Why we watch

I've written it before, and I'm sure it's been talked about many times around the world's water coolers, of how fortunate we are to be living in the era where we can witness the truly remarkable Tiger Woods.
I equate it on the same level as the lucky populace that witnessed the Babe Ruth era.

Already penned and pronounced as the greatest win in Tigers' short career, the fact that it was a West Coast tournament...the media-crazed East Coast was able to view it in prime-time...thus, this victory will be viewed as the greatest ever...simply because it was the most viewer-friendly tournament, that is...it gave the most people the opportunity to watch Tiger romp around in his childhood backyard.

I sat down, clicked-on the TV, and surfed-over to watch the Sun set during the 3rd round of the US Open. 1: to kick back and relax after a busy Saturday, and 2: to watch a few golfers pierce the hallowed ground of Torrey Pines. Suffice to watch a few holes and drift off to sleep.

Instead I was riveted to the screen, watching incredulously, as Tiger manhandled 13-18 as deftly as hang-glider uses his sails off the cliffs of the Pacific to master wind.

...that's why I watch.

Sunday evening I was able to catch the final few holes after a busy Father's Day with my family...content to watch a winner step onto the 18th green realizing a dream.

Instead I saw Tiger struggling...most physically, but also mentally, to cobble a score that took one last putt to force a historic Monday 18 hole playoff...also I might add the greatest celebratory pump/roar/exultation...of any magnitude I've ever seen!

...that's why I watch.

Monday night, after a day of work, I watched the tape I made of the back-nine finish of the tournament. After a day of avoiding any eye/ear contact with anything that could be turned into, or seen as, a US Open conversation...I was able to sit down and watch the grainy VHS tape that recorded the greatest Tiger Woods victory ever.

That's why I watch.


Congratulations Tiger, but also to the very fortunate populace that are in tune with what we are watching.


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

JFB

Think you're Hollywood material?

Hello,

My name is Gaby Wilson. I'm a Casting Producer for ABC's Primetime show; "Wife Swap."
We're currently into our fourth season at the moment and we're looking for one-of-a-kind families with plenty of personality.
Specifically, we're looking for families that love the game of golf! If your life revolves around getting to a tee time, golf lesson, or driving range and sharing golf with your family, and you've always thought your family was meant for TV, I want to hear from you! In addition, please feel free to forward this to any families you think would be interested in taking part in this once-in-a-lifetime experience.
In case you are unfamiliar with the show, the premise of Wife Swap is to take two different families and have the moms switch places to experience how another family lives. Half of the week, mom lives the life of the family she is staying with. Then she introduces a "rule change" where she implements rules and activities that are important to her family. It's a positive experience for people to not only learn but teach about other families and other ways of life.

Wife Swap airs on Disney owned ABC television on Wednesdays at 8 pm- the family hour!

Requirements: Each family must consist of two parents and at least one child between 7 and 17 and should reside in the continental U.S. (There may be other children living in the home who are older or younger than the required age…as long as one child is in the required age range.)
Participating in the show is a very unique experience that can be life changing for everyone. In addition, each family that tapes an episode of Wife Swap receives $20,000 as compensation for their time. Anyone who refers a family that appears on our program receives $1000 as a 'thank you' from us.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me! If you're interested in learning more, please include your contact information.

Gaby WilsonCasting ProducerWife Swap
gaby.wifeswap@gmail.com


Good luck to any takers out there!

JFB

Tiger's space-race ends flat

No sooner did Tiger blast off to the moon, did he have to return.

According to the WSJ, Element 79, the ad firm that developed Tiger Woods hitting a golf ball off the moon (aka Alan Shepard) to promote his 'Tiger'-branded Gatorade, has been dropped by PepsiCo.

What will the next Tiger-sports-drink ads look like when the new agency Arnell Group starts its work?

Well, I have an idea, last year the Arnell Group developed an ad with drink-client SoBe involving dancing with lizards...

So instead of the moon...I'm thinking something Jurassic:

...Tiger Woods fending off a Tyrannosaurus Rex with a 2-iron after taking a swig from his drink.

Are you listening Madison Ave?


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

JFB

Too much information

Excuse me while I rant about the loss of imagination.

The decision to televise the par-3 tournament of the Masters is wrong, and the Augusta members are wrong to allow its intrusion into this little known event.

