Charl was given his green jacket signifying that he is the Master of the Universe, yet the storylines don’t seem to surround his four birdie finish. I’m not one to push golf onto anyone who can’t stand watching guys read putts for five hours, believe me I understand why it would be boring, but this weekend was one of the most exciting finishes we might see in any major for awhile. When there were about 8-10 holes left to play for the leaders, the CBS crew couldn’t even figure out who’s shot or which players they even wanted to show because there were so many people atop the leaderboard. We didn’t see a whole lot of Charl during the day, but did get a lot of Tiger shoved down our throats. Tiger looked great for the front nine, and it looked like he had some of his swagger back busting out his fist pumps. Unsurprisingly to me that seems to be the topic of conversation today on whether Tiger is indeed back or not. It’s tough to say when he missed critical putts down the stretch that he usually would’ve made during his domination days. Regardless of whether he’ll be as dominant as he once was, he’s relevant again. The other story was about how Rory McIlroy caved to the pressure, and was one of the only people to shoot over par on Sunday. It wasn’t so much that he didn’t win, but more so that he caved, and he seemed to give up after his triple bogey on the 10th. He’s a 21-year-old, so I wouldn’t worry about him. It’s like last year when Dustin Johnson choked away a lead on the final day at the US Open. I’m sure he’ll learn from what happened, and his skills aren’t disappearing. All in all, I think golf is healthier than it’s been in awhile. I’m not going to go all Geno Auriemma and cry if you don’t care about golf, but this past Sunday was a finish that I feel like any sports fan would’ve enjoyed.
Manny is retiring… Lots people go to Tampa to retire, and Manny doesn’t seem to be the exception to that rule. I’ve always loved then loved to hate Manny depending on which team he was playing for. I guess the bigger deal about his retirement is if he’ll make it into the HOF. All along I’ve been for the steroid era players getting into the HOF. It’s an era, and whether there was cheating or not, you have to acknowledge the best. Baseball has always had the worst HOF setup in my eyes. The snubs feel ridiculous, and most of the time those who are snubbed were “bad” character guys. I feel like the HOF is a popularity contest that nobody really wins in unless you were a classy person on and off the field. Personally all I care about is what was done on the field, cheating or not, he was still one of the greatest. With that said, I’d put Manny, Clemens, A-Rod, and Bonds in. Who cares if I or anyone else doesn’t like them as people they still were amazing players that carried baseball for two decades.
Apparently, safety in stadiums is an issue… The MLB League passes are free for everyone for the first week of the year, and I’ve watched a lot of teams I probably won’t see for the rest of the year. One common theme seemed to be empty seats in stadiums. I’m not sure if it’s the cold weather across much of the country or if it’s a correlation that fans no longer feel safe bringing their kids to the ballpark after the Dodgers incident. Whatever the case, this recent video from a Pirates game was insane. Dude was either completely wasted or just can straight up take a hit. The rent-a-cop billy clubbed him three times and he didn’t even flinch! This might be the most excitement the Pirates fans have all season…
By
cali4dre
chappy81
dyslecix
mceezy
Doin Work 
April 11th, 2011 at 4:42 pm
I’m not a huge golf fan but I do enjoy the Masters. Is there a cooler name for a tournament than that? I don’t think so. I don’t think it matters if Tiger is “back” or not, but he’s relevant in the actual game. Whether you were pulling for him or against him, you were watching. That’s critical for golf.
The video of the dude getting bashed in Pittsburgh is crazy. I saw where the Pirates said that their staff handled it properly. I saw a drunk guy in Washington run through upper deck at RFK while security tried to chase him down. It took them at least 20 minutes to run him down and they didn’t beat him when they caught him. Good times.
April 11th, 2011 at 8:57 pm
I think there’s something about Augusta too. They have it there every year, so everyone knows the course well. It’s always more fun to watch golf when you know the course well.
Nice story. I’ll always remember the time Eric Byrnes ran down and tackled a guy who ran on the field and tried to hop the outfield fence. It’s always fun to see what people will do hahaha!
April 11th, 2011 at 6:11 pm
You just convinced me. I’ve always been indifferent when it came to Bonds, Clemens, et al…. but you’re right, they CARRIED baseball for their respective years. It’s a dead horse, I suppose, but McGwire and Sosa brought baseball back from the life support…. Can’t say the same for Burt Blyleven or Robin Yount
April 12th, 2011 at 6:46 am
chappy
The Masters wasn’t overly thrilling but there was enough suspense there to get me watching . That being said the comment about McIlroy being a wasted talent let’s me know that the individual who made the comment has about insight on the game as a gnat ! Schwartzel was a deserved winner given the fact that he’s ranked inside the top 20 and has been a consistent performer on the European Tour . As for Johnny Miller the sooner he gets his drunken stuttering a_s off tv the better off the golf fan will be ! He provides as much insight into the game as either Kim K or Paris Hilton would if they giving a lecture on Quantum Physics .
