U.S. Open

[waterbed]

oops

http://www.nnp.org/nni/Publications/Dutch-American/woods.htm l

 

[waterbed]

html not htm l i don't know what is with the links

 

[Don Wassall]

Airhead Caste announcer Johnny Miller forced to apologize for his comments about Rocco Mediate, which were typical of his attitude toward all white golfers.
<H1 =storyTitle>Miller apologizes in NBC statement for comments on Mediate</H1>


NEW YORK -- NBC Sports golf analyst Johnny Miller apologized for his description of U.S. Open runner-up Rocco Mediate , saying the comments had "absolutely nothing to do with his ethnicity."


Mediate, a 45-year-old Pennsylvanian of Italian heritage, held a one-stroke lead over Tiger Woods during the fourth round Sunday. Miller said Mediate "looks like the guy who cleans Tiger's swimming pool." He also said, "Guys with the name 'Rocco' don't get on the trophy, do they?"


"I apologize to anyone who was offended by my remarks," Miller said in a statement Friday through NBC. "My intention was to convey my affection and admiration for Rocco's everyman qualities and had absolutely nothing to do with his ethnicity. I chose my words poorly and in the future will be more careful."


Woods beat Mediate in a playoff that lasted 19 holes for his third U.S. Open title.


Sunday's fourth round on NBC drew a 7.5 national rating and 17 share. It was the highest rating for a U.S. Open since 2002 and a 17 percent increase over the 6.4 last year.


The first two hours of Monday's playoff drew the highest cable rating ever for golf with a 4.2 on ESPN. The rating is the percentage watching a program among homes with televisions, and the share is the percentage tuned into the broadcast among those households with TVs on at the time.


Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press


http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=3455260

 

[Van_Slyke_CF]

"My intention was to convey my affection and admiration for Rocco's everyman qualities and had absolutely nothing to do with his ethnicity."

Is this really an apology, or is he just sticking his foot in his mouth again?

 

[Solomon Kane]

quite a compliment--being compared to the pool boy... don't you get it Rocco? johnny's giving you the honor of being *Tiger's* pool boy? You can't get classier than that.

 

[Poacher]

'09 Open is here.

First round was delayed due to rain but finally finished with Mike Weir in front at -6 and his majesty at +4 tied for 80th.

 

[Jack Lambert]

What's wrong with Tiger? I don't here the media talking about him as much when he's +4.

Edit: Never mind, I just heard Van Pelt and Andy North explaining to us that Tiger had to tee off in the morning, when the course was the worst, resulting in his bad round. They also dropped that shock routine down, saying they don't know how Tiger could be doing this badly, even after the course dried out. At least they gave some credit to Lucas Glover.Edited by: Jack Lambert

 

[Van_Slyke_CF]

Ricky Barnes leads at -8 as the 3rd round gets underway.

Tiger Woods brings up the rear tied for 40th-11 shots off the pace.

 

[Jack Lambert]

Tiger may be the media darling at the U.S. Open, but Phil Mickelson is definatly the fan favorite here. If you are watching him play, you'll know the fans absolutly love him there. It's been fun watching Mickelson play this year.

The fans, I think, right now, like him more than they do Tiger.

 

[Van_Slyke_CF]

Ricky Barnes and Lucas Glover lead a strong contingent of Americans atop the leaderboard as the final round starts.

David Duval and Phil Mickelson are among the others still in contention.

Tiger Woods trails by 9 shots and will hopefully finish far from the top.

 

[Don Wassall]

Some great story lines in this Open, and it's nice that with Woods on the fringes of contention the media is forced to pay them some attention.

Barnes disappeared from sight after bursting onto the scene six years ago with a flourish as an amateur. I was stunned today when Dan Hicks said he has a "charismatic smile." Dan may be called on the carpet for that faux pau.

Mickelson or Duval winning would be absolutely huge. Duval is the only golfer who actually gave Woods all he could handle and more during the Tiger era, surpassing him briefly as the number one ranked player in the world before his startlingly quick decline some eight years ago.

Mickelson hasto be the mostliked white athlete in the U.S. Golf seems to be the only sport where unabashed adorationof a white athletecan still occasionally occur in spite of the best efforts of the media.

