Time to answer one comment on my blog. Mary Ellen asked why I don’t mention the UConn women's basketball team? First off I enjoy women’s basketball a lot more than the men’s game because it is played below the rim. I don’t mention them because they have won 61 games in a row and beat all of their opponents by 25 or more points. It is like one sportscaster said this weekend, ho hum, they win again. Every time we think they’re going into a tough game, like Stanford or North Carolina, they keep it close for the first half then pull away in the second half. In the past I have talked about Head Coach Geno Auriemma. I happen to think he is overrated. This month on ESPN College Gameday Geno gave great insight to why the program is so successful and kind of changed my mind about him. He said that they practice for every game and don’t over look any opponents. He also recruits players that want to be great and not just good. For a good source of information I would direct you to the site sox and dawgs. I have posted the link in the links section of this blog. Each day they have daily links to all the beat writers around the state that cover the UCONN women. Without access I can just write what I see. If you have questions about a team or event that you head about on the news or on the radio, send me an e-mail at jdlazaroff@yahoo.com, I would love to hear from you.
Congratulations to Kelly Kulick for being to first women to win a Professional Bowlers Association title. Kulick beat Chris Barnes to win the prestigious Tournament of Champions event. You go girl!
Two big events last weekend were the Strikeforce MMA event on Showtime Saturday night. I talked about this stacked card about a month ago so I wont go further. I do want to talk about Bobby Lashley’s opponent UFC veteran Wes Sims. Wes will not be an easy win for Lashley. This will be a very interesting fight. The other interesting person who is making his MMA debut is 1982 Heisman Trophy win Herschel Walker. At first I thought this was a joke but in recent interviews Herschel has stated the he is very serious about this and is training every day for this fight. How will a 47-year-old man do in a young man’s game?
Update: It was very interesting; Herschel Walker beat his younger opponent in the third round via a TKO. From what I have seen and heard he was very impressive. In his post fight news conference, Herschel said that this was just a one-fight deal and he’s done with MMA. Good job Herschel you did it and won now leave the stage.
The other event is the NFL Pro Bowl. This is the first year it was held one week before the Super Bowl. When this was first announced (the Pro Bowl is usually the week after the Super Bowl) I thought this would not work. It is not a very well played game because there’s nothing to play for. I now think it is a good idea. After the Super Bowl a lot of people consider football season over. You now have the NFL’s best (minus the players in the Super Bowl) on the same stage as the Super Bowl.
Update: I watched and I now think whenever the Pro Bowl is played it is a bad idea because like any All-Star game there is no defense played in the game and this makes it boring.
Update on the story I brought you last time about the Togo National Team being attacked on their way to the African Nationals Cup Soccer Tournament in January. The new news is that the Confederation of African Football has banned the Togo Team from the next two African Nations Cup tournaments for withdrawal from this year's tournament in the wake of a gun attack on their team bus. My question is why are they being banned? They did nothing wrong, and were not even the target of the attack. Two members of their delegation were killed in the ambush; I would leave the tournament too to bury my friends. I think this ban is insensitive and just wrong.
What I’M looking forward to this weekend
Sunday is the Super Bowl at 6:25 on CBS. The year’s game is the Indianapolis Colts against the New Orleans Saints. I think the game will be a shootout as you have two of the best quartbacks in the league, with Peyton Manning of the Colts against Drew Brees of the Saints. I will be having my party of one on Sunday.
I think this will be the first time the Six Nations (England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, France and Italy) Rugby Championships will be on America TV and the best part is it will be Live. The first game will be this Saturday at 12 noon when Wales takes on England from London. It will be on BBC America. I can’t wait!!
Next week I hope to have my Winter Olympic preview.
Jamie Lazaroff
Showing posts with label Rugby. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rugby. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
A view through my eyes
Hi Fans, sorry for no update last week. Been working hard to get back into the work force and other big projects in progress. Will share with you when I have more details. As they say in the business, “stay tuned”.
