Wednesday, January 15, 2020
The President's Cup-Golf
Tiger Woods, with the Cup.
Professional
golfers finished their 2019 season with a couple of tournaments; one
in Naples, Florida, and the other in Melbourne, Australia. The
President's Cup is a challenge that is held every two years between
the United States, and an international brigade. Each team has an
entourage of leaders, with a captain in charge. The Americans were
led by Tiger Woods, who steered the ship and played as well. The
International team was captained by “The Big Easy” Ernie Ells,
from South Africa.
Adam Hadwin
was the lone Canadian on the squad. It is a popular event, one which
puts a couple of dollars in the competitors' pockets. The tournament
in Naples is a series of rounds with partners playing for the right
to pocket serious green.
Last weekend
was most indicative of what we are to expect the rest of this NHL
season. Expect the unexpected. The Belleville Senators defeated the
Toronto Marlies in Toronto. It was the first loss of the season for
the Marlies in their home barn. (They also dropped a game when they
played at Scotiabank Place.) And the Ottawa Senators, the parent
club, picked up a win at home against the Columbus Blue Jackets. It
is always entertaining to hear Coach Tortorella's comments at the end
of one of those tilts. Here's another head-scratcher: the Montreat
Canadiens have played well recently following a dismal stretch. So
what did they do on Saturday night? Lose, at home, to the worst team
in the NHL, the Detroit Red Wings. .
The Maple
Leafs dropped a game on Friday night, giving up a lead in the third
period to lose to the Flames. On Saturday night, following all of the
fanfare generated by a Leafs-Oilers hookup, the Blue and White bested
the Oilers in Edmonton. Expect the unexpected. One only has to recall
the results from last season to realize that anything can happen. The
St. Louis Blues were languishing in last place about this time of
year. In a dramatic turnaround, they put enough pucks in the net to
win the Stanley Cup for the first time in the history of the club.
Kawhi
Leonard, as you may recall, played some hoops last year for the
Toronto Raptors. He's the guy with the funny laugh, (Uh huh, uh huh,
uh huh. It bought down the house at the parade.) He returned to
Toronto late last week to renew acquaintances. He elevated his game,
once again, and showed why he is such a dominant player. No matter
what the talking heads seem to think, (Matt and Jack), it says here
that this year's NBA champs will come out of the west.
And yes, it
is Sunday. Hmmmm. What do I do on Sundays, convalescing from this hip
replacement? I watch the NFL, of course. Those pesky Bills have
remained in the hunt, despite some dismal performances. Are the
Patriots sliding somewhat this year? Will the Eagles sneak in the
back playoff door? The Bills punched their ticket to post season play
with their win over the Steelers.
Yet another
surprise firing at the NHL level. Peter DeBoers and his entourage of
coaches have been shown the door in San Jose. These teams have far
deeper pockets than I, paying these guys millions of dollars to sit
on their duffs at home following the firings. Gone is Bill Peeters
from the Flames, Jim Montgomery from Dallas, and Mike
Babcock from The Leafs.
As the NFL
winds down, more coaching jobs will become available. Time to read up
on the details. One never knows when one might get the call.
December 16,
2016
# posted by James Hurst @ 4:09 PM 
