The leaderboard at this weekend's British Open seems to change as much as the wind, and considering that play on Friday was suspended due to high winds, it changes a lot. At various points throughout the 150th Open Championship, names such as Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Paul Casey, and even John Daly have been moving around the leaderboard like ping pong balls. Even with the unpredictable winds making things tough on anyone atop the leaderboard, it will be hard for Tiger Woods, who sits ten shots back, to mount a comeback capable of pulling off the win. Assuming that there will be no ten stroke comeback by Tiger tomorrow, he will have one more shot at a Major championship this year when the PGA Championship takes place in mid-August. The championship will take place at Whistling Straits Golf Course, which last hosted the PGA Championship in 2004. At that tournament, Tiger Woods finished an unspectacular two-under par, six shots off of the lead. Is it crazy to think that this may be the first year since 2004 (coincidentally, the same year that the PGA Championship was played at Whistling Straits) that Tiger will finish the season without a Major championship victory? More importantly, how does this affect Woods' quest to best Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 career Major championships? A couple of years ago, it was almost a sure bet that Woods would eventually surpass Nicklaus on the all-time list. However, Woods cannot afford to have any more seasons like he has had this year. While he continues to get older, guys like McIlroy keep getting better and closer to their prime.
The possibility of the Big 10 having a championship game in football has become much more realistic ever since Nebraska declared for the conference last month. The question that remains to be answered is where the conference would play the game if they were to have one. I've heard everything from Ford Field in Detroit to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, and even historic sites such as Lambeau Field and Soldier Field. Isn't it obvious which venue is the best fit for a potential Big Ten title game? Indianapolis is a fairly centralized location considering the teams that make up the Big 10, and it's an indoor facility, which is almost a must unless the conference is located in the South like the ACC. With that being said, Lambeau Field is out, not only because it's outdoors, but because Wisconsin is about as un-centralized a location as possible. The same goes for Solider Field. As for Detroit, it meets the requirements of being indoors and being a central location, but scheduling would be an issue. With the MAC already hosting their title game at Ford Field, one of the conferences would have to play their championship game a week before or after every other conference has their game, which could upset the conference that doesn't play on Championship Week. Also, with Detroit being Detroit, chances are a game in Indianapolis would draw a much larger crowd. In addition to those reasons, the Big 10 already plays their conference tournament for basketball in Indianapolis as well.
Last post I asked my readers if the All-Star game winning streak for the American League was as great as other winning streaks since it is technically still an exhibition game. Well, since none of you responded, I can only assume that none of my regular readers actually watched the game (the game received its lowest rating in years, which is why I feel confident in assuming this). Since the National League won, there is no reason to debate the streak. However, it was an extremely entertaining game to watch, which is why I am perplexed as to why it got such a low rating. The MLB All-Star game is so much more entertaining than the NBA All-Star game or the Pro Bowl, and unlike the NBA or NFL, the MLB's game actually means something. I hope this trend doesn't continue, because you know what happens when the ratings aren't great; someone wants to change something. The only thing that should be changed about the MLB All-Star festivities is the Home Run Derby; other than that, it's great and people apparently are missing out.
I'm getting close to deciding on how I want the Around The Corn Sports Blog shirts to look. Keep checking the Facebook fan page for more information about that, which should be posted in the next week or so. Thanks everyone.
- K. Becks
Showing posts with label golf. Show all posts
Showing posts with label golf. Show all posts
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Reign In Spain?
Every team in the World Cup now has one game under their belts, and unsurprisingly, some teams are pleased with where they currently stand, while others are scratching their heads wondering what they're going to have to do in order to move on. Let's take a look at the first set of group play games, and what we might be able to expect from this point forward.
Team That Should Be Most Pleased With Their Performance
South Africa
Not very many people were giving the South Africans a chance in this group, but after their 1-1 draw with Mexico in the World Cup opener, the Bafana Bafana are right in the thick of things. If they can manage to pull off a shocker against Uruguay (which is being played currently), then South Africa may be able to extend their stay in this tournament. At any rate, still being in the hunt has given the home fans something to cheer about, which is good for the country as a whole.
Outlook: They still have a lot of work to do; a tie against Mexico was great for the morale of the team and country, but they will have to get a win against either Uruguay or France to feel good about their chances of moving on. Obviously, getting a win today against Uruguay seems like the easier route. I'd like to see it happen, but I wouldn't put money on it.