Augusta's par-3 layout, (commissioned by Cliff Roberts to let members and special guests complete a round of golf in under an hour) has been a source for imagination and storytelling for those lucky enough to hold a practice ticket on the Wednesday of The Masters for years and years. I have been lucky enough to have seen it 3 times, and I enjoy tremendously the fact that I was personally viewing a little bit of a "secret" on those hallowed grounds of Augusta.

Imagination, and storytelling will be gone for future ticket-holders of the Par-3 event...gone is that little secret...the excitement that you are seeing something that only a few privileged folks are witnessing...

...it's gone as of today.

Let me give you an example of how will feel from now on:

BEFORE TV: Me: "Hey Joe...you should've seen the excitement at the Par-3 tournament at the Masters."
Joe: "There's a Par-3 tournament? I thought it was just a practice round of the golf course...you mean they play on just the par 3's?"
Me: "No, Joe, they actually built a par-3 golf course out there, and on Wednesday's, all the guys play a little tournament on it....they take their kids, friends...whomever...and they caddy for them....it's a riot!"
Joe: "That does sound like a good time...man I'd love to get tickets to that someday."
Me: "There were 18 holes-in-one's! Tiger hit one...it landed off the green, but had so much backspin it 4-wheeled itself back onto the green...into the hole!"
Joe: "Wow! I bet that was exciting to be there...wish I coulda gone."

AFTER TV: Me: "Hey Joe...you should've seen the excitement at the par-3 tournament at the Masters."
Joe: "Yeah, I saw a little bit of it over at Shaw's Bar & Grill. We watched a couple holes...then lost interest....you shoulda seen the Budweiser commercials though! Man, they were good!"

Me: "Oh...you don't say."

...A Tradition unlike any other...is gone.


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

JFB

Fear the Roo

One of the more enduring commercial series is the annual 'Capital One Mascot Challenge' during bowl weekend. This year Zippy, the kangaroo mascot from my Alma Mater: The University of Akron, was one of the contestants in the Mascot Open.

Zippy won!...fear the Roo!

Zippy is the modern shortened version for the school's original sports teams name The Zippers.

(I know what you're thinking...leave it to an Ohio school to come up with a name like that).

...but that's just how it came to be.

In the 1920's, the President of the college thought it to be a good idea to let the students come up with a name for the its athletic teams. Well, Akron Ohio was the rubber capital of the world at the time, and one of those rubber inventions: over-sized shoe covers...or galoshes, were very popular then. Well, if you've ever worn them you know how hard they are to put on...especially wet...

...unless you have zippers on them.

Yes, the zipper was the BIG invention of the day...literally blossoming new industries (and defeating old ones: putting tailors and button-makers out of business). Yes, the zipper, was huge, so that was the popular name of choice for the contest.

Thus The Zippers were born. Later it was shortened to Zips, and in 1953 the kangaroo was elected as official mascot. Zippy, as she (yes, only one of two mascots are female) is affectionately known, rambles around at all the various sports events in the University's portfolio.

Hey, for a town known for the birth place of Devo...we could have done a lot worse.

Congratulations ZIPPY!

Thanks for reading, keep it in the short-grass,

JFB

This patch cures all

This weekend, I'll have finished the most grueling job I've ever experienced...dealing with erratic emotions, temper-tantrums, and runny noses...and this job was only twice-a-week.

I was my 4-year old's soccer coach.

I admit, I had a great time coaching all these little brats...er...budding Beckham's, and I got something I'll cherish forever...

...I got a patch. It's not just a patch mind you, but a symbol that I was the coach-it was my-way-or-the highway. If one of those parents had a problem with me sitting little Jimmy in the second-half...tough..."read my chest-pocket chief"...my patch was my shield.

Ok, I'll confess. All the coaches got them for volunteering...they were part of the sacrifice for giving up a couple days a week to run around and look important to a 4-year old...the free shirt-with-patch made me sign up.

Gotcha...pretty sad. I should have held out for more, like the PGA Tour pros do.

In the September issue of Conde Nast Portfolio, beat writer Kevin Cook breaks down what it costs to put a patch on a pro golfer. It's pretty sick.

Let's say your Widget Tees Inc, and you want to put your patch on a top PGA pro for a year. Let's start with the hat: $75k and up...or you could put a patch on the back of the lid instead for half.
How about sleeves: $10k-$1M? Would you believe there is a premium on which arm! It's because of visibility. The left sleeve is more desirable because most Tour Pro's are right-handed...therefore their left arms are front-and-center to the TV camera.

The article goes on about every other location, and is an eye-opening read, like what it costs for the rear...and how Johnnie Walker got away with sewing it's brand on Jim Furyks' collar.

