PGA TOUR FANTASY: Shell Houston Open

Here we go for this week:

A: Ernie Els (Backup: Vijay Singh)
B: Fred Couples (Backup: Charles Howell III)
B: Lee Westwood (Backup: Alex Prugh)
C: Charl Schwartzel (Backup: Ricky Barnes)

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PGA TOUR DIGEST: Vol. 3 No. 13

This week is it, the final tuneup for next week’s Masters. The PGA Tour heads to Houston for the Shell Houston Open. It’s a great field — Phil, Ernie, Couples (who, by the way, has a pretty darn good shot next week) — and they’ll all be trying to walk into Augusta with a victory the previous week.

TV Coverage is Thursday-Friday, 4-7pm ET on Golf Channel, 1-5pm ET Saturday and 3-6pm ET on Sunday on NBC.

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TIGER WOODS: Stevie: Tiger Will Be Ready

These words are not that surprising, but Tiger Woods’ caddie, Steve Williams thinks that Tiger will be ready for next week at The Masters:

Augusta are very specific with who they let in there, so they are genuine golf fans,” Williams said. “I don’t really expect any of those people having any problems. I think they will be very happy to see Tiger playing at Augusta where he’s been successful.

“The people that are going to watch at Augusta are called patrons there, not spectators. They are all golf fans and it is a very difficult tournament to get into. It is the only golf tournament in the world there is waiting list to get in to.”

…..

“Tiger doesn’t play in golf tournaments unless he believes he can win,” Williams added. “By granting those media interviews and taking those questions about the Masters indicates to me that he really is getting ready and feels like he is going to be able to compete,” he said.

“Tiger’s key strength as we all know is his mental strength and he is going to need it all through this period.”

We’ll see how it all turns out next week.

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TIGER WOODS: Did Agent Know About Tiger’s Affairs?

A new Vanity Fair piece with a couple of Tiger Woods’ mistresses asks an interesting question? Is Tiger Woods lying about if anyone in his inner circle was involved? According to ESPN.com:

In the April issue of Vanity Fair magazine, Mindy Lawton — a Orlando, Fla.-area waitress — said that Woods put her in touch with his agent, Mark Steinberg, when The National Enquirer learned of her affair with the golfer.

…..

According to Lawton, when she contacted Steinberg at Woods’ request, Steinberg said, “We’ll take care of it.”

She told Vanity Fair: “That’s when their brush-under-the-rug, the cover-up, happened.” She was referring to a deal that the Enquirer allegedly made with Woods’ handlers to hold the adultery story in exchange for Woods giving an exclusive interview to its sister publication, Men’s Fitness.

This of course goes against what Tiger said in his Golf Channel interview, saying no one in his camp knew. It is indeed troubling, and we now have to question Tiger’s honesty. I would, however, like to see the conversation move back to golf as we get closer to Masters week.

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TIGER WOODS: ESPN to Show Opening Tee Shot of Tiger’s 1st Round

From the New York Times’ Richard Sandomir:

On Monday, it said that ESPN would be able to break into its morning and afternoon programming to show Woods and his group’s first-round tee shots live from the first hole.

That will be the extent of the Woods exemption offered to ESPN. No second shots. No chips. No putts. Just the tee shot. A few moments and that is all.

This is, believe it or not, small progress for a golf club notorious for keeping old-time rules. But any progress is good progress, in my opinion.

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GOLF: Theme Music: I Have the Old CBS PGA Championship Theme!

Finally, after all these years, I have the old CBS PGA Championship theme that they used for years up until 2007. Thanks to someone who searched on this blog today “”the gift” “david barrett” pga”, I have come up with it.

It is called “The Gift” by David Barrett (the same guy who is behind “One Shining Moment”. It is off his 2004 album “Themes and Inspirations,” and can be purchased for $0.99 on iTunes.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to whoever searched that term and ended up on my blog. Awesome.

(Update: I just read back through my old comments and realized that someone posted this on August 8, 2009. Sorry to that person that I didn’t pick up on this sooner.)