 

[Thrashen]

Aww, the media / corporate piggie, Tiger, finished tied for 6th. The News-Jews jock-sniffers in the sports media must be ripping their proverbial hair out.

I watched most of the tournament, and the chosen one was never really in the picture. Nevertheless, he was the gushed over constantly. In typical fashion, he pouted like a little toddler when shots didn't "go his way."

I'm not sure if you guys noticed, but Tiger is constantly swearing under his breath...mouthing the words "f*ck" and "sh*t." Nice role model, huh? Not to mention how he'll drop his club after a bad shot in order to emphasize his "disbelief" of how "the world's greatest golfer" look so average, so often. Must be the knee.

Barnes, Glover, and Weir, and Duval controlled most of the action. Phil didn't really come to life until late sunday...and made a great push towards the end.

 

[Don Wassall]

I'm not sure if you guys noticed, but Tiger is constantly swearing under his breath...mouthing the words "f*ck" and "sh*t." Nice role model, huh? Not to mention how he'll drop his club after a bad shot in order to emphasize his "disbelief" of how "the world's greatest golfer" look so average, so often. Must be the knee.

The Future President of the World also never lowers himself to make eye contact with the gallery except for a very brief and perfunctory glance when they are applauding him after a good shot or when he's walking up the 18th fairway. Other than that it's always a sullen, straight ahead look.He also never signs autographs before or after rounds or otherwise interacts with the people attending the tournament, you know, the ones who directly andindirectly have made him a near-billionaire. He's the least fan friendly player on Tour, but all he has to do is smile once per round and the media and DWFs go ga-ga over his "matchless charisma."

I attended the final round of Mario Lemieux's celebrity charity golf tournament a few years back and we sat around the 18th green. Each jock, many of them Hall of Famers, was introduced as he approached the final green. Each would wave or otherwise acknowledge the crowd, except for one whose cheers were as loud as anyone's -- Michael Jordan. Nodding or waving was beneath MJ that day. That always stuck with me. Is it really that hard to show a little generosity of spirit?

 

[Bart]

<div>Mickelson or Duval winning would be absolutely huge.  Duval is the only golfer who actually gave Woods all he could handle and more during the Tiger era, surpassing him briefly as the number one ranked player in the world before his startlingly quick decline some eight years ago.  </div>

Too bad Mickelson and Duval ran out of gas. I wonder if David is finally back in the groove? A while back he said he was close. Let's hope so. And Tiger Woods can be quite the surly, profane twerp.

 

[Thrashen]

It's also common knowledge that His Royal Highness never speaks to the players in his group. He said nothing to Michael Sim from Austrailia when they teed off together on sunday afternoon. Johnny Miller made it a point mention how Sim should be honored to play with Woods. I'm sure all of Tiger's golfing peers loathe the Corperate Pig.

I also love how "they" had the clip of Tiger chipping in last year and played it immediately (about 5 seconds) after he chipped in this weekend. Strange stuff. I'm not suggesting golf is rigged...I'm just expressing my amazement for how gigantic the Tiger-Jock-Sniffing has really become.

Any white golfer who were to throw the kind of childish temper tantrums that Tiger frequently displays would make the perfect laughing stock for the diverse sportscenter crew.

It appears as though the "Tiger is back" kick will be shortlived. Now perhaps they can focus on Golf instead of idol worship.

 

[Don Wassall]

Every time Woods doesn't win a major it's a good thing. The media has already conceded Nicklaus's record of 18 to him, but he still has to actually do it. He'll be 34 later this year, it's far from a cinch, especially given how black athletes tend to fade very early. It's Woods' one-quarter black ancestry that is likely his biggest enemy as a golfer, just the opposite of how the media portrays it.

 

[GWTJ]

Does Woods actually have to break Nicklaus's record to be considered the greatest golfer ever? It feels like he was given that distinction years ago by the media gods. Their relentless pounding of his superhuman abilities hammers us all senseless on a daily basis.

I forsee Nicklaus's accomplishments being downplayed and whatever records Woods holds to be prominently posted at every tournament for the next Millinium.

