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“Stars Come Out at Torrey Pines”

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The PGA tour is back in town-lucky us.

The beauty of Torrey Pines will be on display for the entire snow-bound, frost-bitten nation to see this weekend, as the Farmers Insurance Open tees off on Thursday.

Tiger Woods, and his remarkable comeback story will attempt to write the 2019 chapter to his amazing accomplishments of last summer and fall.

Rory McIlroy is making an appearance, foregoing early tourneys in Europe.

Jordan Spieth, once red-hot, former World number one Jason Day, headline the field. Ricky Fowler, this year’s top seed Justin Rose, and hot young star Xander Schauffele are here too.

Phil Mickelson is bypassing the tourney, so is Dustin Johnson, but the cavalcade of stars, are ready to take on the North Course, then fight thru the South Course.

Practice round day Tuesday. Pro Am Day Wednesday. Off the tees early on Thursday.

Lots to cover, and lots of press conferences.

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Jason Day had a spectacular couple of years, as the Aussie built up wins and top 5-finishes over a 2-year span. He was ranked number 1-in the world. Then injuries, then illness, then a fall from the top of most Sunday leaderboards. He covered that, Tiger Woods, and his game when he met with the media.

..Tiger Woods comeback…was not surprised..I looked at his swing…him limping around…could see pain on his face…it was an unbelievable comeback. ..Not easy to recreate your game after all the surgeries…Rebuild your power game off the tee…understand your mechanics may need to be different….I could see him build-build-build….1st he’d play….then he’s compete…now he’s out to win tourney…he is mentally in now….I played a practice round with him last year and I knew he was ready to win…I saw the progression and he killed it at the Tour Championships…Now you see him and he feels he can win every week…it’s the old Tiger.

..Phil Mickelson..He’s so lovable here..will be strange not to see him here…I understand him bypassing this-he has such a large West Coast schedule

..Injuries and illness…I understand the injury factor…your career has an arc-you reach it-it doesn’t stay at that level forever…I practice a lot-both on range and green so that leads to wear and tear….When you don’t have success-you lose confidence….You have to make sure you don’t attach yourself to negatives around you….You work thru the bad times…having good people around you helps…You work hard-you get worn down…you have to work your way thru it…What you did in 2015 does not carry over to the following years….I’ve seen Tiger and Phil go thru this…Must be patient.

..Players go thru plateaus…now guys like Jordan Spieth are having a downturn…..He’s too good a player-too mentally strong to not work his way out of it…Just focus on being Jordan and the pressure goes off…We all fight out own little battles

..Torrey Pines…The North course is easier;…The South course makes up for it…you understand that going in…it is a US Open course.

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Xander Schaufele has come out of nowhere, from San Diego State, to being an overwhelmed rookie on the tour…to leading rounds…staying in the top 10…moving to the top five…and winning on the tour.

..I try not to get caught up in the pressure of it all, who I’m paired with-what the leaderboard says.

..I had to learn how to play at this level because four rounds is exhausting….

..It can be crushing to go against the class of players on this tour and to be with players you looked up to for years.

..I try to stay away from distractions….when I feel pressure-I look out onto the ocean…and tell myself to be patient and have fun…

..You know when Phil-Tiger are on the course-you can hear the roar.

..When you play in Tiger’s group-there is a buzz around him the entire day.

…Playing at this level, it’s a learning curve. The light bulb went on a year ago for me…I can compete…I can hang with the big dogs…but it’s a year long process…..you need a special focus-not get rattled.

..You pick courses to play you feel comfortable on…that’s why guys are repeat winners here at Torrey…this course fits them…..you learn the shots off the tee…putts on the green.

..What I’ve learned that golf is so much risk-reward ythruout the course of an entire tournament

..Winning the Sentry in Hawaii-I learned about picking the holes that were risk-reward…You do it based on where you are on the leaderboard.

..I’m no Phil Mickelson but I would I lean more towards risking shots.

..Great to be paired in Tiger Woods group….don’t want this to become a zoo-will block some things out…just need to do my own thing….no meltdown Thursday-Friday…I feel like an underdog-I’ve never made the cut here…I made the cut here in the World Juniors…Two wins early on this tour-hope to keep this trend going

..Playing with Tiger-Phil feels like crashing a class in college….as a rookie you’re there and not sure you have any idea of what you are doing.

..Augusta-Masters-what a special experience-it’s history amazing.

