-0-

“Golf’s Greats-Liked-Disliked”

-0-

They tee off on Thursday, the two modern day greats who have carried the Pro Golf Tour for over a decade.

Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods were the modern day icons, almost equal to Jack Nicklaus and Arnie Palmer in the 60s and 70s, and possibly Ben Hogan-Sam Snead and other back in the day.

It would be unfair to say it’s sad to see what the two superstars have become, because they are still out there on the tour, giving fans great rounds of golf, but not stringing together four days of greatness as they did in years gone by.

What was then is not what is today. Age and injury have caught up with both, so have personal issues too.

Tiger Woods is attempting a second comeback, after shutting it down a year ago right after he played at Torrey Pines, leading to another back surgery.

Woods has had 3-surgeries in 14-months, four back operations in all, in addition to the leg surgery for a fractured knee, suffered here in winning the US Open.

Of course his life off the course has become a public mess. The meltdown of his marriage over his infidelities and the height of his career. A year ago, his arrest on DUI charges with a cocktail of pan killers in his system.

He has been in rehab twice, for a sexual addiction and then the painkiller problems. He lost his sponsors, lost his credibility, lost his wife and kids.

Mickelson has never come off the tour because of injuries, but has been plagued by arthritis. Off the course, his involvement with a convicted gambler on insider trading charges has hurt his reputation.

But both are still magnets to the fans and the TV ratings.

Fans and the golf media follow Woods, whether he is hitting off the tee, or coming out of rehab.

Mickelson is indeed the fans man, and draws huge galleries of so many appreciative of his personality and interactions with one and all.

The stats remain staggering, considering how global the game has become, and how many great international golfers are now part of the tour.

Woods with 79-career wins and 14-Grand Slams. He’s won 7-times here at Torrey Pines.

Phil has 42-wins, 5-majors, and 6-runnerups in the US Open, the only grand slam he has yet to get.

But the drought has been staggering too. Woods last major win was here, at the US Open in 2008, before his health, life and career fell apart.

Mickelson has not won on the tour since 2013 and has not been a leaderboard top guy on a Sunday in years.

They have meant so much to the sport dating from the late 1990s to where we are 17-yaars later.

Unfair to say hanging on or just hanging around, because they are so revered, as players, and at least in Mickelson’s case, as a person.

They will have a following for sure this weekend in the Farmers Insurance Open….they just likely won’t ever win a PGA tourney event again.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

0-

“The Olympics-the Darkest Moment”

-0-

The greatest events we see every four years have been sandwiched by scandals and tragedies.

The what is happening as we prepare to watch the Winter Olympics in South Korea, seem to be the worst of all time.

Society has watched the terrorist tragedies of the Munich Olympics, you never forget the TV coverage of the Olympic dorms, the seized airliner, the kidnappers in ski masks.

You remember the bitterness of the forced boycott of the Olympics during the Jimmy Carter era.

Recently the era of tampered drug tests and the expulsion of the Russian athletes for a far reaching scandal.

Mexico City gave us the Black Power salute of the American sprinters and the horrid flashback at John Carlos and Tommie Smith.

And of course, the scandals about bribes and kickbacks on bids as countries built facilities that nearly bankrupted them, while the IOC got richer and richer.

All that pales now to what has happened to more than 150-female athletes who were members on the US Olympic gymnastics team.

Years and years of sexual abuse, directed at young athletes, ranging from age 13 to those in their 20s.

Dr. Larry Nasser is headed to life in jail.

Beyond the sordid sickness of what the Michigan State doctor did, is the equally bigger question, how come no one knew, how come this was allowed to go on unchecked?

Now 6-top administrators of US Gymnastics have resigned in the wake of the tsunami of public disclosures by the girls of what Nasser did to them.

Michigan State officials said they had no knowledge.

A former CEO of Team USA, reportedly had his officials tell the parents they would investigate and not to speak in public.

Some athletes and families were asked to sign non-disclosure settlements.

Last week and now this week, the young girls, violated, wept, spoke with anger, and demanded retribution for what Nasser did to them, what the USOC allowed to go unchecked, and what Michigan State knew or should have knows.

Nasser sent a letter to the judge, asking the testimony stop, because it hurt too much. The judge refused.

The teenage girls, including 4-gold medalists, who were violated for years, says Nasser’s pain in no way compares to the pain and humiliation these young girls have gone thru for years.

Nasser will go to prison forever. He might not survive in prison, for the seedy side of society has a history of retaliating against child abusers in prison. It’s their own form of prison payback. The cons to get back at the creep?

