Saturday, July 25, 2009

Saturday 07/25 (Very) Quickie

So I'm blogging from beachside in St. Augustine, Florida this weekend, and -- gloriously -- I'm having what can only be described as a fried-food hangover. Not in a gross way, btw.

Matt Holliday traded to Cards: 4/5 with an RBI in a Cards win over the Phillies. Pretty good start, you could say.

It was Steve Spurrier: That's what you get for delegating your all-conference ballots (and, don't fool yourself, Top 25 ballots) to administrative assistants. Vote has been changed.

Lane Kiffin at SEC Media Days: I actually think he won over some haters. At least he went a bit meta and acknowledged why he engages in the crazy-talk. And, let's face it: It worked.

Blazers sign Andre Miller: Did they really need him? With Brandon Roy, do you need a "traditional" PG? If so, didn't they already have the serviceable Steve Blake?

Leagues, NCAA sue Delaware to stop gambling: They can't stop it. It's inevitable. I don't buy the "it'll corrupt our sport!" argument. It's on the leagues, not the states, to stop cheaters.

Cripes, Roy Halladay is good (9 IP/4H/1ER/10 Ks, even in an ND): I don't know why a contender trying to make a move wouldn't spend whatever it needed to to get him.

Too early to start talking MLB Wild Card races? Giants-Rockies is going to be a good one. (Matt Cain: 12th win.)

Scott Feldman beating Zack Greinke may be the most notable moment in Jewish baseball history in years.

Swimming bans super-suits: Here's the problem -- the technology was accessible to everyone, so it's not like it was an unfair advantage. Meanwhile, what about the records set in the suits? (I guess it's like baseball records set during the Steroid Era, or the Amphetamine Era before that.)

Finally: Oh my god: Stephon Marbury, Live. That footage -- once properly edited by an enterprising blogger or fan -- will have an instant place in sports pop-culture forever.

TimTeblog: I sift through all the Tebow-related content that has been published in the last 18 hours to find the interesting stuff so you don't have to.

-- D.S.

Friday, July 24, 2009

Friday 07/24 Quickie: Tebow, Buehrle,
Vick, Favre, NFL Camping, LeBron

Cripes, I guess sports' annual summer vacation is over. There are about a half-dozen stories that could have led the sports day over the last two weeks -- packed into one morning:

Vick is back: When, not if. More like: Who (will sign him?)

Buehrle's perfect game: What a moment. What a catch by Wise. (Obama agrees!)

Is Brett Favre announcing his unretirement today? On a busy sports day? Yes!

Um, and NFL training camps open this weekend, usually a pretty big milestone.

And then, of course, there is the whole Tebow-is-virgin thing (video here!), spicing up SEC Tebow Media Days in Alabama.

(And, if you care about the whole "Who didn't vote for Tebow" thing, it looks like the culprit is either Steve Spurrier or Someone-Is-Lying, either of which are intriguing.)

Today's SN column couldn't be more loaded. It was a crazy day yesterday, with plenty of time to mull it over today and over the weekend. Enjoy it. This is one of the good mornings.

(You can be suffering from Tebow backlash -- really? -- or Vick fatigue or Favre please-no-not-again-itis, but at the very least you have to have loved the Buehrle-Wise thing.)

Again: Great day to be a sports fan.

-- D.S.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Why Tim Tebow's Virginity Matters

After a day of mania in Alabama at SEC Media Day -- it was one of the most frenzied, crazy days of Tim Tebow's college career -- there was plenty to talk about, but one meme emerged as the most controversial: Clay Travis asking Tebow if he was a virgin. Some thought it was out of bounds. Some thought it was classless. Some thought it was funny.

After sitting on a north Florida beach for an hour -- no knee-jerk analysis? what a rarity! -- I think I had some perspective on it. I posted it at the Tebow blog, but I thought it was worth republishing here for the DS.com audience. (FWIW, it's probably what I would have written here, had there been no Tebow blog.)
*****

Tim Tebow's virginity matters.

