U.S. Open Preview and Predictions

Well, the easy news is that Tiger’s not playing.  Phil Mickelson will also be a no-show for the U.S. Open, the difference is Phil doesn’t know it yet. 

The NBC promos all tease that maybe Phil will finally win the elusive U.S. Open which he has come so close to before.  But he won’t.  In fact, Phil will be home with his family on Father’s Day this year destroying a box of Krispy Kream glazed donuts.

Phil isn’t in top form.  He’s old.  He’s wild on his drives. His short game magic isn’t there this year.  Plus with lightning fast greens, heavy rough, and anticipated rain slashing out of the second cut won’t lead to many bogeys.  Prediction:  Phil struggles to break 80 in round 1 and is trunk slammin’ after Friday.

So that takes care of Tiger and Phil.  What about the rest of them…

1.)    This isn’t the Masters.  This course will be insane to play and a no-name first timer will not be able to Forrest Gump his way around to a sneaky victory.  To win this Open a player will need to be GREAT not just good.  Sorry Schwartzel.

2.)    No Repeat:  Graeme McDowell just isn’t playing well.  He’s been puking up his worst scores in recent memory.  Not sure what it is, but it certainly won’t fix itself on a US Open track.  McDowell finishes Top-30…but no trophy

3.)    Luke Donald? Sorry…Not this year.  His driving accuracy is sub-par and that will lead to early bogeys.  He’ll battle to a Top-15, but won’t even be in the conversation late Sunday

4.)    Lee Westwood?  Man he’s good…but doesn’t seem to have that killer instinct or crazed passion that leads to something great on Sunday.  I see him tied for the lead going into Sunday but just not pulling it together.  3^rd Place for Monty…I mean Westwood

5.)    How about the babies?  Rory or Rickey?  Fowler will have a crazy score card every day.  Something like 5 birdies, 3 bogeys, and a double.  He’ll be a sneaky top 5, but won’t be able to hack it with the big boys all week.   Rory?  Ahhh Rory.  I’m sorry my friend but your torture is not over yet.  He’ll be in the final pairing with Westwood Sunday.  He’ll have the lead at some point Sunday.  And he’ll make a double bogey early Sunday.  And then the Ghosts of Augusta will return.   Rory’s not done suffering.  He’ll win a couple Opens in his career, but this year he’s still too fragile.  6^th place for Rory.

And the winner is….

There are years where is all comes together.  Years when everything you dream for as a sports fan happens. Your beloved Bruins win the Stanley Cup in 7 games (it’s happening damnit!). Your passion for the Red Sox early in the season pays off with a bounce back to the best record in the AL by June while the Yankees crumble to pieces. And even you’re most hated college rival, Ohio State, destroys itself in a blaze of agony.  So what does this have to do with the U.S. Open?  Everything is coming up Boston baby!

Nick Watney is winning the Open!  Is it because he’s Top-20 in Driving Distance, Greens in Regulation, and Putting?  Is it because he’s 4^th in scoring average?    Is it because he eats up Par 4’s and will make birdies when most struggle for par?  Is it because he has 7 top 10’s and is getting hot at the right time?  Is it because it’s just his time for the golfing gods to smile upon him?

NO!  It’s because he is cousins with the beautiful sideline reporter for the Red Sox, Heidi Watney!  The Bruins are hot! The Red Sox are hot!  Heidi Watney is hot!  …and by association…Nick Watney is hot (on the golf course)!

So Mr. Watney, when you win the U.S. Open I think you owe it to all of Red Sox Nation (and your cousin) to throw out the first pitch at Fenway Park when the Padres come to town. 

And in advance Red Sox Nation and the City of Boston say, You’re Welcome.

The Hit the NHL Missed

You missed it NHL.  You said you’d be looking for plays like this and would punish player swiftly and justly.  You said you would protect players.  You said head-hunting wouldn’t be tolerated.  After losing stars like Marc Savard and Sidney Crosby one would think you’d do something.

…but you didn’t NHL… you missed it.