Team That Should Be Least Pleased With Their Performance
Spain
They didn't play a terrible game (nothing went their way today), but the co-favorites to win this tournament should be very disappointed with the result. Switzerland goalie Diego Benaglio played an excellent game, but Spain had a plethora of chances, and just didn't capitalize on them. Apparently, the pressure of being the favorites did affect Spain a little bit.
Outlook: This probably won't prevent Spain from moving on, but they no longer have the cushion that I'm sure they thought they'd have at this point. They should be able to take care of Honduras, so the game against Chile (who already has three points) will be the crucial game. The Spanish will definitely be rooting for a tie in the Switzerland vs. Chile game so that Spain will be able to gain some ground on the leaders. If Spain uses this as motivation, they should be fine.
Best Game So Far
Slovakia vs. New Zealand (ended in a 1-1 tie)
It's a shame that many people were not even awake in the U.S. to watch this game, because it definitely defined the term "last minute drama". Down 1-0 with two minutes in extra time already gone, New Zealand fullback (yes, fullback) Winston Reid saved the day for the Kiwis by heading in a goal in the 93rd minute. It's the first point ever scored by New Zealand in a World Cup, and it could very well be their last for awhile. Regardless, it's still great, and a must see if you haven't seen it yet.
While much of ESPN's (and this blog's) attention has been focused on the World Cup, there has been a lot of other worthy sports stories to talk about. The biggest non-soccer headline today is that Michigan State coach Tom Izzo has decided not to take the Cleveland Cavaliers head coaching job. I think that this was a good decision on Izzo's part. Sure, in the NBA he could have made more than twice the amount of money that he is currently making, but along with the extra money comes a whole new set of headaches that you don't have as a college coach. One of those headaches is dealing with the players. In college, the coaches actually coach. In the NBA, coaches essentially babysit and make sure everyone plays nice with each other. Even if Lebron were to stay and Izzo were to take the Cavaliers coaching job, Lebron would still be the de facto coach of the team. Izzo is the kind of guy who wants to actually coach kids make them better. The NBA is not that kind of game, so I think it was a wise decision by Izzo to stay in East Lansing.
Tomorrow is the start of the U.S. Open, and for the first time in a very long time, Tiger Woods isn't the overwhelming favorite to win. Golf needs Tiger back. I know that the World Cup is kind of overshadowing it, but the U.S. Open has been getting very little media attention. It's being played at Pebble Beach, possibly the most revered golf course in the United States other than Augusta National, and even that isn't getting as many people as usual excited. We've been through this before, and we're going through it again; golf needs Tiger Woods on his game to get the casual fan interested. It's not enough for Tiger to be in the tournament anymore; now he needs to be in the hunt for the win for people to tune in. For golf's sake, I hope he does well this weekend.
For whatever reason, the polls don't seem to be working. Maybe it's just my computer, so if it's also a problem for all you guys, please let me know so that I can try and get it fixed. Thanks everyone.
- K. Becks
Team That Should Be Most Pleased With Their Performance
South Africa
Not very many people were giving the South Africans a chance in this group, but after their 1-1 draw with Mexico in the World Cup opener, the Bafana Bafana are right in the thick of things. If they can manage to pull off a shocker against Uruguay (which is being played currently), then South Africa may be able to extend their stay in this tournament. At any rate, still being in the hunt has given the home fans something to cheer about, which is good for the country as a whole.
Outlook: They still have a lot of work to do; a tie against Mexico was great for the morale of the team and country, but they will have to get a win against either Uruguay or France to feel good about their chances of moving on. Obviously, getting a win today against Uruguay seems like the easier route. I'd like to see it happen, but I wouldn't put money on it.
Team That Should Be Least Pleased With Their Performance
Spain
They didn't play a terrible game (nothing went their way today), but the co-favorites to win this tournament should be very disappointed with the result. Switzerland goalie Diego Benaglio played an excellent game, but Spain had a plethora of chances, and just didn't capitalize on them. Apparently, the pressure of being the favorites did affect Spain a little bit.
Outlook: This probably won't prevent Spain from moving on, but they no longer have the cushion that I'm sure they thought they'd have at this point. They should be able to take care of Honduras, so the game against Chile (who already has three points) will be the crucial game. The Spanish will definitely be rooting for a tie in the Switzerland vs. Chile game so that Spain will be able to gain some ground on the leaders. If Spain uses this as motivation, they should be fine.
Best Game So Far
Slovakia vs. New Zealand (ended in a 1-1 tie)
It's a shame that many people were not even awake in the U.S. to watch this game, because it definitely defined the term "last minute drama". Down 1-0 with two minutes in extra time already gone, New Zealand fullback (yes, fullback) Winston Reid saved the day for the Kiwis by heading in a goal in the 93rd minute. It's the first point ever scored by New Zealand in a World Cup, and it could very well be their last for awhile. Regardless, it's still great, and a must see if you haven't seen it yet.
