This weekend, I had the opportunity to go to the Memorial in Dublin, OH. I am an avid golfer and love to watch the game. I am truly amazed by the players abilities and I could only dream of ever being to put together a complete game as they have. My favorite golfers have always been Fuzzy Zoeller and Fred “Boom Boom” Couples. This is mainly because these are also my Dad’s two favorite golfers. About ten years ago, we had the privilege of playing with Fuzzy at his golf course, Covered Bridge in Floyd Knobs, Indiana.
Unfortunately, Julie and I were unable to go to the Memorial because we had to finish her grandmother’s estate and put some closure on that. I really would have enjoyed going to watch the Memorial, because my man Boom Boom was in contention until the end. Congrats to the man I believe is the best golfer in the world right now, Ernie Els for winning The Memorial. The only golfer out there to give Ernie a run for his money consistently is Vijay Singh. Right now, those two are the #1 & #2 golfers. I don’t care what anyone says, Tiger Woods is in a slump and not playing the golf he is capable of playing. I remember reading an article some time back about Tiger and the possible reason for his slump. I wish I still had the link to it, but the article stated Tiger was already bored with the PGA. I believe that could be a problem. He was incredibly dominant the past six years and only now are Els and Singh beginning to challenge his #1 ranking. This is will an incredible season of golf to come.
Speaking of #1ranked golfers, it is truly sad to see what has happened to David Duval. He was so exciting when he won the British Open and the rivalry between Duval and Woods was great. Then vertigo struck Duval and he has never been the same. I hope that one day, David will be able to return to the PGA and reclaim his dominance in the sport. With his constant rounds in the 80s and his withdrawals from every tournament you think he may enter, you have to begin to think there must be something else.
The Belmont Stakes
I didn’t really think Smarty Jones would win the Triple Crown. I was hoping that he would, but the Belmont is an extremely difficult race on these horses, as many of them will never run that distance in their careers again. I don’t really think this was a very strong year for horses and part of me did not want to see Smarty win the Triple Crown because of that. At the same time, I am not going to discredit anything that horse accomplished. He has had a great career, will go on to race in the future and enjoy a life of studding and making money. I do think that Birdstone was overlooked also. I like Birdstone in the Kentucky Derby, but the horseshoe incident really screwed him up. If Birdstone had won the Lane’s End Stakes at Turfway Park, he would have been a favorite for the Derby. Birdstone simply did not run well in bad track conditions.
Either way, I am happy to see the ratings that the Belmont received over the weekend. It is great for the Horseracing Industry and hopefully the rest of this year and next year, the NTRA will be able to maintain the excitement.
**I saw this last Friday on Steve Czaban’s website.
Smarty Choke
Mark my words: Smarty Jones will not win the Triple Crown. For all of you who think he's a "sure thing" -like say the oddsmakers who have him severely "upside down" at the pay window - I want to remind you of a simple fact. The horse is from Philly. It is a city of choking, get you close and then kick you in the balls sports city. This race will look alot like the Eagles vs. Bucs in 2002. Remember that? They had punked the Bucs twice already in previous years. The Bucs had never won a playoff game in the cold. Hell, the Eagles even went up in that game 7-0 on a near opening kick return by Brian Mitchell. You had to wonder: "how can they lose this one?" Good question. Like Smarty Jones: how can he lose this one? Watch. He's from Philly. He'll find a way.
What is this crap that Raul Mondesi has pulled? I know I am now a week late with responding to this, but I still want to give my two cents. This is terrible for baseball and one of the many reasons why I can no longer get excited about the game. For him to be able to simply quit and then all the sudden return (from a losing team to the defending World Series Champions) is unallowable. Baseball should have blacklisted the asshole after he decided to be in breach of contract in the middle of the season. Bud Selig is a buffoon and needs to be removed from the game before he effectively kills everything about baseball.
Now, on the other hand, it is things like Ken Griffey Jr’s season that makes me excited about baseball. I am happy to see that The Kid has played the entire season without injury (knock on wood). His chase for 500 is gripping my town and we are only disappointed that he
The Olympic Basketball situation is another disgrace in our sports world right now. I take great offense to these
More basketball is the NBA Finals. I am predicting the Pistons in 7. I know I am now posting this with Game 1 in the books, but I think the Pistons have what it takes to take down the Lakers. They are a physical team and frankly, they cause teams to play shitty, just like they do. The NBA is terrible anymore. I cannot get excited for 70-point games and 35% shooting percentages. Anyways, I am still glued to my 55” watching this crap.
Finally, the long awaited payday for Bernard Hopkins is coming. He won his bout and Oscar De la Hoya won his setting up the September bout in which Hopkins will make somewhere between $8-$10 million. I’m sure De la Hoya will earn more because of his name. I will be able to have more on this later this week after I watch the fights, but it read like De la Hoya was lucky to win and the controversy was on his side this time. Prediction: Hopkins knocks out De la Hoya in four.
Sad day yesterday as we lost a great president and a great man Ronald Regan. I was awful young when he was president, but have read quite a bit about the man and truly respect the way he ran the country. The Fat Guy has a very nice and brief write up on what RR meant to him here.
Finally, the joke of the day. J Lo marries Marc Anthony. There should be some Las Vegas line on this. I think the over/under on this marriage would be roughly six months.
I think this may be my longest post ever. Thanks for reading and I will have some poker updates later this week. I haven’t played in days and can’t wait to sit down at the tables either tonight or tomorrow night. Take care.