It was a blatant attempt to injure an opposing player by targeting the head and launching with a high elbow.   BLATANT disregard for the rules the NHL so adamantly defends.

…But this wasn’t Aaron Rome.  This did not involve Nathan Horton.  And no one ended up in the hospital.

The game was over.  With under two minutes left and the Bruins laying a beat-down on the Canucks 7-1, Vancouver’s Raffi Torres took a run at Johnny Boychuck’s head.  Torres skated clear across the ice with no plan on playing the puck or issuing a clean body check.  Torres instead leaped off his skates and shot his elbow directly at Boychuck’s noggin. 

…but he missed.  A charging minor was called and the game continued.

Where are you on this one NHL?  Does a player only face discipline if he lands a crushing, season ending hit?  Does a hit only get reviewed if it sends a man to the hospital?   

This was by all accounts a cheap, viscous, thoughtless, unsportsmanlike play by Torres.  The Bruins are just fortunate Boychuck had the wherewithal to dodge this SlapShot-esque attack.

But wait!  There’s more, NHL!  What about your promise to punish repeat offenders?!

Raffi Torres missed the final 2 games of the season and the first 2 playoff games because he did this same thing in early April.  In a 2-0 Canucks loss Torres blasted Edmonton’s Jordan Eberle’s head with an elbow.  Classless!   Now the NHL is going to ignore his violent attempt to do it again?  Clearly he learned nothing from the 4 game suspension and needs to be reminded by the league that it won’t be tolerated.

So let’s recap:

1. Blowout game with the outcome decided:  Check

2. Launching off skates to hit high on an opponent:  Check

3. Targeting the head:  Check

4. Repeat Offender:  Big check

NHL action:  None

Get well soon Horton…and Savard…and Crosby..and…

50 Rounds of Boredom That Could Save Your Team

Today begins the MLB amateur draft.  La-di-da.  There is nothing better than following teams pick players you’ve never heard of, from high schools and colleges you didn’t know existed, and then waiting 3-5 years to see if they pan out.  I skipped work for the week just to follow all 50 rounds.  That FIVE ZERO…50 rounds.  That’s over 1500 picks?! Snooze-o-rama

But in all seriousness the draft is truly vital to an organizations future success.

Look no further than the Boston Red Sox.

I know it can be difficult to think that the Sox or Yankees care what happens in the draft.  You may say “those guys will just drop all the money they need to for free agents.”     Don’t be so fast to lump these two rivals together.

Look at some of the Yankee stars and starters.

Teixeira, A-Roid, Jeter, Granderson, Cano, Swisher, Posada, Brett Gardner, Phil Hughes, CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett and Fat-olo Colon.

Of that list ONLY Jeter, Gardner and Hughes were drafted by the Yankees.  All others were through trades, free agency and international free agent signing.  That’s 3 of 12. 

For those of you punk Yankee fans saying “What about Joba?”  Think long and hard about Joba’s future with the Yankees and try and justify his name on the list.

Now look at the beloved Red Sox:

Youkilis, Lowrie, Pedroia, Gonzalez, Ellsbury, Crawford, Lester, Buchholz, Beckett, Bard, and Paplebon, Ortiz.

8 or 12!  All drafted in the amateur draft by the Red Sox. 

Youkilis – 2001, Pedroia – 2004, Bard – 2006, Lowrie – 2005, Ellsbury – 2005, Buchholtz – 2005, Paplebon – 2005, Lester – 2002

Now, I’d love to tout that this makes the Red sox better than the Yankees, more dedicated, a better farm system, more loyal players, a more passionate fan base, smarter management…but I won’t do that.

The truth is the draft can be a boom for team like the Red Sox or an epic failure.  And there is hardly any way to know what you’re getting. 

If the Sox knew Youkilis would be an All-Star, Gold Glove Winning, hitting machine would they have drafted him in the 8^th round with a puny $12,000 signing bonus?  Would Dodger’s star Matt Kemp have been picked in the 42^nd Round 1250 overall?  Would Buster Posey have been picked in the 50^th and final round 1496 overall?!   No.  Of course not!

