Wide World of Sports

Yes MSG is spanning the globe.  After all, there is more than enough time to break down Kobe-Hedo I.  Plus, I have to wait for Nike to update its Most Valuable Puppets.  So with that in mind, let’s take in a few more sporting items from around the world.

• French Open:  4x defending Champ Rafael Nadal actually lost to some guy named Robin Soderling.  his first lost in 33 matches at Rolland Garros.  Along with Djokavic’ loss, this tournament is Federer’s to lose.  Admittedly, him completing the career Grand Slam with Nadal out is sort of like, say, the Lakers winning the NBA title against some pretenders like the Orlando Magic, but I guess it still counts.  See if Roger can put it together.
• FA Cup:  Everton, despite scoring a goal in the first 25 seconds (no, that is not a typo), and having American Tim Howard in goal, fell to Billionairre Russian Roman Obramovich’s Chelsea side 2-1.  Too bad.
• Champions’ League: But all was not lost as Barcelona (the Blaugrana), despite missing 3/4ths of its best defenders due to injury or suspension, absolutely DOMINATED Manchester United in the Champions’ League final 2-0.  It was totally sweet, unless you are from Manchester, or a complete soccer front runner, meaning you are the equivalent of most Yankee fans.
• NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Final: Sure, I pay no attention to this sport, but the final was as dramatic as the final of the Frozen Four (in that final, perennial powerhouse Boston U was losing by two goals, but scored twice in the last 1:21 or so to tie it, then won in overtime.  Miami of Ohio was the victim.)  Well, in Lacrosse, Syracuse is a powerhouse, Jim Brown played there.  They were losing in the last 20 seconds, but intercepted a ball and scored with 4 seconds to go; won it in overtime.  The Big Red of Cornell will have to take solace in firing all the Syracuse guys from their jobs in ten years.
• Basketball: I am contractualy obligated to mention that the WNBA starts in June (I think).
• Softball: ESPN is subjecting me to Women’s Softball.  Who has the tractor pull rights?  Universal?  Versus?  A lot of people, Yes MSG included, complain about Women’s sports.  Not that they should not play them, just that they are not as enjoyable to watch.  When the discrepancy and how the game is played is SOOOOOO dramatically obvious, I find it painful.  Basketball tops the list.  No, I don’t think I am better than Cynthia Cooper, and I appreciated Jennifer Azzi and Dawn Staley as much as anyone, but the game is ugly and played so far BELOW the rim.  Now why am I harping on Hoop in the Softball section?  Because softball is the same but more egregious.  First off all, there is the mini-field.  So the women pitch from a 45 foot mound, making them all throw the equivalent of 90+ MPH.  Unfortunately, while major leaguers who can hit a 90 MPH pitch are a dime a dozen (college too), there seem to be four women that can do so.  So we end up with tons of 1-0 games, no hitters, 20 strikeouts, etc.  BORING.  Would a 5-3 match kill the sport?  Moreover, what is it with the extra innings and starting each 1/2 inning with a runner on second.  I need not say more.
• Late Night Talk Shows (hey, if Spelling Bees and Golf are sports, so is this):  So Jay Leno is ‘leaving’ The Tonight Show.  Conan O’Brien is ‘leaving’ Late Night with Conan O’Brien.  Am I the only one that does not see anyone ‘leaving’ anything and just moving timeslots?  So Jay will be on at 10pm, the news at 11pm, and Conan now at 11:30 instead of 12: 30.  Seems to be that Jay is still doing the Tonight Show, and Conan is just doing Earlier Late Night with Conan O’Brien.  Hardly the impactful boob tube impact of say 1) Broadcast Television; 2) Tivo; 3) Nudity on Cable.  Just sayin’. (Craigbe?  Care to Comment?)
• College Sports: I put this under a generic heading, and it actually warrants its own column, but I was thinking that some of today’s professional athletes should not go back to school AS PROFESSORS:

Kenyon Martin, Professor of English, University of Cincinnati:  ”I ain’t never known nobody apology to someone through other people.”  “Me and my mom ain’t going to lose no sleep if we don’t talk to Mark Cuban.”

