Sandflea's Week 1 NCAA Women's Indoor VB Top 40

Sandflea's Week 1 NCAA Women's Indoor Volleyball 2012 Top 40

           (through games of August 26, 2012)

Rank  School      Record   Ranked Opponents     Rank Last Week
                                                 Played to Date

 1. USC (3-0)  1                                                               2
 2. Hawaii (3-0)  1                                                            3
 3. Texas (3-0)  1                                                              5
 4. Nebraska (3-0)  1                                                        10
 5. Penn St. (3-0)  2                                                          15
 6. Florida St. (3-0)  3                                                       19
 7. Dayton (3-0)  2                                                            20
 8. Purdue (3-0)  1                                                             8
 9. Colorado St. (3-0)  0                                                   11
10. Florida (3-0)  0                                                            4
11. Tennessee (2-1)  3                                                       9
12.  Pepperdine (2-1)  2                                                     7
13.  Kentucky (3-0)  2                                                       21
14.  UCLA (1-1)  1                                                             1
15.  Stanford (2-1)  1                                                         13
16.  San Diego (2-1)  1                                                      16
17.  Oregon (3-0)  0                                                           22
18.  Duke (3-0)  1                                                               25
19.  Washington (3-0)  0                                                     14
20.  Michigan (4-0)  0                                                         23
21.  Minnesota (2-0)  0                                                       26
22.  Miami (FL)  0                                                              27
23.  Kansas St. (3-0)  0                                                       34
24.  Michigan St. (3-0)  0                                                    33
25.  North Carolina  (2-1)  2                                                31
26.  Texas A&M (2-1)  1                                                     29
27.  California (1-1)  0                                                         18
28.  N. Iowa (2-1)  1                                                            17
29.  BYU (3-0)  0                                                                36
30.  N. Colorado (3-0)  1                                                     NR
31.  Wyoming (4-0)  0                                                         39
32.  Louisville (2-1)  2                                                         37
33.  New Mexico St. (3-0)  0                                               38
34.  Oklahoma (3-0)  1                                                         NR
35.  San Diego St. (2-0)  1                                                    NR
36.  Clemson (3-0)  0                                                            NR
37.  Iowa St. (1-2)  3                                                              6
38.  Ohio St. (2-1)  1                                                              NR
39.  Virginia Commonwealth (3-0)  0                                   NR
40.  Missouri (3-1)  1                                                             NR

Dropped Out: Illinois (1-2), Tulsa (2-1), Cincinnati (0-3), Western Kentucky (1-2), TCU (2-1), Long Beach St. (1-2), UC Davis (2-1)                                             

[UNDER CONSTRUCTION: TO BE COMPLETED SOON!]

2012 FedEx Playoffs, Round I: The Barclays

   Truly, the three-round FedEx Playoffs capped off by a battle of champions is one of the most contrived events in golf. Why not just add a couple more majors: one in Asia and one in the Southern Hemisphere (Australia, South Africa, and South America on a rotating basis) to extend the professional golf season in a more dramatic fashion? That being said, the Playoffs are a lot of fun, even if a bit irrelevant, wedged as they are between the PGA Championship and the Ryder Cup.
   What makes the Playoffs fun is the money (grand slam-sized purses), the field (international and grand slam-styled top tier), and the courses. The Black Course at Bethpage State Park in New York, a grand slam-utilized course, was the site of last week's The Barclays, the first round of the Playoffs.
   What made The Barclays even more fun this year? A Northern California native, Nick Watney, humbled the field and withstood a surging Sergio Garcia charge to win against a world-class field by three strokes. The West triumphs again!
   Who else played well in the tournament? How about the top 23, which included Brandt Snedeker at -7; Dustin Johnson and Sergio Garcia at -6; Graham DeLaet, Louis Oosthuizen, Lee Westwood, and Brian Harman at -5; Greg Chalmers at -4; Bud Cauley, Luke Donald, Bubba Watson, David Hearn, Tom Gillis, Tim Clark, William McGirt, Bob Estes, and Kevin Stadler at -3; and Padraig Harrington, J. B. Holmes, Josh Teater, Geoff Ogilvy, and John Senden at -2. Big names and no names. Nothing unusual about that.
   Rory McIlroy finished tied for 24th at -1, while Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson tied for 38th at +1. Humorously, Ernie Els again beat Adam Scott by one stroke, +3 to +4.
   Epic failures who missed the cut included Jim Furyk, Keegan Bradley, Webb Simpson, Bill Haas, Graeme McDowell, Hunter Mahan, and Ryder Cup American captain Davis Love III.
   What's next? The Deutsche Bank Championship at Boston TPC in Norton, Massachusetts. Maybe another Western golfer, like Phil Mickelson, can keep the streak of one going.

