John’s Blog - Coast To Coast

For three rounds, it appeared that this would finally be the tournament where Sergio Garcia got the “major monkey” off his back. After the third hole of the final round of the 2007 British Open Championship, Garcia had a four stroke lead over his nearest competitor. Things quickly changed though as Garcia went through a four hole stretch (from 5 thru where he bogeyed three times, dropping him to seven under par, and paring his lead to a single stroke.

The final nine holes of the tournament looked like they had to have been scripted from a movie - they had to be seen to be believed! Padrig Harrington began the day six strokes back of Garcia at three under par. Birdies at the the third, sixth and ninth holes got him to within a stroke of the lead. Harrington then birdied the 11th to draw into a tie for the lead.

While Harrington and Garcia seemingly were the only ones seriously contending for the Open Championship, an unknown named Andres Romero had what has to be one of the most incredible, tumultuous rounds in golf history… Romero, who started the day seven strokes back of Sergio, parred his first two holes of the day. Over his next 16 holes, he would only par TWO MORE TIMES - the last of them coming on the 7th hole! Birdies on the fourth, sixth and eighth got him within striking distance of the leaders. A bogey on the ninth temporarily set him back as he birdied 10 and 11 to get into a three-way tie for the lead with Garcia and Harrington. A double bogey at 12 seemingly ended Romero’s chances, but then an incredible run of four more consecutive birdies from 13 through 16 got him to nine under par and a two stroke lead over the suddenly chasing Sergio and Harrington.

Just as quickly as Romero seemed to take control of the tournament, he lost it. Harrington would eagle the 14th hole to move back into a tie for the lead. Romero then double bogeyed the 17th hole to fall two back. Garcia suddenly refound his game, with birdies on 13 and 14 to get him to nine under and back into a tie for the lead. Romero would bogey the 18th hole to finish at six under par. Garcia then gave a stroke back at the 15th to slip to eight under par and one behind Harrington. Harrington played stready golf from 15 through 17, making three straight pars. Then came the 18th and disaster! Not one, but two shots of his found the water. Just to salvage a double bogey, he needed to hit his 4th shot close to the pin. He did precisely that and sank the four foot putt to come away with a double bogey. His one stroke lead was now a one stroke deficit as Garcia reassumed the lead at eight under par.

All Garcia needed to do to win was par the 18th hole; a task much easier said than done. The hole was the most difficult one on the course the entire week, playing to more than half a stroke over par… Garcia’s tee shot found the fairway, and then after a VERY long wait, his approach shot found the left side bunker. Garcia pitched out to within about seven feet for his par. His par putt was well struck and it appeared to be going into the hole, but it heartbreakingly took a dip into the left side of the hole and then out! The four hole playoff was then on.

The tournament was all but decided on the first playoff hole. Garcia bogeyed and Harrington birdied to take a two stroke lead. Both players parred thenext two holes. Garcia would par the 18th and final hole as well - something he only wished he could have done an hour or so earlier. Harrington would once again find trouble again on 18, needing a 3 1/2 foot putt for a bogey and to close out his first major win. Harrington stroked the putt firmly and it found the center of the cup… the incredible day had finally ended. For Harrington, it was his much anticipated first major win. For Garcia, it was just another close call in a major. This time though, you have to give him A LOT of credit. The old Sergio Garcia would have folded it in after that rough start. This one persevered and came thisclose to winning the tournament. Although he didn’t win, Garcia made a whole new legion of fans on Sunday.

—–

*** Edit *** Well, I had an unexpected complication waiting for me when I arrived home last night - my computer monitor died!!! Fortunately I was able to salvage one from a previous computer and now I’m back up and running. Although this monitor isn’t nearly as good as the one that went out, it will suffice for now… ***

Sergio Garcia is in the all too familiar position of leading a major golf championship. Garcia has led major championships before, just never when it has counted. After opening with a blistering 6-under-par 65 on Thursday, Garcia shot an even par 71 to take a two stroke lead over K.J. Choi. Choi has already won twice on the PGA Tour this year, so he’s definitely someone to keep an eye on. Tiger Woods struggled to a three-over-par 74 to finish the day seven strokes behind Garcia at one over. Phil Mickelson wasn’t that lucky, double bogeying the 18th hole to finish at six over par, missing the cut by two strokes.

Coverage of the third and fourth rounds can be found on your local ABC affiliate.