James Harrison, Professor of Philosophy and Logic, Kent State:  Mr. Harrison did not attend the White House Party for the Super Bowl Champion Steelers because he felt slighted.  Seems he figured Obama would have invited the Arizona Cardinals had they won the Super Bowl.  Um, well, you see…….Of course, Mr. Harrison previously taught a class on Etiquette, as he had been convicted of hitting his girlfriend, and has recently been attempting to receive tenure in Animal Husbandry since his pit bull attacked his two year old.  Good thing the guy can run an interception back as that halftime clock expires.

• Search: New Playah in the Game.  Scroogle — nah!  Bing it!

Check back later for the breakdown of Kobe-Hedo I.

The NBA is Craptastic

These NBA Playoffs are now horrible.  Really, the quality of play is so poor.  Lebron v Orlando is painful to watch.  And the Lakers – Nuggets series with each team trading poor performances is not exactly bringing back memories of 1980s Celts-Lakers, or even 2008 Celts-Cavs.

First of all, all the pundits are talking about how this Lebron team is disappointing; how this upset could happen.  What?  See my two posts below, one from a month ago almost, talking about how Lebron’s team is basically him and that if it actually won the title, it would be the weakest champion of all time.  Yes MSG ahead of Barkley et al.

The Epsilon Dog

It’s LeBron and it’s Not Debatable

Actually, you can extend this to all four semi-finalists.  Michael Cooper, defensive stopper from the 80s Lakers (and current WNBA coach, but we will not discuss that), was interviewed recently, and when asked if this version of the Lakers could beat his version, his response was hilarious.  Kindly stated, but basically his response was:

What?  No way!  We had Kareem, Magic, Worthy.  Who and how would they guard that?

He is right.  All these teams are super-flawed.  Heck, Orlando can win it because it has two 6′ 10″ guys who can shoot threes (they cannot post up or rebound, but that does not matter if you go against Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom).

Lebron’s team is weak, as stated previously.

The Nuggets are inexperienced and hard to root for in a way.  Love Chauncey Billups, and Melo, but Kenyon Martin and JR Smith are despicable.  If you watched Lakers-Nuggest game 4, I could not believe the attitude.  First of all, indefensible fouls commited, and technicals.  Those cost them game 3, and could have cost them game 4.  I don’t like Kobe, but he will make them all pay in Game 5 at Staples.  Furthermore, these guys strut after hitting some threes, and ‘laugh’ when called for T’s.  Grow up guys or you will blow the series.  No one ever won a 7 game series in 4 games when you have already lost one at home.  So you hit some threes and do the chicken dance?  What a bunch of tools (fools)!

And the Lakers have Kobe and hope someone else fills in.  Still soft, although I think Gasol gets a bad rap as he never was going to bring toughness.  I still figure the Lakers beat the Nuggets in Game 7; then it really depends.  If they get Orlando, they may have trouble.  If they get the LeBrons, they win in 6.

Kobe could end up being vindicated by winning a title with no-Shaq, but again, the team that wins this year is going to be, in the words of Roger Clemens, misremebered, if remembered at all.

There is one difference though, I think the Lakers have to win this year or the window closes.  The other three have next year, especially Orlando and Denver.

In summary, maybe the fact that Dish Network is not showing ABC (current contractual disagreement) is not such a bad thing.

The Epsilon Dog

Ohmigosh – LeBron’s Cavs go down in game 1!!!

Really, this is a shock?  Even Yes MSG in a previous post said that if LeBron won the title, it would be with (one of) the worst supporting cast in NBA history.  So when any team relies so heavily on a singular superstar, one should not be surprised when it is challenged in the playoffs.  Sure LeBron is the ALPHA Dog, but who is the  Beta?  Unfortunately, the breakdown does not work in Cleveland’s favor.