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BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: London Symphony Orchestra Does Born to Run

Yes, you read that headline correctly:

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TIU OUTTAKE: Leon Washington’s Role

Much has been written about in recent days about a possible diminishing role for Jets star RB Leon Washington this year as he comes off knee surgery to replace a broken leg. The Jets let Thomas Jones go, in favor of future hall of famer LaDainian Tomlinson.

I think most people thought that Leon would assume his own role as a counterpart to Shonn Greene, and LT being a 3rd-down like back who also does some things out of the backfield.

But no, Jets coach Rex Ryan has envisioned LT getting 15 or so carries per game, and Leon going back to his old role as 3rd down back, catching passes out of the backfield, and being a star returned.

Rich Cimini wrote about these developments here and here. Leon’s agent is a little miffed, and I don’t blame him 1 bit.

But I will say this: LT is healthy. He may be old, but he isn’t recovering from a broken leg. And I kind of do agree with Rex. Why throw someone into a major role when his leg may not be able to handle it? My hope is that they let Leon heal, then dictate/make adjustments to that role as he returns to form. The Jets have a three-pronged running attack that can be extremely deadly this year. But they now have to make smart choices, and use those three runners to the best of their abilities.

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YANKEES: Radio Network…In Alaska?

I know the Yankees are big everywhere. New York area? A given. Tampa, where their spring training takes place? Obvious choice. But Alaska? Apparently. Here are the list of the New York Yankees Radio Network Affiliates, with the flagship being WCBS-880AM in New York:

Station City State
KUDO (1080) ANCHORAGE AK
KASR (92.7 FM) CONWAY AR
WAVZ (1300) NEW HAVEN CT
WICC (600) BRIDGEPORT CT
WLAD (800) DANBURY CT
WPOP (1410) HARTFORD CT
WWCO (1240) WATERBURY CT
WMEN (640) WEST PALM BEACH FL
WQYK (1010) TAMPA FL
WWCN (770) ESTERO FL
KOTM (97.7 FM) OTTUMWA IA
WBRK (1340) PITTSFIELD MA
WSKW (1160) PORTLAND ME
WMFD (630) WILMINGTON NC
WTSN (1270) DOVER NH
KBAD (920) / KENO (1460) / KWWN (1100) LAS VEGAS NV
WABH (1380) BATH NY
WACK (1420) / WUUF (103.5 FM) NEWARK NY
WCSS (1490) AMSTERDAM NY
WDLC (1490) / WTSX (96.7 FM) PORT JERVIS NY
WELM (1410) ELMIRA NY
WENE (1430) BINGHAMTON NY
WENT (1340) GLOVERSVILLE NY
WHAM (1180) / WHTK (1280) ROCHESTER NY
WHEN (620) / WSYR (570) SYRACUSE NY
WIRY (1340) PLATTSBURGH NY
WJTN (formerly WKSN) (1240) JAMESTOWN NY
WKXP (94.3 FM) KINGSTON NY
WNER (790) WATERTOWN NY
WPDA (106.1 FM) JEFFERSON NY
WPIE (1160) TRUMANSBURG NY
WTLB (1310) / WRNY (1350) / WIXT (1230) UTICA / ROME NY
WTMM (104.5 FM) ALBANY / SCHENECTADY NY
WZAD (97.3 FM) WURTSBORO NY
WEEX (123O) / WYNS (1160) EASTON PA
WTTC (1550) TOWANDA PA
WVPO (840) / WILT (960) MOUNT POCANO PA
WWPA (1340) WILLIAMSPORT PA
WPRV (formerly WSKO) 790 AM EAST PROVIDENCE RI
WDVT (formerly WEBK) (94.5 FM) RUTLAND VT
WTSA (1450) BRATTLEBORO VT
WVMT (620) BURLINGTON VT

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PGA TOUR: Final Round of Arnold Palmer Invitational to Air on Golf Channel

If you are looking for the conclusion of the final round of the rain-delayed Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by Mastercard, with Ernie Els leading by 2, you can find it LIVE, tomorrow morning on the Golf Channel starting at 10AM ET. They’ll have it until conclusion, followed by Golf Central.

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