And you wonder next, whether there will be legal action coming against the USOC for the decades of abuse that was allowed to happen. The IOC fired the women’s coach, upon finding out he had a 25-year relation with Nasser, and that an athlete testified the coach came into the trainer’s room and saw Nasser performing digital sex on her and did nothing.

The strongest comment among the statements made by all these young women came from Olympian Ali Raismann, who refused to call him Doctor, because he was not a doctor, but a sexual predator.

Of all the horrid things we have experience about the Olympics, this is the darkest moment the Olympic rings have ever experienced.

In a society that has had to deal with child porn, date rape, human trafficking and the Catholic church priest-sex scandal, this is as bad as it gets.

It makes you want to cry, in addition to screaming rage on behalf of these violated young star.

Olympic gold tarnished by an organization, whose leadership may be just as sleazy as the team trainer they let have access to these teenage girls.

-0-0-0-0-0-

-0-

“Super Bowl- Snapshot-Geat Offense-vs-Great Defense”

-0-

This will be fun in two weeks, come Super Bowl Sunday night,even if you loathe the quarterback, dislike the coach, and are tired of everyone coming out of the ‘State of New England’.

The great veteran leadership and the quarterback that make up the foundation of the New England Patriots, against the dynamics of a bright young coach and the dimensions of the street tough defense, that define the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Patriots got stronger and stronger as the game went on, beating the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC title game.

The Eagles destroyed a powerful Minnesota Vikings defense, to punch their tickets to go to the Big Show with that awesome display in the NFC title game..

It was a wild Sunday in the championship games.

Tom Brady, playing with 12-stitches near his right thumb, overcame that, wore out a once dominant Jacksonville defense, and put aside all types of distractions, to earn the trip back to the Super Bowl, with a 6th ring just ahead.

The thumb injury did not hamper him, though he was scared for much of the week.

The loss of tight end Rob Gronkowski might have been devastating in the game, but so many other weapons were there to throw too.

Danny Amendola made big catches and returned a key punt, off-setting the loss of last years hero Julian Edelman, who did not play at all this year.

The assistant coaches, Josh McDaniels and Matt Patricia, both headed to head coaching jobs when the Super Bowl is over, put together superb game plans.

And the team did not let the controversy of a couple of weeks ago , the stories of strife between the owner, the coach, Brady, his trainer and more, eat away at their team.

And Bill Belicheck’s defense got better and better over the second half of the season. And coming out of character, the Patriots unveiled two trick plays that went for big yardage, something historically you’d never seem from a Belicheck team.

Meanwhile on Sunday night, the Eagles destroyed what was a great Minnesota defense, using their own sledgehammer defense, and backup QB-Nick Foles.

It was the brilliance of young head coach and his kid coordinator that took away the strengths of the Vikings defense. Doug Pederson and Nathan Hackett put Foles in a quick passing package, let him make plays, find his rhythm, and wear out a Vikings defense.

Minnesota came into the game giving up just (275) yards a game. Foles threw for (336) in just 3-quarters, and led his team to 38-straight points to win the game going away.

A journeyman quarterback posted an amazing 141-QB rating, despite having struggled three games in a row heading into this title affair..

And it was an Eagles team that suffered a lot of jolts during the year, losing running backs, and linebackers, and of course their spectacular QB-Carson Wentz.

Heroes everywhere, Fletcher Cox and his friends on defense had lots to do with disrupting Case Keenum. And across the field, Foles came out throwing, and his receivers made big play after big play, and got big yards after contact.

So it is on to the Super Bowl, where New England seeks out a sixth ring, and the Eagles, seeking to do something they haven’t done, win once since the 1960 Norm Van Brocklin-Tommy McDonald-Chuck Bednarick era, will oppose them.

It will be a great Patriots offense vs a great Eagles defense. It will be worth the watch. Even if you hate one of the franchises because they are always there.

-0-0-0-0-0-

-0-

“NFL-QB League-But Not This Weekend”

-0-

It’s a highlife weekend of the NFL schedule, showdown Sunday, the AFC and NFC Championship games, with the winners headed to the Super Bowl.

It’s usually a weekend of electricity. The biggest names on the stage, really good teams, and quarterbacks who would put the fear of God on defenses.

Used to be, but not that way, at least this season.

Tom Brady is the marquee name in lights this Sunday for New England. That’s the way it usually is.

But the other 3-quarterbacks are pedestrian or journeyman. Their teams have gotten to this weekend because of great defense.

Brady is (18-3) in postseason games at home, and (108-18) in his career at home. He and Bill Belicheck are attempting to get a 6th Super Bowl ring.

