The Man In the Arena

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."


- Teddy Roosevelt
THE MAN IN THE ARENA
Excerpt from the speech "Citizenship In A Republic"

Bill Buckner's Gaffe, Re-Mixed Two Ways

As promised, here are three versions of the infamous 1986 World Series, Game 6, 10th inning, Bill Buckner.

The real one, followed by the RBI Baseball video game re-mix, with the recently discovered Kids in Kenya version.

And yes, this is EXACTLY the kind of thing that Al Gore had envisioned when he invented the internet.

Play Czabe's USA Open 
to Win the Coveted USA BeerTube Trophy  

How to Play:
1.  Pick the golfer that you think is going to win this weekend's big golf event,
2.  Select what you think their final score is going to be,
3.  And predict what he will shoot for his lowest round.
The champion will also be presented with a golf themed BeerTube courtesty of BeerTubes.com

Click Here to Play - Registration Deadline is Wednesday June 13th at 11:59PM.

You Think Russell Westbrook Wears Dumb Crap?

Well, what about Clyde Frazier?

That dude was know to wear capes. Yeah, CAPES!

Nice look, Batman.

So what if these NBA players are rockin' the faux Sally Jesse Rafael rigs? They have blown their money on worse things in the past. I just was curious where you can get these "glasses" and what they cost. Now, thanks to this blogger, I have a starting point for my Father's Day wish list.

Of course, many NBA players now are into the fashion "thing" and GQ has a nice little slideshow with examples. Even Pistol Pete back in the day, had a bit of a hipster look off the court. I think this "thing" is better than the "tattoo thing" or the "have lots of kids out of wedlock" thing.

But trends in this league evolve slowly, so we'll see if it has any real legs.

Personally, I think one player needs to take it to the next level and go "monocle and top-hat" thing.

Now that, would be sweet.

Snicky du Jour: Shanshan Feng

Kidding!

Okay, so good ol' Kung Fu Golfer became the first ever mainland Chinese golfer to win a major on the LPGA or PGA Tour. Nice girl. Great player. Mix in a salad or two, as Tony Soprano would say.

Now, for a palate cleanser. Here's Paula Creamer. Played great, couldn't putt worth a damn. Shame. Still looked smashing.

Not Worth A Stupid Argument at at Party

Condolences, of course, go to the families of the victims in the shooting that left 2 former Auburn football players dead, along with another man, and several others seriously wounded - after a pool party gone wrong - very, very wrong.

By initial accounts, this was not a "football player party gone bad" but more of a case of "football players in the wrong place at the wrong time"

The story is sad. And cliched.

Guys get into argument over a woman. Larger guys decide they can beat the crap out of other guys they don't really know.

Guys decide punching isn't quite doing the job and decide to start smashing bottles on heads.

Then somebody pulls a gun and starts shooting.

Police emphasized that the shootings didn't appear to have anything to do with some of the victims being former or current players on the university's powerhouse football team, which won the national championship in 2010. 

"The only connection that the Auburn football team has to this is they are victims of a brutal shooting. Sometimes the young men get a bad rap, I feel like, but they are the victims today," Dawson said. 

Police urged the suspect to turn himself in. Authorities are also searching for two other persons of interest.

Dawson said he did not know why the party was being held or what sparked the fight.
"Them being football players really has nothing to do with this. They're victims of a shooting," Dawson said. 

Turquorius Vines, 23, said he was at the pool party Saturday evening at the University Heights apartments with one of his friend, Pitts. He said he and his friend were approached by two other men who started arguing with them over a woman. 

Vines said he punched one of the men, while Pitts hit both of the men over the head with a bottle. Either one or both of the two men then started shooting, he said. He said Pitts was shot and killed, while two others also were hit by gunfire. Vines said he had never met the men he was arguing with. 

"It's like I lost a lung," Vines said of losing his friend. "I don't know how I'm going to survive this."

Well, the time to think about THAT, was unfortunately, before things escalated. Look, I am a middle aged white guy who doesn't go to many parties of the genteel set, much less these kind of parties.

But at the same time, you would hope that high profile athletes - and remember, football players are ROCK STARS in their college towns - would stop to think: "Could this idiot I am arguing with possibly go get a gun and start shooting?"

If there is any doubt, just let it go.

All that said, it must be repeated for the 10,000th time. "When the football team shows up... the party is over."

Period. 

Go home.

Andy and Solly Try Their Hand at Golf

Extremely rare footage! Andy Pollin and Steve Solomon try their hand at golf.

It does not go well.





Believe it or not, Solly's swing at the ball was the FIRST of his LIFE! Amazing.

