Ryder Cup Quiz: In 1983 the U.S. defeated Europe, 14 ½ – 13 ½
to complete a 13-match undefeated string, including a draw in
1969. How many of the results since ‘83 can you get right?
[Remember, due to 9/11 the event skipped from 1999 to 2002,
then 2004.]
Ryder Cup
Recognizing many of you are casual sports fans and couldn’t
care less about the Ryder Cup, I just urge you to take a look
Sunday morning and if the score after the first two days is
reasonably close, say 10-6, you may want to catch some of
Sunday’s 12 singles matches, because the Ryder Cup, except for
two years ago, has consistently provided some of the greatest
drama on the sports stage.
These days, though, the Ryder Cup is also about money….lots
and lots of it.
Following is an excerpt from September’s Golf Digest and the
memories of 2004 Ryder Cup assistant to Captain Hal Sutton,
golfing legend Jackie Burke Jr.
“I’ve heard every reason the American team took its worst
beating ever at the 2004 Ryder Cup. We were too confident, we
didn’t putt very well, our teammates weren’t very close, the
Europeans were more motivated, our styles of play weren’t as
flexible as the Europeans’, we had five rookies, and so on. The
reasons are valid. They all contributed to the 18 ½-9 ½
trouncing, which looked even worse up close than it did on TV.
I can vouch for that. But the most prominent reason came to
light before the matches. It just killed us, and it might get us
again. It’s an issue pervasive in all of golf and in many parts of
everyday life.
“It has to do with tuxedos.
“On Wednesday of Ryder Cup week there was a gala dinner at
the Fox Theatre in Detroit. [The Cup was held at Oakland Hills,
Michigan.] It was a big show with lots of entertainment, but to
be honest I tried to get out of going. Star-studded events like that
are not for me, and I also wanted to save my energy for the long
days ahead. So I told M.B. Orender, then the president of the
PGA of America, that if it were all the same to him, I’d rather
stay in the hotel and rest. M.G. was having none of it.
“ ‘We’ve put in a lot of expense putting this thing together,
Jackie,’ he said. ‘Your tuxedo cost $1,500.’
“I gulped. ‘I guess I’m going,’ I said.
“Those tuxedos were one of the reasons we lost. The opulence
surrounding the Ryder Cup was staggering, and the tuxes were
symbols of that. From the moment we landed in Detroit, we
were feted with lavish gifts, world-class entertainment and all
manner of personal attention. My clothing alone probably cost
$10,000. The captains, co-captains and players each got three
suits, five pairs of slacks, a jacket, four pairs of shoes, cashmere
sweaters and a bunch of short- and long-sleeve alpaca sweaters.
“That was just for starters. There were six bags of stuff waiting
for my wife, Robin, and me when we got back to our hotel room
each day. We got jewelry. They gave me a Ryder Cup ring that
was so big I felt like I’d just graduated from Notre Dame. I got a
money clip encrusted with jewels I couldn’t identify. We got
two huge pro-style golf bags. It became almost overwhelming,
and at one point I told Robin I was concerned about how we
were going to get all this stuff home.
“ ‘We’ll ship it, honey,’ she said, patting my hand.
“We had the use of 26 Cadillacs for the week, not that we needed
them because drivers took us everywhere. The night we were
driven to the Fox Theatre, we made our entrance on a red carpet.
Special chefs came in and cooked for the thousand people who
attended.
“Speaking of food, one room at our hotel was set aside strictly
for meals and snacks. The food was the best in the world, and
the dessert cart was like something out of a movie. There was a
night when one of the sponsors sent a team of world-class chefs
to our hotel. The players put on chefs hats and helped with the
gourmet cooking. We ate in the kitchen with the chefs….
“Before Robin and I left Houston for Oakland Hills, I got a
phone call from a woman at the PGA of America. As she
reviewed some of the details of what was to follow, she
mentioned, ‘As for your transportation, we will allow you $2,000
per hour for a private plane to and from Detroit.’
“ ‘Lady, I don’t know who your boss is, but this has got to stop,’
I said. ‘How can you spend that kind of money?’ The poor
woman had no idea what to say to me.
