The second-coming of Michelle Wie

Everybody likes an underdog. Amazingly, Michelle Wie is now in that position. Once the can't-miss kid from Hawai'i who self-destructed with the help of relentless media and skeptical advice, has resurrected her image.

Enter IMG...the world-class uber-agency that guides the paths of great golf pedigree Tiger Woods and Annika Sorenstam, will now guide Ms. Wie in her second coming-out party.

Now that she has undergone strength coaching to fortify her upper body to equal her lower body strength...she has now turned her sights to strengthening her media relations. Through IMG, she will have the greatest sports agency in the world directing and cajoling her "new" position as rookie on the LPGA Tour.

What great timing for her and the LPGA. With sponsors dropping faster than Charles Barkley swing hitches...the LPGA is in no shape to fight itself out of it's mess alone...then Michelle Wie qualified through Q school to get her card, and asserted her readiness to play by taking a second place in her first LPGA-sanctioned event. The LPGA will look back on her getting her card as the most important event in women's golf since the dawn of Nancy Lopez.

Michelle Wie, already the 5th highest paid female athlete in sponsors, still carries high-dollar cache...cache that will be required to lure sponsors and big money into the LPGA that will determine its survival. She has more American 'likability" than Ochoa or other current top 10 women golfers that have not been able to break through American sponsorships, sad...but that is the cold reality of women's sports.

This week when she tees it up with the ladies at the LPGA International, she will be stepping into a role that she should have already accepted and thrived in. She will however be more prepared because of her past failures, and her future Agent/Media relationship. She is still only 19 years old...still just a sophomore at Stanford University...but more mature and confident than she's ever been....and she's the underdog...

And everyone loves the underdog. Don't bet against her this time.


Thanks for reading. Keep it in the short-grass,

JFB

Martha Stewart's got it right

In today's WSJ, they had a collection of quotes from various folks from various walks of life, asking them about their New Year's resolution. Martha Stewart adroitly surmised that, in her opinion, it does no good to fein a resolution as a cold-hard promise to ones-self because the truth of the matter is a real resolution needs to be tweaked throughout the year to work.

To me, that's a recipe that I can get behind...I mean, how many of us start a promise only to break it a few weeks later? But tweaking it throughout the year, now that's reality.

That's the world we live in now.

Gone are the days when you could put your 401k on autopilot and sleepwalk to 7% annualized returns...unless you're a Madoff ex...to you, you have my condolences. Due diligence (tweaking) is a required step to get your piece of the pie back.
Sports also are entering an era where there will be less pie to share...all-stars will garner the biggest slice...and it will be crisis control for those not connected to the all-stars.

Gone are the days when the PGA can count on as the ATM of the Tour, and Sorenstam the Western Union of the LPGA. New talent will most definitely need to step-up THIS YEAR to close the income-gap for those less than all star members of these proud organizations. Otherwise, golfers will be downsized faster than a Detroit Union-worker.

I believe the PGA's resolution for 2009 can be seen in the current ad trumpeting the start of the 2009 PGA Tour season. The ad shows a compelling picture of Anthony 'It's the Buckle Stupid' Kim...although the face is obscured by a Nike hat, it sort-of looks like Tiger in a classic pose...until we see the buckle, then we know it's Kim. It's an exciting ad, promoting the Mercedes Benz Championship in Maui. The headline is 'Today Maui...Tomorrow the World'...

...it's a good marketing effort by the PGA (which has been rarer than a Ruth Chris steak), it shows that the PGA is moving on from Tiger-mania, and is taking a page from the most successful sports franchise...the NFL, as they are portraying the golfer as the spokesperson of the PGA, not an individual. I am certain promoting this image will be successful, but I would hope that the PGA's resolution of 'Tomorrow the World' will take a page from Martha's cookbook...

...and be tweaked to resolving to making 'tomorrow'...'today'. The PGA needs to go multi-national now. Its fans and future stars depend on it.

...as does their pie.


Thanks for reading. Keep it in the short-grass,

JFB

The art of leaving

Throughout the land, parties will be held in celebration for Christmas, New Year's, and yet another month I held onto my house...uh, actually scratch that last one...at any rate, the point is...we will be a nation of celebratory fools. Sure we love going to these parties, but do we know when to leave?

Are you the guy or girl with the lampshade over their head...or can you hold your drink and leave the room with others in awe.

In other words, are you more of a John Daly-type, or are you more like Annika?

Yes, that Annika...the one who was over in Dubai celebrating her last competitive rounds of golf...leaving the fans with a birdie. Her grace equal to the great Babe Zaharias.

How great that Annika leave her last tournament with a birdie. We should all be so fortunate, after all, a birdie on the last golf hole makes the return to the game so much more exciting.
Will her return be that of ambassador to the game? We can only hope.

We are so fortunate to have witnessed the class of a true champion in our lifetime...

...and not one lampshade was ever sighted.


Thanks for reading. Keep it in the short-grass,

JFB