Cut Me, Mick!

Those regular visitors among you know that we're fans of the game of golf here. Well, holy schniekes, it looks like Tiger is going to miss the cut at a major for only the second time in his illustrious career (and the first time that didn't involve the death of his dad).

The conditions are apparently brutal today, and yet Old Man Watson somehow continues to hang in there, tied for the lead.

It's not like many of us here in the U.S. were going to watch this anyway since it's on so damn early here, but without Tiger or Phil, I'm sure the ratings will dip even more.

Stop it, Tiger. This isn't funny.

Covering Things Like A Snuggie

As you may have caught from one of this posts, Boilerdowd is out of town, helping shape today's youth (what shape he's making them, I don't know). And so that's fine. And then T-Mill, the friendly kid who runs Hammer and Rails, went away as well, and I stupidly agreed to also cover for him over at his site for the week. And, on top of all of this, my wifey is out of town this week. So I also have to take care of the dog.

Why do I agree to all of this? Because I love you all. But I love the dog the most.

Speaking of covering things like a blanket (or a pseudo-blanket), enjoy...

Adam Rittenberg Doesn't Much Like Ross-Ade

I like Adam Rittenberg -- the guy is a pro (not a hooker). But his latest list isn't a favorite. However, since we're all about integrity and hard-hitting reporting here at BS (not really), I figured I'd share it with you all.

For those who didn't see it, Adam ranked the Big Ten stadiums (see, he's bored in the off-season, too) and our lovely Ross-Ade finished ninth out of ten (he hasn't seen a game in Minny's new stadium yet -- no one has).

Hard to argue much of the list, but I think our biggest bone to pick would be with ranking Ryan Field (basically a glorified high school-quality stadium) ahead of the home of the Boilermakers.

2010 Class Grows

The handsome young lad you see to the left here is Josh Davis, an Ohio native who recently learned that you're allowed to leave Ohio. Upon learning this vital information, he immediately made plans to escape at the end of high school.

"I had no idea I had the option to leave," Davis said on Tuesday. "But Coach Hope laid out the rules and made it clear that despite what I've always been told by pasty, fat white people wearing Ohio State sweatshirts, it's actually acceptable -- even encouraged sometimes -- for kids who grow up here to play football elsewhere."

"It's opened up a whole new world to me," the 6'6" 270 pounder continued. "I always thought the NFL consisted of just the Browns and Bengals. Evidently, there's another team over in Indiana, too."

The defensive tackle -- Danny Hope's sixth commit to the class of 2010 -- runs only a 5.5 forty-yard-dash, so it will likely take him a while to exit the heart of it all.

Welcome, Josh.

Tiger To Take Mulligans, Too

You know, I've never much been a fan of the British Open. Like many American golf fans, I just don't see the appeal. Windy, overcast conditions, boring holes, greens the size of Texas, nothing pretty about any of the holes, etc.

However, the game was indeed invented there and it's a tourney that's revered by the players and it's a place where the countrymen truly appreciate their golf.

What's amazing about it is the fact that sometimes being over par is plenty to win, or at least be in contention. Sure, this happens at the U.S. Open sometimes, too, but that's mainly because they make the course an asinine length or let the "rough" grow to shoe-swallowing size.

In Great Britain, it's usually the wind. If you took St. Andrews, for example, and plopped it in Arizona, pros could shoot in the 50s. No joke.

So it's funny -- but understandable -- to me to see Tiger potentially not even using a driver this week at the British Open. This is something we weekend hackers do. I play with a guy on a regular basis who rarely uses his driver anymore. Our home course is 6600 yards from the blue tees -- pretty damn respectable (126 slope, for those interested). And yet this guy doesn't need a driver. He hits his 3-wood about 260+ as a rule and I've seen him crank it up to 300. Insane. But he sprays the driver everywhere. Solution: don't use it.

But to see a professional -- perhaps the greatest professional -- tamed so thoroughly by the conditions of the golf course that he's planning not to use the big dog... well, I'll tell you -- it reminds me of how humbling golf is, even for the greatest among us. And that's cool.

"We Are One" Campaign Continues

The latest TV spots for the "We Are One" football marketing campaign have been released. If you live in the Indiana viewing area, you'll likely see these at some point. For the rest of you, enjoy.

Joey Elliot is featured prominently here....

And another...

Joe Morgan Is So Street

Do you know the best part of the Home Run Derby last night on ESPN? It was when Joe Buck came by to chat with the guys and at the end, Joe Morgan tried to fist bump him and Buck just took Morgan's clenched hand and shook it. Maybe he thought ole Joe Morgan had a Bob Dole-type hand.




