Golf isn't a sport... and the Earth is flat!

A couple of times in class the topic of whether or not golf is a sport has been brought up, but not discussed in detail. I’m interested it seeing what people’s opinions are on this subject.

Personally I’ve been playing golf my whole life. I have always had immense respect for the game but will admit that I haven’t always considered it a sport. The way most amateurs and I play the game would probably be more accurately described as a recreation. But in the last 10+ years a shift has occurred. Now athleticism is a major factor in whether or not a player is successful on tour. Is it a coincidence that the best player on tour is the one in best shape? I don’t believe it is. Many key characteristics that make a football or basketball players skilled in their discipline are comparable to what make golfers good in theirs. Examples are such characteristics as mental strength, flexibility, determination, and of course physical condition/athleticism.

Tiger has been rumored to bench over 300 lbs, squat 500+ lbs, and run sprints that are comparable to NFL athletes (and I assume not lineman!). Some people question this since it’s difficult to find hard data, but one look at his physique and it would be hard to doubt. Many of his nearest competitors are in great shape as well, and even Jon Daly is unbelievably strong and is considered to have the ‘softest hands’ (playing soft shots, not hand texture) on tour, even though he’s a little out of shape.

Basically my argument for why golf is a sport is simple. Take a doubter out to walk 36 holes of golf on a hot summer day and see if he is as tired as playing some pick-up basketball. If athletes are playing a game, competing for money, and entertaining millions of people, how could it not be a sport?

So long Donaghy...

Tim Donaghy is not a saint. He may be responsible for one of the worst atrocities in the history of the NBA, but his involvement shouldn’t be as much of a surprise as it seems to be. He has a documented history of scandalous events surrounding the NBA. Disputes with neighbors which the league had to get involved in, the threats of violence from Rasheed Wallace after a Blazer game, and his role in the “other” biggest atrocity in the NBA (the pacers-pistons fight); the fact that this man was rated one of the better NBA refs is a joke.

But the question I want to ask is this; is a ref really able to shave enough points to sway a game? What if the team that is supposed to win goes absolutely cold from the field? What if the team that is supposed to lose gets so hot that they can’t be stopped? I question the fact that a mobster would invest substantial amounts of money on games that weren’t entirely open to manipulation. To be successful the acts would have to be so subtle that experts didn’t notice them. The act of paying an official to shave is a disgusting attempt to diminish a great game, but in my opinion it’s not on the same level as paying a player to do the same.

This situation makes me wonder just how often this happens. Either way Donaghy needs to be made an example of. If a harsh punishment is circumvented it may open the door for many more occurrences. My opinion is people need to sleep in the bed they make, and I think Donaghy’s bed is quite uncomfortable right now. He can only hope the punishment is enforced by the league and not his new friends.

Tigers and Bears... Oh my!

Everyone knows the biggest debate surrounding golf is who is the better player, Tiger or Jack Nicklaus? This is often a heated and interesting debate but it falls into that category of things hard to compare because of the large time differential. For those of you who don’t know golf, Jack Nicklaus currently holds the Professional Golfers’ Association Majors Record (PGA Championship [5], The Masters [6], US Open[4], British Open[3]; total=18). Tiger is currently hot on his heels with 12 PGA Majors victories. What Tiger has already accomplished in his 10+ seasons as a professional is unreal. Jack hit 12 majors after 13 seasons, but only 6 majors in the last 22 years of his career. That gives Tiger too much time to just annihilate that record.

With all this considered I still have to make the claim that Jack is the better golfer… for now. To be the best you have to own the records and although Tiger is well above the pace, no cigar yet. Also to be considered are these facts:

1. Jack Nicklaus played in the 60’s and didn’t have this incredible technology we have today. That made the game more skillful in my opinion. The ‘sweet spot’ was about the size of a quarter then, it’s almost a baseball now!

2. What the Majors record overshadows is the fact that Jack has 19 runner-up finishes in Majors. He also has 9 third place finishes. What this means is Jack was almost always in contention while Tiger seems to ebb and flow quite a bit.