I wonder if the the Pro's keep a trophy display of their patches? "Hey Phil, be careful with that one...vintage Cracker Jack's hat...man, that was a bad PR move for me...every time I'd tee it up...some clown from the gallery would shout..."Hey sailor...going my way?"...I should have stayed with Foot Joy."

Oh, and what's the going price for the chest pocket? Starting at $25k.

...hmmm...well, I did get those yummy cookies at the end of every game.


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

JFB

What golf needs is a fight.

Let's go back in time. It's 1979, a time when there were only 3 channels on the television, and 2 of them required an acrobatic manuever with a metal rod called an antenna.
Sports on TV were baseball, football and basketball...stock car racing was an unknown "sport" to the masses, and was only followed in backwater daily's, and niche magazines.

That all changed after "the fight".

My idol in my youth was Cale Yarborough, a fast...hard-as-nails driver, who's grit and desire to win was usurped only by his determination.

It was The Daytona 500, and that race was the first entirely televised broadcast of its sport. Coming down turn 4, Cale and Donnie Allison got into a crash crowding each other for the lead. Both spun-out in the grass...got out of their cars...and proceeded to beat each other's heads in with their helmets. While this trackside brawl was going on...Richard Petty went on to win the race.

It was the greatest sports event I ever saw on television.

What that race did, was start NASCAR into it's ascent in becoming the most-watched, televised sport, in our era.

And that's what golf needs...a fight.

We could have had one at Turning Stone. That first-year tournament, started and finished without a whimper...but it could have been so much more.

John Daly was there...rumored to have spent more time in the casino than the actual 7 holes he played in. Too bad for the fans, as he was knighted the headliner after (surprise) no star-studded players entered.
Rumored to have won 200G's the night before the tournament at the tables, he partied the night and early morning away...leaving him one (craps)-y hangover.

So this is what should have happened:

The players in his group should have confronted him on that 7th hole. Never Compromise putters should have been drawn...Daly could have drawn them back with his 540cc driver.

Sparks should have flown, fists should have been raised, clubs...instead of helmets...should have been broken over heads.

But none of that happened..instead Daly walked away with his 5th WD this season a little richer, and his fans a little poorer. No more than a side-note in the papers followed. Folks just got on with their lives...and the little town in Verona moved on.

Golf is a "gentleman's" game...and maybe that's the problem.

...its time that "gentleman" met its 'turn 4"


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

JFB

The cannabalism of the PGA, or: Coke gets rewarded

No doubt, last week's Deutsche Bank event was a thriller, anytime you have the two most popular players on tour duking it out Mano-a-Mano, it's gonna bring drama.

That's the problem.

Thanks in part to the Fed Ex Cup, the PGA is creating a situation where they are conditioning the golf fan to be interested only when there is a lot riding on the line (vis-a-vis Majors), or when Phil or Tiger play each other.

Take this week's BMW event...it was reported that less than 200 fans lined up to see Tiger tee it up Thursday, and with the combination of rain impacting the event...and Phil not playing...the BMW is looking more like The Ramblin' Wreck of Georgia Tech, instead of the show-stopper it was intended to be.

It's not that golf fans don't love golf, it's that the PGA is undermining their own popularity by giving the fans a reason that they have the power to prioritize what they watch (can you say hello football).

It's the reason baseball and football Unions have leverage. Unions know that if the players go on strike, fans will figure out new ways to occupy their time, and lose focus of the implied importance of every game. It makes it that much harder for team owners to recapture the audience.

So the PGA is left with this huge problem, and really no way out of it. It will mean a lot less money to fringe events (50% of next years' tournaments), and a lot more money to whatever event is on Tiger's schedule (with the implied guessing-game that Phil will be there too). The imminent danger is that the PGA is losing it's brand image, and it is becoming a bunch of individual brands (think NFL, and how they go to unbelievable lengths to protect its brand so the name is larger than the players). The PGA needs to look at all the problems the NFL players have had this year, and it won't even touch the NFL brand. It's masterful.

One tournament that is going to reap absolutely gargantuan rewards from this PGA gaffe, is next weeks Tour Championship in Atlanta. That event will be the most watched, most talked about, most exciting tournament this year. Thanks to last week's taste the fans were given of that Tiger/Phil duel, The Tour Championship will be pulling out all the stops to showcase its premier match-up.

The events big sponsor Coca Cola, will get a muche deserved redemption from last years' abrupt pullout of Tiger.

