Maddux Sports Blog

I spent most of the morning watching the British Open. It was fascinating, and not much else is going on in the sports world right now, so I thought I would share what is sticking out in my mind halfway through the tournament.

1. I understand that links-style courses are the original courses, and I can appreciate the history and challenge, but wow, are those courses ever ugly. I don’t find it interesting to watch a course that lacks a tree, is perpetually hammered by wind, and has grass up above a players waist just feet from the fairway. I’d take a beach course like Pebble Beach, a mountain course, or anything with a tree anytime over this.

2. It’s early, and there is still a lot to play, but I said that I liked Camilo Villegas at 80/1 before the tournament started, and I like him even more now. He’s sitting two strokes off the lead after birdies on his last five holes today gave him a tournament-best 65. This guy is young, but he can hit it a mile, he’s incredibly hot, and he has just enough swagger to hold up under the pressure of the weekend. I’m not saying he’ll win, but I love him at the price.

3. David Duval is an odd story. I’m not sure we’ve ever seen a guy that good become so bad for no apparent reason and still keep playing. I’m glad to see him in contention here. That being said, I wish the commentators would just leave him alone. They showed a whole  lot of his round today, and with pretty much every shot they had to rehash his epic struggles and every flaw in his game. He’s a former Open champion so he is open to scrutiny. So are Ben Curtis and Todd Hamilton, though - they’re not doing much with their careers, either, but they don’t pick on them the same way.

4. Greg Norman having a good first round was an interesting story. Him doing it again in the second round was really something to see. He’s putting like his ball is steel and the hole is a magnet. I don’t think that he’ll hold up physically through the round, and I would have to bet against him if i was forced to make a decision, but it will be fun to see if he can keep the miracle going.

5. Phil Mickelson wastes more talent and potential than any man on this planet. The only thing more annoying than that is that he has a carefully crafted excuse for everything he does poorly. He also burns money. He was 12/1 to win this tournament, and I guarantee a ridiculous proportion of public money was thrown down that hopeless well.

6. This would be a way more interesting tournament if it didn’t start before the sun came up every morning.

7. I definitely wouldn’t bet against K.J. Choi right now. I love how he is playing, he’s oozing confidence, and he’s good enough to contend to the end.

8. The weather obviously affects every course, but this is just ridiculous. This was a different course yeserday afternoon than it was yesterday morning, and it was a much easier course today than yesterday. The time you tee off shouldn’t have such an impact on the outcome of a major.

Wow, is the weather ever ugly at the British Open. If I showed up at a course and the sky looked like that I would turn around and go home. A links-style course does nothing to make the day look any nicer, either.

Phil Mickelson finished the first round at nine over. Way to grab an opportunity with the absence of Tiger and run with it. Seeing Phil choke is an all too common occurrence. On the plus side, I guess, he is a stroke ahead of Ernie Els and Vijay Singh.

As I write this, Greg Norman is one stroke off the pace through eight holes. Imagine the story if he could keep that pace up. He’s also tied with Anthony Kim. That guy is on fire.

Adam Scott is the first player to be under par at the turn. It’s way too early, obviously, but I like his chances on Sunday. He was and is a bargain at 25/1.

James Posey left the Celtics to sign for four years and $25 million with the Hornets. This is a bit odd. The Celtics were very vocal about how key he was to their success, and he was willing to stay, but he wanted four years and they would only offer him three. The money was essentially the same - Boston was offering the full mid-level exemption - so the fact that they wouldn’t go for one year seems like a bad one. Either that or they were overstating Posey’s impact.

Now the Packers are accusing the Vikings of tampering with Favre. This whole story is never, ever going to go away. I don’t have kids, but I know that my grandkids will still be hearing about this attention whore and his  latest flirtation with a comeback.

Riccardo Ricco won two stages if the Tour de France this year. And now he got busted for doping - EPO. What a shock.

Magglio Ordonez has been activated and will rejoin the Tigers. That should be a huge boost for a team that I still like to win the AL Central.

Yao Ming returned to action in an exhibition game China played against Serbia. It was his first time in a game in six months. I bet that the Rockets wish that there was some way that they could keep their giant out of Olympic action.

The more I think about it, the more I think that there might be some value in taking the Raiders over 6.5 regular season wins given that it is at +147 at Pinnacle. I may be spending too much time in the sun without a hat.

Casino Drive, the intriguing Japanese star who missed the Belmont with a bruised foot, is in quarantine in Japan preparing for a return to the U.S. It appears that he will run a prep race in California, perhaps the Goodwood, en route to the Breeders’ Cup Classic. This horse is such a strange situation - he hasn’t raced since the Peter Pan in May. He’s just so darned talented, though, that you can’t entirely discounted. I have Breeders’ Cup tickets for Santa Anita this year, so I really hope he makes it.