Wednesday, November 26, 2014
Lydia Ko-LPGA Winner!
On many levels, Lydia
Not only that, but
she won $ 500 000 for winning the event. That puts her earnings well over the
two million mark for the season, and she maintains her status as third in the
world. Imagine what she will accomplish once she reaches her 18th
birthday!
You read that
correctly. In one interview session last week, she was warned not to put any
alcohol in her tea, as she is still a minor. And she was a minor when she won
her first LPGA event in Canada
Once she had captured
the title, in a playoff, she fielded several questions, in a remarkably
composed manner. She has to explain her circumstances to her friends back home
in New Zealand
When she had finished
the final round of the tournament, she was required to play in a playoff
against Carlota Ciganda from Spain
Michelle Wie also had
a shot at the big money. She did play well, but came up just short. Stacy Lewis
completed her season in style, taking home the “Player of the Year” title, the
Vare Trophy, and the Money Title. She is the first American to do so since
Betsy King did it in 1993.
Several veterans also
played a round of golf with the LPGA players prior to the actual tournament.
This tied in with the “Wounded Warriors Project”. Throughout the year, the CME
Group donated$ 1 000 to the project for every eagle posted by the LPGA players.
More than $ 300 000 was raised in this manner this past year.
Laura Diaz
Laura Diaz kept a
watchful eye on her foursome as they played through the rain. B. J. Jackson,
originally from Iowa, appreciated her suggestions. I have never played so well
he told me. I wish she could keep on eye on my game all the time! She pointed
out a couple of items for sand shots. Jackson
Laura’s father walked
the course with the group. He hailed from upper New
York State , and
worked at one time at Union
College Toronto Glenns
Falls
Ko has also been
named as the LPGA “Rookie of the Year”. She did not miss a cut last year in 12
events, and she made the cut in every event she played in 2014. She began the
season thinking, “Go out there and have fun, have a couple of top ten finishes,
and really just learn more about the tour and what it’s like to play on the
tour full time.”
She still is not
completely happy with her game. “I think my game needs work in every area. On
the day I am hitting the ball well, I wasn’t pitting well. So this week my
putting really helped, and that’s one of the biggest things I’m going to work
on.”
She appreciated
visits from her mother and father and her brothers during the week.
Golfers were most
impressed with the course called Tiburon,
in Naples , Florida
Time to head back to
Aukland, for a little home cooking!!
James Hurst
Sportslices.blogspot.com.
Monday, November 17, 2014
Nick Taylor-Champion
Quite unexpectedly,
about a week ago, Nick Taylor emerged from the pack as the winner of the
Sanderson Farms Championship, in Jackson, Mississippi, on the American
Professional Golf Association Tour. He
carded eight birdies on the final round to score 66. He bogeyed the final hole,
but was well aware that he did not need a par to win.
Following his
victory, he spoke with his wife who had just finished work as a social worker
in Canada. The 26 year old golfer from Abbotsford, British Columbia picked up
more than $700 000 for his victory, as well as exemptions for 2016/2017 on the
PGA tour. They planned to go to Mexico this week to celebrate the win. He has
another tournament there to close out the season.
I am certain that his
win came as no surprise to Taylor.
But the road to success in the golf world is
not at all easy, and requires great patience. He won the Canadian Junior
Championship in 2006, and the Canadian Amateur in 2007. He qualified for the
U.S. Open in 2008 and 2009. He was a first team All American in 2009 and 2010.
He was named Canada’s top amateur in 2009. He made his first PGA cut in 2008 at
the RBC Canadian Open. In 2010, after a great career at the University of
Washington, he rose to # 1 ranking in the world as an amateur.
He began his
professional career in 2011, and earned enough money on the PGA Canada TOUR to
gain full status for 2012. He finished 30th on the Order of Merit.
Even in 2012, he did not win any tournaments, but finished 11th on
the Order of Merit. In 2013, he finished 7th on the Order of Merit
to gain exemption into the Web.com Tour Qualifying Tournament finals. He
finished 11th to gain conditional status on the Web.com Tour. He
went on to finish 37th in the Priority Ranking, earning his PGA card
for the 2014-2015 season.
