The Masters

I want to take some time to talk about golf! Yes golf, personally one of the more boring sports to watch on TV but has greater excitement than watching baseball and dog shows on the tube. So why in the world would I be writing about golf? Well, it caught my attention this weekend because it was Tiger Wood’s return to golf. As I watched it and thought about what it would be like to be a professional golfer I couldn’t help but think what it would be like to be in Anthony Kim’s golf cleats. Kim, at the age of 24 was trying to become one of the youngest to win the green jacket. Kim was most likely ecstatic at his performance but I was more interested in how he viewed his competitors. More specifically, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, both are amazing athletes and yes I do mean athletes not golfers. Tiger and Phil both are role models on how the game should be played, and both can be looked up to on how life should be played as well. You are probably thinking Phil, yes and Tiger, no way not after what he did to his family. Well let me explain… Phil is defiantly a family man and it truly was a touching moment when Phil, after winning the grand daddy of all golf tournaments, went to his wife. You see Phil and his wife have been through a lot with his wife’s health on the mend. Also it is nice to see a grown man showing his emotions in moments like this. So why do I still consider Tiger a role model that Kim can look towards? Well let’s face it not everyone is perfect. Tiger’s private life of infidelity was exposed to the media a few months ago. Since then, Tiger has been undergoing consoling and treatment for whatever temptations got the better of him. We can sit and wonder if tiger would have ever faced his demons if he were not caught. Well he was caught and now he is doing the things he needs to do. It took a lot of courage for Tiger to make his comeback to golf and face all of his old friends that were shocked by his actions. Rather than hiding away from the world he took the time to find himself again and return to the public eye. By no means is Tiger completely a changed man. It will be a lifelong battle for him to overcome his problems but this is the opportunity for him continue being a role model and show the younger generation that when you do make a mistake it truly is about how you respond to making that mistake. For Kim he has got two great mentors to learn from. I wish Tiger the best in his mission to get back to his Buddhism and maintain a strong focus off of the fairways in life like he does on the greens. Congratulations to Phil for winning, there is no better man on tour than the south paw family man.

More on the white guy, and a little about the 4yr college athlete

To add to the post below, yes, there are some great white players in today's game. Some of it due to what I will touch on later, but none the less, the fundamental portion of the game has been very obvious in this year's tournament. With Butler and Duke punching their tickets to the championship game last night, has there been a championship game in recent memory that involved two more fundamentally sound teams then Duke and Butler? Yes, Carolina and Kansas the last few years were great teams, I don't argue that; but without question I think it is safe to say they had superior athletes. The same could be said for the two Florida teams, with the hideous face of Joakim Noah, and the Syracuse team with Hakeem Warrick. Even the teams that finished runner-up in those years were full of "athletes", the Memphis Tigers with Chris Douglas-Roberts and Freshman star Derrick Rose, and Michigan State, though I would lump Goran Suton into the white-guy fundamental category.

All of that being said, growing up in rural eastern Washington, where we learned triple threat before we learned the alphabet, it is nice to see that while the game has gone global in its marketing, and the most successful athletes perhaps (with exceptions) are lose with the most god given ability to jump and run, it is just nice to see that the core fundamentals of the game truly do still matter, and beyond that can lead to an extroadinary amount of success.

Ok, now that I've touched on the presence of the white guy, I would like to talk a little about the respect and admiration that I have for the 4-year player in college basketball. Being a huge Duke fan, and in the wake of their recent victory I would like to focus on two major stories in that particular game. To start, who can deny the development of 7'1" senior Brian Zoubek, (see below).




As a huge follower of Duke basketball, I can remember when Zou burst onto the seen, well lets not get carried away, he lumbered onto the scene. As he lumbered around early in his career, plagued by lower body injuries including a broken foot, the story was the same. He is too slow, he is too lazy, he has no skill, he's just a big guy...At the time many of those things were probably true. But their may not be a larger tale of two career's than that of Brian Zoubek. Anyone who has followed the Duke program even moderately cannot discount the presence he has played with alongside fellow senior Lance Thomas. Watching how an athlete can disregard the comments thrust at him in the past, and make something out of a career that by Duke standards would have been viewed as a bust, is something that makes this game so special, and I think a great amount of admiration should be showed to those who are able to overcome adversity early in their career.

The second player that falls into this category is Da'Sean Butler, who suffered a torn ACL in the national semifinal last night. As a Duke fan, I most certainly wanted them to win, but not in the way everything shook out. To see a prolific player like Da'Sean go down late in the final game of his college career is heartbreaking. Butler, a senior who for four years made a steady positive contribution and seemingly carried the Mountaineers on his back all season that culminated with a victory over favorite Kentucky and a trip to the final four, is another story that I enjoy reading. And to top it off the compassion showed by coach Bob Huggins in the wake of the injury is also something to be admired. (See Below) Needless to say, the tournament brings out many great stories and I think for the purpose of great story lines there is nothing else close to what March Madness provides.

Butler Coach with Pharmacy Connection

Getting ready for the Final Four and noticed that Butler's coach, Brad Stevens, worked at the Eli Lilly pharmaceutical company in marketing. This guy has a pretty cool story. He had a high paying job and then quit to take a volunteer position in the basketball office at Butler. He then worked his way up to becoming the head coach and is now coaching in the Final Four at the age of 34. Just another reason to root for the underdogs. Enjoy the Final Four!

The Great White Hope

Well Leigh did a great job of introducing the blog so lets get this thing rollin'.

So from the results of the poll, it looks like most of you are just as stoked about the Final Four as I am. Is there anything as amazing as March Madness? I declare there is not! Yes, college football could be close if it wasn't for the BCS, the NFL has the best athletes, and there is nothing like going to a great baseball game at Safeco field, but nothing matches the drama of March Madness.

Anyways back to the title of my post. Has anyone else noticed that there are some crazy good white ballers this year in college basketball? Two of the teams in the Final Four, Duke and Butler, are full of white guys who can play. Guys like Gordon Hayward, Jimmer Fredette, Kyle Singler, and John Scheyer have been incredible. Gordon Hayward, (pictured above), who looks young enough to be getting ready for his high school prom, has some serious skills. Kyle Singler and John Scheyer (pictured below) are stars on a Duke team that will probably win it all. Not that I really care if they win or not, even though it would be cool to see Butler win to represent the so called mid-majors, its just good to see some white guys tear it up once in a while.

On a 'did you know' fact....did you know that Butler plays its home games in the same gym where they filmed the movie 'Hoosiers'? And Yes, Hinkle Fieldhouse (pictured below) hosted the 1954 Indiana high school championship game between underdog Milan High School (enrollment 160) and heavily favored Muncie Central High (enrollment over 1600). The Final Four will be played in Lucas Oil Stadium (home of the Indianapolis Colts) which is 7 miles from Butler University and Hinkle Fieldhouse. How bout that home crowd advantage?