DEAD ON COURSE by Tannen

Things went pretty true to form at Turnberry this week as that TW fella made a huge run in a tournament he's won multiple times. TW is certainly viewed as an all-time great, but his par putt on the final hole of regulation was off and he fell in a playoff to Stewart Cink. TW was hitting fairways, drawing monster support from the gallery and flirting with golf history. Yes, we know the #1 ranked TW missed the cut and in fact it was Hall of Famer Tom Watson who danced atop the leaderboard at age 59. Here's a number. Watson moved from 1374th in the world rankings to 105! That's the single biggest one tournament jump ever, by far. He lost a shot at a 6th Claret Jug. Only the 6 green jackets Jack Nicklaus won as Master's champ would have been his equal for individual Grand Slam events by an American. The memories of 2009 will remain, but the opportunity for a man like this TW might not appear again.
My son & now daughter in law had their wedding this past Saturday at Sweet Cheeks Winery and it was a terrific event. All had a great time. It was kind of like a major with things starting slowly with a barbeque at our place for about 15 people. Then we hosted the rehearsal dinner for 44 folks on Friday with about 110 on hand for the bash on Saturday. It culminated with a brunch for 20+ on Sunday, with each event but the wedding at our place. I can't believe we survived. Incredible amount of planning, and certainly a fair level of tension. Brides and their families can get nuts when the heat is on. Thank heavens for lots & lots of wine!

THURSDAY IS A LONG WAY OFF by Tannen

Thank heavens for my son's upcoming wedding. My wife and I are hosting a rehearsal dinner this Friday for about 35 people. On Thursday a mere 20 will arrive at our place for a rehearsal, rehearsal. That means tonight(mon) and the next two nights we'll be busy like nuts getting things prepared. With baseball's All Star break it's a good thing I have something(a million things actually) to keep me occupied. No games on the MLB package, no box scores in the morning. OH THE HORROR! Then I mark Thursday July 16th as my favorite day of 2009 with not only baseball back, but round one of the British Open.
FYI...the answer to the below blog was Frankie Rodriguez who was 26 and change, a bit younger than Eric Gagne and Bobby Thigpen when they recorded their 50th saves. Thanks for playing & congrats to our winner, Jeff. I know you all cheated by using www.baseball-reference.com but I'm betting even the Thigpen's, Gagne's and FRod families were unaware of such information.

MO, HIDING AND INSANITY by Tannen

Last night Mariano Rivera of the Yankees chalked up his 22nd save with a typical ho-hum 1-2-3 9th in the victory over the Twins. I always thought Nolan Ryan was a freak for his ability to hit 100 on the radar gun despite being in his 40's. Mo turns 40 in just over 4 months yet he's turning the lights out as if he's a decade younger. The career saves leader, Trevor Hoffman is having a huge year closing the door in Milwaukee. Though after going through the 1st two and a half months of the season allowing zero earned runs, has been hit hard in 3 of his last 7 appearances. Hoffman is the career saves leader, Rivera is 2nd. Hoffman is 41. Next on the list is Lee Smith who had his final strong season at age 37 as did John Franco. Dennis Eckersley recorded 36 saves for the Cardinals at the age of 42. He's an interesting case as Eck was also a highly effective starter who actually turned in just 5 dominating seasons as a closer. The debate over the greatest ever is as tough as there is for baseball fans. Mo is certainly in the conversation.
Former Cowboy Greg Ellis says teammate DeMarcus Ware would "hide" on the sidelines during games to allow Ellis more playing time. Excuse me? This revelation was made on Michael Irvin's radio show in Dallas. This would only further emphasize my belief that under Wade Phillips and nutbar owner Jerry Jones, so-called America's team is equally dysfunctional as The Jacksons.
Apparently there was an incident at the LeBron James Skills Academy in Akron, Ohio. A high schooler dunked on LeBron causing officials to confiscate all recordings of the slam to prevent the host from embarrassment. This takes anal idiocy to a new level. Nike sponsors the camp and says the video was grabbed because the 2 media members violated a 'no taping' policy. Yeah right. What a crock. Who cares? A billion guys can jam and in the natural flow of a basketball game, guys get dunked on. Petty, petty, petty garbage. I guess this explains the no-class failure to shake hands with the Orlando Magic players after they ran James and Cleveland out of the playoffs. King James my butt!
We have another shot for you to win a $25 gift certificate to Jung's Mongolian Grill & the new Phil Steele College Football Preview Magazine. E-mail your correct answer to stevetannen@live.com
11 times in major league history a closer has turned in a 50 save season. Of the 9 players who turned the trick, who was the youngest when he recorded #50 in that particular season?

ASKING A BIT MUCH? by Tannen

Have to take a page from the Dan Patrick show & their discussion over the piece by Jason Whitlock of foxsports.com about Serena Williams. Feels she has not accomplished enough. What? Is it possible to be one of the greatest of all time already at the tender age of 27, yet have certain folks feel you've underachieved? No way. She's won 11 major titles, all of the grand slam events plus 2 Olympic Gold Medals. As we speak she is the reigning champ at Wimbledon, the US Open and Australian Open. She just demolished sister Venus in London on grass, a Venus specialty. When the dust settles we might view her as the best of all time. Whitlock cites her physique and perhaps lack of committment to training. She's a big girl, but her power puts her in a different league than most women. I could see if there were a decline in performance, but Serena seems to be getting more dominant and after she smokes the field to win another US Open will again be the #1 player on the planet. My question is, "how can you be better than the best"?
Congrats to Chuck who won our Monday contest correctly identifying Mark Philippousis as the man Roger Federer defeated to win the 1st of his record 15 Grand Slam titles.

NOT ALL IS DEBATABLE by Tannen

Hearing a ton of talk today comparing the 15 major singles titles in tennis versus the 14 majors in golf. Tiger vs. Roger Federer. Are people really this stupid? We've gone down this road before. Woods faces 100 guys who have a shot to beat him week in and week out. Lucas Glover won the most recent Grand Slam event, the US Open as the 71st ranked player on earth. Over the last 5 years Federer has reached at least the Final 4 of every major tournament he's entered. He has no competition until he faces Rafael Nadal in Paris or London. Credit Andy Roddick for a tremendous performance in pushing Roger in Sunday's Wimbledon Final. He's the #6 ranked player in the world. It's a moronic debate. Take nothing away from Federer because he's a class act and a special talent, but there are maybe 3 or 4 guys out there capable of making him break a sweat. Tiger faces 25 times that every week.
Hate to be the cold hearted S.O.B in the room but what the hell is a married man with 4 children closing in on his 40th birthday doing spending time, likely intimate, with a 20 year old? No one deserves to die for treading on shaky moral ground, but I can't help but think if Steve McNair wasn't dipping his wick outside his marriage, he's alive today.
Time to give away some loot. For a $25 gift certificate for Jungs Mongolian Grill(excellent by the way), plus the Phil Steele College Football Preview magazine, e-mail the answer to the following question to stevetannen@live.com
Who did Roger Federer beat to win the 1st of his 15 major tennis titles?