On its face, whether Tebow has been some sort of Greek god of studliness or saving himself for marriage seems like a ludicrous issue to be talking about at a football conference, even in the SEC.

But Tebow has always been about more than football -- necessarily been about more than football.

Tebow's career -- on and off the field -- has been about mythology. Not in the "Clash of the Titans" fictional way, but about myth-making. So as not to confuse people, I try to use the word "mythic," because it means "as if a myth...," the implication being "...but very much real."

The Tebow myth -- "mythic Tebow" -- is based on an ever-increasing number of mythic moments:

Football-related: The first "Jump-Pass"... the 5-TD game on national TV against South Carolina en route to "20/20" en route to becoming the first sophomore ever to win the Heisman... the 4th quarter against Alabama in the 2008 SEC title game... the clip of him "firing up" the College GameDay crew... the unsportsmanlike-conduct "Gator Chomp" against Oklahoma... the "Who didn't vote for Tebow" thing... and, of course, "The Promise" speech.

Off the field: The "miracle birth" story... the ESPN TV documentary as a high school senior... the ministering to prisoners... the medical procedures abroad, including the circumcisions... the singing with country-music stars... the eye-black, especially the John 3:16 moment during the national-title game that became the No. 1 most-searched term on Google (and helped convince him to return to Florida)... the "I'm Coming Back" speech... even this week's Sports Illustrated cover.

Everyone agrees Tebow is a great football player, maybe the greatest. Everyone agrees Tebow is a remarkable human being, even verging on the Messianic in tone. The point is that the Tebow myth is only truly created -- or fulfilled -- when these two things converge.

Tebow is unafraid to discuss his spirituality -- his religious beliefs and values -- in public. In fact, he relishes it, because it is precisely that "testimony" -- subtle and otherwise -- that allows him to live out what he feels is his mission. (But, to be clear, for all the outward displays of religious discussion, he is not someone who generally forces it on people -- just trust me on that.)

It is Tebow's clarity of living -- god, family, school/community, football...in that order -- that appears to provide him with the seemingly superhuman ability to at once be relentless on the football field (or even in the weight room or film room or practice sessions) and supremely confident off the football field, whether flying to the Phillippines to work with orphans or driving to the local prison to minister to convicts or handle the media like few in sports have ever handled the media (especially, as Forde pointed out today, for a college student).

Mythic Tebow puts his religious values first, and if that is how he finds success in life, more power to him. We should all be so fortunate to have something -- religion, secular humanism, family, fan allegiance, I-don't-care-what -- that provides a framework for a life well-lived, however you might define that.

It is those religious values that fuel his football success, that are on display in the cover story of Sports Illustrated this week -- and that made Clay Travis' extremely personal question to Tebow of whether or not he was a virgin something relevant.

In fact, his answer shouldn't have surprised anyone. It is entirely consistent with his core values and -- in line with supporting "mythic Tebow" -- the rest of the episodes, events and moments that have come to define him publicly.

When the rest of us get finished tittering (and Twittering) about the virgin question, what is left is -- as usual -- profound (or perhaps begrudging) respect, which couldn't be a more rare commodity among sports fans, let alone for a star as prominent (even over-exposed) as Tebow.

I think Tebow will ultimately feel glad for having been able to share that piece of personal information -- he certainly didn't seem particularly thrown by the question when it was asked. But I can see him understanding that there are evangelical Christians out there who will find their strength in his values. Those who don't share those values? Live and let live.

When it first happened, I -- as a would-be expert in Tebow mythology -- was quick to put it at the top of the list of mythic Tebow moments. It doesn't have anything to do with football, but that it came up at a football conference... those two things intertwined seem to make sense to me, given the on-field/off-field duality of Tebow's mythic mix.

Talking about his virginity doesn't faze Tebow. And it shouldn't faze the rest of us. We should all have the kind of equanimity that comes with the clarity of living Tebow enjoys.

-- D.S.