1. Alpha Dog: LeBron
2. Beta Dog: Dwight Howard
3. Gamma Dog: Hedo Turkoglu
4. Delta Dog: Rashard Lewis
5. Epsilon Dog: Mo Williams
6. Zeta Dog: Mikael Pietrus
7. Theta Dog: Anderson Varejao
8. Iota Dog: Rafer Alston
9. Kappa Dog: Delonte West (could be Iota, kind of a tie)

I could go on, but Orlando has 3 of the top 4 guys and 5 of eight.  Cleveland supplements this with Cinderella (Zydrunas Ilgauskas — get it glass slippers, fragile feet), Ben Wallace and Joe Smith’s cadavers, and Wally (I was actually athletic in the MAC) Szczerbiak.

Sure, Cleveland may come back and win based on LeBron’s sheer force of will, but my point is that Cleveland is not going 16-1 in the Playoffs.  In fact, none of these teams could compete with Shaq’s Lakers or many of the other recent champions, like the Spurs, that usually had Alpha (Duncan), and at least Gamma and Delta (Manu and Parker).

Here ends your Greek Basketball Lesson!

Dammit Jim, I am a Blogger not a Movie Critic

Yes MSG normally sticks to what he ostensibly knows.  And The Arts are not included.  However, I have decided to critique what was an enjoyable evening watching the new Star Trek last night.  SPOILER ALERT — I will ruin some of the plot, so if you are a Trekkie, well, then, you would have already seen it.

I liked it; not great but very good, entertaining, and eminently forgettable.  But hey, you want to kill 2 hours, 6 minutes, watching Zoe Saldana is not a bad way to spend it.  Now if JJ Abrams has any sense, Uhura gains skills beyond intergalactic linguistics, and learns to fight off Romulans in skimpy clothing.

So the movie seemed to be a combination of a bunch of films we have seen before:

• Kirk loses his dad, who ‘did it right’ and that is what drives him: Maverick in Top Gun; Luke Skywalker in Star Wars
• Spock, it turns out, has rather impressive, and previously unknown, fighting skills: Jason Bourne in The Bourne Identity
• Spock meets his future self but in the present: JCVD in Space Cop
• Planet Vulcan implodes: Star Wars
• Bunch of Rookies get to crew the LATEST ADDITION TO STARFLEET, the Enterprise: Um, no film.  Having Kirk go from suspension to Captain, and them finding Scotty on some deserted island and putting him in control of the engine room, was really unprecedented, and not for a good reason
• Pike is in control of the Enterprise, no Spock is, no, Kirk is: Denzel and Gene in Crimson Tide
• Kirk saves Sulu by jumping after him and the two of them attempting to hang tight with only a single parachute: Keanu and Patrick in Point Break

I AM SERIOUS NOW: SPOILER ALERT

• Spock and Uhuru have a relationship: Sidney Poitier and Katharine Houghton in Guess Whose Coming to Dinner
• Kirk has relationships with women who are blue, green, orange, whatever: Sidney Poitier and Katharine Houghton in Guess Who is Coming to Dinner

I liked most of the movies referenced, and if you did too, you will like Star Trek.

Johnny Utah v Shane Falco — MNF Breakdown

First of all, many of my readers ask the obvious question of Yes MSG — why don’t you run a Fortune 500 company.  Legit.  But I was stumped for a response.  Then I read this article by David Brooks of the NYT (awesome read, and short, so check it out), and realized that, unfortunately, my personality traits don’t translate well to the executive suite.  Essentially, if you are charismatic, you should not be a CEO.  However, Wall Street’s loss is Main Street’s gain.

