Let me begin by saying that I really hate this time of year. Baseball is nearing the halfway point of it's 162 game season. The NHL Playoffs have ended without the Flyers holding the cup (yet again). I could care less about the NBA Playoffs, especially a Finals as pitiful as this one. And we were denied yet another chance to see a Triple Crown winner. However, there is one thing to look forward to, and it occurs this coming weekend in the great state of Pennsylvania. What I am talking about is of course the 2007 US Open. This year it will be played at the very challenging Oakmont Country Club just outside of Pittsburgh. So far, the main thing being talked about is the way the course will be set up. The last few US Opens have not gone quite like the USGA had planned, ranging from the disaster at Shinnecock to the Massacre at Winged Foot. In those opens, "unfair" conditions led to higher than average scoring, with Geoff Ogilvy winning last year at 5-over par. Expect much of the same this year, as professionals have weighed in with their thoughts on what the winning score will be. Tiger Woods is predicting 4-over. Adam Scott thinks 6-over. Vijay Singh even said 10-over. Thus, I think the winner of this year's Open will probably be someone who drives it straight, scrambles well, and doesn't take a lot of risks. Thus, I'm going with hometown hero Jim Furyk to win Major Championship #2 at a score of 3-over par. Play starts Thursday.
A few other things to wrap up before I go:
Happy Belated 20th Birthday to my brother Mike...one more year to go buddy.
I will try to keep writing blog entries, but again, I hate forcing them. If something comes up, I will be happy to jot down my thoughts. Otherise, I don't want to clog this space with nonsense. Any ideas for an entry are always welcome...stay tuned for the US Open recap later this week.
And finally, I had to pass on this interesting story from the Washington, PA Observer-Reporter. It's about a recent recruiting visit made by Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis and an unnamed assistant. Now, I am not totally sold on Charlie as the answer at Notre Dame (yet at least), and think he is a pompous ass. But this story is pretty funny, especially the description of Charlie's physical stature.
"A few weeks ago, Weis and one of his assistants arrived at the front door of Trinity High School at a most inopportune time. According to Trinity football coach Ed Dalton, the Notre Dame party arrived at the same time an administrator's meeting was taking place in another part of the school. The hallway outside Dalton's office, where Weis and his assistant were standing, would have been barren except that a fight between two students had broken out. That type of activity tends to draw a crowd. Weis and his assistant moved toward the two combatants but were stopped in the hallway by a Trinity staffer, who demanded to know why they were not wearing visitor badges. After identifying themselves, Weis and his assistant were allowed through and immediately walked up to the two battling students. "(Weis) said, 'You want a piece of me?'" Dalton recalled. The two fighters stopped to size up Weis, a hulk of a man whose arms are large enough to rip a phone book in half. The fight was called because of common sense. Then Weis turned to Dalton and asked, "What do I get for that?" Dalton replied, "If you stay until 11 a.m., you can do lunch duty." Weis politely declined and moved along to the next high school.
Hopefully he can bring that kind of attitude to the defense this year.
I woke up this morning in the god-awful city of Schenctady, NY and happened to catch the morning SportsCenter. To my dismay, they reported that legendary hot dog eating champion Takeru Kobayashi is listed as day-to-day for next week's Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Competition on Coney Island with a sore jaw. This is terrible news! Not only do I love watching Kobayashi scarf down upwards of 50 hot dogs every July 4th, but this year had the makings of an instant classic. For those of you not up to speed on the world of competitive eating, American Joey Chestnut broke Kobayashi's world hot dog eating record in a qualifier for this event. Chestnut has finished second to Kobayashi a couple times, always finishing a few dogs short. Thus, we had what was shaping up as a Weiner eat-off for the ages...6-time defending champion Kobayashi versus World Record holder Joey Chestnut. There seem to be two common schools of thought regarding Kobayashi's jaw "injury". Apparently, his jaw is "sore" and he cannot open it wide enough to eat hot dogs. Thus, a great debate has emerged among experts in the sport. On one hand are those who believe Kobayashi's injury to be legit. Among those experts are Dick Vitale and Barry Melrose, who feel that Kobayashi would do everything in his power to defend his title. On the other hand are those who feel Kobayashi is afraid of Mr. Chestnut and doesn't want to be beaten by this young upstart. This view is supported by none other than John "I like Chestnut because I only have one Chestnut" Kruk. Personally, I have to side with Mr. Kruk on this one. I have never tried competitive eating, but I know that one doesn't have to open their jaw very much to eat a hot dog. The tough part about eating hot dogs comes in the digestive system. If you don't believe me, ask Chubbs. However, I think Kobayashi is just too afraid of Chestnut and thus doesn't want to be embarrassed by an American on the Fourth of July. Regardless of the validity of Kobayashi's injury, I hope to see him out there on Coney Island battling with Joey Chestnut. It could be an eating competition for the ages.
