Kull's World

These days are over...

A few minutes ago, my boss popped his head in my office and asked "are you a golfer?" Without hesitation I replied "I used to be, why do you have an offer to play?" He explained there was a tournament this afternoon that the company needed a fourth in and I was the chosen one.

I didn't even consider it for a second, the answer was no. Four years ago, if the same question was posed to me I would have jumped at the chance, gone and grabbed my clubs if they weren't already in my car and been staring at the clock the entire morning! No doubt this tournament is at one of the nicer courses in Greater Boston too. Oh well.

A couple things have gone into my giving up of the game I once loved but never truly excelled at:

I bought a house and had a family. I never wanted to make my wife a "golf widow". Before we had kids she picked up the game and we were able to enjoy outdoor time with the sport together. So that was cool. But then the kids came around and there is no way I would rather spend 3-6 hours on the golf course on a day when I could be spending time with my kid/s. Then the house came around and I flat out couldn't justify spending $50-$100 a week on rounds of golf, not to mention the cost of equipment upkeep, consumables, etc. That being said, I still told myself I would play if given the chance for "work functions".

But then I got the worst case of the yips known to mankind! This first happened back in the days even before I was married and playing a lot of golf. I was playing so much that I had actually started to shoot in the 80's on a consistent basis. Granted it was the high 80's, but it was legit, no mulligans, cheating, etc. And I could say that with a straight face and feel good about it. My game had come around. One day a friend commented on my chipping around the greens, calling me Mickelson or something. The jinx was officially on. The next time I stepped up to a ball within chipping distance of the green I proceeded to "flair" it way off to the right. Uh oh, figured I got a little cocky, would get em next time. But next time came around and the same thing happened. At that point it wasn't consistent though and the season was almost over. It went away over the winter and by next season I was back to my normal chipping self. Until the end of the season. I think over the course of the year, as I got more confident in my game I tried to get more cute around the greens and that is when the dreaded flair would rear its ugly head again! But, the end of the golf season was nearing again and I figured it would go away over the winter. But this time I actually thought about it a lot over the winter and never truly got it out of my head. The next spring, the first time I went to the range it was all I could think about, and it was back. A very simple problem from lack of follow through, I would slow down the club on impact. I knew what I was doing, but I still couldn't stop it. I kept playing but dreaded any shot less than 100 yards in, which was a full swing Wedge for me. The flair always happened when I had to do anything less than a full out swing, because I would mess up my speed, balance, etc. I got creative for a while, on certain courses I would putt from the fairway as far as 40 yards out or ask my playing partners if I could put the ball BACK to the 100 yard marker if I was sitting at 75 yards.  The flair was in my head from the moment I laced up the golf shoes and stepped to the first tee.  So the game became less enjoyable and more painful as I constantly stressed about this.  Not exactly a good time.  But I continued to play occasionally.

Last year I told myself I would take the year off and not think of my problems.  I ended up playing once, in October!  It was a work thing, a tournament that I host the foursome in for an association for my profession.  I hadn't even been to the driving range, but still gave it a go.  It was ugly at first, but it was a scramble so the pressure wasn't crazy.  The flair came to visit occasionally.  But since it was a best ball scenario, it wasn't enough to make me too frustrated.  By the end of the round I was actually showing some promise.  And after we finished our 18 holes, we played an additional hole in a traditional manner.  It was a Par 5 and I actually parred it.  I needed a 45 yard putt from the fairway to get on in 3, and a 2 putt for par.  But I did it and actually thought I might be tempted to get back in the swing for the next season.

Well, the next season has been here for a while.  I drive by a course frequently and never get the urge to play like I used to.  It's still a combination of things.  Money, home owner responsibilities, time with kids, etc.  But to get an offer to play, on the clock, at a nice course, on a beautiful June day and not hesitate to say no.  Might be time to put the clubs on Craig's List.  Nah, I'll hang onto em for now, never know when the itch could come back.

I know a guy featured on ESPN.COM!

Who would have ever thought that the guy that taught me how to dunk a basketball in high school, provided the beatbox for BnW Posse's Earth Day Rap, and cut all sorts of fancy designs (including martini glasses) while complaining how hard it was to cut a white dude's hair would work his way onto ESPN.COM by catching bass?  From another article:

...the energetic and charismatic angler from Shirley, Mass
Charismatic is an understatement...I can still laugh at some of the shit this kid said 16-17 years ago, classic.

Of all the people I know/have known that spend a lot of time fishing, Sheron B would be the last guy I would have ever guessed to be damn good at it and end up on ESPN 2 on a Saturday morning?

Congrats to Sheron B for "living the dream"!

Ouch!

