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“Farmer’s Open-Fabulous”

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The stars come out in the sunshine at Torrey Pines, as the 2020 Farmer’s Open tees off with a calvalcade of stars dotting the field.

Tiger Woods returns to the scene of one of his greatest accomplishments, winning the US Open while playing thru a broken leg.

Woods capped his miraculous comeback from all his personal and professional problems by winning the Masters at Augusta last spring.  He kicks off his 2020 season here, needing just one win, to break the PGA all time victory mark of 83-wins, passing the legendary Sam Snead.

Woods statistical accomplishments are staggering, the 82-wins, the 15-Grand Slam events, the 11-time Player of the Year, 10-times a Money winner on the tour.

Included are 5-Masters titles, 3-US Opens and 3-times a winner at the British Open.  He has won at Torrey Pines 7-times in its history

The field is loaded and Woods knows the tour now is as tough as it has ever been.  Phil Mickelson returns home, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Jason Day, Jordan Spieth  and young sensation Xander Schauffele are here, plus all the names,  are on hand to take on the North and South Greens.

Tiger Woods comments:

..Have enjoyed Torrey Pines…played well here as a professional…
..Came here when it was the old Andy Williams Open
..Coming off President’s Cup play…was a bit fried after that tourney…needed to get away with it
..Olympic Year…Medal is on our mind…US guys have to play well.
..So many events to be played over the next 6-months.

..This tour is so young…so many good young players…to play for so well for decades is an accomplishment
..It is a different sport than it has ever been
..jI still have the ability to hit the ball…but so many guys can now hit over 300-ayrds off the tee.
..It is such a different game…some 50-guys can bomb the ball…when I started maybe 3-of us could.

..Taking time off-then come back-takes time to knock rust off…have to manage my training and preparation.
..I am hell-bent to play…I have to dumb myself down in preparation…
..I need to manage my adrenalin
..I need to step back and take some time to come back
..Sometimes it takes 3-4-5 holes to find my rhythm.
..Concentrate on putting and technique-not as much long ball hitting now preparing to play
..I need to grind thru a process to get ready..putting..chipping..pitching..wedging…work thru the entire bad.

..I can still drive…my driver is not maxed out….I can still torque it off tee
..The majors (15)..I don’t speculate how many more I can get
..Not too many guys can get to that number. though.
..Expectations for Tiger..I have had more good days than bad..but at 44-I feel bad days more
..Hardest part of where I am at…hard to put together all 4-days…hard to recover from some rounds

..Break Sam Snead record of 82-wins…so many shots you have to play-can’t think of wins-streaks…
..Steaks-think about Edwin Moses winning 113-straight races…I can’t think of streaks..just make shots each round
..Need to be consistent to win a lot of tourneys…have won 5-to-10 tourneys in some years..
..Winning breeds winning-you get a feel when on top of your game

..Carry over from last year…feel good about finish…but have a lot of testing to do now
..North-South Course…changes…will see it in Pro-Am
..US Open…narrow fairways-hard greens…that’s what tourney is…miss fairway-get punished.
..Sure next year tourney will be tough here.

..Training is different now…different regimen
..I can’t go to the first tee and hit a 300-yard shot anymore…I can’t chip a driver 100-yards anymore
..I need a lot to prepare…stretching….for practice…and to play….
..I need time to start the process on the range of moving

..I know my body-but my body is now different and I have to prepare differently.

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Jordan Spieth had such a great splash at a young age.  His 2015 season was amazing.  At the young age he won 3-majors …winning the Masters, the US Open and the Tour championship plus the Fed X-title.  He was the youngest US Open since 1923.  But then game injuries, a loss of mechanics and a blow to his confidence.  From the top to the bottom of a winless season.  Now he is back.

