Supposed Good Intentions Erased By Poor Execution

Hello. Well, if the LPGA was looking to get media attention, and didn't care what kind of attention it got, then the "everyone has to speak English or else" press release was a huge success. Otherwise, it's a very poorly executed strategy.
I do believe the LPGA had good intentions on this one. They want to succeed in the US, where the main language spoken is English. They want their sponsors and fans to feel comfortable talking to the players. They feel if the players spoke English, it would be better for everyone. I don't think people have a problem with that thinking.
But to come out and say all players have to learn English in a year or be suspended is very poor. Why did the LPGA have to say anything to the media at all? Why couldn't they just hire teachers for the players when they become LPGA members, and let nature take its course? They could've then said here's how we're helping the best players in the world cope with their new environment, and received positive praise.
Instead they have created a firestorm, and will be hard-pressed to follow through on any suspensions if someone doesn't pass a test.
Good luck LPGA. You're going to need it!

Regards,
Steve

Golf In The Olympics? My View II

Hello. Last night I watched a bit of US Open tennis. Roger Federer was playing. Because it just concluded, the announcers were talking about the Olympics. The topic quickly became "Should tennis stay in the Olympics?".
My answer to that question is simple. If you have to ask the question, it doesn't belong. End of discussion. Now some questions which make it obvious golf and tennis shouldn't be in it.

1. Would people have willingly praised the Olympic Men's champion if it wasn't Rafal Nadal (Tiger Woods)?
2. Would people watch Olympic tennis (golf) if the top pros weren't playing?
3. Did people flock out to see Olympic tennis (golf)?
4. Are people going to remember Nadal (Woods) for an Olympic medal?
5. Do people remember Stefan Edberg (?) for an Olympic medal?

My answer to all those questions is no. Let me know what your answers are, especially if they differ.

Regards,

Steve

Lee Breaks Tiger's Record

Hello. Congrats to David Lee for winning the US Amateur. Lee becomes the youngest ever champion at 18 years, one month, as he's 6 months younger than Tiger Woods was when he won.
Anytime you can subplant Tiger in anything, you're doing well. The question is, will Lee go on to great things?
The other more immediate question is, will he turn pro now, or wait until after he's played in the 2009 majors, which he can only do as an exempt player if he remains an amateur (which I've said many times is a dumb rule)?
Because Lee is so young, I hope the New Zealander stands an amateur. Of course, he has to be able to afford it. Colt Knost, last year's winner, whom I've praised for turning pro, was at the end of his college career.
Lee, like Tiger before him, has shown the college system is outdated. He's also another foreign player to win, which continues a recent trend. So maybe US college is not the right road to travel. However, he has some growing up to do in other areas. I don't want him to become another Ty Tryon.
All the best Mr. Lee!

Regards,
Steve

CICA Tournament A Lot Of Fun

Hello. Today I was honoured to play in the CICA golf tournament at King's Riding. My favourite charity, cystic fibrosis, was the recipient of their generous fundraising.
I was able to play because one of the players could not attend. I quickly ditched my volunteer duties to join Alan and Graham for 18 holes of excitement in ideal weather.
We managed to shoot 64, and won Low Corporate Team. It was a lot of fun not only playing well, but having a lot of laughs.
I've always been impressed with the effort put in by people on behalf of a charity they have no direct connection with. Today was no exception. There was such a great organizational team put in place, everyone so happy to be there. It made me feel very fortunate to have great people supporting us.
What was also great was being able to tell the CF story to people over long periods of time, and keep their interest by answering their questions. I felt a connection was made today.
I'll be very interested to see how much was raised. If you know, please inform me.

Regards,
Steve

Is Bolt Cheating? III

Hello. Many people think Usain Bolt may be cheating. Yet not a word has been said about Michael Phelps.
That's because swimming has never received the drug spotlight track and field has. And it probably never will. Track has an obsession with making sure records were broken with some sort of integrity. Swimming doesn't have that same standard.
It doesn't matter who wins a swimming race. They just say "well done" and go on with it.
Track is different. Bolt is considered "worthy", so it's okay for him to win. With someone else it may be a different reaction.
It's possible Bolt is a freak of nature who is coming into his own now. He may just be improving his technique. And like Phelps, he's ready to star again next Games.
If so, both sports have a lot to look forward to.
Good luck gentlemen.

