Sunday Funnies: Ladies Golfing, Pakistan

Ron Sirak at espn.com does a good piece of writing in describing the goings on at the ADT Championship. This is the event where the players who make it to Sunday, just eight of them, start from scratch and play for a winner's purse of $1 million.

Michael Abramowitz at WAPO writes of Bush's dilemma in dealing with Musharraf over in Pakistan. On the one hand, Musharraf has been a strong partner in fighting al qaeda and terrorism and in agreement with Bush for the most part in that area; and on the other hand there is that prickly thing called democracy and the rights of the Pakistani people and the rule of law, all of which have been somewhat pushed to the side in Musharraf's current battle to retain control of power.

Colts play Chiefs today. Go Blue, Beat Red (!).

Did you notice that the weather is going to be very mild right up until Thursday morning and then we get a cold snap for the four day Thanksgiving weekend? Bummer on the back part of that, huzzahs on the front part.

Heading to the golf course where it is probably a lot like it is right here: cool and windy... but heading up to 52 for a high.

Sunday Wrap: Lorena, The Cabin, Gods and Monsters

Pictures: Saturday's Fog and Diane's new wheels.

Ochoa wins easily at Samsung World Championship for seventh win of year (she won six times last year - pretty good two years). Michelle Wie escapes last place finishing at 18 over, 36 strokes behind the winner.

Dinner at the Cabin last night. Pizza followed by rhubarb pie ala mode. Yummy. Curt Johnson was there with his wife Julie and others (Julie was treating Curt since he lost everything but his shirt at the golf course earlier in the day). And on the way out, stopped and got an update on Phillip Poirier who used to work for us when he was finishing up high school. That update would be from his father, Dr. James, my very own family physician, who no doubt saw me eating all that rich and hard-on-the-artery food. I tried to look my thinest and liveliest as I walked towards his table. Brittany, Jim and Wilma's granddaughter, made sure we were treated like royalty while there.

At the course today, a small group from Loughmillers including Mike Guinn and Ward Smith. No Karry Stoll this weekend.

Movie tonight: Gods and Monsters. Took each of us a long time to decide this one was worth watching; and then it turned out just super. Great ending... Give it a four.

Reminder to the Lakeview Challenge squad: we travel down to Washington Country Club for Part 2 of the Lakeview-Washington Golf Challenge. Play begins at 9 am.

Sunday Funnies: Ladies golf, a new read, and the War

Ladies Golf

-got to watch a bit of it yesterday afternoon waiting for the Irish-BC game to come on. Not a whisper about Michelle Wie that I heard. She again has opened terribly and was in 20th place. That would be 20 out of 20, dead last at +19. Ron Sirak at espn.com makes a strong case for why Michelle shouldn't have been there. I agree. More background on Michelle here.
-Suzann Petersen and Lorena Ochoa tied at the top going into the final day of play at -12.

Books

Am reading a book Diane has just finished, one which she often interrupted me in whatever important thing I was engaged in doing so as to share a pearl of wisdom. The book: The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak. Set in Hitler times in Munich. Excellent so far, eighty some pages in.

War and Ugliness and Responsibility

Frank Rich in the NYTimes today:

The first paragraph:

“BUSH lies” doesn’t cut it anymore. It’s time to confront the darker reality that we are lying to ourselves.

The last paragraph:

Our humanity has been compromised by those who use Gestapo tactics in our war. The longer we stand idly by while they do so, the more we resemble those “good Germans” who professed ignorance of their own Gestapo. It’s up to us to wake up our somnambulant Congress to challenge administration policy every day. Let the war’s last supporters filibuster all night if they want to. There is nothing left to lose except whatever remains of our country’s good name.

Go read what's in between, it will make your skin crawl.

Gotta stop. The weather is lovely. No Colts today. Go Golf, you know that's good for you. We also have two Netflix movies waiting for us: Gods and Monsters, and Chinatown. And a good book started. My cup is full.

And More Friday Follies

I was out mowing late this afternoon and listening to the radio when I heard for the first time of LeBron's exploits last night. The afterburners have been lit. What a takeover of a game by a young shining star. And here it is, 24 hours later and I'm still enjoying reading about one heck of a ball game. Here's a 2nd ESPN story that glows with praise for one of the best games ever. Go Cavs! Go LeBron!

Lorena in front at the Ginn Tribute in South Carolina. Good for the young Mexican. And Adam Scott still leading at the Memorial with his sterling 62 today.

