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At the Intersection of Sports and Culture

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Wednesday Evening Worries: Claret Jug Edition

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I’m worried that….

I don’t totally understand how to differentiate between links golf and “regular” golf. Is links golf confined to the British Isles? Must it involve bunkers that look more like sand dunes and fairway rough which resembles the African savannah? I asked my dad for some clarification but he didn’t really know the difference either. So in a last ditch effort to uncover some sort of clarification on the matter I turned to the absolute last place you should look for information…Wikipedia. After reading up on links golf I discovered that the majority of my assumptions were pretty much correct to begin with which made me feel much better about being able to accurately predict the 2011 British Open.

with so many European favorites to pick from that I’m going to settle on an American to win the 2011 Open Championship. Of all the golfers from the States playing this weekend, Nick Watney seems like the trendiest pick of golf commentators and social media mavens. One name that hasn’t come up much in regards to winning the British Open this year is Dustin Johnson. Sort of surprising really since Dustin was a grounded club and a disastrous final round front 9 from winning both the 2010 PGA Championship and US Open respectively. If I were to pick an American to win this week at Royal St. Georges I would have to go with Steve Stricker. The King of the American Midwest is riding high after his win at the John Deere Classic, plus all good things come to those from Madison, Wisconsin.

my pick of Lee Westwood to win the 2011 Open Championship is way too predictable. But you know what, when it’s 10:44 at night and you’re planning on waking up at 4am to catch the beginning of the 1st round from Sandwich England, slow and steady becomes a whole lot more appealing.

 

Wednesday Worries: Wolfsburg Edition

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I’m worried that…..

someone over at Bushwood Country Club paid for Carl Spackler to travel down to Windermere, Florida and delicately slice Tiger Woods’ left achilles. I can totally empathize with Tiger having to back out of next week’s British Open at Royal St. George’s due to various leg injuries. I once tried to play a round of golf with a big blister on my pinky toe and ended up having to hop on the back of my playing partners cart for the entirety of the back nine. Not to intimate that a silly little blister can cause anywhere near the same amount of pain as a torn knee ligament, or whatever Tiger is bothered by, but rather to acknowledge that you need two healthy wheels to play any kind of competitive golf, let alone major championship golf.

this isn’t the first time Thomas Levet has injured himself jumping into a body of water. I agree wholeheartedly with Colin Montgomerie that this jumping into the water after winning a golf tournament thing will eventually lead to someone impaling themselves on a hidden spike.

some people out there really have the capacity to care about this Roger Clemens perjury trial. Personally, all I care about is whether or not the Rocket is still “frosting his tips” like Evan Longoria.

I should be paying more attention to the Women’s World Cup in Germany.

when Albert Pujols returns to the Cardinals lineup this week, a whole month earlier than previously expected, the non displaced fracture in his forearm will manifest itself into a displaced fracture and we will all experience a scene right out of the Naked Gun. Also, if Pujols is pain free and productive I think he should have to produce some sort of birth certificate proving that he is in fact not a Terminator sent back in time by Skynet.

with South Korea now set to host the 2018 Winter Olympics we are going to live through seven embarrassing years of American sportswriters misspelling and mispronouncing “Pyeongchang”. Maybe NBC will hire former President George W. Bush to cover the biathlon.

view from Wolfsburg courtesy of @sonalikarnick

 

 

 

Wednesday Worries: Wrigley Field Edition

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I’m worried that….

my buddy Steve didn’t make it out of Murphy’s in time to catch the first pitch of Cubs/Giants live from Wrigley Field. I asked him to send in a picture from the game and instead got one from the bar. Not a very promising sign. Better check in again with him a little later.

this happens a lot more than we think. Couple of former prep school buddies from Winnekta go out with every intention of making it by first pitch of the Cubs game but end up conversing and carousing until the early innings in one of the many watering holes that surround Wrigley. Although, if you have ever spent 9 innings in the bleachers you understand that it’s pretty much like watching the game from a bar anyway. I once watched a Cubs/Cardinals matinee from the bleachers and after the game was over I ended up taking a 3 hour nap.  I guess that’s what you get when you combine a few too many pints of Old Style and no sun screen.

because of all the drinking that goes on in the bleachers some Cubs fans might not realize that their team lost both games of a doubleheader to the San Francisco Giants yesterday. With a record of 32-48, and a full 12 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central, this could end up being a very long, hot summer on the Northside. Do the Cubs even have any tradable assets? Kerry Wood? Ryan Dempster? Maybe Carlos Pena? None of these players are going to warrant a significant amount of talent in return. It looks like Cubs fans will have to wait for the offseason when the can overpay for either Prince Fielder or Albert Pujols.

when Steve did finally get to his seats, and judging by the look of the setting sun I’ll guess bottom of the 2nd inning, he realized that the adult beverages were a lot cheaper in the bar outside the stadium.

