Cliff Lee DOES NOT Equal Lebron James (outside of NY)

First of all, Cliff Lee's history with the Phillies cannot be ignored. He spent a half season in Texas and a half season in Philly so to say he shoved off "his team" is misleading. The comparisons with Lebron go no further than the spurning of New York, a city whose sports franchises and especially whose fans deserve a bit of disappointment for a change.

Cliff Lee didnt spend his entire career, let alone his entire life, in a city before going on national television to throw that city in the trash. He simply compared offers and quietly accepted one from a team that he had enjoyed playing for and wished to return to.

What is lost in this quasi-debate is the fact that once again we see the "national" sports media prove itself unable to remove that New York City perspective. In terms of Lee's rejection of the big offer from the Yankees, the comparison to Lebron is certainly fair. The Knicks could have paid Lebron more than the Heat and there is no doubt the star power he would possess at MSG would be off the charts.

But outside of the NY metro, there is absolutely no comparison. First of all, Cliff Lee didnt collude with other free agents to join an empty roster. Lee may be joining a perennial contender, but that contender wasnt built in a summer and Phillies executives deserve the praise for their efforts. In fact, Lee's decision reflects a believe on his part that the team's management was capable of sustaining success. Lebron simply wanted to hang out with his "boys" on South Beach. He didnt care about titles, but thought that the talent would bring them nonetheless. Cliff Lee is a winner, a competitor who wants to play for an organization focused on winning first and treating everything else as secondary to that goal.

Cliff Lee didnt announce his decision on television. He not only had his agent inform the Yankees of his decision through a phone call before it went public, but took it upon himself to personally call Rangers CEO Chuck Greenberg to thank him for his time in Texas and politely inform Greenberg of his decision. Lee went about his "decision" in a professional manner while Lebron opted for the immature path of public spectacle.

So while ESPN New York (otherwise known as ESPN) cannot understand why Cliff Lee is different from Lebron (while obviously making the insinuation of race), the 300 million Americans who do not live in the New York metro area havent had that struggle.

Cliff Lee is a professional and a true competitor. Lebron James is simply a egomaniacal athlete and to compare him with the 2008 Cy Young winner is a disservice to Lee and further proof that ESPN needs to look itself in the eye and address their serious NY bias.

Marquette vs. Wisconsin

First Live Blog- UW Milwaukee

Not going to be a full blog tonight because I am on the radio for play-by-play. Just wanted to get an idea of the product.

We are all Clevelanders tonight

Everbody's got their name for tonight's return of Lebron James to Cleveland: "The Reaction", "The Return", but the reality is that tonight is about more than just a player returning to a hometown he chose to betray. Tonight is truly about the neglect our country has had for its roots, the draw-dropping willingness we've had to ignore our nation's industrial core and move on, ignore the work put in by the residents of these rusted, steel-hardened, blue-collar towns and focus our obsessive attentions on the white sandy beaches, the bright night lights, the celebrity lifestyles of the coasts. This country has in essence responded to the post-industrial age by saying, "Yeah, thanks for sacrificing all those years with unclean air, hard labor, poor wages. But we're taking our talents to South Beach".

See Lebron isnt the only traitor to the rust belt and Cleveland is by no means the only city losing hope of avoiding economic collapse. Drive through cities like Gary, Indiana, Detroit, Michigan, Toledo, Ohio, Buffalo, New York, and you will get an image of an America that is very different from the stereotypical image of the bright lights and big money of New York, LA, and even Miami. The glamour of the coasts may be the image that the world sees of this country, but it is far from reality. And while we're on the subject, Sarah Palin's state of Alaska, where owning an airplane is commonplace, IS NOT "REAL" AMERICA EITHER.

The wealth and glamour of those high-lifers we chose to allow our nation's image to be built upon would never have reached their position in life without the work of the now-neglected rust belt. Just as Lebron has ignored the city that built his fame and fortune, these "leaders" of American society have ignored the roots of our economic prowess as a nation.

But perhaps Lebron does mean something in this struggle to revive the industrial core of America. Perhaps his situation, the individual case of a man betraying his hometown in the search for fame, fortune, and a "legacy" will serve as a metaphor for the way our nation has dealt with Cleveland, Youngstown, Toledo, Gary, Detroit, and every other rust belt city that has been allowed to spend the past half century in a painfully slow decline from bustling center of commerce and industry to desolate land of joblessness, poverty, and despair.

So tonight while you release all that negative energy against Lebron and the self-proclaimed (ESPN included within the confines of "self") "big three", taking a look in the mirror and ask yourself whether you arent guilty of betraying this area of our nation just as Lebron has done. Perhaps all of this outrage against Lebron can serve as a wakeup call. After all, if we are willing to accept the fact that the loss of a professional athlete marks the end of hope for an entire city's future, arent we ignoring the fact that it should never come down to that? If a city is beholden to a single basketball star to survive, it needs help.

Cleveland is a city that will always hold a spot in my heart. I wasnt born there, didnt grow up there, but as the hometown of both my parents, I have adopted it as my own. Cleveland isnt the polluted hell-hole it is made out to be. In fact, some of the more outrageous stories I've seen in the aftermath of the "Decision" were in "support" of Cleveland's plight yet in the process made the city look more like Hiroshima after the bomb than anything you'd expect in the wealthiest nation on earth. Sure there are parts of the city that arent pretty, but a city isnt a city without them. To use those areas to create an image of Cleveland is about as much an injustice as the use of Beverly Hills to create an image of Los Angeles, a city that is, in reality, nothing like its "tinstletown" image.

Cleveland has potential as a city even without the industrial opportunities that had once made it a thriving metropolis. Listening to all the talk about the desolation of northeast Ohio, it would be easy to forget that the city houses not one, but two of the world's premier medical facilities, bastions of innovation in cardiological technologies unparalleled anywhere else in the world. Northeast Ohio is home to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Pro Football Hall of Fame (no Lebron, Canton/Akron is not a separate entity), home to the Flats, Little Italy, and the vibrant neighborhoods of Lakewood.

So while all eyes are on Quicken Loans Arena tonight as Lebron James gets to experience the repercussions of arrogant betrayal, I can only hope that at least a few of those eyes will stray across the street to Terminal Tower, across the river to the Flats, and over to the medical facilities of the east side, areas that only need attention, investment, and a bit of development to bring Cleveland back from its rusted death to its former prominence. We are all Clevelanders tonight, but for those of us that will continue to be tomorrow, the stakes are much higher.

Beating a Dead Horse

Beating a Dead Horse

I know, I know, I’m sick of talking about the BCS system as much as you are, trust me. But for some reason, I think that for every column I write pointing out how idiotic the rankings are, let alone the concept of determining a national championship by rankings in the first place, I am performing a service in the interest of a nation sorely in need of shedding aside a black mark on its sporting landscape.

Let me preface this discussion by reminding everyone that last Saturday’s final score at Camp Randall was 83-20. This was a conference game, against an Indiana team that by all estimates should have been coming off a last minute victory over a top-20 team in Iowa. It wasn’t a non-conference farce against Austin Peay, Chattanooga, or some other FCS team paid to come up and perform the role of sacrificial lamb for a crowd of 80,000 plus red-clad homers.

This was a conference game. And yet winning by 63 points, tying the Big Ten record for points in the modern era, none of this mattered because while they stayed put at #7 in the BCS, Wisconsin somehow moved further away from #6 Stanford and is now just a measly .0055 points ahead of #8 Nebraska.

83-20. Against a conference opponent. Did I mention Stanford squeaked out a 17-13 4th quarter win over Arizona State, a 4-6 team just like Indiana?

My question is what exactly does the BCS want the Badgers to do in order to prove they are worthy of inching up the BCS standings? Is 100 points enough?

Obviously the answer is that nothing will ever do when the national media or whoever retains control over the BCS, because it isn’t really all that clear anymore, sees Indiana as another sacrificial lamb that just happens to belong to the Big Ten. The Iowa game? Fluke. Michigan? Lucky. Northwestern? Doesn’t count.

But Wisconsin was running up the score, why reward that?

There is a clear double-standard being set here. #5 LSU had a non-conference cupcake on their schedule with Louisiana-Monroe (4-6 also), kept their first string in the entire game and won 51-0.