I see that the Warriors ‘ Monta Ellis has gone down with a serious concussion ? Remember what I’d written about the officials and league not doing enough concerning the well being of the players when it comes to concussions ?
Manny is simply being Manny ……….. in other words he’s a friggin’ turd ! A gutless mutha ‘ fu_ker !
tophatal ……………..
April 12th, 2011 at 9:00 am
I have to agree, Johnny Miller puts you to sleep, and his play by play makes me wish Joe Buck was in the booth, ugh… I was shocked to read that someone thought McIIroy was a wasted talent. He’s barely scratched the surface of his talents! He might not be a Tiger on Sundays yet, but to say he won’t win is ridiculous. It took Phil until he was over 30 to finally win a green jacket, maybe that’s how long it will take Rory…
Man, that Ellis injury was weird. I didn’t see it, but read teammates said he didn’t know where he was when he got up. He started walking towards the crowd instead of the free throw line. I hope he’s okay. If baseball, football, and hockey players sit out for long periods of time, then I could see the NBA stepping up its policies on concussions soon…
April 12th, 2011 at 9:21 am
It’ll be a while before they address the issue of concussions in the NBA.
It’s not really that much at the forefront of the argument.
Meehan
April 12th, 2011 at 9:47 am
chappy
Giving what you now know ’bout Manny failing a second drug test would you consider him worthy of the Hall of Fame ?
Like I’ve repeatedly said the NBA simply hasn’t address the issue of traumatic head concussions . Stern has remained as quiet as a damn docile church mouse and about the only person who’s addressed the issue publicly has been NBPA VP James Jones . It may well take some sort of tragedy before these idiots pull their heads out of each others’ as_es for all of the good that has done thus far !
The Hornets’ Chris Paul was wondering around the practice court of the team’s facility disorientated and that was 6 days after his original concussion. West and he were said to be practicing a pick-n-roll at the time and when the pass came to him he missed it by a large margin . He hadn’t even realized that West had even passed the ball at the time .
McIlroy will get another chance you can be sure of that ! I mean he’s not one of those over hyped as_holes like J P Howell or Ty Tryon ! Those two have about as much use on a golf course as a used feminine hygiene product . Perhaps they each should join the LPGA Tour instead ? Wha’ d’ ya think ?
tophatal ………….
April 12th, 2011 at 8:06 am
Chappy,
I wasn’t able catch the last day of the Masters and Mccllroy’s fumble, but I still thought it was a pretty good tournament. It’s funny how much Tiger means to golf and its popularity. Just having him in contention for the big tournaments really makes all the difference.
I agree with you on Manny and deserving the hall of fame. Dude seems to have been around forever and is always producing. Honestly steroids or not, the numbers should speak for themselves.
April 12th, 2011 at 9:19 am
The McIlroy collapse was crazy. Golf is such a mental game, you just hope that a kid that young is able to recover from losing a tournament of such magnitude when he pretty much had it in the bag.
Meehan
April 12th, 2011 at 10:01 am
I completely disagree with your HOF thoughts. I’m a huge proponent against steroids. Just because everyone else was cheating at the time doesn’t make it right. How is it fair to guys like Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, the list goes on and on, that these guys deserve to be mentioned on the same level that they are but did it with performance enhancers. It isn’t just comparing Manny Ramirez to Mark Mcgwire. I think. It’s about comparing their worth towards other Hall of Famers and whether without steroids they would have been able to put up the stats that they did, which is undoubtedly a big fat no.
April 13th, 2011 at 9:58 am
So who gets in over the next fifteen to twenty years then? Are we just going to put guys like Bret Blyeven in the HOF since they have been on the ballot for ten years, because we don’t want the steroid guys in the HOF? AND would you consider a player like Blyleven even remotely close to the guys you mentioned in Aaron, Ruth, or Dimaggio? Doubtful. Good or bad, the steroid players were baseball for at least a decade. I’d be less inclined to let Manny in after failing three tests, but he was definitely a better hitter than McGwire, so in that sense I’d put him in over Big Mac, but that was someone else’s question…
April 13th, 2011 at 12:14 pm
I don’t think guys like Blyeven deserve to be in. I’d rather have a class of zero people entering the HOF then guys who are undeserving or who have PED implications. If you deserve it you deserve it but if you’re forcing guys in just because you need to have a couple of guys in there every year then I would rather see no one go on.
April 13th, 2011 at 2:15 pm
Bert Blyleven is 5th all time in strikeouts and has a career ERA of 3.31 with 287 wins. He put up up some great numbers on some dreadful teams. The fact that it took him 14 years to get in is more of a sham then if a steroid user gets in.