While much of ESPN's (and this blog's) attention has been focused on the World Cup, there has been a lot of other worthy sports stories to talk about. The biggest non-soccer headline today is that Michigan State coach Tom Izzo has decided not to take the Cleveland Cavaliers head coaching job. I think that this was a good decision on Izzo's part. Sure, in the NBA he could have made more than twice the amount of money that he is currently making, but along with the extra money comes a whole new set of headaches that you don't have as a college coach. One of those headaches is dealing with the players. In college, the coaches actually coach. In the NBA, coaches essentially babysit and make sure everyone plays nice with each other. Even if Lebron were to stay and Izzo were to take the Cavaliers coaching job, Lebron would still be the de facto coach of the team. Izzo is the kind of guy who wants to actually coach kids make them better. The NBA is not that kind of game, so I think it was a wise decision by Izzo to stay in East Lansing.
Tomorrow is the start of the U.S. Open, and for the first time in a very long time, Tiger Woods isn't the overwhelming favorite to win. Golf needs Tiger back. I know that the World Cup is kind of overshadowing it, but the U.S. Open has been getting very little media attention. It's being played at Pebble Beach, possibly the most revered golf course in the United States other than Augusta National, and even that isn't getting as many people as usual excited. We've been through this before, and we're going through it again; golf needs Tiger Woods on his game to get the casual fan interested. It's not enough for Tiger to be in the tournament anymore; now he needs to be in the hunt for the win for people to tune in. For golf's sake, I hope he does well this weekend.
For whatever reason, the polls don't seem to be working. Maybe it's just my computer, so if it's also a problem for all you guys, please let me know so that I can try and get it fixed. Thanks everyone.
- K. Becks
Friday, April 9, 2010
Someone Teach Me How To Play The Piano...
...So that I could play that little piece that they play when they're about to go to a commercial break during the Masters. I personally prefer the CBS Sports College Basketball theme song, but I'm not really up for learning about four different instruments.
Big week in sports so far, and I haven't posted very many entries to talk about all the events that have taken place. Why? Honestly, because all the events bundled into one post looks a lot longer and therefore a lot more professional. Also, I feel that people like to play the percentages game when deciding whether or not to read something. For example, if the piece of writing is long, people may say "I can probably skim this and find something that I think is interesting". But if the piece of writing looks a lot like an article in People Magazine, they are probably more inclined to say "I'll look at the pictures....Oh, there are no pictures? Well then this isn't really worth my time". I learned this from Mark Titus, who feels it is necessary to write a book every time he posts a new entry. Also, yes, to answer the question you're probably asking yourself right now, I am promoting his blog in hopes that maybe he'll read mine and send some of his readers my way. Did you read that Mark? Something like that is what Axe would've preferred you write.
Speaking of college basketball players, how about the National Championship? I know it's been a few days, but that game was probably one of the better ones that I have ever seen. I heard a lot of people complaining that the tournament wasn't as interesting once the big boys like Kansas and Kentucky went down, but as far as I'm concerned, these people were still bitter about losing five dollars in bracket pools. The national championship came down to the last shot, which is fitting considering the way the entire tournament played out. Butler making it to the championship game was not a fluke, either. It really comes down to two things: Butler was a terrific team all year, and was overlooked largely because of the conference they play in. When was the last time that a preseason Top 10 team was considered an underdog if they reached the National Championship? Never, as far as I know. Secondly, no team was that much better than any other team this season. In past years, we've had the North Carolina's and Florida's who have seemingly dominated from November until April. Coming into this year's tournament however, there were probably eight to ten teams who had a legitimate shot of cutting down the nets in Indianapolis.
With everything else going on in sports this week, Major League Baseball beginning play has kind of taken a back seat in importance. Those who did pay attention to Opening Day however, likely saw one of the better plays that will be made all season. Add in a budding star hitting a home run in his first at-bat, and it looks like this season will be full of action. At least to some, apparently. Umpire Joe West thinks it's "pathetic and embarrasing" that the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox games take so long. Most baseball insiders are shrugging this off as a comment made by a loudmouth (basically, West is the T.O. of umpiring), but he does bring up a valid point. Causal fans often use the "baseball is so boring to watch on TV" excuse as to why they are not avid fans of the game. It's not hard to stay interested in a three hour game if you're at the stadium, but it's a whole different matter if you're watching the game on TV. West may not just be blowing hot air here.