This has been a very sad week on the UCONN Campus. Last Sunday around 12:30 in the morning (October 18th) after the UCONN football team beat Louisville. Some of the players went to a school-supported dance at the Student Union. After a fire alarm was pulled that forced every one out of the building, a fight broke out between students and non-students. Football player Jasper Howard was in the wrong place at the wrong time and was stabbed to death. One of the many sad parts of this story is that “Jazz” was from a tough part of Miami and was the first person in his family to go to collage, he was also about to be a father for the first time and his girlfriend was on campus for the Homecoming festivities, she was not at the dance, she was back at the dorm. The other sad part of this story, to me is that about 200 people and the police were at this event and no one saw what happened? It came out Thursday October 22nd in the Hartford Courant that the witnesses to this crime are being threatened online with violence if they come forward with evidence in this case. According to the Hartford Courant, Maj. Ronald Blicher told the student newspaper, “The Daily Campus”, that police are looking into these threats. He said authorities are still urging people to submit videos, photos or other information. I hope they do so and we can find who killed this popular player. On Tuesday October 27th three young men were changed in connection with the murder of Jasper Howard. John William Lomax, 21, of Bloomfield, was charged with the murder. Hakeem Muhammed, 20, also of Bloomfield, was charged with conspiracy to commit assault and Jamaal Todd, 21, of West Hartford, is accused of pulling the fire alarm. This information is from NBC Connecticut News, Channel 30.
One of the great things about this story is how people are coming together, even UCONN’s opponent on Saturday West Virginia honored “JAZZ” before and after the game. West Virginia students will sell arm bans with his number 6, and all money will go to Jasper’s family. His teammates from Miami, in schools around the country wore arm bans to honor “JAZZ”. Like I said just a sad story over all.
Sports Media Madness
A lot going on in Sports Media in the past few weeks, so lets get to it.
The only thing I will say about TBS coverage of baseball’s postseason is that Chip Caray is the worst play-by-play man in the business bar none. I don’t know what TBS sees in him? Just say I’M glad the Phillies are in the World Series and the National League Championship Series is over, he’s that bad. FOX is doing the World Series (staring Wednesday) with the crew of Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, not great but better then Caray.
The story that did catch my eye this week coming out of Bristol Connecticut (ESPN) is that they have hired renowned soccer announcer Martin Tyler to call World Cup games next year in South Africa. Tyler is the best in the business. He has attended every world cup since 1978. I’m glad ESPN hired a real soccer announcer, four years ago, they assigned baseball announcer Dave O’Brien to call matches. He did a terrible job. Soccer is a difficult assignment for even a seasoned announcer, so this is a very good choice. I’M ready for South Africa, qualifying is almost over.
In Olympics news last week, Rugby 7’s and golf have been added to the 2016 Games in Rio. I’m a little split on the inclusion of these two sports into the Olympics. Rugby 7’s, I have no problem with, it’s an exciting sport and the fastest version of Rugby. It can be played in two days and is very TV friendly. On the other side is golf, don’t get me wrong, I love golf, but I just don’t think it’s an Olympic sport. First, the Olympics won’t be the pinnacle of the sport. The major championships will still be played and those tournaments are the ones the players want to win. The first Olympic event will have the worlds best like Tiger, Phil, Rory, Sergio and Y.E. just to name a few, but after the glow of the first events, than what? Take a look at Tennis in the Olympics; no one talks about it out side of the games because the Grand Slam tournaments are the be all and end all. Tennis includes the Olympic event in it’s ranking to attract the best players; hopefully golf will do the same. Golf is not a TV friendly sport compared to other Olympic sports. They are going to have a 74-hole (4 day) stroke-play tournament, and not a match play tournament that would be (I think) more TV friendly and existing to watch. We will see in 2016.
See you again soon.
Jamie Lazaroff
Saturday, June 20, 2009
The view from the chair
This is a South Africa themed post.
Here is my recap of the FIFA CONFEDERATIONS Cup from South Africa. The first match of day one (Sunday) was a lifeless scoreless draw between the hosts South Africa and IRAQ. Match number two was Spain versus New Zealand, score, Spain six to zero. Spain shows that they are here to win and stamped their authority on this tournament. New Zealand was just out classed.
Day two (Monday) was the greatest day of football (soccer) I have ever seen. Match one was Brazil versus Egypt. Brazil survived a tough Egypt team 4 to 3. Brazil won on a controversial handball in the Brazilian goal area from an Egyptian player. That led to a Kaka penalty kick to win the game. For the record, I did not see the handball, but every one I talk to did. The Egyptian team has filed a protest, not on the handball its self, but the fact that the third official may have seen a video replay of the handball and gave advice to referee Howard Webb to award the penalty kick. Video replays are not used in soccer; by the way, FIFA (world’s governing body) has rejected Egypt’s protest. Despite the controversial call, as my fellow soccer sportswriter, Jamie Trecker, said this match was a great advertisement for soccer. It had everything, goals, send offs, PK’s, corner kicks, free kick, and the best part for sports writers, like me, controversy.