Coke's new ad campaign is all about the consumer getting rewarded from buying coke products.

But next week Coke will get rewarded...and, as the vintage ad goes: in perfect harmony.


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

JFB

The diss

Prom night was the night for seniors. When my rite-of-passage came oh-so-many-years-ago...I was primed, and ready for action...heh-heh.
Yep, I was gonna woo the little lady right off her feet. Starting with the corsage, leading into a romantic dinner at Bern's Steak House, sweeping her off her feet at The Dance, then capping the night off in my car doing the tongue cha-cha.

Oh...my heart aches at how it really turned out. Everything went as planned...except for the car part. We got out of the car and (I remember this vividly) she nearly knocked me down getting to the door. She opened her screen door...turned around and said..."thanks for a great evening"...gave me a peck on the cheek, and...no sooner did her lips peel off my cheek...wham...the screen door grazed past me with a resounding clanggg.

I was dissed.

But, being a high testosteron-ed teenager...I eventually got over it.

Tiger Woods...aka...golf's Golden Child is being used as the newly-born Fed Ex Cup's fodder. all the media has been talking about since the start of this soon-to-fail marketing folly, is how The Golden Child is going to "grace us with his presence for each-and-every-one of these grand events"...capped-off with its $10 million dollar prize.

BTW: How ironic is it that Barclay's and Deutsche Bank are financing the first two events? I'm sure the suits at these firms are wondering how they are going to pay for these "shows" after the sub-prime blow-up. "Uh, Larry...got any change? we're pulling it in for the Fed ex cause...Geez, no Frank...I just had to re-up with my no-interest loan to an 8% jumbo fixed...I just don't know what I'm going to do...hey, that ledge looks awfully tempting..."

...but I digress.

So, here's Woods, all primed..winning the Firestone, then the major..the PGA Championship...all in 100 degree heat, creating an orgasm with the Fed Ex marketing guys and the media. Do you think they blink? "Hey Tiger...are ya too hot? can we get you some Kool-Aide?" No, Tiger's their date, and they're riding him to the Fed Ex prom. Hey Tiger...here's your corsage...here's your super-fine dinner.

Friday, Tiger decided to skip the dance...The Barclay's event. The first in the PGA's grand plan of resurrecting a TV-tired sport. Saying his body was "spent".

...hear that sound?...it's the marketing geniuses Mont Blanc's falling on the floor.

Tiger isn't spent..he's Superman. Tiger is providing us with two bits of information here that transcend him. One, he is telling us that a major is still more important than this homogenized gimmicky Cup deal...and two, that he is the reason that golf is surviving. No Cup is going to change that perception.

Tiger just shut dissed-'em.

Clangg!


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

JFB

The couch

I love a good couch. A couch is always there for you when you're ready for a nap. It never leaves...it doesn't wonder where you've been...it's always ready to cushion your body for a nap, remembering the slightest indentations of your shape. My last couch lasted me 15 wonderfully napping years.

We recently upgraded...a traumatically manly event, and it was literally an expedition to find one that I felt deserved the merit to replace it. My wife and I would trundle through furniture shops, darting through the slobbering salespeople to find the rooms labeled "Couches". As I laid down on the ones that met "the paint color scheme", my poor wife would have to feign ignorance to wondering shoppers as I laid down on the selected "part-time beds" she'd tell them: " I think his beta-blockers just kicked-in." As I'd be snoring away.

Suffice to say, we found our new couch, and it matches the paint on the walls. The best part though, is that it has 3 supportive cushions, and is long enough for those mid-nap stretches.

Tiger Woods shot a freakin' 62 1/2 Friday at the PGA Championship...he's holding his own today, and he will win Sunday. This is great news for me...why?

I've had both kid's this weekend while my wife worked...she's off tomorrow and is taking them to our pool. I offered a weak..."oh-I-can-take-them"...as a suck-up move which she bought by saying "oh that's okay honey...you just rest". So it's just me, and the residue of the last 2 days of screaming kids, with an average of 6 hours of sleep. I've got more collateral damage than the Bush Administration.

This PGA Championship win is worth 27,500 FedEx points. I'm going to click on CBS, pronate myself on our new couch...sling my leg over the top cushions, and count to 27,500.

So, thank-you Tiger, for making my Sunday an exceptionally relaxing one...

...and allowing me to bond with my couch.


zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

JFB

Bend it like...Tiger?

Tiger Woods has met his match....but it isn't another golfer.

He's coming from across the Pond with the the swiftness of a free kick.

