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06/19/2006: "Monday Sports Rant"
I was fishing this weekend, so I had to experience a lot of this second-hand. Unfortunately, I witnessed the Phil Phizzle in real-time ...
The Heat are for real, but don't start printing those Miami championship tees just yet. Yes, they won all three of their home games to take a 3-2 lead back to Dallas, but two were come-from-behind nailbiters. They'll have to win one on the road, and they haven't shown they can do that yet. DWade is playing out his ass, but can that happen for two more games? It'll have to, since Dallas is going to want to pound him in Game 6 and Shaq's been on vacation for two weeks ...
Argentina is looking like the only squad that really wants to win the World Cup. England and Brazil each look like they're doing just what is needed to move on - we'll have to see if they have another gear, because at some point they'll need it. I don't think the average American sports fan realized how big a deal the draw with Italy was, since we tend to be victory-obsessed. And I don't think it's as important as the press makes it out, since it was an own-goal. But a point's a point ...
Strange baseball fact: Of the 15 series that wrapped up yesterday, 9 were sweeps, including the Marlins (winners over the Jays), and both of "LA's Teams" (hometown Dodgers losers to the A's and squatter Angels swept by the Padres). Anyone else notice the Marlins are on fire? They even passed the Braves in the standings. It'd mean a lot more if the Fish weren't 13 games out of first place, but it's still the Braves. Looks like I'm gonna win that "under" bet I made on the Marlins losing 100 this season ...
Phil. Wow. I guess it'd be easy to kick the dude while he is down. OK, I will ... move over, VanDeVelde - there's a new goat in town. Phil Mickelson moved steadily up the rankings to the point where he was a dominant force in major tournaments and arguably the best player in the world once he started thinking with his big head instead of his little one. He survived the bloodbath that was Winged Foot and was standing on the final tee of the event as the leader when little Phil apparently grabbed the wheel. After bouncing an ill-advised driver off a sponsors tent (stupid, but survivable), he inexplicably violated the basic rule of every hacker - put the ball back in play. Chip the ball into the fairway, count your blessings for a one-stroke lead and play for the tie. He does this, and I skip work today to watch the playoff. But the wrong Phil was still making the decisions, and he tried to drive the green. Instead, he centerpunched a tree, but he might as well have driven it into his foot, as he effectively shot himself there with that stroke. From there, it was an iron to a fried-egg lie in a greenside bunker, a sand wedge that scurried across the green to the second cut of salad and a half-hearted chip that rolled wide and long. The tourney gone, he made the comeback put - naturally. Geoff Ogilvy was gracious in victory, but while he has the cup and the dough, this wasn't about him, nor will it be remembered for him. How it will be remembered was best summed up by Phil himself - "I am such an idiot."