Tebow at SEC Media Day: Teblog Coverage

I won't assault the non-Tebow/non-Florida/non-SEC fans with Tebow coverage here. There's a dedicated place for that, and if you're interested, I have done a half-dozen posts on SEC Media Day today, including:

*Tebow's virginity is the new LeBron being dunked on.

*Tebow on the (not real) "Tebow Backlash": "Oh, well."

*Tebow on the John 3:16 Google explosion as incentive to return.

*Tebow, much like you, not really caring which coach didn't vote him all-SEC.

*Best of the Tweets from his media session (EDSBS FTW)

More where that came from. Check out TimTeblog.com.

-- D.S.

Thursday 07/23 Quickie: Tebow,
SEC, Ben, Vick, Red Sox, MMA

SEC Media Days turned into Tebow Media Days, if the media's interest was any indication.

Dan Mullen? Sure. He used to coach Tebow. But what do Bobby Johnson or Bobby Petrino or Rich Brooks -- or their teams -- have to do with Tebow? Who cares? It's TEBOW.

(I'm being sarcastic -- but, in all seriousness, there has been no greater proof-of-concept of TimTeblog.com than yesterday's SEC Media Day Tebowfest and this week's SI, which rejected Tom Watson as a cover lead for a 2-year-old story about Tebow's faith that 99 percent of college football fans already knew pretty well. Why did Tebow make the cover? Because it's Tebow.)

So it's no wonder I led today's SN column with Tebow Media Day -- today actually IS Tebow Media Day. He takes the podium in the next few hours, and it will be an Event. (I will be curious to see if ESPN does a live cut-in. If they were smart, they would. At the very least, they would do a "cut-in" on ESPN.com via ESPN360.)

More you'll find in today's column:

*Bill Plaschke was the only one not cheering Manny last night.
*The Red Sox might be losing, but they're not panicking.
*The Magic not the top contenders in the East? Really?
*Steroids in MMA? YOU DON'T SAY?!?!
*LeBron Dunk: Not just the biggest let-down ever, but it turns out there was a better video of it that came out on another site. The clip still kind of sucks.

Complete SN column here. More later. Lots on TimTeblog today (for obvious reasons) and some Varsity Dad updates, too.

-- D.S.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Wednesday 07/22 Quickie: SEC
Ben, Vick, Red Sox, Coach K, More

Quickie Vocab: "Nar-SEC-cism" -- SEC football fans who think the world revolves around them. Great example: The lead of today's SN column.

There are few events in the sports year as unique as SEC Media Days: Part triumphalist revival tent, part freak-show carnival, part clinic on football passion. Why NOT get excited?

You could argue that the headliner comes tomorrow, when Urban Meyer and Tim Tebow take the podium, but there's plenty of intrigue to keep things interesting, such as "Who will break the mystery of which coach didn't vote for Tebow as preseason all-SEC?"

Most fans probably don't care about such stuff. Some do. And Tebow can't be THAT uninteresting of a topic, if - say - a leading national sports magazine has him on their cover just days after Tom Watson pulled off one of the most dramatic stunts of the sports year.

Anyway, will the rest of the country hate this SEC circle-joink -- or does that question, in and of itself, suggest a nar-SEC-cism.

More you'll find in today's column:

*The Big Ben clusterf---.
*Mike Vick: Training at Disney? Um...no.
*Just can't get worried about the Red Sox. (Yet.)
*Coach K: 4 more years! (Of no Duke NCAA hoops titles!)
*Is TMZ publishing the LeBron dunk video today?

There's a lot more here. More later. New posts at Varsity Dad and TimTeblog, if that's of interest to you.

-- D.S.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

The Anniversary of My Gator Fandom

Today is the anniversary of the first date I had with my future wife. For the purposes of this blog -- and my fandom -- it is all the more of a notable annual event for me because it really serves as the anniversary of the conception of my Gator fandom.

