Your 2006 British Open Preview. Storylines to watch for:
The Tiger Woods/Nick Faldo pairing. After Faldo was critical of Woods last year, Tiger has vowed to not speak to Faldo. Now that they are paired together for the first two rounds, things could get ugly. This has the potential to be more awkward than a Paris Hilton/Nicole Richie reunion.
Phil Mickelson's comeback. With a par on the 18th hole of the U.S. Open Mickelson would be in serious contention to match the Tiger Slam with his own Phil Slam, by winning this tournament. Instead of worrying about trying to win this week, he might be spending more time trying not to choke again. I don’t think he will finish in the top ten.
Ernie Els. Where have you gone Ernie? A year ago people were talking about him overtaking Tiger at the top of the world rankings. He then proceeded to play like a driving range duffer, dropping down to the No. 8 ranked player in the world. Luckily for Els he fares well in British Opens, so expect him to ditch his duffer status, at least for this week.
Geoff Ogilvy's goes back-to-back. After sneaking in as U.S. Open champ, can he keep the momentum rolling? By the way, hopefully he thanked Phil for that collapse or we would all still be asking “Who the hell is Geoff Ogilvy?” If you still are asking that question, be on the look out because this kid has the game to win another major. I just hope he doesn’t expect someone to hand him the trophy a second time.
Excuse me,who are you again? The British Open has a history of producing out of the blue winners. Recently guys named Ben Curtis and Todd Hamilton won the event. Not exactly household names. This year’s winner has a good chance of again being a complete underdog. (More on this in a second).
And the winner is. A few names to keep on eye on this week are Jim Furyk, Padraig Harrington, and David Howell. Okay, so you still might not recognize their names but these guys can play. But deep down, how can you bet against Tiger? He won this tournament last year, is always geared up for majors, and is coming of####ood showing in his last tournament. Tiger Woods will be your 2006 British Open champion.
Unknown player to keep an eye out for. Carl Spackler. If Woods falters, look for Spackler to make a charge at the trophy. Coming off a strong Master’s performance, this Cinderella story has as good a chance to win as anyone in the unpredictable field. Check him out here.
Choke on that Phil Mickelson. Looks like “Lefty” isn’t everybody’s All-American anymore. With the U.S. Open in his back pocket, Philly “Cheese Steak” Mickelson pissed it away. Actually, he hit it so far left off the 18th tee that the ball bounced off a circus tent situated about 250 yards down the left hand rough and back into the crowd. Thank God Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey were in town, or Cheese Steak could have been staring a triple-bogey right in the face. Maybe it was meant to be though. Golf is a sport, and athletes compete in sports. With those man boobs of his, Cheese Steak is far from a well-oiled machine. Put down the fork, face!
The NBA Finals are one game away from possible being over. It’s just a hunch but I don’t think Mark Cuban is very happy. Plus he likes to curse..a lot. Give this guy some Ritalin already. He talks more #### behind the referees back than Paris Hilton talks behind Nicole Richie’s. If the finals were a hissy-fit screaming match, the Mavericks would have swept 4-0. But since we actually play the games, the Heat are on there way to the title because of one man- Dwayne Wade. This guy is punking the whole Dallas team every single time he steps on the floor. Forget the Big Aristotle, Shaq is now the Big Sidekick. While Shaq continues to shoot his team out of games, 7-22 from the free throw stripe the last two games, D-Wade is picking up the slack. That’s why they are free throws big fella. Maybe if he stopped running around South Beach playing detective and spent some time shooting in the gym, the Heat could have wrapped this thing up by now.
A football player was arrested last night, and somewhere Lawrence Taylor laughed hysterically. Pittsburg Steelers wide receiver Santonio Holmes was arrested Monday after being arraigned on charges of domestic violence by assault, assault and speeding. And get this, he swears he is innocent. He is probably right, the police are just out to get him. Sure buddy. Maybe Holmes should stop beating down people off the field and focus on beating down his opponents on it. Athletes just don’t seem to get enough attention in the off-season so they have to do something to get their name in the paper. Whatever helps get your name out there, right Santonio? This is Holmes second arrest since being drafted in April, but unfortunately he still trails Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry, who has been arrested four times in the past six months, in the unofficial NFL Arrest Race. Easily the most popular player this off-season, Henry will look to make some noise ON the field this season. Yes Chris, they pay you for touchdowns not arrests.
During the seventh-inning stretch at Sunday’s Cubs game, Entourage’s Jeremy Piven decided to add a little something extra to his rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.” Before he began to sing Piven yelled out, “Let’s hug it out, you little ####es.” But apparently cursing in front of 40,000 fans is a no-no. Cubs fans haven’t gotten this worked up since, well, dare I say 1908. What do expect from a guy who hangs out in Hollywood with Vinnie Chase, Johnny Drama and the rest of the crew every day. I’m personally surprised that he didn’t drop a famous Ari Gold f-bomb on the crowd. Now that would have made Harry Carey turn over in his grave.
Behind a rookie goaltender, the Carolina Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup trophy after beating the Edmonton Oilers on Monday night. Is it just me, or is the nickname “Hurricanes” just a little insensitive these days? First the Florida Panthers finish near the bottom of its division, and now Carolina rubs it in just a little bit more. Nothing like turning a national disaster into a national joke.
