Juxtaposition

I know I will be taken to the coals for this, but there was an interesting juxtopisition of articles on golf this week. Mondays NYT had a front page article on the trend of golf playing in America = down. And todays Sun Times had a Mariotti colom on the popularity of great Tiger Woods.

Now for the trouble = Except for fellow dcs writers Jackson and Bonnaix, and two 80 year old men (One an old girlfriends Dad, and the other my sisters dad-in-law), I don't know anybody who actually follows golf. I golfed once - three rounds before I'd had enough. I was @ a golf match - and it was kool -w./ the above writers. But compare - hundreds of people who like football. Hundreds who like Baseball. Soccer, basketball, hockey: same.

I even know more people who like snooker - snooker -than golf.

Yes, Jackson is an MD, so his protestations will show that skew. And Bonnaix is the cousin. The old men are old men*.

And again, this is not a diss on golf. It is a kool game. And Tiger - negative personality and all - is still a superstar. It was great to see him in action personally a few years back. I'm sure there are millions to be made on its commercials and magazine ads. And I hear that cards and car racing are popular. But from my context, the New York Times article better reflects reality than Mariotti's.

*= no allusion to my usual 'petty morals' kiss off here.

The King is Back!

We here at DCS usually leave the TV pimping to Deadspin, but this one is too important and rare not to pass on. Next week will receive plenty of Bristol airplay with MLB and the Masters, but the return of the King tops them all-Arnold Palmer in his prime.

On Masters Sunday at 12:30 pm, CBS will air the 1960 Masters. This was originally aired in b &w, but has now been remastered in color. The very first for a sporting event. This televised Masters was to golf what the '58 Giants/Colts championship was to the NFL. With vivid commentary by a pre wide world of sports Jim Mackay, we see a 30 year old Arnie in his prime.

This was a bridging of past and present at that point in golf history and a chain smoking Arnie proved he was King of them all. We see a 19yr old Jack, Sam Snead, and Ben Hogan. But it is the everyman that is Arnold Palmer and his army that show why Arnie is still one of the most enduring sports legends ever.