Little rain out at the golf course today; not really enough to stop play, or at least not for very long. Would be nice if we got a slow soak tonight. Fingers crossed. Enough for today. Tomorrow brings games. Already know our beauty from last Saturday will not be there; other things going on in her life. Another one? Fingers crossed for that too.

Monica, oh Monica, what is it you say?

Monica speaketh, says she "crossed the line". Hmmm. Anybody else want to admit "crossing the line"? I can think of a few who should step forward and confess. If confession is honest and contrition is sincere, then penance will be light. Maybe stand with nose in circle on the blackboard for the duration of the second term. Fair?

Going to have to stop reading the papers - too much bad news. Today anyway. Maybe some light at the end of the tunnel - I'll go look at the sports pages.

I knew that I would find something to cheer me up: Wie to play in John Deere for 3rd straight year. Good for her. And Annika is coming back too.

More Mystery Golfers later tonight.

Heat Wave

Although the temperatures are going to be a little high today, the real Heat Wave is all those Bullies in Chicago giving the Miami Heat a cheery good bye to their basketball season. The defending champs can now go home and watch the rest of the playoffs on their fancy tv's having been swept off of their collective feet by the team now coached by the little guy from Plymouth, Indiana, Scott Skiles. Last time a Chicago team advanced? You know when - Michael's last championship year, 1998.

Luke Donald lost out to Scott Verplank, who grew up in the Dallas area and actually played with Byron Nelson. That's cool. (Did visit Irvine once when I helped my Dad move down there for a year's stay at a university there - pretty flat country; wasn't into golf at the time so didn't avail myself of the opportunity to get over and visit with one of the greats....) Lorena Ochoa lost out to the lady from Italy, Sylvia Cavalleri. Julieta Granada tied Ochoa for 2nd. Ochoa no doubt will remain at number 1 among the women. The wins by Verplank and Cavalleri were their first. Nice.

So who's the big winner in the NFL draft? Brady Quinn and the Browns? Looks like a pretty good fit. Here's another question for you football fans: Which team is going to win the Super Bowl next January? Hey, now that Dungy and Manning knows how to do it (with great defense!), why not pick the Colts to repeat?! There's my vote. And you know with my early vote I don't have to think about it again until mid January 2008.

Which reminds me of something else, the bunching of the presidential primaries into early February next year rather than the usual run from February to June. I like that, the bunching, although I did read a suggestion that made even more sense: to have a series of three primary dates, each organized so that all three would be important in the selection of the party nominee. For that to happen would take organization, agreement, commitment. Hmmmm. Also movements to make the electoral college system a thing of the past and let the popular vote be the deciding factor. That too makes sense to me - would be no such thing as a swing state; every vote would count. That would mean that Democrats in Indiana and Republicans in California would have a say in who the next president is. Hey, that's a good idea, isn't it?

Going to go finish Vonnegut's Hocus Pocus. See you at the golf course a little later.

Signs of the Times

As promised, pictures from earlier today. Kim Jones, Cara Allen and Shirley Jeffers were the female element of the K of C scramble, bundled up against the cold.

Jackie Robinson Day. Cool. I missed the 50 year celebration back in 1997. Brooklyn is my birth city and I am proud to be connected in this very indirect way to the momentous and courageous action by Jackie Robinson and the whole Brooklyn Dodger organization.

LPGA update: Lorena Ochoa - plus six over the last six holes; Laura Davies - plus 5 over the last two holes; Brittany Lincicome - bogey on the finishing hole and the winner by one. Brutal, brutal, brutal ending that left Annika on top of the ladies rankings at least for a little while longer. Long live the queen.

Braving the Elements

Twenty-seven gutsy golfers showed up this morning to take on the wind and the cold in the Knights of Columbus first scramble of the year. Winds gusting to 30 mph (?), temperatures hovering right around 40; golf skills dormant or non existant or waiting for another day to make an appearance. All of the above make for an enjoyable outing, really. Winners were Terry Butcher, Brandon Smith, Kevin Downey and Will Trout with a score of, now get this, 65. That's 5 under. That's less than half of what it would normally take to win a scramble out here. Second place was decided on the cards with two teams coming in with a nifty 67, that's 3 under. Wow. Somebody call the sheriff - they're shooting the lights out up north of town today. The winning 67 belonged to Dave and Lee Wininger along with Mark Jones and lil ole me. It's cool. (Diane took a couple of pictures which I will post this evening.)

LPGA update: Thru 13, Laura and Lorena, who are also braving the elements, tied for first at -13.