“When you inject a lot of money into a sport, a struggle ensues
between art and commerce. You can focus on the art aspect –
meaning the playing of the game – all you want with no ill effect.
But when commerce takes over, you’ve had it. It happened to
Greg Norman, I think. His wealth skewed his perspective on his
most tragic losses by making them more acceptable. It also stole
his hunger and desire.
“Commerce carried the day at the Ryder Cup. The PGA of
America grossed $80 million from the 2004 Ryder Cup, and it’s
a good thing, because it spent $60 million. The frugal side of me
couldn’t help but wonder if the event would have been viewed as
slipshod if the PGA had spent only $50 million. I can think of a
lot of programs, from junior golf to the PGA club pro, that could
have used that extra $10 million. Instead, the PGA bought
tuxedos for a bunch of millionaires.”
Stuff
–What an awful tragedy at Duquesne University with the
shooting of five, totally innocent, basketball players after
attending an on-campus party Saturday night. As of this writing,
two remain in critical condition. The assailants, still at large, are
not student body members and were said to be disruptive at the
same function. We have another team to root for this year.
–College Football Review
Anytime you have two teams in the top 15 or 20 playing each
other the first few weeks of the season, you can’t really call it an
upset when, say, #11 Michigan crushes #2 Notre Dame. Brady
Quinn is overrated, after all. It’s also why here at Bar Chat, we
never bet on games the first three weeks of the season until some
kind of pattern on each squad has emerged.
But stay tuned for Thursday’s chat as I unveil my first three
“Picks to Click.” Kids, get that lunch money ready.
Of course one of my earlier picks, Nebraska, probably isn’t
destined to be this year’s Cinderella story in college football;
having lost to USC 28-10 on Sat. night.
But you know who any good fan of the sport should be rooting
for? Louisville. I can’t stand their basketball program, but let’s
face it; the Cardinals have been just about the most exciting
football team around the last 5-7 years in particular so it was
great to see them crush Miami this weekend.
Unfortunately, Louisville is without not just its Heisman
candidate, running back Michael Bush, for the season, but also
quarterback Brian Brohm, who is out 3-6 weeks. But Brohm
vows he’ll be back in time for the big showdown, Nov. 2 versus
West Virginia.
And how about my Wake Forest Demon Deacons! 3-0 after
obliterating UConn 24-13. Who cares we were outgained by
over 100 yards? A ‘W’ is a ‘W’. So Wake retains it’s #2
ranking in the official Bar Chat Top Ten. [To be revealed in full
on Thursday.]
Then there’s New Jersey’s own, Rutgers, also 3-0, and sure to
zoom up the list.
Just a few other notes:
Boy, Oklahoma got ripped off.
And pity Temple. They lost their opener to Buffalo, 9-3, and in
the last two have lost to Louisville and Minnesota by identical
62-0 scores. It’s looking bleak for Bill Cosby’s boys, who if I
recall correctly are about to drop to I-AA soon. [J. Mac, correct
me on this if I’m wrong.]
I look for California to continue to roar back after its opening
loss to Tennessee and make it to the BCS.
Happy to see ABC focus on USC’s cheerleaders, but don’t they
all look 30?!
Geezuz, the ACC sucks this year, but that gives Wake a shot at a
7-win season, especially if they beat Ole Miss this coming
Saturday.
AP Top Ten
1. Ohio State
2. Auburn
3. USC
4. West Virginia
5. Florida
6. Michigan
7. Texas
8. Louisville
9. Georgia
10. LSU
–Similar to college football, it’s stupid to draw too many
conclusions from the first few weeks of the NFL season, but there
is no doubt the Giants’ comeback over the Eagles was critical to
their…going…all…the…way! It’s the Bar Chat Guarantee!
[Meanwhile, my Jets hung in there against New England, but it’s
still a loss.]
Around the league, one move is looking brilliant thus far.
Baltimore obtaining Steve McNair. With him, stats don’t matter;
he’s simply a leader. And former Wake Forest tight end
Desmond Clark is off to a great start in Chicago. [Us Deacs have
to stick together…it’s a rough world out there.]