—–

*** Update - Sergio increased his lead to three strokes, shooting a three-under-par 68 to finish the day at 9-under-par. Steve Stricker shot a 65 to get to 6 under par and have sole possession of second place, while Tiger Woods shot a two-under-par 69 to lurk seven strokes back at 2 under par for the tournament. Final round coverage is on your local ABC station.
***

—–

I recently submitted an article on the Washington Nationals’ Dmitri Young to the Associated Content website for possible publication… well good news - I’ve been published!!!

You can read the article here:

The Comeback of Dmitri “Da Meat Hook” Young

Pass it on to friends and rate it five stars if you like it. This is the first thing I’ve ever written that has been published on the internet, so this is pretty exciting stuff for me.

Thanks again to everyone who has helped encourage me to continue writing this blog and to my friends and family who inspire me to do this.

I was very tempted to head out to RFK last night to take in the Nationals game against the Colorado Rockies, but sleep won out - I’m never one to take naps, but after only getting about three hours of sleep on my flight to Dulles Airport, I got to my Georgetown hotel, ate breakfast and promptly took a two hour nap. I did a little organzing once I got up, caught up with all of my family and a few friends and made a quick CVS stop before the rains hit at 2:30 in the afternoon. Around 4:30, I get groggy again and take a second two hour nap. By the time it’s 6:30 and it’s looking like I’m not going to get to the game… which was OK. It was going to be on MASN, The Mid-Atlantic Sports Network for those of you that don’t live near DC/Baltimore…

So I took in the Nats game on TV and not five minutes into it, Matt Chico promptly gave up a two-run homer to the second batter in the game, Troy Tulowitski! The Nats would come back to get a run in the bottom of the frame on a Ryan Zimmerman RBI double, to make it 2-1. Dmitri Young would argue a called third strike in the bottom of the third inning and get tossed from the game, making the crowd of just over 20,000 a little unhappy! Chico would get hit by the long ball again as Garrett Atkins would hit another two-run homer in the top of the fourth to give the visitors a 4-1 lead. The rain then came a little after 9PM, and it turned out to have a HUGE impact on the game. The Nats got a run in the sixth inning to make it a two run game. In the bottom of the eighth, one play would totally change the complexion of the game. After a one out Ryan Church single to right, Austin Kearns would get hit by a 1-2 pitch by Rockie reliever Jeremy Affeldt. Jesus Flores then came up to hit for Ryan Langerhans and promptly delievered an opposite field single to right, easily scoring Church. Rockie right fielder Matt Hawpe appreared to have an easy play on the ball, but the ball didn’t take the normal hop it should have due to the wet field and the ball went under his glove and between his legs! Kearns would score and Flores would wind up at third. LaTroy Hawkins would come in for the Rockies and close out the inning and it would remain a 4-4 game into the bottom of the 10th inning. Kearns again got on base, singling to begin the inning for the Nats. Catcher Brian Schneider sacrificed Church to second… Hawkins then uncorked a wild pitch (which ended up being called a passed ball) to put Church at third. D’Angelo Jimenez then came to the plate to pinch hit for Nats reliever Jon Rauch. For Jimenez, 2007 had been nothing short of awful before last night. With only one hit in 25 at bats (including NONE in 19 at bats as a pinch hitter), his batting average stood at an anemic .040. Finally, something good happened to Jimenez as he lined a pitch up past Hawkins and into center field to score Church and leave the crowd of 20,573 happy! For the Nationals, it was their sixth win in their past nine games.

—–

In case you did not know, I’m a huge music fan and in particular a HUGE Carrie Underwood fan… Carrie came on her official website CarrieUnderwood.fm Tuesday afternoon (7/16) to give her fans the scoop on her sophomore album’s release before the rest of the general public had ANY knowledge. The official press release on the new album’s release came from Nashville yesterday.

In case you’ve been sleeping under a rock the past couple of years, you’re probably aware of just how far Carrie has come in these past two and a half or so years… Here’s a brief summary of some of Carrie’s biggest accomplishments since winning American Idol 4:

* Four consecutive #1 hit Country singles
* Two Top 10 Adult Contemporary singles
* One Top 10 Christian Adult single
* One Top 10 Hot Adult Contemporary single
* One Top 10 CHR/Pop single
* One #1 Billboard Hot 100 Single
* Over 6 MILLION units shipped of her debut CD “Some Hearts”
* 2 Grammy Awards
* Multiple Country music awards….

It’s been quite an AMAZING run for the season four American Idol winner, and needless to say all of her fans can’t wait to get our hands on some new music from her! October 23, 2007… MARK IT DOWN!

