Gary Player is 72 years young. A fitness fiend and one of golfs 3 senior gentlemen. He is the lesser known of Jack Nicklaus or Arnold Palmer, but of the 3 he is the only one still actively competing in the Masters. When he launched his tee shot Thursday he broke Arnold Palmer’s record of 50 Masters tournaments. Although Arnold had 50 consecutive appearances. Player started his professional career in 1957 at the age of 25 and is a 3 time Masters Champion winning in 1961, 1974 and 1978.

I watched a replay of the first two rounds and was both amused and amazed at the physically fit 72 year old as he methodically approached the most treacherous golf course in the majors. His second round score of 83 is only 11 strokes more then his age, but unfortunately left him outside of the cut to participate in the weekend rounds.

 ”Ive always said the thing about second [is] only your wife and your dog know about it,” he said, adding, “that’s if you’ve got a good wife and a good dog.”

Player also holds the record for most British Open events - 46.

The wins represent a large part of the success for a player who won nine career majors and is one of only five to have earned the career Grand Slam.

Watching him made me realize how special he, Jack and Arnold are to the game and as reminders of our own mortality. I remember growing up watching them, never considering what it will be like to not have them around to watch and enjoy. Today there are one or two guys on tour that help fill the void, but it is unlikely that I will be alive to see them retire into the winter of their careers as I have Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player.

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I have previously posted about the allegations that Reggie Bush accepted cash gifts and other benefits while enrolled as a student-athlete at USC. In recent developments the Bush legal team continues to play a game of cat and mouse with Lloyd Lake and the NCAA. 

In a February 13th 2008 story ESPN reported that the Reggie Bush legal team hired an armed security guard to accompany them to the scheduled February 12th, 2008 deposition of Lloyd Lake. Brian Watkins, Lake’s attorney halted the proceedings after the armed guard flashed his gun. “He made sure we saw it,” Watkins said.

This is outrageous conduct by any standards, and particularly egregious conduct by an officer of the court during a formal legal procedure.

Bush was scheduled to be deposed on February 25th 2008, but according to reports published by ESPN and other news sources, he failed to appear. Bush’s lawyers instead filed a motion for protective order that would prevent Watkins from turning over depositions to the NCAA.

Hmmmm……. Is anyone else wondering what he has to hide and who he is trying to protect?

The entire legal strategy of the Bush team is to prevent the truth from being publicly aired. They clearly are not interested in having Reggie deposed under oath, and based on the recent motion filed by David Cornwell, Bush’s lawyer, they do not want any testimony that might be compelled by a judge to be turned over to the NCAA.

Which leaves us to wonder why. Reggie has repeatedly said that he did nothing wrong. He has repeatedly stated that the truth will come out and “we will all see this was nothing”. If that’s the case Reggie, step up, put your hand on the bible and answer the questions under oath. Quit playing legal games and meet your opponent on the 5o yard line as you claim you want to do.

My suggestion for USC is to detoxify your connection with Reggie Bush by openly conducting your own investigation. If you determine that your coaching staff and compliance officers had no knowledge, nor should have known about Reggie’s obvious transgressions then make that report public and vigorously defend yourself of any accusations of impropriety. If on the other hand you discover that members of your coaching staff used poor judgement or that your compliance officers failed in their duty, then admit it now. If nothing else, we have learned from others, in particular Michigan (Charles Woodson) and Ohio St. (Maurice Clarett) that if you are accountable for your mistakes early on, most folks are willing to forgive and forget. However, if you choose to wait until the proof is provided by another source, you put at risk previous championships, victories and future scholarships. The choice is yours, roll the dice hoping that Bush’s attorneys are successful in their attempt to conceal the truth, or admit your mistakes and be accountable now.

My .02

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It is time for Congress members in Washington DC to start behaving like members of Congress, instead of like star struck teen age girls at a boy band concert. This entire issue is repugnant. We are a country at war, we face major economic problems, immigration laws are not being enforced, health care costs are out of control, as is the price of fuel. Despite the significant domestic problems, lawmakers are spending time fawning over a baseball player.

