Thursday, June 21, 2007

Is Golf A Sport?

Chalk one up for the … well … out-of-shape people in this world.

Angel Cabrera’s U.S. Open win over Tiger Woods Sunday was a victory for all of us who aren’t in fine fettle.

There was the beefy, cigarette-sucking Cabrera hoisting the 2007 U.S. Open trophy on national TV after defeating the sculpted and sinewy Woods by one stroke at Oakmont Country Club to gain the nation’s championship. It was kind of like Luciano Pavarotti putting the hurt on Hulk Hogan in a steel-cage match.

Seriously, though, what does Cabrera’s win over Woods say for the argument that golfers don’t have to be athletic to succeed? With that out in the open, I'll bring up the age-old question: Is golf a sport or a skill.

We want to know what you think.

— Larry Aylward

Thursday, June 07, 2007

Here's to LeBron Leading the Cavs

Let’s talk NBA basketball for a minute. In case you didn't know, Golfdom is based in downtown Cleveland, home to some fantastic golf courses, including Canterbury Golf Club on the old-course end and Sand Ridge Golf Club on the new-course end.

And Cleveland is home to the beloved Cavaliers, a team that has never appeared in the NBA finals until now. The Cavs, of course, are led by LeBron James, who went to high school at Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, about 30 miles down the road from Cleveland.

I attended Archbishop Hoban High School, the cross-town archrival of St. Vincent-St. Mary. The two schools have had a heated rivalry for years.

The first time I saw LeBron play was when he was a senior in high school. His team, the Fighting Irish, was playing my alma mater in the state tournament. Hoban was 22-1 at the time and was enjoying one of its best seasons ever.

But LeBron and company (his team was the best high school team I’ve ever seen) dismantled Hoban by about 30 points. And LeBron did about five things in the game that were purely beyond those of what normal and even above-normal players that age can do. He had "No. 1 pick in the NBA draft" written all over him.

Now, four years later, LeBron has amazed most basketball fans with his skills. Here’s to him doing the same thing to the San Antonio Spurs that he did to the Hoban Knights.

- Larry Aylward