As a lot of you know, there’s another big sporting event happening this weekend - the British Open golf championship… overseas, it’s simply known as The Open Championship. One of the big advantages of being on East coast time is you can actually be up to catch all of the day’s coverage of the tournament on TNT. Now, while I don’t intend on watching golf on TV all day today, I will be doing my share of watching. Tiger Woods has already played his first round and put up a two under par 69, good for a spot on the first page of the leaderboard. Phil Mickelson was at one over par through six holes. As I write this, former Open champion John Daly had taken the lead at five under par.

For a full leaderboard, visit here: 2007 British Open Leaderboard

Live coverage of the tournament will continue on TNT today and tomorrow 10am PT/7am ET through 10pm PT/7 pm ET. On the weekend, the coverage will switch to your local ABC affiliate.

**UPDATE** Sergio Garcia has assumed the first round lead, shooting a six-under-par 65. John Daly, who was in the lead as I originally wrote this, struggled his final seven holes, going eight over par, finishing the day with a 3-over-par 74. Phil Mickelson shot an even par 71. ****
—–

I wasn’t quite sure what to title this blog… “Massacre in Manhatten,” “the Night the Baseball Died in L.A.,” “L.A. Baseball Gets Offended”… I had lots of ideas, but none of them seemed to fit perfectly, so I just went with the “total destruction” outcome… combined last night, the Dodgers and Angels managed to give up 22 runs and 42 hits!!!

While I was at the gym last night, my friend Barb & I watched the Dodgers’ Mark Hendrickson bob and weave through the first two innings against the Philadelphia Phillies. Hendrickson had stranded five Phillies, including leaving the bases loaded in the second inning. After giving up three runs in the first inning, Hendrickson actually didn’t allow a run to score the next two innings. In the fourth inning, it all just fell apart for Hendrickson and the Dodgers at Chavez Ravine. Six consecutive Phillie batters would reach base, punctuated by a two-run Ryan Howard home run. The 3-0 game had suddenly turned into an 8-0 rout! And it would get worse! After the Dodgers scored a run in the bottom of the fourth, the Phillies put up three more in the fifth, with Howard once again hitting a two run homer - a MASSIVE opposite field moon shot deep into the left field pavilion. By then it was 11-1. The Phillies would tally two more runs in the seventh and two more in the ninth… the Dodgers added two in the bottom of the eighth for a 15-3 final. It was a record setting night in many ways. The Phillies tallied 26 hits in the game, the most ever for an Dodger opponent in their 46 year history of playing games at Dodger Stadium. Two Phillies - Shane Victorino and Aaron Rowand had five hits, and Victorino also had SEVEN at bats in the game, a very rare occurance for a nine inning game…

Just before heading to the gym, I watched as the Angels took on the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Ervin Santana was pitching for the Angels at Tropicana Field. Need I say more? Not to sound like a broken record, but this is Ervin Santana pitching on the road and I think you know by now what that means - if you have a little money, and are the gambling sort, it’s not a bad idea and go to Vegas and place your bets against the Angels. Such was the case again last night. Santana was able to bob and weave for most of the first four innings, only allowing two runs while giving up nine hits and a walk. In the fifth inning, the Angels actually scored two runs off of D-Ray starter James Shields… However, the law of averages finally caught up with Santana in the bottom of the frame as he walked two batters and gave up five hits. Five runs would score and the Rays now held a 7-2 lead. For Santana, it was just his latest road blowup… Angel manager Mike Scioscia had no mercy for some reason, leaving him in to finish off the inning and then pitch the sixth - he actually retired the side in order that inning. The final line: 14 hits allowed, seven earned runs, four walks allowed. Yes, that’s 18 baserunners! Sorry to say this, but someone in one of my main fantasy leagues actually picked him up for this start! OUCH!!! The Ryas would get another run in the seventh. For Shields, the night went very well… In seven innings, he would only give up those two runs, while scattering seven hits and walking a batter. He only struck out two batters, but the main thing for his owners is that he got his eighth win of the year as the pen allowed the Angels a single run in the ninth to close out an 8-3 win.

—–

And just for you Nats fans, look who is leading the league in hitting now!

