Taylor`s Corner
Taylor`s Corner
Review: May/07
Hello everyone! I know, I know... where the heck have I been you ask? Don’t get me started, suffice it to say I’m back!
First up on the list of topics… GOLF. For everyone that has played or followed the sport, you all know what a hole-in-one is right? It happens to a choice few average golfers, MAYBE once in a lifetime, if you’re lucky. So if the chance of an average golfer making a hole-in-one in a round is about 5,000 to 1, what are the odds of a player making 8 aces in 14 weeks? 113,527,276,681,000,000 to 1 to be exact. Just ask Jacqueline Gagne, who has scored 8 holes-in-one between Jan. 23 and April 24, 2007, seven at her home club of Mission Hills Country Club and one at Mountain View Country Club in La Quinta, California. To top this off, she only learned how to play the game in 2003. UNBELIEVABLE! I just want her to buy me some lottery tickets! Oh yeah… did I mention she is a woman?
PLAYOFF HOCKEY. Yes, it’s that time of year again…. hockey on the TV every night, overtime the way it was meant to be played (sudden death, not a shootout) and unfortunately, referee calls that make you want to scream incredulously “are you kidding me?” at the tube. I normally start watching hockey more so during playoff time and was baffled by some of the officiating I was witnessing. Although we now have 2 referees/game instead of 1 plus the addition of replay… THEY ARE STILL SCREWING UP OR COMPLETELY MISSING CALLS! I know what you’re thinking, “Taylor’s probably whining because HER team was on the wrong end of a bad call” but I assure you, I have no favourite team in any sport (just ask anyone that knows me). I honestly think the league has to take a hard look at the current officiating in the NHL and perhaps even start penalizing them for bad calls. Highly unlikely but wouldn’t that be nice? Much like a player/coach gets fined for wrong-doing, so should a referee/linesman! I bet we would see a lot less blown calls. There’s nothing worse that an official changing the face of a game, no matter what sport it is. Heck, it’s the Playoffs man… LET THEM PLAY!
Lastly, unaware to some Canadians, it is also Playoff time in the NBA as well. It’s unfortunate that they have their playoffs at the same time as the NHL. Don’t make us choose between hockey and basketball.. we all know what we will pick! Btw, Kudos to the Toronto Raptors, who have advanced past the first round as well, the only Canadian team in the league. How weird is that? Didn’t we invent the game afterall?
Well that’s all I have for now. I promise to post more frequently, especially on those rainy days when I can’t golf! Please feel free to post any comments on our Forum or send in any upcoming sporting events you would like posted in our “Sports Calendar” to michele@sarniarocks.com.
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Review: Aug/05
As
Summer comes to a close, the upcoming Fall brings with it the promise of
professional hockey… finally! The NHL and the players reached a new
collective bargaining agreement in mid-July and there is no question that the
players gave a lot. Teams will be built on a four-to-six year plan — the term
of the new labour deal. Sadly, as predicted, many a veteran will not be back.
The year off will be too much to overcome physically for many and some have
simply lost the taste to play again. If there is any attempt by either
side to declare "victory," the game is in trouble. Fans still pay to
see the players. No one else. If the owners forget this, all will have
been lost. The players have to know the changes, while painful, were for
the long-term good of the game. Their job is to play and reinvigorate the game
with skill and creativeness that has been lacking the last few years.
While the deal may be done, the NHL's attempt at winning the fans back is just
beginning. Hockey fans want the game back desperately, but they want it back
with both sides committed to the game on the ice and to the fans. The new deal
brings us not to the end, but the starting line… Time to drop the puck.
As the baseball season moves into the
second half of August, 21 of the 30 teams are either in playoff position or
within seven games of a division or Wild Card lead. Somewhere in all this
year's clustering, perhaps, is a breakaway finisher ready to do what Carl
Hubbell and the New York Giants did in 1936, what the "Miracle Braves"
did in 1914, or what the Houston Astros did just one summer ago. Can the
Red Sox do the unthinkable and repeat their stellar performance of 2004? Who
knows? Either way it’s not looking good for The Jays this year… time to pick
another favorite team for the playoffs!
As the golf seasons comes to a close
(mine and the PGA’s) the final major tournament of the year, the PGA
Championship, plays out in Springfield, New Jersey. All eyes were on Tiger
to complete the grand slam, having won the Masters and British Open earlier this
year. Surprisingly, he would be struggling just to make the cut line but
would still finish in a respectable tie for 4th place. Our champion, of
course, is none other than Phil Mickelson, aka “Lefty”. His awesome
short game was the key to sealing this tournament. Phil Mickelson… PGA
Champion and two-time major winner. No longer just another guy in the club.
