Oakmont history makes this place legendary, but it doesn't play as gorgeous on TV.
It is possible that Fox is too new at golf, but it may be the openness of the course.
I do expect the difficulty of the course to take its toll on everyone and the best players with one or two surprises to be playing for win Sunday.
Because of the roll on the fairways, I really think big hitters only have an advantage from the rough and not the course itself.
I expect Jordan, Phil and Dustin to stay in the hunt.
Rose, Willet, Scott seem primed.
Day and Rory can struggle on really fast greens.
I hope Sam Burns makes the cut as amateur.
Friday, June 17, 2016
Monday, June 13, 2016
College Baseball Polls and Big 12 putting on Show.
The entire year the polls had the SEC and ACC with most of the top 15 teams.
Well it is down to Florida beating Fla State to have one SEC team and Fla State for ACC to have two.
I would not be surprised if Florida wins the entire thing, but the Big 12 needed some love.
The Big 12 has rolled and my new favorite player is the freshman called Thor at TCU.
Luken Baker, last years Gatorade player of the year from Spring is a beast, I knew he had a mid 90s fastball, But it is a joy to see someone sans the steroids era hitting mammoth shots.
J.
Well it is down to Florida beating Fla State to have one SEC team and Fla State for ACC to have two.
I would not be surprised if Florida wins the entire thing, but the Big 12 needed some love.
The Big 12 has rolled and my new favorite player is the freshman called Thor at TCU.
Luken Baker, last years Gatorade player of the year from Spring is a beast, I knew he had a mid 90s fastball, But it is a joy to see someone sans the steroids era hitting mammoth shots.
J.
Saturday, June 11, 2016
Wilt 100
I recommend watching "Wilt 100" on the NBA channel.
Sometimes, I forget why I still consider him the greatest that ever played basketball.
Jordan was the greatest all around player of the modern generation,
Kareem was the most important player that I have ever seen.
Wilt, words cannot describe what he actually did on the basketball courts.
Sometimes, I forget why I still consider him the greatest that ever played basketball.
Jordan was the greatest all around player of the modern generation,
Kareem was the most important player that I have ever seen.
Wilt, words cannot describe what he actually did on the basketball courts.
- Points- No words
- Rebounds - No Words
- Led league his last 3 years at over 18. (For those naysayers, the Hall of Fame is full of centers he dominated in his old age.)
- Blocks- Almost surely the best ever because of the minutes he played.
- Only 112 games of Wilts career are checked for Blocks... His Avg 8.8 per game. That includes the playoffs against Russell and Nate Thurmond.
- Hakeem one of our faves averaged 3.5 which is incredible.
- DWS- Defensive Wins - Underrated at fifth all time. Russell is 1, but blocks and steals were not part of the equation. Let's consider Tim Duncan is 2nd ahead of Jordan and Wilt. An adjustment needs to be made on DWS.
- OWS- Offense - Lets just say his bad night when he was triple teamed still is in another atmosphere to anyone.
- Win Shares- 2nd all time, not behind Russell, but it is Kareem again.
These numbers are insane.
j.
Thursday, June 2, 2016
Fun College Football Analytics
http://cfbmatrix.com/
This is a really good website to judge some of the questions regarding coaches and teams.
Specifically, I like the coaching rankings based on winning or losing against teams with more or less talent.
As you would expect two of the questionable fellows are on the losing end.
The author calls it Anti Coach Effect of the Year-2015, it is based on plus 1 for winning a game as underdog and negative one for losing.
Charlie Strong leads the way with a negative 5. But as the author comments, that is with a win over a Baylor team without a QB and it third or fourth string RB.
His quote
"Charlie Strong finishes at -5 games after barely beating a hapless Baylor team down to running only with a wide receiver at QB. He is following in the footsteps of two time winner Mack Brown."
That is priceless and shameful.
Les Miles finished ahead of Malzahn and Spurrier they were plus 4, even though favoring that Gamecock team even early seemed ridiculous to most SEC fans. Malzahn deserved his -4.
Les and Sumlin sat at -2, yet for some reason I think Les had much more talent that the Aggies. The Ags were 4-4 in conference and LSU 5-3.
