Dear George McCaskey: Don’t Sell the Bears
Dear George McCaskey,
I read recently that a fan wrote you a letter and asked you to sell the Chicago Bears. And you replied to this fan with a handwritten note, telling the fan you’re going to stick with it. It’s a cute story. Writing this fan back is incredibly kind and generous with your time. In response, I have my own request to you and your family.
To the McCaskeys: Don’t sell the Bears.
Your grandfather founded the NFL. Your franchise is one of the founding teams. You are in an incredibly lucky situation, one that every fan is envious of and would give their right arm to own a professional sports franchise. Plus, owning a pro sports team is a smart business investment. Don’t let public pressure dictate what to do with the future of your franchise.
Life is a series of choices. If fans aren’t happy with the product on the field, that’s their problem. It’s up to each fan to decide how they want to spend three hours on Sundays in the fall. There are 31 other teams to root for in the NFL. Don’t like the Bears? Find a new team. Can’t watch your new team in Chicago? Buy the NFL Sunday Ticket package. Can’t get DirecTV? Take up college football. Saturdays in the fall are just as amazing as Sundays. The product isn’t necessarily better, but the rivalries and tradition are fantastic. And the SEC might as well be the official minor league for the NFL.
It’s also up to season ticket holders and individual game buyers to determine how they want to spend their cash. As a former season ticket holder of another team in Chicago, it can be a profitable endeavor. I have friends who own season tickets to the Bears. I highly recommend them continuing with their season ticket investment. Not that they need my approval, of course.
Now, if enough fans decide to give up their Bears fandom for another team or something else, then be concerned. Until then, you’re good. Bears fans of a certain age will continue to cling to 1985 and hope to see that again in their lifetimes. Those who weren’t old enough and hear the stories will likely hang on for a new era of championship football. It’s hard to quit now when you’ve made the investment for decades. Don’t believe me? Ask Cubs fans.
As for me, well, I moved 900 miles away because I didn’t want to watch Bears football anymore. Just kidding. But there are perks of only seeing five or six Bears games a season. It’s less of an emotional investment and more of a natural curiosity. It also helps me keep up with angry Bears Twitter. It gets complicated, in a fun way, when Patriots fans ask me why I laugh when the Bears lose. It’s not the losing as much as it is the unique and original ways you go about it. Losing a playoff game on a field goal miss is one thing. But nobody will forget the Double Doink! Only the Bears could pull that off. (Double Doink is also a great fantasy football team name. Not that you care.)
Deep down, I’ll always love and root for the Bears. It’s what Chicagoans and Illinoisans do. The degree may be different, but love is love right?
Obviously(or not), I hope you guys win one more Super Bowl before my time is up on this earth. I just hit middle age, so no rush on this. My hope for the near future is that you all find a franchise quarterback. In my lifetime, about half the teams in the NFL have or had a franchise quarterback. You’re not one of them. Sorry, Punky QB and Smokin’ Jay. It’s not coincidence that the lack of a franchise QB has kept you from sustained success in this league.
I started writing this before the NFL Draft and I had some draft thoughts for you. Apparently, you have ESPN or something. Sure enough, you guys may have drafted a franchise QB. You guys weren’t afraid to use up some draft capital either. If I were Ryan and Matt, and I was trying to save my job, I wouldn’t be afraid to use future draft capital. Stick the next guy with the problem, right?
But I think you guys will get this one right. Only a hunch, but I love college football and I’ve watched a handful of Ohio State games. Justin Fields is so good and so fun to watch. And you even upset Patriots Twitter because they really wanted Fields. Now I get to rub that in a little. Thanks, George! Treat yo’ self! You’ve had quite the draft this year.
If anything, I’m impressed you learned two unbelievably valuable lessons from four years ago. I mentioned this already, but you weren’t afraid to trade more draft picks to get the players you want. Didn’t exactly go well the last time. Doesn’t mean you should try again. And you did.
The second, and maybe more important, lesson is this: Just because a quarterback drives a Toyota Camry doesn’t mean he’s a good quarterback. It just means he drives a Toyota Camry.
If Trevor Lawrence drives an Escalade and Ian Book shows up in a Camry, do you think Jacksonville was drafting Ian Book number one overall???
These are just some thoughts. I’m just a guy who wore the Walter Payton and Jim McMahon Hutch football uniforms when he played football in the yard as a kid. Not at the same time, of course. That would be extremely hot and uncomfortable. Point is, what do I really know?