Sandflea's 2012 NCAA BCS Football Preseason Top 40

SANDFLEA'S 2012 NCAA BCS FOOTBALL PRESEASON TOP 40

Position   School   2011 Record     Final 2011 Position

 1. Alabama (12-1)                                  1
 2. Oregon (12-2)                                     5
 3. USC (10-2)                                        10
 4. South Carolina (11-2)                         7
 5. Michigan (11-2)                                  8
 6. LSU (13-1)                                         4
 7. TCU (11-2)                                        11
 8. Arkansas (11-2)                                  6
 9. Stanford (11-2)                                   9
10. Michigan State (11-3)                       13
11. West Virginia (10-3)                         14
12. Boise State (12-1)                             3
13. Cincinnati (10-3)                              18
14. Wisconsin (11-3)                              16
15. Virginia Tech (11-3)                         21
16. BYU (10-3)                                      19
17. Oklahoma (10-3)                               23
18. Florida State (9-4)                             28
19. Georgia (10-4)                                  22
20. Nebraska (9-4)                                  25
21. Clemson (10-4)                                 26
22. Southern Mississippi (12-2)              20
23. Oklahoma State (12-1)                      2
24. Houston (13-1)                                  12
25. Baylor (10-3)                                     15
26. Kansas State (10-3)                           17
27. Rutgers (9-4)                                     27
28. Ohio State (6-7)                                NR
29. Auburn (8-5)                                     33
30. Texas (8-5)                                        36
31. Utah (8-5)                                          37
32. SMU (8-5)                                         38
33. North Carolina State (8-5)                 39
34. Missouri (8-5)                                    34
35. California (7-6)                                  NR
36. Washington (7-6)                               NR
37. Notre Dame (8-5)                              NR
38. Georgia Tech (8-5)                            NR
39. Florida (7-6)                                       NR
40. Wyoming (8-5)                                   NR

Others to Watch: Tulsa (8-5), San Diego State (8-5), Ohio U. (10-4), Toledo (9-4), Temple (9-4), Louisville (7-6), Air Force (7-6), Iowa (7-6), Illinois (7-6), Purdue (7-6)

Sandflea's 2012 NCAA Indoor Volleyball Preseason Top 40

SANDFLEA'S 2012 NCAA WOMEN'S INDOOR VOLLEYBALL PRESEASON TOP 40

[Editor's Note: This is being posted subsequent to the first weekend of collegiate action. However, the journalist was on vacation in Lake Tahoe and is ignorant of any results at the time this went to "press." Obviously, a strong pro-West bias flavors the ranking, in fresh and stark contrast to most national media polls, including the NCAA's own "poll."] 

Position   School   Last Year's Record     Final Position in 2011 Sandflea's Top 40

 1.  UCLA (30-6)                 1
 2.  USC (29-5)                    3
 3. Hawaii (31-2)                  4
 4. Florida (28-6)                  5
 5. Texas (26-5)                    6
 6. Iowa St. (25-6)                7
 7. Pepperdine (25-8)            9
 8. Purdue (29-5)                  8
 9. Tennessee (28-4)            12
10. Nebraska (25-5)            15
11. Colorado St. (24-6)       13
12. Illinois (32-5)                 2
13. Stanford (22-8)             18
14. Washington (24-8)        17
15. Penn State (25-8)          20
16. San Diego (28-5)          22
17. Northern Iowa (33-2)    16
18. California (25-7)           19
19. Florida State (28-7)       10
20. Dayton (25-7)               21
21. Kentucky (28-6)           11
22. Oregon (20-10)             31
23. Michigan (22-13)          28
24. Tulsa (28-7)                  24
25. Duke (21-9)                  32
26. Minnesota (20-12)        26
27. Miami (FL) (26-5)        14
28. Cincinnati (27-10)        27
29. Texas A&M (23-8)      29
30. W. Kentucky (31-4)     23
31. N. Carolina (23-9)        30
32. TCU (25-7)                  37
33. Michigan St. (22-12)    38
34. Kansas St. (22-11)        34
35. Long Beach St. (23-7)  25
36. BYU (21-9)                  NR
37. Louisville (24-9)           39
38. N.M. State (23-10)        NR
39. Wyoming (21-11)         NR
40. UC Davis (21-10)         NR

