The British is coming! The British is coming!

In honor of the British Open at St. Andrews, which starts tomorrow, and my still favorite golfer, Tiger Woods, I've decided to post the op-ed I wrote back in April about Tiger's impending return to golf, "I am still Tiger Woods."

The Open at the Old Course at St. Andrews is special because it's one of the world's best golf tournaments at the game's most historic course. I've been lucky enough to walk the Old Course twice, and it's quite a sight. I can't wait for an exciting week of championship golf, culminating in what I hope will be Tiger's third British Open victory. Here's what I wrote about the loved and hated man back in April:

When I was five years old, my dad sawed off the end of a rusty MacGregor five-iron, popped off the worn black rubber from the useless end, refastened it to the jagged top of my new club, and led me out to my backyard in Canton, Mich. to smack my first golf ball. The second those Top Flite dimples whisked into the high grass behind our house, I was hooked for life.

I practiced putting with my Papa’s trusty old 10-iron on his muddy orange carpet every time we visited them in Oregon. The ball would roll into a tiny blue cup time after time again, each plop of the ball hitting the plastic producing a cheery “Oh!” from my proud grandmother. I spent hours putting on that carpet as a hopeful young 10-year-old and begged Papa for daily trips to the driving range downtown.

My parents have spent thousands of dollars on me for golf clubs, golf balls and greens fees. I’ve played in rain, snow, wind, hail, and sun. I remember putts like the 60-foot miracle that curved and dropped for birdie on No. 2 at North Conway Country Club; I remember shots like the 135-yard pitching wedge on No. 9 that bounced once on the green and sunk in for a birdie 3 and a front-nine 39; I remember my best score (72) and my worst (119); I remember mornings golfing across Ireland and Scotland with my dad and rainy afternoon rounds with my grandparents in Oregon.

You pick a year in my life, and I can tell you where I was golfing and how well I was playing. I am a golfer. And, in line with every young golfer of this generation, I loved Tiger Woods.

I had a poster of Tiger in my room. I went through a period where I would hit, wear and play with nothing but Nike equipment. I wore my “I am Tiger Woods” t-shirt so much as a pre-teen that it nearly disintegrated. I watched Tiger win and sulked when Tiger lost. I admired every stroke, every putt, every fist pump. Tiger was my golf hero.

And guess what? He still is.

Tiger will tee it up on Thursday for the most prestigious tournament in golf: The Masters at Augusta National. It’s his first tournament in 144 days, since he declared an indefinite leave from golf to fix marital troubles stemming from infidelities to his wife, Elin.

It’s the media storm of the year. The best player in golf history, in sports history, is nothing more than your everyday, professional sleazeball.

Many fans feel betrayed. They feel angry, let down, disappointed, and appalled. Not me. I hold Tiger in the same regard as I once did.

Why? He’s an athlete. I look up to him for his unmatched talent in golf. What he does in his personal life is none of my business.

If I want lessons on strong disposition, I remember afternoons with my late grandfathers, who served proudly in World War II and the Korean War. If my moral compass needs direction, I talk to my parents: successful, smart and happily married for 25 years. I have a collection of relatives, friends, coworkers, coaches, and teachers from my past who have all shown me virtuous traits in different forms.

With the support system around me, why would I hold the character of a professional athlete with much regard, given the incredible track record of failures?

Sure, there are athletes that give as much of their hearts off the field as they do on, but those stories don’t make headlines on page one. That space is reserved for the seemingly endless list of rapists, liars, womanizers, and drug abusers. Criminal acts of athletes point out the fatal flaw in our media-crazed environment: we worship these men and women and expect them to soar above standards that no one can possibly fulfill. And when they inevitably fail, the world ignites in fury.

Tiger Woods’ legacy as a man is tarnished but his reign over the golf world remains strongly intact. And when Tiger plants a wooden tee in the firm Augusta ground, locks his chiseled hands gently around his Tour Velvet grip and fires a dimpled Nike swoosh into the dazzling green distance, I’ll be the same pre-teen adolescent I once was: wishing that for just one day on the golf course I could say, “I am Tiger Woods.”

Scooped by SI

Back in January, I made an argument about why Pavel Datsyuk is the best player in the NHL and has been since the lockout. This year, he's only three points shy of 100 and is having his best year yet. So for me, there's no question he's the choice for the Hart Trophy (MVP) this year. And apparently, more objective observers are starting to notice too.

Datsyuk has more than his share of YouTube highlights—"He can embarrass you wherever the puck is, on his stick or in his skates," Chicago right wing Patrick Sharp says—but, of course, that does not distinguish him from other stars such as Washington's effusive Alexander Ovechkin, whose celebration after his 50th goal last month lacked only pom-poms and a Sharpie, and Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby. Datsyuk, who has yet to score 35 goals or total 100 points in a season, had a career-high 32 goals and 63 assists through Sunday. He was 13 points back of the league-leading Malkin and 23 goals behind Ovechkin, who is favored to repeat as the MVP.

But if you are willing to wade a little deeper into the statistics, you don't need 20-20 vision to see that Datsyuk is the most efficient—and arguably most productive and valuable—of the Russian troika.

Datsyuk averages 19 minutes, 14 seconds of ice time a game, almost four minutes fewer than Ovechkin and about three fewer than Malkin. Of those 19-plus minutes, he spends an average of 3:26 on the power play (about two minutes fewer than the other two with the man-advantage) and 1:37 on the penalty kill (about 30 seconds more). Babcock also tends to use Datsyuk's line against opponents' most dangerous threesomes. Thus, Datsyuk not only plays less overall, he also gets significantly fewer minutes in prime scoring time. Still, he averages more points a minute than either Ovechkin or Malkin.