Anyway, this started out about you keeping the team and turned into NFL Draft thoughts. I’ll reign it back in.
In short, don’t sell the team. Most fans are grown adults. We can decide how much we want to invest, financial and emotionally, in this team. Plenty of other options if we can’t handle it.
However, to run a solid organization, it certainly helps having a solid fanbase. For your sake, I hope Justin Fields works out for you. I haven’t seen this amount of optimism in Chicago, even from afar, in a decade. This could be amazing for the entire organization, for the fans, for the city. If Fields doesn’t work out, it will be like the Chicago Bears QB position is cursed. It might be the thing that drives enough of us away.
Take good care of this kid, George. Your future, and your franchise value, is riding on it.
Celtics Bench and Fourth Quarter Struggles
Watching the Celtics-Lakers game from Saturday, it was painfully obvious from the start and it really hit home by the end.
The Celtics bench is bad. At least on the offensive end.
Yes, you know this already. Fair enough. I type these words in part because I admit that even a fully health Celtics team may not reach the conference finals, let alone the NBA Finals. Sure, Walker, Smart, and Pritchard will get healthy again. But I think we all agree that even a healthy Celtics squad is probably enough to win.
I also write this because we’re watching a depleted Celtics lose a bunch of winnable games. It’s painful. Inconsistent play, injuries, and lineup and rotation continuity are all factors for the ups and downs through the first 20 games. Bench play is a big issue too and I’ve wondered how big this issue is.
I’ve re-watched the fourth quarter of the last three games, specifically focusing on the opening of the quarter. A few reasons for looking at the problem through this lens. First, the lineup to start the fourth quarter is generally a Tatum and the Bench lineup. Second, when it comes to the final stanza, the Celts usually have a lead or are trailing in a one possession game. Yes, the bench has been on the floor for large leads and deficits in the middle two quarters. See the last four games as acknowledgement. But the Celts have found a way to overcome bad play and hang on to a lead by the end of the third.
The problem is the fourth. Just throwing this out there, but ideally, you’d want to start out the fourth quarter with a few quick buckets to solidify or retake your lead. The Celts seem to do the opposite of this, forcing them to either get hot or scramble the remainder of the fourth quarter to pull out a win.
This Celtics problem dawned on me during the fourth quarter of the Spurs game. I focused on the Celtics offensive possessions during the first 3-4 minutes of the fourth quarter of the last three games(Lakers, Warriors, Kings). This is more eye test than advanced analytics. Someday I’ll get into more analytics, I promise. But for now, here’s some observations I had during the past three games.
Celtics vs Lakers, 1/30/21
End of Q3 Score: 78-71
Celts 4th Quarter Lineup: Tatum, Smart, Teague, Thompson, and Ojeleye
Offensive Possessions(game time listed is when Celtics began possession):
- 11:44: Tatum stripped on a pick and roll with Rob Williams, 8 seconds left on the shot clock
- 11:24: Tatum iso and missed turnaround jumper from 20 feet, 6 left on the shot clock
- 10:51: Teague drive and missed floater, 16 left on the shot clock
- 10:28: Nesmith turnover, out of bounds on a 3-point attempt
Comment: The Lakers scored eight in a row, capped off by a Talen Horton-Tucker layup, which gave them a 79-78 lead. It took the Celtics over three minutes to score a single basket, a Jeff Teague layup. They scored seven points in the first seven minutes of the fourth quarter. They also had seven turnovers in those same seven minutes. Is that bad? Seems bad?
The Marcus Smart injury occurred with 10:28 left and Aaron Nesmith subbed in for the next two minutes. The Celtics wouldn’t go on to do much offensively until the final five minutes in the game.
Celtics vs Warriors, 2/2/21
End of Q3 Score: 86-85, Celtics
Celts 4th Quarter Lineup: Tatum, Teague, Thompson, G. Williams, Green
Offensive Possessions(game time listed is when Celtics began possession):
- 11:45: Tatum fadeaway miss with the shot clock winding down
- 11:23 Teague misses a contested 3 after a G. Williams offensive board
- 11:07: Teague gets a breakaway off a steal, but has the layup blocked
- 10:53: Tatum iso – makes a step back 3
- 9:49: Teague misses an awkward and contested 17-footer
- 9:34: Thompson get the offensive rebound and Tatum misses a step back 3
- 9:12: Thompson makes a bucket in the paint; Celts take a 91-90 lead
- 8:34(tie game): Turnover – Thompson and G. Williams run a hi-lo; Williams can’t corral the Thompson’s pass from the top of the key
Comment: After this possession, Golden State hit a bucket to take the lead. The Celts promptly turn the ball over again on a 3-second call. In looking at the previous possessions, the ball movement was a little better. We also see a couple of iso plays, one turnover(an improvement from the Lakers game), and too many Jeff Teague shots.
