Tuesday Water Cooler – April 27th, 2010
Here we go with today’s sports water cooler talk. Here, you won’t just find the straight news; you’ll find the stuff everyone is talking about – the ice breakers, the Twitter Sports Picks and topics…well, basically all the stuff you discuss at the water cooler.
Enjoy!
We kick off the day’s news by checking in with the year’s biggest newsmaker. How’s that golfer guy doing? What’s his name again?
PGA news: Tiger back this week; also expected to compete in British Open
After several Tiger-less weeks, it’s time to crank up the pandemonium again. He returns this week to battle a star-studded field at Quail Hollow. The significance: it will be Tiger’s first tourney in a “non-controlled” environment. Who knows if spectators and media alike will be as polite as they were at stuffy Augusta National?
Organizers of the British Open expect Tiger to enter the third major championship of the year before the May 27 deadline. After all, it’s the 150th anniversary of the Open Championship and it’s played at St. Andrews, where Tiger has two victories already.
MLB news: Did Obama snub A-Rod?
This is probably making a mountain out of a mole hill but some New York media pundits believe President Barack Obama deliberately “snubbed” Alex Rodriguez in his speech when the Yankees visited the White House yesterday. Obama mentioned Jorge Posada, Derek Jeter, Mark Teixeira and Mariano Rivera by name in the speech but never touched on A-Rod. Sigh. Must’ve been a slow news day. Let’s just move on from this one.
The Philadelphia Phillies made more tangible headlines yesterday. Ace Roy Halladay finally lost his first game with the club last night. He didn’t walk a batter over seven innings but he allowed five runs. Mark DeRosa knocked in two on a first-inning single and Eli Whiteside – who? – went yard off Doc.
Also, the Phillies signed superstar slugger Ryan Howard to a mammoth five year, $125-million contract extension. The big fella sure can rake but I can’t imagine he’ll age well. Hard to say if the signing is a good one.
NHL news: “Twinkiegate” rocks Vancouver; Jacques Lemaire retires
Oh, to live the sheltered life of a Western Canadian newspaper columnist. Apparently, the Vancouver Province’s Gord McIntyre doesn’t know anything about the Minnesota Twins, who are often affectionately referred to as the “Twinkies.”
When TSN commentator Darren Pang called Daniel and Henrik Sedin “The Twinkies,” McIntrye blew a gasket, believing that Pang called the beloved and talented twins a couple of puffy cakes or pansies. Seriously, the guy didn’t know that Twinkie means twin. I don’t know how he even manages to tie his shoes in the morning every day.
Happy trails, Jacques Lemaire. The former legendary Montreal Canadiens forward, champion coach of the New Jersey Devils and Godfather of the Neutral Zone Trap called it quits yesterday. The Hall-of-Famer finishes his career with an amazing 11 Stanley Cup rings as a player, coach or executive.
NBA news: Hawks team bus crashes in Milwaukee
The Atlanta Hawks crashed and burned figuratively in Milwaukee when they lost Games 3 and 4 of the Eastern Conference quarter-final matchup against the Bucks. But now it’s happening literally. A woman and child in a Cadillac smashed into Atlanta’s team bus yesterday, destroying the luggage compartment. No one was hurt in the incident but I have to think the Hawks are emotionally reeling after several nights of “Fearing the Deer.”
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