Others to Watch:  Northern Colorado (22-9), Ohio St, (21-15), Milwaukee (25-5), Marquette (24-11), Utah Valley (23-9), Ohio U. (23-10), Missouri (21-13), Ball St. (25-8), Clemson (20-11), UCF (20-11)
    

Summer Olympics 2012: Postscript on the Medal Count

   [UNDER CONSTRUCTION: TO BE CONTINUED]

   The final medal count is in, though not official until all of the test results for performance-enhancing drugs are finalized. To the joy of most Americans, the USA came out on top, with China a close second and Great Britain a surprising third. Russia and Australia were disappointed with their overall athletic performances, but Russia still has an excuse.
  Super sports fan Vladimir Putin, leader of Russia, does not like to feel disappointed. He knows the nature of his country's excuse: they lost an empire. Concurrent with the London Olympics, while seething with medal disappointment, Putin announced plans to grow the Russian military machine. Coincidence? Could Mr. Putin's plans include "encouraging" former Soviet states to rejoin a new and improved Soviet Union? If Olympic results are his only motivation, facts would back up his position. Restoring the Soviet Empire, at least to include all of the former Soviet republics if not Eastern European countries who lived with autonomy in name only, would create entirely different medal count standings.
   The London Olympics found countries like Ukraine and Kazakhstan grabbing several medals. Ukraine and Kazakhstan are former Soviet Republics. 
  [UNDER CONSTRUCTION: TO BE CONTINUED]

Summer Olympics 2012: Closing Ceremony Music Critique

  SUMMER OLYMPICS 2012: CLOSING CEREMONY MUSIC CRITIQUE

   Who is the genius that called Annie Lennox "goth"? I was expecting Joy Division (without Ian Curtis, natch), the Sisters of Mercy, the Cure, or Siouxsie and the Banshees. Instead, we got one-half of the Eurythmics, a great singer with a wonderful '80s band. But not goth, even with the heavy make-up for the occasion.
   Where was U2? Were they not invited because they are Irish and not British? What about a British small-arena band from that early post-punk 80s scene,  such as Simple Minds, the Alarm, Echo & the Bunnymen (without Pete DeFreitas, natch), or Big Country (without Stuart Adamson, natch)?

   The musical theme of the London Olympics closing ceremony could have been Missing In Action or Rest In Peace. One-half of the Who played. One-half of Queen played. One-fifth of Pink Floyd played. Where were 60% of the Rolling Stones, 100% of Cream/Eric Clapton, or 75% of Led Zeppelin? Disappointing. At least the 68-year-old Daltrey of the Who is self-aware enough to have deleted the line "Hope I die before I get old" from "My Generation." What somewhat salvaged the '60s section was former Kinks lead Ray Davies singing "Waterloo Sunset." It's not a shame about Ray.

   In addition to having fragmented rock band legends  of the past perform, certain great if not super-popular movements in British pop and rock were ignored altogether.
   Where was a representative of the punk era? If they could have Queen without Freddie Mercury, why not the Clash without Joe Strummer? The Sex Pistols without Sid Vicious? Wire without their later art-rock sound? 
  Speaking of art-rock, why not a snippet of prog rockers ELP, early Genesis, or Yes? No? What about a slice of British folk with Fairport Convention? What about something more from the glam-rock era than a video-bound David Bowie?
   Where was a representative of the New Romantic movement? Where was ABC, the Human League, Ultravox, or OMD?
   Sure, Britpop of '95 was illustrated by a Gallagher brother and a bit of Blur, but where was a representative of the c86 era? Where were the Reid brothers and the Jesus and Mary Chain? What about Manchester baggy of '89? Where were the Stone Roses or Happy Mondays? Then there's the shoe-gazing movement of the early 90s. Where was My Bloody Valentine, Ride, or Slowdive? 
  I'm sorry. When the highlights of the "music" show are a treacly Brian May guitar solo and a sixty-something Pete Townshend leaping three inches off the ground, there's a problem. Eric Idle of Monty Python fame was fun, but where were Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam, and John Cleese? It could have been so much better.
  Somehow, a Spice Girls reunion was symbolic of the whole affair: style over substance. Still, there were Ray Davies, Madness, and Eric Idle. I'll take that threesome over Sir Paul McCartney at 70, the music highlight of the opening ceremony, any day. Let it be, Paul. 