Adam's debate for 7/11

My topic for the debate tomorrow will be considering the discrepancy between the prize money in men's professional sporting events and those in women's. The organizing bodies of tournaments in several sports currently offer ‘uneven’ prize funds, paying the champion of the men’s competition more than the women’s. The most obvious and high profile example is the Wimbledon Championship hosted by the All-England Tennis and Croquet Club, but some other examples are the purses in the US opens of Golf (Men = $6.3 million, Women = $3.1 million), and Professional Basketball where the average female player’s salary is less than $60,000 and the men’s is over $4 million. Do you think this discrepancy is fair?

Reasons for it being fair:

The discrepancy is fair because people seek out the highest level of performance, in many sporting events that is provided by men. Therefore they should receive the most lucrative prizes.

Rewards come from consumers: if women’s golf or tennis or basketball were more popular than men’s, they’d be paid more than men.

Reasons for it being unfair:

The fact that the sporting world looks down on women’s events may lead to sexist tendencies in our society

The market has been conditioned historically by the preferences of biased male sports administrators and media executives. Do we really know that sports fans prefer men’s sports, or do we only know that they watch them?

What a time to be a beaver fan!

Oregon State became the first team in a decade to repeat as College World Series champion, helping to secure the pac-10’s historical dominance over college baseball.

This year was a much easier path than a year ago, when Oregon State lost its CWS opener 11-1 to Miami. The Beavers staved off elimination four straight times to make it to the finals against North Carolina. They came back from a loss in Game 1 to win the title. Last year was all about comebacks and long shots. This year was defined by domination… but not at first. The Beavers were nearly left out of the 64-team national tournament field after struggling in the Pacific-10 Conference. But they finished the season with 10 straight wins and became the first to win four CWS games by six runs or more. OSU also carried a streak of 61 straight innings of not trailing in a game this year, going back to June 5 against Virginia in the last game of the regional. The prospects once again seemed unlikely heading into the tourney, but the beavers seemed to simply find a way to win.

As if the Baseball program wasn’t enough to be excited about lets consider the football team. But before rejoicing in the success of last season, before discussing the amazing nail-biter victories over such teams as USC, Oregon, and Missouri, before discussing the great players who are returning, we must first take a painful trip down memory lane. It is said that to avoid repeating our past mistakes we must remember them…

The score was 15-7, the beavers leading #3 ranked LSU in the fourth quarter. Derrick Anderson had just thrown a TD and Alexis Serna was jogging out onto the field to essentially ice the game with an extra point. BUT HE PUSHES IT! His second missed EP of the game, allowing LSU time to march down the field and tie the game. In overtime down 15-22, Derek Anderson, who was 26-of-47 for 231 yards and three TDs, found tight end Joe Newton on 4th-and-4 for a 19-yard TD, and the game appeared headed to a second overtime. But Serna, who pushed his first two extra points right, did so again, ending Oregon State's upset hopes. He threw his helmet, then dropped to his knees and began ripping up grass from the soggy field in anger.

To all the loyal beaver fans that feel my lingering pain from that moment, take a deep breath. The painful stories are over with. Instead lets reminisce about the comeback victory in the Sun Bowl. The Beavers (10-4) trailed Missouri by 14 points with 12:08 to go before rallying for their eighth victory in nine games. The victory was the latest in a series of nail-biters for Oregon State, which beat Hawaii and Oregon by a combined five points in the last two regular-season games. Many fans feel that this Civil War rivaled the best ever played. The Beavers' biggest triumph was a 33-31 stunner over then-No. 3 Southern California on Oct. 28.

This years squad is looking quite impressive as well. OSU is rated #24 in the country in pre-season polls thanks largely due to several key players who are returning, such as Offensive lineman Jeremy Perry, Running Back Yvenson Bernard, and Wide Receiver Sammie Stroughter. With the outstanding initial impressions of this years defense combined with the completion of the “Raising Reser” project this college football season is shaping up to be very exciting once again for Beavers fans.