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04/09/2007: "Sporting Thoughts"

I was in and out all weekend, but when I was in the sports was on the tube ...

- OK, golf fans, let's start with the ending: Zack Johnson is your 2007 Masters Champion. Bet you didn't see that one coming! Conditions were tough, and the golf horrific - at times I didn't know if I was watching the Masters coverage or a screening of "Grindhouse". The one thing you have to agree was that it was fair, and everyone had a shot - hell, even Retief Goosen, who made the cut right on the number, was in the lead at one point. It was like a NASCAR event - 6 lead changes among 5 leaders. Give Zack credit - he saw Tiger in his rear-view mirror, and didn't flinch. That alone makes him unique, and a worthy champion. If nothing else, it means two things - he's got a standing tee time every April for the rest of his life, and one day he'll be able to sit his grandkids on his knee and say, "Did I tell you about the time I beat Tiger Woods to win the Masters ..."

- The NHL regular season ended yesterday. Do you care? Me neither. There was a time when hockey was the fourth big sport (after football, baseball and basketball), but it rates somewhere between the IFC and cricket now in the minds of the American people. I’m not even sure they’re watching in Canada any more. I actually heard a player trying to defend the fighting in hockey by comparing it to an extreme sport; if they’re reduced to making that kind of comparison, they might as well pack it in now.

- Once upon a time, open wheel auto racing in America was a really big thing. Formula 1 was the sport of the European royals, and stock cars were being driven by a bunch of good ol’ boys with names like Fireball and Junior and Buddy. But nothing could compare with the Indy cars. The flat mile at Milwaukee, the tri-oval at Pocono, the superspeedway at Michigan and of course, Indianapolis. Hell, F1 even made the Indy 500 a points-earning event in the ‘60s. Like most things where money is involved, though, egos got in the way. First the car owners broke free from USAC to form CART, then Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Tony George defected and formed the Indy Racing League. Since 1996, there have been two separate series and despite what their individual PR departments will say, the product has suffered. The IRL, which initially declared itself to be an oval-only, American-only series, is racing on road and street courses and is dominated by foreign-born drives. CART went bankrupt and was replaced by something called ChampCar, but no one you’ve ever heard of is driving in it. Meanwhile, NASCAR has become one of the biggest sports – not just racing series, but sports – in America, effectively filling the void left by the open wheel miscues. The IRL started their season a couple of weeks back, and yesterday CC held their first event of the season in Las Vegas. I’m sure both fans were thrilled. I’d like to see them patch up their differences and spec a single series, but I’m not holding my breath …

- Don't look now, but the Florida Marlins have won their first two series of the year. Probably a little early to make the playoff reservations, but it beats getting your ass kicked right out of the box. The offense looks pretty good, and the defense has been solid, but I'm still not sold on the pitching - particularly our new closer, Jorge Julio. In three appearances, he's got one blown save, and two shaky outings. Maybe he'll settle down, or maybe we go with Plan B. Gotta find some kind of answer, though ...