On the positive side, the SEC was led by Saban, Freeze and Mullen. I had forgotten that Bama replaced basically the entire offense. But, Mullen had a huge turnover and far less talent. Freeze loss at Memphis State is still ridiculous.
Nationally the winners were Ferentz, Leach and Whittingham. I give it to Leach.
j
This is a really good website to judge some of the questions regarding coaches and teams.
Specifically, I like the coaching rankings based on winning or losing against teams with more or less talent.
As you would expect two of the questionable fellows are on the losing end.
The author calls it Anti Coach Effect of the Year-2015, it is based on plus 1 for winning a game as underdog and negative one for losing.
Charlie Strong leads the way with a negative 5. But as the author comments, that is with a win over a Baylor team without a QB and it third or fourth string RB.
His quote
"Charlie Strong finishes at -5 games after barely beating a hapless Baylor team down to running only with a wide receiver at QB. He is following in the footsteps of two time winner Mack Brown."
That is priceless and shameful.
Les Miles finished ahead of Malzahn and Spurrier they were plus 4, even though favoring that Gamecock team even early seemed ridiculous to most SEC fans. Malzahn deserved his -4.
Les and Sumlin sat at -2, yet for some reason I think Les had much more talent that the Aggies. The Ags were 4-4 in conference and LSU 5-3.
On the positive side, the SEC was led by Saban, Freeze and Mullen. I had forgotten that Bama replaced basically the entire offense. But, Mullen had a huge turnover and far less talent. Freeze loss at Memphis State is still ridiculous.
Nationally the winners were Ferentz, Leach and Whittingham. I give it to Leach.
j
Tuesday, May 31, 2016
Jordan, Rory and Day
I was very pleased that Spieth won this weekend in Fort Worth. His demise talk was starting to bug me to death.
Jordan
Another player that is not dead yet is Rory
Jason Day deserves number 1.
Jordan
- 15 Events 2 wins, 2 seconds, 5 top tens and he is still missing shots to the right.
Another player that is not dead yet is Rory
- 11 PGA or European events.6 top tens and 1 win.
- And if he could read putts he would be unbeatable.
- Rory travels so often comparable to the other two it is truly insane. I really wish he would focus on the PGA, but I know he will never do it. It hurt Ernie and may kill Rory.
Jason Day deserves number 1.
- 10 Events 6 top tens with 3 wins.
- Day is definitely taking the Woods route in not playing too often and focusing on courses he wants to play.
- Is this good for the game? (doubtful) But he has the power and can putt lights out.
Danny Willet, Justin Rose, Adam Scott and Dustin Johnson are also the steady ones, I expect they will win a few more.
The next level is Fowler, Reed and Matsuyama
]
Pick your winners for the next two majors from this group.
J.
Briles and this debacle in Waco.
First, I hate the fact that Art Briles played such a huge part in the travesty in Waco.
He deserved to get fired! The stories out of Waco make me want to not watch sports, especially since logic says that this is not the only school with many such stories.
Baylor 12 years prior to Briles a total of 35 wins.
Baylor last 5 years 50 wins.
He may not have matched what Bobby Bowden did, but he was getting closer.
Hiring Jim Grobe as interim coach is not only shocking to me, but far beyond any reason that I can conceive. Are they giving up this recent success to avoid more punishment? If so, they are nuts.
The punishment is coming regardless of this interim mess.
All I can envision is the wishbone offense that he ran at Wake Forest. Did you cringe a little with that comment, I sure did.
I loved Mac Engel article in Star Telegram that Mike Leach should be hired.
Who else can overcome this mess? With his unique personality and incredible ability to score with less than Baylor talent is still remarkable.
http://www.star-telegram.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/mac-engel/article80819157.html
Briles, who may have been my favorite offense mind in the last 20 years. Chip Kelly gets too much credit and Briles teams were even more balanced.
He has ruined my enjoyment and maybe killed the Big 12 in many ways.
With this happening, I hope the Big 12, just goes back to the SWC days and gets Houston and SMU. They may not get national recognition, but I would at least have nostalgia to peak my interest.