..British Open…different type of golf and course-wow. I was there for first time last year-now I have to prove I can hang with them in Europe.

..Love to play in my hometown.

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“Baseball’s Best-It’s Big Problem”

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Cooperstown, New York is such a special place.

The birthplace of baseball. Home of the beautiful shrine, that is the Hall of Fame.

Shrouded in controversy over who should get in, despite what they have done, on and off the field.

Later today, the Hall of Fame announces its class of 2019.

There will be debate over the merits of relief pitchers or DH’s and whether they merit the vote despite the stats they put up.

There will also be the continuing raging debate of those barred from the Hall, Pete Rose, specifically, and those engulfed in rumors, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Manny Ramirez, from the steroid era, and whether they deserve to get in.

A quick look at the lineup on the card to ge announced today.

MARIANO RIVERA…It has taken relief aces so long to gain access. But when they pitched, they pitched in the most pressurized situations every time they came out of the bullpen. How can you not vote ‘yes’ on his 625-saves, his (2.21-ERA). Even more so, the amazing postseason numbers (0.70-ERA) and 42-saves.

EDGAR MARTINEZ….Victim of the DH argument, with a career mark of (.312-309HR) superb numbers, and an everyday player in his role.

MIKE MUSSINA….Orioles-Yankees great went (270-153) with a 3.68-ERA in the steroid era. Used to be you needed 300-wins to get in but deserves strong consideration.

LARRY WALKER…Legendary Expos-Rockies good guy. A lifetime (.313) hitter with 383-home runs. Close to getting enough votes.

FRED MCGRIFF…Rock solid player and person with Braves-Padres-Blue Jays. Legendary career stats, including (.284-493 HRs) and that glove. Why not him?

ROY HALLADAY….Big fierce strikeout artis (2127K) and strong yearly credentials (203-105) 3.38. Power pitcher and very close to deserving as a Blue Jay-Phillies starter..

ANDY PETTITE….Consistent thruout a long Yankees career, but wonder if (253-153) win total might fall short.

ROGER CLEMENS…Still on ballot-climbing slowly in votes each year, but the stigma will not go away. What you cannot look away from though are the numbers (354-184) 3.12. The BWAA are torn apart by his greatness, or his reputation as a cheater. Deserving numbers but tainted history.

BARRY BONDS….Cannot hide behind statements ‘I didn’t know’. What we do know is the dominance (.298-762HR), the arrogance, the beliggerance, the likely lies, and yet he does get votes each year in increasing numbers.

MANNY RAMIREZ…The personality and the power hitter did serve a suspension. He did hit them out too (.312-555HR), but won’t merit consideration till somebody decides on the status of Clemens-Bonds.

The votes will be announced Tuesday afternoon, and the debate will rage on and on, not so much about Mariano or Edgar of the Crime Dog, but about Clemens-Bonds-Manny.

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“Going to the Super Bowl-Old Guard-vs-New Breed”

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It was wild, it was worth watching.

It was controversial, it was emotional.

When we were done with a Sunday of football, the old reliable team, the New England Patriots, were heading to the Super Bowl to face a team fueled by unknowns, who helped the Rams win their playoff game.

The Patriots survived a raucous 4th quarter comeback engineered by Kansas City QB-Patrick Mahomes, but in the end, Bill Belicheck and his QB-Tom Brady made all the plays in the New England overtime win.

And in the end, what was bad most all the season, the Chiefs defense, cost Kansas City the ticket to the Super Bowl, despite the heroics of Mahomes.

The Rams-Saints game was marred by a horrific non-call on a blatant pass interference call against a Rams DB. Could have been pass interference, or a helmet hit, or a blow to a defensive receiever. The side judge didn’t see it? The back judge didn’t see it? The whole nation did on TV.

Instead of the ball at the two yard line, and a likely go-ahead TD that would have given New Orleans a (27-20) lead, we got silence-no officials whistle. We got bedlam from the Saints sideline and an enormous outpouring of venom from Saints fans. Da-Saints got robbed by Who-Dat, the refs.

But it was the unsung heroes who rallied the Rams from a horrid start. If you’re looking for Rams heroes on Sunday, think Tyler Higbee-Josh Reynolds-Gerald Everett, the cadre of pass catchers not named Robert Woods or Branden Cook. The trio combined for 10-critical receptions. And kicker Greg Zeurlein added a field goal with (:15) left to tie the game, and then the (:57Y) to win it in OT.

