I spent the better part of my day in front of the t.v. After driving to Racine to meet my parents for church, we went to the country club where my parents are members and had lunch. While we were there we watched the basketball tournament and the golf tournament on two different t.v.'s. It's no secret to anybody who has read my past blogs that I am a big basketball fan, but I found myself watching Arnold Palmer's Bay Hill Invitational more than the upset of Louisville and even the UNC v. Oklahoma game (even though I was wearing a North Carolina Polo today). The only reason for my infatuation with the game of gentlemen was Tiger Woods.
He started the day 5 strokes back from Sean O'Hair who was at -7 through 3 days. Tiger on the other hand was only 2 under par and had bogeyed 2 of the last 5 holes the previous day. This lead would be relatively safe for Sean O'Hair a month ago, but Tiger was back on the prowl. I even believe that the lead would have been safe if Tiger was not in the last group with O'Hair and it would have been a much less dramatic round.
The first thing that became apparent to me today was that Sunday Tiger might just be a mythical demigod. This half-man half-god with a magical rod of power (the driver) and the all too familiar armor (red Nike shirt) instills a fear in people that he is matched up against. It was very obvious as through 8 holes Tiger was 2 under for the day and O'Hair was 2 over. The one stroke difference was enough to keep the tension up the rest of the round. O'Hair looked like he would get seperation with a birdie on 9, but countered it with a bogey on 10 to get back to a one stroke lead. Tiger then went Tiger and sank a beautiful birdie putt to tie O'Hair at -5 on the 15th hole. O'Hair cracked under the pressure and put his 2nd shot into the water and bogeyed 16 to give Tiger a one stroke lead with two holes to play. At this point I had no doubt Tiger would par out and win by one stroke, but he put his tee shot on the par 3 17th into the lip of a bunker and gave himself a nearly impossible shot to get close to the pin. He managed to get out of the bunker and onto the green, but left himself with a distant putt and 2 putted to a bogey. All of a sudden I started to contemplate whether Tiger is really a human and his miraculous U.S. Open win on one leg might have been the curtain call for a man who wouldn't regain his greatness after the surgery. Or maybe he wanted to roar his way back into the PGA with a dramatic win on the 72nd hole of the tournament. Tiger hit a beautiful tee shot on 18 and had a nice approach to get within 15 feet of the pin. O'Hair missed his 19 foot birdie attempt (that nobody in the gallery or watching on tv really thought he would make) and it set up an epic Tiger moment. Tiger lined his putt up and even before he hit it the club pro who was watching with us simply said "it's in". Sure enough the putt was true and Tiger gave the famous fist pump and celebrated.
Maybe it's not that impressive that he won at Bay Hill where he has won often before. But let's examine it. It's only his second four day tournament after being out of the game for a year, and only his third competitive situation. More impressive though is that he overcame his largest Sunday deficit ever to win this tournament. This is scary, could he really be stronger and better than he ever was before (which he claims he is). He's already 3rd all time in career wins and 2nd in majors won. Only difference is his pro career has been only 13 years while Sam Snead (all time wins leader) played 30 years and Jack Nicklaus (all time major winner) played 25 years. Today proved to me that Tiger will crush both marks and be remembered not only as the greatest golfer ever, but the greatest athlete ever. You better watch out Jordan you're about to be replaced.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Why state-wide smoking ban is unnecessary
State-wide smoking bans have been passed in many mid-western states in recent years and now Wisconsin is being pressured by activists to do the same. Our own Governor Doyle supports this idea, but in all actuality it is unnecessary and an infringement of our rights.
There is no arguing that smoking is bad for your health and the people around you, but it is still legal. I believe that restrictions and taxes already put on tobacco products have alienated the users enough. It is legal and as long as it stays that way, the restrictions are getting a little out of hand. 440,000 people die each year in the United States from smoking and it needs to be ultimately lowered, but where are we putting our interests? According to the CDC over 300,000 people each year die directly from obesity, and up to 1,000,000 more die from effects of heart failure, clotting, and other diseases/conditions that obesity can be the underlying cause of. So if we really want to protect lives, why aren't we taking half as strong of a stance against the corporations that market extremely unhealthy food to America. This is not a call for government regulation on fast food at all, but it is a counter-example that smoking is not the biggest problem we in America need to be fighting against. If special interest groups paid as much attention to their nutrition and own health, as they do fighting against people making their own choices to smoke, the country would be a much healthier place.
In the article recently presented in class, a poll showed that 69% of Wisconsinites support this ban. It is to restrict smoking from all public places, such as bars, bowling alleys, and restaurants. my personal belief is that business owners should make their own decisions on their establishments. If this number is correct and 69% of people in this state are against smoking in public places, I think it is the prerogative of the business man to eliminate smoking in his place of work. He would sacrifice his smoking clientle to bring in a majority that would support the clean air in his restaurant. It is your choice to go into a place of business that allows smoking period. We need to spend more time looking at our own choices and decisions, and stop worrying and hoping the government will come in and make the "bad smokers" go outside so they can eat their food in peace.