So while it’s bore as all get out, it is a vital part of building a team.  And you never know if a Buster Posey is lurking in the 50^th round.

CBS Doesn't Care

Before I begin this tirade I am sure there is some contract in place I don’t understand.  There is probably some corporate reasoning I don’t know of.  There is probably some precedent that I don’t know about.

…so as a fan of the game of golf… THIS IS BULL HUNKY… HORSE MANURE!

My man, Jim Nantz, just explained that if the weather delay in the Memorial Invitational lifts before 7pm the ONLY way to watch the event will be to get on the old computer and watch the streaming live coverage of it on.  BUT after 7pm Golf channel will pick it up.

Fudge you CBS (“…but I didn’t say fudge…”).  Fuuuuuuuudge you!

Here’s the deal:

1.)    1.) If a network carries a sporting event they need to understand that sometimes time is not an issue.  If Fox is showing a MLB game on Saturday afternoon and it goes 18 innings they don’t cut to Cops re-runs do they?!   No!    If the Master’s went extra holes should they go to streaming it online in place of what?... The local news!?    

2.)    2.) Let me ask you this CBS, if this wasn’t a weather delay, and we had two players coming up the 18^th fairway tied looking for a win.  Wait… If this was Tiger Woods playing next to Doughboy Phil, tied for the lead, with 2 holes left, would CBS force Nantz to say “Well, we’re about to hit our 6pm limit”  Nope.  CBS would say screw you 60 Minutes…we’re sticking with golf. 

3.)    3.) CBS can’t figure out some channel to put the golf on?  When Fox has a baseball game run into a late NASCAR race they kick one to TNT so FANS CAN WATCH!  When ABC has a conflict they use ESPN, ESPN2, or ESPNU for goodness.  SO FANS CAN WATCH!  CBS?  Uh…stream it online?

4.)    4.) STREAM IT ONLINE?!  Do they have any grasp on their target demographic? Jim Nantz himself seemed confused by how one would accomplish such a feat.  I think he said the phrase “If you can figure it out…” before explaining that coverage would move to CBSSports.com.  Golf fans are not tech-savvy.  They are probably old men.  And now there are millions of Andy Rooney-ish people wondering why the local news just cut off Jack’s tournament.  Seriously CBS?  There are slightly under 4 bazzilion TV stations and you can’t find one to pick up coverage until 7pm?

Maybe the PGA Tour needs to take a look at network’s back-up plans for situations just like this.  Kudos to NBC for not missing a minute of coverage with their teamwork with Golf Channel.

Shame…SHAME on you CBS for not putting the fans first and NOT caring.   Despite their constant PSA’s… CBS Does Not Care.

Epic Failures

On Sunday the biggest race in the Indy Racing season (oxymoron?) ended in an epic last-minute collapse.  JR Hildebrand came into turn 4 of the Indianapolis 500 with no one between him and the immortality of victory.  But then he slammed into the turn 4 wall like a total moron.

Yes, it was a dope move by a rookie, but as I cruised through ESPN.com I saw the question asked is this “The greatest choke in sports history?”  

Was it a slow sports day over at the ESPN campus?  Did the brain trust of ESPN go out for an extended liquid lunch?  I don’t even care if the result of the article was that is wasn’t.  How can anyone with half a brain even ask that question with a straight face?!

I get that he had a big lead.  I get that he SHOULD have won.  I get that the final lap ended with a shocking result.  But that’s not a choke.  That’s sports.

This of it this way:

-          Detroit Pistons vs. Boston Celtics : Up 107 – 106 with the ball, did anyone expect Isiah Thomas to turn the ball over and cause his team to lose in the 1987 Conference Finals?  Nope, but it happened

-          NY Knicks vs. Indiana Pacers:  Up 6 points with just under 19 second did anyone see the Knicks losing?  Nope! But then Reggie Miller goes crazy and scores 8 points in the blink of an eye.

-          Foreman v. Ali:  Getting pummeled round after round by the bigger, stronger Foreman.  Who would have expected Ali was playing possum the whole time and would put George on his back to take the victory?