Match number two of day two was the United States National Team taking on Italy. This match was not with out controversy either. In the 31st minute the Americans were down to 10 men when Ricardo Clark was given a straight red card. But the Americans took the lead when Jozy Altidore was taken down in the penalty box by an Italian player. Landon Donovan stepped up to convert the PK. The second half was a different story as the 11-man Italian side scored three times. The irony is that two of the Italian goals were by Giuseppe Rossi, who was born in New Jersery, but his dad was born in Italy and he decieded to play for the Italy national team. Again, as Jamie Trecker said there are no more moral victories anymore for the American team. Ricardo Clark’s red card could have gone either way. It was a reckless tackel but I think it should not have been a direct red card which meant an immediate ejection but should have been a yellow card. The U.S. should know by now that FIFA tournaments are called in a tighter fashion than MLS because the refs are under the microscope by their bosses. If anything, FIFA refs tend to overcompensate. When will they learn?
The US played Brazil and lost 3 to 0 Thursday morning; in one of the worst games I have seen the US National Team play. Their defense was just awful; they even had another player sent off for a reckless tackel. Didn’t they learn anything from the other day? I guess not. As much as the Americans played terrible, Brazil was Brazil, they put on a show and scored in every way possible, off free kicks and in the run of play, thankfully not on a PK, I would have killed someone, that would have put me over the edge. My question is, why does the US play well against their regional opponents but when it comes the worldwide tournaments, they suck? Just sayin!
There is good news about next year’s World Cup in South Africa and the way ESPN will cover the event. According to the Sports Business Journal, ESPN is sending two SportsCenter sets and three host anchors to the event. The setup will be similar in scale to how the network uses “SportsCenter” at the Super Bowl as opposed to how it uses remote sets at an event like the recent Belmont Stakes and this weekends US Open Golf Championship. ESPN is finally identifying the World Cup as one of its three corporate priorities. In years past, the only other productions to make that list were “SportsCenter” and the NBA. ESPN hasn’t made any decisions about announcers and analysts for the games, but the executives said that it planned to handle the 2010 World Cup more like its telecasts of the Euro 2008 tournament than that of the 2006 World Cup. For the Euros, it used Sky Sports commentator and Brit Andy Gray, whereas for the 2006 World Cup it used American Dave O’Brien, who is a baseball guy and did not know anything about soccer. The difference between next year and the last World Cup is that the network sublicensed the rights from Soccer United Marketing in 2006. Next year in South Africa and 2014 in Brazil, it will own the rights to the events outright and it is treating the event accordingly. I’M glad to see ESPN owns the rights and will be treating the event as the global spectacle it is.
The next news story is also about South Africa, ESPN is finally giving Nelson Mandela the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at its ESPY awards show. I can’t believe ESPN finally is recognizing the 1995 Rugby World Cup and the impact it had on South Africa. He is the first paragraph of the press release: “The 1995 Rugby World Cup was hosted in South Africa for the first time. Following the victory of the host national team, The Springboks, and in a pivotal moment for South Africa, President Nelson Mandela, wearing a Springbok rugby shirt and cap, presented the William Webb Ellis Cup to South African captain Francois Pienaar to the delight of black and white sports fans across the country. This iconic gesture helped to unite a previously divided nation through a shared passion for sport, and further cemented the transition from apartheid to democracy”. Also what made this moment so moving is that while Mandela was in prison he would listen to rugby matches and because rugby was such a white sport, he would rote for the other team. This year the Arthur Ashe Courage Award coincides with Mandela Day, which will fall on July 18th, Nelson Mandela's birthday. Mandela Day will act as a global call to action for people to recognize their individual power to make an imprint and help change the world around them for the better. The Nelson Mandela Foundation and 46664 (Mandela’s number in Prison) are calling upon people around the world to commit 67 minutes (Nelson Mandela has been making an imprint on the world for 67 years) of their time to make an imprint and help change the world around them. Talk about cross promotion, but it’s good to see him get this award. The ESPYs will be televised Sunday, July 19 at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN/ESPN HD.
This Weekend
This is a big sports weekend. It started Thursday with the first round of the US Open Golf Championship at Bethpage Black on Long Island NY. Bethpage staged the Open back in 2002 and was the first public course to host our National Championship of golf. The main storylines are; can Tiger come back after last years win and his win at the Black in 2002. The other major story is Phil Mickelson who came back to the tour after his wife Amy was diagnosed with cancer. He said he only came back because he thought he could win the Open. He was the runner-up to Tiger in 2002 by 3 shots. The course is always the story at the US Open. The United States Golf Association says that protecting par is the goal for the tournament. NBC has the weekends, Sunday 1:30 to 7:30 P.M.