Celtics vs Kings, 2/3/21
End of Q3 Score: 82-81, Celtics
Celts 4th Quarter Lineup: Tatum, Ojeleye, G. Williams, R. Williams, Waters
Offensive Possessions(game time listed is when Celtics began possession):
- 11:35: Waters three from the wing with 12 on the shot clock
- 11:06: Tatum iso in a Sacramento zone – R. Williams with the putback on a Tatum missed layup
- 10:14: Waters fouled on the drive, 1-2 from the free throw line
- 9:54: Waters misses a quick three with 17 on the shot clock
- 9:14: Waters makes a floater of a PnR after a series of side-to-side ball movement
- 8:32: Second chance points off a R. Williams dunk; Tatum initially missed a floater
Comment: Having Rob Williams start the quarter with this group may have been a blessing. The Celts scored 7 points with 4 of them being second chance points, all thanks to Rob Williams. The downfall is not much ball movement except for one possession. And a lot of Tremont Waters shooting. The same Tremont Waters who’s shooting 26% on the season.
Observations
The Celts start the fourth quarter offensively as inconsistent at best and not particularly good at worst. Tatum at times will try to take over, as he should, with varying degrees of success. It’s a lot of isolation or the two-man game. Not a lot of passing. When Tatum drives to the basket, he’s settling for floaters. No finishes at the rim and he’s not drawing fouls either. Tatum needs to take advantage of his size and get to the rim. It’s also clear Tatum needs another weapon to help space the floor and put the ball in the basket.
Who, from this roster, you ask? Well, definitely not Jeff Teague or Tremont Waters. I give Tremont Waters credit for drawing a foul on a layup in the Kings game. As the second to last guy on the roster, he must hit his free throws. Hitting 83% for the season(small sample), he made 1 of 2. Both players have the propensity to take shots early in the shot clock too. Waters took two three in that fourth quarter start during the Kings game. One was at 12 seconds; the other at 17. I’m sure Brad Stevens would tell you he’s not happy with the lack of ball movement. However, with Smart and Pritchard on the injured list, I’m not sure what more the Celtics can do with their guards.
Tristan Thompson has played much better over the past few nights and Rob Williams was awesome in last night’s game against the Kings. One of these two should be on the floor to start the fourth. Having a good offensive rebounder to keep possessions alive is a must for this group.
What about the Wings? Well, that’s the issue. Semi Ojeleye’s shooting 30% from 3 over his last ten games, which is regressing to the norm after a hot start. Grant Williams is now 9 of 18 over his last ten games from 3. The problem is he’s had his struggles on both ends of the floor, excluding his three-point shooting prowess. On the surface, it sems like the Celtics miss Marcus Smart and Payton Pritchard. But even Marcus Smart is shooting 39% from the field on the season, including 31% from three. It’s not a lock these fourth quarter starts would be better with a healthy squad.
I prefer to be in the solutions business and I’m at a loss other than the obvious: the TPE. The Celtics need a scorer with size. Those are Danny Ainge’s words, as he told the Toucher and Rich radio program. Harrison Barnes, Nikola Vucevic, and Serge Ibaka were names thrown about in Celtics twitter today. Feels like Barnes and Ibaka would be more likely than Vucevic. All would be upgrades to what they have. That’s what they’re missing though – reliable scoring off the bench. Until they find it, Jayson Tatum will continue to see double teams and teams will force the likes of Semi, Grant, Teague, Waters, and Carsen Edwards to beat them. Lots of luck.
And that’s the frustration of this Celtics team. Jaylen Brown has made a huge leap; many predict he’ll be an All-Star this year. Jayson Tatum is Jayson Tatum. The surrounding pieces have been okay in spurts, but overall, they haven’t been good enough. Daniel Theis has seemed good on the offensive end in the past 2-3 weeks. Rob Williams and Payton Pritchard have been pleasant surprises in short spurts. But that’s not enough. At a minimum, the Celtics need a healthy squad and Kemba Walker playing at an All-Star level, even if he’s the third option on this team. With Tatum and Brown taking the next step in each of their careers, it’s time to find them the supporting cast they need. For now, expect more double digit blown leads, slow fourth quarter starts, and frantic finishes. Exciting, frustrating, and taking years off our lives.
