putting the ball in the hole

It was a weekend of putting balls in holes, one way or another, either doing it or watching it. In one case, there was Billy Packer cramming his foot deeper in one.

First there was, and is, hoops. Villanova kept me on the edge of my seat, especially in the Arizona game, but we pulled through and are now one of 16 teams left standing. While I'm happy about that, the thing that has me smiling even more about this year's tournament is the way the mid-majors have showed up, proving what a boorish oaf Billy "the ACC is God" Packer is. Now don't get me wrong. I know the ACC is a great basketball conference. It is. It's just that Billy Packer thinks nothing else in America even comes close, and never will, and he has a very high opinion of his opinion. He jumped all over the tournament selection committee for dissin' his almighty conference and allowing more mid-major schools in. Who took out one of your ACC golden calf schools, UNC (even though Billy likes other ACC teams a whole lot more than UNC), Billy? How did the Missouri Valley Conference end up with just as many teams in the Sweet 16 as the ACC, Billy? What happened to Maryland (one of the teams you were whining about, because the didn't get in) in the NIT, Billy? Who beat 'em on their home court in the first round? Can ya' give it up for Bradley (another team you whined about, because they did get in), Billy, who stunned Kansas and Pitt? Shut your whiny ass Wake Forest graduating, self important opinionating, pompous, provincial pie hole about the selection committee and call games. That's what, and all, you're good for. Just be glad you still have that gig. I'm sure someone better could be found if anyone wanted to cut off your corporate welfare and go through the trouble. I'm sorry I sugar coated it a bit folks, but he is, after all, Billy Packer, and I have a great deal of respect for the man. Now that I've ranted about him and the ACC, though, watch it's newly adopted child, Boston College, upset my Wildcats.

Then there's golf. I played Saturday, if you can call it that. Somewhere between a few really good shots came the rest of my game, which was unusually ugly. Bottom line, I need to play more if I expect to be any better. Yesterday was more a spectator day for golf. I took a small troop of kids out to the Monday practice rounds. You couldn't have asked for better weather and it wasn't too crowded and....it was pretty close to perfect. We didn't see Mr. Woods. He played at 6:30 in the morning and left before the public was allowed on the grounds. Oh, color me surprised. In the perfect antithesis, we had Craig Perks...not a huge name, but he did win here once. He was signing pin flags for the kids, and two brothers were sharing a flag, so at that moment, the younger one (about 8 years old) had nothing in his hands. Perks got to him and asked him, "Don't you have anything to sign?" The kid just shook his head, no. Perks pulled his golf ball out of his pocket, signed it and handed it to him. It was pretty cool. I'll be pulling for him this weekend. We even had one guy playing by himself in the middle of the 9th fairway, beckon the kids out there with him, where he signed their flags. Too bad I have no idea who that guy was. Three of the kids got interviewed and pics taken by someone from the J'ville paper. She said they will probably be in Saturday's edition. Overall we had more than 30 players sign the kids' pin flags, the biggest names being Mike Weir, Colin Montgomerie, Jose Maria Olazabal and Jim Furyk. Not bad for a Monday at Sawgrass.