He's David Beckham, England's most famous footballer, and international celebrity. Coming to America by way of Real Madrid, signing a monster contract to play with the American team LA Galaxy. How much is monster? Well, with endorsements he might top out at $250 meelion. Tiger last year cleared less than half that.

But that's not where he's met his match.

It's with kids.

In a survey conducted by HSBC, results of a new study on the effects of sports on successful childhood development.

“Successful Youth Development: The Contribution of Sport" researched adults aged 18+ from the United States, the United Kingdom, and China were asked what they felt the key values for optimum child development were. They then identified the sports and athletes they believed to be most effective at teaching these values.

Here are the findings for America and England:

Tonight David Beckham will usher in a new era for American sports as he takes the field in LA Galaxy's first match, a friendly. Beckham, like Woods, transcends his sport to personalize it with everyday folk like you and me. We have to watch to see what all the fuss is about, we are intrigued-and American media...enormous compared to the English media...will do its level best to give him to us in multi-media splendor.

Beckham will be bigger than life in America as a fantastic role model..rivaling Tiger, but will also challenge Tiger's crown as the most marketable sports figure in America. Here's why:

Kids.

Kids love soccer. I realized this when I signed my 4-year old up to play last Fall at the YMCA. I came with his little ball, and little cleats fully expecting to find a handful of kids wandering around picking daisies off the fields.

I was amazed with what I saw.

Of a field of 8 sectioned off "little" soccer areas, 8 kids per team...2 teams per field, for a total of 128 kids-all excited about the game of soccer.

And that was just the 9am gametime. This went on all that day 'till 6pm.

I've never seen that kind of childhood interest on a golf course.


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

JFB

PS: Thanks to my friends at Hill&Nowlton/HSBC for sharing this survey for all MyDailySlice fans.

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"That's what I'm talkin' about!"

Golf enthusiasts looking for expert advice on improving their game need to check this out. Golf Tips ( www.golftipswithjoe.tv) debuts as a virtual driving range, offering viewers direct access to the best golf techniques available, delivered on demand over the Internet.

Golf Tips is one of several new programs being introduced by ON Networks, Inc.

Hosted by Joe Beck, a seasoned PGA professional with 20 years in the game. The show provides informed instruction designed to appeal to abroad range of golfers.

Beck tackles a different technique in 3-4 minute episodes, breaking it down into basic steps which he walks his viewers through...such as driving, putting, or escaping a bunker. This week's episode, titled, "Chipping, the Bump-and-Run", features Beck demonstrating how to take control of your chipping off the green. Each episode is packed with awesome camera angles that give you different views of the shot, is fast-moving, and sure to keep your attention...especially the "Circle of Friends" putting episode!

Unfortunately, the only thing I have circling when I'm on the green are sharks. Maybe watching these videos before I play will help my wallet stay in my back pocket!

JFB

People usually go to golf galaxy to buy everything from golf clubs bad golf shoes to basketball equipment as well. That is why the galaxy gets raving comments and referrals from baseball as well as basketball coaches.

Which one doesn't belong

My 4-year old and I play a mind-tease game that basically revolves around determining what objects on a given flash card don't belong. "Saxophone"...he'll say, when presented with choices including a boat and car. "You can't drive a saxophone silly" he'll say, as if I came up with this goofy combination. Eerily, I feel Rodney Dangerfield elbow me.

Now I have one for you:

Furyk, Sabbatini, and Langer.

Yes, these Tour players are all vying for the win at today's conclusion of the Colonial. But choose one: As if you need a hint: he belongs on the Senior Tour.

Okay, now that we're on the same page, I need to get some stuff off my chest about what he's doing to the game of golf.

First off...Langer is 50. Now I'm 45, and age discrimination is not pleasant...but dammit...that's why there is a Champions Tour, so geezers like him can shuffle on off to that gray-beard league with their belly-putters, dine with fine wines, park in the front for early-bird prime rib dinners, and cap it off with turn-down service at 7pm.
Another thing...check him for a steroid patch. He's got more aches-and-pains than a Bay-Area bridge, and he comes out of nowhere to contend? I don't buy it.

What drama is it if this guy comes back from the living dead and wins one "for the Gipper". NONE. And that's why it's bad for the Tour.

Okay, I feel better now. But I've just realized something. If you look at the others in the aforementioned group, it's harder to spot the odd-man -out.

Sabbatini (the winner) is the little guy with a big heart that no can see coming...but oh, they can hear!
He's gonna get a few chuckles when he puts on that plaid jacket ("hey...isn't that the Lucky Charm guy from the cereal box?").
Hey 'Tini...one word for your first purchase after you get your paycheck: "lifts".