The word to describe the Celtics beginning of fourth quarter offense is the same word you can use to describe the remainder of the Celtics first half season: Survival.
Defending Xander Bogaerts
Why is Xander Bogaerts projected to hit sixth? Is John Farrell crazy? The answers, in order, are I don’t know and I hope not.
Yes, Xander Bogaerts hit third in the lineup yesterday against the Orioles. That was also in a lineup not including Betts and Benintendi. And it was only one game.
Right now, it looks like John Farrell will start the season with a 2-6 of Betts, Benintendi, Ramirez, Moreland, and Bogaerts. Much of this is the alternating righty-lefty combo. I’m sure some of this is due to Bogaerts end of 2016 slump. But is Mitch Moreland is the answer? This is a guy who has never scored more than 60 runs and never had an OBP higher than .330 in the five seasons of 350+ plate appearances.
Meanwhile, Xander Bogaerts OBP the last two seasons has been .355 and .356 respectively. His run totals the last three years have skyrocketed from 60 to 114. Obviously, Bogaerts spent a lot of time at the top of the order last year, giving him more opportunities to get on base and score. But he also scores runs because he will get on base an additional 4 to 5% more than Moreland.
Moreland’s slugging percentage is about 30 points higher, but the 2016 home runs totals are nearly identical. OPS and OPS+ are also nearly identical. Is this enough to warrant Xander Bogaerts hitting sixth?
No it’s not. It’s arguable that Bogaerts should bat second, third, or fourth. But that’s for another blog post. Right now, batting Bogaerts in front of Moreland is a no-brainer.
The good news is we’re less than a week away from seeing this grand experiment begin.
Thoughts on Speeding Up Baseball
Remember what Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry character said about opinions? Well, I won’t print it here. But you can google it and get the point.
In the wake of baseball’s new intentional walk rule, it seems like everyone has an opinion on how to speed up baseball. In last Sunday’s Boston Globe baseball column, Nick Cafardo shared opinions from nine anonymous major leaguers (link attached).
Some thoughts were very outside of the box, which was the point. Like everything else in life, baseball will need to evolve or it risks becoming a niche sport(see, NHL). I’m more of a baseball purist. To me, I love the game and wouldn’t change much. But if MLB is trying to grow its business, concessions will need to be made.
I’m sure I’ll have a few thoughts throughout the season on what concessions to make. For today, I’ll point out two concessions that won’t be made.
Reducing time between innings – Not going to happen. Commercials, and in turn, media, help pay the bills for media companies. The same media companies that are signing massive national and local rights deals. Owners like money, media companies like money, and advertisers like money. So the media companies will sell whatever advertising they can to help support the large rights deals they just paid.
Reducing the season – Whether it’s 8 games or one less month, neither will happen. And for the same reason I wrote above. Money. According to a 2016 GOBankingRates study of MLB stadium prices, the average cost for two people to spend a day at the ballpark is just under $80. I’m going to use round numbers for the sake of efficiency and say $40/person.
We’re going to assume a plan of reducing the season by 8 games(4 home games per team). Not a lot, but at least the World Series can be completed in October. On the lower end of the spectrum, an MLB park has a capacity of 40,000 people. So here’s what’s lost by asking teams to give up 4 home games per year:
- 160,000 fans not attending baseball games (40,000 x 4)
- $6,400,000 not being spent at the ballpark
- In the case of the Dodgers, with the largest stadium capacity, you’re looking at $9M
So by reducing the season, we’re asking teams to get rid of one Anthony Rizzo, Jason Hammel, or Travis Wood. Sorry for all the 2016 Cubs World Series champs references. But you get the point. Not happening.
I do appreciate the recommendations and outside the box thoughts for helping baseball evolve. Asking owners and players to give up money to make us fans feel better is off the table. I challenge baseball fans everywhere to think more critically when looking for solutions to help continue baseball’s success.
Why Phil Mickelson Isn’t Going To Jail
Phil Mickelson isn’t getting arrested and going to jail. Sorry.