-          Buffalo Bills v. Houston Oilers: Down 32 points with a backup QB did even the most loyal homer think the Bills would come back to win in that 1993 playoff game.  It happened though.

You see, that’s sports.  That’s not a choke.

It’s not like Dan Wheldon was coasting in neutral cheering JR on.  He was flying at 210 MPH trying to track that punk down. 

Let’s do a simple game  Choke vs. Not-a-Choke.

Example 1:  A choke is if you are Jean Van de Velde on the final hole (THE FINAL HOLE!) of the 1999 British Open just needing to keep the ball in play, make a double bogey and lift the jug in victory.  But instead you insist on hitting your driver into who knows where. Then ignore the smart play 2 or 3 more times en route to a triple bogey and eventually losing the championship.      Not-A-Choke is Greg Norman at the 1996 Masters.   Yes he went into the final day with a 6-stroke lead and blew it by shooting a 78, but that’s golf.  Nick Faldo, the champion that year, shot a 67.  That would have meant Normal would have needed to put up a an even par 72 to have won.  Achievable?  Certainly.  But such an inevitability that would eliminate all future competition?  No sir.   

Example 2:   A choke is when you are the Michigan Wolverines and are a super-charged hype machine in the NCAA National Championship game…1992 (don’t get ahead of me here).  1992 big blue faced the Duke Blue Devil’s only to puke up a measly 1 3-pointer all game.  They were demolished 71 – 51 in a total choke.   Not-A Choke is when you are the Michigan Wolverines and are a super-charged hype machine in the NCAA National Championship game…1993.  Specifically Chris Webber.  In an attempt to do everything he could to win the game he called a misguided timeout resulting in a technical foul.  That’s not a choke…that’s just trying a little too hard and losing focus.

So what’s the point?  I guess there are two points, really.

1.       JR Hildebrand,  just like Greg Normal, Isaiah Thomas, Dan O’Brien, Chris Webber, and so on failed on a massive stage.  But his failure was just trying too hard.  That’s not a choke. 

2.       The media still sucks.  Just because the Indy 500 crash happen YESTERDAY the moron media wants to name it the biggest choke EVER!  Come on guys, really?  I don’t care if the kid forgot which direction he was driving and turned around backwards and finished in dead last.  It still wouldn’t be the biggest EVER.   I’ve been over this before… The Greatest of All Time Flu (aka GoatFlu) needs to be stopped. http://sergeant-says.blogspot.com/2010/12/goat-flu.html

NHL Crowd Control

Tonight will be an epic Game 7 battle between the Boston Bruins and the Tampa Bay Lightning… But I want to turn the clock backwards for a moment and address a growing issue in the NHL that blatantly reared its ugly head at the end of Game 6 on Wednesday.

As the game concluded and the final scuffle was broken up, what seemed like small plastic tennis racquets began to fall from the skies above.  Maybe fall is too soft a definition.  It was more like they were flung…launched…hurled!  Worst of all they were thrown AT players on the ice.  Both teams!  I almost lost my mind when the Versus cameras were on David Krejci when one of these giveaways plunked him directly in the head.  Good news was it hit his helmet, but it was an inch or two away from getting him directly in his exposed face. 

Imagine for a minute that Game 7 was played without the man who scored 3 or Boston’s 4 goals the night earlier because some Floridian took hit eye out with a 15 cent giveaway noise-maker.  Seriously.

So what does the NHL do about it?

Well, the only thing that they will address is Nathan Horton allegedly spraying a fan with a water bottle (which is stupid) in defense of his team being peppered by the fans.  Thankfully Horton got away with it because if he compromised his status for Game 7 just to be a tough guy to the recently retired Joe 6-Pack (I assume if Joe 6-Pack is in Florida he is retired…going out on a limb there) all of Boston would personally run him out of town without a second thought about his OT goals in round 1.

The NHL, as usual, does nothing.  Just like the Boston fans continue to throw their yellow towels on the ice after goals the retirees in Florida continue to throw their noise makers at players.  No one will stop it and it’s only going to get worse.