Nothing was resolved. Baseball should handle its own disciplinary problems. Roger Clemens is behaving like a spoiled 13 year old. As a child when I lied to my parents I got my butt paddled with the wooden spoon and then I was grounded. It worked. Baseball should deliver its equivalent of a spanking and suspension.

Congress should have minded its own business, as it has plenty to attend to, and let Bud Selig discipline his own children. I resent that Bud Selig dumped his garbage on our door step. Tax payers are now ponying up to clean his mess.

I must admit that I did get a little thrill seeing Henry Waxman appointed to a job he can actually handle. If you recall, he was one of the 3 stooges that led the Democrat fight song about how they were going to balance the budget, end the war, and impeach Bush. His companions Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi have disappeared quietly into the night.

I defer to my earlier post about the OWL Party. “Out With Lunacy - In With Logic”

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The FBR golf tournament is under way in Scottsdale Arizona this weekend. I had a chance to watch part of the 3rd round on TV this afternoon. Attendance during this 4 day period exceeds attendance at any other PGA event, including the 4 majors. According to Jim Nantz, one of the commentators, they anticipated a crowd of over 200,000 today alone.

Formerly called the Phoenix Open, the FBR has been transformed into the Thunderdome of golf events. Attracting large, rowdy, and very loud gallery’s, particularly those crowded around the famous 16th hole at the TPC Golf Course. There are 153 corporate sponsored bleacher boxes constructed in a horseshoe shape around the back of the tee box and down each side of the fairway, creating an atmosphere that resembles a college football stadium on Saturday afternoon in November.

At one point today the estimated crowd at the 16th hole exceeded 79,000 people. Players are vociferously booed if they hit an errant shot from the tee at this 170 yard par 3 hole. Golfers on the tee are heckled with chants from the enormous crowd during their shots. If the golfer backs off from the ball to setup again he is booed even louder. After holing out, if a golfer birdies the hole the crowd will begin to chant “throw your ball”, throw your ball”. If the golfer refuses to throw his ball into the crowd he is booed. If he throws it, he is cheered. Woe is me for the golfer who bogey’s or makes a bad chip shot near the green. The crowd will chant “keep your ball”, keep your ball” as he is sent to the next tee box with a chorus of boos.

This hole began taking on a life of it’s own several years ago when ASU students would gather there to cheer on Alumni participating in Pro-Am or PGA events. Fans learned from that experience to put some thought into their chants and jibes. Subject matter has included everything from Aaron Baddeley’s dog Brutus, to school fight songs and chants about players fiance’s. Stewart Cink has some advice for newbies playing the 16th for the first time in this tournament. “Do not, I repeat, do not engage them. You do not want to provoke them”. This isn’t your grand daddy’s golf etiquette.

A separate economy has been spurred around the pop culture of this hole. There is a merchandise tent with nothing but products designed to promote the hole. The 153 corporate sponsor bleacher boxes cost $25,000 each to rent for the 4 days. Total revenue of $6.9 million dollars for tournament coffers.
I was thoroughly entertained watching the party atmosphere at the 16th. This is the PGA Tours version of slap stick comedy. All that’s missing is a little nyuk, nyuk, nyuk, and a wooble wooble wooble.

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 Kurt Streeter writes a weekly sports column for the Los Angeles Times. In his January 31st column Streeter wrote about racious fan behavior during the Oregon/UCLA basketball game played at McArthur Court in Eugene last week.

Kevin Love, a student athlete from Oregon, elected to play college basketball at UCLA. My personal observation is ‘who can blame him’? Some of the folks in Oregon don’t agree. Small minded fans jeered him with disparaging chants, signs, and boo’s throughout the game. As reported by Streeter, the verbal abuse was often callous and disgusting. It was also reported that the loudest and longest chants were “homophobic”. Pat Kilkenny, Oregon’s AD has since apologized to UCLA and the Love family for the behavior of fans. This should be the end of the story.

