The Sports Truth

No pulsating intro music or pyrotechnics are necessary when the Sports Truth’s Starting Five takes the floor. Primarily because our budget won’t allot for such things. That would be so cool, though!

Every Friday, our panel of experts takes a current sports topic and sounds off on it — five times over. These guys have been researching constantly, poring over endless data and bouncing ideas off each other in preparation for this feature. Prepare to be amused, perplexed, enraged and maybe a little awed by their collective brilliance.

This Week’s Topic: SPORT / NOT A SPORT

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1. Golf: Sport? Not a sport? Why?

LUCAS DWYER: Not only is golf a sport, it is the hardest sport there is. The physical act of striking a golf ball and making contact might not be all that difficult, but the act of striking a golf ball, hitting it far and accurately, and doing so consistently over the course of 18 holes is far more difficult than hitting a 97 mph fastball or tackling Larry Johnson.

JOEY BARGUY: Not a sport. It’s a sport for Tiger Woods. Not for you.

EVAN CHRISTOPHER: My definition of a sport is simple: physical activity, competition and a clear winner and loser. So golf easily qualifies as a sport. Some say hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do, but I nominate hitting a 100-yard sand wedge from the rough with a bad lie onto a sloping green. Golf requires talent, concentration, no bad teammates to bring you down or blame, and incredibly bad fashion sense. I love it.

MICHAEL BRIAN: Golf: Not a sport. Golf is what you do when your body is too old, broken down, or man-boobed to play actual sports.

MICHAEL STEPHENS: A tough call, but I have to go with sport. It’s somehow easier to justify wasting most of my youth playing it if I call it one.

STEVEN VINCI: Golf is certainly a sport. A game is something everyone can do, but golf is one of the most challenging activities on the planet, and one mastered by only a few. Just because Phil Mickelson needs a bra does not mean golf is not a sport.

VERDICT: SPORT, 4-2

2. Ultimate frisbee: Sport? Not a sport? Why?

STEVEN VINCI: I’ll go with sport on this one. Even though it’s played by hippies and there is not enough physical contact, there is some skill involved. It would be a better game if there was tackling involved.

LUCAS DWYER: The only thing missing from ultimate frisbee for this to even be a question is attention. There are very few organized ultimate frisbee endeavors, so we never hear about it, but it requires athleticism, speed, endurance, coordination, and strategy — all the things you’d want in a sport.

MICHAEL BRIAN: Not a sport. Ultimate frisbee will become a sport when shirt tye-dyeing, hair unkempting and pot smoking are considered work outs.

(more…)

No pulsating intro music or pyrotechnics are necessary when the Sports Truth’s Starting Five takes the floor. Primarily because our budget won’t allot for such things. That would be so cool, though!

Every Friday, our panel of experts takes a current sports topic and sounds off on it — five times over. These guys have been researching constantly, poring over endless data and bouncing ideas off each other in preparation for this feature. Prepare to be amused, perplexed, enraged and maybe a little awed by their collective brilliance.

This Week’s Topic: THE RYDER CUP

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1. Which would you rather have as captain: The superior 1-2-3 punch of Americans Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Jim Furyk, or the European team’s superior depth in roster spots 4-12?

JOEY BARGUY: Depth is for losers. No one ever made the playoffs because their farm team had surprising depth. The European team is a great representative of Europe: ununified and boring, nothing really special.

EVAN CHRISTOPHER: Are we really doing a Starting Five about the Ryder Cup? Seriously, I need more T.O. talk in my life.

LUCAS DWYER: First off, Woods and Furyk are rumored to be paired together which off-sets their supposed impact on other players. Second, only Mickleson averages over a half a point per match (i.e., winning more matches than losing) and his margin is .51 (Woody is .40, Furyk .33). This is a team event. The U.S. will need more than the big three. Give me depth or give me death.

MICHAEL STEPHENS: Only on Sunday, when 12 singles matches decide the Cup, are all the team members required to play. So the first 16 points will be decided largely by the elite players on both teams, giving the Americans the chance to set the tone. Europe’s depth is formidable, but not insurmountable.

MICHAEL BRIAN: I’m going to have to go with the European team, if only because I find my captaining skills greatly improve when I feel free to make the occasional porn joke.

2. Some say the technique and nerve-wracking nature of match play make it the purest form of golf. Should more tournaments adopt the Ryder Cup’s uniquely challenging format?

JOEY BARGUY: Who says that? I like predicability, and then I can frame the event with my remote control. Sometimes a birdie at the 4th hole on Friday afternoon at the Masters decides the tournament — especially if it’s the only hole I watch. Don’t tell me what’s exciting, you arrogant Europeans.

EVAN CHRISTOPHER: Do you know where I can get those pics of Tiger’s wife?

(more…)

The worst thing that can be said about a professional golfer is that he or she is irrelevant, and that’s the perfect word for what Michelle Wie has become in her dubious ventures against male pros.

Fans who just last year were convinced Wie, 16, could make a cut in a men’s event are now reduced to shaking their heads and asking how badly Wie missed the cut.

In consecutive weeks going up against the men, once in Europe and this week at the 84 Lumber Classic on the PGA Tour, Wie finished dead last. At the 84 Lumber, Wie finished 36 holes with scores of 77 and 81, an unimpressive 14-over-par effort.

The stunning thing about Wie is that just as her play in women’s golf seems to get better, she diverts her attention to this ridiculous notion of competing with the PGA field. Her play then regresses with each horrendous performance in a men’s event.

Reasons for her struggles abound. Some say the 6′1″ Hawaiian’s swing has become too mechanical under the tutelage of David Leadbetter. Others say she’s picked poor courses for her PGA aspirations, or is simply trying too hard. Regardless, it’s a joke. An irrelevant one.

What have we learned from Wie’s play this year?

1. Against women, Wie is a threat to win any tournament. She will be one of the favorites in the Samsung World Championship in Palm Desert next month — assuming she doesn’t blow it off to get embarrassed against men again.
2. Few people care about Wie playing against men, and she will not gain credibility until makes a PGA Tour cut — which she is clearly not even close to capable of.
3. As a result of her insistence on trying, Wie is losing support among even the most staunch defenders of her decision to play against men. PGA Tour golfers are starting to lose patience when it comes to hearing about (and being asked about) the teen golfer who finishes last in the field.

In short, Michelle, it’s time to reassess. Until you can flat-out dominate the women’s game, there is no excuse for this ongoing stunt. Give it up.