–I’ve turned into a supporter of Michelle Wie and her quest to
play on the men’s tour, within reason, but at the same time she
has to be able to play a little and now in the span of two weeks
she has finished last twice in a men’s event; the latest being the
PGA’s 84 Lumber Classic as she shot 77-81 to miss the cut by 13
shots, 23 off the lead.
And her fellow competitors aren’t nearly as accommodating as
they used to be. As reported by the AP:
“She keeps talking a good game when opposing the guys, but
keeps playing a mediocre one. No wonder some of the PGA
Tour players, polite and patient with her until now, are
questioning what she’s doing playing against men when she
doesn’t have the game for it. At least not yet.
“ ‘She’s certainly not scaring anybody around here,’ said Ryder
Cup team member Scott Verplank, who also missed the cut. ‘To
be honest, I didn’t even know she was here.’”
–Poor Arnie. Palmer played in his first Champions Tour event
of the year this weekend in Hunt Valley, Md. The 77-year-old
shot 89-84-86, finishing last by 29 strokes. I’m assuming he had
some business reason for participating and this performance has
to kill him. Time to regroup for 2007’s Masters.
I did see where Scott Hoch made his Champions Tour debut. If
he’s healthy (he hasn’t been the past few years), he should be a
top ten machine out there, though he tied for 27th in his first go
‘round…72-70-69.
–Follow-up: The youth baseball coach accused of offering an 8-
year-old money to bean an autistic teammate so he couldn’t play
was convicted on Thursday of two lesser charges, but not the
more serious offense of criminal solicitation to commit
aggravated assault. It doesn’t appear he’ll receive any jail time.
–Yvonne Dennis mused in The Wall Street Journal how no one
seems to care about the Phils’ Ryan Howard and his pursuit of 61
homers. With the only ones to break Roger Maris’s mark being
juicers Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, it’s a
shame Howard isn’t getting more attention.
Howard is a good guy, and as Dennis notes it’s also amazing no
big endorsements have come his way. But that’s all about to
change.
–Baseball bits:
Ichiro now has six consecutive 200-hit seasons. The only two in
the history of the game with more are Wee Willie Keeler, 8,
1894-1901, and Wade Boggs, 7, 1983-89. Ichiro also now owns
the A.L. record for consecutive steals, 33, a record formerly held
by Summit, New Jersey’s Willie Wilson. [The major league
mark is 44 by Vince Coleman.]
And not for nothing, but perhaps the most underrated player in
the game today, Texas’ Michael Young, now has four, 200-hit
seasons in a row.
Meanwhile, Alfonso Soriano became the fourth player in
baseball history to have 40 stolen bases and 40 home runs in the
same season, joining Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, and Alex
Rodriguez. Since two of these were known juicers, however, it’s
not that meaningful anymore.
And us Mets fans have reason to be concerned come playoff
time. We can’t hit lefties!
–Steroid Watch, continued.
ESPN The Magazine reports that Victor Conte “allegedly
bragged to an associate that Barry Bonds had intimate knowledge
of the designer steroids he received from BALCO.”
“The disclosure comes to light amid reports that Patrick Arnold,
the Illinois chemist who created the designer steroid THG, has
made the same admission to a national media outlet.”
Arnold is slated to report to federal prison next week to begin
serving a four-month sentence for his role in the BALCO
scandal.
Of course Bonds denied, in sworn testimony, that he knew what
he was being given by trainer Greg Anderson.
And then there is Lance Armstrong.
Mike Lupica / New York Daily News:
“You wonder sometimes how much we’d believe Barry Bonds if
he had Lance Armstrong’s back story. You wonder how we
would look at everything if Bonds were the cancer survivor, if he
was the one who had raised all this money with the yellow
bracelets.
“We are supposed to believe Lance Armstrong wasn’t on
performance-enhancing drugs because they never got him with a
positive test. There has been no positive test on Barry Bonds,
either. There probably never will be, even though Major League
Baseball wasn’t testing in all the years we now want them to
have tested Bonds. Baseball sure wasn’t testing the year he hit
73 home runs.