Finally, Furyk. The man with the homegrown swing. The perfect example of not fixing something if it ain't broke. The dolts at CBS put the swing cam on him...as if they really know what's going on in there...I mean, his swing looks good...if I'm a bowler.

Now that I look at these three guys, the coming-of-age show "Freaks and Geeks" come to mind...so even though they are different, they all have one thing in common...

All these players get no respect...

...and somewhere Rodney is smiling.


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

JFB

It's a southern thing

I must admit, after the birth of our daughter Wed night, I haven't been able to do much more than walk around in a daze from sleepless nights filled with determining the correct way to dispose of stinky diapers without having to fumigate the house come morning. So when I got to sit down and read today's Sports section in the AJC it was really a treat.

More treats occurred when I read the headlines that were colored in yellow-and-blue, and red-and-black. Yep, looks like the folks up at Sugarloaf Country Club are going to "hunker down for a good old-fashioned Southern brawl." As Larry Munson might have put it.

We have YellowJackets and Bulldogs atop the leaderboard at the South's other golf tournament in Buford GA...the one sandwiched between a season of The Masters in Augusta, and The Players Championship in Atlanta.

Hailing from Georgia Tech: Troy Matteson, and not far behind, just in from his yo-yo-like travails from The Nationwide Tour, and my favorite player: Matty Kuchar.
Then we have, coming from The University of Georgia with the shot of the day: Ryuji Imada.

This will be a fun one to watch as Sugarloaf will be super firm and fast, as we've had no rain in a month. Also, Sugarloaf has one of the best finishing holes in all non-major events.

As for me coming from the great state of Ohio (and a big Buckeye fan), I've learned...

...that Gators will also eat bees and bulldogs...

...so I'd watch out for spidey-man himself Camilo Villegas, who hails from The University of Florida. The greatest sports program in the nation.

Yep, I'm going to sit back and enjoy this Sunday's final round...it's a gorgeous day in The South. The bees are buzzing...the dogs are leashed...and the alligators are sunning themselves in the southern paradise known as Buford Georgia...

And my daughter is asleep. Now Hush Y'all.

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

JFB

From camo pants to Snoop Dog

In a nod to very good timing, The Nationwide Insurance Company recently introduced a website that focuses on the trials and tribulations of graduates, and current residences of The Nationwide Tour. No longer a mediocre tour with backwater settings, the Nationwide Tour consists of the real rookies...kids that are the raw up-and-comers in golf that really put the spice in the game...and coincidentally, is what the PGA Tour is so desperate in need of.

Team Nationwide focuses on a select group of graduates from the 2006 Nationwide Tour currently competing on the PGA TOUR.
Nationwide also created the site as a springboard to generate fan interest in the Nationwide Tour. Visitors can view player bios, watch videos, participate in contests and learn more about the success of Team Nationwide on the PGA TOUR and the top players competing on the Nationwide Tour.

As an added bonus to checking out their site, Nationwide is also giving golf fans an opportunity to win a trip for 2 to the PGA Tour's 2008 Sony Open at the Waialae Country Club in Honolulu , Hawaii . Fans can visit www.nationwide.com/teamnationwide to enter. One grand prize winner and a guest will receive tickets to the 2008 Sony Open, an opportunity to play in the Tournament Pro-Am courtesy of Nationwide, meet Nationwide Tour graduates, and receive airfare and hotel accommodations for five days along with a complete set of Nickent golf clubs. Throughout the season, 14 weekly winners will also receive Nickent Golf 4DX Hybrids....

...show of hands that don't want to go to Hawaii....I didn't think there were any.

To whet your whistle, here's a snippet from the site. A Q & A with recent winner (and Nationwide Tour grad) Boo Weekly:

Q& A with Nationwide Tour graduate Boo Weekley

Can you tell us anything about how your life has changed since winning the Verizon Heritage?

People want to shake my hand and tell me they enjoyed watching me play. I still approach the game the same way though. I still practice hard. I hope to win a couple more times this year. Every time I tee it up, I’m there to win.

There are a lot of former Nationwide Tour golfers who are experiencing success on the PGA Tour, like Zach Johnson, Jason Gore, Camilo Villegas and yourself. How do you think the Nationwide Tour prepared you for the next stage of your career?