Throw in Datsyuk's first-rate 56.7 face-off percentage, and it becomes clear that his ability to accomplish so much in so little time should get him into the Hart Trophy debate.

That's from Michael Farber's new article in Sports Illustrated this week. The whole piece is great, as it highlights Pavel's hilarious commercial fame and talks up my favorite player in the league. And, because I can, I prefer to think Farber must have looked at my argument before writing his own story. Either that or he's saw The Triple Deke's new poll, which could be the best, and least arguable, thing I've ever seen.

The Red Wings have three games left before the season's over, and then the playoffs start on April 15th. I'm pumped slash terrified. It's about time to board the good ol' A2Y stress train (#23)...

Oh, and it's Masters week. Quite possibly the best week of the year. I'm thinking Tiger, as usual, but Cool-New-Look Lefty will definitely be up there too. Some guys to watch for are Nick Watney and Dustin Johnson though...I just have a good feeling about 'em.

Walkin' the line at Torrey Pines

Our San Diego trip has finally come to a close, and I'm set to turn 21 in only a matter of hours. I'm planning on guilt-tripping my dad into going down the street to one of the bars in Old Town so I can buy my first legal drink right at midnight. My dad said there's a saloon or something a few blocks down that's open until 1:30 so...we'll see how that goes. I've never been to a saloon before; maybe I'll come back with a curly mustache, a cowboy hat and some spurs. Who knows?
As for today, my dad and I woke up and grabbed breakfast at the hotel before meeting Tom and driving down to the coast to Torrey Pines. The place was amazing; sometimes I didn't even realize I was still on a golf course. The ocean was right next to us for the first few holes and we couldn't have asked for more perfect weather. Warm, blue skies made the day a real treat.

My prediction didn't quite come to fruition, as I put a 90 (45-45) on the scorecard at the day's end. Here are some highlights (and lowlights) from the round:

• Holes #1, 2, 16, 17, and 18 were all dead-on from my predictions. I bogeyed the first, doubled the second, then finished hot at the end of my round for a bogey-par-birdie on 16, 17 and 18. My birdie on 18 was extra nice since it was the only one of the day from our group and happened only because I sank a tricky 15-foot slider that fell off the table at the last second to rattle in the cup. Big fist pump on that one...a great way to end a tiring round.
• I managed to walk away from Torrey without a snowman! A couple of sevens (on the par-5 9th and the par-4 14th) were the closest I came, but on both of those holes I had three putts...so they really shouldn't have been sevens anyway. Regardless, no snowmen!
• While I predicted an 88 and shot a 90, I was pretty pleased with the round overall. The greens were incredibly difficult; I thought I actually putted better than I had all weekend but still had 38 putts on the round.
• My driver completely left me. After smashing the ball all weekend, I didn't find the sweet spot a single time today and only hit 2 of 14 fairways. My iron game wasn't much better (only 4 of 18 greens in regulation) but I was pretty consistent. Not a great round off the tee but plenty of fun otherwise.
• The sixth hole was incredible; I wish I could play it everyday. The signature par 3 looked over the ocean and way down the California coastline. The green sat many feet below and only 150 yards away, so it was not too intimidating either. The picture of the three of us (above) is taken from the sixth teebox and here's a shot of my poorly struck 9-iron off the tee.
• My dad had a great front nine of only five over par (41), but he followed it with a problematic 52 on the back to finish with a mediocre 93. He did provide some comic relief for Tom and I when he got his ball stuck up in a tree and tried to retrieve it.
• Dad managed to get three balls out of that tree (none of which were his) and then jump out unharmed! I'm sure his tree climbing skills were quite impressive...but Tom and I were too preoccupied with taking as many pictures of him as possible.

Well, it is getting a bit chilly out here; I'm sitting outside the Holiday Inn Express, in the courtyard, to get wireless access since our room's ethernet connection doesn't work and it's too far away for the WiFi. Awesome digs, huh? At least it's free, I suppose.

Anyway, my fingers are cold and my battery is low so I'm will end this 99th post and continue the blog tomorrow as I will reach the 100th post of When Cameron Was In Egypt's Land with a homage to St. Patrick's Day and my 21st birthday! What a fitting way to hit the milestone.P.S....Oh, and we also snuck over to the 18th green on the South Course so I could have my picture taken right next to the place where Tiger sank the tying putt in last year's U.S. Open. It's one of the greatest majors in golf history and now, I can say I've stood there. Kind of eerie, dontcha think? I think it's pretty cool.

God Bless Malin Akerman

Our third day in San Diego was another top notch period of relaxation. Golf, walkin' around the beach, some light reading, a movie...there's no room for sensible thought in that list of activities. I am fully enjoying not having to use my brain to its capacity while I'm out here; a much needed rest.

The day on the course was not quite as great as the first couple days. The clouds hovered over us for the entire round and neither my dad nor I played very well. While I managed another 92, he came in with a 93. There were some embarrassing moments, including the 12th hole where dad shanked his way to a quadruple-bogey 9 but still managed to beat me (I logged the first double-digit score of the year, with a wonderful 10). The only real highlight of the round was dad's impeccable shot on the par-three 5th hole, which was unbelievably close to dropping for his first hole-in-one. He tapped in the birdie though, on his way to a great 42 on the front nine.
After the round at Castle Creek, we took a trip to the beach and pier around downtown Oceanside. We had a late lunch at an authentic place called "The Longboard Cafe" and walked down the pier, watching the surfers catch huge waves and avoiding the snaps of giant pelicans.It was so cool to watch these guys battle massive walls of water...I wish I could do that.