“Armstrong says the French were out to get him, and that Dick
Pound of the World Anti-Doping Agency is out to get him, and
any member of the media who doubts him is out to get him.
We’re supposed to take it on faith that at a time when using dope
was this prevalent in cycling – the way it was in baseball – that
the top guy in history wasn’t doing anything.
“Even though he was dominating his sport even more than Bonds
was dominating his.
“Armstrong’s old buddy Floyd Landis tested positive this year
after winning the Tour de France. You know the drill. Now it
comes out that two of Armstrong’s former teammates have
confessed to using EPO. Armstrong says this has nothing to do
with him. So add the New York Times to the list of all those out
to get Lance Armstrong.”
–Jeff B. is predicting that Liz of the strip “For Better or For
Worse” will have a DWI. A brilliant thought.
–Singer Marianne Faithfull has been diagnosed with breast
cancer. We wish her the best. Faithfull, who gained notoriety
through her relationship with Mick Jagger, had four Billboard
top 40s in the U.S.
#22 “As Tears Go By” (’64)….this should have been much
higher
#26 “Come And Stay With Me” (’65)
#32 “This Little Bird” (’65)
#24 “Summer Nights” (’65)
–From a Q&A in the Sept. 21 issue of Rolling Stone…Sean
Lennon.
Q: How have our musical tastes shifted over the years?
Lennon: I remember being sixteen and Joe Strummer telling me
that he wouldn’t have made music if it weren’t for the Beach
Boys. [At that point] I thought the Beach Boys were cheesy,
because my brain couldn’t wrap itself around the complexity of
their music. I regret not having the education to agree with him
at the time. Every year I’m able to appreciate more and more
stuff. I think I finally understand Captain Beefheart.
Q: What song of your dad’s constantly surprises you?
Lennon: I’ve listened so much to that stuff that there are very
few surprises. But I do think “A Day in the Life” is always
inspiring.
Q: What song from the past few years do you wish you’d
written?
Lennon: R. Kelly’s “Trapped in the Closet.” I think it’s genius,
on many levels.
Q: Who are the five greatest songwriters of the twentieth
century?
Lennon: That’s not easy for me to say, but I can name five that I
think are good. Claude Debussy, John Lennon, Cole Porter, Phil
Spector, Gershwin.
Q: Besides your dad, who’s your favorite Beatle?
Lennon: Each Beatle was as the wheels of a car – you need all
four to drive.
Top 3 songs for the week of 9/11/76: #1 “(Shake, Shake, Shake)
Shake Your Booty” (K.C. & The Sunshine Band) #2 “You’ll
Never Find Another Love Like Mine” (Lou Rawls) #3 “Play
That Funky Music” (Wild Cherry)…and…#4 “I’d Really Love
To See You Tonight” (England Dan & John Ford Coley) #7
“Lowdown” (Boz Scaggs…from LP “Silk Degrees,” one of the
best of all time) #10 “Summer” (War)
Ryder Cup Quiz Answer. Results since 1983.
1985 (The Belfry, England)…Europe, 16 ½-11 ½
1987 (Muirfield Village, Ohio)…Europe, 15-13
1989 (The Belfry)…Draw, 14-14
1991 (Kiawah / Ocean Course, S.C.)…USA, 14 ½-13 ½
1993 (The Belfry)…USA, 15-13
1995 (Oak Hill, N.Y.)…Europe, 14 ½-13 ½
1997 (Valderrama, Spain)…Europe, 14 ½-13 ½
1999 (The Country Club, Mass.)…USA, 14 ½-13 ½
2002 (The Belfry)…Europe, 15 ½-12 ½
2004 (Oakland Hills, Mich.)…Europe, 18 ½-9 ½
Let’s face it, from 1987 to 2002 this was the best sporting event
in existence.
And now…your official Bar Chat prediction…the PICK TO
CLICK!
Europe 16 USA 12
Reminder, kids. Figure out a way to mask your usage of the
offshore betting sites.
Next Bar Chat, Thursday. Actually, I’m traveling from Prague to
Sofia, Bulgaria, that day. Something will be up here, computer
willing, at some point.
