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We hear you’re leavin’, that’s okay
I thought our little wild time had just begun…..I know CD, Rickie Fowler is one of my favorite brown furry rodents, too.
Great for Cooke. It would be nice to see the Wolfpack better represented on the PGA tour. Maybe Cooke is headed there in the near future. By my count we only have two on the PGA Tour (Clark and Pettersson), two on the Web.com Tour (Mulroy and Turnesa), two on the Mackenzie Tour (Choi and Hill) and one on the Sunshine Tour (Walters). Georgia has 8 on the PGA tour. Three of them are in the top 8 going into today’s round at the Canadian Open. Ga Tech has that many too. BTW, Clark just made the turn at even and remains five under. Choi had an epic fail on his back nine yesterday (2 bogeys and 2 double bogeys) and missed the cut after getting to three under on the front.
A MLB pet peeve of mine is that playing every team in your division 19 times creates boredom. Seventy-six games against the same four teams is too much. It is 47% of each team’s schedule. As a Rays fan, I’m sick and tired of watching the Yankees, Red Sox, Orioles and Jays over and over ad nauseam. I would propose cutting it down to perhaps 12 games against division foes and administer the remaining 28 games either intra-league or inter-league.
Currently, every team plays 66 (41%) intra-league games against ten teams. That means each team gets one home and away series versus every non-divisional team in their league. It doesn’t allow many opportunities to see certain teams and players in person or while watching your favorite team on TV. Twenty inter-league games (12%) is nice, and I wouldn’t mind seeing that expanded. Anyone else have any ideas on this?
Wufpacker, I don’t know what to make of your Orioles. It seems that my Rays are bailing water as quickly as possible in the same sinking boat. The Rays, I can understand. They are next to last in the AL in hitting with a paltry .238 average. The Rays have built a solid franchise around pitching and defense but have slipped badly in both areas, dropping to 5th in pitching (3.57) and 7th in fielding (.985). Your Birds are a head scratcher of sorts. They lead the AL in fielding (.988), are 5th in hitting (.256) and 7th in pitching (3.84).Yet the two teams sit together. What gives with the O’s, besides Chris “Crash” Davis” league leading 115 Ks and .238 average?
A brief update for the handful of golf fans here: Tim Clark did qualify for The Open, but visa problems kept him out. Interesting: http://golfweek.com/news/2015/jul/12/british-open-2015-pga-tour-tim-clark-visa-issues/
He is back in Canada this week defending his RBC Canadian Open Championship last year. Clark teed off early today and carded a ho-hum even par 72, currently eight strokes off the lead. Also entered in the RBC CO on an Unrestricted Sponsors Exemption is former Wolfpacker, Albin Choi, currently number three in the Order of Merit on the Mackenzie Tour. Choi played somewhat steady this morning but fell to two over, and then rebounded with birdies on 17 and 18 to also shoot even par. With today’s round still progressing, I imagine another 72 will probably have one balancing on the cut line tomorrow. Good luck to the Pack men.
For what it’s worth, tonight, Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Nathan Karns threw a one hit shutout and was the winning pitcher after he hit a third inning solo home run to win the game 1-0 against the efffin Phillies. In 2007 Nathan was known as Nate Karns, a freshman Wolfpack pitcher that went 3-2 with a 2.67 era in eight games started. He left the Pack to go to Texas Tech, and be closer to home after his freshman year. Karns has had an outstanding season this year. He was never expected to be in the starting rotation, and like Erasmo Ramirez, the two have kept the Rays in the AL East race. God bless Nathan Karns and God bless the Wolfpack….
Well, Tim Clark’s return to the PGA Tour ended up being a bit of a dud. After firing an opening round even par 70, Clark followed that up with a four over 74 to miss the cut by two strokes. Clark’s World Golf Ranking dropped from #69 to #71. Perhaps more pronation is in order?
But, an even bigger Wolfpack-centric golf story unfolded at the Travelers. Carl Pettersson, who entered the field with a WGR #213, mired in perhaps his worst pro season, found his game on the rain-softened TPC River Highlands course. Carl shot a closing round 66 to garner a fifth place finish ($256,000), his first top ten finish of the year and only his second top twenty-five. He was a missed six foot birdie putt away from getting to one stroke behind the leader and eventual winner, Bubba Watson, on the 16th green. Regardless, Carl’s big prize was an invite to the 144th British Open, or as the Euros say, The Open. For the first time, the Travelers became part of the British Open Qualifying Series offering four spots at The Old Course at St. Andrews to the four highest finishers in the top twelve, previously not qualified. Pettersson’s finish elevated his WGR to #166 and increased his yearly earnings to $625,869. He took the 93rd spot in the Fed Ex Cup standings. The five-time tour winner from Sveden, yah, has made 16 cuts in 24 events this year, and yesterday’s finish was his 50th career top ten.
