04/19/24
June 17, 2011
SportsFilter: The Friday Huddle:
A place to discuss the sports stories that aren't making news, share links that aren't quite front-page material, and diagram plays on your hand. Remember to count to five Mississippi before commenting in anger.
posted by tommybiden at 09:51 AM on June 17, 2011
Isner and Mahut scheduled to meet in the first round at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club this year. Bring a change of clothes and a razor.
posted by beaverboard at 10:54 AM on June 17, 2011
McIlroy is continuing to push his legislation along at Congressional through 12 today.
He's not the one I'm worried about. It's Chris Berman. He announces a golf tournament like he has a large plate of food in front of him and a napkin tied around his neck. He has no business at an event like this.
With Berman on hand, have to revise the prevailing weather conditions. Wind at 50 mph, humility at 20%.
posted by beaverboard at 11:31 AM on June 17, 2011
I don't understand why Chris Berman is calling the U.S. Open. It's shameful. But he's not as bad as Mike "Doc" Emrick who is the number 1 broadcaster for hockey games on NBC and Versus. Emrick uses words like "knifed," "slithered," "skittered" and "squibbed" in the course of calling a hockey game. He is the worst announcer in all of professional sports.
posted by insomnyuk at 12:38 PM on June 17, 2011
McIlroy was unconscious through 17. Gets to an incredible 13 under, but then double bogeys 18.
I swear "it" is going to happen again.
And Berman should not be allowed to call any sporting event, period. Let him do his little NFL show, but other than that, put him out to pasture.
posted by dyams at 01:17 PM on June 17, 2011
And Berman should not be allowed to call any sporting event, period.
Whaaat?! You mean hearing Boomer yell 'back back back' over & over & over again for 3 hours during the homer run derby doens't do it for you?
Good grief!
posted by BornIcon at 02:36 PM on June 17, 2011
The 2011 SpoFi NHL Playoofs Confidence Pool final results are here.
grum won, but rumple and tommy broke 1000 as well. Sorry mkn, you got edged out by the Spofi Average. And of course, a shout out to dfleming for the Costanza.
posted by NoMich at 10:27 PM on June 17, 2011
And sorry for the lateness of this. I was at Emerald Isle in NC getting my nasty ass cold cured. Seriously, there's something about the ocean and the salty air to knock that fucking virus out of your system.
posted by NoMich at 10:28 PM on June 17, 2011
The name probably doesn't mean much to most of you, but RIP Rex "Moose" Mossop. I grew up on his calls of Rugby League in the 70s, and the special way he threw in tautologies and malapropisms. In high school, I managed an A for a drama assignment where I did a parody of him calling a game. The tape must be around here somewhere...
posted by owlhouse at 02:12 AM on June 18, 2011
McIlroy was unconscious through 17. Gets to an incredible 13 under, but then double bogeys 18.
I swear "it" is going to happen again.
The double at 18 was just a little unlucky (to catch the second shot fat) and a lot careless (to not then get up and down for bogey); it wasn't a choke. Predictions are for braver souls than me, so I'm not going to say that what happened at Augusta is not going to happen again, but I will say that if it starts to happen again, at least he'll know what's happening and what to expect; hopefully from there he can do something to stop the rot in time.
To put it another way, if he goes into the final round with a significant lead, I'd back him more strongly because he has been through what he went through at Augusta than I would if he hadn't ever been through that. He's got a strong mind that doesn't work the same way as most others' minds. When he won his first tournament (in Dubai) he had a five shot lead with five holes to go. He ended up having to get up and down from the bunker behind 18 for birdie to win. He holed a reasonably long putt (like ten feet or so) to get the job done. Afterwards the interviewer asked him about frittering the lead and if he'd learnt anything.
"Absolutely. I've learnt that even if I'm five behind with five holes to go I should hang in there because it's never over until the last putt drops."
He's a bit special, and he's playing golf from another planet this week. If the ten shot rule were slightly modified to state that only those within ten of the lead after two rounds made the cut, there would only be 14 people playing this weekend. That's something else that could yet be important. He had a four shot lead at Augusta, but there were a lot of people within 4, 5, 6 or 7 shots of him. I'd rather have a three shot lead over five guys than a six shot lead over twenty guys.
Looking forward to seeing where the USGA put the flags today. Something tells me they might revise their original plans a bit in a misguided attempt to protect the course. The problem is that if they do that, Rory is completely in control of the tournament - with ridiculous hole locations, no one can charge out of the pack at him; the only way to make a contest of it will be for him to get suckered into chasing the flags. He's young, but he's not dumb enough to do that. So I guess we'll get to see if the USGA is more interested in protecting the abstract concept of par than they are in providing a spectacle and a contest for the watching public.
Final thought: I wish he had a different caddy. JP looked as terrified and confused as Rory did at Augusta. He should have a seasoned older guy on the bag.
posted by JJ at 05:03 AM on June 18, 2011
The way I see it, the weekend goes one of two ways for Rory: 1: see Rory McIlroy, Masters 2011. 2: see Tiger Woods, US Open 2000.
My gut says number two.
posted by boredom_08 at 06:11 AM on June 18, 2011
If Rory McElroy is going to implode at this Major, please let it happen in round 2. I'm just over having watched the last one.