Kicking off the Masters today, 2010 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year Rickie Fowler will bring color to the course in his best PUMA styles of the season as he seeks to add a coveted green jacket to his already fashionable collection.
Rickie tees-off on Thursday morning wearing a color he hopes to be wearing again Sunday afternoon – GREEN! Capturing his true signature style, from his Fitted Monoline Flatbrim cap to Cell Fusion shoes, Rickie will rock the PUMA green from top-to-toe.
Some of you may be offended but Tiger's potty mouth at Augusta is the least of my worries, quite honestly. I must confess that I have some seriously bad language on the course and when I participate in other sports. It's pretty easy for me to let out an "oh sh*t" (at least mentally, if I'm under water) when I'm about to get crushed in the surf. It's with equal ease that I curse myself by name much like Tiger has in the video above.
I do, however try very diligently to sound like a grownup that has a bit more self control. I've got a few euphemisms that I let fly out that generally makes those around me laugh.
1. What the French, toast? I first heard this one on that silly Orbit gum commercial.
2. Get the front door! This is an oldie but goody and I've heard many use it.
3. Holy potatoes! I believe this is an Apryl original but could have been dug up from somewhere in my subconscious from an old Batman episode. I did hear somewhere that Adam West lives in Idaho...
4. Mother father cocker spaniel! I got this from a commercial that used to run on the Howard Stern show when it first came to Los Angeles. There was some character that rattled off an entire curse-free tirade a lot like the aforementioned Orbit commerical. 5. Shazbot! or Frack! Okay, that makes a total of six but these both originated from old television shows so I figured they could be on the same line. I'll bet at least one of you out there know where these came from. Come on, guess...
P.S. Congrats on the Masters win Phil! Hooray Lefty!
Yep - Masters week is upon us. Much of the country views this as the "official" start of the golf season. I'm lucky enough to live where golf is year-round so there is much less hype since we aren't just thawing out or warming up for the first time this year.
To get warmed up for the event this week, read this interview with my friend BJ. He's an Augusta local and undoubtedly getting busy this time of year.
Vince will be talking about this all week, without a doubt. I know he'll have some predictions up soon.
Wei Under Par has lots and lots of Tiger's return to golf covered. Lots. So does Trailing Tiger. Mike has plenty to say about Tiger also.
Even though he isn't playing this week, Heather has plenty of John Daly coverage. It's pretty hysterical.
Personally, I'm rooting for Phil this week. I'm always rooting for Phil. Call it lefty bias, call it SoCal native bias - whatever it is, I got Phil. Dude seems to get lots of criticism for whatever he does. Oh well, for all I know he's a real tool in person but I'm still a fan. Last week he did something that he was actually praised for when he brought a special caddy on for a few holes at the Shell. The caddy was actually the physician that was treating his wife and mother for cancer. Good one, Phil!
Enjoy the Masters, golf junkies. I'll catch as much as I can but try to actually be outside as much as possible and not cooped up indoors in front of the television. In fact, I'll be hitting the range for lunch today. I've blocked the calendar and am going. Period. I've got to work on my game!
I must apologize to everyone that has sent me press releases, ad/text link inquiries, and other story ideas over the past month or so. Actually, I've been getting behind since the end of January. It's all for good reasons: the day job has been incredibly busy, I've been doing more volunteer work, and (the least fun) I had a NASTY cold and then a quick outpatient procedure the other day. Let's just say that I seriously am not ready for it to be the month of April starting next week.
Enough bellyaching - let's catch up on some info:
First off, I am trying to sit on one of those exercise balls whilst I write this. I have MANY colleagues that do this for health reasons. It's just not cutting it for me. I feel like I am on a surfboard and when that is the case my feet are not firmly planted but moving. You surfers out there can relate. I've been going on 5 minutes and I am ready to go back to a regular chair. We'll see if I can last through this post.
Fitness Magazine is where it's at! Not only do they send me awesome series information to post about, but their daily email newsletters with tips are really great. One newsletter had a great link to Real Women Success Stories depicting women that lost 100+ pounds and there was nary a mention of gimmicky, overpriced diets. Go ladies! Oh, and just in time for that upcoming bridal season, I got an email about a series of videos and instruction for looking great in your wedding dress called Bridal Boot Camp. Most everyone wants to look special on that big day and they even have specific moves for certain dress types. Finally, for the very busy bride-to-be, there is the 20 minute circuit training plan. For the Masters junkies I thought I would pass along a little tidbit that I received about coverage being in 3D through Comcast on television and the internet.