I was listening to the most hysterical podcast recently, ESPN’s the SportsGuy with Dave Dameshek (part 2), and they were contemplating how (my guilty pleasure) Keanu Reeves played an ex-Ohio State QB twice in his film career.  Once, he was Rose Bowl winning QB Johnny Utah who lost his career to a knee injury in Point Break, and then later as Sugar Bowl choking Shane Falco in The Replacements. 

This, combined with what seems to be a national uproar over the hiring of Jon Gruden to replace Tony Kornheiser in the MNF booth, got me to thinking.  Thinking what you ask?  Thinking WHAT IS THE BIG DEAL?  I mean really?  There is not enough information out there on football that we actually look to announcers for any kind of information of interest?  Other than Barkley, who is willing to say, and can get away with anything, I pretty much tune them all out.  Other than the guys who are true professionals and nice to listen to — Verne Lundquist, Mike Breen — or generate excitement — Gus Johnson, who really cares who announces. 

Actually, I will miss Kornheiser just because I would actually prefer humor to 3 guys talking about the 9 route. Plus, no booth will ever be as good as:

In fact, if MNF were smart, they would actually replay highlights from the 70s with Cosell voiceover.  After all, by Monday night we have all seen all the highlights we need on SportsCenter, FoxSports, NFL Network, Local News, YouTube, NFL.com, etc.  Or at least, they could get Frank Caliendo to do the current highlights in Cosell’s voice.  Think about it; Howard talking Steelers-Pats:

And then Benny Roethlisberger hits Santonio for a score with two minutes to go and it looks bleak for the Pats.

BUT NO!

Tommy Brady evades the rush and finds Moss, that big monkey (Howard is more PC in the 2000s), down the right sideline for 64 yards.  A Gostkowski field goal later and the Pats resurgence continues.

While we are at it, maybe they can do John Facenda and Harry Kalas too.  Kind of like all baseball highlights would be better in Mel Allen’s voice.

So to be honest, Gruden, Fouts, Simms, Baldinger, who cares?  Since Madden’s act got old, which is hard not to in 30 braodcasting years, going retro and bringing back the dead sounds like the best strategy to me.

Hit the Links

Let’s start with something a bit sad — the passing of Wayman Tisdale.  I totally remember him in college, and even the pros, and like everyone, the smile and joy he seemed to exude on the court and in life.  If you want read a nice story, click here. 

Switching to something a bit more intriguing, even if not as important, the Triple Crown really has it going.  First, a 50:1 shot wins the Kentucky Derby.  Then the jockey, Calvin Borel, decides to ride a different horse in the Preakness.  This was the first time in history that the winning Kentucky Derby jockey chose not to ride the same horse in the Preakness.  To make it even more of a challenge and potentially stranger, the horse, Rachel Alexandra, is a filly.  She actually won the Kentucky Oaks the day BEFORE the Kentucky Derby, and was not in the Derby because her previous owners did not think girls should run against boys.  How, um, quaint, archaic, neanderthal.  Anyway, after the Oaks, new owners (including Jess Jackson, famous for making inexpensive quality wine — Kendall-Jackson) bought Rachel Alexandra and then entered her in the Preakness. 

So by not entering the Derby, Rachel Alexandra may have cratered two Triple Crown hopefuls.  Herself, as you cannot win the first leg if you don’t enter.  And Mine that Bird, the previously most intriguing story who finished second in the Preakness.  But is has set up the most anticipated Rubber Match in Triple Crown racing since Affirmed – Alydar.  Best Horse?  Triple Crown for the jockey, Borel, but not the horse.  

Tune in in 3 weeks.  Oh, and if you want to read a prescient article written BEFORE the preakness, click here.

Now on to Hockey — would be exciting, but on Versus, don’t have it, have not seen it.

Basketball — well the Celts went out and I am somewhat suprised that after blowing games 4 at home and 5 on the road that Orlando came so huge.  They may actually have more talent than the Cleveland LeBrons but LeBron seems to be Sui Generis and will not lose to Orlando.  God showing by Boston, without Garnett and half the bench – namely Leon Powe.

