- 10:49 PM
- 04/19/24
Like you wouldn't remove your pin to let Mickelson's ball drop in your hole. Please.
posted by smg at 09:37 AM on April 18, 2006
I went to the Celtics game last night against the 76ers and it was another great game for Pierce. He messed around and got a triple double and hit a crucial three to go up one with 30 or so seconds left...great game. And to update a previous comment of mine in the media guide he leads the team in Points (27.2), Rebounds (6.9) and Assists (4.6 - Not Rickey!)...and also steals. I felt like the refs were going to give the game away because after just two minutes and fifty seconds into the fourth quarter the Celtics were over the team limit with fouls. Lesson learned? You breath on Iverson, you get called for a foul.
posted by smg at 08:57 AM on March 09, 2006
If this is his last year, I'm looking forward to a few more gems like this over the next eight months.
posted by smg at 02:22 PM on March 08, 2006
Pierce won the game for the Celtics last night. Put the team on his back down the stretch, and hit the game winner in OT. That, is helping his team win. Also, I just checked ESPN.com and Pierce is leading the Celtics in scoring, rebounds, and steals...somehow from Minnesota Ricky Davis is still leading in assists per game. :-) Also, what do you call a player who ranks in the top ten in most stat categories?
posted by smg at 12:33 PM on March 08, 2006
I think saying the father is looking for a handout is a bit unfair. Seems to me that he's just looking for the university to be accountable for Wade's actions but I'm not sure if he's got a case there. Either way the university/athletic department can't control all it's students/athletes, wether there have been complaints about them or not.
posted by smg at 11:38 AM on March 08, 2006
Pierce is ten times the player Vince Carter is. Maybe there was in argument in college but in the pros there's no question that Pierce has the better all around game (not to mention is more durable). Pierce is the leader on a very young, very raw team, but the future looks pretty bright for the Celtics. Tommy Heinsohn (who knows a thing or two about basketball) has been quoted as saying that Pierce is the best pure scorer that has ever put on a Celtics uniform. And Heinsohn's partner calling games Mike Gorman had this to say about Pierce in a recent interview: Paul Pierce is a top ten player who has demonstrated both maturity and leadership in what is shaping up as the best year of his career. He seems to be misunderstood nationally but perception seems to always trail reality. Take it from some one who sits courtside at close to 100 games a year, you cannot have any legitimate discussion about the best 2/3 players in the league without Paul in the mix. And for my money nobody, not Kobe, not Lebron, not Dwayne, gets to the basket more effectively than Paul Pierce does. I realize he's a homer, but he knows more about the game than I do, so I'll trust his comments.
posted by smg at 10:38 AM on March 08, 2006
Not that the Europeans need any more fire or personality, but I was more thinking that Woosnam would be good because the team would "take on the personality of their captain" and play with possibly even more intensity. All this Ryder Cup talk, has me fired up and it seems so far away. And yerfatma, you can piss in my corner anyday.
posted by smg at 07:40 AM on March 03, 2006
The European team is going to be strong no matter what, and with Woosnam as the captain, I'm not confident the Americans will right their Ryder Cup ship this year. Looking forward to the matches. Tiger today at Doral: 8 birdies + 0 bogeys = 64. Tasty.
posted by smg at 04:45 PM on March 02, 2006
I feel dirty for having read that...no seriously yerfatma, you go to your room and think about what you just said! PGA tournament purses are huge now thanks to the popularity of the sport and sponsors and anyone who consistently shows up in the top 20 will get solid pay days each week. So yeah, you don't have to win to make money and I'm sure there are a lot of guys on tour who are just looking for paydays. Love in recent years hasn't been a finisher that's for sure, but after watching him play well this weekend I definitely feel like he's got the game to be in contention on Sunday and actually finish. He hasn't done shit this year except for last week, so who knows, but I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up winning this year. All in all, after his best finish of the year, I didn't see how someone could write an article ripping him, instead of praising him. But talking about how great people are doesn't get people talking does it? :-)
posted by smg at 04:32 PM on March 01, 2006
I thought the last Ryder Cup was in 99? :-) Can we just throw out my comment about the Ryder Cup? Honestly I was more focused on the President's Cup when I was writing it and even said that right after that comment. I was referring to dyams comment about American's coming up short in match play overall. It was more suggesting that they've fared well enough and not been dominated (save for 2004 when the American's didn't show up at the Ryder Cup). And people hate that - especially armchair fans and journos who are sure that if they had the talent Love has that they wouldn't bottle it, or would work harder than Love does, or would do whatever it is that they think Love does wrong, right. They're mistaken of course, they wouldn't, but that's why (some) people hate on Love. This is exactly what I've been trying to say. And I 100% agree that Davis has the talent to have won many more times on tour (especially majors) but I guess my problem is that 18 victories seems like a lot to me, so what is the number? Can the media just pick a number out of a hat that he should have attained because of his talent? I guess this is similar to what Phil went through before he won a major. Expectations are so high when you have talent. Another point I was trying to make is that winning on tour just isn't easy, especially majors. You're facing 130 or better golfers each week and just because you have more talent then the rest of the field doesn't guarantee a win. That's what makes golf so great, and I guess that's why I don't expect any one golfer to win each week. Wait, I'm pretty sure I expect Tiger to break Jack's major record. So I'm no better than the shady media types. :-)
posted by smg at 12:43 PM on March 01, 2006
I'm not sure if the last paragraph here holds any water, but I've heard this before. A take on BB's reality show from Ron Borges.
posted by smg at 12:11 PM on March 01, 2006
I was looking for some validation qbert. Thanks for the comment.
