The Cowboys Just Got Better

Sadly, the Philadelphia Eagles excellent defensive coordinator, Jim Johnson, passed away yesterday.

Sawed Off?

This is for you, oxey.


Please notice the horns remain intact.

The Return of Joe Mexico

As expected, Michael "Mad Dog" Vick has been reinstated. Talk here is that the Rams are interested in him, as a QB, I guess. Also, the commish announced that Tony Dungee (sp?) is going to assist Vick in "transitioning" back into the NFL. Right. Let me know how that works out. In the meantime, I imagine that all the PETA people are sharpening their nails in anticipation of launching attacks at the team that signs ole Mad Dog. Should be fun.

P.S. Several years ago MV was sued by a woman who alleged that she contracted an STD from him. He had told her that his name was "Joe Mexico". This still makes me laugh.

Greetings

L2, thank you for the invitation to participate. Agree that The Open is the optimal championship to win. Carnoustie may well be the best place to win it. They say Saint Andrews got the historical fame but Carnoustie got the golf course. Nevertheless, I think I would pick Turnberry for my one Open Championship (no greed here) which I attribute to it's beauty and a magical round played at dusk with Jack when he was 16 y/o. Bill Kingman from San Antonio joined us. I'm eager to begin what has so far transpired.

Buerhle Pitches A Perfect Game

Bloomberg;

July 23 (Bloomberg) -- Mark Buehrle of the Chicago White Sox pitched a perfect game against the Tampa Bay Rays, the 16th time in Major League Baseball history that a pitcher retired 27 batters without allowing a baserunner.

The White Sox won 5-0.

I saw the lst few pitches but the highlight was the fantastic catch made up against the wall to retire the 2nd out in the 9th inning. The best catch I have ever seen in such a situation. The outfielder should get a partial credit on the perfect game. Try to see the replays on ESPN.

My Favorite Sport

Last weekend, I competed in my favorite sport: Movie watching. HP&HBP is great but I will say no more for those who have not seen it. There is nothing better than a sport that involves the consumption of popcorn, Dots, and Dr. Pepper -- except, of course, watching college football with Bud.

I realize I did not achieve the same calorie-burning level as the so-called lsquared, but at least I did not have to go to work this week needing to explain away various Wii-bowling injuries. More importantly, there are only 45 days until September 5 when we get U.La-Monroe @ UT, New. Mex. @ TA&M and N.Dakota @ TTech. -- six powerhouse teams.

Me, Myself, and Wii

As regular readers of this blog know, I recently purchased a Wii. In the few weeks that I have had it, I have strained muscles I had forgotten that I had. My most serious injuries (plural) were to my bobo. These injuries resulted from...drum roll, please...bowling. Anyway, yesterday I finally set up the Wii Fit board. The first thing you do with this little dealio is the body test, which tells you your weight, BMI, and after you do a couple of little balance tests, your Wii fitness age. So, I did all this stuff, just as instructed and my fitness age is...dirge, please...75. I am 55, but my fitness age is 75. 75. Wii --1, me--0. I unhooked the fitness board, threw it in the pool with the fitness disc, and drank a beer.

Not really. I tried to go on. I did a few of the balance exercises...slalom...I can ski, I thought, so I can do this, I thought. Wrong. Wii--2, me--0. Ok. Move on to soccer. I actually played freakin soccer, in college, for a college team. For 3 years. This I can do. Wrong. Wii--3, me--0. Ok. Screw it. Time for a beer.

Later that same day, a very fit, very very fit, much younger friend of mine came over to try it out to see if she and her husband should get one. Her fitness age was 59. Hahahahahaha. I felt so much better but she was NOT happy, with a capital NOT. She then tried slalom (fail), soccer (fail), tightrope walking (double fail). Now she is really NOT happy. Furthermore, she now is making excuses...this thing doesn't work right, this can't be right, blah blah blah. After I stopped laughing, I got out the instruction manual, just to indulge her. And guess what? The friggin board was facing the wrong way. Oops, my bad.

Today, I went through the whole thing again with the board facing the correct direction and guess what, my Wii fitness age is ... fanfare, please ... 40! I am excited, I am ecstatic, I throw my hands up in celebration and... thrust my fist into the spinning blades of the ceiling fan. Wii--4, me--0.

Those Who Can't, Read

As I watch the British Open today, I am reminded of one of the best books...not just a great sports book but one of the best books...that I have ever read, Final Rounds by James Dodson. It is a beautifully written, eloquent, and powerful story of a journey taken by a father and son. It is about life, love, and golf. A wonderful, wonderful book. (I recently started reading it again but couldn't finish...the loss of my own dad is a little too fresh). So, of course, I began to think about other wonderful sports books. Here are some of my favorites, in no particular order: Rick Reilly's Missing Links and his Whose Your Caddy?, Semi-Tough and Life Its Ownself by Dan Jenkins, 1939: Baseball's Pivotal Year by Talmage Boston, Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand, Money Ball by Michael Lewis, and Positively Fifth Street by James McManus. And, I'd give Jenkins' Dead Solid Perfect an honorable mention at the very least. These run the gamut...fact, fiction, funny, not so funny. Anyway, check 'em out.