Jordan Spieth comments:

..Torrey Pines is so beautiful…a peaceful place to be
..Coming off a long break-ready to get started
..Have set some lofty goals for ..From 12 years old it was easy…
..It has gotten harder…then panic set in
..Take each week to make improvement…then fix things in offseason
..Feel like 2013…feel comfortable
..Got out of off season tourneys with what I wanted to
..Big picture, I am in good frame of mind and need to be patient
..Worked on a lot…needed to fix mechanical flaws in my swing
..I have researched back what I was doing when things went well
..Putted well but timing with longer clubs out of the bag
..I did research to find the red flags in my swing…get my timing back
..I haven’t played any tourney rounds yet, but ready to trust what I can trust.
..I know what feels good with my swing…I have to find it again and will
..Need to pace myself and not panic…it’s my 1st rouney in 3-months.
..I want to stay consistent….practice well…turn that into good rounds.
..I need to take my time on my shots and play my style
..When you play with Tiger-he plays at a fast pace
..Rules officials understand the pace we play
..Golf courses take time to play..not going from a (4:40-to-3:40) round
..I did not enjoy being labelled as a slow player
..Players need time to get a feel for the courses we play..it takes time.
..I watched President’s Cup…excited for the Ryder Cup..love to represent the country
..Need to play my game consistently.

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Justin Rose is the defending champion as they tee off on Thursday.  It’s been quite a career, for someone who missed the cut in his first 21-tourneys on the tour.  Since then he has won the US Open,the first Brit since Tony Jacklin to do it in 1970.  He has now been ranked #1 coming into the season.  He has 10-tour wins, the Fex X-championship, and 24-global wins in his career.

Justin Rose quotes:

..Torrey is one of my favorite venues on tour.
..Special come back from a win last year and play so well last season
..Playing abroad is a highlife of my career….game taking off in Japan too

..US Ryder Cup team is hardest team in world to make
..British  team-world rankings go up……
..Having been ranked #1 in world

..Changing PGA tour schedule….there used to be peaks and valleys on schedule
..Now you need reserve to get thru the schedule…because the Olympics are part of all this
..We need to structure your workouts to be ready…can’t play catchup on the road…
..Need to take care of yourself…to be ready for new schedule

..Things I value in preparation…injuries change your approach
..Back injuries force you to re-evalute how train…and what changes to make
..It takes a good 6-months to see realists if you make changes
..You must play well of the tee…that is where it starts…
..Must do work at home to be ready…can’t do it on a Wednesday on the tour.

..Tiger Woods-coaching himself..you want ownership of your own game..
..He has had a few coaches…knows where he is now as talent…
..He is playing within himself..
..His resiliency is a testament to him and his approach
..To have 4-surgeries is quite something
..It is not just physically but how you play mentally.
..Mental side goes with it when you get hurt
..He wants it to happen…now he is back to where he used to be
..Him going for 83rd win..his game got stronger and stronger
..It is hard to rack up 7-8-9 wins a year….it is impressive what he did.
..You learn how to work around injuries…3-D technology has helped us evaluate ourselves.

..Yes I watched President’s Cup..enjoyed how Tiger played the course..and see Internationals give US run for money

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“Aztecs Basketball–Never Been There”

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San Diego State basketball is in unchartered waters.  They’ve never been there before, with the potential to go higher..

The Aztecs try to make it 20-wins in a row on Tuesday night facing Wyoming.  They do so carrying the label, Ranked 4th in the nation, in this week’s AP basketball poll.

They rocketed up the poll after the teams infront of them, Duke, Auburn and Butler were each beaten twice in games last week.

Steve Fisher’s Aztecs were ranked 4th in 2011 at the height of the Jamal Russell era.  Oddly during the Kawahi Leonard run, they never got that high.

But this is a very different Aztecs team.  The talent base is not reliant on one player.  It’s job responsibility is spread among a lot of different players.  Yanni Wentzel, Malachi Flynn, Mat Mitchell, Nathan Mensah, KJ Feagin have all had nights to carry the load.