Everyone knows the basics: I became a Gator fan through my wife. (Get the background here.) The Gators are her team (or "HER team," when she says it aloud to people who assume that she adopted my favorite team), and -- at the most shallow level -- it was the first thing about her that I fell in love with, right there, on our first date:
That was the initial attraction to this woman across the table from me on our first date. I have heard stories of people on dates with successful professionals and fantasizing themselves as spouses of a doctor or hedge-fund manager; I sat across from my date and imagined how happy I would be married to a fan of a great sports team.
I fell in love with her. I fell in love with her team. It is a bit hazy to conclude which came first.

I related a snippet of it in a Valentine's Day post about love on Free Darko a couple years back, titled "He's Just Not That Into U-donis":
I'm not quite sure I can pinpoint exactly when I knew I WOULD marry my wife, but I'm quite sure I can pinpoint exactly when I knew I COULD:

The year: 2001
The setting: Our first date.
The place: West Village Italian restaurant
The context: 1.2 bottles of wine into dinner.
The topic on the table: The preeminent value of offensive rebounds in relation to (1) a basketball team's chances of success and (2) a basketball forward's worth as a player.

Let me clarify: My wife (then, the random woman I was on a first date with) was making that argument. I was pretending to engage in the discussion. I was nodding. I may have even been responding.

All I know is that her voice was drowned out by the one in the back of my head:

Li'l Danny: "Are you listening to this? Are you listening?!"

Me: "Pipe down. She's trying to make a point about the pro potential of Udonis Haslem."

Li'l Danny: "The fat Florida center? He'll never make it!"

Me: "Shh!"

Li'l Danny: "But here is a woman who not only loves basketball, but appreciates it for its subtle pleasures!"

Me: "Which *I'm* trying to appreciate, save for your yammering!"

Li'l Danny: "I think I'm in love. Go on: Say something smart that will make her respect you for your basketball knowledge!"

Me: "OK...wait: I'm blanking! I'm blanking!! It's all too much pressure! I'm smitten!"

Li'l Danny: "Plus-minus! Plus-minus!"

Me: "What the hell is 'plus-minus?'" (Remember: It was 2001.)

Li'l Danny: "Nooooo! Damn your ignorance! You better switch topics to something more your speed... like pop culture."

Me: "So, uh, how about those...um...'Sex and the City' women?" (D'oh!)

Fast-forward nearly six years, one marriage and one kid later: Her enthusiastic argument on behalf of offensive rebounds remains THE most -- if not only -- vivid detail of our entire first date.

And as we sit in our NYC apartment today watching her favorite NBA player -- David Lee (yeah, she's a Gators fan) -- she's still talking about offensive rebounds. And knowing Lee's NBA-best offensive-rebounding numbers, I couldn't love her more for it.

-FIN-
To discover your spouse/mother of your kids AND to recognize your die-hard fan allegiance are each fundamentally pivotal moments in a person's life, certainly a sports fan's life.

Uniquely, to have it happen in the exact same moment is something I will appreciate for the rest of my life -- and something for which I can't thank my wife enough for letting me be a part of it: Her life AND her fandom.

-- D.S.

Tuesday 07/21 Quickie: Big Ben,
Favre, Halladay, Magic, CFB Media Days

Huge thanks to everyone who emailed about or retweeted or commented on yesterday's post about ESPN's push into local.

So on the eve of SEC Media Day(s) -- 800 credentialed media attending! -- my SN colleague Dave Curtis pulled out something from the old Dan Shanoff playbook:

This year's BCS mess will be... more than 2 unbeaten teams. That's the doomsday scenario that I've been projecting every year for many, many years, so naturally I took the bait and led today's SN column with it.

This season that could be Florida, the Oklahoma-Texas winner and USC. Well, probably not USC, if history holds. Maybe Penn State (cough-Iowa!-cough). Maybe VA Tech or GA Tech? Not out of the ACC, where losing when you shouldn't is part of the league charter.

Where Curtis goes a little overboard is in insisting that SIX teams would go unbeaten. Including Notre Dame! (Notre Dame?!?!)