"LeBRAWN James..... Has GOT TO...."

"Hey, no offense, Stephen A. but my whole bit about you on SportsCenter, was all about how you managed to say absolutely NOTHING of value about the NBA playoffs, but did so very loudly, with wild gesticulation. I mean, that doesn't mean you are a shallow, one-trick, talking-head pony. No, not at all."

Snicky du Jour: Allison Michelleti

I am not sure if any of the gals on the current edition of "Big Break: Atlantis" can break 80 from the forward tees with 2 gimmes per side.

I don't care either.

Did you see how SMOKIN' hot that crop is this time? Egad. Once upon a time, the Big Break would mix in maybe 2 or 3 really hot gals.

Now, the whole show is like a dozen brand new ProV1 pearls.

My favorite. Allison Michelleti. For some reason, she looks even BETTER with a golf hat on. Hmm.

Losing Streak

Barack Obama is cratering. This is not my opinion. This is verifiable fact. Not only has he been inflicting damage on every Democrat he endorses in every election since his own, but he and his party haven't won any significant election since Obama rode into office on "Hopenchange."

From Josh Kraushaar on National Journal...

For all of Obama's political talent, he's been a major drag on his party since taking office. In 2009, Republicans won two hotly-contested gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey, with the victors (Chris Christie/Bob McDonnell) now on Romney's vice-presidential short list. During the heat of the health care debate in 2010, Scott Brown picked up Ted Kennedy's Senate seat in deep blue Massachusetts. Later that year, Republicans regained control of the House, by winning a whopping 63 seats while picking up six Senate seats. And now, Walker wins the recall by a bigger margin than in the 2010 election, which was already a watershed year for Wisconsin Republicans.

And when you have lost Maureen Dowd of the New York Times... well... better get in as much golf as you can by way of Marine One before the winter arrives...

"The president who started off with such dazzle now seems incapable of stimulating either the economy or the voters. His campaign is offering Obama 2012 car magnets for a donation of $10; cat collars reading “I Meow for Michelle” for $12; an Obama grill spatula for $40, and discounted hoodies and T-shirts. How the mighty have fallen."

Tiger's Best Shot Ever? The 16th at Memorial? Child, please..

Just because Jack Nicklaus got caught up in the moment and declared it "one of" the best shots he's "ever SEEN", let's not get carried away. Tiger's soft-handed, fluffy flop onto a slipper slope and down into the hole for a momentum surging duece was nice. Very nice. And electrifying in a way that only Tiger Woods can deliver. But best shot ever? No. In fact, by Tiger's own admission his best shot ever was an obscure 3-iron at the PGA Championship back in 2002. Here's an excellent

Woods, Els and David Toms, who each had won major championships in 2001 and were the marquee threesome in the first two rounds at Hazeltine, hadn't finished their second round when a patch of horrid weather prompted play to be suspended on Friday. They restarted on Saturday at 7:30 a.m. and had two holes left, which means that by the time Woods climbed into the bunker on the 18th fairway, it wasn't yet 8 a.m. 

"When I hit it, it was probably just the most pure shot I've ever hit," he said. "It just felt like nothing, like when guys hit a home run, [or] describe a home run, how easy it felt, even though it went 460 feet. It just felt effortless; that's how that shot felt. And I made the putt, too." The 18th at Hazeltine is a bear of a hole, a 465-yard par-4 that doglegs left and tilts slightly uphill. As the video indicates, with the wind still howling from the overnight storms, had the flags on the grandstands had flapped any harder, they would have frayed at the edges. A stand of five trees stood 72 yards in front of Woods, including one that towered 60 feet above him, caddie Steve Williams said. As Els and Roberts watched in disbelief, Toms, the defending PGA champion, spoke in hushed tones to caddie Scott Gneiser. 

"When I saw him in the lip of the bunker, I figured he would try to get it somewhere up there short of the green," Toms said, laughing at the notion. "David and I were standing out in the fairway, going, 'He's going to try to hit that shot? What's he going to do, pop something up, lay up in front of the green?'" Gneiser said. "Then we saw the long iron come out. But if there was anybody that could hit that shot, it was Tiger. "It was unreal. I couldn't believe he had to hit that shot, couldn't believe he tried to hit that shot, and then he actually pulled off the shot. At that point in the tournament, I remember thinking he could make a big number and put himself out of the golf tournament. Best shot I have ever seen." 

