Ryder Cup 2010 Breakdown: 10 Questions and Answers for Success

Filed under: Ryder Cup

NEWPORT, Wales -- Welcome to Ryder Cup week, golf's answer to the Rubik's Cube. Lots of moving parts. So many possible twists and turns, none of them providing an indication of success or failure until the result is imminent.

When play begins Friday at Celtic Manor, the United States will be defending champs but significant underdogs. Despite an American victory two years ago at Valhalla GC in Louisville, Ky., the Europeans have won five of the past seven matches and the U.S. has not been victorious on foreign soil since 1993.

Now, the 38th renewal of the biannual competition is nearing and it's raining and cold.

In Wales?

Imagine that.

---

Elliott: Tiger's Lonely Ryder Cup | Captains Take Different Approach
More Ryder Cup: Players Banned From Twitter | Tiger Responds to McIlroy

---

When the first competitive shots are hit Friday morning in four-ball play, followed by afternoon foursome matches, the final results will be slightly more difficult to predict.

Nevertheless, the eventual answer to success should come from 10 pressing questions.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

SteveBerra SteveCallero TajBurrow TaraHamilton TaraLlanes

The Works: LeBron's Tone-Deaf Ways; Hard Cap as a Solution?

Filed under: 76ers, Cavaliers, Heat, Pistons, Wizards, NBA Fans, NBA Transactions, The Works

In The Works today: why Ted Leonsis' hard cap pitch is disingenuous and previews for the 76ers and the Pistons.

But first, deconstructing The Decision again, this time with race as the hammer.

Color Bind

Ring the alarm! LeBron James, who like his off-court model Michael Jordan has always been slow to express any kind of political, or even socially conscious, opinion, said the r-word. During a CNN segment that gave James and sidekick Maverick Carter a chance to do a little late damage control for their disastrous ESPN "Decision", both the King and Mav said, unequivocally, that race played a role in the way the media covered James this summer. From CNN.com:

Soledad O'Brien (on camera): Do you think there's a role that race plays in this?

LeBron James: I think so at times. It's always, you know, a race factor.

Maverick Carter: It definitely played a role in some of the stuff coming out of the media, things that were written for sure.

Not that this is possible, but the object here is not to get into whether or not race mattters. Since that fateful day in July, I've come to the conclusion that it both does and doesn't. The Dan Gilbert episode, and the invocations of slavery that followed, were as much about power and economics as LeBron's ethnic background. If any player had held the league in thrall like James, then made his announcement in such a garish fashion, he would have to some degree, been ridiculed for it. He would also have been called a lazy coward for going to someone else's team. At the same time, the breakdown of James' Q Scores -- widely reported as having plummeted like a felon's -- suggest that African Americans judge black athletes less harshly. You can guess at the other side of that equation.

What's so notable here is not that James stated the obvious (if you disagree, you were likely just waiting for him to "play the card"), but that he waited until now. As Joey Litman put it, James is a smart guy with opinions who also happens to be completely tone-deaf.

DannyHarf DannyWay DarrenShapiro DaveMirra DeanRandazzo

Flames Face Blueline Conundrum

Filed under: Flames

As the Calgary Flames' training camp continues for another week, a fascinating battle on the blueline is shaping up.

Currently, the Flames still have 10 defencemen in camp and how they manage to trim that number by two or three elicits one of the more lively discussions surrounding the team.

Given the way rookie T.J. Brodie, shown above at centre, has performed in the preseason, general manager Darryl Sutter's job has become all the more difficult. The youngster's offensive smarts -- his ability to join the rush and create opportunities, something the defence sorely lacked last season -- has greatly improved his chances to stick with the NHL squad.

In Tuesday night's game against the Phoenix Coyotes, Brodie scored the third goal in a 3-1 victory, a goal that really wasn't as it sailed through a hole in the mesh. Regardless, it was the 20-year-old's third tally of the preseason.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

TonyAlva TonyHawk TrevorHanson WesBrisco ZaneSchwenk

Ryder Cup Gives Tiger Woods Shot at Escaping America's Doghouse

Filed under: Ryder Cup

NEWPORT, Wales -- Unless Tiger Woods suddenly defects to Europe, this will be a tough weekend for a lot of U.S. citizens.