The Nationwide Tour made me mentally strong. There are a lot of guys on the Nationwide Tour that are really good players who are ready to play at the next level. So my experience playing against those guys prepared me mentally and for the travel.

What was your most high pressured shot ever?

Probably my putt at The Honda Classic – the second put to win, which I missed. I was trying to pick a good line, stay focused, keep my head still and just stroke it and let it happen. When I missed, I took my club and stuck it to the bill of my cap and told myself it just wasn’t my time.

I felt like I rushed myself on that putt. From that experience I learned to slow it down and take my time to try to blow my nerves off.

Is there one piece of advice or technique that really took your game to the next level?

My advice to others would be - work on your short game and your putting, because we all hit it the same.

What would you say to a young golfer who wants become a professional?

Believe in yourself and don’t let anybody tell you no different. If you believe it, you can do it. If you’re serious about wanting to play, trust yourself, trust your instincts and work hard on your short game.

If you had to pick one golfer that you'd aspire to be like, whom would that be and why?

Ben Hogan. I read a couple of his books. He believed that every day you have to practice to be good. Every day you miss a practice you have to put in more work to make up for it. He was a firm believer in himself. He got in a car wreck and they told him he wouldn’t be able to walk again. He showed them when he got back on the golf course again.

Obviously your goal was to make the PGA TOUR, but are there aspects of the Nationwide Tour you miss or remember fondly?

I have a lot of memories from the Nationwide Tour. I haven’t been on the PGA Tour long enough to forget them. We became a family. The Nationwide Tour always took care of me.

Do you still hang out with guys you played with on the Nationwide Tour?

Yes. All the guys who came through the Nationwide Tour, we still all talk and hang out.

Anything that people would be surprised to know about you?

I like rap. My favorites are Nelly, Snoop Dog, MC Hammer, I like all of it – old school, new school. I don’t rap myself, I just listen to it. People can find out more about me if they visit www.nationwide.com/teamnationwide

I'm glad there were no fashion questions for him...oh wait...there were...

...those were deleted.


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

JFB

Meet the new PGA...same as the old PGA

Last year was the year of the tease.

Halfway through last season, as select tournaments dropped from the '06 schedule faster than cellulose in a film editors dark room, the PGA machine was priming us fans for the new PGA for '07. What with the multi-million dollar FedEx tin Cup, a revamped programming schedule and new venues to broadcast from...the carrot, like a John Daly appearance fee, dangled in front of our noses, for us to sit down this year and watch the new PGA.

Well, the new PGA started last weekend in Torrey Pines...oh, let me back up...see, the Tour doesn't really start until Tiger Woods says it starts...which started last weekend in Torrey Pines.

And, other than old man Faldo as co-captain in the TV booth, and spectators paying more for a hot dog, nothing much has changed.

Tiger is still winning, 3rd round leaders are still folding, Mickelnuts is still not meeting expectations, players are still making this once-majestic-only-to-be-lengthened golf course look like a putt-putt course with still more Honking-Good-God-Mother-of-Pearl-sized drivers , TV announcers are still using the same dull verbiage to describe the magnificence of The Golfer Formally Known as Tiger (all apologies to Prince) and the bar is still being set by one golfer.

Do you hear that blood-curdling scream? It's the paid-in-full sponsors of the '07 PGA tournaments that Tiger won't play in this year.

I'd bet you that more people will sign up at metascape Second Life this year and design their own virtual Avatar's, than golf fans sit down and watch a non-Tiger PGA event this year. In his first tournament and first win of the season, Tiger has virtually guaranteed that no one will watch a PGA Tournament this year unless he participates.

And that is an outcome that will still haunt the new PGA.


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

JFB

Golf Channel comes up big

Every year, thousands of newlyweds make the journey across the Pacific to celebrate their honeymoon.

This year, Golf Channel is celebrating its own.

Ever since the meat of the PGA schedule had been shuffled-off from prime-time television to cable, Golf Channel (being a huge underdog) has been focused on one thing...having a product ready for the legion of golf fans when they arrive. Putting their own fingerprint on the announcer's booth by bringing in Nick Faldo and Kelly Tilghman is proving a unique and fresh start to the golf season.

But Golf Channel got something more fresh. It got Tadd.

Heading into the final round at -7, underdog Tadd Fujikawa, a 16-year old amateur from Hawaii (here's an old post introducing him) has a shot of winning the Sony Open.