 

 

 

Wednesday Worries: Wimbledon Edition

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I am worried that….

the grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club are going to cause a significant injury. On Day 1 the surface is pristine and lush with nary a weed or rough patch. But by the first weekend, when the wear and tear begins to take its tole, the grass, mostly around the service line, begins to look like the 1st baseline at Wrigley Field. Would it be too difficult, or against tradition, to re-sod the courts midway through the fortnight? I’m only thinking about the players safety and not for any asthetic reason like it kinda looks like crap on tv.

croquet has become an overlooked sport/recreational pastime. Think about it, when was the last time you went over to a friends house, fired up the BBQ, and got yourself ready for a rousing game of croquet? That’s my point, this just doesn’t happen anymore. The funny thing is I can remember being a kid and playing croquet all the time. It’s a fantastic activity. A perfect distraction as the ribs sit on the smoker. In fact, I credit much of my 25 handicap on the golf course to my experience with a wooden mallet on the croquet pitch.

today’s rain is just a harbinger of things to come and that it is going to continue raining in London for a week straight forcing players to play multiple matches a day.

Maria Sharapova is really going to marry Sasha Vujacic. Seriously, what does he have that I don’t? Take away the wife, kids, mortgage, student loans, etc and we are basically the same person.

Serena Williams is going to experience a massive emotional breakdown. She was all sorts of teary eyed after her 3 set victory in the 1st round yesterday. Her raw emotion was no doubt a byproduct of missing so much time due to injury leading up to Wimbledon. However, if healthy, she clearly remains one of the favorites to win the tournament.

John Isner is going to hit his head on the umpires chair during a changeover. He’s 6’9″!! How did he get into tennis and not basketball or baseball. He could have been the next Randy Johnson or perhaps even Mark Hendrickson.

there is not enough room on the grounds of the All England Club for the gaggle of ESPN broadcasters who have descended upon London. Enough is enough already. You have Cliff Drysdale and Darren Cahill calling a match from centre court with Chris Fowler interrupting w/ live look-ins while Patrick McEnroe sits back in the studio alongside Hannah Storm, Mary Joe Fernandez, and Chris Evert who have special sideline reports coming in from Brad Gilbert and Pam Shriver. If I’m Mike Tirico or Scott Van Pelt I feel a little left out. Give me Dick Enberg, John McEnroe, and Mary Carillo. That’s it. The rest of you can go and break down the NBA Draft because ESPN doesn’t have enough people doing that already.

Novak Djokovic is going to ruin the tournament by beating Roger Federer in the semifinals. All anybody wants to see is another Rafa Nadal/Federer final. Wimbledon is all about pitting the best vs the best. Take for example the rivalry between Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe, the subject of a recent HBO documentary. Their classic showdown in the 1980 Wimbledon final is considered by many to be the “Greatest Tennis Match of All Time”.

I was much too young to remember this match but after watching the documentary I was amazed at what a star Bjorn Borg was. I knew he was a great tennis player but had no idea that he had the charisma capable of captivating the entire sports world. He was an absolute rockstar and during the 1980 final McEnroe came so close to preventing Borg’s streak of 5 Wimbledon titles in a row. McEnroe would however go on to defeat Borg at Wimbledon a year later in 1981.  But beyond the major titles, what resonates today is the relationship between two tennis warriors that extends well beyond the boundaries of competition. McEnroe/Borg, once bitter rivals, now close friends.

Federer/Nadal have already treated us with a fair share of memorable Wimbledon’s – think 2008 – and could meet in the finals again this year. It remains to be seen whether or not these two all time competitors and champions will become great friends, a la Borg/McEnroe and, as tennis fans, we probably don’t care if Roger and Rafa take family vacations together. But this much is clear, Nadal/Federer is the most competitive rivalry in sports today. As fans, we should appreciate every opportunity we have to watch these two tennis titans square off against one another because, as Borg/McEnroe proved, the rivalry will be over before we know it.

view from Wimbledon Day 3 courtesy of @mrwayneg

 

 

 

Wednesday Worries

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I’m worried that….

having a 4 month old son and a full time job precludes me from staying up past 9:30. I would have loved to see the Mavs come back on the Heat and close out Game 4 in Dallas but unfortunately, I didn’t make it past the LeBron to DWade alley oop making it 67-64 Miami with only 2 minutes to go in the 3rd. After that, nighty night. How can a global audience on the world wide web take a writer/blogger seriously after they admit to not watching the 2nd half of an NBA Finals game? Sure, I could disguise my fatigue and act like I watched the whole thing but that would be disingenuous. I did last 3 months in the Cub Scouts after all.

this series is going 7 and I will be too tired to remember any of it.

the national sportswriters of America have gone completely schizo regarding LeBron. One morning the headlines read “LeBron is Jordan”, next day it’s “Wade Plays Alpha to James’ Beta”, and now after Tuesday night we are looking at a days worth of “Gone Missing” stories. Let’s wait till the series comes to a conclusion before we etch anything permanent on LeBron’s headstone. I will say however that James scoring less than 10 points last night does shock me. Maybe Dirk’s German shooting coach Holger Geschwindner has been sending Lebron some evil eastern European vibes.

Rick Carlisle is going to panic some more and start Brian Cardinal over Tyson Chandler in Game 5.

this latest heat wave enveloping the Northeast will lead to a brown out right as the puck drops for Game 5 Bruins/Canucks. Of course, with a 4 month old son and full time job, I probably wasn’t going to watch much more than the 1st period anyway.

view from American Airlines Center courtesy of @cbs11news