Believe me, I was not standing any closer to that thing than I had to. Their beaks are sharp! Scary and unpredictable with the gift of flight? No thank you.

Anyway, we made it past the frightening fliers and spent the evening at the theater once again. Only this time, we went to see the new film Watchmen. I was very impressed with the visual aspects of the movie. The story was very compelling and the acting was solid, but the 2 hr. 40 min. runtime was a big long. There were also a lot of violent scenes that I thought were a little overdone or unnecessarily grotesque, but overall I really enjoyed it. I'm tempted to read the graphic novel now, but from what I've heard that might just ruin the whole thing for me. On the other hand, how could anything ruin another topless performance by Malin Akerman? I mean really...her acting resume is simply one of God's gifts to the male population. Final verdict: 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Looking toward tomorrow, my dad and I will play our final round of golf and spend our last day in San Diego with Tom and play the famous Torrey Pines North Course. It's not quite as well-known as the South Course, where Tiger won the U.S. Open on one leg last year, but it has felt the soles of many legendary golfers and plays host to the Buick Open every year.

I decided last week that I would look through the holes of the North Course and write a prediction for my scores, taking into account how I've played over the past few days. I will be optimistic and hopeful, but that will probably only last until I step onto that first tee box. Here we go...

Hole #1: Par 5, 520 yards with fairway bunkers on either side and a green that slopes severely from back to front. I'm gonna go with an easy 6 to start...can't go wrong with a opening bogey.

Hole #2: Par 4, 326 yards with an uphill green that slopes to the front and left. The website is telling me to hit a long iron off the tee, so I'll just go ahead and pencil in a double-bogey 6 because I can't imagine wearing ladies underpants and following such advice tomorrow.

Hole #3: Par 3, 121 yards with a canyon between the tee and green. Psh...121 yards? Pitching wedge? Please...write me down for a par.

Hole #4: Par 4, 398 yards with the ocean on the left. I don't see too much going wrong here...it appears to be a straight-away hole. Bogey, 5.

Hole #5: Par 4, 371 yards dogleg left with nasty stuff around the corner. Sounds like a hole I'm destined to screw up, so I'll throw in another double-bogey 6.

Hole #6: Par 3, 206 yards -- signature hole. I'm thinking I knock it to the right of the green and chip it up nice and tight. Another par 3, another par.

Hole #7: Par 4, 400 yards that's "narrow" and "demands accuracy off the tee." Oy...give me a triple-bogey 7.

Hole #8: Par 4, 436 yards and the most difficult hole on the entire course. I'm thinking birdie.

Hole #9: Par 5, 497 yards. A nice, finishing par to round out a front-nine 44. That's just about what I've been shooting in San Diego every time so...let's make it happen again!

Hole #10: Par 4, 416 yards and the site says "par is good here." Well then...write me down for a double-bogey 6.

Hole #11: Par 4, 437 yards with a canyon on the left and bunkers on the right. Scrumptious. Let's go out there and get a bogey, 5.

Hole #12: Par 3, 190 yards and it plays long. I can't hit my 3-iron above average more than once in a round so this one's a sham...double-bogey 5 for me.

Hole #13: Par 4, 430 yards and another dogleg left. Sounds about right for the first par of the back nine: 4.

Hole #14: Par 5, 507 yards with only minor complications. I'm writin' down another par...get on the par train everybody! It surely won't last long...

Hole #15: Par 4, 397 yards. Yep, just as I figured...a quadruple-bogey 8 breaks up the par train. There's just no way I go an entire round at Torrey Pines without a snowman.

Hole #16: Par 4, 338 yards and the approach shot is "a half club longer than you think." I'll probably forget that by tomorrow and end up short. Bogey, 5.

Hole #17: Par 3, 172 yards with lakes and ducks all over the place. Yikes. My guess is I steal some nerves left over from Tiger's book, knock it in on the green and two-putt for a par.

Hole #18: Par 5, 485 yards with a bunch of bunkers and some OB stakes. I gotta end with a birdie, regardless of how irrational it is.

An even 44-44 for a weekend-best 88. That's my goal anyway. I hope it comes true. But if I can't even manage to break triple-digits, it will be great to see and play the course. It should be a beauty.

Final note: MICHIGAN! made the NCAA tournament as a #10 seed and will play Clemson on Thursday. I'm thinkin' upset. And, the Red Wings strung together a pair of impressive road wins this weekend to boost my confidence a bit. Way to go Ozzie, another great bout of schizophrenia shutout!

Tomorrow's my last day as an illegal drinker slash 20-year-old. Happy Monday everyone!

Bud Light Lime = Golf Enhancer

Soooo I'm two days into my trip and I already lost the blog-per-day rate. But, I am going to try to make up for it and write this one in record time before my dad and I leave for 18 holes at Castle Creek in about an hour. Therefore, here are some highlights and pictures from our second day in California.
Dad, Tom, James, and I played a round at Hemet Golf Club with some mediocre results. Dad played and scored pretty well, notching an 86, and James showed his potential with an equally impressive 86. Tom and I struggled to put the scores on the board despite hitting the ball pretty well. I ended up with a 92, but here's the nitty-gritty stuff I know you all love.