posted by smg at 12:02 PM on March 01, 2006
It's unfair to bash Bonds for being an ass, just because he's one of the best baseball players of all time doesn't mean he has to be a nice guy because we want him to be. But (this all being hearsay because I've never been on a baseball team with Barry Bonds) from all the reports and everything you see, he's not a team player. Not even close. Doesn't he have his own section of the locker room different from everyone else? Complete with leather chair and all that? I could be making this up.
posted by smg at 11:48 AM on March 01, 2006
I want to see winners, guys who can finish people off when they have the chance. Love fell apart at the end of the PGA last year. He needed to win this final against Ogilvy. Do you honestly think that because Love lost to Ogilvy, or shot four over in the final round at the PGA that he's down for the count? No way. And who are these winners you're talking about? Tiger? Match play is brilliant because it levels the playing field to some degree and gives an Ogilvy a chance to beat anyone. Sean O'Hair beat Fred Couples in round one of the match play this year and I bet you've never heard of him, but on any given day, if a top player doesn't have their game, they lose. Also saying that Love fell apart "at the end" of the PGA is statistically correct because he went 68-68-68-74, but the winner that week, Phil, was four over for the weekend (67-65-72-72), and you're not saying he fell apart, only because he had the two sick rounds to start the tournament and won. You can spin it any number of ways but PGA golf is typically played over four days so a tournament, while in some circumstances can be, isn't necessarily won or lost over a stretch of a few bad holes or a few good holes on one day. So back to my original question. Are you (and everyone else for that matter) hating on Davis because he hasn't won since 2003 and because your perception is that he is losing his game and doesn't have a killer instint? That's fine. I don't agree, but that's alright. Winning on tour just isn't easy unless your name is Tiger.
posted by smg at 11:33 AM on March 01, 2006
As for Love, anyone with "the Third" as part of their name deserves all the hate and ridicule you can pile on them. Um...okay. I don't think anyone should be too surprised when it comes to golfers from the USA coming up short in match play. Love is a great golfer, but he's so vanilla. He'll never excite too many people. I don't even know where that's coming from? In recent years the American's have fared pretty damn well in the Ryder Cup and President's Cup matches (more the President's Cup). And Davis Love is a monster in the President's Cup (admittedly mediocre at best in the Ryder Cup, but his overall match play record is still good). Sure, the Americans haven't dominated the Ryder Cup since it's been opened to all of Europe and not just England, but still the only time in recent history where they've been blown out was 2004, and that was an ugly aberration. Yes, DL3 is bland and not very exciting, but being exciting and having a great personality on the golf course doesn't win golf tournaments. So I don't know what you mean? Exciting or not, he's one of the better players to play the game over the past two decades for sure.
posted by smg at 04:58 PM on February 28, 2006
That's excellent. I didn't know who this Dennis Wise character was, but after looking him up he certainly looks nasty. I'm going to have to come up with an American version for that. Can't think of any nasty five footers right now except for one of my best friends wives...which will be effective, but only in select company. Any suggesstions are welcome! Also, I find myself rooting against Tiger a lot of times (e.g. last years Masters) but not because I dislike him, more because I want to see more people challenge him and get a better rivalry going. Rivalries in sports always make it more entertaining but when Tiger tees it up, most people back down. Jack once said that he knew when he tee'd it up at the start of a tournament he only had to beat about 5 guys, because the rest of the field would beat themselves (or something to that effect). Tiger tees it up every week and thinks that the only person that can beat him, is himself. His mental edge is pretty amazing. A lot of other pros aren't "scared" but they play like it sometimes. DiMarco played some amazing golf last year at the Masters (especially for a shorter hitter) and was so close to chipping in for the win on 18, but I can't think of another time recently when someone took him down to the wire in a big event like that. DiMarco has played well in majors recently (just won overseas too) but I'm not sure he's got the overall game to give Tiger a challenge every time they tee it up. Everyone talks about the "Big Five" but those guys never seem to get the best of him. So basically all this means, is Tiger is clearly a cut above the rest and he's only 30. And if he breaks...uhem...when he breaks Jack's major record, Jack will be there with a smile, to say "well done kid."
posted by smg at 11:32 AM on February 07, 2006
Extra stiff indeed. If there's anything you don't want flex in, it's your shaft. I mean, you can't expect to control your head if it's snapping all over the place. And I must to say JJ, your balls, while quite dimply, are smooth to the touch. I feel dirty. Who has a towel?
posted by smg at 09:12 AM on February 07, 2006
I didn't need Google, but only because I just saw this on the Golf Channel the other day. Billy Mayfair beat him back in 97 or 98...can't remember which tournament though. I'd love to see them in another playoff now. Think Tiger would lay down for him again? I actually think it's amazing that Tiger's as good in playoffs as he is. I know his focus is unmatched, but for such an elite player his errant shots seem to happen far to often, but that again just brings to light his amazing scrambling abilities. Impressive win after all that travel. More impressive, might have been what JB Holmes did in Arizona. That kid has some game and seems like he'll be better than a one hit wonder.
posted by smg at 10:06 AM on February 06, 2006
'Swing Hard, Find the Ball, Hit It Again'
Also, this kid probably doesn't care about missing fairways at this point because as long as he doesn't miss one with a bad slice or snap hook he's a few yards in the rough and can still hit the green with a short iron. Obviously missing 50-60% of all fairways will catch up with you, but he's clearly got some all around game to make up for some arrant tee shots. And I'm not comfortable with him calling himself a redneck either. I mean if he doesn't tank Budweiser's, work on his own cars, fish for crappies and smoke Marlboro reds, he isn't a redneck. I think those are standard prereqs.