But somehow this isn’t considered to be running up the score and Wisconsin’s win, despite taking the first string out midway through the 3rd quarter and finishing off the game with Nate Tice and the 3rd string offense, is unwarranted BCS pandering.

Should Coach Bielema call for a punt every time Indiana gives up the ball? The score may be lopsided, but this was nowhere near the threshold for criticism. The 2nd and 3rd string doesn’t get the opportunity to play every week and we cannot expect them to roll over so as to not hurt the Hoosiers’ feelings. This is their one chance and they should be given every opportunity to succeed out there just as the first team would in a tie game late in the 4th quarter.

I have already voiced my concerns about the ignorant acceptance of the SEC being the premier conference in college football, but I am starting to think the attraction with this group of schools is getting to be over the top.

It is enough that we criticize Big Ten teams for “cupcakes” like Arizona State (Pac-10, ever heard of it?) while allowing the likes of LSU and Auburn to schedule Chattanooga and Louisiana-Monroe without objection. But the double standard in terms of defining what constitutes “running up the score” is unacceptable. What one conference does to prove its prowess cannot be accepted as unsportsmanlike when done by a team in another, let alone when done in a conference game.

On the surface, Wisconsin moved further back because ASU and Kansas are slightly better opponents than Indiana and the BCS no longer allows the computers to account for score spread.

Still, when I hear people accuse this Badger program of running up the score, I cant help but think that there is a deeper level of disrespect, not only for Wisconsin, but for the Big Ten in general, that is truly keeping the Badgers outside the top-5.

With BCS rankings being the tiebreaker should OSU, MSU, and Wisconsin all win out, I am sure that the controversy is only beginning. In the meantime, at least basketball is back.

The Fallacy of CNN

While the reality of the elections, and of other political stories in today’s partisan cable news probably lay somewhere in the middle, CNN tried but failed to articulate this reality. As has become too often the problem with today’s media, “balanced” coverage is being interpreted not as unpartisan news reported, but rather as bipartisan news reporting. Conventional wisdom has grown to accept MSNBC as representative of the left and Fox News as the platform of the right. But CNN’s role in this cable news mess is much less clear. While many have characterized them as the “moderates”, this is a completely misinformed characterization. CNN, in trying to find the “middle ground”, has chosen to use the political keyword of “bipartisan”, displaying what they see as objectivity by giving each side equal representation. Ignoring the possibility that equal exposure may not necessarily be representative of national opinion, the thing that CNN is missing is nonpartisan information. Rather than giving viewers the news in a manner freed from the party talking points that comprise MSNBC and Fox News’s coverage, CNN has simply chosen to give viewers what amounts to a sampling of talking points from both sides. Going back to the discussion of the 2010 midterm elections, CNN’s coverage was in essence a highlight show of what was being broadcast on the other two cable news networks. Anderson Cooper, on the same night that Fox was highlighting the FreedomWorks memo calling (again) for a health care repeal, covered that same “story”, justifying their position in the “middle” by immediately moving on to coverage of the “Democratic response” (Anderson Cooper 360, November 5, 2010).
This tendency of CNN to claim that the “Crossfire” approach of involving both sides of the aisle does indeed serve as a form of objective reporting is exactly the point made famously by Jon Stewart and others that led to the eventual cancellation of the show with that exact title, Crossfire. Still, CNN did nothing to change the content of their broadcasts, essentially adding a moderator in the form of an Anderson Cooper or a Wolf Blitzer to moderate the same argument between the same partisan pundits (in fact, Paul Begala of Crossfire was the man responsible for this “Democratic response” described earlier). The partisan nature of MSNBC and Fox News aside, cable news is dangerously misinterpreting bipartisan coverage as nonpartisan coverage, a mistake that could mean the end of truly objective television news reporting.

This is why we need to be smarter

Since when is the Indian press a legitimate source of American news? Ironic that it is the GOP, the party that is "dedicated" to "saving American jobs from outsourcing" that is now outsourcing its sources.

Well, there is a reason why we dont generally look to the Indian press from American political news and unfortunately, our worthless media set cant even see that nowadays.

I expect the Republicans, especially the nuts on the right like Bachmann and Huckabee, to be dump (and devious) enough to go on the air quoting an Indian report that the Obama trip to Asia is costing $200 million a day. What I did not expect, and what I think is indicative of where we've dropped to as a nation, is that the press would treat this as an even quasi-legitimate argument.

Not to mention the fact that the same article erroneously said that 10% of the entire US Navy is off the coast of Mumbai for security, this is an absurd perversion of the national discourse. It is a distraction from reality and a feeble attempt at ignoring the responsibility that this so-called "mandate" election has no placed on the good ole' party of no.

What is sad is that our media, the barrier to American stupidity, is no longer able to leave these stories to the tabloids. Even though Anderson Cooper thankfully noted that the facts and figures Bachmann brought forth in his interview of her are highly exaggerated, the mere fact that CNN allowed her interview to air is indicative of how bad things have gotten. Whether we like it or not, the press has to stop people like this from saying things like this. Because now that Bachmann got her 15 minutes of fame, a couple hundred thousand Americans will believe that the US Navy is now off the coast of Mumbai and that their tax dollars are going to fund rooms at the Taj (better expenditure than tax cuts for the wealthy, at least its a nice hotel).

As with anything having to do with the perversion of democracy that is 21st century America, I could go on and on. It is sad that our nation, the beacon of hope for the 20th century, is now the disaster that it is, the laughing stock of the western world. Come on America, wake up already.

No, Seriously, Where has the Sanity Gone?

As with most able-minded Americans, I really should be getting to work and not writing about politics. I have three mid-terms coming up and honestly this is going to squeeze my time a bit. But thankfully I am a college student and have the energy to recover and the time to do as I please.

So anyway, I have to say that as election day looms tomorrow, I am worried about the direction this country is going. Not because I fear Republican leadership or a right-hand turn in national politics. No, I am worried about who is leading that rightward shift and why it is continuing to occur.

As I noted in my earlier post, I cant seem to grasp the concept of why our nation has chosen to ostracize intelligence and take on an ideology of the masses. This so-called "Tea Party" movement is garnering the most attention and is truly becoming a threat to the stability of our national government.

Ignoring the realities of their contradictory platform, this homogeneous group of older, white (except for the token minority, always prominently featured in PR), lower-middle class, uneducated Americans is a formidable foe to the progress of the United States.

We have two basic problems right now: partisanship and failing education. Unfortunately, the rise of the "tea party" is both indicative of and potentially enhancing both of these basic dilemmas.

First of all, the ignorant supporters of this movement have allowed themselves to be hijacked by corporate interests. Embarking on a policy of uncompromising political opposition to anything the Democratic administration puts forward, these so-called "constitutionalists" have served as bait, thrown into the political pool by the elite right in hopes of the Democrats taking the bait and responding with a reluctance to push forward in the face of an obvious mandate for social change in the aftermath of the 2008 election.

And take the bait they did. Allowing themselves to be ambushed by these "average Americans" throughout a summer of town-hall meetings, the Dem's were pushed off of their liberal agenda on health care, battered in what ended up being a largely successful stimulus (although the ignorance of an uneducated populous has failed to recognize the brilliance of this engineered turnaround, albeit slow to develop), and twisted into a foreign policy that, while identical to that of the Bush administration, comes off to the uneducated as weak and "un-American".

Not realizing that they are serving the very interests that seek to prevent their own achievement of the so-called "American Dream", the very interests that continue to outsource jobs and resist job growth, these "Tea Partiers" have taken over the national dialogue and hijacked national politics.

But the even more dangerous implication of the right-wing rise is the fact that it coincides with a growing problem of inadequate education that seems poised only to heighten the ignorance of the American public.

THINK ABOUT IT: An uneducated movement is pushing for the election of candidates who's agenda includes an even further ignorance of education as a government priority, not just on the national stage (which is a debatable subject), but also on the state level. As the right gains more power, power obtained by a necessarily-uninformed populous coming to the polls, the lack of intelligence is sure to continue growing as education is ignored, a trend that itself will further strengthen the political prowess of the right.