So here is what the NHL needs to do.   Carry-Over Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalty!   Baseball games have been forfeited because the team could not control their own fans (See: Dodgers 1995 baseball giveaway night) or in soccer the league makes the team play a few games without any fans at all!  So if Tampa decides to give away projectile gifts they understand they run the risk of starting the next game a man down for 2 minutes.   Seems fair to me.

NHL Rule 75-1 Minor Penalty XXVIX:  Unsportsmanlike Conduct – Supporters

It is the responsibility of the Team and Team Management to ensure the safety of all players, coaches and officials on and off the ice. If items are provided to supporters which have the potential to do injury to players, referees or staff it is the responsibility of the Team to prevent those items from being propelled onto the playing surface.  If, in the eyes of the officials or the NHL, such an effort is not made resulting in potentially dangerous situations, the Team will be assessed a 2 minute minor to be served by any player chosen by the Team.  If the infraction occurs after the completion of the game or in the final 30 seconds of a game in which the result is not in doubt the minor penalty will carry over to the first 2 minutes of the following game.

-Note 1:  If the provided items are not harmful (i.e. towels, soft foam, stuffed toys, etc…) the league will determine if the players, referees or staff are at risk and adjust the penalty accordingly.

-Note 2: Hats will forever be excluded from this infraction in the case of a hat trick.  This is a tradition of hockey that will never be ruled an infraction.

-Note 3:  Also excluded are octopuses in Detroit and toy rats in Florida.

So there it is NHL.  Problem solved.  Your welcome!

Go Bruins!

Busted Posey and his Moron Agent

Last night San Francisco’s catcher Buster Posey was annihilated in a collision at the plate by Florida’s Scott Cousins.  The collision looked brutal and Posey left the game with a leg injury (and likely a concussion to go with it).

In the wake of a superstar catcher going down in this crash, Posey’s agent cried foul and demands the MLB look at rules to protect catchers in these plays at the plate.

Shut…Your…Face!

What is Cousins supposed to do?  It’s the 12^th inning and there is a close play at home.  Posey was blocking the entire plate (as a catcher is trained to do) and Cousins tried to separate the catcher from the ball (as a runner is trained to do!).   

A.      If Posey’s agent doesn’t want him to get run over he should train him to go with a swipe tag instead of blocking the plate.  And while he’s at it he should train him not to block pitches in the dirt.  Those hurt something fierce.  And train him to stand in the far back corner of the batter’s box when he’s at bat.  Sure he’ll barely hit over .200 but he’ll be healthy! 

B.      What should the rule change to?!  All players must slide feet first into home.  Ooooh, then the runner’s going to slam his metal spikes into the catchers legs?  And the runner risks tearing an ACL by sliding as hard as he can into a stationary catcher?... Not a fan of that rule.    Or maybe make runners slide head-first… oh yeah…that’s how Manny Ramirez broke a finger and how Josh Hamilton broke his arm.  That won’t work.     New rule!  If there seems to be a play at the plate, the runner has to stop halfway down the line and will face the catcher in a dance-off.  The second base umpire will be Simon Cowell and Jerry West will be Paula Abdul.   

C.      The runner is the player at most risk!  Posey has shin pads, knee pads, chest pads, and a full face helmet!  Cousins has a one ear-flap helmet that falls off at the slightest impact.  So when the decision is made the run over the catcher I’m not sure Posey was the one who was putting more on the line.

This was a good baseball play all the way around.  Good job of blocking the plate by Posey.  Great play by Cousins to score.  The result was just unfortunate.

I wouldn’t be surprised if when Posey addresses the media he says right away that it was a good, clean baseball play and it was just unfortunate that his spike stuck in the dirt. 

What would be awesome (but not likely) is if Posey continues to say. “I apologize for my agent.  His comments about rule changes is based purely on how my health impacts his wallet.  He hasn’t played baseball since he was cut from the freshman team in high school and wouldn’t know the difference between a catcher’s mitt and a ham sandwich.”