• I was only three over par after the first five holes when I took a snowman on a simple par four and followed it with a double bogey on an easy par three. Result: 46 on the front nine despite my improved 3/7 fairways hit and 5/9 greens in regulation.
• My putting was awful; I had 22 putts on the first nine holes and 39 on the round. For some perspective, a golfer should never have any more than 36 putts in a round (an average of two per hole).
• To start the back nine, I picked up a Bud Light Lime at the clubhouse and went on a tear. Through those first four holes on the back nine, I had three pars and a birdie. After the beverage was gone, I immediately hit a tee shot out of bounds to double the 14th, then consequently hit two balls in the water on 15 and three-putted for another snowman. For those of you keeping score at home, that's -1 with Bud Light, +20 without. Hmm....maybe that's how Tigers stays so cool and collected under pressure; he's got beer stashed in his golf bag at all times! Crikey! It must be that crafty Australian caddy of his...Steve Williams. He'd have Tiger hooked on Foster's in no time. I'm on to you two...I'm on to you.
• Back in the real world, I hit another 3/7 fairways on the back as well as 4/9 greens, to bring my day's totals to 6/14 and 9/18. But like I said before, my putting let me down and I shot another 46 on the back, leaving me with a below-average 92.
• And before I forget, the first-ever Kittle-Joliff fathers vs. sons match ended in a draw. It was close down to the last hole. I hope we get the chance to do it again in the future; it was a fun way to keep us all on our toes.

Later on Saturday, my dad and I went out to dinner with Tom and his wife at a nice Italian place. It was delicious. Then, we drove back to the hotel and watched Will Ferrell's special on HBO where he played George Bush. I was pretty excited right at 9:00 when it started, but I was asleep by 9:30 when I realized it was overhyped and not really that funny. What a dud.

Well, I have to wrap this up so I can get out the door and play some more golf! Today it's just my dad and I at Castle Creek, and then we plan to spend the rest of the day by the beach before heading to see Watchmen tonight at one of the movie theaters close by. Happy Sunday everyone!

San Diego, Take Two

Today marks the first day of my second trip to San Diego in two weeks. My dad and I are actually staying 30 miles outside the city, in Oceanside, Calif., to stay close to Tom Joliff, my dad's friend from college. Can you think of a more enticing name for a city than Oceanside? And in California no less? I'm content.

So this morning, we met Tom and took to the links at Meadow Lake Golf Club. I haven't played a round since early October so, expectations were quite low before my initial drive of '09. However, I played relatively well, considering the layoff and the complete lack of warm up prior to teeing off, and shot a mediocre 89 (44, 45) on the par-71 course.

My putting saved me for most of the day, as I hit only 2/13 fairways and 5/18 greens in regulation. I also managed to lose four balls and find myself in the woods or weeds multiple times, but I scrambled nicely throughout the day.

A few highlights of the round:

• A sand-save par on the second hole, which was the hardest on the golf course according to its handicap. Nice for my confidence to at least give a slight false sense of security before crushing my spirit!
  
• A 330-yard drive on the ninth hole that caught a couple of nice bounces off the cart path after its initial flight. I love hitting Driver-9 iron on par fives.
• My first birdie of the day, later on the ninth hole, after my eagle putt slipped a few feet past the cup. Woooooooooooh it was a two-footer big deal stop celebrating.
  
• My 11th hole, which included a drive that was torched close to 300 yards without any asphalt advances, ended in a winding, right-to-left birdie putt that dropped in -- first fist pump of the year baby! Although, it was more like this than this. I don't quite have the guns for the second one.
  
• The 13th hole brought me my first out-of-bounds lost ball of the year, as well as a delightful triple-bogey 8. Yay for snowmen!
• The 18th hole was a wild one: it started with my drive being six inches inside the penalty markers and finished with a crazy up-and-down through some trees that salvaged an 89.
• We managed to pull out 'shankapotamus' on more than one occasion. What? I can't flex the golden pipes?
  

I'm sad to say I had no batteries at the start of the day so there are no pictures of golf, but I did manage to take a few shots after my dad and I went for a run alongside the beach. The weather was amazing; a perfect sunny day with a cool breeze keeping the heat from bearing down too hard on us. I pray for the same tomorrow.
Later tonight, we found the only movie theater around that was still showing Milk and drove off to see that. I was impressed by the film and certainly believe Sean Penn deserved the 'Best Actor' Oscar he won for it. It was a truly eye-opening movie that brought back the love and the hatred of the late-1970s gay rights movement, which I knew almost nothing about prior to tonight. I'd give it a big thumbs up. Final verdict: 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Tomorrow, my dad and I will meet up with Tom and his son, James, to play at least 18 more holes of beautiful, warm golf. After that, who knows where the day will take us. But if I can manage to keep this blog updated each day until my birthday on Tuesday (and I certainly plan to), I shall reach the desired 100 posts I've been striving for. Stay tuned.

The Most Anticipated Comeback since...

Never. There's never been a return this sought after, this media-crazed. When Tiger Woods told the world that he'd be back for the WGC-Accenture Match Play tournament last week, I can't deny my heart skipped a beat: finally. He's back.
It's been eight months since we saw that image on the 18th green at Torrey Pines, and it was quite possibly the most incredible championship performance in sports history. Tiger won the U.S. Open on one leg and then, seemingly out of nowhere, called it quits for the season. His first half of the 2008 season was almost good enough to earn him Player of the Year honors over Padraig Harrington, who won two majors. But, when Eldrick traded the clubs for crutches, much of the golf fanbase sat open-mouthed with their shoulders and arms raised in the classic "what the hell" face. It was like opening pint of your favorite ice cream, taking a bite, savoring its deliciousness, then having every other molecule destroyed immediately, without the slightest notice. You wanted more; you needed more. But there was no more. Not for eight stinkin' months.