This part of the dilemma could honestly keep me writing for hours on end, but as with most of us outside the so-called "tea party", I have work to do and not much time to do it (I would love to have done my own "Tea Party Express" ride across the country, but I have something called a job). Anyway, for the 2 people who read this blog: go vote tomorrow. I dont care who you vote for, just vote and vote with intelligence. Anyone who can justify their vote in a well-written sentence has my respect, even if that vote is for a nutjob like Rand Paul. The problem I have is that I fear the number of people able to do that is quickly dwindling.

Intelligent Government

As if they have uncovered some secret of society, Republicans these days are campaigning around saying that they (and only they) will listen to the concerns of the people and represent the popular voice if elected. As with any claim or political suggestion, the Democrats campaign around saying that they are the holders of this key to the populous, that their election would put the people's voice into the arena of Washington political action.

But do we really want them to? After all, we elect Senators and House Representatives because they have an understanding of the issues that is greater than our own. Sure, they should represent the ultimate interests of their constituents, but not necessarily the desired means of going about this.

If we as a public knew what was best for our country, there would be no need for a Congress. But the obvious reality is that we do not. Even the oft-mentioned founding fathers recognized this, worrying not about the over-reaching power of a representative government, but rather about the power of an executive. The GOP may talk about "power to the people" and "less government", but if they truly do want to stay close to the ideals of the forefathers, they should recognize the need for a Congress of representatives with a level of intellect and understanding that surpasses that of the average citizen.

Unfortunately, the level of intelligence and historical understanding in the country is at such a low level that most Americans cant even recognize the need to elect officials who know better than us about how best to handle our nation's affairs. Rather than aligning themselves with what a poll says as to the health care bill or the War in Afghanistan, our Congressional representatives should flaunt the logic of their actions and promote a greater understanding of political issues among their constituencies. To be honest, the over-emphasis on polling and popular opinion is sickening. For every minute our nation's leaders spend ensuring that their actions align with poll results, a minute is lost in the job of fixing the economy, reforming our health care system, and putting our foreign affairs in order.

As a young adult, I am quite frankly disappointed that the lack of action in Washington gives me nothing to rally around, nothing to make me want to actively engage in the democratic process. The idealism that flourished during the middle part of the last century has been washed up by a politics that lacks any substance.

If it sounds like I am writing as a disgruntled youth, you bet I am! My generation is going to be burdened by a lot more than a national debt. In fact, the debt is the least of our worries. I am sick of the lack of intellect in America, sick of the bickering that has overwhelmed local, state, and national politics, sick of the arrogance of cries for "patriotism", sick of having nothing to hope for and everything to fear.

Parody in Baseball? Give me a Break!

Parody in Baseball?, Give Me a Break!
Each time the Twins surprise everyone and dominate the AL Central, I cringe. All those pennants, all that success, all it does is feed into the interests of the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, Cubs, and other high-payroll clubs that would do anything in their power to keep the status quo of free agency in the major league. The Twins may be a great story and a beacon of hope for the little guy but in the end their success only hurts the chances of the Cleveland, Tampa Bay, and Milwaukee’s of the world.

With a payroll that, until the recent long-term contract given to Joe Mauer, was as bare-bones as there is in baseball, the six division titles that the club has brought to the Twin Cities since 2002 have given the Yankees and other high rollers in baseball a perfect opportunity to point out that revenue sharing isn’t necessary. They are quick to note that it isn’t a lack of payroll that has left Kansas City, a once prominent major league organization, with just one winning season since the 1994 strike. Instead, they say that if the Twins can do it, anyone can.

Even if you consider a team that has only advanced through one series in this decade of dominance to be a dynasty, remember that they are dominating a division of teams that look nothing like the Yankees or Red Sox. In a division like the AL Central, composed of five “small-market” clubs, somebody has to come out victorious and the Twins have simply found a formula that puts them in a great position to be that somebody year in and year out.

Winning in Minnesota, Cleveland, or Kansas City requires a lot of attention to detail, an immense focus on scouting, and a willingness to overlook personal allegiances in making decisions relating to personnel. On the other hand, winning in New York, Boston, or Los Angeles requires little more than a high school degree and the knowledge that scoring more runs than the opponent is the objective of the game. The General Managers of these large-market clubs are essentially in a position to sign a check and reap the benefits of the hard work done by those less fortunate teams that cannot afford to pay the big bucks. The amateur scouting arm of an organization like the Yankees is about as vital to the success on the field as is the Yankee Stadium concession staff.

For all of the accolades given to the likes of Theo Epstein, Brian Cashman, and Ruben Amaro, Jr., it isn’t difficult to put a great team on the field when ownership is able to hand you a blank check every off-season and you are able to position yourself as a buyer at the trade deadline on a yearly basis. If anything goes wrong with their clubs, if injuries or poor performance seem to be holding them back, they can just pull out the check book, make a phone call, and all is good.

So while these “barons” in New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and elsewhere look at this year’s playoff teams and immediately declare parody to have arrived in major league baseball, let’s hold on a second. While the success achieved in Minnesota, Texas, and Tampa Bay is possible, it is made much more difficult by a system that allows the teams with big checkbooks to guarantee a berth in the postseason with a simple signature on the dotted line. So enough about the genius of Theo Epstein. Stop it with the praise of Brian Cashman. And please don’t tell me that Ruben Amaro, Jr. is a godsend ever again. Send them to Cleveland, send them to Kansas City, send them to Milwaukee and then tell me how genius these guys actually are. Only then can anyone honestly say that baseball has achieved any level of real parody.