J.
He deserved to get fired! The stories out of Waco make me want to not watch sports, especially since logic says that this is not the only school with many such stories.
Baylor 12 years prior to Briles a total of 35 wins.
Baylor last 5 years 50 wins.
He may not have matched what Bobby Bowden did, but he was getting closer.
Hiring Jim Grobe as interim coach is not only shocking to me, but far beyond any reason that I can conceive. Are they giving up this recent success to avoid more punishment? If so, they are nuts.
The punishment is coming regardless of this interim mess.
All I can envision is the wishbone offense that he ran at Wake Forest. Did you cringe a little with that comment, I sure did.
I loved Mac Engel article in Star Telegram that Mike Leach should be hired.
Who else can overcome this mess? With his unique personality and incredible ability to score with less than Baylor talent is still remarkable.
http://www.star-telegram.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/mac-engel/article80819157.html
Briles, who may have been my favorite offense mind in the last 20 years. Chip Kelly gets too much credit and Briles teams were even more balanced.
He has ruined my enjoyment and maybe killed the Big 12 in many ways.
With this happening, I hope the Big 12, just goes back to the SWC days and gets Houston and SMU. They may not get national recognition, but I would at least have nostalgia to peak my interest.
J.
NBA
Painful as it is was to watch OKC monumental collapse, it is enjoyable to watch shooters on Warriors.
Previously you mentioned that you did not like Durant with the ball at the point and I agree completely.
But Mr. Westbrook makes too many mistakes at crunch time when the other team sets up specific defenses to stop Durant on rotations for an open shot. Kerr did an excellent job getting Westbrook in his frenzy state at full speed while trying to dribble past collapsing defenses with the others over playing their men.
Westbrook just is not getting past the collapse without his dribble and seems to be missing the first option to set up the offense on the next screen, when in all likelihood would have the ball back in his hands.
I will be a Lebron homer during the next two weeks. The Cavs can win this thing if Frye keeps playing this well and Irving can shoot over 47%.
Lebron is just the best player in the last 15 years, but I do not know if today's NBA and switching defenses can keep the Warriors under 105 points.
J
Previously you mentioned that you did not like Durant with the ball at the point and I agree completely.
But Mr. Westbrook makes too many mistakes at crunch time when the other team sets up specific defenses to stop Durant on rotations for an open shot. Kerr did an excellent job getting Westbrook in his frenzy state at full speed while trying to dribble past collapsing defenses with the others over playing their men.
Westbrook just is not getting past the collapse without his dribble and seems to be missing the first option to set up the offense on the next screen, when in all likelihood would have the ball back in his hands.
I will be a Lebron homer during the next two weeks. The Cavs can win this thing if Frye keeps playing this well and Irving can shoot over 47%.
Lebron is just the best player in the last 15 years, but I do not know if today's NBA and switching defenses can keep the Warriors under 105 points.
J
Thursday, May 19, 2016
Nomar G Revisited
Sometimes I think of a player that I've kind of forgotten and will check them out on baseball-reference. Today was Nomar Garciaparra. I totally surprised myself when re-discovering how good he was. Wow, .313 lifetime hitter, .521 slugging, .882 OPS at shortstop, 6-time all-star, 2-time batting champion. Career derailed by various injuries so no chance for HOF, but some kind of player he was. Even though his career totals fall short, his 7-year peak WAR is right on par with HOF shortstops. Look at those 162-game averages, pretty salty. He definitely belongs in my "Hall of Very Good".
S
S
Tuesday, March 8, 2016
Texas Greatest Golfers
Watching Jordan Spieth on Feherty made me focus on the sheer number of great players from Texas.
You can pick the order of importance, but you cannot argue with the freakish number of greatness. I also am going to include the true "Best That Never Was."
A portion of the list.
William Morris Jr.- 1 win. as a college player at University of Texas he won the Texas Jr, Texas Am and the Texas PGA,(Byron Nelson was in the field) in 12 months during 49-50.
The side story is that his knee injuries kept him from practicing during the college year.