2012 Summer Olympics: Second Week Highlights, Lowlights, and General Impressions

   [UNDER CONSTRUCTION: TO BE CONTINUED]

   The second week proved the schedule masters knew what they were doing. Who found track and field events slightly more dramatic than swimming? Combine that with the finals in the team sport competitions (water polo, handball, field hockey, volleyball, basketball, and world football/soccer) and you have a fun-filled final week, marred only by the American coverage of the events courtesy of NBC and its affiliate networks. What follows is a brief look at a few highlights and lowlights of the second week in London.
   Sunday, August 5: In athletics, Usain Bolt of Jamaica clobbered the men's 100-meter field with a 9.63 time, third fastest in history. He holds the world record as well. Skepticism of Jamaican sprinters and the possible use of PEDs, though denied by the sprinters themselves Lance Armstrong style, continues. In the women's 400-meter, USA's Sanya Richards-Ross won gold in 49.55 seconds. Iran's Hamid Soryan won gold in 55 kg wrestling, virtually assuring himself of celebrity, if not fortune, on the homefront. Great Britain's Ben Ainslie won his fourth consecutive gold medal in finn sailing. Impressive.
   In the most predictable result on Sunday, an Ethiopian and a Kenyan finished one-two in the women's marathon. Only slightly less predictable was China capturing gold in men's singles and doubles badminton. In the biggest surprise, Great Britain's Andy Murray defeated all-time great Roger Federer of Switzerland in men's tennis singles, 3-0 (6-2, 6-1, 6-4), in a match that took less than two hours. Perhaps Federer is saving himself for the U. S. Open. Perhaps Murray's work ethic is finally paying off. Perhaps Roger just had a bad day.
   The most interesting event of Sunday had to be the men's 3000-meter steeplechase, where competitors ran, jumped hurdles, and jumped atop walls before landing in a pool of water. Kenyans captured gold and bronze. Terrific!
   Monday, August 6: Best remembered as a Reagan-era military victory of moral, if not strategic, significance, Grenada claimed its first gold medal when Kirani James out-paced the Dominican Republic' Luguelin Santos (silver) and Trinidad and Tobago's Lalonde Gordon (bronze) in the men's 400-meter run. In the women's pole vault, USA's Jenn Suhr took the gold with a vault of 15 feet, 7 inches. She defeated Cuba's Yarisley Silva on less misses, and two-time defending champion Yelena Isinbayeva of Russia, who only cleared 15 feet, 5 inches. The event again displayed the athletic progress of women, for there was a time in the not too distant past when women were considered too physically weak to ever consider a pole vault event. Of course, those who considered them weak were aging patriarchs of the IOC.
   In team equestrian, Great Britain captured the gold in front of an ecstatic crowd. The Netherlands took silver and Saudi Arabia took bronze.
   Embarrassing events included USA's win over Canada in a women's soccer semifinal, 4-3, thanks to some dubious officiating, and USA's 29-point drubbing of Argentina in group competition.
  Tuesday, August 7: Again, the home team, Great Britain, shined in cycling, as Chris Hoy won his sixth lifetime gold medal with a victory in keirin cycling. The host nation won its seventh gold out of ten track cycling events of 2012. 
  In the men's 1500, Taoufik Makhioufi of Algeria won gold, while Robert Harting of Germany took the gold in the men's discus. In the men's high jump, Ivan Ukhov captured the gold over Erik Kynard of the USA with a jump of 7 feet, 9 3/4 inches. In the women's 100 hurdles, Sally Pearson of Australia took the gold, while Alistair Brownlee of Great Britain took the gold in the men's triathlon.
