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Some
local residents and I just got back from Augusta National, and it
is assuredly one of the prettiest places on earth.
I don’t know much about plants, flowers and trees, but I
do know enough to tell you that TV does not do the azaleas and the
dogwoods justice. They
are simply gorgeous. That,
coupled with a field that includes the best golfers in the world,
makes for the ultimate links experience.
For
today’s feature, I decided to go away from our normal Q & A
format and just give a few reflections on these events and what
I’ve observed these past few days.
Let’s start with the college basketball tournament.
College basketball
and Final Four reflections
The
old adage, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” certainly
rings true when addressing the state of college basketball.
This year’s Final Four had about everything except the
University of Illinois in it, and probably the only way it could
have been any more exciting was if the Illini had been there! First of all, only one #1 seed advanced.
The rest of the seeds were a #5 and two #8’s.
I could see some of you picking maybe a UNC as a
sentimental rather than a knowledgeable bracket choice (I mean you
could probably even argue their selection to the dance to begin
with); but if you picked them along with a middle-of-the-pack
Badger team, you should probably quit your day job immediately!
– You are probably psychic!
And if you picked all those other upsets, you are just an
outright prognosticator.
As
much as Illini fans hate to admit it, you have to feel that
Michigan State and Florida were pretty solid picks.
I saw Florida play a lot of games this year, and the only
time I saw them lose was when they didn’t shoot it well.
Of course, we saw the Spartans up close and personal twice,
and we knew before the rest of the country that they were by far
the best in the land (although I would like to have seen the
outcome of our last game with them if Bradford wouldn’t have
broken his nose…we were going toe-to-toe with them until that
unfortunate injury). Actually, the so-called basketball experts (if you can call
Billy Packer an expert – as for me, I would just as soon hear
some of our own local broadcasters than some of those guys that
have been on the air) said that it took away from the tournament
that only one #1 seed advanced to the final weekend.
I
couldn’t disagree more. This year’s Final Four makeup is what
college basketball is all about.
I think LCC coach Randy Kirk said it best, “When they get
down to 32 teams, any one of them can win it.”
Syracuse had the eventual champs on the ropes and didn’t
finish them off. So,
State said thank you very much, and went on and won the title!
Wisconsin lulled opponent after opponent to sleep along
with the rest of the nation until the clock struck midnight.
And what might have become of the Boilers and 12th year
player Brian Cardinal if they hadn’t had to play yet another Big
Ten team to advance to Keady’s first-ever Final Four?
What
can you say about the Florida Gators?
I did not want Lon and the boys to have to play them, and I
will probably hold a grudge against Butler forever because of it.
Coach Kruger is just too nice of a guy to have to put up
with all of that “he left Florida to go to greener Illinois
pastures” talk. As
disappointed as he and all of us were after that game, once again
he handled the whole situation with class (warning to the rest of
the world: the Illini are coming tra-la-la-la….sung to the tune
of the “Cardinals are coming tra-la-la-la”).
The Crocks were laying for us and it was over early. They beat us in every phase of the game.
But, they beat everyone that way…until they met our Big
Ten brothers.
I
was so happy that once again the Big Ten conference showed why it
is THE toughest conference in the country night after night.
There are NO gimmies in the Big Ten.
Wisconsin might not
have even received an invitation to the dance if they hadn’t
beaten Indiana in their final game, but there they were at the RCA
Dome. I take my hat
off to the Big Ten and to the Spartans…for once again, the best
basketball in all the land is right here in the Midwest! |
The
2000 Masters
As
I mentioned in the opening paragraph, there are few places on
earth any more beautiful than the Augusta National golf course.
The colors and fragrances are out of this world.
We saw the players that you would want to see: Arnie, Jack
and Tiger. We even
wished Duval good luck…little did we know that he would need all
of it and more!
The
course was in immaculate condition this year.
The rough was a little longer, but Augusta rough is like
the fairways at most courses that we play.
[PGA tour player Phil Mickelson
on the practice putting green]
As
we walked the grounds we spotted several curious things.
Dennis Paulson spent hours on the putting greens.
Perhaps that’s why he was the first round leader.
After struggling the next two days, he had a good enough
finish to be invited back next year. Vijay Singh was the first guy
on the practice tee and the last guy off it.
Do you think there is some correlation to the fact that
this Masters’ champion is pretty good?
The Golden Bear was hitting all of his shots solid, and of
course he had another fine tournament. Phil Mickelson looked as if he were on fire, every part of
his game in a zone. He
and Duval seemed to get a few bad breaks at the worst possible
time, and it was their undoing.
Loren Roberts may be the finest putter that doesn’t get
much publicity, but he will…in the LDN. That guy is
amazing! Did you see
some of the putts he made? Long
sidewinders, downhill rockets that had to find the holes or end up
in Outer Mongolia, and all to make up for his lack of distance off
the tee. I came away
from this year’s tournament with a new respect for him and for
Singh.
[Jeff with former Lincoln Mayor John Guzzardo and Brad Neal in front of the main scoreboard at Augusta
National]
The
greatest thing I took away from this year’s Masters was the fun
and love of the game that is rarely seen in these serious
competitors. Golf has
long been known as not the most fan friendly of all sports.
As a matter of fact, last time I went to Augusta I was a
little disappointed in the attitude of many of the players. Not this year.
Two
players that really stuck out were Nick Price and Jean Van de
Velde. I had never
thought of Price as a fun-loving kind of golfer before.
This year I followed him for a few holes and found that he
has a refreshing sense of humor.
He was playing with Singh and Jesper Parnevik, and he was
cracking jokes before and after each of those guys hit.
In between he was launching jarts to within a few feet of
the pins. He is truly
an amazing player. Perhaps
Van de Velde encapsulated best what golf and sports should truly
be all about. He is
demonstrating that even within the scope of heated competition,
you can still have fun doing it and you can still make it fun for
all those around you.
Do
you even remember Jean Van de Velde?
He was the guy that had a bad final hole and it cost him
the British Open last year. Because
of the ugly way in which he finished that tournament, he has been
the butt of thousands of jokes.
He and his wife, who follows him from hole to hole, have
been ridiculed, harassed and laughed at, at every tournament since
that fateful day. But
here’s the amazing thing…you would never know that he was the
player that experienced that train wreck.
His countenance and personality are not that of a man of
disappointment, despair and bitterness, but rather of optimism.
He was out enjoying one of the greatest games ever invented
on arguably the world’s greatest course on a beautiful day.
I’ve
heard it said that he remarked to someone, “Isn’t it great.
We get paid to play golf.”
He’s the kind of guy that I want to hang out with.
I doubt that Tiger needs another guy on his bandwagon
anyway. But to go
through what Van de Velde went through and to still embrace golf
and life the way that he does is simply refreshing.
If you would like to join me on the Van de Velde bandwagon,
just let me know, because he and I think it truly is the greatest
time of the year!
[Jeff
Mayfield]
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