Please feel
free to post any comments on our
Forum or send in any upcoming sporting
events you would like posted in our “Sports Calendar” to
michele@sarniarocks.com.
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Review: Jan/05
Happy New Year Everyone! Another year has gone by and there are so many things to reflect on. The hockey year began as usual last season, ending in June with a flurry of excitement… of course only to be dashed in September when the lockout became a reality. Assuming the lockout ends some time in 2005 (and I’m not holding my breath on that), will anyone care? A sport that was already clinging to major league status may be shoved even further out of reach by a lost season. In a recent Gallup poll that measured the popularity of 11 sports, the NHL ranked 10th, beating out only pro wrestling. A recent editorial in the Toronto Globe and Mail states “By locking down major league hockey, you’ve shown us something… we can live without it.” For the NHL, ending the lockout is only step one. Convincing the public this is a sport worth watching – through better marketing, lower ticket prices and rules changes to loosen up the game – is more than half the battle.
With the loss of hockey, the NFL season has all but saved me this year and wouldn’t you know it… we are already at week 17! Where did this year go? Ah but this season has had some exciting story lines, hasn’t it? Ricky Williams retirement, Payton Manning’s record breakings, QB Ben Roethlisberger’s fantastic rookie year and one who is no stranger to being in the news, Terrell Owens. Of course, in terms of over-exposure, TO finished second only to Janet Jackson this year!
Last but not least Boston Red Sox loyal and long-suffering fans were rewarded this year with the first World Series championship since 1918. That’s 86 long years people! Congratulations and thanks for making baseball enjoyable this year! (I particularly enjoyed watching the Yankees go down this year! Heehee)
Please feel free to post any comments on our Forum or send in any upcoming sporting events you would like posted in our “Sports Calendar” to michele@sarniarocks.com.
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Review: Aug/04
Hey Everyone! Summer is practically over and so is the NFL preseason football. It will be interesting to see who is still standing when the regular season finally begins. Let’s face it, there’s always injuries in football but you hope you don’t lose valuable players over “nothing” games like preseason! For example, Buffalo lost their starting safety Lawyer Milloy and backup quarterback Travis Brown to injuries in a 30-17 loss to the Indianapolis Colts in week 3 of preseason play… a game that meant nothing but cost dearly. To add salt to the wound, Bills 1st round pick rookie quarterback J.P. Losman broke his leg in practice and is out indefinitely. Looks like Drew Bledsoe had better stay healthy or this Bills team will be worse than last year!
Wow, did anyone see how well Canada did in the 2004 Olympics in Athens this year? Neither did I and not for lack of watching either! Don’t get me wrong, I applaud all our athletes for trying their best, especially considering how much harder it is for them than others. It is down right embarrassing how our country (supposedly) could not afford to send coaches over with our athletes and yet diplomats were flown in (all expenses paid of course) to attend some of the Olympic events… HUH? What’s wrong with this picture? Even Olympic Officials are stating that Canada is “Lagging Behind The World” when it comes to supporting our athletes. Only 12 medals (3 Gold, 6 Silver, 3 Bronze) were won at the Athens games... 2 less than Sydney… wrong direction don’t you think? And did you know that Canada is the only country that has hosted both the Summer Games (Montreal 1976) and Winter Games (Calgary 1988) and both times Canadian athletes were unable to win a single Gold medal? I know our country has it’s problems, health care and such but you would think our government could put even just a little effort towards our athletes! There’s still time to make a difference in time for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver but I’m not holding my breath. Bravo to our proud Canadian athletes… you did as well as you could.
Please feel free to post any comments on our Forum or send in any upcoming sporting events you would like posted in our “Sports Calendar” to michele@sarniarocks.com.
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Review: July/04
Hey Everyone! Summer is finally here and it’s about
time don’t you think? We were all so happy to see Spring, of that there
is no doubt but enough with the rain already! With the hot weather finally
donning our doorstep (hopefully for the next few months), we can now turn our
attention to sports that we Canadians only get a very short time to enjoy,
baseball, tennis, golf and this year even the Olympics.
Being Canadian and a golfer, the one event that caught my
attention this past weekend was the Canadian Women’s Open in Niagara Falls.