Finally, the Masters. Even if you're not a golf fan, you've undoubtedly heard about the tournament in Augusta, or more specifically, how Tiger is doing. After a strong first and second round, Tiger looks like he is in contention for the win at this point. This is probably the best thing that the PGA could have asked for. Casual fans were drawn in because of the Tiger saga, and now that he's doing well, they'll probably tune in to the final two days as well to see if he can win. Eat your own words, Billy Payne, because contrary to what you say, if Tiger wins this weekend, he hasn't disappointed me at all. To us, Tiger Woods is a golfer. Mickey Mantle wasn't exactly a role model, and neither is Kobe Bryant. Hell, even Tiki Barber just left his wife for some hot intern. The point in naming all those athletes is that even though they have had their darker moments on display for the public, we still love them because of their contributions to their respective sport. Besides, Mr. Payne, who are you to talk? You don't even let women join your country club.
Notice to the left of the writing I have replaced the NCAA Tournament tracker with a Masters leaderboard. That way you can spend your whole afternoon on the blog!
- K. Becks
Big week in sports so far, and I haven't posted very many entries to talk about all the events that have taken place. Why? Honestly, because all the events bundled into one post looks a lot longer and therefore a lot more professional. Also, I feel that people like to play the percentages game when deciding whether or not to read something. For example, if the piece of writing is long, people may say "I can probably skim this and find something that I think is interesting". But if the piece of writing looks a lot like an article in People Magazine, they are probably more inclined to say "I'll look at the pictures....Oh, there are no pictures? Well then this isn't really worth my time". I learned this from Mark Titus, who feels it is necessary to write a book every time he posts a new entry. Also, yes, to answer the question you're probably asking yourself right now, I am promoting his blog in hopes that maybe he'll read mine and send some of his readers my way. Did you read that Mark? Something like that is what Axe would've preferred you write.
Speaking of college basketball players, how about the National Championship? I know it's been a few days, but that game was probably one of the better ones that I have ever seen. I heard a lot of people complaining that the tournament wasn't as interesting once the big boys like Kansas and Kentucky went down, but as far as I'm concerned, these people were still bitter about losing five dollars in bracket pools. The national championship came down to the last shot, which is fitting considering the way the entire tournament played out. Butler making it to the championship game was not a fluke, either. It really comes down to two things: Butler was a terrific team all year, and was overlooked largely because of the conference they play in. When was the last time that a preseason Top 10 team was considered an underdog if they reached the National Championship? Never, as far as I know. Secondly, no team was that much better than any other team this season. In past years, we've had the North Carolina's and Florida's who have seemingly dominated from November until April. Coming into this year's tournament however, there were probably eight to ten teams who had a legitimate shot of cutting down the nets in Indianapolis.
With everything else going on in sports this week, Major League Baseball beginning play has kind of taken a back seat in importance. Those who did pay attention to Opening Day however, likely saw one of the better plays that will be made all season. Add in a budding star hitting a home run in his first at-bat, and it looks like this season will be full of action. At least to some, apparently. Umpire Joe West thinks it's "pathetic and embarrasing" that the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox games take so long. Most baseball insiders are shrugging this off as a comment made by a loudmouth (basically, West is the T.O. of umpiring), but he does bring up a valid point. Causal fans often use the "baseball is so boring to watch on TV" excuse as to why they are not avid fans of the game. It's not hard to stay interested in a three hour game if you're at the stadium, but it's a whole different matter if you're watching the game on TV. West may not just be blowing hot air here.
Finally, the Masters. Even if you're not a golf fan, you've undoubtedly heard about the tournament in Augusta, or more specifically, how Tiger is doing. After a strong first and second round, Tiger looks like he is in contention for the win at this point. This is probably the best thing that the PGA could have asked for. Casual fans were drawn in because of the Tiger saga, and now that he's doing well, they'll probably tune in to the final two days as well to see if he can win. Eat your own words, Billy Payne, because contrary to what you say, if Tiger wins this weekend, he hasn't disappointed me at all. To us, Tiger Woods is a golfer. Mickey Mantle wasn't exactly a role model, and neither is Kobe Bryant. Hell, even Tiki Barber just left his wife for some hot intern. The point in naming all those athletes is that even though they have had their darker moments on display for the public, we still love them because of their contributions to their respective sport. Besides, Mr. Payne, who are you to talk? You don't even let women join your country club.
Notice to the left of the writing I have replaced the NCAA Tournament tracker with a Masters leaderboard. That way you can spend your whole afternoon on the blog!
- K. Becks
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