  In team dressage, an equestrian event that is the rough equivalent of watching grass grow to casual onlookers, Great Britain grabbed another gold to cheers from those in the crowd still awake at the awards ceremony.
  In windsurfer sailing, Dorian van Rijsselberge of the Netherlands and Marina Alabau Neira of Spain won gold for the men and women, respectively.
  The most predictable gold medal of the day went to China's duo for doubles table tennis.
  In unwatchable events, artistic gymnastics and synchronized swimming awarded several gold medals. 
  Wednesday, August 8: In a nice twist, Allyson Felix of the USA beat Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica in the women's 200-meter sprint. In the women's long jump, American Brittney Reese beat Russian Elena Sokolova with a jump of 23 feet, 4 1/2 inches. 
  Other highlights of the day included Aries Merritt of the USA taking gold in the men's 110-meter hurdles, Natalya Antyukh of Russia taking gold in the women's 400-meter hurdles. Additionally, Kerri Walsh Jennings and Misty May-Treanor of the USA captured their third career gold medal in women's beach volleyball.
  In another non-surprise, Steve Guerdat of Switzerland took gold in the men's individual equestrian jumping event. And China took gold in men's doubles table tennis.
  In lowlights, Croatia pummeled the USA in a men's water polo quarterfinal match, 8-2, and Italy slammed  the USA, 3-0, in a men's indoor volleyball quarterfinal contest.
  Thursday, August 9:  In the 200-meter sprint, Usain Bolt of Jamaica won going away in a time of 19.32 seconds to become the first man in Olympic history to be a repeat winner in both the 100- and 200-meter sprints. His attitude matches his speed. In the men's decathlon, American Ashton Eaton won the gold. Fellow American Trey Hardy took the silver to create the first USA 1-2 finish in that event since 1956, when America really was the greatest and richest country on the planet. Christian Taylor of the USA won the men's triple jump gold medal with a combined jumps total of 58 feet, 5 1/4 inches, while David Rudisha of Kenya took gold in the men's 800-meter run with a world record time of 100.91 seconds. In the women's javelin, Barbora Spotakova of the Czech Republic took the gold medal, out-hurling two Germans in the process.
  In women's water polo, USA beat Spain for the gold, 8-5. In women's world football/soccer, the USA beat Japan for the gold, 2-1, before putting on another media-friendly obnoxious victory celebration. Great Britain fattened its medals coffers with a gold and a bronze in the women's individual dressage competition at the equestrian arena.
  Friday, August 10: The USA women's 400-meter relay team set a world record of 40.82 seconds to capture the gold in front of the Jamaican team. Turkey's Asli Cakir Alptekin won the women's 1500-meter run, giving her country its first track and field gold medal. Renaud Lavillenie of France jumped 19 feet, 7 inches to take the gold in the men's pole vault event. The Bahamas team captured gold in the men's 4x400-meter relay, beating the makeshift USA team diminished by injury to two of its stars.
  In the least surprising results of the day, a Russian won the women's hammer throw and Ethiopians captured gold and bronze in the women's 5000-meter run (to nobody's surprise, a Kenyan took the silver).
  In women's field hockey, the Netherlands beat Argentina for the gold, while Great Britain took the bronze.
  Saturday, August 11: The biggest surprise of the day was Mexico upending Brazil, 2-1, to win the gold medal in men's world football/soccer. Jamaica, anchored by wunderkind Usain Bolt, won the men's 4x100-meter relay, setting a new world record of 
  In team sport's competition, USA trounced France, 86-50, in women' s basketball to take the gold, while the favored American women were upset by Brazil in the indoor volleyball final, 3-1.
   