There is no arguing that smoking is bad for your health and the people around you, but it is still legal. I believe that restrictions and taxes already put on tobacco products have alienated the users enough. It is legal and as long as it stays that way, the restrictions are getting a little out of hand. 440,000 people die each year in the United States from smoking and it needs to be ultimately lowered, but where are we putting our interests? According to the CDC over 300,000 people each year die directly from obesity, and up to 1,000,000 more die from effects of heart failure, clotting, and other diseases/conditions that obesity can be the underlying cause of. So if we really want to protect lives, why aren't we taking half as strong of a stance against the corporations that market extremely unhealthy food to America. This is not a call for government regulation on fast food at all, but it is a counter-example that smoking is not the biggest problem we in America need to be fighting against. If special interest groups paid as much attention to their nutrition and own health, as they do fighting against people making their own choices to smoke, the country would be a much healthier place.
In the article recently presented in class, a poll showed that 69% of Wisconsinites support this ban. It is to restrict smoking from all public places, such as bars, bowling alleys, and restaurants. my personal belief is that business owners should make their own decisions on their establishments. If this number is correct and 69% of people in this state are against smoking in public places, I think it is the prerogative of the business man to eliminate smoking in his place of work. He would sacrifice his smoking clientle to bring in a majority that would support the clean air in his restaurant. It is your choice to go into a place of business that allows smoking period. We need to spend more time looking at our own choices and decisions, and stop worrying and hoping the government will come in and make the "bad smokers" go outside so they can eat their food in peace.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Marqutte Golden Eagles Woes
This has been a rough week for the Marquette men's basketball team. Last Wednesday they were in the first of their final four brutal games to close out the season. They lost to #2 Uconn and today fell to #6 Louisville. Marquette is a good team but they need to close the season with some momentum and dropping two straight means the next two games are of the upmost importanc.e.
The biggest facet that will factor into their run at the Final Four was not decided by a win or a lose. Against UConn last week Marquette senior guard Dominic James went down with a broken foot and will be out the rest of the year. This is a terrible blow to Marquette; James leads Marquette all-time for games started, is second all-time in assists, third in points, and fourth in steals. Not only does he put stats up on the board, he is the quarterback on the court and led Marquette by example. His lose is crucial and unless back-up Maurice Acker can step up big time, it will most likely lead to a premature end to their great season.
Today was really dissapointing, Marquette lost to the #6 team by four points and played terribly. Louisville came out and played the game at a frantic pace and Marquette struggled all game to play at the level Rick Pitino's team was able to dictate. No Dominic James was a huge factor; although Acker did a great job, it was obvious they were lacking a leader on the court to calm them down and force them to focus. Another major factor was Jereal Mcneal not showing up on the offensive end. Mcneal came into the game averaging well over 20 points a game on efficient shooting, but at Louisville he managed 3-19 shooting which included 2-10 from beyond the three point line. Marquette only lost by four points, but to be honest they did not look like they were in any position to win the game at all after both teams came out for the second half.
So what is next? Marquette's road does not get any easier, they play #1 Pittsburgh on Wednesday and a win would go a long way. The Golden Eagles are poised for a number #3 seed in the March Madness tournament, but if they beat Pitt and Syracuse to end the year, they could possibly bump up to a 2 seed. Worst case is they falter on both of their remaining games, along with a bad showing in the Big East tournament, they could fall to a 4 or even a 5 seed. I had Marquette making a run in the NCAA's but with their showing today and the obvious discombulation due to Dominic James abscence, I do not see them making it past the Elite 8; and that is if they get a favorable bracket.
The biggest facet that will factor into their run at the Final Four was not decided by a win or a lose. Against UConn last week Marquette senior guard Dominic James went down with a broken foot and will be out the rest of the year. This is a terrible blow to Marquette; James leads Marquette all-time for games started, is second all-time in assists, third in points, and fourth in steals. Not only does he put stats up on the board, he is the quarterback on the court and led Marquette by example. His lose is crucial and unless back-up Maurice Acker can step up big time, it will most likely lead to a premature end to their great season.
Today was really dissapointing, Marquette lost to the #6 team by four points and played terribly. Louisville came out and played the game at a frantic pace and Marquette struggled all game to play at the level Rick Pitino's team was able to dictate. No Dominic James was a huge factor; although Acker did a great job, it was obvious they were lacking a leader on the court to calm them down and force them to focus. Another major factor was Jereal Mcneal not showing up on the offensive end. Mcneal came into the game averaging well over 20 points a game on efficient shooting, but at Louisville he managed 3-19 shooting which included 2-10 from beyond the three point line. Marquette only lost by four points, but to be honest they did not look like they were in any position to win the game at all after both teams came out for the second half.
So what is next? Marquette's road does not get any easier, they play #1 Pittsburgh on Wednesday and a win would go a long way. The Golden Eagles are poised for a number #3 seed in the March Madness tournament, but if they beat Pitt and Syracuse to end the year, they could possibly bump up to a 2 seed. Worst case is they falter on both of their remaining games, along with a bad showing in the Big East tournament, they could fall to a 4 or even a 5 seed. I had Marquette making a run in the NCAA's but with their showing today and the obvious discombulation due to Dominic James abscence, I do not see them making it past the Elite 8; and that is if they get a favorable bracket.
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