Monday, August 8, 2011

Buzzer Beaters

The Bridgestone invitational had itself a new champion on Sunday. Adam Scott won the tournament with a score of -17 in what was a dominating performance. Scott did not bogey once during the final 26 holes of the tournament; and with the 19 year old Ryo Ishikawa matching Scott shot for shot, he could not afford to. The Aussie did not begin to separate himself from the pack until he made a chip in birdie on the twelfth hole that brought the fans to their feet. It may have been the first world championship win for Scott, but lost in the great performance was that Steve Williams held the clubs and won a tournament with someone other than Tiger Woods. As Scott made his way to the eighteenth hole, the crowds broke into chants of "Stev-ie Will-iams". The caddie got his new found fans after the ugly divorce between Williams and Woods. Williams winning with someone else may have been the story of the tournament, but Adam Scott was the one who went out and shot 17 under par. 

Speaking of the Bridgestone Invitational, a well recognized golfer just happened to be on the course as well. In his first tournament in four months and finished the weekend with a score of +1. Historically, Woods has done far better than +1, for he has won the Invitational seven times in his career. As a whole, Tiger may have been shaky, but fans of Tiger Woods, the golfer, can take solace in the fact that there were moments when Woods played well. He finished with three birdies on his last four holes, including two fifteen foot puts on the 15th and 17th holes. So what do we take from Wood's first tournament since April? He was very streaky, did not drive particularly well, and finished in the middle of the pack. But even the fact that Woods played in a tournament generated more interest in golf than Adam Scott's stellar final score. There may be debate as to who is the best golfer with Tiger struggling, but there is no question that Golf is better when Woods is playing.

We may still not be playing NBA games, but that does not mean that nothing is happening in the sport. According to sources, the Atlanta Hawks are planning to sell the team to pizza chain owner and California developer Alex Meruelo. If and when this deal goes down, Meruelo would become the first ever Hispanic owner of an NBA team. A deal is expected to be announced Monday, and it still needs the approval of the NBA in order to happen. Fortunately for Hawks fans, their NBA team will remain in Atlanta even if the owners have a changing of the guard. Hawks ownership may have had their problems, but they also helped to build a team that made the playoffs each of the past four seasons. Maybe with a new owner in the mix, the labor negotiations will go a little more smoothly, but that is wishful thinking.

In baseball news, Alex Rodriguez will not be disciplined by Major League Baseball for his alleged involvement in illegal poker games. League officials have said that they would still like to speak with Rodriguez about the issue, and are expected to do so in the next few weeks. The primary reason for the meeting between league officials and A-Rod would be to discuss the alleged cocaine use at the poker tournament. However, the only way that the MLB would suspend Rodriguez is if league officials determined that Rodriguez had violated MLB standards regarding drug use and gambling on baseball. Rodriguez is rehabilitating from a torn meniscus in his right knee that was operated on July 11th. 

Now on to the scandalous world of college football. Michigan wide receiver Darryl Stonum will have to redshirt during the 2011-2012 season as a result of his DUI arrest in May. Stonum pleaded guilty to operating a vehicle while visibly impaired on June 3rd and has received a one year suspended sentence. The Michigan wideout was second on the team in receiving a year ago with 49 catches for 633 yards, but the team as a whole struggled. Michigan also suspended punter Will Hagerup for four games and wide receiver Terrence Robinson was suspended for a game after an undisclosed violation of team rules. These stories are just more examples that with the 24 hour media cycle, all athletes and coaches have to be careful about their actions on and off the field because everyone is always watching.

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