This FBI investigation does have merit. Let’s just say I’ll disagree with this New York Post article from Charles Gasparino:
http://nypost.com/2014/06/02/the-feds-hit-a-bogey-an-empty-case-on-mickelson/
Near the article’s end, Gasparino writes about the Feds taking the easy way out on this – scaring Mickelson into ratting out others. He’s right. Mickelson is the tippee(the end user) in this scenario. He’s taken some info, legal or not, to make a quick buck. Phil likely made more money on Super Bowl bets than he did in this exchange. The money is immaterial to the Feds.
What matters is the tippee(the source). The Feds want to know what Mickelson knows, how he knows it, and who provided him with the info. They also want to do their due diligence on how long Mickelson has conducted business in this manner. Whether the Feds are after Carl Icahn, Billy Walters, or someone in between, I don’t know.
The way the FBI went about this case does draw more attention than the alternative. Fat cats like Icahn probably have enough money and resources to not care. But I’ve heard worse ideas than using a high-profile athlete to crack down on a few middlemen and their insider trades. Even if Phil made the trades legally, would it be surprising to know Walters used insider info on a number of other trades? Not really.
It’s too early to label this case a birdie or bogey. Let’s just say the FBI has a side-hill, 30-foot birdie putt. Too short and the nerves kick in on a tough par putt. Too long and the hole gets away from them. The FBI needs to hit this putt just right.
Moving on from Wozzilroy
Fish and chips, pints of Guinness, and the BMW PGA. That’s all I needed from a Galway pub two Sundays ago. Earlier, I stopped from placing a wager on Rory McIlroy to come from seven back to win the tournament. Nothing against Thomas Bjorn, Shane Lowry, and Luke Donald. I just thought I’d get good odds on young Rory. I could think of a lot worse ways to drop 20 euro.
I should’ve made the bet.
I chuckled when I saw McIlroy charge up the leaderboard and win the tournament. Who knew a gut feeling and an odd bet would come through? I laughed at the post-round comments from my fellow bar patrons. In typical honest, Irish fashion, here’s the very first comment from my neighbor:
That girl f***** him up for a year and a half. Complete waste of time!
Can’t say I disagree with him. Which made me wonder about the initial shock from McIlroy’s announcement before the BMW PGA. Why were we really surprised this didn’t last?
From a few months in, Wozzilroy posted an awfully lot of intimate pics on social media. We were introduced to the naming of the couple, Wozzilroy, by the couple itself. On a Vokey wedge. About two or three months into the relationship. We saw these two travel the world to see each other. And after that became a trend, we watched their world number one rankings fall faster than Wile E. Coyote from a cliff. Not surprising for a 25 and 23 year old.
Meanwhile, McIlroy’s fellow countryman, Graeme McDowell uses social media a little differently. Lots of posts, generally related to golf courses, golf travel, Cleveland golf, and his Nona Blue restaurant. A lot of golf and some business. Occasionally, we’ll see McDowell and his lovely wife. But not often.
Maybe the young Wozzilroys should’ve kept a little more distance between them and the spotlight. Young love played a part in a lot of those decisions, I’m sure. Just as important, maybe these two kids need a significant other to ground them, to help them focus on their games. It’s quite the task when both are at the top of their professions, which involve significant travel.
My other interest in this story is the growth from the BMW PGA until now. Since two Sundays ago, we saw Wozniacki’s first round out in the French, Rory’s 63 at Memorial, Wozniacki’s wicked witch avatar on twitter, followed by a second round 78 from McIlroy. All of a sudden a few golf outlets started covering Wozniacki’s weekend fun in Miami.
Why do we care? He’s 25, she’s 23. They should be out enjoying themselves. Maybe, just maybe, they might find a partner that’s better suited for them. Shocker, I know.
These two kids are moving on. So should we. Can we do that already?
Tiger vs Rory – 48 Hours Later
If a tree falls in the forest, and nobody is there to see it, does it make a sound?
If the two best golfers in the world play an exhibition in China, and nobody is there to watch it, does anyone really care?
I didn’t. And I love Tiger and Rory. Why would I pay money to watch an Internet feed of this exhibition match, especially when I can be doing better things in the middle of the night? Like sleeping.
Well, I stumbled upon Ryan Lavner’s piece on golfchannel.com yesterday. I think I figured out why I cared.
http://www.golfchannel.com/news/golftalkcentral/rory-clips-tiger-by-a-shot-in-duel-at-jinsha-lake/
Here’s the key paragraph from Lavner’s article:
On the 10th hole, Woods admitted to “struggling with Sean (Foley),” his swing coach, saying, “I’ve been hitting my short irons so (expletive) far.” He went on to explain how he rarely took a divot with his short clubs under former coach Hank Haney, but now, though, “all of a sudden, I’m taking divots.”