His win at the
Sanderson Farms Championship was of great significance to Canadian golf. He is
the first player to move from the PGA TOUR Canada to the PGA Tour, and win. He
is the first native Canadian to win since 2007, when Mike Weir won.
I am certain that the
path to this championship was not an easy one. I have followed golfers on the
PGA TOUR Canada, and I have seen the joy and the sorrow. But the rewards are
great, once achieved.
He had played the
Pro-Am on Monday, prior to the tournament. “It was huge for me to see the golf
course early. And the greens, honestly, were faster on Monday than they were
all week.” Reflecting on the course itself he stated: “I loved it. It fit my
eye.”
The first person to
congratulate Nick at the scorer’s table was Canadian Adam Hadwin. “We’re
staying together this week. Adam had such a great week. I’ve been rooming with
him a lot.”
The night before the
final round, Nick made some alterations to his game. The day before, he felt he
had “hit the ball well off the tee, but it was a little sideways.” At that
point he said he worked on “a bit of posture”.
He gave credit to the
other Canadians at the tournament, David Hearn and Graham DeLaet. He knows that
the road has been paved by Mike Weir, and older greats including Al Balding,
Gary Cowan, Dave Barr, Ian Leggatt, Stan Leonard, Jim Nelford, Bob Panasik, Jim
Rutledge, George Knudson, Glen Hnatiuk, Richard Zokol, Brad Fritsch, Stephen
Ames, Rod Spittle, Pat Fletcher, and yes, even Moe Norman.
Enjoy the moment,
Nick. Continue to hit ‘em straight. Off to the LPGA event this week in Naples.
James, Tiffany Joh, and Joanne
James Hurst
Sportslices.blogspot.com
November 16,
2014
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Space in Sport
I have been thinking about space,
lately. This is not a “Star Trek” space, not “The Final Frontier”. But space in
sports, and its importance. Space is critical in all areas of sport, and
certain athletes know how to utilize it better than others. Most successfully.
Rob Gronkowski is a tight end for the
New England Patriots. He is a massive guy, six and a half feet tall, more than
250 pounds. Because of injury, he was missing from the Patriots’ lineup for
several games. A couple of weeks ago, he returned to the game, and his impact
was critical. He creates space because of his size. He also creates space
because of the way he moves. He knows how to work defenders, and he can move
laterally across a goal line, and snare a pass, leaving middle linebackers in
his wake. And it helps to have a guy like
Tom Brady to zip the ball into Gronk’s catching zone.
It also helps to have other good
receivers to take the heat off Gronkowski, occasionally. Julian Edelman is
tiny, relative to Gronkowski. Five feet, ten inches tall, and less than 200
pounds. But he has learned to find space on the field as a wide receiver, and
Brady finds him as well. He is virtually a carbon copy of Wes Welker, another
small receiver who bolted from the Pats to join Payton Manning in Denver.
On the other side of the field, there
are certain defensive players who excel in using space effectively. Troy
Polamalu roams around the defensive backfield for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He
has done that effectively for many years. He is also tiny, relative to the
other players in the NFL. He has been a Pro Bowl player eight times, and has
more than 700 tackles to his credit in his career. He sticks opponents when he
tackles; some coaches refer to the process as tackling through a player. He makes you keep your head up.
Wayne Gretzky mastered a few space
techniques in hockey. He could find open spaces better than anyone else when he
played the game. Part of it came from his brilliant anticipation, part from his
skills. Certain snipers also have a sense of space: Brett Hull and Steven
Stamkos come to mind. They locate themselves in an open space on the ice, and
prepare to shoot. It also helped Hull to have someone like Adam Oates to feed
him the puck. In a whisper, the puck was in the net.
Bobby Orr and Bobby Hull created
space for themselves with their skating ability, and their strength. Quite
often, they would wind up behind their own net, pick a lane or two, and rush up
the ice to create scoring opportunities. Their speed helped them swoop around
defencemen, leaving goaltenders at their mercy. Gordie Howe created space for
himself with his size, and, of course, with his elbows!