The team’s defensive stats are in neon lights.  Opposing teams shooting 36%, averaging just 56-points a game, only 27% from the three point line, 287-turnovers this year,, 125-steals and 60-blocked shots.  SDSU wears teams out with the defensive pressure, making you grind for every quality shot, for open looks, and challenging a team’s ability to cope with 60-miutes of hell.

Running the table is possible, though SDSU has to face UNLV and Nevada on the road, has Utah State’s erratic Aggies coming in here to play, and still must go to the Pit to play New Mexico.

But this is quality basketball, in a year in which there have been 7-different number one teams in the first 10-polls of the campaign.

Coach Brian Dutcher’s comments:

..We climbed to 4th poll….great for San Diego State basketball brand
..We have bigger target on our back
..We have matured team….Look at what happened to 3-4-5 teams
..Winning-losing is paper thin in
..Always thing we’d be good on paper when opening night happened
..Maturity help us win games early
..Needed to find our grit…come from behind wins BYU-Iowa…it has worked out
..2011-team..if they played each other…it would be something.
..2011-alot of great depth-experience on Kawhi-DJ Gay team
..Was really good defensive team..that team had great length
..Our team are ballhawks-got better and better-did worry about our size
..Our team never talks about comparison to Kawhi Leonard team
..Good group-don’t have to micromanage it
..We can be on the cusp of losing-so our players do focus
..Don’t over-react to it…if things go bad…work make it better
..Nevada shot 14% in second half because we tweaked-made adjustments
..Mountain West…Tams 2-thru-11 struggling…teams getting better some
..MWC teams need to win non conference…wins vs LSU and Wisconsin
..If you are good defensively-you are in two places at
..Nathan Mensah..is working out on the floor-hope to get him back by end of year.

..

Yanni Wetzel–KJ Feagin

..It’s crazy-national recognition…have that number beside our name
..We have to stay grounded-stay focuses…prepare like champions
..We are part of something special-memories in campus and in city
..We turned corner after comeback from BYU win…thought be special team
..We rely on lots of players
..Bearting BYU, then Iowa made this season special
..Those wins showed us defense wins championships
..Our 3-transfers know our roles…fit them perfectly…willing sacrifice personal needs
..Transferring here close to home
..Coach Dutcher is perfect coach-let me be myself
..Breaking 20-game win streak-super excited to get the chance at that
..Whatever record we get-we are not chasing record-just wins each night
..Different dynamic from last year…transfers came from losing program-knows feels like
..Our mission is to win.
..The chemistry has been great with all the transfers
..Coach Dutcher knows how to handle egos…he gets us all involved
..That Kawhi Leonard team was stacked
..I knew the whole Steve Fisher era…Fab 5…then the Kawhi Leonard time here..wow.
..I was so impressed with Steve Fisher defense first philosophy
..If we played the Kawhi team…it would be tough across the board-great length
..We’d use up all our fouls on Kawhi
..Yanni-entered transfer portal..I knew SDSU reputation
..My visit was huge..Coach Dutcher was huge…like family atmosphere
..Coming off (0-18) in SEC…much more appreciative of everything we have
..Wanted to come to law school here too.

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“Super Bowl–No Pretenders–Only Contenders”

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You knew it was only a matter of time in one game.

The other game was over just after it got started.

And so the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers are headed to the Super Bowl, after both over-ran opponents on Sunday.

My worst fears were realized, that the AFC-and-NFC title games would be anti-climatic after the fireworks we have seen the last couple of weeks in the opening rounds o the playoffs.

it was only a matter of time for the Chiefs to over-run the one dimension Tennessee Titans.

Patrick Mahomes rallied his team from a (17-7) deficit, scrambling, throwing, even running for an impressive 27-yard TD enroute to the eventual blowout win.    When the Titans fell behind they could not use the hammer, running back Derrick Henry to try and catch up.