 

[Don Wassall]

Does Woods actually have to break Nicklaus's record to be considered the greatest golfer ever? It feels like he was given that distinction years ago by the media gods. Their relentless pounding of his superhuman abilities hammers us all senseless on a daily basis.

I forsee Nicklaus's accomplishments being downplayed and whatever records Woods holds to be prominently posted at every tournament for the next Millinium.

It'sthe most hallowed record in golf and the one Woods has supposedly been pining for since he was 3 weeks old, so if he doesn't break it there at least will always be debate, whereas if he gets to 19 or more, there will be no debate allowed.

 

[Poacher]

Woods' pursuit of the Golden Bear rubs me the wrong way. It's a little too focused, a little too intense, a little too determined. As if there is something more at play than just golf. I wonder what it could be?

 

[GWTJ]

Agreed. Woods not reaching 18 Majors will at least allow Nicklaus fans to speak on the subject. I feel the urge to walk into a bar when Woods is playing a Major and say to no one in particular, "Woods will never be as good as Jack was", and see how fast the DWF's gang up on me.

 

[Solomon Kane]

Rain and all--I still enjoyed this open. By Sunday I was hoping Barnes would win running away--creating a new phenom--this time a white charismatic "kid' to challenge Woods. When he took himself out of the picture i was hoping for Phil or David duval to win--and that this would add a determination to both of these guys to dethrone woods. glover hung tough though--you've got to hand it to him. Though Phil and Duval lost, I think they gained confidence--they both made a run at the title. They will be confident but not overly tight for the British open. and i hope we have not seen the last of mr. barnes (and mr. glover)

I agree with Don---it's a reasonable possibility for tiger to fall short ofJack's 18 majors.

WellTiger's 0-2 so far this year.

let's go phil---get back in the major groove! you can do it!

 

[jaxvid]

I wanted Barnes to win also. Golf could use a new face. Nice to see Duval in the hunt too.

 

[sport historian]

I'm not sure if you guys noticed, but Tiger is constantly swearing under his breath...mouthing the words "f*ck" and "sh*t." Nice role model, huh? Not to mention how he'll drop his club after a bad shot in order to emphasize his "disbelief" of how "the world's greatest golfer" look so average, so often. Must be the knee. 

<div> </div>
<div>The Future President of the World also never lowers himself to make eye contact with the gallery except for a very brief and perfunctory glance when they are applauding him after a good shot or when he's walking up the 18th fairway.  Other than that it's always a sullen, straight ahead look. He also never signs autographs before or after rounds or otherwise interacts with the people attending the tournament, you know, the ones who directly and indirectly have made him a near-billionaire. He's the least fan friendly player on Tour, but all he has to do is smile once per round and the media and DWFs go ga-ga over his "matchless charisma."</div>
<div> </div>
<div>I attended the final round of Mario Lemieux's celebrity charity golf tournament a few years back and we sat around the 18th green.  Each jock, many of them Hall of Famers, was introduced as he approached the final green.  Each would wave or otherwise acknowledge the crowd, except for one whose cheers were as loud as anyone's -- Michael Jordan.  Nodding or waving was beneath MJ that day.  That always stuck with me.  Is it really that hard to show a little generosity of spirit?</div>

It occured to me that the most "popular" athletes have their popularity imposed from above. Jordan and Woods really are great at what they do, but we are always told that we must regard them as God-like figures rather than deciding to do it on our own.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Great post sport historian! I agree. It sickens me that most white people will do or think whatever the idiot box tells them to.

I also get really tired of seeing Woods throw temper tantrums like a spoiled brat every time he goofs up. I mean, I know its TNB and all, but come on!

Poor little Woods couldn't make the shot and repeatedly beats his club into the turf. Enough already. Grow up dude!

 

[Jack Lambert]

Woods is just a little baby when it comes to golf. Whenvever all the white golfers mess up, do see any of them act like spoiled babies? No, I didn't think so. They suck it up and take it like a man. If they did act like that though, they would be lambasted by the media.

I used to beat my golf clubs into the turf whenever I messed up. I got over that at about 9 years old. Tiger hasn't gotten over it yet, and he's 33.