Also, we still have to be subjected to Chris Berman? Really? I wish MLB Network would take this over and make it watchable. I absolutely love baseball, but this shitshow of a crew is so bad I watched Rocky Balboa on F/X instead. After Morgan's awkward moment, I knew it wasn't getting any better. And Josh Hamilton wasn't participating, so nobody was going to clank one off the arch.

Purdue - Oregon, too early to preview?

Ye old Entertainment Programming Network that occasionally shows Lacrosse lists this years Purdue - Oregon contest as one of the Pac-10's five scariest non-conference games. Last years game was a good one. A game that continued the miserable tradition of losing games that they should have won. The EPN article goes on to say:

Purdue at Oregon (Sept. 12): Purdue shouldn't be fast enough to keep up with the Oregon, but it made things quite difficult for the Ducks last year. Moreover, this game is sandwiched between the marquee season opener at Boise State and a visit from Utah. Even though Purdue has been sliding of late and changed coaches, the Boilermakers are still a Big Ten team worthy of respect.

I'm not sure what to make of this really. Is Purdue a possible sleeper this year? I personally don't think that's the case. And sure, all Big Ten teams are worthy of respect, especially when compared to the Pac-10, but still... what does this really mean? I think it must mean that the Pac-10 AD's schedule games against a bunch of JV community college teams. If this years Boilermakers are a top 5 challenge (along with powerhouses such as UNLV and CMU) then the scheduling on the left coast leaves just a tad to be desired.

Everyone should hate the Mets

If for no other reason than to show some pictures, I feel it's important to alert everyone that Erin Andrews was hit by a foul ball last night at the Mets game.

She's okay, and it didn't damage her most important assets. Her face and chin. Those are obviously what I'm talking about here. C'mon people, get your minds out of the gutter.

In other news. Holy Toledo! How many souls must she have sold? Seriously. I think she needs to be hired by Purdue. Think about what a great recruiting tool she could be. Come play for us and you get to see Erin Andrews every week. I think it could be a winner. Just sayin'.

YouTube Friday

Hey, remember when I said we were gonna do YouTube Fridays? Yeah, that didn't continue. But today it does! And the crowd went wild.

First up, if you're going to report live from right in the action, well, be careful.



Next up, a quick comedy short from Family Guy creator Seth McFarlane. You have to wade through about 30 seconds of nonsense before the video I want you to watch starts, but it's worth it.



And to wrap it up, one of my favorite commercials of all time. I especially love the gratuitous shot of the otherwise unseen daughter's ass a few seconds into it. And the "oops" line.



Enjoy your weekends, all.

YouTube Friday is a new feature here at Boiled Sports and will run on Fridays in this space, except when I forget, have other things to do, or get too drunk on Thursday night. If you've got a suggestion for an awesome video or a theme for the week, share it with us at BoiledSports@gmail.com and we'll consider stealing your idea.

BCS Continues Wearing Opponents Down

In a fairly quiet story on Weds night, the Mountain West Conference signed an agreement that they would behave and go along with the BCS for at least the next four years.

This is significant because if we're ever going to get a better system -- one that isn't a national punchline by the end of an otherwise terrific sport's season -- conferences need to fight the good fight. Even if they're the Mountain West. Fighting for an equitable system by teams and universities is what is needed. Not the rambling and ranting by fans and media types. That does no good. Actual schools need to stand up to this nonsense. And the Moutain West kind of was, but eventually wore down. I at least enjoyed the quote:

"... The Mountain West believes it has no choice at this time but to sign the agreements. If a conference wishes to compete at the highest levels of college football, and the only postseason system in place for that is the BCS, no one conference can afford to drop out and penalize its football programs and student-athletes."

In other words, "we think this royally sucks, but we don't see a victory in sight and we'd rather not punish our student-athletes."

None of the "big time" conferences were interested in fighting it because, hey, they were all somewhat fairly represented. You win a major BCS conference and you're likely in a BCS bowl game and if you're lucky and the stars align just right (and Penn State loses to Iowa), you've got a shot at a national title. That sort of thing.

Oh, and you schools stand to make gobs and gobs of money. Because, as usual, that's what it's all about. Which is what continues to be infuriating about the BCS -- a logical, sound, reasonable, manageable playoff of some kind (really, almost any kind of playoff) would rake in just as large gobs of money, if not more.

But this is college athletics, where common sense never wins out and the silly notion of old traditions do.... at least when they're convenient traditions.