Pat on the back

I'd just like to briefly crow that I called the Seve Trophy score dead on (GB&I 16 1/2, Contintent 11 1/2) and was within 1/2 a point of the final results of the Presidents Cup (US 18 1/2, International 15 1/2). With two matches to go, the Presidents Cup was a little too close to a tie for comfort. That putt by DiMarco was such a huge relief. Every once in a while a tie might not be too bad of a thing but not two years in a row!

John Q. Hammons Hotel Classic

I suppose it's about time I report on my experience working at the golf tournament last week. My main job was to sit across from the golfers as they finished their rounds in groups of three and add their scorecards once they had checked the numbers for each hole. Christina Kim was in the very first group that came into the trailer and she stared at me intensely while I added the numbers. Inside, I was panicking and thinking, "What if I added them wrong. What will she think?" It was quite disconcerting, but of course I had to write a number down and so I had to get over those thoughts pretty quick. The golfers were all pretty nice, but naturally matter of fact as they were going about their ordinary business of course. A few were especially friendly and made small talk while waiting for the others from their group. A few were a little more sour simply because they hadn't played well and just wanted to get on with their days.

On Friday afternoon, I worked at the 18th hole scoring trailer, and took the role of the scoring volunteer who made sure that we got the walking scorer's tabulation. This meant I spent plenty of time out by the green and was able to watch most of the women play the hole. The hole placement was pretty difficult and very few birdied it. One of the grandstands provided plenty of shade where I was, so the heat was not unbearable. On one of the very few groups when I stayed busy in the trailer, a golfer overshot the green. I, minding my own business, found myself under attack with a sudden startling loud Klunk! as her ball bounced off the roof of trailer. The ball landed on the wrong side of the trailer, so she had to try to hit it over coming back and managed to hit the roof again on the return shot. Someone joked, "Does she get a bonus for hitting it twice?"

On Saturday, I worked at the 9th hole and the volunteers seemed a bit more disorganized, so I spent most of the time manning the scoring table in the trailer. Jennifer Rosales' caddy gave me one of J-Ro's golf balls and it was marked with two colorful flowers. I also got a golf ball that Michelle Ellis left behind. I did get to watch about 8 groups including Annika Sorenstam come through at the halfway points in their rounds. I also noticed that Catriona Matthew (of Scotland) had www.visitscotland.com on her bag.

All in all, I enjoyed working in the scoring trailer and would do it again in a heartbeat.

Team Golf

This week it's time for two big events in men's golf. The President's Cup between the US and International players and the less publicized (in America at least) Seve Trophy between Great Britain/Ireland and Continental Europe. I did an analysis similar to the Solheim Cup, but I won't bore you with the details just the results.

President's Cup - It's a close call, but I'll say US comes out on top thanks to strong singles play. US 18, International 16.

Seve Trophy - I came up with the British Isles on top, but that may be because I'm familiar with more members of that team. GB&I 16.5, Continent 11.5.

Interlude

"If all your friends jumped off a bridge, would you jump too?"

This age-old metaphorical question visited my thoughts last night, and it occurred to me that the fitting answer for me would be, "Probably, but not from the bridge." Knowing me, I'd head for the high ground supporting the bridge and jump from there.

Golf

I was trying to do an analysis of where I went wrong on my Solheim Cup prediction, but it was taking too long so here's my rant instead.

The sports report Monday morning on the local news was pitiful. Pitiful! They only reported on football. Granted it was the big opening NFL weekend and there were all the college games, but Hello?! Tennis's U.S. Open was this weekend, but I suppose a face off between Andre Agassi and Roger Federer in a Grand Slam event just isn't scintillating enough material. To cap it all off, they made no mention whatsoever of the Solheim Cup. The Solheim Cup! One of the biggest women's golf events of the year. Maybe, maayybe, I could have passed it over if the American's had lost, but we won! There were no highlights at all. Not of Paula Creamer trouncing Laura Davies, not of Annika Sorenstam's game efforts to keep the Europeans alive, nothing. I am sorely disappointed.

Of course there will be more than enough coverage this week, since the LPGA is actually in town.

Quiz

Well, since I played a female pirate this week, a fitting question would be who were the two most famous pirates in Irish history?

Higlight below for answer:

Grace O'Malley and Anne Bonny

Interlude

Have you ever had a night of dreaming so realistic followed by a day so similarly strange to the prior nights dreams that the only way you can tell the difference between the two is the peculiar TU Corn Dog Dance that could only occur in a dream? Of course not. You've never seen the TU Corn Dog Dance while asleep or awake.