Nick Foles, once upon a time, had a 27TD-2 interception season for the Eagles, but that was years back. Since then he is nothing more than a journeyman, and no longer a sure thing, Sunday to Sunday. In fact, since he replaced Carson Wentz, gone with an injury, the Eagles have just 4-touchdowns in 9-quarters of football covering three games.

In Minnesota, no Teddy Bridgewater, then no Sam Bradford, and now Case Keenum. Yes the Vikings are (14-3) but it has more to do with that Purple defense than anything else. Keenum was an after thought on NFL rosters, but has become a great game manager in Minnesota.

In Jacksonville, so much was expected of Blake Bortels, but he has not delivered, at least not consistently in terms of wins. He has put up big passing numbers, but his teams have not won.

This year, with a better run game, and an amazing defense, he has gotten the Jags deep into the playoffs, even though he runs hot and cold. A playoff quarterback throwing for 87 and running for 88-yards in a win. Not what we normally expect this time of the year.

But it has been defense that has been the different. The Jaguars numbers are overwhelming, 55-sacks, 33-takeaways.

The Vikings and Eagles are 1-2 in the rankings on defense, with some awe inspiring stats, like 25% conversion rates on third downs, and minimal points allowed.

It might not be pretty this weekend. Tom Brady has lots of firepower that might just wear out the Jags defense.

That Philly-Minny game may be more about Fletcher Cox and his Eagles friends and Ev Griffin and the Vikings gang.

Tom Brady takes the field on Sunday with a QB rating of 102. Keenum is at 98.3. Bottles at a poor 84. Folks plays this weekend with a league low 79.5. Don’t think we have seen numbers this bad at a position so important, on a big-big NFL weekend.

In a league known for quarterbacks, this looks like the strangest weekend we have ever seen.

–0-0-0-0-0-0———

-0-

“Washington State Football-There are No Words”

-0-

Grief stricken…Heart Broken…Saddened.

It is what Washington State football is all about today.

There will be no off season workouts for the units today.

There will be no heavy metal music blaring in the weight room.

There will be no jokes cracked by Cougars coach Mike Leach.

There is silence most everywhere around the Athletic facilities in Pullman, Washington.

This the day after starting quarterback Tyler Hilinski took his own life, a shotgun to the head, with a suicide note on a table, in his apartment. Police found him after he missed the team’s off season morning workout.

The responses via twitter, and via interviews are all one and the same.

Tears, prayers, shock, disappointment and blame.

No one knew the young 21-year old QB from Upland, California had problems, issues, depression.

Teammates asked for prayers for his family. Competing schools wrote glowing letters of tribute about the young man. Even ex-Cougars and Chargers QB-Ryan Leaf expressed regret, wishing he could have been there to counsel the young man thru whatever tough times he was having.

Mike Leach has worked so hard to resurrect the Washington State program. To teach his kids how to compete. To get his QBs ready for the NFL. To make Martin Stadium a destination point on campus.

To make Washington State football special again. To return it to glory days of Mike Price-Ryan Leaf….Jim Walden and the option….Drew Bledsoe-Mark Rypien-Tim Rosenbaach-Jack Thompson and others of good eras of years gone by.

Hilinski had all the makings of the next really good one on the Palouse. Leach coached him hard, made it tough, and watched the kid lead his team to a triple overtime win over Boise State, and then in a bowl game.

The young QB came off as happy, a lucky-go guy, thrilled at what was just ahead of him, three years likely as the starting QB of a program on the rise. He was a young leader, learning on the job trying to carry on in the tradition of the Crimson & Gray.

Just 3-weeks removed from his Holiday Bowl appearance, the WSU-Michigan State game, up next will be the saddest of funeral services possible.

The hardest part ahead will be answering the questions. What went wrong. How could Hilinski be around so many people daily, and no one have knowledge of problems.

Great athletes are all wired differently. Love to compete. Can hold up to the tough love coaches give them. Can grow on the job. Become winners.

The issues, whatever they were, overwhelmed Tyler Hilinski to the point he did not feel he could reach out for anyone.

The joys of the growth of the Cougars program have been set aside right now. The Memorial Service will be extremely hard to be around. Going forward will not be fun.

The players, the program, the coach, will not be able to leave this behind. This is so much worse than losing an Apple Cup game to the cross-state Washington Huskies.

There will be an emotional emptiness going forward from now till spring ball into fall camp.

The loss of life hangs heavy all around the Washington State campus.

There are just no words to describe what everyone involved, or who follows or covers the program, can feel at this hour.

You hope Tyler Hilinski is at peace.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-