Now the Lakers did win big at home in game 7 against the SUPER depleted Rockets.  And they should get by Denver, but let’s hope they don’t.  How can you root for a group of such talented underachievers who don’t seem to care.  Look, I respect Kobe’s talent as much as the next person, but it really appears that no one likes him.  Supposedly, teammates love playing with LeBron.  And while MJ has a pricklier personality (he onced punched Steve kerr for goodness sake), he NEVER took a night off, a la Kobe.  Magic was loved, and Bird was the quiet assassin.  The Black Mamba, on the other hand, will probably have no one show up at his Hall of Fame induction speech.  How can you root for that?

Yes MSG cannot — bring on Nugs-Cavs (even though it will not be)

Dirk Destroys the Dream of Any Wannabe Pro Athlete

Yes MSG is filling up the RSS feed these days.  Sure, I could talk about Game 7 of Pens-Caps (not competitive at all) or Denver dropping the Mavs, or tonight’s LA Kobes versus the ICU of Houston, but instead, I am detoured by the Nowitzski story of his (ex) girlfriend.

I will not go into the detail, as you can read it here, but the sordid saga does bring to mind some questions to all of us who would like to be Max NBA contract players with all the benefits that theoretically accrue to such status,  or even just NBA bench warmers, figuring the benefits, while more limited, are certainly greater than we currently see as Tech workers (or equivalent).  To wit:

1. Dirk, why are you dating someone who once dated Tony Banks – a journeyman QB in the NFL mostly known not at all, or if so, for fumbling a lot
2. And more important, Dirk, why are you dating this woman?

Look, I am not saying she could not be attractive, but you are going to make over $150M in your career and you play hoop for a living.  Sure, you are German, probably lack personality, have a soft game for someone your size, and none too good looking, but still.  We, the wannabe fan base, expect more.

Very disappointing Dirk.  This is why the Hoop Gods gave D Wade all those calls in the Finals in 2006 and you were summarily eliminated by the Nuggets this year. 

If Mark Jaric, who is equally unattractive and has less game, can land Adriana

Well, we expect better from you.

Of course, the best player in the history of the game, MJ, had an affair with Karla (below), so maybe this problem is more widespread than I had known.  Now I am fearful. 

Thank God for Marko Jaric (first time in history that sentence has been written).

Breaking News!!! (Really???)

Tim Floyd, coach of the USC Trojans Men’s Basketball team has been accused of paying a ‘representative’ of recruit OJ Mayo $1000.  BFD.

I could have written this story years ago, and it will be accurate into the foreseeable future:

Coach (fill in name of major college program) accused of paying a representative of prized recruit (fill in name of recruit) $(fill in amount) to play at (coach’s) school

So you can imagine the accuracy by filling in Tim Floyd, OJ Mayo (or Demar Rozan, or Thaddeus Young, or Taj Gibson or Daniel Hackett).  What is surprising is the amount — $1000?  Really?  For a guy who was considered the next LeBron, and was second in Rookie of the Year voting?  Good value buy for Floyd.

When you think that when Kentucky coach Eddie Sutton paid, via now respected (which is another story on its own) ex-Timberwolves coach Dwayne Casey, thousands for Chris Mills, you have to wonder what happened to inflation in illegal payments to recruits.

As a Cal grad, I remember vividly how Todd Bozeman paid $30,000 like 15 years ago to the father of Jelani Gardner.  Heck, he was not even the best Jelani in the Pac 10; that would be McCoy of UCLA who at least played in the NBA as opposed to flaming out in the Pac 10 and then transferring to Pepperdine.

And what is more insulting beyond the absolutely crap investment that was Jelani Gardner — he might as well have been the first internet stock — is how Cal sucked.  At least USC won with its bought players.

