The Tale of Two Caddies

I guess change can be a good thing, but when it comes to Tiger and Stevie this is one break-up that will take some time to get use to.  It was no surprise that Stevie starting carrying Adam Scott's bag for the last two major tournaments since Tiger didn't play, but I bet he didn't know he was going to need to look for a more permanent position soon. Let's back-up a bit, as you remember I wrote about this a while back, Adam Scott fired long time caddie Tony Navarro right after the Masters where he tied for 2nd, and asked Stevie to carry his bag. The ripple effect of this action is one I didn't see coming.

On Wednesday, Tiger announced on his blog that he would no longer be working with longtime caddie Stevie Williams. With almost $5M in tournament winnings from Tiger, Stevie is said to be one of the most successful caddies of all time, and the best. For someone like Tiger who doesn't like to talk a lot during the match (unlike Lefty who wouldn't find the green without talking to Bones about it first), Stevie offered the perfect amount of advice to help make Tiger the huge success he is today.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the pond, and tournament winnings, Adam Scott often got tips from Tony during matches. They were friendly on and off the course but Adam apparently didn't like the advice he was getting or the way he was playing with Tony on his bag.

Who knew that Adam and Tiger were about to join the swingers club, in more ways than one. Adam and Stevie are temporarily together, there has been no announcement made as to whether this will become full time, but when I'm at the PGA Championship next month we'll see if they're walking the course in tandem.

Then there's Tiger. Who is going to carry his bag? Greg Norman seems to think Tony Navarro is a good selection and possibly in the running.  This is all speculation from The Shark and I hope it isn't true- but with that said, Tiger isn't going to take a rookie caddie so he'll have to steal from some on the tour. Looks like Angel Cabrera should start watching his back... and giving Tony a bonus.

So we have it, the tale of two caddies, with my two favorite players and an unknown future.

Sad End to a Great Tournament

Well the US Women's soccer team gave it their all on Sunday in the World Cup Finals. In an epic battle against Japan, the game came down to penalty kicks. How almost our whole roster missed their shots is beyond me, but with that said, we shouldn't have even let it get to a PK situation. I mean, if we got points for hitting the post it would have been game over early. Not to take any credit away from Japan, they had a USA vs. Brazil-esque finish to send them into PKs. They played with heart and we just couldn't bring home the trophy.  The good thing that came out of this, our team is more united than they have ever been. I suspect we'll get a full returning roster with the exception of Christie Rampone who is 36 and will most likely retire soon.

Here are some fun facts for you: we have to give the women credit, the World Cup Finals gave ESPN their highest ratings for a soccer game to date with roughly 13.5 million viewers tuning in. That's a lot of people watching a sport that is barely appreciated in the states. In addition to everyone watching, there were roughly 7,196 tweets per second, which is more than the royal wedding. 

Brazil Who?

Sunday marked the quarterfinal game for USA and Brazil, two teams that have faced each other numerous times in the past, both crediting some of the best players in the world, and the US Team always comes out on top.  So begins the game Sunday morning, within minutes of kick-off Brazil scores an own goal, good thing this isn't Colombia in the 90s or she would have to start looking into witness protection.  USA got momentum early but struggled in the midfield for the majority of the first half and leading into the second. What I don't understand is at halftime announcers were saying how well the US was playing, what I noticed was a lot of sloppy soccer. Don't get me wrong, the team has amazing talent, but I'd like to see them being a bit more proactive, especially going into the Semis.  They need to start stepping up to balls, not waiting for them; need to expand the field instead of playing bunch ball. Enough with the coaching tips.....

66 minutes into the game Rachel Buehler was given a red card for a foul that was bullshit in my mind. To give a PK off that play is just ridiculous. It was an act of authority by the head ref that was unnecessary. Thinking she'd give one back to us or even in OT was wishful thinking, there were numerous fouls in the box against the US that were uncalled.  Marta, the woman (subject to opinion) who is said to be the best in the world right now scored to take the lead with only a few minutes left. Up to their usual sleezy tricks, Brazil started to stall, delay the game, fake injury, and pretty much used any other tactic they had to not let us score.

They failed. Abby scored with less than a minute left in OT to take the US team into a shootout.

Hope Solo I think is the best women's goalkeeper in the world. She proved it this weekend with two PK saves, one during the final shootout saving their hopes (no pun intended, insert overused joke here) of the Cup.

One person who should get more credit than she has so far, is Megan Rapinoe. She set-up Abby for the goal, set-up Lloyd for numerous opportunities, and nailed her PK.

This was a storybook game that had everyone cheering for the US. Now it's time to get their heads back in the game and win on Wednesday morning.  World Cup 2011 is going to USA this year.