Regards,
Steve

Is Bolt Cheating? II

Hello. Congrats to Usain Bolt for winning the 200 metres today with yet another world record time of 19.30 seconds. Bolt becomes the first man to hold the Olympic 100 and 200 metres since Carl Lewis.
So should we still ask if Bolt is cheating, since he only beat Michael Johnson's world record of 12 years by 0.02 seconds? If Johnson was not cheating, then the answer is Bolt is probably clean. And there's never been any evidence that Johnson or Donovan Bailey were dirty.
But can we say for sure? I certainly want to. If Bolt had run an 18.90, then I would've said he was cheating. 19.30 seems more legit.
These Games have been relatively scandal free. The question is, are they cleaner? Or are test results being hidden? Are tests even being done?
Is the IOC serious about testing? Do they really want to find out Bolt is dirty? Or would a negative test do to the Olympics what Floyd Landis' negative test did to the Tour de France, which was make it an afterthought instead of a world "must watch" event?
Time will tell.

Regards,
Steve

Is Bolt Cheating?

Hello. I just watched Usain Bolt run his 200 metre heat. He won it, in spite of slowing down.
He won the 100 metre gold medal the same way, setting a world record of 9.69 seconds while slowing down.
In theory, these shorter track records should be lasting longer than long distance records. The 1500 metres was just run, and the winning time was 6 seconds higher than world record pace. It wasn't even an Olympic record.
So how is Usain Bolt able to run a 9.69 clean 20 years after Ben Johnson ran a 9.79 pumped full of steriods? Is Bolt that talented? Or is he cheating?
Unfortunately track reminds me of amateur golf tournament net prize winners. Many golfers have a handicap, which when suntracted from their actual score leaves a net score. It's easy to cheat the system, and have an artificially high handicap. Those people are called sandbaggers.
Because of sandbaggers, everyone thinks a net winner is a sandbagger, even if they aren't. The same holds true for track.
Here's hoping Bolt is clean.

Regards,
Steve

The Good, Bad And Ugly of Team Canada

Hello. Here's the Good, Bad and Ugly of Team Canada's Olympics:

The Good
1. Rowing - By far the best team we have. World class. Should be the model for everyone else.
2. Ladies' Wrestling - Canada has always had strong women athletes.
3. Show Jumping - We know our horses!
4. Trampoline - Third Olympics in a row for Karen Cockburn getting a medal

The Bad
1. Swimming - Ryan Cochrane got bronze, but questionable race strategy for him and Brent Hayden
2. Diving - We seem to do better in World Championships than the Olympics

The Ugly
1. Everything else - nothing more needs to be said

Regards,
Steve

Olympic Team Canada Hurting II

Hello. Thanks to "Sean" for replying to yesterday's post. Sean says we are hurting for money, because we sent only one boxer to Beijing.
Well, Sean, I'd counter that argument by quoting tsn.ca, which says we sent 331 athletes this time, as opposed to 265 sent to Athens. That's a 24.9% increase! In theory, that should result in a similar medal increase. Since we are still medalless, I'd say it hasn't happened.
While we do have legit medal contenders (see Mike Brown, 0.09 seconds away), we have a lot who shouldn't be there. Boxing obviously is tougher to judge if someone's legit, but in timed events that are decided usually by fractions of a second, if someone is 5+ seconds behind, they're not legit.
I'd look at the system, which does produce world champs, but seems to falter at the Olympics. What is the problem? I believe there are non-financial problems which have to be solved first. Otherwise, you're throwing good money after bad, which many people attribute to other organizations, like governments.
Let's look at what we can control first.

Regards,
Steve

Olympic Team Canada Hurting

Hello. As usual, I've enjoyed watching the Olympics. The swimming and rowing in particular are favourites. And my son enjoyed the men's gymnastics, as he does gymnastics himself.
However, ever since the '84 Olympics in LA, when Canada set a record for most Summer Olympics medals ever, the Canadian Olympic story has been the same:

1. We're told prior to the Games about all our world record holders and champions
2. We go medalless for the first few days (5 and counting this time)
3. We're told we need more funding
4. We rally to get a few medals at the end
5. We're told this will be a springboard for more medals next time
6. We're encouraged to provide more funding

Team Canada is hurting, and not because of money.

Why? More tomorrow.