And what is MOST insulting is how Cal got caught.  When Bozeman figured out that Jelani sucked, he essentially benched him.  Well, Jelani’s father was none too pleased.  So what did he do?  He turned the program in despite the fact that HE TOOK THE MONEY, profiting on his son’s supposed athletic ability.  So Cal suffered, Jelani suffered, transferred and sucked, and his dad kep his $30K and his dignity.  Hope the IRS went after him.  But at least there was one great quote out of the whole process from Jelani’s dad when complaining about his son’s lack of playing time:

“That’s no way to treat an All-American”

Not exactly “Bitc& set me up” but not bad.

No Fav-ruh

I recently received a request from a reader, which is actually a pretty big deal when your readership numbers in the single digits.  This reader requested a blog posting about Brett Favre. 

As this reader is from North Dakota (or is it South?), and has no sports teams within thousands of miles, obviously the Pack represent the closest thing to the “Big City” in his life.  And I would hate to disappoint him, BUT I HAVE TO. 

We have been through this before, 3, 4, 5 times.  Really, just go read any item in the Wisconsin Post Gazette dated May 12, 2006, 2007, 2008 and it will get you up to date.  So until Brett signs with the Purple, leave me alone.  Oh, but keep reading my blog.  And as a compromise, I will link to this hysterical article on the Favre Comeback/Retirement/Comeback story, so knock yourself out Dakota.

And if one of my remaining 6 readers want a Clemens article about his ‘alleged’ steroid use, see the paragraph above, substitute Arrogant, Egocentric Pitcher for Overly Sensitive Diva-esque Quarterback, and you have your answer.

Now if you want to read something good about a more contemporary insensitive, overly egotistical, detached, yet talented superstar, read this article by Tim Keown about Kobe Bryant:

Leave the scowl at home, Kobe

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By Tim Keown
Page 2The strangest moment of the NBA playoffs took place during Game 3 of the Lakers-Rockets series, when Kobe Bryant hit an 18-foot turnaround jumper from the left elbow with Shane Battier’s right hand in his face. Bryant immediately began shaking his head with a look that indicated he smelled something really bad. This — as you know — is Kobe’s dismissive face, the one he now makes after nearly every basket.

But that wasn’t the strange part — after all, how can something be strange when it happens anywhere from 10 to 25 times a game? The strange part came afterward, when he started back downcourt and turned to the TNT broadcasters at center court and yelled toward commentator Doug Collins.

	We get it Kobe, no one can guard you. Now keep quiet and play the game.

“He can’t guard me,” Bryant said. Shaking his head, his mouth curled downward in a semicircle of disgust, he stared down Collins and said it again, “He can’t guard me.”

There was a pause on the broadcast. OK, that was meant for us, you could almost hear them thinking. So … what do we say now? They couldn’t ignore it, because it was clear to everyone watching that they were taken aback and that Kobe was the reason. Kevin Harlan acknowledged that Kobe was targeting Collins, one of the most even and knowledgeable minds in the game. When Harlan asked his partner what it was all about, Collins sounded genuinely perplexed. “I’m not sure,” he said, and they quickly and quietly moved on.

And that’s the deal about Kobe: None of us is sure. How can a guy with that much talent play with such little joy? Why does he feel he has to put on that phony tough-guy show all the time? Underneath all that pre-fab armor, who is he? Does he even know?

It’s sad, maybe, but Kobe will never be appreciated in a manner commensurate with his ability. He’s in the process of turning himself into an antihero. (In many respects, he is similar to Alex Rodriguez, another tin-eared superstar.) Everything he does reeks of insecurity, which is a really weird trait for a guy who — along with LeBron James — is a once-a-decade basketball talent.

Unlike LeBron, though, Kobe can’t let his game speak for him. He has to accentuate everything with the facial expressions and the dismissiveness. It’s not enough for him to beat someone; he feels compelled to belittle that person in the process. That’s why one of the best things about the Lakers-Rockets series — and, really, it’s turning into a 700-page novel — has been Shane Battier’s reaction to Kobe’s antics. And that reaction is this: zero. None. He acts as though he can’t hear or see any of it.