The fairways were wet and the air was heavy. Els had bombed a drive and a 2-iron onto the green from 210 yards on a shot that Roberts said "played like it was 240." Toms had barely reached the fairway with his drive and came up short of the green with a fairway wood. "It's blowing, it's cold, because there was that front that came through, remember?" Els said. "I mean, I hit a good drive and was in the fairway, and hit 2-iron for my second shot. I thought, 'Man, that's one of the best shots I have hit this week.' As I told Ricci, we had seen a lot of his great shots, but up to that point, it was the best shot he had ever hit. And he [Woods] basically agreed. 

"See, the thing is, it was 7:30 in the morning, freezing cold, most of us are still trying to warm up and stretch, and here's a guy hitting 3-iron over a tree with the ball a foot below his feet. And then he makes the putt."

I thought the shot was a hard to find, rare item on YouTube. But thankfully, I was wrong. Here it is. Enjoy.

Justin Blackmon's Heartwarming Tale Just Took A Turn For the Drunk and Stupid

Remember this touching story of Oklahoma State's stud WR? Well, just because Blackmon got pinched for "aggravated" DUI, where he was TRIPLE the legal limit, and weaving on the wrong side of the road, doesn't make this story invalid. It just should remind us to never take a sweet story, packaged by ESPN, as any kind of "proof" about what "kind of guy" somebody in sports is. Is Blackmon a "bad guy?" Not necessarily. But he certainly has a drinking problem, and a judgement problem. Had he slammed into a single mother coming home from her late shift as a nurse, killing her, then we could have another wideout be a mentor to the children left without a mother.

Bill Murray Films "Slo-Mo Walk"

Pretty cool to get your picture taken with a big time movie star. Even BETTER, when that star decides it would be cooler to film a "slow walk" like he's part of your Hangover "wolfpack."

Snicky du Jour: TV Sampler Platter

Just minding my own business the other day, and DAMN LOOK AT THAT!

First Charleze Theron on the Today Show, then a dream pairing of Hannah Storm and Lindsay Czarniak on SportsCenter.

My... oh.. my. Easy on the eyes....

Deshawn Stevenson Ain't Payin' No "Out of Network" Fees

From the guy who brought you a tattoo of the Great Emancipator on his adams apple, Deshawn Stevenson has now brought you the concept of a working ATM, right in your kitchen.

Will the wonders of the modern, multi-millionaire athlete never cease? Stripper poles, barber shops, now ATM's inside their mansions!

Genius!

Kyrie Irving is "Uncle Drew"

So many people email you so many clips and say: "You GOTTA see this!"

Well, look. You don't have to see this. But I think you'll end up liking it. Surely, it's worth 5 minutes of your employer's time, attention and bandwith.

In fact, it's so good, you might even overlook the fact he was a Dukie.

Maybe.

Snicky du Jour: Ke$ha

Okay, so she's filthy, talentless dime-a-dozen-mall-rat. Do I care? Nah. Somebody out there think she's kinda hot.

Sorta.

Czabe's Annual Southern Pines Golf Trip Recap: Part 1: Dormie Club

Lots to share from our weekend down in Southern Pines, NC chasing that infernal little white golf ball. So let's get started.

For starters, I vow to stop saying "Pinehurst" when people ask "where do you go" because that's technically, and literally, not true. In the late 1990's, the Pinehurst Resort and the town itself, launched lawsuits at many local courses and resorts, aimed at stopping any use of the term "Pinehurst" in their marketing.

They won. Okay, bitches. Have it your way.

We go to "Southern Pines" which is right next door, and basically the same thing.

Southern Pines also has a tidy little old school downtown area next to the train tracks, which I only found out about this year, because a drunken "Cowboy Mike" blurted out a wrong turn to our designated driver and we detoured right through it. By accident. "Oh, there it is..."

Now back to Pinehurst Resort. Nothing against them, but I honestly don't think you get much value by staying at there. There are many other great options in the area, and the staggering cost of Pinehurst's elite courses (#2 is $410 for non-resort guests!) make it a place I've never felt the urge to stay at, or play.

We stay at The National, and they package up our 3-day, 5 round stay. If you want a first rate experience, I think the National is as good if not better than anywhere down there. We've stayed at Mid-Pines. Nice, but sorta old and creaky. We've stayed at Pine Needles. Nice, but more pricey than it should be, thanks to the fact they've held two women's majors.

Hole #3: The National GC - Par 4

The National is a Nicklaus designed course, with just enough "modern" design flashes to make it interesting without being cheesy. The conditions are always private club quality, and you stay right there on the premises which can't be beat.

You want to book a trip there for any size group, call the National and ask for either Ken Crow or Jeffrey Jones and TELL THEM you know The Czabe. (Pretend we're buddies. Shhh. I won't tell). After that, they should give you a rate that is 10% over retail, and make you put down a 50% security deposit.

KIDDING!

