I don’t normally watch the first two days of a golf tournament, but when I saw the leaderboard for day one of the British Open, I grabbed a sandwich and settled in….
After all, when you have John Daly, Tiger Woods and a 21-yerar-old kid named Rory McIlroy battling for the lead, golf doesn’t get any better….
It’s early and Daly will probably fade by the weekend, but if these three are still near the top on Sunday it’s going to be unbelievable….
For some reason, I’ve always been a fan of Daly. Yes, he’s a fat, drunken, gambling train wreck who’s been married several times and has no self control; but that’s the reason I like him….
Since almost everyone on the PGA Tour looks alike, dresses alike have bland personalities, it’s interesting to see a guy who behaves like the rest of us….
He’s the longest hitter on tour, shoots for the pin and isn’t politically correct….
Bravo!….
Woods, of course, is the reason the tour makes so much money and so many people have become fans. There’s nothing like Sunday at a major, with Tiger wearing red and closing in on history….
As for McIlroy, he’s a young kid from Northern Ireland with a lot of hair and personality. He shot an unbelievable 63 on Thursday and had old St. Andrews by the short hair….
I don’t know how this thing is going to turn out, but I’ll be watching….
I know most Laker fans will think I’m crazy, but the guy I’d go after is Allen Iverson….
Sure, they already have two point guards in Derek Fisher and Steve Blake, but A.I. had played a lot of shooting guard in his career….
In 2001, he played 2 the entire season and led the 76ers to the NBA Finals….
Positives: He plays as hard as any player I’ve ever seen and is totally fearless going to the hoop. For such a little guy, it’s incredible how he’s always been able to get to the rim and finish. He’s also as tough as anyone in the NBA, bouncing off the floor every time he gets knocked on his ass. After a big guy knocks the hell out of him, he attacks the rim with even more ferocity. Laker fans will fall in love with this guy when they see how hard he plays and how tough he is. He’s a Hall-of-Famer, one of the all time greats and in my opinion still has plenty of game. For $1.8M, it’s an absolute steal. And does anyone want to make the case that Fisher and Blake are better than him? I didn’t think so….
Negatives: He’s 35, has personal issues and had problems with two teams last season. In Memphis, he couldn’t accept being a reserve and lasted less than a week. In Philadelphia he played pretty well, but left the team near the end of the season for personal reasons. Evidently, he was going through a divorce and one of his kids was sick; but when you walk out on two teams in a year, franchises are going to be very careful. At his age, nobody is going to take a chance on a guy they feel is a cancer.
Final Analysis: If I’m Jerry Buss and Mitch Kupchak, I arrange a meeting with Iverson and also invite Kobe Bryant. It would then be made clear to A.I. that his role will be as a backup and he’s going to have to accept a minimum salary. In return, he has a chance to finally win a championship and prove he’s not a selfish, me-first guy. Phil Jackson specializes in guys like him and I believe Iverson has enough respect for the Laker organization, Kobe and Phil to subjugate his game and be a team guy. If so, he has Bob McAdoo written all over him.
