The Other Brooks Brothers and Their Sister, Too. — “Suddenly-relevant”

If you’ve been hiding under a rock, you missed Tiger Woods‘ unbelievable 19th hole sudden death playoff victory over Rocco Mediate at this past weekend’s US Open at Torrey Pines.

Even more impressive was that he played an entire 5th round and won with a left tibia stress fracture and a torn ACL in his left knee.

That’s why he’s the number one golfer in the world.

I used to take issue with his use of “colorful language” on the course. “He has no respect for the game,” I told myself. Luckily, I realized a long time ago that I was wrong, and ever since then I’ve been able to enjoy the amazing shots he’s able to make. More importantly, I’ve been able to see how much he loves the game.

Sure, he gets upset when his shots go errant, but the enjoyment that washes over him when he’s able to do the things that his closest competitors and duffers like me will never me able to imagine make it all worth watching.

We witnessed one of the best played tournaments in US Open history. We saw what should have been Phil Mickelson’s to lose. We watched a marathon fifth round between the man who would would have been the tournament’s oldest winner ever and the guy with the broken leg and torn knee.

Now what happens?

Well, Woods will go under the knife again and miss the remainder of the 2008 season. He’ll miss the Open Championship (British Open), PGA Championship, Tour Championship, and the Ryder Cup.

That means somebody else will win some majors and this year’s FedEx Cup. That means there will be the potential for new rivalries, renewed careers, and an interesting finish for 2008 before Tiger returns in January.

What will he do between now and January? I’m not sure how much his life will change outside of the healing his leg needs and the rehab on his knee after the new surgery.

He’ll probably spend time working on The Cliffs at High Carolina near Asheville — his first US course design, he’ll probably enjoy time with his wife Elin and their daughter Sam Alexis, and he’ll probably also enjoy a period of what is the closest thing to peace, quiet, and anonymity he can know.

So until he makes his January return, we can enjoy the rest of this year, watch some players we haven’t seen in a while, and fondly remember the 2008 US Open where Tiger Woods again showed why he is the number one golfer in the world.

– Matthew Wills

It’s not even close to football season, but there’s already a lot of talk about potential recruits for the 2009 kickoff.

I was part of an e-mail volley earlier today in which the original sender was doing metaphorical back flips over Clemson receiving a verbal commitment last night from the nation’s top-ranked safety Craig Loston out of Houston, TX.

The exchange went like this.

• Original E-Mail: I received a phone call last night close to 10 from a “very excited” _______ _______.  He was astounded that I had not heard the news. This looks like a pretty big get.  Hopefully it can translate to some “W’s.”
• Response E-Mail 1: Big score for the Tigers; plus, he plans to enroll in January.
• Response E-Mail 2: That is good news. Safety is important in any sport — especially football. I hate seeing people get hurt.

If #2 wasn’t joking, I hope every South Carolina college’s offensive line takes turns hitting him.

– Matthew Wills

There are a few field changes in this year’s BMW Charity Pro-Am.

Tournament officials announced yesterday that four event celebrities were forced to withdraw due to production schedules of their latest projects. They are:

• Lucas Black
• David James Elliott
• Samuel L. Jackson
• Kevin Sorbo

Replacing them in the field are:

• Ty Gretzky
• Joe Pesci
• Sterling Sharpe
• Kordell Stewart

Additional tournament information and celebrity biographies are available from the tournament’s news release.

This year’s sites move from The Cliffs Communities’ various courses to three new venues (Thornblade Club in Greer, Bright’s Creek Golf Club in Mill Spring, NC, and The Carolina Country Club in Spartanburg).

The tournament will take place from May 15-18 with all four rounds televised live on The Golf Channel.

– Matthew Wills

Today it begins.

Across the Southeast one of spring’s most cherished trophies will be on display so that friends, family, and coworkers alike will say, “I like that shirt. Did you go?”

You won’t have to ask, “Where?” After all, everyone knows that the inquisitive party meant The Masters Tournament and the coveted souvenir you’re wearing, and you will have one of two responses.

“Yes,” you’ll say followed by an explanation of how you got tournament badges, how breathtaking Augusta is, what it was like to see Trevor Immelman earn his first Green Jacket, and how Tiger Woods won’t win the grand slam this year.

Of course, there’s the other answer, too.

“No,” you’ll sheepishly admit followed by a dissertation of how Merv from Accounting went and picked it up for you and the rest of the gang in the office.

Alas, today is Monday. Specifically it’s the Monday after the Masters. Augusta will usher the few remaining patrons out of town and prepare for their return in another year.

That means that there are roughly 6000 fans off to Myrtle Beach for the annual Hootie and the Blowfish post-Masters fund raiser, and a whole other slate of folks prepared to descend on Harbour Town for The Heritage.

Is it too early to head over to the Quarterdeck?

– Matthew Wills

This year’s BMW Charity Pro-Am, one of the most high profile Nationwide Tour stops, will again call The Upstate home for its 8th annual tournament.