ACK! Missed this but better late than never: What happens when you mix two global superstars from the entertainment world with two sporting legends from the game of tennis...? The answer: a celebrity tennis match of epic proportions. For one match only, happening on Tuesday March 23 in Miami, these two glamorous worlds are set to collide on-court, in an historic celebrity battle that is sure to be a tightly-contested showdown to the bitter end. On one side of the net, multi-platinum selling music star Jay Sean will be joined by former World Number One Maria Sharapova. On the opposite baseline, World Number Two Novak Djokavic will line up alongside former Spice Girl and TV personality Mel B. See how our stars have been getting on, and their reactions to finding out who they partners were, for what will unquestionably be the most-anticipated match of the year – here at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami! Check out the teaser video here and the result here. Angela's Coffee Shop has sent me some coffee and tea samples to review that I will get to this week. More on that when the post is up. Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year! Chiney Ogwumike of Cy-Fair High School in Houston, Texas is the 2009-10 Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year. The Gatorade Player of the Year program is celebrating its 25th year in recognizing elite high school athletes throughout the nation. Chiney was surprised with the news during an assembly by her sister Nneka Ogwumike, who earned Gatorade National Girls Basketball POY honors herself in 2007-08, and currently plays for the Stanford women’s basketball team. Nneka and the team surprised Chiney live via Skype, as the team was traveling for the NCAA tournament.
Since the Gatorade Player of the Year program began 25 years ago, no siblings have ever won national honors. Chiney joins her sister Nneka, as the only sibling duo to ever win the national title in the history of the program for any sport. In celebration of the larger 25th anniversary of the program, Gatorade will host 10 polls online that will allow consumers to decide who is the greatest all-time Gatorade Player of the Year in boys football, girls volleyball, boys and girls soccer, boys and girls basketball, boys baseball, girls softball, and boys and girls track & field. You can cast your vote for your favorite athlete of all-time once per sport, per day here.
Former notable Gatorade Players of the Year include:
• Peyton Manning, Super Bowl Most Valuable Player
• Lisa Leslie, WNBA all-time leading scorer and rebounder
• Alan Webb, Reigning American record-holder in the mile
• Emmitt Smith, NFL all-time leading rusher
• Cat Osterman, Softball Olympic gold medalist
In addition, make sure to enter the Gatorade Player of the Year sweepstakes where you could win a trip to the 2010 Gatorade High School Athlete of the Year Awards ceremony and the ESPY Awards. For more information about The Gatorade Player of the Year program and its 25th anniversary celebration, please visit this link. Homeless World Cup Catch Up Press Release: We’ve been hard at work at the Homeless World Cup creating three new initiatives that invite you to take a stand to end homelessness through football. Here’s introducing…
The Corporate Cup, especially for corporates across the UK to challenge each other to win the chance to unite with 64 nations and take on the Homeless World Cup All Stars for World Cup glory on the global stage of the Rio 2010 Homeless World Cup;
The Football Box, a football coaching education program and equipment to reach homeless people in deprived parts of the world with the benefits of football;
Volunteer Rio: A 2010 Challenge, the opportunity for 30 individuals to raise funds to volunteer at the 8th Rio 2010 Homeless World Cup.
We'd love you to be part of it. Are you in?
Here’s how to take part:
THE CORPORATE CUP
The Corporate Cup invites organizations across the UK to compete for glory and take a stand to end homelessness. The champions will travel to Copacabana Beach, Rio, Brazil, to unite with 64 nations participating in the 8th Rio 2010 Homeless World Cup and take on the Homeless World Cup All Stars in an exhibition match in the 5,000-seater street soccer stadium. The Corporate Cup will be held on 22 May in Scotland and 5 June in England. To enter please contact Elliot Stroud, Homeless World Cup via elliot(at)homelessworldcup(dot)org.
FOOTBALL BOX
The Football Box, a football coaching education program and equipment, can travel to the far corners of the globe to deliver the benefits of football to homeless people in the most deprived nations of the world. One Football Box is only £500 and provides coaching education and equipment for five homeless people to work with 100 homeless players in their community. Football Boxes are right now winging their way to India and Uganda. If you’d love to buy a Football Box you can do that here or kick start a Football Box by making a donation here. Contact Robin Tatler on via robin(at)homelessworldcup(dot)org for more information.
VOLUNTEER RIO: A 2010 CHALLENGE
30 lucky volunteers will join 64 national teams of homeless players on Copacabana Beach, Rio, Brazil from 18-27 September 2010 for the Rio 2010 Homeless World Cup. In a 2010 challenge you will raise £2,300 in sponsorship to enable one homeless player to participate in the Rio 2010 Homeless World Cup and to cover your flight, accommodation. To find out more or register your place contact Lynn via lynn(at)homelessworldcup(dot)org. I hope you're having a relaxing Sunday and getting energized for the upcoming week! P.S. I am still sitting on the ball but I can't promise for how much longer.
I am diligently trying to catch up with the mountain of information that I have not posted for the last several weeks. It happens, I get backed up from time to time. I have gone through and sorted most everything so I should be able to bring you all of the latest from commentaries, press releases and other inside info from around the world of sports throughout the rest of the week. I wanted to at least bring you this one today:
This raffle is sponsored by Cristie Kerr - the prize is a trip to the Masters for two including first-class air fare, accommodations and all transportation plus two badges for the the weekend, Sat 4/10 and Sun 4/11.