For you fight fans the UFC has their Ultimate Fighter finale Saturday on Spike TV at 9 P.M. This is when the 7-figure contract will be handed out for the winner of the Ultimate Fighter realty TV show. The Main event of the night is a lightweight fight between two of the most exciting fighters in the world, Diego Sanchez and Clay Guida. This one should be good. Also on the card is Nate Diaz against Joe Stevenson, both fighters are very exciting. Should be a fun night.
Monday was starts the Wimbledon Championships from London. This is the first year that there is a roof over center court, no more rain delays at the All England Club! The main story will be; can Rafael Nadal defend his title or will Roger Federer win back his crown. Update: Rafael will not defend his title he withdrew this week, this news opens the door wide open for Federer to win the tournament. On the women side, will Venus Williams defend her title or will someone else win the crown. From the British point of view will Andy Murray be the first Brit to win the Gentleman’s Crown in a long long time. Always interesting to see Wimbledon from the British point of view, you have to love the Brits. Should be interesting. ESPN will have the coverage starting Monday through Friday 7 A.M. to 5 P.M. each day. Enjoy!
See you next week, if not before.
Jamie Lazaroff
Here is my recap of the FIFA CONFEDERATIONS Cup from South Africa. The first match of day one (Sunday) was a lifeless scoreless draw between the hosts South Africa and IRAQ. Match number two was Spain versus New Zealand, score, Spain six to zero. Spain shows that they are here to win and stamped their authority on this tournament. New Zealand was just out classed.
Day two (Monday) was the greatest day of football (soccer) I have ever seen. Match one was Brazil versus Egypt. Brazil survived a tough Egypt team 4 to 3. Brazil won on a controversial handball in the Brazilian goal area from an Egyptian player. That led to a Kaka penalty kick to win the game. For the record, I did not see the handball, but every one I talk to did. The Egyptian team has filed a protest, not on the handball its self, but the fact that the third official may have seen a video replay of the handball and gave advice to referee Howard Webb to award the penalty kick. Video replays are not used in soccer; by the way, FIFA (world’s governing body) has rejected Egypt’s protest. Despite the controversial call, as my fellow soccer sportswriter, Jamie Trecker, said this match was a great advertisement for soccer. It had everything, goals, send offs, PK’s, corner kicks, free kick, and the best part for sports writers, like me, controversy.
Match number two of day two was the United States National Team taking on Italy. This match was not with out controversy either. In the 31st minute the Americans were down to 10 men when Ricardo Clark was given a straight red card. But the Americans took the lead when Jozy Altidore was taken down in the penalty box by an Italian player. Landon Donovan stepped up to convert the PK. The second half was a different story as the 11-man Italian side scored three times. The irony is that two of the Italian goals were by Giuseppe Rossi, who was born in New Jersery, but his dad was born in Italy and he decieded to play for the Italy national team. Again, as Jamie Trecker said there are no more moral victories anymore for the American team. Ricardo Clark’s red card could have gone either way. It was a reckless tackel but I think it should not have been a direct red card which meant an immediate ejection but should have been a yellow card. The U.S. should know by now that FIFA tournaments are called in a tighter fashion than MLS because the refs are under the microscope by their bosses. If anything, FIFA refs tend to overcompensate. When will they learn?
The US played Brazil and lost 3 to 0 Thursday morning; in one of the worst games I have seen the US National Team play. Their defense was just awful; they even had another player sent off for a reckless tackel. Didn’t they learn anything from the other day? I guess not. As much as the Americans played terrible, Brazil was Brazil, they put on a show and scored in every way possible, off free kicks and in the run of play, thankfully not on a PK, I would have killed someone, that would have put me over the edge. My question is, why does the US play well against their regional opponents but when it comes the worldwide tournaments, they suck? Just sayin!
There is good news about next year’s World Cup in South Africa and the way ESPN will cover the event. According to the Sports Business Journal, ESPN is sending two SportsCenter sets and three host anchors to the event. The setup will be similar in scale to how the network uses “SportsCenter” at the Super Bowl as opposed to how it uses remote sets at an event like the recent Belmont Stakes and this weekends US Open Golf Championship. ESPN is finally identifying the World Cup as one of its three corporate priorities. In years past, the only other productions to make that list were “SportsCenter” and the NBA. ESPN hasn’t made any decisions about announcers and analysts for the games, but the executives said that it planned to handle the 2010 World Cup more like its telecasts of the Euro 2008 tournament than that of the 2006 World Cup. For the Euros, it used Sky Sports commentator and Brit Andy Gray, whereas for the 2006 World Cup it used American Dave O’Brien, who is a baseball guy and did not know anything about soccer. The difference between next year and the last World Cup is that the network sublicensed the rights from Soccer United Marketing in 2006. Next year in South Africa and 2014 in Brazil, it will own the rights to the events outright and it is treating the event accordingly. I’M glad to see ESPN owns the rights and will be treating the event as the global spectacle it is.