Well, well, well. So Tiger is fully aware of the issues we all see. His short iron game is simply not as good as it once, nor is it on par with the rest of his current game. Now, I have no qualms with Sean Foley. I also have no issues with Hank Haney either. I have a lot of respect for both teachers. I will say this:
I think Hank’s way is the better way.
To take it one step further, I will paraphrase a comment made by Johnny Miller during the final round of this year’s Ryder Cup. Miller commented that the best iron players hit their short irons low and their long irons high, and they take a more shallow divot.
I’m not saying Tiger should go back to Haney. I’m not sure Haney would have him. Sean Foley is Tiger’s coach and that’s not likely to change for awhile. At what point do Tiger and Foley work together to flatten(even slightly) the swing his wedges? He shouldn’t be thinking about large divots over the ball. He should be thinking about shallow divots and crisp, consistent contact. Tiger’s short iron woes are a huge part what’s keeping him from winning major championships.
We all remember Tiger’s magical win at the 2008 US Open. It’s arguably the greatest tournament win of all time. It’s the greatest tournament win I’ve ever seen. But when Tiger tees it up at Augusta next April, it will be nearly five years since that US Open win.
Did anyone ever think Tiger Woods would go five years without a major championship?
Feeling So Good About Being So Wrong – ND 30, OU 13
I was wrong and I don’t care.
An hour before gametime Saturday, I wrote the combo of Golson to Eifert would be the key to a Notre Dame victory. Well, I don’t think three receptions for 22 yards would validate my claim. One of those receptions wasn’t even from Golson.
Notre Dame’s defense was the key to its 30-13 win over Oklahoma in Norman last Saturday night. Playing a bend-but-don’t-break defense, Notre Dame allowed 364 passing yards on Saturday night. Not exactly stellar numbers by any means. However, this same defense tightened up in the red zone, forcing Landry Jones out of the pocket and into some dangerous throws. Notre Dame found a way to keep Landry Jones off the scoresheet.
What’s more impressive is the Oklahoma rushing stat line: 15 rushing attempts and 24 yards. That’s it. To OU’s credit, they did score the first rushing touchdown on ND’s defense this season. Like most predicted, it was Blake Bell(the Belldozer).
As Brian Kelly discussed in the postgame, this was the plan all along – allow yards, but not points. It’s pretty obvious that the yards were coming from the air. Notre Dame forced Landry Jones to beat them. He just couldn’t.
Back to the offense for a minute. I was wrong about the Golson to Eifert combo. But I wasn’t wrong about Golson himself. I said Notre Dame needed to score points and they delivered. The 30 points scored was the most points ND scored against a ranked team the entire season. Golson’s final line isn’t strong, but he made the plays when the mattered most. His biggest play was his 50 yard bomb to freshman receiver Chris Brown. It was a solid throw by Golson and an impressive catch by Brown, the first in his collegiate career. This big play killed any OU momentum from their previous score.
From that point on, you know the rest. Golson caps off the final play of the drive, scoring the game winning TD on a QB dive. Theo Riddick puts the icing on the cake with a 15 yard run to put ND up 30-13.
One last thing, let’s not forget the biggest play of the game: The fourth quarter interception by Manti Te’o. He dove, caught it, flipped over, lost the ball on his thigh, picked it up with his hands, and laid on the ground safely with the pick. Another Saturday, another stellar performance for Te’o. The final numbers say he had 11 tackles, 2 TFLs, 1 sack, and 1 INT. He’s not that far from KSU’s Collin Klein for the Heisman trophy. Should be an interesting subplot in another magical Notre Dame season.
#5 Notre Dame at #8 Oklahoma – Quick Thoughts
It’s the biggest game for Notre Dame since the #5 ranked Irish faced #1 USC in 2005. Yes, I’m invoking the “Bush Push” game one more time. I’m sorry, Irish fans.
The “Bush Push” game has been referenced quite a bit over the past few weeks. However, this game honestly doesn’t remind me that clash of the titans. This game reminds me more of a game in the 2002 season, when the #6 ranked Irish faced the #11 ranked Free Shoes University(Florida State, for those who missed the Steve Spurrier reference). Notre Dame was the higher ranked team, but being untested and on the road, the #11 Seminoles were the favorites.
