was raise in BOSTON.  What on this planet makes him think supportingthe loud-mouth, Patriot hating Jets is a good idea?! 

If I recall correctly, prior to the Jets v. Patriots match up, Jets players called Brady an A-hole and Rex Ryan bashed Brady as not working as hard as Peyton manning.  The Jets hate the Patriots and would never support them.  Why should the Pats fans rally around these guys?

Shaughnesy writes, “What’s not to love about Rex Ryan?”   Umm. Everything.    1. He’s the football leader of our most heated sports rival city. 2. He’s crass and loud despite never winning anything.  3. He never shows a single moment of class or honor.  4.  He took part in sexually harassing a female reporter DURING a practice…The list continues…  It would take a small team of M.I.T. brains to find one redeeming quality at times.

But wait! Our man Dan points out the Jets General Manager is from the Boston area. That’s why we shoud paint our faces Green and tattoo Mark Sanchez on our arms!

Whitey Bulger is from Massachusetts.  Should Boston pull for him to continue to elude the FBI?

Bill Laimbeer is from the state.  Should Celtics fans have routed for him to land a hard foul on Larry Bird?

Jeremey Roenick is a local.  That explains why Shaughnesy routed for the Flyers in early the early 2000’s

People from Massachusetts are everywhere.  Just because they drop an ‘R’ and guzzle Dunkin Donuts coffee doesn’t mean fans should start donning Jets jerseys and chanting with Fireman Ed.

Then Shaughnesy invokes Dennis Byrd.  Byrd, who is paralyzed from an on field hit, was a rallying point for the Jets prior to the Patriots game.  Byrd is inspirational to every fan and has made a great life from a tragic incident…BUT!

Just because the Jets have a crippled star doesn’t mean fans should join the rival squad.  The Cowboys have a coach who was paralyzed in the off season.  The Jaguars have a paralyzed lineman who was shot. Mike Utley for the Detroit Lions was paralyzed by an on field hit.  Should we all forget about the Patriots and wear a Jets uniform, Jaguars hat, a Lions Pennant and Cowboys underwear?  Come on Dan.  It’s a terrific comeback story, but doesn’t justify becoming a traitor.

Then finally, showing his true idiotic nature, he brings up that if the Steelers win the Superbowl Rothlethsburger will have 3 wins. The same amount Tom Brady has.  He says that Big Ben will then be in the same conversation as Brady.  Maybe for you Dan.

You see, if you decide to be a superficial, stat regurgitating hack of a writer…sure, same convo Danny.  While you are at it, put Ron Harper in the same NBA conversation as Magic Johnson (both have 5 World Championships).  Or let’s deem Bernie Williams greater than Ted Williams since he has more rings.    Take a step back Dan and realize, yes, if Big Ben wins a third Super bowl it’s great, but he’s not the same a Tom Brady.  He didn’t lead his team the same way.  The Steelers are a defensive, run-first team and doesn’t rely on a quarterback the way the Patriots do.

Basically, Mr. Shaughesy, if you were a real Boston sports fan you’d remember the game last week, remember Aaron Boone, Remember Bucky Dent, remember all the horrible history Boston has with New York sports. Then you may realize on thing, there is no good reason Patriots fans should ever rout for the Jets, and your article is as stupid as it sounds.

Red Sox Sign Trade Bait

The teenage-girl contingent of Red Sox Nation rejoiced yesterday when news broke of heartthrobs Jonathan Papelbon and Jacoby Ellsbury signing 1-year contracts with Boston.

Ellsbury bumped his pay up to $2.4 million and Papelbon will make a cool $12 million in 2011.

While this signing means two fan-favorites will be back in Fenway this season, do not be surprised if both of these gentlemen are not wearing a red B on their cap when the trade deadline comes around.

Papelbon was a stud in 2007 paving the way to a World Series Championship, but in the years following, his success dwindled. Last season the closer recorded a bloated 3.90 ERA with 8 Blown Saves.  His fearsome stare does not rattle hitters like it used to.  His overpowering fastball is looking more hittable than ever, and his act is getting more tired with every poor outing.    Consider also that the Red Sox set-up man, Daniel Bard, throws 5 to 6 MPH faster than Papelbon!  If the Sox are looking to close with a flame thrower, send out the man with rocket fuel over the one with lighter fluid.

Ellsbury still has great potential.  The debate becomes whether he is move valuable on the field or on the trading block. The signing of Carl Crawford brings a hitting, fielding, stolen base machine to centerfield.  An argument can also be made in favor of Mike Cameron’s bat in the lineup over Jacoby.   

There are teams in the market for a talented centerfielder and a solid closer. The Sox have that covered with Crawford and Bard.   What the Red Sox really need is a shortstop and a catcher for the future. The package of Papelbon and Ellsbury will be a tempting morsel for a team that is willing to part with a young prospect.  

A Painful Relationship

“Women give you two feelings: joy and ache. Joy when you meet ‘em and first get to know ‘em and ache when ya leave ‘em. Perfect joy and perfect ache. Joy, ache…joy, ache …joy-ache, joy-ache, joy-ache , joy-ache…”  - With Honors

Sports are a long term relationship that will never work out.  It’s a one-sided, selfish, emotionally abusive love affair.  You love your team with all your might, but your team doesn’t give a hoot.  No matter how much you plead, no matter how much you support, no matter how much you sacrifice for your team it makes no difference to them.

It’s a relationship where the inevitable result is utter disappointment.  Sure the downfall can be delayed for a season or two.  A championship here and title there, but eventually your team will let you down.  You will wake up on a cold Monday morning feeling empty inside dealing with the heart-wrenching pain of knowing your team failed you.  Despite all your devotion, they lost.  Now they are gone.  While you still get up and slug your way to work, your team has left you. 

Your team won’t call. Your team won’t support you during the next few months of heartache. They will go on a long vacation and forget about what they did to you. 

But then, just as you have come to grips with all the mistreatment, they come back!  With all your might you want to tell them to go bother some other shmuck.  Leave me alone!  I just got myself right and I don’t need the drama!  I’m done with you!

But wait, hold on a minute.  This isn’t the same team that hurt you before.   Sure they look similar.  They still wear the same clothes and act the same way.  But something changed about them.  They look much healthier than the last time we were together, and they are so optimistic about this working out again!

Ok, let’s give it a try.  This time it’ll be different.  This time there won't be the yelling, the doubting, and the second-guessing.  This time will be perfect!

Years will go by.  Your heart will be broken to pieces just to be glued back together.  You’ll share the highest highs that sports can offer, only to be kicked to the lowest lows. 
That just the way sports is.  It’s a beautiful, horrible, passionate, heartless relationship. No distance is far enough for you to give up.  No pain is to brutal to say enough is enough.  It’s you and your team. For better or worse, for playoffs or draft lottery, in injury and in health, until death do you part.