The most popular subject line in my inbox this morning gets the title post of the day!  What an amazing Super Bowl, 3 lead changes in the 4th quarter?  Are you kidding me?  At least this is one game where as a sports fan, you cannot feel that your team "beat itself", because clearly the Giants were the better team and controlled the game from the coin toss.  Just a few observations:

• If the Patriots can fall on a fumble in the 1st half, they might have been up by 2-3 scores.  How Pierre Woods did not come up with that Bradshaw fumble from their own 30 is beyond my comprehension, he fell on it, it was in his belly and then somehow a Giant comes out of the pile with it?  I wonder how many kidney punches and nut squeezes he got under there to cough up the ball?
• The Giants stopping the Patriots on that drive where BB got the huge challenge for the 12 men on the field was such a big stand for them.  The Patriots come away with even 3 points there, that is a huge stomach punch for the G-Men, instead it was the other way around.
• The Giants' defensive intensity practically busted the popcorn out of that Jiffy Pop looking stadium in Glendale.  It was out of this world.  That being said, I think on the Patriots final drive, the Giants defense was finally losing steam and guys were going down like flies.  I think if the Pats had 2+ minutes after Eli's impressive drive, they would have marched right back down and scored again.
• Speaking of Eli's drive, holy smokes!  How many bullets did he dodge on that drive?  How for the love of god, did he get out of the grasps on that one play?  It seemed like he was stopped long enough for a whistle but obviously not, and then he throws it up for grabs and Tyree catches it with his freaking helmet?  That was kind of a signal that the Giants had some magic working for them.  Dwight Clark, you are on notice...your reign with "Best Super Bowl Catch" , Best NFL post season catch might be over. (Thanks to Joe Montana himself for pointing out my error)
• Going backwards, Asante "Get Paid" Samuel, catch the ball first, then look down the sidelines to see if you can return the ball for a pick six game ender.
• I watched a lot of the post game interviews, etc as I could not go to sleep.  And the Giants showed they have a lot of classy players and coaches.  However, Osi Youmenwhateverthefuckhisnameis is not one of them.  I believe he needs to take a class "Winning with Class 101", some of the shit he said on the NFL Network Gameday set was really sad for a World Champion.  Talking about Tom Brady should be crying, 18-1 trademark that, go plan your parade, etc.  All that stuff is all fine and good to be said in the locker room amongst the boys, but keep it classy on national television eh?  The NFL Network guys were even scrambling to try and change his tone by prompting him with other questions, kind of funny.
• I've heard a little scuttlebutt about Belichick being a "sore loser" for running off the field with 1 second left.  Give me a break.  The game was over, the clock actually struck ZERO, then they put time back on the clock.  Players were already on the field, etc.  But the NFL has to follow its rules and play the final play?  Stupid.  A new rule needs to be put in where the losing coach can concede the final play or something.
• The thing that sucks most about losing the final game after going 18-0, is next year the Patriots can win every game by 60 points and go undefeated again, but there will be no satisfaction as a player/coach/fan until the clock strikes ZERO on a Super Bowl victory.

Anyway, those are my thoughts on this game.  As frustrating as it was, as I get older I have found as a fan of professional/college teams I enjoy the afterglow of winning the game far more then the disappointment of losing the big game.  When my team wins, it is a great time to celebrate and enjoy, but when they lose, it's more "it's just a game" and move on.  I'm at work this morning, I would have been at work if they won too.  Know what I mean?  I guess I can turn the page better then when I was younger.

Hats off to the New Jersey Giants, they played an amazing game and "shocked the world" (BTW when does that phrase officially jump the shark in the world of sports?), I am happy for the people of New Jersey!

9 days until pitchers and catchers report to Fort Myers, Florida!

Football Game on Sunday

Patriots: 38
Giants:   14

Super Bowl Hype Train

We are now onto Day 3 of two weeks of Super Bowl hype, and obviously, the biggest news so far has been the status of Tom Brady's foot/ankle, since he was wearing "what appeared to be a walking boot" on Monday.  Those boots, by the way, are handed out like ace bandages these days.

But thanks to some big time investigative reporting, we now know it is a dreaded high ankle sprain.  Which leads me to ask the question, has a professional athlete ever had a LOW ankle sprain?  Check the records, I doubt it.

I like Gisele's boots much better...

* Asterisk *

If you look on the official Jaguars website, you'll see they call the Pats out for "cheating in one game" on their power rankings.

Unreal...aren't these sites sanctioned by the NFL?  You'd think they'd put a stop to this tomfoolery!

TicketBASTARD!!!

So in about 15 minutes, approximately 75 tickets will go on sale for the Patriots Divisional Playoff game next week.  The 75 is me being funny, but it could be close to accurate considering they are selling what is left after Season Ticket Holders, Sponsors, Advertisers, Teams, etc take their share.  My guess is the tickets are gone in 2 minutes.  But I figured I'd take a shot.  So I log onto Ticketbastard and get this message:
Please note.

We limit the rate of web page requests that can be made by individual users in any given time period. Your web page requests have exceeded these limits and your access has been temporarily disabled. We impose these limits to protect the web site from automated programs, as part of our efforts to promote fair access to tickets. Please allow several minutes and then try again.