   Even after ten days of viewer conditioning (and air conditioning during the West's major heatwave), certain sports remained unwatchable. Rhythmic gymnastics are the worst of the prissy sports, though synchronized swimming and synchronized diving aren't far behind. On the other end of the spectrum, weightlifting, wrestling, and women's boxing are only appealing if you enjoy watching elbow joints blow out, men appear to be engaging in West Hollywood sex acts, and cuts and welts collect on female faces. I don't.
   Another low point was the USA women's soccer team perform another rehearsed celebration after winning the gold medal match against Japan. The t-shirts they quickly threw on commenting about their "greatness" was another chapter in "The Ugly American" book for non-American spectators and viewers. Note to the soccer team: humility is a virtue. Even LeBron and Kobe did the right thing in press conferences after clutching the men's basketball team for Team USA. [UNDER CONSTRUCTION...TO BE CONTINUED] 

PGA Championship 2012: Finally, Golf Has a New Superstar for the 2010's

   For the second time in two years, a 23-year-old Anglo-Irish version of Alfred E. Newman crushed a world-class field with a great weekend performance to capture his second major championship. However, Rory McIlroy's performance was no laughing matter to the other 71 golfers playing the weekend at Kiawah Island. He drove it far and mostly straight. When he was in trouble, he got out of it quickly. As for his putting, can you spell "touch"?
   The Emerald Isle is emerging as a hotbed of golf talent. Not bad, considering its population base of 6.5 million citizens, about one-third the number of New York City's metropolitan area and one-half of Los Angeles's. Since Padraig Harrington won the British Open in 2007,  Irish from Ireland and Anglo-Irish from Northern Ireland have won a total of seven grand slam events. That's seven out of the last twenty-two. Not bad.
   Golf was looking and hoping for a new superstar since the gentle decline of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson began. Previous to Kiawah, there had been 16 different winners in 16 consecutive grand slam events. Now there is a recent repeat majors champion. Now there is a new superstar.
   Just two months ago, McIlroy was in a minor funk, missing four cuts including the U. S. Open weekend. Critics claimed Rory couldn't focus because of new-found fame, fortune, and a tall blonde world-class Danish tennis player who happened to be his new-found girlfriend. Cut the nonsense. Great golfers with great talent have minor funks. Jack Nicklaus had minor funks. Some even have major funks and disappear for years at a time: Gary Player, Lee Trevino, Raymond Floyd, Greg Norman, Ernie Els. The difference between immortality and also-ran status on the tour is infinitely small.
   McIlroy's weekend victory was not small. To the consternation of the excellent CBS broadcasting crew, Rory broke with recent grand slam scenarios by holding onto and increasing his lead as the long day wore on. By the end, he had won by eight strokes--a PGA Championship record--and had Mister Measured of Words, Jim Nantz, exuberantly proclaiming him the new Tiger.
   Not only did McIlroy win the physical contest on the course, but he won the psychological battle as well. He said his sponsors gave him the red shirt to wear on Sunday. We'll never know if he had a choice of colors to wear. What we do know is that McIlroy was not intimidated from wearing the color. There he was, wearing red on Sunday, yanking Tiger's chain, moving in on Tiger's turf. 
   Gradually, Tiger's Nike red shirt, though new, appeared to fade further with every hole played, every fairway missed, and every putt booted. The Tiger flop, a new tradition of major tournaments, was particularly ugly on Saturday. Yet, there was little magic on Sunday, either. He finished the third round two over for the round and tournament. Tiger played even par golf in the fourth round, his great putting of the first two rounds only a memory. 
   And Mr. Nicklaus celebrates again. His record of 18 major championships is looking more and more untouchable by Woods and his generation. Now Jack will have to pay attention to the new generation, Rory's generation. Does the game and the networks that cover it pray for classic duels, mighty foes worthy to become Rory's regular and admirable adversaries? You bet.
   Sixty years ago, there were Hogan, Snead, and Nelson. Fifty years ago, there were Palmer, Player, and Nicklaus. Forty years ago, there were Nicklaus, Player, and Weiskopf. Thirty years ago, there were Nicklaus, Watson, and Floyd. Twenty years ago, there were Faldo, Couples, and Norman. Ten years ago, there were Woods, Mickelson, and Els. 
   Now, who will join McIlroy in a new power triumvirate? Will they be young players who have already won a major, such as Louis Oosthuizen, Bubba Watson, Graeme McDowell, Webb Simpson, Charl Schwartzel, or Keegan Bradley? Or will they be players who have shown great promise without pocketing a major yet, such as Adam Scott, Zach Johnson, Jason Dufner, Luke Donald, or Ian Poulter?
   Nothing is certain. We won't know more until next April and Augusta. Yes, there are FedEx playoffs and a Ryder Cup match in the meantime. However. golf purists know real greatness is defined by majors, the four grand slam events played once a year. Everything else is just window dressing, made-for-TV drama.
   Perhaps I misspoke. One thing is now certain: the first leg of the new golf superstar tripod. Unless Rory has a Payne Stewart moment in the near future, he is virtually assured of making the Hall of Fame. Will Alfred E. O'Newman provide a ratings spark and create a new world-wide golf boom as Tiger did fifteen years ago? Time will tell.