Sound familiar, anyone?
Could the underdogs pull off another “upset” again? Just maybe.
Notre Dame’s defense will have to remain national championship caliber, it’s trademark during this 2012 campaign. Even ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit referenced this as the key to today – Landry Jones and the Sooners wide receivers versus ND’s defense. I am a firm believer in the defense wins championships philosophy. However, I don’t necessarily agree with Herbstreit. It’s an important matchup, but not the most important.
Here’s the key to tonight’s game: Everett Golson to Tyler Eifert.
Not to go all John Madden on you, but if the Irish expect to win tonight, they’ll have to score a few touchdowns. It would be nice if Manti Te’o and company could do all the scoring for them. Something tells me the offense will have to contribute.
Golson must find Tyler Eifert tonight. In Golson’s previous three starts, he’s found Eifert, a future first-round draft pick, a total of three times. Three. That’s it. That will have to change if the Irish expect to remain undefeated.
I know defenses are doubling down on Eifert. TJ Jones will be featured in a lot of one-on-one matchups once again. Golson will have to continue to find Jones in order to keep defenses honest. But…Golson cannot abandon Eifert like he has in recent weeks. Eifert must have an impact if the Irish expect to win. Golson must remain confident in his ability to throw strikes and find his man Eifert.
Tyler Eifert is ready for the big stage. Let’s hope Everett Golson can send Eifert on his way. If he can, expect the Irish to remain unbeaten after tonight.
My Day at Medinah
June 30, 2012
9:45AM – I’m sitting in a Bolingbrook Denny’s. I’m excited. Who wouldn’t be? But not just for Denny’s. I’ll explain it a minute.
I’m picking up my 19 year old brother, David. My mom, who in central Illinois, is dropping off my brother because she’s afraid of my brother navigating his way through the Chicagoland suburbs. Again, he’s 19. It is what it is.
My brother is tired from his summer job, but seems excited for the day ahead. My mom thinks this is just another day at the golf course. Neither realize the magnitude of this day. We are not just playing golf at any golf course today. Thanks to my girlfriend, and I can’t thank her enough, we are playing a course that few Chicagoans are lucky enough to play
On this incredibly hot and balmy June afternoon, we have a tee time at Medinah No. 3.
11:45AM – Here! We make our way through the main entrance at Medinah and immediately see the majestic clubhouse. I’ve had this drive once before – in a shuttle at the 2006 PGA Championship. It’s a little different today.
11:50AM – Mercedes, Porsches, Ferraris, and yes, even one Lamborghini line the first rows of Medinah’s parking lot. I pull up in the blue bomber – my 2002 Jeep Liberty. I pull up to the side clubhouse entrance. We drop off the clubs to the very nice attendance. They even want to valet the car. Yeah, no. I’m too embarrassed to let anyone other than me and a few friends into the Liberty.
12:00PM – Mike and Kevin are here, right on time. I’ve known both cats for about a decade. Mike and Kevin are best friends. Mike is a former roommate of mine. Kevin is a friend, and like me, is an avid golfer.
12:05PM – The scene is straight out of Caddyshack. The best part – the slobs get to play Bushwood today.
We grab lunch at the outdoor patio near the pool. The food is good, the drinks are better, but the atmosphere is the best. I’m pretty sure we saw Spaulding at the pool. If we only had a Baby Ruth.
It’s possible I might have as much fun doing non-golf things at Medinah. Between the pool, the skeet shooting range, and the clubhouse, I could’ve been set. I’ve never shot a gun in my life, but as they say, when in Rome.
2:24PM – Finally. The first tee.
We meet our caddies Neal and Niall. I couldn’t make this up. The names are pronounced phonetically. Two of the nicest kids you’ll meet. Two of the better caddies I’ve had. They just didn’t know what they were in for.
I was more nervous on the first tee here than I was at Pebble. After I hooked my tee shot well left, I pushed my breakfast ball down the first cut of the right rough. Both balls are playable, but to speed up play, I use the breakfast ball(thanks guys). Kevin has the best drive, pummeling one 300+ right down broadway.
3:05PM – The par-3 second is 150 yards over water. Not long, but it will raise your blood pressure. David’s adventure begins here. The kid who plays once every other year pummels his tee shot. It hits the cart path beyond the green. His ball comes to rest at the top of the hill beyond the path. At least he’s dry, right?
