Gmail Invites

For those interested, I have 3 gmail invites to give away.

 

I will give them to the first 3 people who email me.

 

My email address is linked on the right-hand column.

 

Who's Next?

Needless to say, I'm highly disappointed with the outcome of the matches this past weekend. But alas, we must move on.

This article speculates who will be named the captains of the 2006 Ryder Cup teams. Of the choices listed, for the U.S. side, the name that immediately stood out to me was Hale Irwin. He's a great champion, even to this day, and I think he deserves a spot in the rotation. But another name that made an impression to me was Mark O'Meara. Tiger seemed a little more fired up than usual to me at this year's matches, and hopefully with his buddy Mark'O at the helm, that trend would continue.

On the European side, with the domination of the 2004 team, it would be hard not to recommend Bernhard Langar for a repeat performance. My personal choice would be Nick Faldo, although I hear that he's not as popular across the pond as one would assume.

I guess we'll find out soon enough.

Congrats to the European team, by the way. They played a great match.

On The Bandwagon?

 So apparently Michael Jordan joined Team USA for dinner on Monday night. Say what you want about MJ, but you can't say he's not a winner. And you also can't say he's not a fan of golf and a supporter of the Ryder Cup.

I remember when I first became a fan of Jordan's, and the Bulls. It was the early 90's, when they were just beginning to tear through the NBA with reckless abandon. Like a lot of people who didn't really follow the NBA (and like many who did, I suppose), I wasn't immediately a fan of Jordan's. I resented the media hype that surrounded him. I was on the search for a team to call my own and thought I had settled on the New York Knicks. But after watching the Bulls play a few games, I couldn't help but get caught up in the way they played the game, most notably Jordan. I remember watching a game between the Knicks and the Bulls and found myself rooting for the Bulls before the game was over.

So there I was. I was firmly on the "bandwagon" and couldn't get off. But then again, don't we all become fans of certain teams when they're playing well? I mean, unless you live in a certain area or have been raised as a fan of a certain team, you don't just go out and pick a team out of a hat and say "I think I'll be a fan of <insert team name>". It doesn't work that way. And you don't normally become a fan of a team who isn't playing well, because they just don't grab your attention.

So yes, I became a Bulls fan in the early 90's. But I think the difference between me and what I call a "bandwagon fan" is that I remain a Bulls fan to this day. And I will remain a Bulls fan, no matter if they win 10 more titles or no more titles. I thank Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippin, Phil Jackson and the rest of the Bulls for that. They gave me a team to root for, and a lot of good memories to boot.

 

Well, It's Official

David Duval is back! Heh, thought I was talking about Vijay, didn't you? Nope, I'm more excited about Duval's success than Vijay's. A 14 month absence from making the cut, and basically an even longer absence from the game of golf has finally come to an end as David Duval made his own kind of "Hello, World" statement at the Deutsche Bank Championship this Labor Day.

 

Duval stated in an interview after making the cut on Saturday that one of his goals was to win once this year. He has never been one to lack confidence, but man, that's a big one! I'm not saying he doesn't have the talent to make it happen, it's just going to be hard to break through all of the other talented players out there who have been living on the tour all the time he has been away. Perhaps a better goal would have been "I want to win again" or "I want to get back to the Ryder Cup" or even "I want to get back to where Vijay is, fighting for World #1".

 

It's great to see David return to good form. But as we as golfers all know, it can leave you as quickly as you find it. If anyone can do it, I believe Duval can. Good luck, David.

 

Say It Isn't So!

Looks like The Mick and Titleist have parted ways over a contract dispute. Mickelson wanted to renegotiate after winning the Masters and Titleist didn't want any part of it. There are 2 ways of looking at this thing. Number 1 is that Phil was being a little selfish by wanting more of what he already has: money. The other is that Titleist was being selfish by not renegotiating a contract with one of their strongest supporters for the past 4 years.

 

The bottom line is that Phil is looking for a new company and will likely come out of the deal with a new set of clubs, a new ball and probably some new shoes. Looks like 2005 will be another down year as Philly tries to figure out the new equipment. My vote: Taylor Made. It will give Phil the hottest driver-maker today, and also allow him to keep playing the Titleist ball if he chooses, since I don't think Taylor Made has a golf ball line that they would push him to use.