That is What It Is All About

Drama, passion, excitement, energy, pressure, elation, desolation, joy, and despair: last weekend’s Ryder Cup had it all. Okay, I know that it has been nearly a week since the competition finished up and that with the MLB playoffs getting started, the NFL season in full swing, and the Badgers facing two crucial home dates with Minnesota and Ohio State, golf is just about the last thing on the sports fan’s mind, but I really think I would be remiss to ignore what was truly one of the great moments in the sporting year.
With the issues facing the game’s best player, Tiger Woods, on and off the course, the resulting lack of interest in the much-hyped FedEx Cup left the Ryder Cup as the last bastion of hope for those who wanted to ensure golf maintained its hold as a major sport in arguably one of its toughest times. At the same time as Woods, the man responsible for golf’s ascension into the mainstream sports scene, largely a non-factor even in those events he did choose to participate in, the world economy continued to flounder, leaving sponsors unwilling to cut checks and bringing the growth in participation to a screeching halt. As the start of the semi-annual matches came around last week, golf was a game in a state of utter desperation.
After nearly eight hours of delays rendered Friday disastrous and broadcast schedules as messy as the water logged Welsh course itself, the Ryder Cup seemed to be quickly losing its promise as the savior of the golfing season. Saturday certainly helped, as the marathon of play brought the world’s number one back onto the scene in a big way, with Woods and Madison’s own, Steve Stricker going 2-0 in the matches completed when darkness fell. However, Saturday also set the stage for the drama that was Sunday and even more so, Monday. In just two hours of play, the Europeans responded to a two-point deficit by taking a lead in all six in-progress matches at the fall of darkness.
Despite the promise of the late Saturday charge by the European squad, Sunday brought back the rains and brought the excitement to yet another screeching halt. Facing another delay in excess of five hours, the matches were relegated to an inevitable Monday finish, the very scenario event organizers had hoped to avoid by changes made to the event format after Friday’s lengthy delay. After the rains, the European play only dug deeper into that dramatic promise, with their 5 ½- ½ victory in the final team session setting up what seemed to be an insurmountable 3-point deficit for the once-confident American squad.
When organizers try to schedule sporting events in order to maximize TV viewership, it can be safely assumed that they aren’t looking to have a 4 am Monday morning start time for the east coast. That’s what the Ryder Cup faced; just about the worst possible scenario for generating a rebirth in interest for a desperate game. Fortunately, the drama that followed took care of all that which golf had going against it.
While I did fulfill my duty as a dedicated golf fan by waking up at the moment the clock struck three here in Madison, I have to admit that my lack of optimism quickly put me into a nap that lasted nearly three hours. Already down three and seeing eight European leads up on the board, my second wakeup brought no more excitement and certainly no more optimism than the first. The next three hours, however, would change all that in a hurry.
Steve Stricker started the sudden charge, completing what on its own was a noteworthy accomplishment by overcoming a back nine deficit to defeat Lee Westwood, the top player in Europe, soon to be number two in the world and arguably the best player in the world at this moment. Even this surprise was countered by the disheartening (in the minds of an American supporter such as myself) halve between Rory McIllroy and Stewart Cink in the second match, a halve that only became possible after Cink missed a five footer on 15 and a six footer on 17, McIllroy sunk a 15 footer on 16 and a four footer 18, both for par. The third match saw Jim Furyk make a run to steal a half point from Luke Donald, only to fall short on 18. With the Europeans now needing just 2.5 points more and having comfortable leads in 3 remaining matches, it looked like just a matter of time.
Then the magic came. While not one of the matches in need of a miracle finish, Tiger Woods led the charge, overcoming an early two-hole deficit to take out Francesco Molinari 4 and 3 behind a very much Tiger-like seven birdies and an eagle in just 15 holes. After struggling mightily in team competition, Phil Mickelson got back into form, riding three straight birdies en route to a quick 4 up lead through 4 and ultimately a comfortable 4 and 2 win over Peter Hanson. Zach Johnson joined Woods in justifying his pick by weathering two birdies in the first 5 holes by Padraig Harrington and riding 7 birdies to a 3 and 2 win.
Still, Europe countered the star-studded US attack by notching another point of their own on Miguel Angel Jimenez’s first career singles victory. With Eduardo Molinari holding a 3 up lead on Rickie Fowler with just 3 holes to play and Hunter Mahan still without a birdie and trailing by 2 holes to US Open Champion Graeme McDowell through 14, the US still looked short of hope.
The excitement had returned as the European crowd sensed a home victory on the horizon, but the drama that the game needed to see out of this competition hadn’t yet surfaced. Jeff Overton completed a return from 2 down heading into the homeward 9 and closed out Ross Fisher 3 and 2. With Fowler and Mahan in desperation mode and the US still a whole point short, even the 13-13 tie at this point in the matches did nothing to create the commotion golf needed to return to the sports mainstream.
It was at this moment on the sunny Welsh afternoon when Rickie Fowler decided to make his mark on the 2010 Ryder Cup matches. Just 21 and only a year into his professional career, the winless Fowler was no doubt one of the most controversial captain’s selections in Ryder Cup history. After sitting out the opening session, the change in format forced all twelve players into the fire and kept Captain Corey Pavin from hiding his hunch pick on the bench. Fowler certainly didn’t help Pavin’s case early on, costing himself and partner Furyk a hole in their opening foursomes match after he inadvertently played Furyk’s ball and forced an automatic loss of hole. However, Fowler showed that unseen something that Pavin somehow saw in picking Rickie, joining Furyk in a return from 2 down with 8 to play against stalwart Westwood and PGA champion Martin Kaymer to square the match, finishing off the improbable halve with a clutch six footer for birdie on the closing hole. And while he and four-ball partner Mickelson did square their match with Kaymer and Poulter after being 3-down early, the European duo was too much and Fowler’s 2 and 1 defeat brought back the criticism of Pavin’s choice.
Four down through 12 and 3 down on 16, Fowler seemed like he would do nothing on this Monday to quiet that criticism. Even a pressure-filled 6-iron to ten feet on 16 to push the match onto the 17th did nothing to further the case for the former Oklahoma State Cowboy. A quality tee shot on 17 left Fowler with a 20 footer and Eduardo Molinari’s two-putt from 30 feet left Rickie with an opportunity.
Then the Cup really began. After three rain-filled, exhaustion-plagued days of competition left the US squad on the brink of disappointment, their youngest and most inexperienced member brought hope back to the American side and injected a dose of drama into the competition unequaled perhaps since Tiger’s 20-footer on the final hole at Torrey Pines in ’08, another event that coincidentally came to a Monday conclusion.
Still, the Europeans were in control. Mahan and McDowell were both greenside off the tee on 15 and with the US needing a whole point to retain the cup, even halve by Mahan would not be enough unless Fowler finished off the improbable comeback. The US cause was in even bigger trouble when Molinari split the fairway after the young Fowler drove into the left rough. Molinari provided a spark of hope with a poor layup into the right rough, but he drew a good lie and still seemed in complete control. McDowell flubbed a chip from the rough right of 15, only to drain a clutch 15 footer for par and throw the pressure right back on the Mahan, who was still looking for his first birdie of the match.
Fowler laid up to the right fairway and both players hit the green, with Molinari facing a 40 footer and Fowler down in the match and still 15 feet away. After a clutch 2 putt by the Italian, Fowler had yet another chance to inject a serious dose of energy into the growing drama that had suddenly sprung up from what had at one point seemed to be a mere formality. In what under victorious circumstances would have no doubt been one of the great feats in professional golf, the Ryder Cup and PGA Tour rookie drained the right to left slider, electrifying even the pro-European crowd and bringing the Ryder Cup down to the final match for the first time since 1991 at Kiawah.
After draining an underappreciated (in the face of Fowler’s simultaneous action at 18) tester at 15 to cut the match deficit to just one, Hunter Mahan stepped onto the 16th tee with the almost unfathomable knowledge that the hopes of a team and a nation rested squarely on his shoulders. Nowhere else in the sport is this situation possible. Halve the match and you become a national hero. Fall short and, unfairly in many respects, become remembered in the same light as Bernhard Langer, a two-time Masters champion who will never shed the legacy of his missed six footer at Kiawah 19 years ago.
In hindsight, it is obvious that we are going to talk about Mahan succumbing to the pressure of the situation and of McDowell’s birdie, ultimately losing the match after the flubbed chip on 17. But let’s not forget where this match stood. All day, Mahan was struggling with his game and using all his available energy to stay within an earshot of the very much in-form McDowell. Mahan knew from the opening tee that although the cause may be lost before his turn in the spotlight came around, victory on his part was a must if the comeback was going to be finished off. Down three heading into the singles, everyone on the US side knew that the anchor would have to pull off a win and Mahan was the player man enough to accept the challenge.
While struggling throughout the match, going without a birdie for the first 14 holes, Mahan worked a true wonder in even keeping that match in the balance as long as he did. Although he ultimately failed to perform under the heat, Mahan accepted the challenges of the anchor position and did his job in making that role relevant to the outcome of the matches.
So while we may remember Hunter Mahan’s performance in the 2010 Ryder Cup for that flubbed wedge in front of 17, let’s not fail to remember that without Mahan gritting out his own struggles to stay within one heading to 16, these matches would never have had the drama and excitement they ultimately had. Hunter Mahan’s performance was among the most important performances this year for the game of golf. Even though the rain relegated the event to a USA Network finish in the most unpleasant of time slots, the grit and determination of Rickie Fowler and Hunter Mahan brought the game of golf very much back into the mainstream sport scene. The cup may be in Europe at the end of the day, but thanks to the drama of Monday morning, those on both sides of the Atlantic can share in the memories of a event that was in the end all that is great about sport itself.

Public and yet Private

Id like to talk about what I have noticed as one of the primary obstacles to junior development in the game of golf, men's leagues. For years, many of our municipal courses have relied upon men's leagues, most of which are scheduled on weekday afternoons, for a significant portion of their annual play. While these 9-hole afternoon leagues may get people out on the course, they keep an equal amount off the course, essentially acting as a weekly outing that requires closure of a public facility. While weekday afternoons are when working men are able to play, it is the only time (outside of summer) when juniors have the opportunity to pick up the game. The weekend is the domain of the middle-aged man, thus the weekday has to be the domain of the junior taking up the game.

That said, there is nothing wrong with a league here and there. However, when courses (I have one in mind) book leagues five days a week, they essentially become semi-private courses funded by taxpayers. How can courses that have a mission to spread the game of golf to those in the communities in which they reside justify closing to company leagues every afternoon? Add in the fact that 95% of league participants are non-residents and you have a system which threatens to completely discount the public mission of a municipal golf facility.

As a junior, I expect to face opposition when I try to book a tee time on a Saturday morning. I have been conditioned to accept the fact that my weekend doesnt start until Saturday at noon and that every Friday afternoons are not really mine to use. However, I have also been conditioned into believing that I should be able to play on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday afternoon without much wait and certainly without having to confine myself to the back nine (or to be forced into, unknowingly until I already paid, playing the front or back twice). This is the general understanding and is vital to protecting the ability for juniors to participate in the growth of golf as an international and intergenerational game.