The wait is almost over. There are only three more days until Tiger tees it up again. And he'll do it in a tournament he won last year in astonishing fashion and two times previously. The guy loves match play. I can't think of a better tournament to return for. The March Madness of Golf. Why not slather some puréed awesome-sauce all over that ice cream you discovered hiding in the back of the freezer?

I will say though, that what gets me the most is that after 254 days off, Tiger still gets the number one overall seed. That's pure insanity. Just ridiculous. His strangehold on golf's top spot is stronger than the grip a new bride has on her groom's unmentionables. I bet that Tiger could even go on sabbatical for a decade and return as Numero Uno, with a mound of points the size of Lefty's manboobs to spare. But I'm getting ridiculous; Mickelson slimmed down a while ago...he's been Tiger's bitch for his entire career...no more need be said. There's just nothing in sports that compares to the gap between Tiger and everyone else. Let's move on.

A crop of players has jumped into the spotlight while Tiger has lurked in the shadows, biding his time: Anthony Kim, Camilo Villegas, Paddy Harrington, and heck, even Mickelson showed he's still a force to be reckoned with after a convincing win this weekend.

What it means: nothing. Tiger will reign supreme once again.

I wanted to touch on this comeback and amazing adrenaline-booster to sports in the dry period that is late-February because I can guarantee I won't find the time between now and Thursday, when I leave for a four-day vacation to a national conference of student journalists and newspapers in San Diego. Yep, it will be as awesome as it sounds and nope, I won't be 21 yet. Unfortunate? Yes, but I shall live through the day.

Have a good week everyone, I'll be back with the details of my trip next Sunday. And in the meantime, cherish the comeback. We won't see anything like it again for a long, long time.

Long Overdue

Well, it's been 11 days since I last posted. There are simply too few hours in the day to get done everything I want to do in a single day and unfortunately, this blog has been left by the wayside over the past week and a half. Here's a few things that I missed that I want to address:

• How did the Red Wings lose to the Avs again?! Seriously, that pissed me off. They were in LAST PLACE at the time. Ugh. Oh right, Osgood was in net...that's why they lost 6-5. Double ugh. (Oh, and currently, two straight games with Conklin in net, two straight victories with less than three goals allowed. Just sayin').

• Hossa got in a fight?! Jesus, they better bring this guy back for another year in the Winged Wheel. If he wasn't a fan favorite already, he is now. I love how he defended his teammate by showin' Ryan Suter some real brawn.

• The Red Wings sent Osgood a real message this week, giving him a 10-day vacation to clear his head, work with goalie coach Jim Bedard, and straighten things out. Meanwhile, Jimmy Howard is slated to start tonight against the Wild. My response: Amen. Finally the team gives Ozzie an ultimatum. I'm intrigued to see how well Jimmy Howard will play, but in reality, it doesn't matter. He's the third-stringer at best and that won't change this year.

• A real quick question to all of you dissenters of Ty Conklin: why the hell isn't he the guy for the playoffs? Why can't you see it? Yeah, he's a backup. So was Osgood last year. Yeah, he's never been a big-name goalie or a consistent guy for his career. Neither was Cam Ward two years ago when the Hurricanes won it all. But Ward played well enough for his team to win and that's exactly what Conklin has been doing all year. I'm confident in Conk, you should be too.

• The New York Post's cartoonists need a little lecture in the ethics of journalism.

• Nate Robinson didn't deserve to win the NBA Slam Dunk Competition. Dwight Howard's first dunk in the final should have won the competition regardless of what happened afterward. Just look at Howard's wingspan to throw that down...that shouldn't be possible.

• The Michigan Wolverines have moved up to third overall in the national polls for college hockey. I'm psyched. They look almost as good as last year and should be able to make another run at a NCAA title.

• Tiger Woods is coming back to compete in the match-play tournament next week. I'm double psyched. And I'll probably write a column about it for TNH if I get a chance for Tuesday's paper. He's baaaaaack.
  

There are a few good things to look through in there, but right now I'm at a bit of a standstill with things to write about. I will try to be back with something good tomorrow though; I just need to find something motivating.

New Orleans Day Four: English Turn

The final day of our New Orleans adventure came to an end today; we'll be on a plane back to snowy New Hampshire tomorrow morning. We did manage to save the best course for last, as English Turn Country Club was easily the prettiest course we played all week. Another fantastic day of sunny skies and cool winds kept us at a comfortable temperature for all eighteen holes. I played alright and turned in a score of 92 (45-47). Dad played his best round of the week and shot a 95 (49-46). My putting improved from yesterday's debacle...but only technically because I still had 41 putts, an equally atrocious number. I tried different grips and different routines but I simply couldn't make the five to eight footers; they just wouldn't fall. Other than my continually frustrating short game, the round was fantastic and was a great way to end our golf outing.

The picture on the right is of Dad chipping for eagle on the par five 15th hole. That hole was definitely our favorite out of all of the courses. It included a long water hazard down the entire right side of the hole, leading up to a true island green surrounded entirely by water. I dunked my second shot into that water, losing my eighth and final ball of the week, and ended up with a bogey. Dad pulled off the risky second shot and managed to hit the island green in two. The resulting chip and two putt gave him a nice par on a fantastic hole. It was so much fun playing golf in New Orleans and I highly recommend coming down to vacation in the region. It has been such a great way to spend my spring break.