PGA Championship 2012: Flower Known As The Tiger Flop Is In Full Bloom Again

   There are only a handful of golfers playing today who can compete consistently with the Tiger Woods of 2012; none can compete with the Tiger Woods of 2000. Nobody else has won as many PGA tour events in 2012 as Tiger Woods: three. That being said, in grand slam events this year Tiger has adopted an old high jump maneuver perfected by Dick Fosbury in the 1970's, the Fosbury flop. He could be a leader or a co-leader on Friday or Saturday when he implements the Tiger Flop. Drives grow erratic, second shots grow inaccurate, or putts grow nervous. In the British Open last month, he challenged a pot bunker and lost.
   Regardless of the way he stumbles, Tiger is consistent in his spectacular falls, his epic fails. Will he reach Jack Nicklaus's record of 18 major championships? Don't count him out yet. But in the tournament in which this reporter thought he had the best chance this year of capturing a major, Woods is following form again. Starting in the last pairing on Saturday with one of his least favorite golfers on the tour (and vice versa) Vijay Singh, Tiger had anti-crafted a three over par round through seven holes when the weather warning sirens sounded, and play stopped for the day. 
   In contrast, Singh played two under par through the same seven holes and is tied for the lead heading into Sunday with Rory McIlroy, who was four under par through nine holes of play. What's worse, CBS broadcasters were claiming that the front nine were the easy scoring holes. What does that foretell for Tiger? He did catch a break with the early halt to Saturday play.
   How big a choke is the latest version of the Tiger Flop? Of the top 34 on the leaderboard, only Blake Adams had as bad a day, and you could argue it was not as bad, for Adams was three over through ten holes.
   What other golfers "flopped" at Kiawah Island in South Carolina? Sergio Garcia, U. S. Open champ Webb Simpson, Hunter Mahan, Lee Westwood, Matt Kuchar, Rickie Fowler, and Brandt Snedecker missed the cut. World number one Luke Donald is tied for 65th at eight over par, British Open champ Ernie Els is tied for 43rd at four over par, and Louis Oosthuizen is tied for 35th at three over par.
   Bubba Watson is three shots worse than Tiger, while Phil Mickelson and defending PGA champ Keegan Bradley are two shots worse than Tiger. 
   Still, it will be difficult now for Tiger to pass other great players above him on the leaderboard. Graeme McDowell and Steve Stricker are one shot up on Mr. Woods, Adam Scott is four shots better, and Rory and Vijay are five shots up.
   What's in Tiger's favor? He has 29 more holes to play. Who would bet on Tiger now, after seeing his steady slide on Saturday? Almost nobody.
   Could Singh at age 49 pull it out? Yes. More likely, however, would be McIlroy capturing his second major or Scott his first. Even rotund Carl Pettersson could pull it out. 
   Of the Americans, Stricker has to be the favorite. Why? Why not Tiger Woods? It's not the year 2000 anymore. Mr. Nicklaus, get ready to crack open another bottle of champagne when the Wanamaker Trophy is awarded.  

    

Summer Olympics 2012 at Halfway Mark: Highlights, Lowlights, and General Impressions