Sadly Morris Jr.died in a military training plane crash at 23 during Korean war in 1953. Penick and Palmers friend said he was maybe the best ever. He beat the pros when he won the Texas Am
Then you have the others with majors, Marr, Leonard, Hamilton, Mahaffey, Beem and Brooks. I know I cannot list everyone, but it is impressive.
Unlike other sports I can only think of of 4 from Louisiana
David, Hal, Jay Hebert, and Lionel Hebert.
J.
You can pick the order of importance, but you cannot argue with the freakish number of greatness. I also am going to include the true "Best That Never Was."
A portion of the list.
- Jordan Spieth 2 Majors 22 years old. 9 wins worldwide.
- Jack Burke Jr. Masters, PGA, 17 wins.
- Ben Crenshaw 2 Masters 19 Wins 3 straight NCAA titles
- Tom Kite 1 Major 19 wins
- Ralph Guldahi 3 majors 16 wins retires due to WWII after 9 years.
- Babe Didrickson- Greatest Female athlete of all time, It makes the Serena talk moot. 10 majors.
- Kathy Whitworth- 88 LPGA wins Record.
- Lloys Mangrum 1 Major 36 wins
- Jimmy Demaret- 3 Masters 31 wins
- Lee Trevino 4 Majors 29 wins
- Ben Hogan 9 Majors 64 wins
- Byron Nelson 5 Majors 54 wins. Retired at 34
William Morris Jr.- 1 win. as a college player at University of Texas he won the Texas Jr, Texas Am and the Texas PGA,(Byron Nelson was in the field) in 12 months during 49-50.
The side story is that his knee injuries kept him from practicing during the college year.
Sadly Morris Jr.died in a military training plane crash at 23 during Korean war in 1953. Penick and Palmers friend said he was maybe the best ever. He beat the pros when he won the Texas Am
Then you have the others with majors, Marr, Leonard, Hamilton, Mahaffey, Beem and Brooks. I know I cannot list everyone, but it is impressive.
Unlike other sports I can only think of of 4 from Louisiana
David, Hal, Jay Hebert, and Lionel Hebert.
J.
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
NFL QB's - All Time Greats
With the Brady/Manning debate raging again, I did a little research into the contenders for all-time great. Manning has a strong case for the top spot but the 14-13 playoff record is an issue. I put it between he, Unitas, and Graham, who we can't really evaluate. Elway supporters are delusional at best. I want to mention Steve Young. He only started in the NFL for 8 years and he totally dominated. Hall of famer but still undervalued.
|
|
W/L %
|
Post-Season
W/L%
|
Black
Ink*
|
1st
Team All-Pro
|
MVP
Awards
|
Conf
Champs
|
NFL
Champs
|
QB
Rating
|
|
Manning
|
70.2%
|
51.8%
|
17
|
7
|
5
|
4
|
2
|
96.5
|
|
Brady
|
77.1%
|
71.0%
|
10
|
2
|
2
|
6
|
4
|
96.4
|
|
Marino
|
61.2%
|
44.4%
|
16
|
3
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
86.4
|
|
Montana
|
71.3%
|
69.5%
|
10
|
3
|
2
|
4
|
4
|
92.3
|
|
Staubach
|
74.6%
|
64.7%
|
7
|
0
|
0
|
4
|
2
|
83.4
|
|
Unitas
|
63.8%
|
75.0%
|
18
|
5
|
3
|
4
|
3
|
78.2
|
|
Favre
|
62.4%
|
54.2%
|
9
|
3
|
3
|
2
|
1
|
86.0
|
|
Young
|
65.7%
|
57.1%
|
20
|
3
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
96.8
|
|
Elway
|
64.1%
|
66.7%
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
5
|
2
|
79.9
|
|
Bradshaw
|
67.7%
|
73.7%
|
4
|
1
|
1
|
4
|
4
|
70.9
|
|
Graham
|
-
|
75.0%
|
23
|
7
|
3
|
-
|
7
|
86.6
|
*League
leader in one of the following:
completions, completion %, passing yards, TD passes, yards per attempt,
or QB rating
S
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