Before the round, we explored the National World War Two Museum only a few blocks from our hotel. We spent almost two hours walking around the exhibits and looking at the many different artifacts and great pictures. If not for our tee-time at English Turn though, we might have spent all day there. Everything was put together so well and it was fascinating to explore and learn about all the aspects of the war. The coolest thing I learned: the United States fought with only 635,000 soldiers while Germany and Japan had almost 9 million combined...and we still owned their asses. Anyway...the place was awesome and I'm glad we went to look around rather than taking an easy morning and sleeping in; it was well-worth the 8am wake-up call.

For our last night in the Big Easy, we ate at the House of Blues. They served some great food but the atmosphere was even better. Large carvings of famous musicians who have played there served as ceiling tiles and included such artists as: Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, Marvin Gaye, and the Blues Brothers. Overall, it was a pretty cool place to spend our last night even though we decided not to stay for the music. I didn't feel compelled to see a few bands I hadn't heard of so we decided to wander down Bourbon Street again as an alternative. It was even more crowded than Wednesday night, though I did manage to get a few good pictures of interesting places around the area. The picture above was of my favorite name for a bar, Boondock Saint. It seemed like the typical Irish bar but the title was picture-worthy nonetheless.

Well, the vacation has come to a close and I'll be back in class in few days, but it was so much fun to experience the southern culture of New Orleans with my Dad. I love playing golf and the three courses we played were interesting and challenging in their own ways. I hope you enjoyed the posts and pictures throughout the week! You'll be able to view all the photos I took during the vacation on my Facebook page or you can contact me at ckittle@gmail.com if you'd like me to send you any of them. Until my next post, so long from the Big Easy and thanks for reading!

New Orleans Day Three: Stonebridge

The second round of golf is in the books down here in New Orleans after my Dad and I played a course called Stonebridge on Friday. This time, I played much more consistently and my ball striking was quite good, while Dad played solid bogey-golf most of the round with one large exception (a yucky 12 on the Par 4 fourth hole). I finished with a 90 (43-47) and Dad scored a 100 (52-48). After Thursday's round at Carter Plantation, I would normally be happy with an eight stroke improvement but alas, I could not be pleased with my score. The main reason for my stubbornness: I had 43 putts. Yes, you read that correctly, I putted the ball 43 times, capped off by a lipped-out miss, for birdie and to break 90, on the final hole. I had ten three putts. TEN. I was merely hopeless every time I lined one up. I felt like a blind man slapping at the ball in the dark, without the slightest clue of how hard to hit it or even where to aim. I managed a one-putt only once (though it was for a nice birdie). I also buried six balls in watery graves, though two were "accidental" heaves after frustrating circumstances. It certainly wasn't hard to find a spot to lose a ball, as Stonebridge was lined with red stakes; water was in play on 17 of the 18 holes. Overall, it was a tough course but I had a lot of fun and everyone who worked there was very nice and helpful.
I will need to keep my confidence high and hope that my short game improves for tomorrow's round because Dad and I will play our toughest course yet: English Turn Country Club. The course used to be the site for the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, a PGA Tour event. Despite my struggles on the putting surface today, I was encouraged by my strong ball-striking and look forward to tomorrow's round.

After another golf expedition, Dad and I dropped off our things at the hotel and headed right back out on the road. We drove down to see some of the devastation still left behind, only two years removed from the massive hurricanes that hit the area. So many houses in the ninth ward and lower ninth ward were still broken down and destroyed, completely empty inside. When we parked and walked up to where one of the levee's broke, we walked by an old man who nodded at us as we passed and said, "Enjoy." You could tell that he said it with a hint of resentment and bitterness but how can you blame him? There are still people that we saw living in FEMA trailers around houses that haven't been rebuilt. Most of the houses we passed by had been so damaged that they will undoubtedly be torn down in the future. It was just mind-blowing to think that many of the houses we passed were physically underwater during all of the chaos. I felt like quite the tourist while taking plenty of pictures and gaping at the destruction, but as our playing partners on the golf course today told us, it's just good that we're here, caring and helping out the economy any way we can.
The picture on the left is of a high school that has clearly not been used since the hurricanes hit. Rusted piles of lockers lay outside the school in the picture on the right. It was incredibly rewarding to take the drive down to the height of the hurricane damages and see how many lives were changed by the two storms, Katrina and Rita. It certainly gave me some perspective and gives me yet another reason to count the many things I take for granted in my life everyday.

On the way back, we stopped by one of the many cemetery's in New Orleans because they are unlike any other I've seen. We noticed that most of the graves are crypts rather than deep graves dug into the ground. It could be because the soft soil and common flooding create problems for deep graves and cause this anomaly but who knows? Either way, it was a pretty cool, although slightly creepy, place to walk and look around.We had dinner tonight at a place called the Bon Ton Cafe, which had a bit of a different menu than the two previous nights. I tried fried catfish, which was delicious, and also tried bread pudding for dessert. The pudding was covered in a whiskey/molasses-type sauce and was a little too strong on the alcohol side for either of us but was an interesting thing to try anyway.

Well, it's getting pretty late and we're getting up early tomorrow to look around the National World War II Museum before playing 18 at English Turn. We also plan on having dinner at the House of Blues tomorrow night so stay tuned for that update. Until tomorrow, so long from the Big Easy!

New Orleans Day Two: Carter Plantation

On Thursday, my Dad and I played the Carter Plantation golf course, designed by David Toms, and boy did we make a mess of it. We were both quite inconsistent and only managed six pars between the two of us. The course made for a good starting point of our three-day golf adventure though, because it wasn't overly difficult and allowed us to get rid of some of the rust that had built up all winter. I ended up scoring a 98 (50-48) while Dad carded a 103 (50-53). We saw some snapping turtles in most of the watery areas but the majority of the course was pretty dry. This picture above on the left was a great hole; nothing spectacular about the score I made but the view was fantastic and Dad took an amazing action shot here. After the round, I was able to talk to the pro and his wife about how Hurricanes Katrina and Rita affected golf courses in the area. It was great meeting them and they gave me some staggering statistics that I'll use for the article I have to write for class once I return. Overall, Carter Plantation was an excellent course with some great people working to help us and I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to play golf around New Orleans.