Wrong. For his next magic trick, David’s second must carry the cart path and the bunker without rolling over the green and into the water. Well, it ends up in the bunker. The third shot? In the drink. To his credit, he was out of the sand in one.
If you end up in either back bunker at the second, play the bump and run or the Texas wedge. These bunkers have no lip. Better safe than sorry. You were warned.
3:25PM – Medinah’s test truly begins on three. Even former members agree. This par-4 is a dogleg left and long. I had a couple of pulled shots in the trees, but still saved bogey.
As we finish the third, two members give Mike the stare down for wearing casual shoes. Mike stares right back. Oh the humanity…
Slobs 1, Snobs 0.
3:50PM – I need a change of shorts after holing a downhill, left-to-right, twenty footer to save bogey.
The fourth is long, tight, the green is up the hill and on a plateau. Leave it short and you roll back down the hill. Leave it long and you better be lucky like me. Four here is insanely good.
4:50PM – My four best shots on the day came at 6 and 7. I carefully made a bogey on six, three-jacking it from 25 feet.
Seven was a different story. The longest and toughest par-five on the golf course, I pured driver and hit a solid 3-wood. I was still 80 yards from the green. Wedge and a birdie time? Not so much. I shanked my wedge into the right bunker and made seven.
Another reason for the difficulty at Medinah – uneven lies. The wedge shot was significant above my feet. I setup properly, but nerves kicked in. All I could think about was chunking the shot. So I used all hands for the shank.
Even when you are in the fairway, this course still teases you. It’s just not fair!
5:20PM – We finish 9. Yep, you read that right. Almost three hours to finish the round. We were slow, sure. But my brother rarely plays, Mike and I were all over the place, and oh yeah, it was 97 degrees with 110% humidity.
And of course, it’s Medinah. It’s really, really hard.
5:30PM – After pummeling my drive on 10, I have my most interesting shot of the day. My ball lies in the first cut and sits significantly below my feet. What do I do? The dreaded double cross. I pull my ball so far left, I hit the fence that separates 10 from Lake Street. I ending up making an 8.
6:15PM – 245 yards, downhill, over water. All carry. We all pull driver. Only Kevin comes close, hitting a tree on the left and having his ball land two yards beyond the green. Welcome to the 13th at Medinah.
We played our actual tee shots from the white tees and I made my first par of the day. I hit the green in regulation too!
6:35PM – We all clear the water on the par-5 fourteenth. We all mess up our seconds. Somehow we all make bogeys.
The 14th is long and undulating, like most of Medinah No. 3. It’s more challenging because the green is similar to an island green. Sure, it’s reachable in two. But the green is surrounded by sand in the front, trees on the side, and tall rough in the back. Laying up isn’t the worst idea here.
7:00PM – The Sergio tree. Well, what’s left of it. The tree was torn down during the Rees Jones-lead renovations a few years back. All that’s left is the stump. I do the obligatory Sergio run-and-jump. But I can’t even take myself seriously so I do the metrosexual version of it. I don’t know what that means.
7:30PM – Birdie.
Doing what no American did during the Sunday singles matches at the Ryder Cup, I made bird on 17. It. Just. Barely. Curled. In. My one and only bird on the day was from 20 feet. Nerves of steel on the tee shot. I’ve finally conquered the medium length par-3 over water.
7:40PM – The walk up 18th. I’ve played St. Andrews, Pebble, and Torrey Pines. But never with friends. This walk is much more special. The boys aren’t the sentimental types, but I’ll never forget it.
7:45PM – Of course, my third shot is in a nasty lie and below my feet in the greenside rough. I see my girlfriend and sister pull in as I walk into my chip shot. Talk about pressure! And…I chip it to 8 feet. I’ll take it. America wins!
7:50PM – We’ve made it. We survived the heat, humidity, high rough, fast greens, the sunset, and two chotchy members.
The 8 foot par save on 18 doesn’t matter(I left it six inches below the hole). The score doesn’t matter(I broke 100 though!). Having my friends, siblings, and of course, Liz with me was all that mattered.
Unless I win the lotto, this is probably my one shot at Medinah. I gave it all I had. I’m incredibly fortunate to play Medinah once, especially when it happened three months to the day before the final round of the Ryder Cup. No complaints.
For those who get the chance to play Medinah – be straight, bring your short game, and most importantly, have fun.
For all those who never get the chance, just know this – the slobs won today.
Matt's Box Seat Observations 