Author Topic: Other Sports  (Read 124753 times)

Deeg

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Re: Other Sports
« Reply #2025 on: June 18, 2017, 11:02:56 pm »
It had 15-20 MPH winds all day today, and most of the leaders still came in under par.  It's just not an Open course.

When you see this event played at places like Oakmont and Merion, the cream rises to the top and the Sunday leadeerboard is packed with great players because it's a great test of golf.  Wind or no wind, Erin Hills - while beautiful - simply isn't that kind of crucible.

JR

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Re: Other Sports
« Reply #2026 on: June 18, 2017, 11:28:51 pm »
I don't know about saying great players weren't in contention.  The leaderboard most of the day today had the #4 (Matsuyama), #9 (Fowler), #13 (Thomas), #22 (Koepka), #33 (Fleetwood), and #50 (Harman) players in the world hovering around most of the day, with the #22 guy winning it.  There wasn't anyone contending today who would have been a completely fluke winner, not even Harman who was playing well heading into the tournament.  Matsuyama is now #2 in the world after today's tournament, and if that doesn't establish yourself as a star in your particular sport, I don't know what does. 

The days of Tiger, Phil, and Ernie are over, and golf hasn't really been able to establish superstars yet to replace them who transcend the entire sports world.  A little bit of the problem golf is having is that the "great" players of this generation haven't really established themselves yet.  We'll be hearing plenty more from guys like Matsuyama, Fowler, and Thomas before long, and Koepka is probably not going to be looking like a fluke winner before his career is over.
« Last Edit: June 18, 2017, 11:42:11 pm by JR »

Deeg

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Re: Other Sports
« Reply #2027 on: June 18, 2017, 11:54:08 pm »
Sorry, but that was a standard tour event leaderboard.  The top 3 guys missed the cut, and most the first page were basically target golf specialists.

The more difficult the course, the more mediocre players are eliminated before the week even starts.  The more fair the course, the more the best shotmakers rise to the top.  The PGA seems to have an obsession with gimmick courses lately - would anyone argue Chambers Bay wasn't a debacle?  And even that was a better test of golf than this.  At least when Rory won at Congressional at 16-under, he smoked the field by 8 shots - and the best player in the world won (which he certainly was at that time).  Here, 7 guys broke -10 and 27 broke par.  We see target golf 90% of the time on the U.S. tour - why do we need to see it the one week of the year these guys should face a U.S. Open challenge?

I'm also not quite sure why the USGA seems to enamored with links courses these days.  The British is played on a links almost all the time - most of the courses in the rota are true links courses.  When Americans try and do a links course it always ends up being a sort of hybrid that doesn't really work as a links or a standard course.  Chambers Bay had everything but Lincoln's mouth.

JR

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Re: Other Sports
« Reply #2028 on: June 19, 2017, 12:43:43 am »
I think if Matsuyama's -12 under had held up like it looked like it had a reasonable chance of doing before Koepka took control, we wouldn't be talking about the quality of the leaderboard.  We'd be talking about Matsuyama joining Day, Rory, and Spieth as one the elite players in golf for the next few years.  The quality of the leaderboard was fine.  It just reflects that golf is still transitioning from the days of Tiger and Phil.
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JR

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Re: Other Sports
« Reply #2029 on: June 19, 2017, 12:44:25 am »
By the way, I'd like to wish JeffH the best of luck in his upcoming fight against Manny Pacquiao.  I think he's going to need it.

http://www.espn.com/boxing/story/_/id/19665086/manny-pacquiao-jeff-horn-fight-air-live-espn-july-1


Deeg

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Re: Other Sports
« Reply #2030 on: June 19, 2017, 12:58:08 am »
Matt Kuchar's caddy, Joe Wood:

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"I will say this as a caddie, and as someone who watched the shootout on Saturday: I've never seen or experienced a U.S. Open without fear until this week. Fear that a good shot would be repelled by a rock-hard green. Fear that a good drive would roll out just one yard too far on a firm fairway into five-inch thick, heavy, hackout rough. Notice I said "good" shot. Not "great," not "perfect," but good. U.S. Opens to me have always demanded great. They've always demanded as close to perfect as possible. No matter how well you were playing, swinging, thinking, and controlling your emotions, there always existed that fear in the back of your brain that this shot, that any shot, could spell disaster. That didn't exist this week. There was no fear."

Bennett

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Re: Other Sports
« Reply #2031 on: June 19, 2017, 12:58:24 am »
"Oops, that was the last one"  It was nice that, thanks to Paul Azinger, Fox was able to correct Brooks Koepka's girlfriend's name.

Did Keopka forget anybody when he thanked his caddy, his nutritionist, his swing coach, his "attitude" coach, and his agent?

At least Fox did present the last half hour or so commercial free.

Azinger and Brad Faxon carried on the discussion of which wind direction was favored by a righty or a lefty way too long.



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Deeg

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Re: Other Sports
« Reply #2032 on: June 19, 2017, 01:00:44 am »
John Sens, Golf Magazine:

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"As many players said, it was just too much grip it and rip it to feel like a proper national championship".


Jeff Ritter, S.I.:
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"My lingering question is, Was it wise to stage the so-called toughest test in golf at a course where weather was absolutely necessary to create that scenario (fear)?"
« Last Edit: June 19, 2017, 01:05:03 am by Deeg »

JeffH

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Re: Other Sports
« Reply #2033 on: June 19, 2017, 07:20:43 am »
By the way, I'd like to wish JeffH the best of luck in his upcoming fight against Manny Pacquiao.  I think he's going to need it.

http://www.espn.com/boxing/story/_/id/19665086/manny-pacquiao-jeff-horn-fight-air-live-espn-july-1

Thanks, Bro!
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Bennett

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Re: Other Sports
« Reply #2034 on: June 19, 2017, 09:18:54 am »
3 of the top 7 and 8 of the top 27 finishers at the U.S. Open were members of the 2016 U.S. Ryder Cup team - Brooks Keopka, Bill Haas, Ricky Fowler, Brandt Snedeker, Patrick Reed, Matt Kuchar, Jim Furyk, and Zach Johnson.  Not exactly a bunch of journeyman nobodies.

Deeg

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Re: Other Sports
« Reply #2035 on: June 19, 2017, 09:58:21 am »
No one ever said journeyman nobodies. They're great flag-hunters - that's why they make the Ryder Cup team, which is chosen mostly by a points system based on how well guys perform weekly in PGA Tour events staged on target golf courses like Erin Hills.

Deeg

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Re: Other Sports
« Reply #2036 on: June 19, 2017, 04:06:03 pm »
 Nick Friedell Retweeted
Marc Stein‏Verified account @ESPNSteinLine 2m2 minutes ago

The Cavaliers, per league sources, have been working today on assembling multi-team trade scenarios to try to acquire Chicago's Jimmy Butler

Deeg

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Re: Other Sports
« Reply #2037 on: June 22, 2017, 06:45:04 pm »
Butler to the Thibs for Dunn, Lavine and the #7 pick.

Chris27

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Re: Other Sports
« Reply #2038 on: June 22, 2017, 06:45:54 pm »
Is there a worse run organization in sports than the Bulls?

Chris27

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Re: Other Sports
« Reply #2039 on: June 22, 2017, 06:47:03 pm »
Seriously, do Paxson and Foreman have compromising pics of Reinsdorf?