Meanwhile, further on up in the Northern hemisphere, on the Mackenzie Tour (PGA Tour- Canada), at the Syncrude Boreal Open, Wolfpack brethren Albin Choi and Matt Hill finished T26 and T37 respectively. Choi is off to a fantastic start this year. Prior to the official start of the season, Albin captured the PGA Tour Canada Q-School-Florida in Winter Garden with a 68-66-64-65 three stroke victory. It was a no-purse qualifying event, and Choi earned exempt status on the tour for this season. The Mackenzie Tour features twelve regular season events, each with a meager purse of $175,000 and a winner’s share of $31,500 (CAD). The three time All-American Choi collected that $31,500 at the year’s second event, The Bayview Place Island Savings Open at Victoria, BC. With $37,310 through three events, Albin remains atop the money leaders board, and seems a cinch, barring any unfortunate events, to gain his Web.Com Tour card for next year.
Things have not gone so swimmingly for Matt Hill. The former NCAA Champ-2009, ACC Co-champion and winner of just about every award imaginable for 2009, has raked in a grand total of $1626.00 (CAD) through three events. He continues to struggle to put four decent rounds together, as evidenced by his closing round 75 yesterday after shooting 70-70-69.
The Air Capital Classic was this past week’s Web.com Tour event. Out in Wichita, KS N.C.State’s Marc Turnesa missed the cut by one stroke shooting 70-70 even par. Turnesa is number 85 on the Tour’s money list($34,352.15), while fellow Wolfpacker, Garth Mulroy is #114 (20,094.29).
Next up on the PGA Tour is the Greenbrier Classic at White Sulphur Springs WV. The Web.com Tour takes off, eh, to Halifax Canada, for the Nova Scotia Open, while the Mackenzie Tour will battle it out at the SIGA Dakota Dunes in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, one of my favorite places. Good luck to the Wolfpackers.
Finally. Wolfpacker Tim Clark is in the field for this week’s Travelers Championship in Cromwell CT. Clark has not played on the tour since he tied for 30th at the Sony Open in Hawaii five months ago. Clark’s surgically repaired, yet chronically ailing, left elbow has improved and hopefully, after only playing in six events this season, he’s ready to move up from his 92nd ranking in the FedEx Cup standings. It has been a tough season for the Penguin, and perhaps it could be his last if his supination disability claim is not granted, and his belly putter is not allowed next year. Clark has never used a short putter, due to his disability, and he has been very vocal about “having his livelihood taken away” from him. So while Tim faces a big challenge in staying healthy over the season’s final three months, an even greater challenge lies ahead for him in the brief off season.
Garth Mulroy was State’s only entry in this year’s Open. He followed up a first round 74 with a two over 72 to finish six over, just one stroke off the cut line. Back to the Web dot com tour for Garth.
It’s been a fun tournament from a fan’s perspective, I think. It’s good to see the course get in the players’ heads, and watch them struggle to break par. Mike Davis continues to say that the course rewards good shots, but I’ve seen some pretty good shots get rewarded with a lie in the ever-present sand. The players can’t really fire at the flags, so it requires some creativity in shot making. Today’s pin placements should be interesting, and hopefully, it’s a close finish.
Whoever can putt these browns, er, greens the best, which is a skill, like anything else, should win.Negative on the Fuquay Varina, Cowdog, but you’re spot on about the bruises, position to hear stuff, and I know better than to aggravate the baseball Gods. I was just a walk-on catcher,and it seemed at times that I was truly Stoddard’s bullpen bitch as I drew that assignment seemingly on a daily basis. My catching hand hasn’t been the same in the last 42 years.
Cowdog, to us walk-ons, it was get your effin haircut. To the scholarship players, he told them: “trim up that moss, Danny boy.” BTW. I was Stoddard’s Bullpen Bitch (book to follow) for just over a year. Not bragging a’tall, mind you…
Sammy never cared for stubble that much, but worse and especially, hair that touched your ears. Streak be god damned. Lord, he hated those 1973 Oakland Athletics. Accused us of having them as our GD MFing heroes, and perhaps they were. A profusely profane man, he could be.
A wolven affair when the Wolfpack takes on the Seawolves. Mr. Wuf versus Wolfie the Seawolf in the mascot matchup.
John Hinckley….yeah, he really is a “good kid”,and gentle too. His attempt to kill Ronnie was way, way out of character for him. And, he really does sound contrite these days, when he speaks. I hear that he will be paroled soon. He played guard in high school at Highlands Park High School in Texas, and he has eligibility to spare. Shoots a mean three, I’m told.