The tickets are $2.00 with a $10.00 minimum. The raffle is being conducted by Celebrities for Charity and all proceeds will go to Cristie's charity, Birdies for Breast Cancer.
Tickets are available at the Celebrities for Charity website here.
Thursday is upon us and so is another installment of blogspotting. Send me an email if you think you should be spotted next time:
I Wish This Was Me: Jody Van Zanten has been an interview guest on a previous 5 Questions and never ceases to inspire me. Just before her 40th birthday she took part in the 2009 Paris Marathon. I have just been reminded that I really have no excuse whatsoever to not be in shape and exercise. Thanks for sharing your experiences with the world!
I Missed This Too: I wish I would have been at the Quake vs. Amazons game on Saturday. The Women's Football Talk gang was there and have pics from the event. I'll eventually stop kicking myself for mixing up the date. Ugh!
Think Of The Children: Real Women Golf made me laugh this morning with her commentary about Tiger Woods. Apparently, one journalist is terribly offended by Tiger's use of four letter words on the course and claims he is bad for golf. I agree with Heather on this one - just because Tiger lets a few bad ones fly does not mean he is bad for golf. I'm guessing the writer of the article in question is a scratch golfer that never shanks one or is a freaking robot. Sure, I keep it clean here but if bad words offend you then you shouldn't golf with me. Oh, and you probably don't want to go to a Dodgers game with me either.
Speaking Of Golf: My buddy BJ lives in Augusta year-round and wrote up some of his experiences at the Masters this year.
In case you're new here - Sunday Sports Wrap was first created with the intention to point out that there is much more to Sundays than just the NFL. This Sunday is no exception. I also throw in some sports history with each of these posts.
The Usual: All seasons collide during this month as evident by MLB, NBA, and NHL games that are happening. These mainstream events can always be found summarized on the USA Today sports scores page. I'm itching to go to a baseball game and opening day for the home team is tomorrow. I've already got my first new shirt for the season also, as if I needed another.
Masters: The final day of the Masters has Angel Cabrera and Kenny Perry on top at eleven under. Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are among a group of nine that are four under. In a matter of hours we'll know who will be wearing the green jacket. I'm a fan of Tiger Woods but I think it makes things more interesting when others win. It isn't that I'm rooting against him at all but I really do like to see the field more evenly dispersed.
Footy: Yes, I've been ignoring the Premier League for far too long. Two games happen today although none of the league leaders. It's no surprise that Manchester United is on top although Liverpool is close behind. I really miss the days when I would sit at my desk working and have soccer on the television all day because I am seriously behind.
Today In Sports History
1961 - Douglas MacArthur declines an offer to become the MLB commissioner
1964 - 28th Golf Masters Championship: Arnold Palmer wins by shooting a 276. This would be his 4th green jacket win.
Homeless World Cup: I've snipped the significant details of this press release for you by overwhelming consensus: "Scotland’s Homeless World Cup Foundation and Powerleague have today announced a community partnership that will take the power of football to thousands of people who are homeless across the UK and the rest of the world.
Powerleague runs 5-a-side football centres in the UK. The community partnership will make Powerleague centres available to run football coaching and leagues for people who are homeless in Scotland, England and Wales and for fundraising activities. 130,000 players at Powerleague centres will be invited get involved, raise funds and create change."
Don't forget - this year the Homeless World Cup is in Milan - September 6-13. Masters Madness: Golf Vacations Ireland has a giveaway centered around the upcoming Masters - here's the vital info:
"Golf Vacations Ireland is championing Rory McIlroy to win the Masters in Augusta 2009. We’d like golfers everywhere to join us in cheering on Northern Ireland’s youngest Tour player, so we’re giving them something to cheer about.
Here’s the deal – if Rory’s wearing the green jacket in Augusta Sunday evening, we’re going to celebrate in style with a US $100,000 giveaway.
To enter, visit our website, answer a competition question and, if Rory McIlroy wins the 2009 US Masters, entrants could be in with a chance to win one of 4 amazing golf vacations in Ireland, each to the value of US $19,000 – that’s $1,000 for each of Rory’s 19 years. The average cost per golfer of one of our vacations is US $2,500, so there’s plenty here to make this a trip of a lifetime for the winners and their golf buddies.
And that’s not all! In recognition of Rory’s youth and golfing talents, if he wins, we’ll also donate US $24,000 to The First Tee."
Hoops For Hope: Thanks to Carolyn for bringing this story to our attention. JD Walsh started out teaching kids in New York basketball. Now, with Hoops For Hope he is teaching children orphaned by violence in Kashmir. One of the best clips of the story: The local press reported that less-privileged kids played with wealthier mates--a mixing of classes not at all common in this part of the world. By the end, some quiet messages had gone out: about team play in a tough game, about bridging economic divides, and yes, even about peace.
The Masters: The Armchair Golf Blog has produced a 2009 Masters Tournament Guide. Sign up for the email list and get yours. You can also check out my friend BJ's blog for his insider info on getting around the tournament. BJ lives in the area all year and is a great source of info for this event.
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