Note this Ticketbastard, the last time I bought tickets from you people was for a "Elmo Grows Up" show in Worcester last fall.  Not exactly the type of show automated programs go after.  Since then, I believe I tried approximately 8-10 times to get tickets to the Pats vs. Steelers game this season.  Other than that, nothing.  And now I am being shut out of my "chance" to get a playoff ticket because of your system?  I think the government needs to get involved in how the sports ticketing industry operates, 2 Much Political Power, are you listening???

Pick One: 16-0 vs. Super Bowl Champions?

What would you rather?  The obvious answer is both, but if you had to pick, what would your choice be?
It would take me about .25 seconds to say SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONS, so for me, it seems like a no-brainer. However, in listening to sports talk radio, water cooler chatter, etc, that is not the case around New England.  A lot of people I hear think that going undefeated during the regular season would be as great of an accomplishment as winning the Super Bowl.  So if the Patriots win on Saturday, yet lose in the playoffs, it will still be a great season.  In the words of Mike Tyson, I think that is "ludacrisp"!

WARNING, I am now about to open the High School Yearbook!
In 1991-92, I was a member of a very successful high school basketball team. So successful, that we managed to go 20-0 in the regular season.  We were on top of the world.  We got a lot of press in my very small hometown, and the town was buzzing in the months of January and February.  Those months of my life provide me with great memories, however as Randall "Pink" Floyd said in Dazed and Confused "if I look back at these years as the best in my life, remind me to shoot myself" (or something like that). But it was cool back then, and we were good, damn good.  We won games by a large margin and were only tested 2-3 times during the regular season.  A friend we grew up with that had chosen the Catholic HS instead of our public school said to a few of us at one point that he thought it would be good for us to lose during the regular season to get it out of our systems before the district playoffs.  We thought he was crazy, we wanted to "make history".  Anyway, long story short.  We lost in our first playoff game, which was the quarter finals since we had two byes in the weird tournament structure that year.  We lost to a team, that to this day, 16 years later I am convinced we would have beaten 99 times out of 100.  I think we still go down as one of the top teams in school history, however we did not win the Districts, which other teams did, so we are certainly not the best ever.

So what's my point?  Well, I really just wanted to re-live my glory days and wax poetic about how nasty my high school hoop team was.  Shit, if there were an Applebee's in my hometown, you know for sure there would be plenty of pictures of us.  Just kidding (a little).  My point is, in my opinion the Patriots need to win the Super Bowl to make this year a success for them.  It is how they are measured.  It'll be the 4th in 7 years right?  Pretty damn good.  Fortunately for the fans, I know damn well the coaches and players feel this way, and 16-0 is just a step towards the ultimate prize.  I am just amazed that so many fans feel that 16-0 but no Lombardi Trophy will be just as cool.  Probably the same fans that thought in 04 after the Sox came back vs. the Yankees the year would have been a success even if they didn't go on to win the World Series.  But if I could go back in a DeLorean to 1992, I would gladly trade 20-0 for a District Championship.  I know it's not the same, and I am not comparing high school accomplishments to professional football, but I think it is a worthy comparison...I'm just sayin.

Go Pats! 
(I think they run the table and finish 19-0, but it won't be easy)

Let's Go Pats!!!

Ben is ready...too nervous to make a prediction on score.  But I think they get it done, it is not "Peyton's time" as a lot of the national media is saying.

Stay Classy San Diego

“I would never react in that way. I was very upset,” Tomlinson said. “When you go to the middle of our field and start doing the dance Shawne Merriman is known for, that is disrespectful. They showed no class and maybe that comes from the head coach.”

Okay, LT...you're like the best player on the planet right now. If you don't pull a Barry Sanders and retire early you'll go on to become the all time leading rusher in the NFL and probably the best RB of all time. But you need to think before you speak.  First of all, if you don't want to be disrespected on your own field in front of your fans, then win the freakin game.  And secondly, does Shawne Merriman deserve for his sack dance to be respected?  What would earn him that respect?  Generally players that deserve respect, well for one...they follow the rules and don't stick needles in their asses to gain an advantage.  And when Merriman does this freak show dance after he sacks the other team's quarterback (which last time I checked he DID NOT do against Brady), how much respect is he showing there?  Has he patented this dance?  Pats players cannot mock his silly "lights out" dance?  Is that against the LT book of what is right and what is wrong?

You might be one helluva player who generally shows respect yourself, but that was just a dumb ass move last night.  And oh yeah, "it comes from the coach"???  No, I don't think showing you guys up comes from the coach in New England, but what does come from the coach is winning, something the Chargers are missing out on with Martyball leading them into the playoffs.  Enjoy your MVP trophy, you can put it next to your "Dumb Quote of the Year" Award.

Update: I guess the Herald chippie doesn't agree with me, oh well.  And the more that I think about it, yeah maybe the Pats players should have acted like they've been there before.  But I keep going back to the fact they were mocking a cheater, which for me, it makes it pretty much okay.