   The Olympics roll on in London and surrounding sites, and by now it should be obvious that the security "glitch" which resulted in actual British military troops being re-assigned to guard the games was a bit of good fortune. Who would you rather have guarding elite athletes, members of royalty, politicians, staffers, vendors, media personnel, and spectators: actual soldiers or rent-a-cops? Security is a highlight.
   In the games themselves, double-amputee South African runner Oscar Pistorius is the greatest highlight just for showing up. Finishing second in the first round heat of the men's 400 meters, Pistorius proved he's competitive, too. Anybody who says he has an advantage for using blades and not having legs below the knee should be given a long, slow walk barefoot over Tony Robbins' hot coals.
   The biggest unexpected highlight of the 2012 Olympics has to be the performance of the host athletes of Great Britain. At this time, Great Britain is third in total medal count with 37, which includes 16 gold. Even Queen Elizabeth's granddaughter won a silver in the three-day equestrian event, and the one anticipated British gold-medalist, heptathlete Jessica Ennis, did not choke, winning the final 400-meter event portion in front of cheering Brits and royals in a packed stadium.
   Other unexpected highlights include the fascinating sports of team handball, field hockey, and water polo 
   American team highlights include the men's and women's swimming teams. They have achieved unexpected overall excellence during the first week (and only week for swimming) of Olympic competition, for the most part shaming the previously strong Chinese and Australian teams. Outstanding performers included Brendan Hansen, Ryan Lochte, Nathan Adrian, Matt Grevers, Dana Vollmer, Missy Franklin, Allison Schmitt, Rebecca Soni, Shannon Vreeland, and, yes, even slow-to-warm-up-in-London Michael Phelps.
   Last night was the coup-de-grace, with both 400 meter medley relay teams capturing gold and breaking world records in the process. Retiring superstar Phelps and emerging superstar Franklin spearheaded their team's victories, with Phelps' amazing turn in his butterfly leg pretty much symbolizing his athletic excellence through three Olympics (his first in Sydney in 2000 doesn't really count, where a 15-year-old Phelps finished fifth in his one event--the 200 butterfly). Though his start to the meet was unusually lethargic, resulting in two silvers and one fourth, he concluded with four consecutive gold medals, split evenly between relays and individual events.
   Eighteen gold medals out of 24 total events is an amazing career for Mr. Phelps, and while he'll never be mistaken for an English professor or Boy Scout, one should give him props for showing humility and honesty when he admitted to interviewer Bob Costas that he won the 200 IM on Thursday because Ryan Lochte was fatigued from swimming a heat for another event only a short time before. He also indirectly gave kudos to another competitor in a race he lost by a finger when he said he didn't mess up the ending and did swim his race, meeting his time goal. 
   Despite youthful indiscretions, Mr. Phelps deserves more cereal boxes and other endorsements despite this reporter's enjoyment at watching him fail on occasion, probably more the result of the showboating antics of his mother in the stands than of the swimmer's own showboating in the water.
   Another highlight of the week was the American women's indoor volleyball team beating powerful China and Brazil, 3-0 and 3-1, respectively. 
   Lowlights include two American teams' behavior both on and off the courts and fields. First, Team USA male basketball players are crying foul over the real possibility that they will be excluded from future games if FIBA adopts an under-23 policy. While superstars say that such a restriction would diminish the quality of the competition, who really wants to see 84-point blowouts of third world countries?  
    However, most readers and viewers with a triple-digit IQ get it: what the players are most upset about is being denied future candy stores of recreational interplay with young, attractive athletes in the village and beyond. Kobe Bryant and LeBron James have both been photographed having great times at local nightclubs. One female Olympic athlete bragged through a tweet that LeBron asked her to join him on a "dinner date" at the athletes' cafeteria. A female USA athlete snapped a photo with her smartphone and put it online of center Tyson Chandler lying on her too-short bed in her dorm room. Obviously, the dazzling wealth and fame of NBA superstars gives them a Big Man on Campus status (ironic, since a few like Kobe and LeBron never went to college, or stayed for two years at most) and an unfair advantage in the "courting"/pickup game over almost all other athletes not named Federer. 
    The other American team lowlight is an ugly display of "showmanship" regularly coming from the USA women's soccer/world football team whenever they score a goal. The on-field team goes through elaborate choreographed celebrations, including cartwheels, written messages for non-present players, and the worm. All in all, it's a rather odious display of one-upsmanship and non-sportsmanship. Where's the yellow card? 
   Additionally, Hope Solo went and defensively slammed media analyst and former American soccer/world football star Brandi Chastain for criticizing the current team's erratic defense (although Team USA has given up very few goals since their first game). Ms. Chastain is entitled to her opinion, and the game has not changed that much in the dozen years since she played, regardless of what Ms. Solo claims.
   All in all, the players' smug aura of entitlement and superiority makes one wish for an upset.
  Out of the two competition scandals, only one counts as a true lowlight. Something has to be done about the judging of boxing matches to avoid some of the ludicrous results seen so far. Corruption or incompetence, both should be removed from the Olympic games where subjective judging is involved. Ironically, boxing thought its new point system was a more objective solution. Wrong.
   The other scandal saw South Korea and China both trying to throw their badminton match. China "won" by losing in a farcical 43-minute match. Still, it's badminton. Get over it. Move on.
   The biggest lowlight remains the IOC refusing to recognize during the opening ceremonies the Israeli victims of the 1972 terrorist attack on the Olympic village in Munich. Perhaps the authorities feel they don't have enough security, notwithstanding the soldiers, to fend off an attack from an outraged Islamic cell offended at such a gesture.
   Hopefully, they will pay tribute to the eleven fallen members of the 1972 Israeli contingent at the closing ceremony to make up for their prior omission.