A bitter shot of bourbon coming for Sean Payton and Drew Brees, the officials calls. An amazing win for the star studded roster from LA, thanks to a lot of unknown players who stepped up.

At frigid Arrowhead Stadium, what was bad since week one of the season, the Kansas City defense, was bad the final day of their season too, the defense.

You remember the Chargers Philip Rivers putting up 424-yards in passing yards on opening day against KC, a game the Chiefs won, but should have lost. By the time the season was over, despite the spectacular things their young QB did, KC was ranked 31st in defense, giving up 405-yards a game.

Then there was Tom Brady, gunslinging his way thru the cold and the pass rush as New England rallied time and again. When he was done, the Patriots had 524Y-in offenses too. They had a (94-47) edge in plays, and a (43:20) to (20:00) advantage in time of possession.

The Chiefs died on the field Sunday night, and died most every Sunday, wasting a tremendous season of work by Mahomes-Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill in that offense. That will be a bitter cup of coffee for fans in KC to have on Monday morning.

Instant replay was everywhere on lots of calls in the 4th quarter and into overtime. The officials finished up the playoffs with lots of mistakes, much like lots of Sundays during the regular season.

But it was Brady’s heroics that got him another post season win. He was hardly touched in the pocket. He went (30-46) for 348-in the cold and the wind. And that was with a couple of interceptions off deflections.

When Belicheck’s team needed someone to help them out, Brady did. He took New England 65-yards in the final (:80) of regulation to rally them so there could be an overtime. And then in OT, he made 3-straight 3rd down and long passes that kept the drive going that setup the game winning TD. The Chiefs never saw the ball in overtime.

You may not like New England, the coach, or the quarterback, but Brady’s bunch are now (29-10) in postseason games he plays.

The QB made lots of plays, got lots of help. Rookie running back Sonny Michel had (113Y) rushing. Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman, both long in the tooth, combined for 13-catches and 175-yards, much of it when they needed it late in the game.

There were bad calls in that game too, proving officials are only human, though they should get it right at the most important time of the year. Instant replay can only bail you out on turnovers, not penalties, and there were some bad flags tosses and not tossed in KC.

So on we go to the Super Bowl in two weeks.

Belicheck and his history against Sean McVay’s fast growing resume of accomplishments. The Patriots and all those guys with all that postseason experience vs a Rams team, young, green, and excited at what they have done this season.

Old School-vs-New Breed, New England vs the LA Rams come Super Bowl Sunday.

And as a footnote, for Dean Spanos and the Chargers,. Who’s won the Fight for LA? The team that owns LA, the Rams, the one going to the Super Bowl.

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NFL-Sunday Showdowns-Big Name QBs on Big Stage”

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So many storylines to talk about going towards Sunday’s showdown games in the NFL, the AFC-and-NFC championship games.

The matchups of great quarterbacks….Drew Brees-vs-Jared Goff or Tom Brady-vs-Patrick Mahomes.

Or maybe the brilliance of the coaches, Bill Belicheck’s history, Sean Payton fire, Sean McVay’s elevation to greatness, or the creative genius of Andy Reid.

Or maybe home field advantage is part of this, 15-to-19 degree winter weather at Arrowhead Stadium, and hostile environment of all those ‘Who Dat’ Saints fans at the Superdome.

There are no surprise teams playing Sunday, no ‘Cindarellas’, no ‘wanna-bees’just teams that won their division and bombed their way into this post season. The collective record of these Final 4-teams…(53-16) with quarterbacks that rewrote the record book Sunday-to-Sunday.

The Saints-Rams game matches the future Hall of Famer-Brees, vs the rising in the ranks youngster in Jared Goff. Both flanked with tremendous skill people, Brees throwing to 125-catch wideout Michael Thomas, and running and dumping passes to his backs Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram.

The Rams with the dynamics of Todd Gurley, the heavy duty toughness of CJ Anderson at running back, and the big play abilities on receivers Robert Woods-Branden Cooks.

The Saints have a strong defensive front. The Rams defense has not been the quality you would expect for the paychecks they are getting.

Brees will throw the ball down the field and make the Rams run sideline to sideline in coverage. Watch to see if New Orleans can bracket Todd Gurley and make Goff live or die off his passing game, in the bedlam at the Dome.