Yes...No...Maybe

Is anybody as sick of the "will he or won't he" drama generated by Brett Favre as I am?

Watson Takes British Open Lead

Bloomberg:

July 16 (Bloomberg) -- Five-time winner Tom Watson took the first-round lead of the British Open.

The 59-year-old American, the oldest golfer on the course, was at 5-under-par on the 17th. Australian John Senden and England’s David Howell were tied for second, a shot behind him.

Like Greg Norman last year. I hope he can hang in there till day 4.

The British Open

It is British Open week which is one of my favorite sports weeks of the year. I love to see the funky bounces on the British courses and how the players deal with it. Or how the weather can dictate the winner with a wind change or torrential rain.
I often think if I can win one championship I would pick the British Open. not the Superbowl, or the tour de frenchy, or the world serious. I used to say the World Cup but now lit i "the open"
how about you guys? Maybe the World Series of Poker which has the highest money payout? Naw, the Open.

Lsquared's Wii:

To U.S. Senate: BUTT OUT!

Thanks to PDS for the following (which I have edited):

This from Sports Business Daily:

Hatch, BCS Officials Debate Playoff System At Senate Hearing

Sen. Orrin Hatch yesterday (R-UT) called the BCS an "illegal monopoly benefiting six conferences at the expense" of smaller schools during a U.S. Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing on college football's postseason system, according to a front-page piece by Matt Canham of the SALT LAKE TRIBUNE. Hatch said that the Justice Department "should investigate" whether the BCS violates federal antitrust laws. However, Univ. of Nebraska Chancellor and BCS Presidential Oversight Committee Chair Harvey Perlman warned that "even if a judge agreed with Hatch and struck down the way college football now crowns its champion, officials wouldn't create a playoff like so many fans, sports pundits and even the president have called for." Perlman during the hearing said, "Honestly, it's hard to see why anyone would litigate this. The end result of that -- this isn't a threat, it's just an observation -- would be we are back to the old system."



I get that the BCS isn't exactly fair, but why in the wide, wide world of sports does the U.S. Government need to get involved with this? Is nothing immune from this type of interference...is this an appropriate way to spend OUR money?

As for a college national championship, why do we need it? All of the debate about the BCS bowl system presupposes that having one champion is to be desired? Why?

Federer well done!

Roger Federer won his 15th grandsslam title to become the all time leader in grand slam victories. A tremendous achievement. I find it interesting that Federer's total is rather similar to Nicklaus' total victories in Major golf tournaments. The games are so different. The nature of scoring in tennis, win a game by 2 points , win a set by 2 games, acts as a means of making sure the more dominant player wins. In any given period the top tennis player in the world rarely loses because the game is designed to specifically discover the better player.

Golf on the other hand has such a tight dispersion of scores with each stroke counted that even a small number of subpar holes takes one out of the lead quickly. A great player cannot take down a weaker player, except psychologically, because he doesn't directly play his competition. So a leser player on a great day has a chance beat anyone. Thus golf leads to a multiplicity of winners over a season. Unless you are Jack Nicklaus or Tiger Woods. The statistics for those two are so far superior to others that it makes moot the argument over who ae the greatest golfers.

Married, With Condo

When I opened the paper this morning, I was shocked to read that Steve McNair, former Titans qb, was found in a condo in Nashville, dead of a gunshot wound. This was too much to process. Steve McNair? Shot dead? Found in Nashville in a ... condo? Now, surely I should have immediately thought of his family and friends, of this shocking loss, but no, I fixated on the condo. What the...? A condo? He and his family lived in a condo? Oh, but read on. He did not "live" in the condo. He rented it with a friend and it just happened to be located near an upscale area of nightspots and restaurants. Now, McNair is married and has 4 kids. So what the f... is he doing renting a downtown condo with a buddy? LOVESHACK, anyone? Maybe his wife knew, maybe she didn't care, maybe she was glad to have him dogging someone else and giving her a rest. Who knows, but I generally find this behavior odious. Just get a damn divorce, or learn how to control yourself and GROW UP! And, to make an already horrible story worse, a 20-year old girl also was found dead, shot, in the condo with McNair, age 36. Sad, sad, sad ... in so many ways.

Whee!

Times are tough. Workers are getting laid off, businesses are closing, people aren't spending. The list goes on. So, I bought a Wii. I won't bore you with how I rationalized this purchase. Suffice it to say that I hate to exercise but I love to play. Though I have only had the Wii for a few days, I have to say that it really is fun. So far, I have played baseball, tennis, golf and bowling and I stink at all of them. I actually got winded during the baseball training exercises (overswing much?). The package that I bought includes Wii Fit, which I haven't tried yet (smacks too much of "cardio workout"). I also haven't tried boxing yet, but I might do that today. I have avoided it because it requires use of not only the remote but also a nunchuck. (I soon will have mad nunchuck skills.) So, off Wii go. Game on.