Gordie, placing his famous elbow in my gut.
Bob Gibson hurled for the St. Louis
Cardinals. He let it be known that home plate was his. He had a message pitch
for any player who tried to occupy any space over home plate, after stepping
into the batter’s box. Gibson would throw the next pitch at his head. More than
ninety miles an hour. Certainly a dangerous practice, not intended to injure,
but just to relay an idea: “I own home plate”.
Michael Jordan created space with his
athleticism, and his anticipation. Shaq did it with his size. LeBron James does
it with size and skill, making him the best player in the game today. His move
back to Cleveland has rejuvenated the spirit of the Cavalier fans. A tip of the
hat to a former Boston Celtics player, Bill Russell, who had a pretty good
night many years ago. Thirty points and forty rebounds in one game. You read
that correctly. No doubt that Russell created a little space for himself under
the basket!
Always worth the price of admission!!
James Hurst
November 10, 2014
Tuesday, November 04, 2014
In the Cards! Hockey 2014
For a brief moment last week, when all
of the planets were aligned, we had the perfect sports fan’s scenario. The time
was near the end of the World Series; the NBA season opened that night; the NHL
was in full swing; the CFL and the NFL were well into their seasons. All four
major sports, crying for headlines.
Here in the Southern States, American
college football takes a big bite out of the sports fan’s psyche. Even if you
only attended elementary school in Kentucky, you will still become a rabid fan,
especially during the “Sweet 16” of the college basketball finals in March.
Everyone gets on board, and it’s not a bad thing.
I prepared myself for this year’s NHL
season by purchasing the set of 600 O-Pee-Chee cards before I headed south. OPC
has always been a leader in the sports card hockey world, and I have been
faithful to the cause. There are 500 cards in the main set, followed by 50
rookie cards, and 50 “marquee legends”. The Bobby Orr card is a good example of
the legends group. On the back of the card is a list of all of Orr’s career statistics,
including that magical year when he had 139 points. He also had a plus 124 that
year. Nowadays, if a player is plus 20, he is in the upper echelon of all NHL
players.
One of my friends here in Fort Myers
usually brings news from Chicago. There is a full page article about Andrew Shaw
in the October 17, 2014 edition of the Chicago Sun-Times. Shaw discussed his
desire to improve on faceoffs, and he talked about learning from Jonathan Toews
in practice. “He is the best cheater in the NHL when it comes to faceoffs. It’s
something you can’t learn overnight. It’s something that’s going to take time
to get better at. You always want to start with the puck, so you’re not chasing
it down and trying to get it back.”
Hawks coach Joel Quenneville
indicated that he would like to see Shaw win half of his draws. He shared some
of his hockey philosophy with the Sun-Times: “Young players, they get smarter,
they get stronger, they get more aware of the tendencies of their opponents. As
they get older, they know the referees a little bit. So we expect them to
progress (in the faceoff circle). I thought he had good progression last year
in that area, and, hopefully, he keeps going.”
Regarding the Florida Panthers, Roberto
Luongo has been stellar this year. They are embarking on a road trip after
success at home. Luongo played five years for the Panthers prior to his stint
in Vancouver. The Panthers will rely heavily on Luongo, and hope that the
rookies will continue to improve. They expect to make the playoffs. From that
point on, anything can happen.
Both the Kansas City Royals and the
San Francisco Giants were wild card teams entering the baseball championships.
The Giants’ Madison Bumgarner has become the toast of the town, and rightfully
so. He etched his name in the record books beside the greats of the game. With
a few more years similar to the past year, he will be a lock for the hall of
fame.
Former Belleville Bull Matt Beleskey
has spent six seasons with the Anaheim Ducks. He has become a really solid
player, although we do not hear a lot about him. He is playing on the left coast,
as is Brad Richardson, now in Vancouver. Belleville’s Matt Cooke has been in
the NHL for 15 seasons. How time flies! He is a valuable veteran for the
Minnesota Wild, and he keeps the opposition honest at all times.
Keep ‘em sorted!!
James Hurst
November 4, 2014