So, after adding a coat of lotion to our fresh sunburns, Dad and I took off to explore our surroundings. We walked down to Riverwalk, a famous shopping area alongside the Mississippi River, and strolled through and around the mall. On the way back we passed by Harrah's Casino, the largest casino in the southern region. The age to even go inside and look however, is 21, so that idea was shot down right away. We also wandered down Canal Boulevard, which led us past various shops and restaurants and eventually, to a nice place where we stopped for dinner. The food was tremendous, as usual, and we tried Boudin (Boo-dan) Balls, which is a sausage and rice concoction rolled into a ball and deep-fried. They were delicious. We also had hush puppies (little deep-fried cornbread balls) and gumbo and jambalaya. Now I can understand why southern states have such high obesity levels...the food is irresistible but high in just about every bad nutritional category. I'm just glad I don't live down here...the temptation for such delicious cuisine would surely destroy any self-discipline I have now.

Well, that's about all that happened during our second day in Louisiana but it was sunny and warm and best of all, full of golf. Until next time, so long from the Big Easy!

New Orleans Day One: Bourbon Street

It took me no more than a few minutes to find out that there are literally only five different types of places you can go on Bourbon Street:

1. Bars (with advertisements such as: "HUGE-ASS BEERS! TO GO!")
2. Titty Bars (known as "Gentlemen's Clubs" for the classier crowd)
3. Jazz Bars (no Kenny-G-style-jazz here, these are the real deal)
4. Souvenir and Liquor Stores
5. Restaurants

I hope you can already tell that Bourbon Street is an awesome place, but if you can't, I'll let you in on a little secret. (It's because the two main influences are nudity and alcohol). Unfortunately though, neither of those two baskets of fun are on the menu for a 20-year-old like myself, so instead, I casually walked along the road with my Dad and observed the wonderful sights of the historic street. It was still a lot of fun; we walked by the House of Blues, Preservation Hall, and witnessed acts of public drunkenness followed by public urination.

Overall, I'd say it was a fun first day in the city and I'm looking forward to a good week of golf, excitement, and absolutely delicious dining. The food we had tonight at a local restaurant was fantastic. I love all spicy foods, so I had the "Taste of New Orleans," which included small portions of jambalaya, chicken and sausage gumbo, and red beans with rice. All three were scrumptious and spicy. It was definitely a treat to enjoy such fresh, Cajun-style food right from New Orleans and I look forward to enjoying it all week long.

Tomorrow, my Dad and I will get up early to play the Carter Plantation golf course, designed by PGA Tour professional David Toms. I'll be sure to have another post tomorrow night about the round and the night's activities and I'll do my best to include some pictures too. Until then, so long from the Big Easy!

St. Patrick's Day Weekend!

Top of the mornin' everybody! I know it's not quite St. Patty's Day yet, but in the spirit of the upcoming holiday, I felt a new post was in order. Here's a nice and green weekend update for you before it's time to break out the Guinness...

• Eliot Spitzer, who recently resigned as governor of New York, was found to be involved in a prostitution ring. He's known as "Mr. Clean" and makes fighting crime his #1 priority...maybe he felt like he wasn't doing a good enough job of it and deserved a good spanking. Also, he was the one who signed off on the wiretaps that led to this discovery! I mean jeez...I'm starting to think I might pick President Bush or Jessica Simpson for my scholar bowl team over this guy. This whole situation made created a field day for Jon Stewart, and if you missed any of it...watch it here.
• Michigan's hockey team (ranked #1 in the country) beat Nebraska-Omaha 10-1 and 2-1 in the CCHA Quarterfinals this weekend to move on to the semifinals, held next Friday where they will play either Ferris State or Notre Dame. I really like how this team plays...I'd love to see them get back to the Frozen Four and have a chance for another national title. Reminds me of the days with Marty Turco, John Madden, Brendan Morrison, and, of course, Mike Legg.
  
• Michigan's football team held it's first spring practices today and they weren't pretty. After losing so many keys guys from last year's squad, it is surely going to be a rebuilding year with a new coach and a new system in place. I'm optimistic though, and I only hope that if nothing else, they end their losing streak to the Buckeyes when November rolls around.
• The Red Wings lost this afternoon for the first time in the past six games. The team looks to be back on track for the Stanley Cup and I love their chances. I'm still interested to see how Coach Babcock will handle the decision regarding who will start in goal come playoff time, as Hasek looked to be the favorite but with his injury problems and some stellar play from Ozzie, it could go either way. My money's on Hasek though in the end.
• As I'm writing, I realize I have less than 23 hours left as a teenager. Crazy huh? St. Patrick's Day is Monday and that will be when I celebrate my 20th birthday. It just seems weird to think that I'll be 20 years old. Life moves pretty fast, if you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.
  
• In golf news, Tiger is poised to pounce on another PGA Tour event, the Bay Hill Invitational, as he sits tied for the lead after Saturday's round. He'll play in the final group Sunday afternoon and I can't see anyone else holding the trophy when it's all said and done.
• You will finally be able to fill out your brackets tomorrow night with the 65 teams that will vie for the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship. The Madness doesn't start until all hell breaks loose on Thursday though, so you have some time to think about your picks. I'd like to see Stanford take home the title, but I don't really see that happening.
• I watched Glory Road on TV the other night and it was great. I felt like it was basically Remember the Titans, except it featured college basketball instead of high school football. Definitely a feel-good movie though. Final verdict: 4 out of 5 stars.
  