Hey, Kobe, we know you’re great. You know you’re great. Shane Battier knows you’re great. How about letting someone else say it first every once in a while? The way it works now, you’re telling us so often that we’re getting tired of it. Let us be the judge of whether someone can or cannot guard you. It’s pretty self-explanatory, to Doug Collins and everybody else.

You see, I want to be able to enjoy Kobe’s talent. I want to see it the way I see LeBron’s: transcendent, mostly pure and emanating outward. It probably will never happen, though. Kobe won’t let it.

For a guy with such a constant flow of creativity running through his game, it’s amazing to see how calculated he is about his image. He comes across as though he’s reading a script, and he’s all wrong for the part (maybe Alan Alda reading a part meant for Harvey Keitel). There are just too many false notes, and the worst part is, he actually seems to believe this is what people want from him. This is the persona he has cultivated, and he’s going with it no matter what. It’s really kind of sad.

And this is where Kobe veers from the arrogant antihero routine perfected by someone such as Barry Bonds. Bonds didn’t care what you thought about him. He thrived off the anger he generated. But this preening, jaw-jutting, head-shaking character is what Kobe believes people want.

Maybe it’s his attempt to answer the questions of the Lakers’ toughness. I don’t know, but in the playoffs, his performances generally follow one of two themes: (1) He takes over the game and taunts everybody in sight, demanding that all acknowledge his greatness or (2) he steps back and intentionally doesn’t take over a game, in which case his attitude seems to be, “See what they look like without me?” Either way, it’s a tough act to embrace.

In the wake of Sunday’s Game 4 disaster, when Battier and Ron Artest did guard Kobe — and after which Magic Johnson said the Lakers defiled the team’s honor — it’s a good bet Kobe will be at his contrived best in Tuesday night’s Game 5. He’ll probably dominate, and he’ll undoubtedly let us know.

But here’s a radical idea: Stop with the smugness and the arrogance. Play your game and let your talent speak for itself. You might not know this, but it does a much better job than you do. And if you’re not going to enjoy what you bring to the court, at least give us half a chance.

Cejka is Czech for Choker

So Alex Cejka — who is he?  Well, he was the 54 hole leader of the TPC this past weekend.  In fact he had a 5 stroke lead on his closest followers, including Tiger Woods, heading into Sunday.  This was the largest 3rd round lead in the history of the tournament.  So how did Mr. Cejka respond?  Seven over 79.  He lost his lead so fast, that NBC would never have shown him again, but….

His playing partner was Tiger, who played like kitty in shooting 1 over 73 and fading from the very first hole. 

Fortunately, the entire field was not full of Cejkas — Henrik Stenson shot a bogey free, 6 under 66 to win going away.  Of course, he was the antithesis of this past sporting weekend, that also saw:

• The Lakers lay an absolute egg against a Rockets team that was missing Yao (in addition to not having T-MAC and Dikembe) — Kobe did NOT attempt a free throw — what a strange kat!
• Orlando blow a great opportunity to go up 3-1 on Boston, and now will probably lose the right to lose to the Cleveland LeBrons in teh next round
• The Yankees taking their $480M in off season contracts, their $200M payroll, and their $1.5B stadium and parlaying that into 6-7 at home (even worse than 9-9 road record)

Their are some studs though too from the weekend:

• Aaron Brooks of Houston who lit it up for 34 and an amazing lay in before the half — can anyone stay in front of him?  Man, would I love it if the Lakers blew it to the Rockets; unlikely, but I would love it
• Ovechkin and Crosby — this is hockey, and on Versus, so no one sees it, but if Bettman has 1/2 a brain, and that is debatable, he will find a way to get these guys on a TV station that people actually have

Hope everyone’s Mother’s Day weekend was more Brooks and less Cejka!