I actually think we'll end with three: Florida, the Oklahoma-Texas winner and Boise State, which will gripe but head for the Fiesta Bowl. (As I said in the column: I'm sure Boise is a good team, but 20 teams could go unbeaten if they played Boise's schedule.)

This season seems to size up much like 2005, when a seemingly unbeatable, where-do-they-rank-all-time unbeaten USC (played this year by Florida) collided with a ridiculously good (and motivated) unbeaten champ from the Big 12 (reprising its 2005 role, Texas).

The glory that is the college football regular season is that no matter how sure I am in July that multiple teams will go unbeaten -- or how sure we all are that multiple teams will go unbeaten once we get into October -- something ALWAYS happens to obliterate our expectations.

How amazing. Just weeks away.

Meanwhile:
*Big Ben? This will quickly become a non-story.
*Favre by Friday? Let it be Friday afternoon, so I can ignore it all weekend.
*Magic rule NBA offseason: Barnes another great piece.
*Nash back in PHX: Bet he's in NYC by All-Star Break 2011.
*Will the Dodgers drop Halladay chase since Jason Schmidt won a game? (That may set a new bar for me for shallow analysis -- and that's saying something.)

Complete SN column here. More later.

-- D.S.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Varsity Dad Today: Scheduling Births Around Sports

In honor of Ross Fisher, today's big Varsity Dad post was about scheduling births around sports events. It's one thing to do it if you are competing -- how about if you are merely a fan, not wanting to miss a game? That's what I ran into last October. Anyone else have a similar experience? Check the post here.

ESPN.com vs Local Newspaper Sports

How big is ESPN’s move into local (or “hyperlocal”) online sports media? Very very big.

It was ground-breaking when they announced the pilot move into Chicago. And it’s even bigger today, when they will announce a move into New York, LA and Dallas.

So big that the New York Times put that story on its front page today.

So big that it should make the local sports outlets very very nervous.

Here is the money stat: "In less than three months, ESPN Chicago has become the city's top sports site, attracting about 590,000 unique visitors in June... Second place went to the Tribune's online sports section with 455,000 unique visitors."

The Tribune's online sports hub has been around for years, dominating the city. ESPNChicago.com has been around for...um...months. And it's already winning. (Or, perhaps, has it already won?)

Local was always a great play for ESPN -- they have the radio affiliates, ESPN.com has a ton of locally adaptable content (not to mention the promotional firehose), and -- on the flip side -- newspaper sports sites have long been neglected and/or mis-managed. That has caught up with the newspapers.

Here's an unintentionally funny quote from LA Times sports associate editor Randy Harvey: "It would be foolish to underestimate ESPN, but it comes down to resources. I don't see them being able to replicate what we do."

Do what, Randy? Cut your hockey coverage? Let marquee columnists like JA Adande leave for...oh, let's see, ESPN.com? (Um, whose content do you think will be leading ESPNLA? Let's see: You could be reading the leading columnist of LA sports on ESPNLA.com...or you could read the place he USED to work, before he bolted?) How about the way Harvey has let Bill Plaschke become more TV personality than newspaper columnist -- on...ESPN? (Again: ESPNLA will have Plaschke video from Around the Horn. What's LATimes.com got?)

The Trib's editor for digital media, Bill Adee, said this: "We are looking forward to the local sports turf battle in the weeks and months ahead." Memo to Adee: The battle seems to have been lost already. On your watch.

(And, Bill, if you think hiring Jay Mariotti will fix things, think again. Guess where Jay spends 250 afternoons a year -- and devotes most of his energy: ESPN. Instead of spending all that money on Mariotti, take his salary and cut it into 10 pieces, then go out and hire every top local blogger. I can offer that advice for free because of the confidence I have that it will go unheeded.)

What local newspaper sports editors don't get is that their reporting has become commoditized -- everyone gets the game recaps and the box scores. ESPN does a better job of presenting both, plus other kinds of stats, plus a better job of presenting the teams playing your teams.