2007 NL Leaders (thru 7/18/07)
Batting Avg

1. D. Young WAS .341
2. C. Utley PHI .338
3. C. Jones ATL .338

—–

Woody Williams of the Houston Astros has always been a somewhat above average major league pitcher. With a career 4.16 ERA and 1.32 WHIP, he’s someone that you can occasionally use on your fantasy teams if you’re in hopes of getting some wins. Unfortunately, he’s not someone you can really count on in the long term, mostly due to the fact that he has problems giving up the long ball (295 of them in his career coming into last night’s game). For five innings last night at RFK Stadium, Williams mastered the Washington Nationals, only allowing a run on three hits. In the bottom of the sixth, Ronnie Belliard hit a one out single to center, and Ryan Zimmerman followed with a bunt single. Then it happened… the inevitable if you’ve followed Woody Williams’ career - Dmitri Young deposited a 1-0 pitch into the right field seats, giving the Nats a 4-2 lead. For Williams, it was his league leading 22nd homer allowed - not a category you really want to be leading the league in… For Young, it was his 9th homer of the year, boosting his RBI total to 52 and his batting average to .339. The remarkable comeback continues for “Da Meathook.” In his 53 games since bottoming out with a .224 batting average on May 7th, Young has hit an AMAZING .395 (77/195) with six homers and 38 RBI’s. Yes, the Oxnard, CA native is back in a big way, and it’s nice to see… hopefully he can continue to lead the Nats to victory! Speaking of which, Carlos Lee would homer off Jon Rauch in the top of the 8th, but Chad Cordero would come in and close things out in the 9th as the Nats held on for a 4-3 win.

—–

For Tony Stewart, the 2006 NASCAR season was a frustrating one. Nicknamed “Smoke” due to his somewhat aggressive driving style and usually leaving his persuers in the dust, he finished a disappointing 11th in the Nextel Cup standings after winning his second NASCAR championship the season before… 2007 began similarly to how 2006 ended for Stewart as he failed to win in the first 18 races of the season including finishing dead last in the season-opening Daytona 500. Although firmly entrenched in the top 12 in the standings most of the season, it’s been a year of uncharacteristic inconsistency for Stewart. Though he had finished in the top-5 five times this year prior to yesterday, he also had finished 25th or worse six times…

Yesterday, however, it appears Stewart’s luck may have began to change… For most of the day he battled with Jimmie Johnson for the lead in the USG Sheetrock 400 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. Just 45 laps from the finish, one of Johnson’s rear tires blew, sending him into the wall. Johnson had led 82 of the races 222 laps to that point. With his biggest competitor out, “Smoke” then left everyone else in his wake, with only eventual second-place finisher Matt Kenseth giving pressing him at all. Stewart would go on to easily claim his 30th career win. As has become his tradition in victory, Stewart climbed the fence at the start/finish line and grabbed the checkered flag, raising it proudly in victory! For the 36-year-old Stewart, it marked a triumphant return to victory circle. As for the overall standings, Jeff Gordon’s ninth place finish helped him increase his points lead to 303 over Denny Hamlin. Stewart’s win put him into sixth place (482 points back), just ahead of Johnson, who fell to seventh (488 points back) after his wreck and resultant 37th place finish…

—–

It’s not often that a “name” act plays here in my local area, but in the past month, I’ve now had the pleasure of having to travel less than five miles to see two of my favorite acts… Last month, the Christian/rock band Lifehouse played at the local Best Buy here in Thousand Oaks to a very nice crowd. Last night, Country stars Diamond Rio played in front of a very appreciative audience in the Canyon Club in Agoura.

The concert started right after 8pm… The boys opened with “Beautiful Mess,” and played all of their big hits including “One More Day”, “In A Week Or Two,” “Love A Little Stronger,” “Unbelieveable” and “I Believe.” Lead singer Marty Roe interacted with the audience a lot in their set of songs which hit the chord of so everyone in attendance… For those of you not familiar with them, their selection is varied - from songs of love and loss, to songs about faith and just others that are just plain old fashioned fun!!! There really was really something for everyone there last night. Several of the band members had rousing solos on their guitars as well… actually they had so many guitars, banjos and other similar instruments, it almost seemed as though they had a musical wardrobe!!!

Just after 9pm, they closed their set with their first hit, “Meet in The Middle.” The crowd of 500 or so gave them a rousing ovation, so they came out for an encore… Marty talked a couple of minutes about what would be their closing song for the night - a song about patriotism, values, and faith… one that everyone in the audience wildly cheered for even before the first lyric was played… The song “In God We Still Trust” off their second Greatest Hits never really been given the light of day by the music industry for some reason. Even a video was cut for it, which the major video outlets refused to play… The audience cheered non-stop as they broke into the song… it was perhaps the finest moment of the night. And with that the performance was over. Though it had been over four years since the band performed in Southern California, it was obvious the crowd still loved them very much… definitely a must see, and the fact that it was in such an intimate setting made it an unforgettable experience for all!

—–