The next news story is also about South Africa, ESPN is finally giving Nelson Mandela the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at its ESPY awards show. I can’t believe ESPN finally is recognizing the 1995 Rugby World Cup and the impact it had on South Africa. He is the first paragraph of the press release: “The 1995 Rugby World Cup was hosted in South Africa for the first time. Following the victory of the host national team, The Springboks, and in a pivotal moment for South Africa, President Nelson Mandela, wearing a Springbok rugby shirt and cap, presented the William Webb Ellis Cup to South African captain Francois Pienaar to the delight of black and white sports fans across the country. This iconic gesture helped to unite a previously divided nation through a shared passion for sport, and further cemented the transition from apartheid to democracy”. Also what made this moment so moving is that while Mandela was in prison he would listen to rugby matches and because rugby was such a white sport, he would rote for the other team. This year the Arthur Ashe Courage Award coincides with Mandela Day, which will fall on July 18th, Nelson Mandela's birthday. Mandela Day will act as a global call to action for people to recognize their individual power to make an imprint and help change the world around them for the better. The Nelson Mandela Foundation and 46664 (Mandela’s number in Prison) are calling upon people around the world to commit 67 minutes (Nelson Mandela has been making an imprint on the world for 67 years) of their time to make an imprint and help change the world around them. Talk about cross promotion, but it’s good to see him get this award. The ESPYs will be televised Sunday, July 19 at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN/ESPN HD.
This Weekend
This is a big sports weekend. It started Thursday with the first round of the US Open Golf Championship at Bethpage Black on Long Island NY. Bethpage staged the Open back in 2002 and was the first public course to host our National Championship of golf. The main storylines are; can Tiger come back after last years win and his win at the Black in 2002. The other major story is Phil Mickelson who came back to the tour after his wife Amy was diagnosed with cancer. He said he only came back because he thought he could win the Open. He was the runner-up to Tiger in 2002 by 3 shots. The course is always the story at the US Open. The United States Golf Association says that protecting par is the goal for the tournament. NBC has the weekends, Sunday 1:30 to 7:30 P.M.
For you fight fans the UFC has their Ultimate Fighter finale Saturday on Spike TV at 9 P.M. This is when the 7-figure contract will be handed out for the winner of the Ultimate Fighter realty TV show. The Main event of the night is a lightweight fight between two of the most exciting fighters in the world, Diego Sanchez and Clay Guida. This one should be good. Also on the card is Nate Diaz against Joe Stevenson, both fighters are very exciting. Should be a fun night.
Monday was starts the Wimbledon Championships from London. This is the first year that there is a roof over center court, no more rain delays at the All England Club! The main story will be; can Rafael Nadal defend his title or will Roger Federer win back his crown. Update: Rafael will not defend his title he withdrew this week, this news opens the door wide open for Federer to win the tournament. On the women side, will Venus Williams defend her title or will someone else win the crown. From the British point of view will Andy Murray be the first Brit to win the Gentleman’s Crown in a long long time. Always interesting to see Wimbledon from the British point of view, you have to love the Brits. Should be interesting. ESPN will have the coverage starting Monday through Friday 7 A.M. to 5 P.M. each day. Enjoy!
See you next week, if not before.
Jamie Lazaroff
Monday, March 2, 2009
The view for Jamie's Chair
Hi all, Hope all of you are doing well. The last weekend of February was very uneventful. Saturday was a very boring day. I felt ill and slept in my chair most of the day. Sunday was again, another boring day but I was pleasantly surprised to see ESPN on ABC televising the USA 7’s Rugby Tournament taped last month in San Diego. Rugby 7’s is the short version of Rugby Union, it’s played with 7 players compared to Rugby Union’s 15. Rugby 7’s only has 7-minute halves (10 minutes in championship games) compared to 40-minute halves in Union. The field is a lot smaller than Rugby Union so there is a lot more scoring in 7’s games. You can imagine how fun it was to watch! I hope ESPN does more Rugby 7’s events, at the end of the program announcer Dave Sitton did say “See you next time on the ESPN family of networks.” I hope this is true and it’s on ESPN in the United States and not on ESPN International, which I fear because; as you probably know we can’t get ESPN International.