KC’s 3-wide receivers, their tight ends and the running back Damiem Williams were just too much for the Titans to defense.  It got so bad, that in one stretch, the Chiefs had outgunned Tennessee (342-to-39) yards in offense and had a (30-12) edge in snaps in the 2nd-3rd and into the 4th quarter.

Take nothing away from the Titans accomplishments, the wins in Baltimore and New England, they were so impressive.  But the magic ran out.  Coach Mike Vrabel ran out of things to create for his team.

In San Francisco, it was really over at the beginning.  Too much 49ers defense against Packers QB-Aaron Rodgers.  Too much RB-Raheem Mostert pounding the ball and chewing up big yardage.  And way too much on the shoulders of the Green Bay quarterback.

San Francisco has gotten progressively better as the season has gone on.  The roster is loaded, it’s young, it’s big, it’s physical.

John Lynch won the Executive of the Year award for the turnaround in just three short years.  In two weeks time he could also be in the NFL Hall-of-Fame.

He traded for Jimmy Garoppolo to end a quarterback crisis that had existed for years.  All those bad seasons netted them the likes of Nick Bosa, DeForrest Buckner, Arik Amsted, Deebo Samuel. George Kittle and many others. via the draft.

They picked up journeyman running back Raheem Mostert, traded for WR-Emmanuel Samuels, and picked up aging kicker Robbie Gould.  You cannot place a true value on the leadership Richard Sherman gave them coming from Seattle.  And it goes on and on.  Mostert finished with (220R) and 4-TDs in a career day for a guy picked up on a street corner.

This will be a pretty good Super Bowl in two weeks, matching that old dog coach Andy Reid against the upstart Kyle Shanahan and his defensive coordinator Robert Saleh.  Matching big plays (Chiefs) vs the big boy defense (49ers).

These two teams deserve to go to Miami, the Niners with its relentless defense and the Chiefs with its ever explosive offense.

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“Where Were You 25-Years Ago”

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It’s AFC–NFC Championship weekend, and all NFL fans attentions will be on Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City and at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.

Where were you when it happened on the special San Diego Sunday?  I am talking about 25-years ago this coming Sunday, during the day, in the evening?

It was 25-years ago this AFC-Championship Sunday, our hearts, minds and passions were on 3-Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.  The Chargers beat the Steelers for the right to go to the Super Bowl in Miami.

Yes the Bolts got blown out by Steve Young’s 6-TD passes as the 49ers smoked San Diego on Super Bowl Sunday.

But it was 25-years Sunday, the Bolts went into Blitzburgh and beat Bill Cowher’s heavily favored team in the AFL title game.  And it was that night that 68,000-fans showed up in the rain at 10-pm at then Jack Murphy Stadium to welcome home the team.

They walked on the field thru the tunnel, just off the buses from the Airport, smoking cigars, raising the AFC-Trophy, waving the Terrible Towels they had picked up off the turf in Pittsburgh.

The noise, the bedlam, the fans in the stands wearing Lightning Bolts was a moment to remember.

It was a Sunday of superb performances.  Stan Humphries huge touchdown bomb to ‘Touchdown’ Tony Martin.  The wham blocking tight end Alfred Pupunu catching a TD pass.  Natrone Means banging and busting for tough yards.  A defensive front and LB-Junior Sean stuffing RB-Barry Foster all day.  A secondary that gave up yards infront of them to Neil O’Donnell, but never the big play.  And the two defensive pass deflections on the goal-line by LB-Dennis Gibson.

It was a moment in a lifetime grasp.  Equally important was the journey that got the Chargers to Pittsburgh.

The opening Sunday night win back in September in Denver, in a place the Chargers never-ever won, at least not in the John Elway era.  Seau’s interception with under a minute to go, ended the possible game winning drive.  Thunder and Lightning danced across the Denver sky at that moment.  Maybe we should have had a premonition.