Some facilities, although many of them privately-owned, understand the value of growing the game and understand that junior access is a key aspect in fostering this growth. The Jemsek facilities have long taken the stance that the junior customer, due in no small part to their potential in the long-term, is the most important customer, and have formed their tee time and rate policies in accordance with this belief. While many courses (though again, few municipal ones) have adopted the "juniors play free with parent" twilight program, Pine Meadow, St. Andrews, and Cog Hill were for years the only places to offer such a deal. As a result, I have become more than willing to pay them back and pay full fare now that I am an adult and now for a fact that others feel the same way. Municipal courses are now jumping on the bandwagon,but the fact is that they should have been driving junior programs forward, not simply hoping on for the ride. The layouts at municipal facilities are generally far more junior friendly than the privately-owned daily fee layouts, and their public funding usually allows them to have a rate structure much more conducive to juniors than the $50+ almost always charged at places like Pine Meadow, White Deer Run, and Thunderhawk (publicly-owned, but operated like a high end daily fee). These municipal courses are in the neighborhoods that are filled with golfers of the future, while the high end facilities tend to be out in areas where the land is more undulating and thus the population centers are far less dense (and usually less affluent).

But while I can go on and on about the problems with municipal rate structures, the denial of access that results from daily afternoon leagues is a much more urgent issue. The driving range is only a catalyst for getting juniors into the game. Without providing them adequate access to the courses themselves, we risk bringing this Tiger-induced decade of tremendous growth to a screeching halt. Municipal facilities have a mission that involves much more than maximizing annual rounds and squeezing every last drop of revenue out of the course. They have a responsibility to act as a catalyst for growing the game of golf in the communities that have chosen to support them with public dollars. Unfortunately, many are failing to succeed in this part of their mission.

You Play to Win the Game

What is so great about sports in general, and baseball specifically, is that everyone knows the objective and everyone is forced to feel their way through the path leading to that objective. Although he has received some flak for "faking" an HBP last week in Tampa, Derek Jeter proved in his acting why he is a future hall-of-famer. Acting is simply part of the process, just as is stealing signs off of second or trying to catch a pitcher tipping his pitches. While not the most athletically challenging of our mainstream sports, baseball remains our national pastime because it requires these little things that make us think.

Acting is not cheating. Trying to fool an umpiring crew is as integral to the game of baseball as the sacrifice bunt or the hit and run. From catchers framing borderline pitches to the first baseman immediately throwing the ball around the horn after a close play, having the ability to pander to the umpiring crew is just one of those intangibles that great baseball players all possess.

On the same token, so is Joe Maddon's objection to the call. He has every right to argue Jeter's being given first and in fact, one of the joys I get in watching baseball is in watching the managers come out to argue their case. Those who dont appreciate the game of baseball in a pure sense cant comprehend the value of the argument in the way the game is played. Since the game's early days, the "humanity" of officiating has been a part of the game. Trying to get the umpires in one's favor is something all teams try to do and something that the great teams have down to an art. The casual baseball watcher may see the argument as a waste of time as it rarely leads to a tangible change, but it is far from irrelevant. The points made and the manner in which they are conveyed have an impact on the umpires themselves as well as the players a manager may be trying to motivate. Because the game is more about a daily grind than about the single day hype of the NFL, a manager's best means of keeping players motivated is to have them ride in his emotional footsteps. Tight games require the calm of a manager in thought so that his players might not get over-hyped for just a single game or a single inning. On the same token, blow-outs often lead to ejections because managers know they need to send that wake-up call to their team ASAP before a string of losses results.

Baseball's greatness lies in its intangibles, the little things that often go unnoticed in the box score found in the morning paper. Acting and arguing are certainly among these. There is a craft to these matters that goes far beyond the images seen through a camera lense and the calls that result from a given action. So brace yourself because here it is: Way to go Jeter. Thank you for playing the game the right way and although I still hate your guts, I respect the way you play the game.

Response to Cog Hill Critics

In addition to the poor September date, part of the problem is that the BMW isnt "our" tournament as Chicagoans. Whereas the Western was a staple in the Chicago summer calendar, the BMW is now on this midwestern rotation that, although weighed in favor of Cog Hill, doesnt emphasize Chicago as the tournament's hometown as had the Western. Where the WGA went wrong was in deciding how to move the tournament around. Instead of moving the event from city to city around the Midwest, the BMW should rotate among the multitude of championship-worthy courses that Chicagoland has to offer. What's surprising about the WGA's decision is that it counters a similar decision they made with regards to the Western Amateur. After spending all those years allowing one of the nation's premier amateur events to waste away at Point O' Woods, the WGA came to their senses and put the event in a Chicagoland rota. As a result, the Western Am has seen a bit of a revival in attention over the past few years, with this year's event truly being a staple on the North Shore summer scene.
With the star power of the Tour and the history of the Western (BMW), the WGA should do just as they have for the Amateur and return the Western Open to its roots in the Chicagoland area, emphasizing Chicago as the event's hometown and the Evans Scholars as the tournament beneficiary (no amount of advertising can make the concrete connection between the BMW and the Evans Scholars as well as had the inclusion of the Western Open name). Sometimes having an old dog try out new tricks just doesnt work. The Western is no exception.

Although Tiger's failure to reach the top 30 in the FedEx cup standings and make the Tour Championship is no doubt a disappointment for Tiger and the PGA Tour alike, Tiger's poor play this season presents a great opportunity for the World's (barely) number one and for the Tour. While many have assumed that Tiger is now done for the PGA Tour year, his elimination from the playoffs does not preclude him from participating a an event or two during the Fall Series, the group of events left out of the FedEx cup rotation and thus in dire need of a marquee player to garner some attention.

Playing in a Fall Series event would not be a move unbefitting of a world-class player. In fact, during the inaugural year of the Fry's Electronics Open at Greyhawk (no longer a part of the series), Phil Mickelson highlighted the field and the eventual winner was none other than Masters champion Mike Weir. Tiger's participation in perhaps the Disney event or maybe Vegas would do wonders for these struggling events while at the same time giving Tiger a chance to show he is a changed man to those inside and outside of the golf world. Playing in the fall would show a level of humility in Tiger that we have not seen despite Tiger's vows to change after the personal issues he dealt with last winter.

Perhaps more importantly, for Tiger at least, is that the Fall Series gives Tiger a chance to get his game in order. Sure, the Ryder Cup, HSBC Champions, and the Chevron provide deeper field, but none of these provide him with a full-field, PGA Tour event in which to shed the winless mantra that has followed him since that fateful post-Thanksgiving crash last November. The extra rounds in the tour setting could only help Tiger regain his form and at the same time would do wonders in his simultaneous struggle to regain respect on tour and in the world at large.

Watching Tiger grow as a player and as an individual, I would be the first to say that such a decision to play in one of these backwater events is unlikely to be made even by a changed Tiger Woods. However, if Tiger is truly invested in making himself a better man and a better golfer, there is an opportunity here for progress to be made.

Recruiting, Bribing, Does anyone know the difference anymore?

In today's two primary collegiate revenue sports, the concept of recruiting a team of top players suited to the individual campus and team is a thing of the past. Instead, recruiting has morphed into a process in which the nation's "top" players run programs through what is in essence an auctioning off of their services, with the highest bidder receiving that all-important letter of intent and the accompanying press release boasting of the victory. Rather than being treated as prospective STUDENT-athletes, top high school football and basketball players are being treated in a fashion no different than a free agent is treated in professional athletics. As a result, the programs not only with the willingness to try and elude NCAA investigators, but also the resources to do so, are the programs that ultimately get the top recruits. No longer is recruiting about schools finding the right players and players finding the rights schools. Instead, its all about placing the bids necessary to get the names.

