We're Back

Well, after a strong run, I kind of bailed on you early last week, but hopefully I'll be back in full force again this week. You never know what might come up later in the week - Wednesday's looking shaky - but after Saturday night, I'm not feeling like coming anywhere near an adult beverage for awhile so we should be ok to blaaaahhhhhhhhg.

We do have a pretty exciting week after a weekend that was about as good as you could hope for this time of year. August has already stepped it up from July, and it's only going to get better. The NFL preseason schedule is underway, college football previews are out and we have golf's final major this week.

So, we're going to kind of bounce around for the most part tonight, but rest assured, I will have the 10 to Win for the PGA Championship which tees off Thursday at Southern Hills. Since Wednesday's looking shaky for a post, I'll do the Ten tomorrow night with the added stipulation that I have the right to change any of the Ten before Thursday morning.

As always, I'm open for suggestions on my punishment if I don't get the winner. There will be a new twist to make it a bit more interactive, though. I'm giving you the chance to prove you know more than I do (this shouldn't be difficult). After my Ten is posted, you the reader can pick a golfer that I didn't choose. I'd say one per reader but it's the internet so you could anonymously put as many as you like, so I'm just going to match my 10 vs. the first 10 suggested by readers. If one of Your Ten wins, then I'm obligated to do whatever punishment suggested. If not, I'm off the hook. After the tournament, we can do a comparison of how everyone's picks did. Sound fun? I thought so. Of course, with only 3 loyal readers I'm hoping you guys really make an effort here. Otherwise, it'll just be pathetic and might cause severe emotional problems for your loyal blogger.

We'll clearly discuss that more tomorrow - golf, not my emotional state - so let's see what happened in sports over the weekend.

Know that historic night I talked about last week? Well, it didn't happen, but all three players reached those landmarks over the weekend. Rodriguez led the way getting his 500th home run Saturday afternoon. I've got a feeling that in about 8 years we're going to be discussing his setting the all-time record. Of course, if I'm still doing this blog for free in eight years, I'm going to shoot myself, but you get the point.

Not to be outdone, Bonds got a fresh shipment of The Clear in, lathered up and hit his 755th home run Saturday night. Say what you want about Bonds and the legitimacy of the record, but I was at a bar when he hit the tying home run, and everyone in the bar stopped what they were doing to watch. It's must see TV. I fully plan on staying up tonight for an at-bat or two of his to see if he sets the record. He's playing the Nationals and their 8th grade pitching staff, so it shouldn't take long.

Sunday night, Tom Glavine capped off the historic weekend with his 300th win. While it kills me that he's doing it for the Mets right now, I'm extremely pleased for Glavine. There was a debate on PTI today if we'd ever see another 300 game winner. The closest is Randy Johnson at 284 wins, but Johnson may never pitch again due to injury. And the fact that's he's old. And ugly. After Johnson, no one is young enough or close enough to have a realistic shot. Of course, there's certainly enough young pitchers out there who could play for the next 15 years and win consistently enough to get to 300. I think it's silly to debate whether or not something would ever happen again for all eternity, but the fact that argument is even being presented speaks to how dificult winning 300 games is.

The heavyweights of the golf world took to Firestone Country Club in Ohio last weekend in the Tiger Woods Coronation Invitation. Woods wins every year here. Normally, I wouldn't even report about it - I use the term report loosely - but this time he beat the piss out of Rory Sabbatini on Sunday (again). You may remember Sabbatini from his "Tiger's beatable" comments right after Tiger beat him by several strokes on Sunday at the Wachovia.

Well, our old friends were paired on Sunday at Firestone. Tiger started the day one stroke back of Sabbatini. He made the turn 6 strokes ahead of Sabbatini en route to an 8-stroke victory. It was a clinical display by Woods. He birdied 5 holes and parred the rest for a cool Sunday 65. The highlight though was a fan taunting Sabbatini at the 10th tee, saying, "Still think Tiger's beatable?" Sabbatini, as per usual, responded very rationally by having police escort the fan off the golf course. Yeah, Rory, it's that guy's fault you run your mouth but choke every time you get a chance to prove anything on the course. At least you play really quickly so no one has to waste any time watching you suck.

Maybe Tiger is more beatable than in the past. But, as Wilbon said on PTI, he's not beatable by Rory Sabbatini.

A little shout out to a good friend and occasional reader of the Hangover. My buddy Preston once again has been published by ESPN.com; this time for an article detailing success stories in Division II and III athletics. He should know all about small time athletics after attending DIII Hamilton College and rooting for UVA his entire life. Ok, that was a bit of a cheap shot, but congrats to Preston. Maybe he can use his substantial pull with the Worldwide Leader to get some publicity for the Hangover.

The NFL preseason is underway, as the Steelers beat the Saints 20-7 in the Hall of Fame Game. Both teams were truly winners, as no major contributors for either team blew out any knee ligaments that I'm aware of. Of course, the real preseason doesn't start until Saturday when the Skins take on the adorable Titans. It's just a shame that Pacman won't be there, because there's no telling what kind of trouble he, Sean Taylor, Fred Smoot and Clinton Portis could get into. I wouldn't want to be there - I don't want to get shot - but I'd love to have a camera there to chronicle the action.

We'll discuss the Skins more in depth later this month, but the entire season rides upon Jason Campbell's right arm. No pressure though, hoss.

The X Games are going on and there are bunch of gnarly dudes pulling radical stunts. And one guy staving off death after falling the equivalent of about 8 stories. And walking away. I can't imagine the size of the blunt he had to smoke to not feel pain after that fall. (link is to Deadspin's post about it and the youtube clip)

Steve Spurrier has threatened to leave South Carolina if they don't adjust the academic standards to allow football players admission. That's a sentence I never thought I'd write. I mean, is it that hard to gain admission to South Carolina? I mean, I can certainly understand Spurrier's gripe - the players qualified by the NCAA standards, which probably means they'd be in the top 15% of the incoming class at South Carolina. But, I have no sympathy for the players. I mean, you just have to be flat out dumb to not get in there. It all seems a little ridiculous and the timing was atrocious by South Carolina. Don't most normal people find out about these things in the spring? Regardless, Spurrier's demand quickly made waves and the admissions office has backed down.

I'm just surprised that they decided to make some sort of statement by not letting these kids in. I was under the general impression that South Carolina would do just about anything to be good at football. They hired Lou Holtz. When he bombed they hired Spurrier. I mean, they aren't exactly looking for diamonds in the rough here when it comes to coaches. Of course, Spurrier derailed the Redskins franchise so I despise even more now than ever. I look forward to the Gamecocks coming to Chapel Hill and watching Butch Davis get his first signature win as head coach of the Tar Heels over Spurrier and his merry band of mensa candidates.

The Premier League season starts Saturday. The Reds made a few moves in the offseason - most notably bringing in Fernando Torres to improve the attack (looks like my man Crouch sinks deeper into the bench...) - and I'm hopeful for another quality finish. Of course, Man U appears to be the strength of the league, with Chelsea not far behind. For a clever and informed "preview" I give you David Hirshey's latest on Deadspin.

Well, that's about it for tonight. I'm going to go on Ebay and bid on some Liverpool jerseys and the chance to take a 9-iron to Rory Sabbatini's junk. Although, there might not be much left after the beatdown he took from Tiger.