Regards,

Steve

Garcia Improving, But So Are Others

Hello. Sergio Garcia put up a good fight in the PGA, shooting 69-68 on the weekend to finish second. However, he came up short again, losing by 2 to Padraig Harrington.
So was it the same case of Garcia being victimized by outside forces, not getting any breaks? Or bad putting (like missing short ones on 15 and 17)? Or bad shots (like in the water on 16)?
The bad news for Sergio was it was all of the above. The good news is he's making fewer mistakes than before. And I firmly believe he'll win a major or two, like Greg Norman, because he's as talented as Norman. And at 28 he's still very young with a lot of experience.
However, his course management is in the same category as Norman and Phil Mickelson. On 18, when he had to drive it in the fairway, he hit it in the right rough, then the sand. On 16 he could've gone anywhere instead of the water. He even mistimed his bathroom break.
Will he correct these things? Hopefully he will, because with Harrington now becoming a serious major threat, with or without Tiger in the field, it would be great if Sergio could also be a serious threat.
Time will tell.

Regards,
Steve

Harrington Deservedly Joins An Elite Group II

Hello. Congrats to Padraig Harrington for winning the PGA Championship. Harrington shot 66 in his final round to win by 2 over Sergio Garcia and Ben Curtis.
With this win, Harrington did the following:

1. Became the first European player to win the PGA since Tommy Armour in 1930, and the first Euro to ever win it as a stroke play event
2. Became the first Euro to win back-to-back majors
3. Won 3 of the last 6 majors (very Tiger-like wouldn't you say?)
4. Won the PGA and British Open in the same year, joining Woods and Nick Price

What Padraig also did was come from behind again to win. He's now won two majors that way, which is two more than a certain 14 major winner. And while he's still ranked world #3, Harrington is closing the gap towards Mickelson and Woods. He's playing very relaxed, intense golf. More good showings could be on the way in 2009.

Regards,

Steve

Ji-Yai Shin Wins Women's British Open

Hello. Congrats to Ji-Yai Shin for wining the Women's British Open. While I didn't see the final, anyone who shoots -6 on the final day of a major is a worthy champion.
This completes the LPGA majors for 2008. There were a few surprises. Lorena Ochoa "only" won one major. And she was the oldest major winner at 26! To have 3 ladies from Asia with an average age of 20 win the rest of the majors is really something. So much for my theory of needing experience to win the British Open.
The American public may not like what they see from a TV ratings standpoint. All I can say is, get used to it. The ladies who won majors this year are all driven to win. They're willing to pay the price. And they don't have the entitlement mindset North Americans have, which is one of a few reasons why they're superior.
Is it good for the game? Of course. These ladies are raising the bar. That can only be good. It forces all the other athletes to step up. And it makes victory that much sweeter.
Will we see North Americans challenge on the LPGA? Maybe. Pressel and Creamer look like they want to battle. It should be an interesting next few months.

Regards,
Steve

Euro PGA Drought Coming To An End?

Hello. I didn't realize until today how long it's been since a European player had won the PGA. It's been 78 years! Since Tommy Armour did it in 1930, no Euro has done it. Amazing!
This one surprises me more than the US Open drought of 38 years (Tony Jacklin in 1970). The PGA Championship is usually the most "fair" of the majors. And looking at the list of one-time major winners who made the PGA their only title (Paul Azinger, Wayne Grady, David Toms among others) it is truly unbelievable that Faldo, Ballesteros, Montgomerie, Langer and others didn't win.
Will one come through this time? As mentioned yesterday, Lee Westwood and Padraig Harrington are good bets. And Sergio Garcia cannot be discounted, especially if his putting gets on track. Ian Poulter can also come through if he plays like he did on British Open Sunday.
I do think a Euro will win this time. One of the 4 mentioned above. And it may open the floodgates.
All the best to everyone.

Regards,
Steve

Singh Scores 1st WGC Victory

Hello. My apologies for not writing Monday. It was an Ontario holiday.
Congrats to Vijay Singh for wining the WGC (World Golf Championship) at Firestone Sunday. Singh edged Lee Westwood for his first 2008 win, and first WGC win. Needless to say, it was a big win for the 45 year old, who continues to add to his record total of victories for someone 40+ years old.
Will it help Vijay for this week's PGA? It can't hurt, but I don't think he'll be able to do two big tournies in a row. I think Westwood is the one to watch, as 2nd here and 3rd in the US Open have him confident and hungry. Also going back to the site of a European Ryder Cup win gives him good thoughts.
There is no clear favourite here, but many who could step up. Padraig Harrington could be one of those players. He's obviously confident from his British Open win, and a PGA title would put him in elite company, and make him a World Golf Hall of Fame lock, if he isn't already.
Do I see Americans challenging? In a word, no. Furyk, Mickelson and Cink should be, and better if they want to win without Tiger in the field. We'll see.

Regards,
Steve