They will HOOK YOU UP, if you drop my name. Swear.

Now, the other thing you need to know, is that Ken and Jeff can get you and your group on a brand new layout in the area, called "The Dormie Club." The club opened 3 years ago, and it's initial ambition was to be a $150,000 initiation ultra-private club.

The Dormie Club - Hole #1, Par 4.

Uh, yeah. Then the economy happened. So now they are allowing some limited "public" play through certain area packagers. Rumor has it they will go all private again in the fall. Others say if the economy doesn't turn around it will go "all bankrupt" before that.

Whatever the case, go play it. Now.

It's a Crenshaw & Coore collaboration, and it is flat out phenomenal.

When we teed it up on Friday morning on a cool spring day, with dappled sunshine and hardly a breeze filtering through the pines, it was nothing short of magical. The first hole presents itself so perfectly, it looks like a postcard.

The rest of the course is a strategic adventure, with plenty to think about along the way to trying to make par, but without anything that feels too penal or goofy.

Driving areas are wide, and while the scrapply sandhills terrain off the carpet is random full of bogey, you can usually find your ball and at least play it.

The third hole begins a series of tantalizing Crenshaw/Coore risk/reward holes that tempt and tease. A par four of only 312 yards from the back tee, it practically yanks the driver out of your bag and takes the head cover off for you.

Dormie Club: #15, Par 4

But the hole's nasty burrs reside in the green complex, which reads like Chinese trigonometry. A large, bulging "nose" of a false front deflects all shots that come up short, and makes a par-saving chip or pitch even more problematic.

This feature caught many of my guys flat footed, causing quite a few grumbles. But hey, in this one case, "long is right" so take enough club.

The 8th hole stretches you out, as a sweeping dogleg par 4 of 488 yards from the tips. That number is deceiving though, because a speed slot along the left hand side allows for massive drives as long as you carry the crest of a large swale in the fairway.

Bail out just slightly right, however, and you'll be in the fairway - safe - but a hefty 230 or so away from a narrow, tilted green.

And back and forth it goes, with tempting short holes, and burly long ones.

My favorite is the endless 653 yard par-5 10th. Yes, you read that yardage correctly.

SIX-five-three.

After (hopefully) busting your drive, you then must cut across a yawning pond, while choosing a route around a cluster of bunkers that are stubbornly sitting right in the middle of the fairway. Two GOOD shots, will still leave you a likely 150 (or more) from home.

The green sits in a disturbingly tight sliver of pines, that narrows as you get closer to its backward sliding front-to-back tilt.

I didn't come close to parring it either round. And loved it.

It is so rare to find a genuine three-shot hole that come at you like an angry gorilla, and this sucker might be the hardest par-5 I've ever seen.

Dormie Club #6: Par 5.

The clubhouse is a tiny little cottage in the pines. Humble. Serviceable. They may have big plans for something more in the future, but I personally don't think anything more is needed.

The pulled chicken BBQ sandwich on a pretzel bun, was damn near sexual it was so good.

The only small complaints, are that the course has no yardages on sprinkler heads, and no rakes for any of the bunkers. In fact, all bunkers are considered waste bunkers on the course, so good luck with ruts and footprints.

Both of these quirks are meant to be an homage to "old school" golf, natural and un-affected by modern conveniences.

Nice try, but c'mon, really?

They want you to hire local caddies and forecaddies to give you yardages. And walk. Perhaps on a nice cool day that would be ideal. If you have a decent caddy.

But I could just as easily see a sweat soaked afternoon walking up and down the sandhills getting "about 160" kind of yardages from a guy who does loops on the side. Not my idea of fun.

With modern rangefinders and GPS devices, it makes much more sense to get your own exact yardages over every little swale and bunker.

Otherwise, the Dormie Club is an absolute treasure. Let's hope it survives and thrives. And hope that it doesn't become as exclusive as Pine Valley in the process.

Because it is, that good.

National GC #4: Par 5.

National GC #5: Par 4

Dormie Club #18: Par 4

Dormie Club #10: Par 5

Snicky du Jour: Elin Nordegren

Okay fellas, she's on the market again! Tiger's ex has just dumped billionaire boytoy Michael Dingman, and according to sources, is looking for somebody "more stable" for her two young children.

Does it look like she's devastated by the divorce, her recent boyfriend breakup, or the construction progress of her new $12M plus home on the site of her recently demolished $12M home?

Not exactly.

Steven A. Smith Gets Boom, Roasted!

The sad thing is, this will somehow only help his career. Amazing how a guy with such a transparent act, who delivers so little actual insight to sports - even the NBA, his purported wheelhouse sport - keeps getting job after job after job.