That said, successful programs have gone about the process the right way. One thing we here in Madison should take pride in is the way in which our Men's basketball program (I dont know enough about the football program) has consistently taken the high road in recruiting, sacrificing the chance at that one blue chip recruit in favor of putting together a team of talented individuals willing to put in the effort and make the necessary sacrifices in order to put a winning product out on the court. While the resume of success is clear throughout Bo Ryan's tenure at the top of the program, one thing that is notably absent is the presence of the so-called "one and done" player. In Madison, Bo Ryan sees his team as being composed of players who are students first and athletes second (they are not called athlete-students, are they?). Graduation is a goal on par with an NCAA championship and class is every bit as important as practice.

Unfortunately, this is a philosophy on the decline. Perhaps this is being aided by the NBA's addition of a 19-year-old age limit, requiring high school seniors to wait a year before entering the draft (although more and more are choosing Europe, the reality is that most are opting for the "one and done" college experience). Whereas many of the top high school players had previously just acknowledged reality and jumped straight for their future in the NBA (at their own peril), they are now flooding college coaches with new opportunities to suddenly and immediately change the competitive abilities of their program with one letter of intent. If the new policy was exposing wayward-thinking high school seniors to the value of higher education, I would be all for it. However, the reality is that the new rules are flooding college basketball with young players who ignore the student side of student-athlete and simply spend a year wandering in the world of college basketball, still intent on preparing for the draft and having the goal of an NCAA championship in their minds only as a secondary thought. As for the chance to get a fully-subsidized college degree? Forget it, too much effort. And amidst all this, lets not forget that they are taking up a scholarship that could have just as easily been used to fund the education of someone who truly wanted to pursue knowledge and not just a lottery pick.

Even more troubling than the ignorance of academics in the collegiate basketball experience is the way in which these so-called "one and done" recruits have brought the evils of the NBA and of professional sports free agency as a whole into the recruitment process. Today's recruit is no less laden with perks than Lebron James was this past summer. Just as teams flocked to Cleveland on Lebron's terms, coaches flock to communities across the country promising every possible benefit in the hopes of getting that blue chip signature. And while the majority of the promised benefits remain within the confines of NCAA regulations, more and more recruits are finding themselves flooded with monetary promises, only getting around NCAA investigation through the use of the modern AAU coach, a role that has gradually morphed from mentor to de-facto agent. This is where the NCAA has tried to step in and is where they truly should be focusing their enforcement attention. Nicer dorms, better class schedules, higher food stipends, these are merely the benefits a collegiate athlete should have in return for their providing the University with positive attention and increased revenue. Payment in the form of cash or promises of goods such as cars, homes, and other luxury goods, these are the perks of a professional athlete, NOT A COLLEGIATE ONE. The growing influence of AAU "coaches" in gaining their players direct access to these goods is endangering NCAA athletics' survival as a bastion of pure amateur athletic competition. Sure, the popularity of collegiate athletics necessitates the growth of a business component to Men's Basketball and Football. That said, we must stop the growth of this "business" within collegiate athletics before we lose the distinction between the final four and the NBA finals, between the BCS championship game and the Super Bowl.

This Aint Nothing to Fight For

The middle part of the twentieth century was characterized by constant changes in the social and political orders of nations worldwide. Grass roots movements coming from the student, religious, ethnic, and political communities were at the heart of organizing the actions that led to this social change, bringing to an end such injustices as Jim Crow, apartheid, and the Iron Curtain. Although these successes have necessarily left today's generation of young people with a distinctive cause to rally around, it is the actions of today's social and political leadership that have left us with a generation unwilling to participate in the political process. Instead of being a battle of ideas, today's political arena involves a battle against those ideas of the opposition. Today's politicians ignore what they believe in and instead focus on pushing back against that which they believe against. No longer is democratic participation about fighting for what you believe in. Rather, American democracy has become about fighting against what you despise. Without a tangible cause to take up, today's generation of young adults is left with no motivation to participate in the political process.

To but it bluntly, the politicians of today have acted much more like children on a school playground than distinguished citizens elected to a council supposedly comprised of the best and the brightest. In my mind, there can be little or no distinction between the irresponsible policy of constantly yelling "no" taken on by the GOP and the illogical decision by Democratic leadership to give in to the whining of the right. Because the majority of my dissolution from the political process stems from what I see as a failure on the part of my party's (Dem) leadership to pursue the change necessary for our nation to progress into the future, regardless of the actions the minority may take in response. We as a party were given a mandate with the 2008 elections not to pursue bipartisan (that term should be barred from the english language, but I will save that for another time) cooperation, but rather to fix the economy, reform the health care system, and clean up the messy conflicts in the middle east. The elections, and the "super majority" that resulted from them, were a message from the people that the policies of the left were the policies the nation felt necessary. Change was what we were craving, not compromise.

Instead of pursuing this mandated change, party leadership tried (in vain) to work with the GOP, a decision that played right into the hands of a minority party that had made a calculated decision to simply use the legislative process as a means of slowing down legislation and thus forcing this "change" to be whittled down by debate day by day. Time was the friend of the GOP and the Democrats in Washington allowed them to use it. But what should they have done? Was there another way in which this "change" could have succeeded without the cooperation of the right? YES, the answer is simply to ignore the whining and go ahead full steam with the legislation necessary to accomplish the goals set forth by the electoral mandate. The attention paid to the GOP not only lent their ill-reasoned objections an undeserved level of credibility, but more importantly caused legislation to become so bogged down in debate that it could not achieve its desired effect when signed, sealed, and delivered in its final form. The democratic leadership could not ignore the whining and is about to pay the price come November.

If there is one thing I could commend the GOP on, it is its political strategy. As awful as it sounds, the GOP know exactly how to make a majority party fail in its time running our nation's government. They are experts at bogging down legislation, flooding the airwaves with negativity, and ensuring that the nation hear there side first and the opposition only in response. Even with the president now residing on the opposite side of the aisle, the GOP continues to control the message and thus remains able to halt the progress of governmental action and administration. That said, their calculated decision to bring the US government to a 2-year halt is not only irresponsible, but downright traitorous. Rather than trying to quickly and effectively guide our nation out of economic recession, bring the two wars (that they started sans 9/11 leading to Afghanistan) to a responsible close, and reform a health care system that was and continues to bankrupt the nation, the GOP has chosen to make a calculated political decision to ensure that the Democrats fail in their leadership and are thus relegated to a loss of control come November. National progress has become secondary to party power in the minds of the GOP and to a growing extent even to the Democrats.

With political considerations now weighing down the progress of government, the democratic process no longer results in the legislation required to foster sociopolitical change, instead simply resulting in the people of one's choice holding the power. No longer are we two sides of the aisle, now we in essence are more like two sides of the trenches, unwilling to work together for the betterment of the nation and relegated to a constant battle for success at the voting booth. How are young people supposed to take a personal responsibility for using the political process to foster change if that process has been so corrupted as to become virtually useless? How am I supposed to fight for change when all I can change is the faces on tv? Today's political arena no longer allows idealistic young people to work to achieve societal change and is thus destined to face a dilemma in the near future when the best and brightest of our generation is no longer willing to take the route of public office and our government is without those best able to keep it going.

Much of the bickering in recent years has surrounded around the growing debt that those on the right (except when talking about taxes or spending that they support) claim to be setting the stage for an unfathomable burden being placed on future generations. Amidst this talk of letting down our children and grandchildren, our political leadership is engaging in behavior that is letting down the very future generations they claim to be trying to protect. Today's young people are no less idealistic, no less willing to participate, and certainly no less intelligent than generations before them. What is creating the lack of participation is not a lack of want, but rather a dangerous dissolution directly attributable to the childish acts of those in public office today, regardless of party affiliation. When it comes to the political arena, its simply not worth fighting for.