Here's a basic case study: Does the Times think it has a lock on the Lakers? ESPNLA.com has (a) full-time TV reporters based in LA, (b) JA Adande, (c) a top Lakers blog (Forum Blue and Gold) as part of ESPN.com's TrueHoop Network, (d) a local radio affiliate and (e) the power of ESPN. Oh, and Bill Simmons is based in LA. Good night, game over.

As quickly as a good nugget can be reported by someone like the Times, a quick-acting (and inexpensive) ESPNLA intern (or low-paid editor) can have it on the ESPNLA site. It's called aggregation, and you can already find it daily on ESPN.com's Rumor Central pages. That's the craziest part: The economics of ESPN's local strategy are jaw-droppingly cheap, especially relative to local newspapers' costs.

Local newspapers' sports power was already under erosion on other fronts, besides ESPN: SB Nation has put together the best collection of team-based blogs found online, across every sport, in every market, with coverage that -- yes -- complements local news, but also goes a long way to displace it. Its distribution deal with Yahoo -- itself a traffic firehose -- amplified that power exponentially.

In an ideal world, the $8 million that SB Nation just got from Comcast includes a commitment from Comcast to use SB Nation to power its local cable affiliates' web presences. And here's one more idea for Comcast: Drop the notion of Versus as "place to find niche sports whose rights ESPN didn't want" and pivot it to be about "Your Team," leveraging Comcast's local sports networks and the new investment in SB Nation.

Meanwhile, Fanhouse, currently focused on broad national coverage, is well-positioned to leapfrog AOL's reinvention this summer with smart investments that drill down locally. When new AOL CEO Tim Armstrong (a huge sports fan, btw) talks about the success of AOL's content business, Fanhouse has to be near the top of the list. (Disclaimer: I began my career at an AOL-funded sports content start-up later acquired by AOL, and I most recently worked at an online media company whose original investor was Armstrong.)

NBC is also getting into the local sports game -- NBC has been building out their city-specific presences and, through Fanhouse alum John Ness, staffing them with quality sports-blogging talent that increases user value, drives search discoverability and gives the local TV networks something to compete with the newspaper sites.

Notice who isn't in that conversation? Newspapers. This isn't meant to be a "death-of-newspaper" pile-on. As any good sports blogger will tell you, we mostly LOVE the newspaper sport-beat reporters, as everyone should, because they are the ones who produce much the content that the rest of us spend hours and hours talking about. (That's not to say that can't change, won't change or isn't changing as I type this.)

As I wrote when ESPN first announced its intention to move into Chicago, it is brilliant -- they are serving fans of local teams as well (or better) than the longstanding newspapers in the city, at a fraction of the cost. I have no solutions for the newspaper companies -- except perhaps to suggest that they call ESPN.com and see if they can get a distribution deal via the ESPN local sites.

I have gotten a lot of emails and questions from folks about why I launched TimTeblog.com last week. For those who don't know, it is a site focused entirely on covering Tim Tebow -- credible original analysis, smart comprehensive curation, guest-posts, fun conceits.

In short: I am covering Tim Tebow as a beat -- just like someone covers Florida football or the SEC or college football generally.

It sounds a little crazy, right up until you recognize that Tebow is THE biggest story in sports for the next six months (and the three months after that, if you count his preeminent X-factor position leading up to the NFL Draft). Last week, I used the analogy of ESPN dedicating a full-time reporter to covering Barry Bonds. (Or even a journalist who spends a season "inside" with a team or player to write a book.) The feedback has been tremendously positive (maybe because fans -- Florida fans, college football fans, fans everywhere -- are intrigued by Tebow).

And, guess what? If you're looking for Tebow coverage, my blog is the best destination you'll find online. Better than the hometown Gainesville Sun. Better than the leading Florida football blogs. Better than Yahoo's college football blog. Better than ESPN. Why? Because Tebow is my entire focus -- you are better off checking my coverage, because I'll have everything those folks have PLUS everything else created by everyone else. (Properly credited, of course!)