Volume and schtick wins again, I suppose.

Booyah!

Snicky du Jour: Lindsay Soto

There are plenty of snickilicious babes on the NFL Network these days, but let's give it up to a very under-rated one in Lindsay Soto. Somehow, Lindsay has this "je-ne-sais-quoi" about her that is just fetching!

Gone Golfin'

Tear Down This Dump!

Having been to Wrigley Field myself, more than once, the thought of nuking it and starting over entirely elsewhere is downright mortifying.

But then again, I am not a Cub fan. I am a fan of nostalgia, and a fan of keeping perfectly usable old stadiums for as long as we can.

Rich Cohen of the Wall Street Journal makes a far more compelling case, that it is indeed the ball park which is holding back this baseball team from ever being good.

"It's a false heaven—the bases, trestles, ivy, wooden seats and bleachers, the towering center-field scoreboard—all of it must be ripped out and carried away like the holy artifacts were carried out of the temple in Jerusalem, heaped in a pile and burned. Then the ground itself must be salted, made barren, covered with a housing project, say, a Stalinist monolith, so never again will a shrine arise on that haunted block. As it was with Moses, the followers and fans, though they search, shall never find its bones."

Cubs fans are the Buddhists of the game, free from the wheel of profit and loss, happy to live in the now of Wrigley, to enjoy the sun as routine grounders are booted and bodies wither and die.

A bad century has made winning seem like a fairy tale. It doesn't matter what wizard managers the team hires, players, executives—once it was Lou Piniella; now it's Theo Epstein. People who have won everywhere lose in Chicago. The tradition is just too powerful to deny.

The more I let Cohen's argument soak in, the more I could actually see the day when there's some actual momentum to say: "Enough nostalgic bullshit. Let's bury this old dump, and start over, where the only that will matter for the NEXT 100 years, is not fielding a horseshit baseball team."

Hey, sounds nuts. But then again, so did installing lights in the place back in 1988.

Snicky du Jour: Erin Andrews

Not that you haven't seen plenty of juicy fashion shoots of ESPN's "staff ace" before, but this lovely "set" from a recent Vanity Fair issue was certainly "new to me"..... enjoy.

Onion: Goodell Tells Seau Family: 'Put His Brain In The Trunk With The Rest"

Damn you Onion writers! How come I can't be even 1/8th as funny or subversive as you are!

"Use that permanent marker to write his name on the jar or whatever, and then you can just go ahead and drop it in there," said Goodell, referring to the large plastic container of more than a dozen ex-player brains he keeps in his trunk. "Oh, and sorry for your loss."

* Not an actual Roger Goodell quote.

Snicky du Jour: Dina Meyer

CAUTION: Some nudity, so, NSFW, kids!

If you ever wanted to just boil away all of the awful parts of the movie "Starship Troopers" so the only thing left was scenes with "Dizzy" played by Dina Meyer, well, here you go.

And when I say "all of the awful parts" of this movie, I mean every part which doesn't include, Dina Meyer.

Talk About "Faux" Leather!

This is the Redskins 80th Anniversary throwback uniform helmet.

Yeah, they DID that. Fucking cool. That is all. As you were, people.

UPDATE: Because I know everybody is lazy and doesn't want to hunt down pictures or links on their own, here's a sampler platter of what the full uniform looks like in person, and in the Nike Mock Up.

Terrell Gets The Dr. Phil "Get Your Life Together" Speech

In case you didn't see the T.O. appearance on Dr. Phil, here's two clips which should get you up to speed. Where did T.O.'s money go? Don't know. How much did he make? Not sure. Is he a good dad to his illegitimate kids? Depends on who you ask. (PS: Don't ask the baby mommas).

Snicky du Jour: Kim Kardashian

Hard to find many good photos of Kimmy on the interweb, isn't it? I mean, such a shy, reclusive gal, it's nice to finally see her out and about in a swimsuit.

Oh yeah, that football player? She's not dating him anymore. Try to keep up, people.

Another Epic Caps Choke

Okay, do me a favor people. Watch these two short videos, and tell me which one is worse. I'll hang up and listen to your answer off the air.





The boys at Bleacher Report have an excellent (translation: horrifyingly detailed) recap of every springtime disaster in Caps history. 

While Cleveland fans who root for those frowny Brownies can perfectly empathize with heartache, there is NO NHL franchise that has been as consistently great for the last three decades with nothing to show for it as the Washington Capitals. They are easily the most snake-bitten (or, should I say frostbitten?) franchise in the National Hockey League.

If you are a Ranger, Penquin, Islander or Flyer fan it's high comedy.

For us Caps fans, torture.