They have to cheer for the most revolting American of 2010. If they don't, they might as well put on a kilt, start chain smoking and stop brushing their teeth.

In other words, they'll be honorary Europeans.

It's pretty simple. If you're not for Woods in the Ryder Cup, you're against him. And if you're against him, you're against the United States.

What a quandary.

My advice is to put away the smokes and cheer for the low-down cheating dog. That's not my description of the world's top-ranked player. It's the opinion from his ex-wife, at least according to an "insider" quoted by the ever-unassailable Enquirer.

It was reported last week that Woods had skipped his sex-addiction follow-up sessions. He apparently decided he no longer needs that kind of swing coach.

---

Elliott: Opening Pairings | Ten Keys for Success
Whitley: A Major Issue Over Ryder Cup 'War'
More: Ryder Cup Schedule | Tiger Responds to McIlroy

---

"Elin never believed Tiger was a sex addict," the insider said. "She just believes he's a low-down cheating dog."

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

MattHoffman MikeJones MikeValley NateAdams ParksBonifay

Nazem Kadri in a No-Win Situation With the Leafs

Filed under: Maple Leafs

Nazem Kadri placed himself in a no-win situation as soon as he pulled the Toronto Maple Leafs jersey over his shoulders for the first time two Junes ago.

Firstly, there was the suffocating hype of being the Maple Leafs' first pick, seventh overall, in the 2009 NHL Draft and the added weight of being Brian Burke's first ever draft pick as the general manager of the fabled Leafs.

When Burke used "truculent" to describe the type of team he wanted, Kadri, fairly or unfairly, was tossed into the mix as a top six bruising forward as Burke began to put his stamp on the team.

The fact that Kadri nearly forced management to keep him up as an 18-year-old when he had three goals and five points in six preseason games last season spoke more to the ineptness of the Leafs at that time than his potential. Remember this was a team that wound up finishing 29th overall and had the NHL's worst power-play and penalty-killing units last season.

Suffice to say, expectations were perhaps a tad too high for the young centre, who was practically viewed as the second coming of Doug Gilmour around these parts. But then again, unrealistic expectations aren't exactly a new thing in the hockey-mad city.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

FabioladaSilva FroggySoven GeoffRowley GerryNunn JasonMurphy

Non-AQ Report: WAC Hears From Five Potential New Members

Filed under: Boise State, Middle Tennessee State, Navy, WAC

The WAC could replenish its conference membership within the next 30 to 60 days, commissioner Karl Benson announced during a teleconference Wednesday.

The WAC met with five potential members in Dallas this week -- Texas-San Antonio, Texas State, Seattle University, Montana and the University of Denver -- in an effort to fill the voids left by Boise State, who is slated to leave the conference in 2011, and Fresno State and Nevada, who are leaving in 2012.

Of the schools the WAC is considering, UTSA, Texas State and Montana have football programs, but none play in the FBS. Seattle University and University of Denver would join the WAC as non-football members.

But Benson stressed that adding quality football programs to complement the conference's remaining members -- Hawaii, Utah State, San Jose State, Louisiana Tech, New Mexico State and Idaho -- would be the first order of business.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Canyoning Freesoloclimbing Free-fall Parachuting Bungeejumping

NFL Picks Week 4: Donovan McNabb's Homecoming Won't Be Pleasant

Filed under: FanHouse Previews, NFL Predictions

Eagles fans will boo anything. From Santa Claus to their starting quarterback, who for the past 11 seasons had been Donovan McNabb.

So imagine the reception for McNabb when he arrives Sunday as a Redskin. Hey, maybe the fans will surprise us and show their appreciation for everything McNabb has done for them for the last decade and more: seven playoff berths, five NFC East titles, five NFC title games and a Super Bowl appearance.

Nah. The only cheering we'll hear is when the Eagles pound him to the ground.

Philly is favored by 6 1/2 points. Not because Michael Vick, resurgence and all, is having a better start than Donovan -- although McNabb did not have his best game when the Redskins lost in St. Louis last week. It's because the Eagles are simply a better team, no matter who's the QB. Some Washingtonians got excited over the opening-night win over Dallas but others didn't -- knowledgeable fans (and the Redskins have them) know McNabb needs more weapons on offense.

MikeJones MikeValley NateAdams ParksBonifay PeterMel