So many questions about the game at Arrowhead Stadium. A Patriots team that has not played well on the road this year, and in fact, has not played well in the playoffs on the road in hostile stadium in recent seasons.. Welcome to brutal cold weather football too.

Belicheck’s defense will try to confuse Mahomes with formations, and will blitz him, like they did Philip Rivers last Sunday. Rivers was (5-17) throwing the ball in one stretch a week ago as the Pats built a (41-14) lead.

If this were not frigid weather, it would be interesting to see how the Pats would hold up against the KC firepower. But wind, cold and footing play into this, as well as the smartest man in football, Belicheck and his defensive schemes. As I like to say about Mahomes and his presnap reads…’do you believe what you see’

The Chiefs may have Travis Kelce, Tyreek Hill and others to throw to, but they don’t have the experience that Tom Brady has.

And Brady will be going after the 31st ranked defense in the league, and you ask how, and who, KC has to defend the likes of Gronkowski, Edelman, Hogan, Patterson, Sonny Michel and James White.

Now if there’s wind on top of the bitter cold, maybe it becomes more of a defensive game..

Who’s going to win. I’ll take Brees and all this history. Despite Brady’s (28-10) post season record, because this is Arrowhead, and it’s Reid’s video game offense, even with the kid Mahomes at quarterback, I’ll be picking the Chiefs.

Going to be loud, going to be cold, going to be fun come Sunday.

The Final 4-got the best 4-in the postseason.,

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“AFC West-What I See”

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Bring on the AFC-and-NFC Champiosnhip games this weekend. The NFL’s Final 4-is about to happen, meanwhile the 28-other teams in the league are trying to fix what is wrong, including 8-teams putting new coaching staffs in place.

Here’s what I see around the AFC-West.

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KANSAS CITY…Superb job by Andy Reid in the growth of young flame-throwing QB-Patrick Mahomes. He makes every throw, doesn’t force thing, moves the pocket, can run and is the spiritual leader on offense. What a job Reid has done developing Mahomes so quickly. Maybe Andy’s finest coaching job. Even more impressive, the way the offense has not dropped off despite the self-destructive end to RB-Kareem Hunt’s career with the Chiefs. KC thought Spencer Ware could handle the running back chores, but he got hurt. Enter Damien Williams, the former Miami Hurricane, who looks special. Yes the offense spins around all the big plays of TE-Travis Kelce and game-breaker Tyreek Hill, but look for contributions from Demarcus Robinson, Chris Conley and tight end Demetrius Harris. The defense still looks suspect, though Chris Jones and the blitz linebackers have grown alot as the season has gone on. They’re still playing aren’t they, so who cares about a 31st ranking that side of the defensive ball. Letter grade (A).

CHARGERS…..Philip Rivers took them as far as they could go till they started losing players. They lost their explosiveness when WR-Keenan Allen and RBs Melvin Gordon-Austin Ekeler got hurt. When the chunk plays went away-so did the chance to win games. They patched as much as they could after those veteran LBs, Denzel Perryman and Jatavis Brown went down with season ending injuries. They did solve the FG kicking crisis with Michael Badgley and the emergence of return man Desmond King. I give them a (B) for the season.

DENVER…John Elway may have been one of the greatest QBs in the history of the NFL, but he has not proven to be one of the greatest in the GM office. He’s now on his 4th coach. He’s gone thru 5-quarterbacks, including wasting high first and second round picks. They have running backs, but not much of an offensive line. The defense is starting to show some age around LB-Von Miller. They need an infusion of more skill talent on both sides of the ball, and I don’t think the Broncos are now a destination point for NFL free agents. A major rebuild may be about to begin. Grade them a (D) on and off the field this season.

RAIDERS….The NFL’s version of homeless also looks leaderless after a dreadful John Gruden debut. Owner Mark Davis has a nitemare situation with this stadium mess, at least for 2019. And his roster is even worse. The offensive line is in transition led by LT-Kolton Miller.. Who knows how much time Marshawn Lynch and Doug Martin have at running back. The wide receivers have lots of mileage on them. Not alot of quality parts around QB-Derek Carr. They played a ton of kids on defense, got beat up badly. S-Karl Joseph and a couple of DTs are about all they have. And what did they get when Gruden got done dealing away Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper? The chance to pick 24th and 27th in the draft? It was bad last year and could be bad for a couple of more years. Like Al Davis would say ‘The greatness of the Raiders is in the future’…a long ways away. Is there a letter grade worse than an (F)?.

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