Our Canadian champion this year is Meg Mallon, who ran away with the win by
comfortable 4 shot victory. The amazing part of this is the fact that she
won this event exactly 1 week after winning the U.S. Women’s Open as well.
Mallon becomes the first woman to win both U.S. and Canadian titles in the same
year. What’s next you say? She was quoted as saying “ well
there’s France and England next!” referring to the Evian Masters and British
Women’s Open, the next two events on her schedule. Anything’s possible
with the run she is on!
This just happens to be an Olympic year, as I’m sure we’ve all heard by now. What we don’t know is will everything be ready in time for opening ceremonies? In addition to slow construction and concerns on security over terrorist attacks, Greece is now experiencing power outages to boot, leaving millions sweltering in a heat wave and wondering whether the lights will go out at next months Olympics. Frankly, I don’t get it? I mean haven’t they had at least 4 years to prepare this venue? What have they been doing over there?? In any event, at least we have a nickname for Athen’s 2004…. “The Blackout Games”. Good luck to all our Canadian hopefuls!
Please feel free to post any comments on our Forum or send in any upcoming sporting events you would like posted in our “Sports Calendar” to michele@sarniarocks.com.
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Review: Apr/04
Spring is in the air! We all know what that means…
hockey playoffs are here, oh yes they are! Instead of predicting who’s
going to go all the way this year, I thought I would bring to light a few things
that have been mulling through everyone’s mind of late. The potential
for a lost season looms next year because of collective-bargaining talks. All
players are abundantly aware of that… but some more than others. Players
such as Brett Hull, Ron Francis, Steve Yzerman, Peter Forsberg and others know
that this could be their last shot at winning the cup. Most players in the
league never know the feeling of winning. Steve Thomas, for example, has
never won one. With the impending lockout next year, and Thomas turning
40, this could be his last chance to do it. It’s kind of sad really, not
everyone can win naturally but when all you play for year in year out is that
all important brass ring called Lord Stanley’s Cup, you wish it could go to
the players who are on borrowed time. Personally, I will enjoy watching
the playoffs this year, knowing there may not be any hockey to watch next year.
I hope I’m wrong…
With the
lightness that comes from having the weight of a career of frustration lifted
from your back, Phil Mickelson leaped into the air Sunday after making a 20-foot
birdie putt on the last hole of The Masters to win by one stroke over Ernie Els.
Finally and forever, Mickelson is no longer the golfer synonymous with only
coming close. Instead of watching replays of somebody else dancing and
hugging his caddie, Mickelson saw replays of his own jump for joy. Kind of
refreshing to see someone show some emotion for winning rather than crying over
a loss! LOL Too bad our home-boy Mike didn’t make the cut this
year but there are still a lot of tournaments to come for Mr. Weir to once again
take center stage.
Please feel free to post any comments on our Forum or send in any upcoming sporting events you would like posted in our “Sports Calendar” to Michele@sarniarocks.com.
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Review: Jan/04
Happy New Year Everyone!
Well as most of you know, the NFL regular season is over and playoffs have begun with already some upsets happening. I’m beginning to feel like Carolina has a chance at going all the way. If you had asked me a week ago, I would have said you were nuts! But as we all know, defenses win football games… much like Tampa Bay last year, New England the year before and who could forget the Baltimore Ravens of 2001? My head is telling me that either New England or Philly should be in the winner’s circle when it’s all said and done but somehow, I feel another there’s a spoiler in our midst! Time will tell…
Almost halfway through another NHL season and the best team that no one thought would be good is the Atlanta Thrashers, who have overcome a stunning tragedy to post a great first half, although they've stumbled a bit lately. They have arguably the best young player in the league in Ilya Kovalchuk, and have received unexpected offensive contributions from Slava Kozlov and Marc Savard, among others. They've done this without having a goaltender among the top 30 in either goals-against average or save percentage… not bad for a team sitting 26th (out of 30) in team salaries ($27 Million total). Guess who is top of that team salary list? You got it… Detroit, for a grand total of $77.8 Million… who said you couldn’t buy the cup? Oh yeah, just wanted to say I was right about Hasek and that nagging groin injury. Sure, they say he is “supposed” to be back in a couple of weeks but just how good is he going to be? I say, leave Joseph in and quit screwing around with this goalie situation. When this NHL salary cap goes through, it will be interesting to see how these high-salaried teams do then.
Please feel free to post any comments on our Forum or send in any upcoming sporting events you would like posted in our “Sports Calendar” to Michele@sarniarocks.com.
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