The big news of this past weekend was the return of Tiger Woods to the PGA Tour at the Match Play Championship in Arizona. I think this is a bad move to come back at the Match Play Championship as it is one of the hardest tournaments in golf, the event starts on Wednesday (most tournaments start on Thursday), if Tiger gets to the weekend he may have to play the equivalent of one tournament in just two days. The PGA Tour defiantly needs Tiger, as ratings are down by 50 %. It’s great excitement for golf and I’M defiantly looking forward to it. The Match Play Championship is one of my favorite tournaments of the year because it’s one on one and just like the NCAA Basketball tournament it is loose and go home.
UPDATE #1: Tiger lost in the second round on Thursday to Tim Clark. Oh well, NBC is not pleased but what are you going to do, my advice to NBC is don’t put all your eggs in one basket. It was not a given that he would get to the weekend, it’s Match Play, anything can happen. There are still some great stories in action, like 19-year-old Rory McIlroy from Northern Ireland, and, is it possible for Phil Mickelson win this title?
UPDATE #2: No Phil can’t win he was knocked out by Stewart Cink on Friday. Still it should be great golf.
UPDATE #3: Well it’s over and Geoff Ogilvy is the champion. This is his second Match Play title; he won it back in 2006. The other big story was that 19-year-old Rory McIlroy lost in the quarterfinals to Ogilvy. The next World Golf Championship is in two weeks in Miami. We will see.
Big news to me, NBC’s Universal Sports Channel covered the US Olympics Curling trials this weekend. The winning men and women's teams will be nominated to represent the United States at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Also Universal Sports will have coverage of both the Men and Women’s World Championships Curling this month. Curling is a great sport that is like shuffleboard on ice. You just have to watch to know what I mean.
UPDATE: I watched, and I enjoyed it very much. Curling is a sport that combines strategy and execution of shoot. This was the first live coverage of curling in the United States out side the Olympics. I’M really looking forward to the World Championships.
This week I’M off to Washington D.C for a Special Olympics meeting. I will talk to you and give you my take on the Jim Calhoun Press Conference ambush when I come back.
Good-bye and good luck
Jamie Lazaroff
The big news of this past weekend was the return of Tiger Woods to the PGA Tour at the Match Play Championship in Arizona. I think this is a bad move to come back at the Match Play Championship as it is one of the hardest tournaments in golf, the event starts on Wednesday (most tournaments start on Thursday), if Tiger gets to the weekend he may have to play the equivalent of one tournament in just two days. The PGA Tour defiantly needs Tiger, as ratings are down by 50 %. It’s great excitement for golf and I’M defiantly looking forward to it. The Match Play Championship is one of my favorite tournaments of the year because it’s one on one and just like the NCAA Basketball tournament it is loose and go home.
UPDATE #1: Tiger lost in the second round on Thursday to Tim Clark. Oh well, NBC is not pleased but what are you going to do, my advice to NBC is don’t put all your eggs in one basket. It was not a given that he would get to the weekend, it’s Match Play, anything can happen. There are still some great stories in action, like 19-year-old Rory McIlroy from Northern Ireland, and, is it possible for Phil Mickelson win this title?
UPDATE #2: No Phil can’t win he was knocked out by Stewart Cink on Friday. Still it should be great golf.
UPDATE #3: Well it’s over and Geoff Ogilvy is the champion. This is his second Match Play title; he won it back in 2006. The other big story was that 19-year-old Rory McIlroy lost in the quarterfinals to Ogilvy. The next World Golf Championship is in two weeks in Miami. We will see.
Big news to me, NBC’s Universal Sports Channel covered the US Olympics Curling trials this weekend. The winning men and women's teams will be nominated to represent the United States at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Also Universal Sports will have coverage of both the Men and Women’s World Championships Curling this month. Curling is a great sport that is like shuffleboard on ice. You just have to watch to know what I mean.
UPDATE: I watched, and I enjoyed it very much. Curling is a sport that combines strategy and execution of shoot. This was the first live coverage of curling in the United States out side the Olympics. I’M really looking forward to the World Championships.
This week I’M off to Washington D.C for a Special Olympics meeting. I will talk to you and give you my take on the Jim Calhoun Press Conference ambush when I come back.
Good-bye and good luck
Jamie Lazaroff
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