All silliness aside (right), Thursday and Friday were really like that for me as I became so obsessed with my pointless yet eventually successful goal of getting my tax returns done that I was doing taxes in my sleep while everyone else danced in the hallways (the dancing being in the dreams only of course). But now I can giddily dance all I want since I'm done!

Review

This week I have a double review for two romantic comedies.

Despite initial doubts on the entertainment value of Monster-in-Law, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself enjoying the characters Jane Fonda and Jennifer Lopez portrayed. The feud was just unrealisticly bizarre enough that the movie made for a pleasant and amusing break from reality.

On the flip side, The Wedding Date, did nothing but dissapoint. The characters were shallow, rude, vulgar, and not in the least bit funny. I can't say I wanted anyone in the movie to be the hero or heroine and the "villains" weren't any better.

Interlude

It just struck me 45 minutes ago how close September 15 (tax deadline) is, so that's all I have time to say in today's interlude.

Wordplay/Link

This week's link is OneLook, the most comprehensive dictionary reference source online. In and of itself, I suppose it's not a particularly exciting link, but it's the source for my wordplay of the week also. Using OneLook, you can play solitaire word association by selecting a word from the similar words list.

Example:
By using the first unused word in each list, September can be related to Pininfarina (a world-class automobile designer).

September
sep
sept
family
kin
akin
related
germane
appropriate
apposite
appositely
Pininfarina

Interlude

Aaarrr!

I was in my first parade this weekend. While visiting friends in Henryetta, I was invited to be a pirate in their float. We wore red & white striped shirts, bandanas, and eyepatches. It was a lot of fun. I even got to ride instead of watching by offering to watch the kids. I've got my parade wave down now. Best of all, though, was that Chadana was there too all the way from Israel on summer break!

Golf

The Solheim Cup between the U.S. and European women golfers is this week, so I thought I'd do a comparison of the teams.

U.S.A. Europe Favored Comments

1. Cristie Kerr vs. Annika Sörenstam (Sweden) - Sörenstam - Pretty straightforward.
2. Meg Mallon vs. Laura Davies (England) - Davies - Seems be having a better year than Mallon, as long as accuracy is not key.
3. Juli Inkster vs. Ludivine Kreutz (France) - Kreutz - The stats favor Europe again.
4. Rosie Jones vs. Maria Hjorth (Sweden) - Hjorth - She's been playing well, and, hey, she went to school in Scotland.
5. Pat Hurst vs. Iben Tinning (Denmark) - Hurst - Both ladies have played excellently this year, but Hurst gets extra confidence points for coming in fresh off of a win.
6. Natalie Gulbis vs. Trish Johnson (England) - Gulbis - Johnson just hasn't shone much this year, and Natalie's stats are great.
7. Christina Kim vs. Gwladys Nocera (France) - Nocera - Kim has been unimpressive this year.
8. Paula Creamer vs. Carin Koch (Sweden) - Koch - I think this is the best matchup on the list. Koch is having a great year, and she did go to school here in Tulsa after all. Creamer is on fire in her rookie year. (Note: What is it about the intials PC and comments related to U.S. vs. Europe team golf events?) Anyways, I decided Koch gets experience points.
9. Michele Redman vs. Catriona Matthew (Scotland) - Matthew - These two are pretty well matched but I pick Matthew not because of her homeland but because her last two showings were stronger than Redman's.
10. Laura Diaz vs. Suzann Pettersen (Norway) - Diaz - Neither has been impressive. Diaz gets my vote just because she's played all season, and Petterson was out for much of it.
11.Wendy Ward vs. Sophie Gustafson (Sweden) - Ward - Both have been hit and miss, but Ward did better in this year's match play.
12. Beth Daniel vs. Karen Stupples (England) - Daniel - Similar records, but Daniel gets the experience vote.

In summary, Americans 5, Europeans 7. Translated to points, my pick is Europe 16½ over U.S.A. 11½. Don't get me wrong, I'm still cheering for the American team all the way. The Europeans just look a little stronger.

Quiz Interlude

Fulling is the process of working cloth to thicken it. What is the Scottish term for this process?

Highlight below for answer:

The process is waulking, and is usually accompanied by mouth music to the beat of the pounding of the cloth.

Review Interlude

Elvis Has Left the Building

Well, I don't have many options to review this week, so Elvis Has Left the Building is it. It tells the story of a traveling makeup saleswoman who seems to be the trigger to a series of accidental deaths of Elvis impersonaters. To complicate matters she and an apparent Elvis impersonater find themselves mutually attracted to each other. All in all it is a cute bit of fun, but nothing outstanding. An fan of Elvis and romantic comedies should enjoy it more than I did as a strong fan of neither.