Streeter wants to know why offending fans were not barred from the arena. He wants the NCAA and University officials across the country to “clamp down on spectators”. He believes those fans should be removed from the arena. In this case there were about 5000 chanting students and some non student participants.

Let’s be clear. Based on what I have read, the conduct of the fans in this instance was reprehensible. They should be ashamed. However, no one threw any foreign objects onto the court. Fans didn’t interfere with the game in anyway or engage in any physical violence between themselves or participants. No game rules were broken. No laws were infringed upon. Streeter claims the homophobic name calling falls under the laws of hate speech. Hogwash. This was used as a slur. An ugly one, no doubt, but just a slur without merit or truth. There is no reason to believe that Love is really gay. This was a case of college kids just being college kids. No harm no foul. Move on. Besides, how does this stack up against rap artists using the n-word? Why is that OK? Don’t we have more important social issues to worry about? I think Streeter is walking on a slippery slope.

I am no fan of the Oregon Ducks. I have been to Autzen Stadium to watch football games. The fans are bafoons. They are everything Streeter describes in his article. However, IQ and manners are not qualifications for the right to exercise free speech. I will defend the right of the obnoxious jerks wearing nothing but their tighty-whiteys, yellow capes, and green masks to say what they want, as often as they like, at whom ever they choose.

Kurt, the next time you want to suppress 1st Amendment rights, how about targeting knucklehead protesters who burn the American flag?

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I attended the final round of the Buick Invitational last Sunday. I had purchased my ticket online a few days in advance because it was only $15.00. Tickets at the gate were $30.00. Seemed like a no brainer until I woke up Sunday morning to some of the worst weather I have seen since moving to Southern California. Despite the weather I wasn’t going to let $15.00 in tickets go unused. I am retarded that way. It was cold, windy and raining when I left home. As we approached La Jolla the down pour turned to a drizzle. Blue sky appeared over the pacific horizon and the sun periodically appeared from behind the high clouds.

The reason I bring any of this up is because the inclement weather kept the huge crowds away for the early part of the day, which allowed me and a few others an up close and unobstructed view of Tiger Woods. The photo insert shows Tiger on the 11th green after making a sweeping right to left 35 foot birdie putt to give him a 10 stroke lead. I am standing just to the right outside edge of the photo frame with a perfect look at Tiger’s view. It was a thing of beauty. A master working his craft.

Consider this; Tiger Woods is up 9 strokes with 8 holes to play. The tournament winner has been determined - it was over Saturday afternoon for that matter. The rest of the field is jockeying for 2nd place. Tiger spent as much time studying that seemingly impossible putt as he would if he were finishing the Masters at Augusta on the 18th. His competitive spirit, physical skill and mental toughness make him by far the best golfer in the world today. It is only a question of when and by how much he will break hollowed records held by the great ones Sam Snead, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus. He now has 62 PGA tour victories, 13 of which are majors.

He is the second most remarkable and influential athlete of my lifetime. Muhammad Ali is still ‘The Greatest’.

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Former USC running back Reggie Bush has been accused of accepting multiple financial gifts totaling nearly $300,000 while leading USC to the top of the BCS polls between 2003 and 2004. The allegations range from demanding monthly cash payments in the amount of $3,000 to facilitating the purchase of a $750,000 home for his family by New Era Sports Management owners Michael Michaels and Lloyd Lake. This story has been in the news now for nearly two years. Investigations by the NCCA and PAC-10 have been stalled because Bush, no longer an NCAA athlete is not compelled to cooperate with NCAA or PAC-10 investigators and one of the sports agents involved, Michael Michaels has recently settled with Bush for an amount reported to be over $200,000. Part of the out of court settlement agreement prohibits Michaels from disclosing the details of the settlement. In other words, Bush bought Michaels silence.

The other wannabe sports marketer Lloyd Lake has recently filed a $291,000 lawsuit in an effort to recover what he claims Bush owes him for direct out of pocket payments.