Officials today named celebrities playing in the 2008 event. They are:

• Steve Azar
• Catherine Bell
• Lucas Black
• Javier Colon
• Dave Coulier
• Jason Dohring
• David James Elliott
• Pat Green
• Janet Jones Gretzky
• Wayne Gretzky
• Oliver Hudson
• Samuel L. Jackson
• Josh Kelley
• Greg Kinnear
• Cheech Marin
• Branford Marsalis
• Jennifer Mills
• Michael Pena
• Dennis Quaid
• George Rogers
• Kurt Russell
• Mark Rypien
• Stefanie Schaeffer
• Kevin Sorbo
• Gary Valentine
• Patrick Warburton
• Luke Wilson
• Ben Wright

Additional tournament information and celebrity biographies are available from the tournament’s news release.

This year’s sites move from The Cliffs Communities’ various courses to three new venues (Thornblade Club in Greer, Bright’s Creek Golf Club in Mill Spring, NC, and The Carolina Country Club in Spartanburg).

The tournament will take place from May 15-18 with all four rounds televised live on The Golf Channel.

– Matthew Wills

Since Clemson killed any hope of Palmetto pride winning the top prize in the NCAA tournament, I have to shift my new hope to our neighbors to the north.

I can’t go with UNC (yet), and Duke is done, so that leaves me with Davidson.

Please, for the love of Pete, don’t screw it up.

What I meant to say was, “Go Wildcats. You’re Sweet 16 bound. Woo-hoo.”

– Matthew Wills 

For me, March Madness left as quickly as it came — perhaps even quicker.

Tonight, especially in the second half, Washington State’s Cougars grounded the Eagles of Winthrop College University with a 71-40 slobberknocker.

As I throw my bracket sheet in the shredder, heavy-hearted with the knowledge that Winthrop’s dreams are again dashed, I must now turn my attention to Clemson’s Tigers with the hope that the Palmetto State can still find pride somewhere in this year’s NCAA tournament.

Have no fear my Eagles, for next year will be your time to soar. Yes. Next year.

– Matthew Wills

Forget Clemson and its number 5 seed.

I’m picking Winthrop for the win, Wink. It’s the perfect pick for short attention spans.

If you need a bracket sheet, just click here.

– Matthew Wills

In 2008, the league minimum salary is $169,300.

Of course there are financial incentives to move up the ladder, but starting salary ain’t that bad.

I’m not talking about NFL, MLB, or NHL. I’m talking about Congress.

Just for showing up and suiting up, rookies are making a solid six-figure income from taxpayer money. Why are we paying them?

I thought their collective job was to focus on national security, the economy, and other matters seen as vital to the advancement of this fine country of ours.

Why then are congressional members taking on these new areas of responsibility like the NFL and MLB?

Senator Arlen Specter (R-Pennsylvania) wants the Senate Judiciary Committee to investigate the New England Patriots and the “Spygate.” Never mind that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell already handled the situation within the league and fined Pats coach Bill Belichick $500,000, fined the team $250,000, and took a first round draft pick.

That’s not good enough. We need to get Congress involved. They’re great at fixing business.

Is Congress also convinced that steroids and HGH use in baseball in some way impact this nation’s stability?

They must be. Otherwise why would the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform feel the need to hold hearings?

Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte admitted to using HGH in 2004.

Yeah.

Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens and former trainer Brian McNamee played a game of “He said - He said” over a series of alleged injections in the early 2000s.

So.

Should Bill Belichick have violated league rules to obtain strategic information about his opponents? No, but he violated NFL rules, not the Geneva Convention. As such, the NFL — a business, not a government entity — handled the matter swiftly and efficiently. The Senate Judiciary Committee should have no jurisdiction there.

Is there a black mark on baseball from the “steroid scandal” resulting from the Mitchell Report? Absolutely, but I am more upset that taxpayer money is being spent on congressional investigations.

From its own description, “The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is the main investigative committee in the U.S. House of Representatives. It has jurisdiction to investigate any federal program and any matter with federal policy implications.” What are the federal policy implications of steroids in baseball?

Never mind the fact that former Senator Mitchell’s report names a long list of Yankees as offenders and that Senator Mitchell is a director with the Red Sox (Note: I’m a Red Sox fan, so I hate having to go against my own team, but let’s face it. There could be some bias there, and Mitchell’s status with the Sox isn’t usually reported). His status as a former legislator does not elevate alleged violation of internal league policies to that of national security.

The bottom line is:

• Cheating is wrong
• Drug use is wrong
• Most of these guys never tested positive for roids
• When company/team/league policies are violated, they are handled within the private sector.

We have an election in November. Right now, our economy is shaky. Our employment rate is questionable. The housing market is uncertain.  The Euro is kicking the dollar up and down the street. We have a war to win in Iraq. We have our military under attack from our own citizens. We have an immigration problem where no one can agree on a definite solution.

Aren’t those the things we pay $169,300 per year for Congress to worry about?

– Matthew Wills

Number 14 for the Boston Red Sox (parent team of the Single A “Greenville Drive“) from 1974-1989, Anderson SC’s Jim Rice got shafted for the 14th straight year.

With only one chance left to get inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, the Baseball Writers’ Association of America denied him by 16 votes. The association is filled with idiots.

• He was a first round draft pick in 1971 (debuting in the majors in 1974).
• He had a lifetime batting average of .298
• He hit 382 home runs
• He had 1,451 RBIs from 1974-89
• In 1978, his career best season, he had a .315 average with 46 runs, and 139 RBIs. That year he won his MVP award.

How do the writers not send this guy to Cooperstown? I hope they don’t screw it up in 2009. Jim Rice deserves better.

– Matthew Wills