That's all for tonight ladies and gentlemen, hope you enjoyed the update. Since Monday's are usually a downer, go out there and celebrate arguably the best holiday of the year a day early! Have a happy St. Patrick's Day everybody, don't forget to wear green!

Tiger's Dominance

The image of perfection? I think so. Tiger continued his jaw-dropping run at the PGA Tour record books today in defeating Stewart Cink 8 and 7 in the 36-hole championship match of the Accenture Match Play Championship. That stands as the largest margin of victory in a final match in the event's history, not to mention Cink had to make a long eagle putt just to avoid losing 9 and 8. Tiger has now won four straight PGA Tour events and eight of his last nine events worldwide. Unbelievable. He never takes a round off and pulls off some of the most amazing shots I've ever seen, even when he's under massive amounts of pressure. I know analysts and experts get carried away in picking Tiger to win every tournament, but I seriously think that if anyone is ever going to win the Grand Slam (all four majors in one year), this would be the year. Here's the breakdown and reasons why he could win each:

The Masters (April): He's donned the green jacket four times in his career and since he let last year's tournament slip away to Zach Johnson, he'll have something to prove and undoubtedly win his fifth Masters.
The U.S. Open at Torrey Pines (June): Tiger has won the Buick Invitational, which is played at Torrey Pines each year, SIX times: in 1999, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, and earlier this January in 2008. Might as well rename the course Tiger Pines.
The British Open at Royal Birkdale (July): Tiger came in 2nd and missed out on a playoff by one stroke the last time the Open was held at Royal Birkdale...in 1998. Do you have any idea how much better Tiger is right now than he was back in 1998? The answer is a lot.
The PGA Championship at Oakland Hills (August): As an amateur in 1996, Tiger briefly held the lead at the U.S. Open at Oakland Hills. If he could get a lead as an amateur on this course when it was in U.S. Open condition, I can't imagine anything stopping him from hoisting the Wanamaker trophy for a third consecutive season.

He is by far the most dominant player in any sport of this generation and perhaps in the history of sports. On a side note, does anyone in the world look better in red than he does on Sundays? Elisha Cuthbert seems to be his only competition.

As much as I love watching and writing about the wonderful game of golf, I must move on to other sports news because snow is still pounding the Northeast and ruining my hopes of golfing as soon as possible.

In the NBA, the Pistons beat the Suns this afternoon by a whopping 30 points to move their record to 41-15, only two games behind the struggling Celtics. This Pistons team seems hungrier than previous ones and could be even better than the title team of 2004. I think they are playing some great basketball right now and as long as they stay hungry and inspired come playoff time, there's not a team in the league that will beat them in a seven-game series.

In the NHL, the Wings continue to struggle, having lost eight of their past nine contests. I don't ever like to see my team lose but this losing streak might actually be a blessing in disguise. It's good for them to get the majority of their injuries out of the way now because it certainly cost them in the playoffs last year. Losing Lidstrom, Rafalski, Kronwall and Chelios on the blueline and their starting goalie in Hasek (not to mention losing Dan Cleary for 6-8 weeks with a broken jaw) certainly makes the coming months more difficult but it's better to have those bumps now than in April or May.
One last thing worth mentioning regarding the NHL is the fast-approaching trade deadline on Tuesday. I really want to see the Red Wings make a move and pick up either some grit or another scorer, namely Fedorov, Sundin, or Hossa, but I would settle for any kind of good trade that would help them for the playoffs. If GM Ken Holland does decide to stay quiet at the deadline though, the one thing I would hope for is that neither the Ducks nor the Sharks improve and sign a high-caliber player. They're hard enough to beat as it is.

The NFL Combine took place this week in Indianapolis and four Michigan players took part in the drills. Mike Hart ran a slow forty yard dash time (4.67) and his stock is apparently falling but he shouldn't be looked at for speed and wasn't likely to go very high in the draft anyway. His work ethic and ball control skills speak for themselves and any team that takes him should be lucky to get such a great player and person.

Mario Manningham's stock is decreasing as well, though it's in more of a free-fall than Hart's. Manningham has been looked at mostly because of his speed and deep-threat ability but a 4.59 forty yard dash time has forced teams to take a second look at him and that might move him out of the first round.

Chad Henne remains the 3rd best quarterback in most people's minds but as far as I'm concerned, he is far superior to Matt Ryan and Brian Brohm, the two supposedly ahead of him. You could assume I'm biased or look at the facts that Henne has great clutch abilities, an absolute rocket arm, great mechanics, and though many scouts have talked about him being "injury prone," they seem to forget his toughness, shown best when he played through a dislocated shoulder against Illinois this year (the pain was so much that he took only shotgun snaps because if he went under center, his shoulder would pop out). Regardless of how I feel about him, he's likely a 2nd round pick no matter what.

Jake Long, on the other hand, has impressed all sorts of players and coaches at the combine. He was already a top five pick but is showing the scouts that he might be worth the #1 overall choice. He's an absolute beast, out benching everyone at the combine with 37 reps of 225 lbs. Oh, and in his free time he also played a nice little prank on Vernon Gholston, a defensive lineman from Ohio State. Great idea and flawless execution.

That's all for now, hope you enjoy the last few days of February. The best month of the year is just around the corner!