In a way, Golf Channel and Tadd are in a parallel universe.
Tadd has had a rough welcome into this world, starting from the time he was born a preemie...weighing in at under 2 lbs. Because of his height, he is challenged to prove himself worthy of playing with the big boys.
Golf Channel had a rough start before the golf season by having to prove to golf fans all around the country that it could handle broadcasting the PGA. Kelly and Nick are challenged to keep viewers interested in golf, knowing that the viewers have over 300 channels of broadcasting to choose from.

This is a perfect time for Tadd and Golf Channel.

This is a perfect time for Hawaii.

This is the perfect time for a honeymoon.


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

JFB

Death of a definite article

I love watching pro football on TV. There is nothing better than curling up with my favorite bag of Fritos, a Red Hook Winter Ale, and settling-in for a couple hours of a great match-up.
I particularly like the team intros at the onset, where the players say which schools they came from. Being a big follower of college football as well, it's always interesting for me to know where these kids came from.

I have to admit though, I'm a little tired of an over-used definite article that started with players that graduated from The Ohio State University.
In the player intros, if a guy happened to graduate from this school, he would put an emphasis on the definite article the by saying thee Ohio State University.
At first it was cool (I guess from my beginnings in the fine state of Ohio), but now I'm over it. Now all players from all schools are in the mix of saying thee when they should or should not be saying the, and the whole player-intro-ritual gets lost in a pompous pronounciation of schools.
The breaking-point for me was when a player that said he graduated from Thee High school of GlenOak.

So I'm over word the, and apparently, so is Golf Channel.

Faster than Veej sped off in his new Mercedes, faster than the planet Pluto (sorry, I mean number 134340) got kicked to the curb, The Golf Channel dropped The off it's broadcast logo, and opted to go with Golf Channel.

I for one am happy with the new logo and moniker. So, goodbye the, it's been nice knowing thee.


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

JFB

Think Letterman will have fun with this?

Hey, did you hear the one about the NASCAR driver and the golf cart?
(....comedians call this a fat pitch because you see the punch-line so well it's easy to mash it over the fences.)

Friday, recent NASCAR Cup winner Jimmy Johnson fell out of a golf cart at a charity golf event and fractured his wrist.

No, this wasn't scripted from Talledega Nights....Jimmy Johnson wasn't Ricky Bobby's stunt double....and Ricky's arch-nemesis Jean Girard wasn't driving the golf cart.....although isn't it amazing that the DVD comes out this Tuesday? If I were the brass at Sony Pictures, I'd have my writers talking to Leno, Letterman, and Stewarts' writers tonight, for Monday night's late night material.

Now that's what marketing calls a fat pitch!

Here's another amazing coincidence: in the movie, Jean Girard is the top French Formula One Driver that challenges Ricky Bobby for NASCAR supremacy. Jimmy Johnson, now that his wrist is broken, cannot attend his next race: The Champions Racing Cup.
Where is that you ask?
France.

Hmmmm.

Once again the golf cart is going to be the butt of a joke as I have proffered before in a previous post. The golf cart has been and will always be the proverbial straw that stirs the drink.


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


JFB

Carl gets his wheels

In August, Discovery channel's American Chopper did a 2-part episode about building a Caddyshack-themed bike.
I got to see the re-run last night when I was channel-surfing to stem the boredom caused by the sinking ship which is called Monday Night Football.

For those of you that have not seen American Chopper, it is reality show about the family motorcycle-building business OCC. The show revolves around the relationship of the Teutuls...primarily the father and his eldest son. Chaos usually ensues within this relationship while building their spec bikes. Somehow it all works, as American Chopper has become Discovery channel's #1 franchise.

Bill Murray (aka: Carl Spackler) asked them to build a Caddyshack-themed bike that evoked the "Carl" image. The goal being to auction it off at the Murray brothers' Caddyshack restaurant at World Golf Village in St Augustine FL.

OCC designed the bike to look like a weathered lawn mower, and prevailed with a final design that would have put "tears in his eyes....I guess".

At the auction, Bill Murray ended up being the highest bidder (150k) for the themed bike. The money from the bike, along with an earlier golf tournament held at World Golf raised the most money ever for his charity.

Not bad for a guy that played a down-and-out groundskeeper with credit problems.

Of course, his saving grace was his knowledge of horticulture:
"This is a hybrid. This is a cross, ah, of Bluegrass, Kentucky Bluegrass, Featherbed Bent, and Northern California Sensemilia. The amazing stuff about this is, that you can play 36 holes on it in the afternoon, take it home and just get stoned to the bejeezus-belt that night on this stuff."

I guess you can say"Carl" found a market for his grass.


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

JFB