Teams that got hot, became targets on everyone’s schedule.  Humphries was getting battered up in Seattle by a Chuck Knox defense that blitzed him unmercifully.  Pinned at his own 1-yard line, facing what I called on a radio as a “3rd and 99”, my color analyst Jim Laslavic chimed in throw it, and Pat Curran, our other color analyst, said throw it deep to Tony Martin.  And they did, a 99-yards slant pattern TD that broke the game open.

Late in the season on a cold November night, an eclectic team patched together by GM Bobby Beathard, came together as a unit in the hatred filled  game against the Chiefs.  The Kansas City Chiefs, led by pass rushers Derrick Thomas and Neil Smith, were blitzing, blitzing, blitzing non stop.  Humphries kept taking hits.  Then just before halftime, as the crowd roared, and the heat came, Thomas nailed Humphries on a late hit.  As he was trying to get up, Smith kicked the quarterback on the ground.  Humphries kicked back as flags flew.  An enraged Marty Schottenhimer, the Chiefs coach, roared off the sidelines onto the field, demanding Humphries ejection.  Stan Brock, the Chargers massive right tackle walked across the field, and poked Schottenheimer in the chest, nearly knocking him down.  More flags.  An incensed Bobby Ross had to be restrained from coming on the field.  The Bolts kicked a field goal to end the half, the fans raged as Ross shook his fist at the Chiefs coach going up the runway to the dressing room.  The Chargers stormed out the second half, ran the ball down their throat, pushed the Chiefs into the parking lot, and got the win.

It was a galvanizing moment for the team, that brought together a group that finished (11-5), beat Miami in the mud and then won in the January cold in Pittsburgh.

It was a culmination of a lot of hard work.  Lead owner Alex Spanos, who had known nothing but failure since he bought the team 10-years prior, has to be credited for hiring Beathard.

The eclectic Beathard hired Ross, and in the process put together a unique roster of rentals.

Ross brought an old tough guy mentality to practice and games.  Run it, throw it deep, and get to the ball, fast, furious and in a bad mood.  ‘Boss Ross’ knew football.

Beathard  traded for long ball throwing Stan Humphries from the Redskins.  He signed Baltimore defensive end Harry Swayne, and made him an offensive tackle.  He signed the fierce competitor that was Stan Brock.  He drafted the tough guy running back Means, and signed free agent 3rd down pass catcher Ronnie Harmon.  He dealt for big play receivers Tony Martin and Sean Jefferson.  They landed two defensive tackles, the ‘Tons of Fun’ combo of Reuben Davis and Shawn Lee to compliment Leslie O’Neal.  There was the fast track superstar in Seau, a young Rodney Harrison and veteran kickers on hand.

It was a once in a lifetime group that got hot, believed in the ‘dad-gum it’ approach of a demanding Bobby Ross, and played and won.

The journey should be part of the folklore of what happened 25-years ago this weekend.

If you google ‘Chargers Road to the Super Bowl-1995’ you will get a rush listening to the NFL Films version of that day.

Sadly, 8-members of that team passed on in the years right after that memorable season.  Sadly too, the classless Spanos family never saw fit to honor that team, not on the 10th anniversary or the 20th.  The paper has hardly recognized that team over the years.

For Chargers fans, cut adrift when the Spanos Family moved the beloved team out of San Diego, this must be a hard weekend, for where they have been before and what they witnessed in America’s Finest City.

Two things we know for sure.  That was the greatest day in Chargers history, and should never be forgotten.  And Dean Spanos may have taken this team away from San Diego, but he can never take away the memory of this weekend…25-years ago.

“Show Me Your Lightning Bolt”

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“NFL-Hall of Fame-Tainted Class”

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The NFL, celebrating its founding 100-years ago, has announced what they are calling the ‘Centennial Class’ of enshrines, some 15-contributors-coaches-players, who had been bypassed in the past.
A tough list to pare down.  Some controversial choices for sure.  And of course the debate, why not Coach Don Coryell-Father of the NFL’s great passing games.  Tough choices.