Lake claims he personally paid Bush:

• $13,000 in cash to purchase a Chevy Impala (see photo insert) plus another $8,000 to customize the vehicle with tires, rims, paint, stereo and engine enhancements.
• Monthly cash payments of $3,000 for ‘living expenses’.
• Paid airfare and hotel accommodations to Las Vegas and Southern California vacations for Bush and his family.
• A home valued at $750,000.
• $28,000 in cash to help the family settle pre-existing debt.

Lake appeared this week in the HBO series Real Sports in which he provided details to interviewer Bernard Goldberg about his assertions. Part of the segment included tape recordings between Lake and LaMar Griffin, Bush’s stepfather, that clearly stated Bush agreed to repay the money given to him and his family during his eligibility at USC.

I watched the broadcast and believe that the segment unquestionably substantiates many of the claims made by Lake. When asked about his thoughts following the interview Goldberg stated he found Lake’s claims to be credible, particularly in light of the content of the tapes. Bush has repeatedly refused requests for interviews other then to issue a statement “I did nothing wrong”.

Is this how an innocent person responds to such accusations? At this point Bush has nothing to gain by protecting USC, but he potentially has millions of endorsement dollars at risk if his image is tarnished. By settling with Michaels he paid for shutting him up, preventing Michaels from offering any details to investigators due to the non-disclosure agreement.

What did USC coaches/administrators know and when did they know it?According to Lake he was at Griffin’s house (the one purchased by Lake and Michaels for the Bush family) during a telephone conversation between Pete Carroll and LaMar Griffin. The discussion was centered around how to document the housing arrangements for Reggie’s parents in the newly purchased home. Carroll, apparently unaware he was on speaker phone, told Griffin to make sure that there was a lease agreement in writing.

It is hard to believe that Carroll was not aware that the home was provided to Bush’s parents under questionable circumstances. Carroll should have asked himself why LaMar Griffin would seek his advice on how to document the purchase transaction. Carroll’s advice to the Griffins, if accurately reported, was irresponsible at best and possibly fraudulent.

Yahoo Sports reported USC running backs coach Todd Mcnair was aware of Reggie’s relationship with New Era Sports Management prior to the National Championship game vs.Texas.

During his freshman and sophomore years at USC Bush drove an older model Toyota pickup with a camper cab on the bed of the truck . Sometime during his Heisman Trophy season he showed up at school driving a newly customized Chevy Impala outfitted with expensive rims, wheels and stereo equipment. Part of Lakes deposition scheduled for Feb 12th, 2008 will include testimony that he provided among other things, over $20,000 for the vehicle and it’s amenities.

Someone please explain how NO ONE at USC noticed their prized athlete was suddenly driving a new car and had a pocket that was now regularly lined with cash.

Reggie came from a working class family. While growing up he lived with his mother and stepfather in an inner city apartment complex in south San Diego county. The family had fallen behind in debt and needed financial assistance. It is easy to understand how the opportunity to help his parents and improve his own standard of living would be too much to resist. All the while continue to improve his stock as a super star college athlete in one of the nations elite football programs at USC. The pressure on young athletes to perform and provide for their families is sometimes a very strong motivator for excersing poor judgement. Who can blame him for wanting to financially help the family?

Let’s not forget that the NCAA (and BCS) is a billion dollar industry. Television contracts, merchandise, advertising dollars and gate revenue are all at stake in the annual college football bonanza. Careful not to jeopordize the integrity of the system that feeds the greed, the NCAA has refused comment during the investigative process.

It is possible that Bush will settle with Lake before Feb 12th in order to avoid providing deposition testimony under oath. The last thing he needs is purgery charges. This will effectively buy Lakes silence and prevent the NCAA or PAC-10 from completing a full and fair investigation. Lake makes no bones about his motive - he wants his money back. Money that he borrowed from family and friends based on promises made by Reggie to sign with New Era and repay his debt. Lake has no interest in helping the NCAA in their investigation except to leverage his position in the lawsuit. Lake’s attorney Brian Watkins has said that they will turn over testimony provided through depositions to the NCAA. If Bush allows that to happen USC will possibly face stiff sanctions and he may lose his Heisman Trophy.

Sometimes there is a big difference between innocence and not guilty.

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