from vacation, during which I had some time (while lying on the beach, or driving to and from) to think about the direction I want to go with the blog, something that obviously hasn’t been clearly formed in my head.
It’s going to be more of an actual diary from now on. Throughout the day I’ll make note of things, scribble down stuff, and then at the end of the evening, when the kids are in bed, while I’m decompressing with the Phillies or sitcom reruns, I’ll sit down and kind of empty my head. Ideally I’ll do that six days a week, or every day except Saturdays, when I’m usually on deadline for the newspaper.
Of course there will be exceptions. Breaking news, for example. There will be some live blogging at Penn State or Phillies or Barnstormers games. I plan to write something off JoePa’s weekly teleconference with the media as soon as it’s over Tuesday afternoons.
Bear with me. Even though football isn’t my favorite sport, football season is the best time to be a sportswriter. It’s going to get more interesting around here.
Some observations from last week:
Tiger’s winning a major on a claustrophobically tight, target course like Southern Hills is more of a breakthrough that people realize. Friday’s 63 was not only one of the best, but one of the most important rounds of his career.
I still think he’d have problems on a course of that type that required using the driver more, like Winged Foot, but how many courses are there like that?
If the most damning thing you can say about the guy is that he’s not the best ever at Winged Foot, that tells you about all you need to know.
Heard some talk-radio heads batting around steroid use in golf this morning. I don’t doubt that some golfers will try PEDs, or already have.
But here’s why it’s not going to be a serious problem: In golf, the physical standards are arguably lower than in any other major sport. But the mental and emotional standards are higher.
Compromising the mental/emotional side in order to gain something on the physical side doesn’t make sense in golf. It won’t work. ‘Roid rage might be a good thing for a football player. For a golfer, it’d be a disaster.
Penn State media day was as silly as ever, and that’s not an entirely bad thing. Several people have told me they thought, based on video from local TV news, that Joe looked bad, stooped-over and rickety and old.
I actually thought he looked pretty good. This may be still more proof of how deceptive cameras can be.
The Aug. 5 column about Penn State’s lame 2008 and 2009 schedules, I’m happy and surprised to report, received only one negative response and a number of positive ones.
It should be noted, though, that many Big Ten teams are playing non-conferences schedules almost as soft this year. Ohio State opens with Youngstown State, Michigan with Appalachian State. Wisconsin plays the Citadel.
The problem isn’s playing a couple stiffs in exchange for financial guarantees. All the powers do that.
The problem is playing no legit non-con opponents. None. Zero. If I had made the commitment to be a Penn State season ticket holder (joining the Nittany Lion Club, etc.) and I saw the product I was getting in 08 and 09, I’d be a little unhappy about that.
What’s amusing is Joe, normally a sharp debater, doesn’t even much try on this topic. Bring it up, and he fumbles around, saying he doesn’t make the schedule and we have to have seven home games and we have to come up with a 12th game now (which of course would make it easier, not harder, to schedule decent opponents and still get seven home games), etc., etc.
He even tried going Orange Saturday: “A few years ago, when Syracuse was 10-2 and going to a bowl, people would say to me, “Why don’t you play Syracuse?”
Really, though, you can’t blame him. What can he say?
Guess we don’t have Karl Rove to kick around any more, or vice versa. Definitely vice versa. Can you be on the board of directors of every energy company in the country? Is that cool? Guess we’re about the find out.