PAUL TAGLIABUE….Longtime Commissioner, challenged with replacing the popular Pete Rozelle, helped take the NFL to the highest galaxy possible in terms of profits and TV contracts.  But he was also Commissioner as the NFL turned its head the other way as the concussion crisis, player suicides, and lawsuits became relevant.  The disgrace of his so-called Concussion Committee is his legacy.  Four times he was up for vote, four times rejected, because of that.  Does not deserve this honor.

GEORGE YOUNG..Superb player talent evaluator, who built the Giants into Super Bowl teams a number of times….Hired Bill Parcells…Drafted greatness of Lawrence Taylor…Found street free agents who came in and excelled.  Controlled troubled players and his head coach too.  A true gentleman.

JIMMY JOHNSON…It may be Jerry Jones team, but it was the Jimmy Johnson leadership that led the Cowboys to Super Bowl wins twice, and set the stage for even Barry Switzer winning with Jimmy’s players.  Engineered the greatest trade-heist of all time, the Herschel Walker deal to the Vikings for a trainload of draft picks.  When he was done he had Troy Aikman-Emmett Smith and Michael Irvin.  And to think he is not in the Cowboys ‘Ring of Honor’ yet.  Not bad for someone who started (1-15).  ‘How bout d’em Cowboys?’

BILL COWHER…Surrounded on one side by Chuck Noll, on the other by Mike Tomlin, part of the 3-some of coaches who have led the Steelers to greatness.  Part coach, part psychologist, full time winner. Twice in the Super Bowl, all those AFC championship games.

STEVE SABOL…The creative brilliance of all things NFL-Films, who died so early in life from cancer.  Son of the legendary founder of the company.  He chronicled every story angle there was, games-people-incidents in modern day history.  His archives went all the way back to 1920.

DONNIE SHELL…Another cast member of the great Steelers drafts in the early years of the Chuck Noll era.  When he hit you, you stayed hit.

HAROLD CARMICHAEL…Maybe the first great ‘big receiver’ in the NFL, that changed the game.  The Eagles remember the routes, the long strides, the touchdowns.

JIMBO COVERT…Life time Bears star, unknown soldier in the trenches.  Walter Payton’s wing man.

ALEX KARRIS…Rock solid tough in the old Detroit Lions mold of tough guys like Lou Creekmur and Joe Schmidt.  Suspended for 1-year for gambling on games in the Howard Cosell era.

BOBBY DILLON…A great DB-back in the 1950s era with the Packers.  Receiver-Kick Return-Pass Interceptor.  Was to the defense what Bart Starr was to the offense.

CLIFF HARRIS…Warrior of a safety in the Tom Landry era with the Cowboys and then onto Washington.

WINSTON HILL…The old AFL massive OT who blocked for Joe Namath in the heydays of the AFL-NFL war.

ED SPRINKEL…Before they kept stats like sacks, he excelled for over a decade for George Halas’ Chicago Bears.  One of the first members of the Monster’s of the Midway from back in the day.

DUKE SLATER…A rugged tackle with the old Chicago Cardinals in the early days of the game, starting a career in 1922 and playing into the 1930s.

MAC SPEEDIE…Running mate of the legendary Cleveland Browns QB-Otto Graham in the 1940s and 50s.  Somebody had to catch all those passes and run for those yards that Paul Brown drew up.  He did.

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DON CORYELL…Did not get in, despite his tremendous input in changing the passing game in pro football in the 1970s into the 80s…He won only 111-games in pro football, and never go to a Super Bowl.

TOM FLORES…He won 2-Super Bowls working for Al Davis, but only won 97-games in a his career and had 4-bad seasons in a row at the end of his career in Oakland then Seattle.

RANDY GRADISHAW…They are pretty incensed in Denver at his treatment, but you will have to decide, was he as dominant or explosive as say Junior Seau or Mike Singletary?

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