April 13th, 2011 at 4:28 pm
Those are some impressive numbers. I guess I wasn’t really old enough to see him play much, so he didn’t have a lasting impact on me… I thought Tim Raines was more deserving than Blyeven. Another one of those “bad” character guys getting shunned imo…
April 13th, 2011 at 4:22 pm
Fair enough. At least we have Griffy Jr. to induct into the HOF. I’m sure we can all agree on him being a deserved player! I’m totally with you on the not letting anyone in if nobody really deserves it. There’s been some weak HOF classes over the years!
April 14th, 2011 at 12:27 pm
Chappy, I’m not old enough to remember him very well, but I just think it’s odd that people are so against him getting in. Only one of the top 20 K leaders who is eligible for the HoF is not in and that’s Mickey Lolich at #18. Only Tommy John and Bobby Matthews have more wins and are not in the Hall (288 and 297).
Chris, you mentioned that guys like Robin Yount and Blyleven bring down the Ruth’s and Mantle, and no one would argue that they are not as good as the legends, they still belong there. If you compare Blyleven and a guy like Dazzy Vance, who makes who look bad?
Go look up Johnny Evers or Rabbit Maraville. The Hall is littered with guys who don’t belong there. It’s not a new thing. Blyleven and Yount were hardly forced.
April 12th, 2011 at 11:58 am
Chris Ross
What is Manny’s actual worth to the Hall of Fame ? OK so the Hall already has its inductees filled with miscreants such Cobb and Ruth but that being said Ramirez of his own volition ……. not once but twice flouted the rules . Stats or otherwise the laws of the land trumps any rules that a professional sport has .
tophatal ………………
April 12th, 2011 at 1:27 pm
It’s interesting to see all the Hall of Fame opinions on here. I’ve always felt that if you took steroids once they began testing and starting suspending people then you’re out. Mceezy is right that McGwire and Sosa should be in for bringing the game back. Manny and Palmeiro? No.
April 12th, 2011 at 8:19 pm
I live in Tampa and I’m not retired.
And I’m not on drugs.
Well… at least not steroids.
April 13th, 2011 at 10:10 am
Sorry for the generalization, that’s just what I heard 🙂
April 13th, 2011 at 10:08 am
Hmmm, so what does everyone think of A-Rod’s HOF status? Should he get in since he never failed a test? He admitted to using them, but was never caught, so did he technically not cheat? I think this is going to be one of the most interesting HOF cases we’ll have. He’s an all-time great. Got caught cheating, but hasn’t been caught since. I guess you probably already know that I’d let him in…
April 13th, 2011 at 10:13 am
chappy
In the long run the likes of Palmeiro , McGwire , Bonds , Clemens and even dare I say it ……. even Rose will get in ? . Because by then it’ll be left to the likes of the Veterans’ Committee to adjudge those guys . I mean the BBWAA has about as much credibility to my mind as the present Congress ! Would you actually trust those guys (BBWAA or Congress ) to do anything and actually show some integrity much less credibility ? I mean where their fat a_ses when the rumors were out there concerning the prolific use of PED’s by the players ? Those guys clamped up tighter than a virgin’s va-jay-jay ! Even writers and analysts such as Gammons , Kurkjian and Olney were nowhere to be seen or heard from . Never mind the fact that you had former players of that era who’d retired merely acting as if they were all deaf , dumb and blind !
tophatal ………
April 13th, 2011 at 4:25 pm
The really do need to pick a new pannel. It’s funny that some of the voters don’t even watch other teams, so how could those guys really make judgments on players they didn’t really cover or watch… I agree with you, NOBODY said anything for years, and even when Canseco came out with his book, the writers still were in denial.
April 14th, 2011 at 6:47 am
chappy 81
The BBWAA (Baseball Writers Association of America) for all the credibility that they think that they have …. these guys come across as complete buffoons ! Empaneling a new group of writers would be like assigning a new Roman Catholic priest who’s adjudged to have been a pedophile and who’s now been transferred to a new diocese . Not a damn would actually change ! We’ve all seen or heard what happened with the priests in question and it wouldn’t be any different with a new group of writers !
What’d you think about Stern ….. fining …… Kobe …… $100k for his homophobic remark directed at a referee during the game against the Spurs ? We’re going to be in for a great deal of controversy as usual this NBA postseason as it relates to the officiating . Kobe was an as_hole being so blatant in his tirade as it was completely unwarranted ! . If the ref made a mistake approach him on it but don’t stoop to using a homophobic slur . It shows Bryant to be an immature idiot and something of a dumb a_s ! Even his post game interview and comments in terms of an apology had no contrition about it whatsoever .
tophatal …………