Pigskin Priorities

In the wake of last week’s announced division of the Big Ten conference with the inclusion of Nebraska in 2011, much of the conversation has surrounded the impact such a division will have on the rivalry between Michigan and Ohio State in football and the way in which a conference championship game could create a situation in which these storied programs face each other in two consecutive match-ups. However, what the mainstream discussion has failed to shed light on is the way in which the new Big Ten will impact the competition in the twenty-four other sports in which the Big Ten sponsors competition, both revenue-producing and otherwise.
Amidst all of the discussion surrounding the new face of Big Ten football, the other major revenue-producing sport in collegiate athletics has gone largely by the wayside. Not only does Men’s basketball provide the single highest revenue-producing event for the NCAA, it also is a sport in which teams are sponsored at 346 Division 1 schools, as opposed to just 120 in D1 FBS (lets just face the fact that FCS is a separate division altogether, in reality). With the Final Four being such a pivotal event for the NCAA, there is no doubt Men’s basketball is at least worthy of some consideration when it comes to realignment. Yet, amidst the dueling invitations sent out (reportedly) by both the Big Ten and the Pac-10 (soon to be Pac-12), Kansas was nearly left in a conference devoid of any major basketball foe, a fate detrimental to one of the most storied programs in that sport’s history.
Regardless of the earlier rumors and potential disasters, Big Ten realignment will create a problem for the Big Ten as Nebraska will not only serve as a punching bag for the far more accomplished programs that make up the current conference (save Penn State, another addition late in the game made solely for football revenue), but also as an additional travel burden for schools like Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Indiana, and others now faced with the prospect of a 2-3 hour flight for each trip out to Lincoln.
On that note, travel is a problem that will create havoc for several sports now faced with conference competition in Lincoln. Whereas football has the luxury of playing just a single game each week (played on a weekend no less), sports such as Basketball (Mens and Womens), softball, baseball, and others compete multiple times each week and are reliant upon efficient travel in order to maintain their ability to balance athletics with academics completely and effectively. The addition of a yearly trip out to Nebraska is a headache that student-athletes in these sports simply cannot handle.
Although football and its enormous revenue production tend to blind us to the realities of collegiate athletics, lets not lose sight of the fact that these are amateur STUDENT-athletes we are talking about, not professionals with large contracts and a private line to the local NetJets hangar. Football may drive the profitability of modern athletic departments, but sports such as rowing, golf, tennis, and field hockey remain the essence of collegiate athletic competition. These students play for the love of the game and devote a significant amount of time toward pursuing their dream of a conference and/or national title. Adding the burden of travel and other consequences of the new Big Ten setup is simply an exploitation of their hard work and effort in an attempt to put one sport amongst twenty-five in a better position to succeed. This may make financial sense, but in the end it makes little sense in terms of bettering the lives of student athletes across the board. There comes a time when profits must be set aside and other considerations must take hold. This seems, to me at least, to be one of them.

Update on the World

Well, I have been busy lately. I guess that is a good thing but, well, it does get in the way of some quality writing time. Anyway, Im making my own time now for a quick roundup on the stories that have hit the north shore, chicago, illinois, the midwest, the central time zone, the us, north america, the western hemisphere, and the world.

First we have the so-called controversy over the proposed Islamic community center in Manhattan. Just putting it simply, the fact that this is a "controversy" at all is just the reason why I plan on looking to start a career in Vancouver. The US is a country founded upon the principles of freedom, economic and religious specifically. Unfortunately, the idiots on both sides of the ideological aisle have turned freedom of religion into freedom of CHRISTIAN religion. Seriously, how can you talk about patriotism on one hand and then question the rights of muslims to practice their religion on the other?

PGA championship. Way to go Dustin and Bubba. Not just for the great play all four days of the championship, but even more so for the way each of you handled disappointment. Dustin Johnson's reaction to the penalty is the epitome of golf as a game of integrity and his graciousness in defeat should be applauded. Equally impressive was Bubba Watson's excitement at the opportunity to represent his country even in a moment of sheer disappointment following the playoff loss.

As for the ryder cup, Corey Pavin better not pick Tiger. Yes, he was the best player in the game, perhaps even the best of all time in his heyday. But the reality is that the hoopla that surrounds his presence is not worth carrying the mediocre player Tiger is at this point in time. I believe Tiger would play well and certainly go out and win his singles match. But even a solid individual record would be nothing in the face of a defeat that would surely be in store for a Tiger-led US squad. Remember 2008?

LEBRON. I dont even want to type out that name anymore but I guess I cant help it. Okay, so now you are from Akron, a distinctly different place from Cleveland? Just pipe it Lebron. No one wants to hear you try to justify a decision which has clearly cost you a spot amongst the game's all-time greats. Akron is a suburb of Cleveland. Deal with it.

This Land is Your Land, This Land is My Land

Practically from its inception as an independent nation, the US has been saddled with a municipal and legal system unable to handle the complexities of land ownership and operation. In an age of massive bureaucracy and corporate corruption, its seems as if land use is destined to become either neglected or abused.
Nowhere is this loss of competency more clearly display than in the disaster that has been the Fort Sheridan renovation project. Once a military base, the Lake County forest preserve took over the land in the post-Cold War base closure period that saw the end of the line for the likes of Glenview NAS, Fort Sheridan, O'Hare ARS, and others across the nation. During the land transfers, both Glenview and Fort Sheridan were placed into a mixture of public and private ownership, with the Fort Sheridan community eventually becoming a full-fledged residential development. However, while the Glen prospered under a majority-private ownership that developed a successful PUD with residential components, 2 golf courses, a middle school, a recreation center, and 3 major commercial centers, Fort Sheridan lagged behind, housing only a fledged golf course and an old military cemetery. With the loss of the golf course under the regime of LCFPD, homeowners in Fort Sheridan were now left with a lot of open land and not much else.

However, the golf course was a vital part of the land transfer and is in fact a legal requirement under the deed handed to LCFPD. In the grant of the lakeside land that formerly housed the bustling army complex, "the land herein conveyed shall be a golf course and recreational open space in perpetuity and not devoted to another use". Thus, the golf course cannot be ignored. If LCPFD were to have chosen to abandon the golf course concept, they would have been in violation of their agreement with the US Army, a fact that probably kept the golf course alive during the past few years in which the majority of county leaders seemed satisfied with ignoring the opportunity at hand.

That is what Fort Sheridan is. An Opportunity. Whereas the county and many critics of the renovation plan seem to view the concept of a golf facility as a financial burden, many of us who know the business of golf see the land as an opportunity to create something truly special. Golf is a game designed to be played along the water. From its early years in St. Andrews through to the great courses of today in Pebble Beach, Whistling Straits, Bandon Dunes, and countless others, golf and the sea have gone hand in hand. Unfortunately, urban sprawl has forced many of these great seaside links to be located in areas not easily accessible from major metropolitan areas. Whistling Straits is 90 minutes from Milwaukee. Pebble Beach is 2 hours from San Francisco (on a good day). Torrey Pines is about as close as it gets to seaside golf in the city, but even that can be an hour drive from downtown during the seemingly endless Southern California rush hour. Bandon is, well, its a schlep. St. Andrews, same story. But Fort Sheridan is just 25 or so miles from the center of Chicago, the nation's 3rd largest city and arguably its most golf crazy metropolis. With Chicagoans willing to make the drive to Kohler and very willingly pay the $400+ to play the Straits, how can the LCFPD argue that a similar seaside links just 40 minutes from downtown couldnt be a world-class (and highly profitable) attraction?

Then there is the impact on the local golf market, a market that critics have called saturated and unable to bear the additional supply. What these people are ignoring is the potential attraction a world-class seaside course could create on Chicago's north shore. LCFPD seemed worried about the impact a championship layout at Fort Sheridan would have on their crown jewel up north, ThunderHawk. What they fail to realize is that Spyglass Hills is nothing without Pebble Beach. The Bull couldnt survive without Whistling Straits. Kingsbarns in Scotland thrives off its proximity to St. Andrews. And ThunderHawk would benefit in much the same way from a championship layout at Fort Sheridan. What the county supervisors (obviously not avid golfers themselves) are failing to see is that golf is an industry in which quality supply does indeed create its own demand. Creating a destination golf course so close to a city as enticing as Chicago would make the north suburbs as sleek a golf destination as our nation has to offer. Accessibility, culture, restaurants, and a variety of quality layouts leave the North Side just that top notch golf resort short of truly being able to compete with the likes of Kohler, Traverse City, and Galena in the Midwest, and even Pebble, Bandon, and Myrtle Beach nationally.

