O'Hair Fires Disappointing Second-Round 81

After opening with a 66 and storming into the lead at the TOUR Championship yesterday, Sean O'Hair followed-up with a disappointing 81 today at East Lake Golf Club outside of Atlanta, Georgia.

O'Hair inexplicably failed to get up-and-down a single time today, depite narrowly missing the green at numbers 2, 7, 11, 13 and 18. With only 26 putts on the round, O'Hair's stellar run with the flatstick continued after being spotted taking some pre-round putting advice from world number one Tiger Woods yesterday. However, it was not enough to overcome his short game woes, as he continually overshot greens with short pitches.

"I just could not not find the green with a chip all day long," O'Hair said, "My hands felt fidgety on the club and I couldn't get comfortable over the ball on my bump-and-run shots."

The scene on the 11th green epitomized O'Hair's afternoon. He stubbed two pitches with a sand-wedge before switching to a 9-iron and sending his ball cascading through the green and into the gallery. He took an 11 on the hole, effectively ending his chances at the title and its potential accompanying $10 million prize.

"I have no idea what got into me. I had a great practice session before the round and even had time to go over some short game game ideas with Phil [Mickelson] before I teed off," O'Hair said, in reference to a conversation he had with Mickelson beside East Lake's practice green shortly before his 12:00 tee time.

Mickelson, himself, shot 68 on the day, overcoming yesterday's lackluster 73, which was highlighted by several shanks and flubs on number 8, leading to an unpleasant score of 8.

Just a thought...

By now you've surely seen the newest Nike football commercial featuring Adrian Peterson. You know, the one where he runs around the field, baffling the opposition and perplexing its coaching staff, in the driving sleet, in black and white, before retiring into the locker room to undress and display his hexagon-scaled skin, all in an effort to promote the Nike Pro Combat line of compression-wear football equipment that features strategic hexagonal padding??

You've seen it, it's highly theatric, in keeping with Nike's recent marketing practices, which makes me wonder if that is actually Peterson hurdling, sidestepping and causing oxygen deficiency in defenders, or if a stuntman is filling in and we are deceived by some professional camera work.

Think about it. That field is sloppy (presumably to demonstrate the Nike frontman's capacity to endure the elements and succeed, while his inferiorly-clad opponents resign to sit on their helmets and suck oxygen from O2 tanks). But would the Vikings, who are investing $2.85 million a year (plus massive incentives) into their workhorse, allow Peterson to trot around, even making pre-conceived cuts on that playing surface, among twenty-one other padded actors, all of whom could potentially take a mis-step and roll up on his leg? Doesn't seem very likely.

So that begs the question... what are we seeing in the commercial? Is it a stunt-Peterson? Or is the director exploiting slow-motion technology that somehow lets Adrian Peterson run in complete safety? Or is it some other Hollywood movie trick? I guess none of it really matters, because he came away healthy, but the commercial does make you wonder how much control teams have over their players, especially face-of-the-franchise type guys like A.P.

(Take a look at the video on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xQF2XDsswg)

The ACC and the Summer of '04

The ACC logged its biggest win of the young season when Florida State knocked off seventh-ranked BYU in Provo, Utah this Saturday. Think about that… FSU defeating a Mountain West team today is seen as an impressive feat. It’s a fact that demonstrates the sad state of the Atlantic Coast Conference in its current form, a far cry from the mega-conference the ACC felt it was becoming in the summer of 2004.

Let me take you back, back to July 2004. George W. Bush boasts a 51% approval rating and seeks a second term of office. The Nelly song, “Over and Over Again” with Tim McGraw is getting considerable radio airtime, Facebook is four months old and the ACC is a respectable athletic conference best known for its sterling academic reputation.

In July of ’04 ACC Commissioner John Swafford organizes efforts to entice perennial Big East juggernaut Miami and burgeoning, defensive-minded Virginia Tech to ally with the conference and elevate the ACC into a venerated regional power poised to challenge the SEC, Big 10 and Big 12.

It was an impressive move. And you were hard pressed to find a critic who felt the annexation did anything but make the ACC an immediate BCS power broker. Va. Tech was building an impressive resume, with four recent BCS bowl invites and a national title game appearance. Miami added five national title claims to the conference coffers and an instantaneous rivalry with Miami, certain to curb national attention. The addition of the two new schools gave the ACC a total of twelve, the magic number needed to institute a conference championship game, and an automatic media spotlight. How could the conference go anywhere but up?

Back to the current day, a Wake Forest ACC championship and two Boston College runners-up later, and the conference has become a yearly disappointment. Florida State and Miami, the conference’s cornerstones, have fallen from influence. The ACC title game has been dismally attended and the venue shifted. We are still waiting for the conference’s pre-ordained resurgence. Where’s the yearly national title contender? Where are the prime time rivalry games and new, intriguing matchups brought on by the addition? Raycom Sports, that’s where. The SEC and Big 12 have clearly stepped up as the game’s top conferences. The Big 10 has put two Ohio State teams into the BCS title game since. And the Pac 10 can at least boast USC, its ’04 title and ’06 appearance.

And what does the ACC have to show for its machinations? The Big East is eviscerated. Talking heads are calling for its BCS tie-in to be revoked. And at what cost? The damage done to the Big East certainly isn’t justified by what the new ACC has accomplished, not by a long shot. And since these two BCS conferences cannot hold their own, we must suffer the constant boo-hooing of mid-majors purporting a claim to the national championship every season.

The damage is done, and there’s no going back. While the Big East has improved somewhat this season, its BCS privileges will continually be challenged. The ACC may not be far off from meeting the expectations of 2004, with Miami and FSU showing signs of revival, but the unavoidable truth remains that the annexations of ’04 have so far been a supreme disappointment.