What I don't have for my Tebow site is a major distribution avenue -- yet. It is increasingly showing up high on Google Searches. It will get linked from Florida football blogs (or other folks dropping in to cover something about Tebow); with that comes increased credibility and visibility -- the direct traffic will come when fans who want great analysis of Tim Tebow (or just a one-stop shop for their Tebow news) hear about the site and give it a try, then satisfied, make it a habit. And I can (and will) strike a partnership deal with a mainstream sports site that would benefit from expertly produced full-time coverage of the biggest single ongoing story in sports this fall.

In that respect, it is my own "hyperlocal" product -- "hyperlocal" reinterpreted. "Local" isn't where you live, necessarily; it is what you care about, in a very specific way. Just ask the 590,000 fans of Chicago sports -- many (even most) of whom probably don't live in Chicago but care passionately about their Chicago teams.

And are now being more than well-served by ESPN.

More as this continues to develop.

-- D.S.

UPDATE: Good read from SBJ/SBD about the pressure on leagues that decreased newspaper staffing/coverage creates. The alternative take is that the leagues should be partnering more aggressively with the innovators -- and obviously embracing more innovation themselves.

(Ironic detail: Lynn Hoppes, the former president of the Associated Press Sports Editors, is quoted; a couple months ago, he left newspapers to run my alma mater, ESPN.com's Page 2.)

Monday 07/20 Quickie: Tom Watson,
Vick, Favre, Halladay, Jamario, More

How could I NOT lead today's SN column with Tom Watson? Let's discuss:

*When was the last time a championship RUNNER-UP eclipsed the champ?

*This was the greatest moment of Tom Watson's ridiculously awesome career. It's incredible: He rewrote the basic story of his career, 10-20 years after it really peaked.

*What was more improbable: Watson or that a Tiger-less golf tournament would have huge buzz?

*Tiger topping Nicklaus's major title total is easy; let's see Woods finish as the runner-up at a major at age 59.

(At a minimum, I think that if Tiger had any ideas about not playing into his late-50s, they are gone now -- I'll bet he is already feeling competitive about topping Watson in 25 years.)

Truly, this was a transcendent moment in sports -- certainly this year, probably this decade, arguably among golf's all-time great moments.

How many golf results -- how many sports results -- do you truly remember vividly? I think that "Remember Watson in '09?" will stand as one of those.

More you'll find in today's column:
*Is today the day that teams start working the media to soften their fans for a Vick signing?

*If Roy Halladay was going to peak his trade value, shutting down the Red Sox would do it.

*Jamario Moon would be the Cavs' "stretch-four" (ie, Rashard Lewis) stopper. I know he's a little undersized, but he is as high-energy as anyone in the league.

*I'm not dissing Stewart Cink -- at the very least, the guy is tied to one of the most memorable golf results ever. And he is the best golfer about Twitter, so I always was a fan. (566,000 followers!)

Complete SN column here. More later, and more posts all day (and from the weekend) across Varsity Dad and TimTeblog.

-- D.S.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Sunday Mania: Tom Watson

Friday, it was: "How can you not be watching/rooting for Tom Watson?"

Saturday, it was "How can you NOT be watching/ROOTING for TOM WATSON?!?"

Sunday morning, it will be "AAAAH! TOM WATSON RULES!"

This is certainly the biggest sports story of the month. The real question is where it ends: If Watson wins the British Open, it would be one of the Top 3 sports stories of the year so far -- I'd put it behind the Steelers winning the Super Bowl but ahead of UNC or the Penguins winning titles. And, yes, probably even ahead of Florida winning the CFB national title.

It would be the most interesting golf result of all time. Bigger than Tiger at the Masters in '97. Bigger than Tiger at the US Open in 08. I'm not golf expert, but I cannot think of a comp.

In this era of Twitter/blogging/TV-yakkers/cynicism, this 59-year-old has turned back the clock. Literally.

Again: How can you NOT be rooting for Tom Watson?

-- D.S.