But the forest preserve simply isnt able to make that happen. While LCFPD has done a tremendous job with Countryside, Brae Loch, and especially Thunderhawk, they simply dont have the finances nor the know how to take that next step up to golf travel destination. However, the land Fort Sheridan sits on is ripe for just such a development. The location, high above a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan is about as good as it gets. Even Whistling Straits (also sitting on a former military establishment) lacks the pristine ravine setting that would provide for a layout that majestically opens up to the grandeur of the water much like Spyglass Hills and Pebble Beach on the Monterrey Peninsula or Harbor Town in South Carolina. The availability of land for a potential resort property is certainly there and could perhaps even utilize the embattled grounds of the former Barat College just up the road. But while State Parks systems have been successful in similar destination endeavors such as Torrey Pines (The Lodge at Torrey Pines) and Saratoga Spa (New York), the county isnt capable. But there are many entities, locally and nationally, fully capable of bringing the site into its own. First of all, the property could be turned over for operation by the Jemseks. Known for their wildly successful operations at Cog Hill, Pine Meadow, and St. Andrews (West Chicago, not Scotland), the Jemseks have the knowledge of the golf industry and of the local market necessary to make a potential course profitable while at the same time providing public good through the extension of junior programs the Jemseks have made a key part of their current operation. Then there is Kemper Sports. Although no longer involved in their flagship course in Kemper Lakes, Kemper still maintains a heavy local presence through operations such as the Glen Club (now a full-fledged destination course with the partnership with Summit Hotels in creating a 21-room operation within the clubhouse) and Hawthorn Woods Country Club, as well as municipal operations such as Vernon Hills Golf Course and the Chicago Park District courses (including Sydney R., oh its Waveland for god's sake, an operation whose history can certainly tell us something about missed opportunities along the shores of Lake Michigan). In addition, Kemper has the expertise to develop a world-class destination facility, backed by their experience in the operation of Bandon Dunes, now considered by most to have topped the Monterrey as the nation's top golf destination. Outside of the locals in Kemper and Jemsek, there is always the option of turning to the big names, the likes of Kohler, Trump, and others. In fact, Trump himself has led a similar project in Los Angeles, taking an environmentally sensitive area that was mandated for public use and creating a public-private enterprise that has led to the establishment of the next great west coast golf destination (as well as a damned good PUBLIC beach, if I may say so myself). I dont need to go any further, its pretty clear that while LCPFD may not see themselves able to successfully operate a world-class facility at Fort Sheridan, there are plenty of people out there who can and are more than willing to look into doing so.
That said, perhaps the best course of action for LCPFD would be to sell off the land designated for the golf course. Drawing upon the concepts laid out in similar public-private projects such as Trump National in LA, LCFPD could allow for the maintenance of a wonderful open-use area and public beach while at the same time allowing the lakeside plot to be used to its greatest capabilities as a championship golf course. The details of ownership vs. operation, of what land to sell and what to maintain, those are details I will admit I cannot handle until I finish up that degree in 3 years time. But even now I can tell you that what the county is proposing for Fort Sheridan is simply a wasted opportunity. Its time for the LCFPD to cut their losses and hand over Fort Sheridan to someone who appreciates the value in such a pristine plot of land in such close proximity to the golf-loving metropolis that is Chicago. Sell Fort Sheridan and lets get started making Chicago's North Shore the next great American golf destination.

The Truth Behind The "Conservative" Movement

Watch any station covering politics today and you simply cant avoid hearing a Republican (my bad, not all conservatives are republicans, OKAY) spend 15 minutes of airtime ranting on and on about Obama's "socialist" programs, "big" government, and increasing regulation. These so-called "conservatives" spend their lives trying to perpetuate the concept that Obama is allowing government to make decisions as to how we live our individual lives while the GOP stands at the ready to "protect" our "freedom of choice". As sad as this complete misrepresentation of neo-conservatism is, perhaps even worse is the oppositions' inability to counter by pointing out the inherent hypocrisy in the GOP argument. Anyway, Ill help the Democrats out.

The idea that Republicans are the champions of freedom is about as close to realty as your everyday Iranian propaganda film showing the "equal" treatment of women in the sheltered Islamic nation. Republicans scoff at the notion of taxation as government making individual decisions, yet at the same time they oppose allowing the freedom to:

1. Be Gay- Let's be honest, the right isnt against gay marriage for the cost
2. Smoke pot- I though the government isnt supposed to be telling us what we should or should not do?
3. Speak out against America- Where was all that tea party "first amendment" talk during the protests prior to the start of the Iraq war?
4. Drink alcohol (under 21)- even "socialist" Europe is largely 18
5. travel to cuba- seriously, we cant even go on a nice vacation?
6. practice islam- once again, probably not the most politically-correct statement, but it is pretty obvious how the patriot act and other post 9/11 legislation has inhibited muslims' ability to freely practice their religion


The list goes on and on and on.

So next time you think the Republican Party stands up for your individual rights, think again. The bottom line is that both parties are at their roots following the same principles. After all, we are all Americans and the sad part is that we are beginning to lose sight of that essential fact. Even the modern calls for patriotism seem forced and simply disingenuous political maneuvers. Lets get back to basics. Washington: Stop worrying about the next election and start making our country the model of all nations once again. Fix this great nation and the elections will take care of themselves.

The King, The Ego, and the Chance of a Lifetime

As those of you who know me are well aware, I am not a fan of today's NBA. Not because of the outrageous salaries involved, I realize that is part of professional sports in today's world, but rather because of the outrageous egos the NBA has defined itself by. All professional athletes are by nature over confident human beings, yet the NBA institutionalizes the concept of me and demeans the concept of we. That said, I cannot help but take a stake in this horror film that is the Lebron James free agency.

For the sake of getting on with the argument, I will say flat out that I pray Lebron stays in Northeast Ohio. Again, I could care less about the Cavaliers and the NBA, especially during the majority of the NBA season that coincides with the far more intriguing college basketball season (and I could go on and on about how the allure of the NBA has ruined college basketball, but I will save that for another day and another early draft entry announcement). Rather, my interest in Lebron staying is an interest in the future of the Cleveland area, an area that is my family homeland of sorts and one that I have always had a close connection to.

Cleveland needs Lebron to stay. This isnt a case of Jim Thome or Manny Ramirez heading east to seek a larger contract, this a a hometown kid who is threatening to leave for no other reason than his belief that Cleveland's hopes for a title have gone by the wayside. This hometown kid is not leaving for money, not leaving for home, and perhaps not even leaving for a better team (if he goes to New York).

Many talking heads on ESPN have continued to hammer in the assertion that, in the words of Tim Legler, "3 titles in New York are worth 1 in Cleveland". That simple sentence is the basis for this rant of a posting. How can you possibly say that? This is a Lebron James who, although he has chosen to be a fair-weather fan his entire life, replacing the Indians and Browns with membership in the fanhoods of the cowboys and yankees (half of Cleveland didnt know the Cavs existed before Lebron), is well aware of the pessimism that has enveloped a town that has gone title dry for nearly half a century. Combine the thirst for a title with the economic despair facing a city whose reliance on the steel industry has reeked havoc on modern improvement and you have a situation in which Lebron can easily be seen as all that stands between hope for a rebound in Cleveland and permanent relegation to third-class city status. Lebron knows this need Cleveland has for his return and also knows that winning a title in Cleveland is perhaps the single greatest challenge available to today's professional athlete.

How can Legler say that winning a title in a city full of titles would do more for Lebron than bringing the first professional sports title in over 50 years to HIS HOMETOWN!!! We are talking one of the greatest stories in sports history and you think that winning yet another title for the city of New York outweighs that? The Knicks may have struggled the past century (irrationally waiting for this year's free agent market instead of competing like men for titles in the present), but their fans have had the pleasure of titles won by the Yankees and the Giants, a luxury Cleveland fans simply have not had.

Very few professional athletes get the chance to play for their hometown teams, let alone with the star power of a Lebron James. Lebron has become a national icon, grown into one of the premier NBA stars, and nurtured a worldwide brand, all from the comforts of home in Akron. New York and Miami may seem like beacons of hope with their bright lights and bustling streets. But in the end, none of those attractions, none of those promises of fame, fortune, and glory, can compare with the chance to become immortalized in your hometown. Stay in Cleveland and bring home a title, Lebron. Your community needs you know more than ever.

What a Ride

Congrats to every who was a part of the memorable ride that was DHS basketball this season. Its hard to see it come to an end, but that doesnt take anything away from how great this season was for the program, the school, and the entire community.