I was fortunate enough to walk all 18 holes with Brad Benjamin’s group during the first round of the John Deere Classic today and saw Brad fire an even par 71 leaving him outside the cutline, tied for 104th with one round to play. The top 70 and ties will stick around to play the weekend.
The round certainly had it’s ups; a birdie at the first, a ridiculous Tigereque hook from the trees on 8 to set up a par, and it’s downs, an unplayable ball at the 9th that led to one of his three bogey’s. Through it all, Brad strode the fairways confidently and carried himself not like someone hoping to make a cut, but like a player who knows that this is where his future lies.
Speaking with Brad after the round he spoke about how he was never very comfortable with his swing and how he was fighting it throughout the round. He still managed to shoot level par, hit 12 of 18 greens in regulation, and take only 28 putts, tying him for 32nd in the field of 155. What makes that putting stat even more impressive is that Brad was frequently leaving himself 30 or more feet for birdie. Also, on the back nine Brad hit 7 of 9 greens and one of the two he missed he spun the ball off the front. Pretty impressive for someone who’s “uncomfortable” over the ball.
Despite being 2 shots outside the cutline, after the round Brad was confident about his chances and appeared mentally ready for what lies ahead of him tomorrow when he’ll likely need a 67 (4 under) to see the weekend.
It’s amazing to see the confidence that Brad carries himself with since his experience at Augusta. He’s gone from wanting to be a pro, to knowing he can compete with the world’s best players.
One side note, knowing/being acquainted with a number of golfers who tried their hand as playing professionals and were unsuccessful, the common chorus is, “at this level everyone can strike it pure but it’s the guys who find a way to get it in the hole who cash the checks.” And Brad can certainly use the flat stick and scramble with the best.
I highly suggest you make your way to the Quad Cities tomorrow and follow his progess at the JDC or catch him at the Rockford Pro-Am on Monday the 12th. I promise it’s a trip around the course you’ll have no regrets making.

Posted under Uncategorized

Several media outlets are reporting that the Chicago Blackhawks have traded forward Dustin Byfuglien to the Atlanta Thrashers along with fellow forward Ben Eager, defenseman Brent Sopel, and prospect Akim Aliu.

I know, the casual fan’s response is likely “what the heck are the ‘Hawks thinking?”  It’s a fair question.  Byfuglien dominated in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with 11 goals and five assists, including an NHL leading five game-winning scores.

But where was he the rest of the season?  Byfuglien scored just 17 goals and had 17 assists in 82 games.  That’s less than a point every other night.  At the end of the regular season if I were to tell you the ‘Hawks would be getting a first round pick (24th overall), a second round pick (54th overall), veteran forward Marty Reasoner, and prospect Jeremy Morin for Big Buff, Sopel, Eager, and Aliu I think your chips would’ve been all-in. 

Simply put, Byfuglien’s trade value will never be higher.

It’s hard to see Byfuglien go, I agree.  Anytime a championship team loses a guy who was a key contributor, especially in the playoffs, it’s tough to swallow.  But the truth of the matter is it needed to be done.  Byfuglien, Sopel, and Eager (who is a restricted free agent, but made just under one-million dollars in 2009-2010 and will likely demand that or more going forward) take almost six-million dollars off the Blackhawks desperately thin books.  Reasoner adds just over one-million.  Therefore the ‘Hawks are freeing up almost five-million bucks.  That’s money they need to re-sign restricted free agents like Antti Niemi and Niklas Hjalmarsson.

This is probably just the first of many moves Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman and his staff will have to make this offseason. 

I say so far, so good.

Mike

Posted under Uncategorized

The already confusing name of the 11-team Big Ten conference might get even irrelevant in the coming weeks.

Sports Radio KHB 810 out of Kansas City reports that the conference has extended offers to four division one schools asking them to join the conference.

According to the report, Nebraska, Missouri, Notre Dame, and Rutgers have all received invitations.  That’s two Big 12 schools, an Independent, and a Big East university that could make the Big 10 a 14, 15, or possibly even a 16 school league… assuming that they would want an even number, it appears that 14 or 16 are the most viable options.  If the conference decides to go all the way to 16 teams it would mean that there is another school that’s under the radar right now.

Check out the report.  The best part to me is it assures an annual conference football title game.  The worst part is that Jude Wilbers’ love for Missouri might actually have to directly impact my life.

Your thoughts?

Mike

Posted under College Basketball, College Football

I have a confession to make.

I don’t get out much.

Well, I do, but it’s mostly to the golf course, not the fishing hole.  This is why we (13 Sports Weekend Anchor Jude Wilbers and myself) want your help.

Ron Osborn sent in this picture of the sun rising over the Rock River near Dixon.

We want to feature some of the great moments you capture on your camera during your time in the Great Outdoors.  We’re calling it ”Exploring the Outdoors.”  It can be anything from fishing and hunting to hiking and rafting.

Each week we’re going to post the pictures you send to us on the sports page at www.wrex.com/sports.  Jude and I will then pick our favorite picture and air it on 13 News at 5 and 6 on Friday.  So if you want the whole stateline to see that giant catch you had over the weekend, we’re your guys.

Email the pictures, along with your name and a descrpition to sports@wrex.com.  Also, if you have an outdoor sporting event you think we should know about tell us in your email.

Hopefully this gives our viewers a little more insight to the world of outdoor sports from the people who experience them first hand.

You never know, you might convince me to hang up the clubs and pick up a rod one of these weekends.

Mike

Posted under Misc., Uncategorized

Brad Benjamin grinded on Thursday.

The Rockford native finished his opening round at the Masters with a one-over par 73, putting him in the middle of the field with some golfers still out on the course as I type.  But it could have been much worse.

Benjamin, usually accurate with his driver, sprayed the 1-wood on several occasions Thursday.  It was his ability to bounce back, make smart pitch shots, and drain putts that kept his hopes of making the cut alive.

I chatted with Jude Wilbers about the round via ooVoo (video phone basically) and we have that conversation for you on the sports page at www.wrex.com .

Tonight at 6pm I talk with Brad’s parents about the round, and then at 10 I have an entire conversation with Brad himself about his first go around in a major championship.

Time to head out and enjoy (maybe) the Cubs/Braves game.  More from Augusta to come!

Mike

Posted under Golf

The bad news: My flight was delayed four times, traffic around Atlanta was slower than Paul Konerko in a gunny sack race, and sleep deprivation is causing me to hallucinate.

The good news:  I’m three miles away from Augusta National Golf Club.

After 11 hours of travel, I’m finally here in Georgia, ready to head out tomorrow and begin covering the Masters and Rockford’s very own Brad Benjamin.

I actually had a brief chat with Brad earlier tonight and asked him about getting paired up with past Masters champion Bernhard Langer and five-time PGA winner Scott Verplank.  Jude Wilbers will have that sound for you tonight on 13 news 10 @10 in just a few minutes.  If you miss it there, it’ll be on the sports page at wrex.com shortly after the news.

Tomorrow, Brad’s playing in the Masters Par-3 Tournament.  It’s a exhibition held on the par-3 course just behind Augusta National and it should be a lot of fun.  I’ll have more with Brad after tomorrow’s round.  He’s teeing off at 3pm eastern time, so look for that stuff Wednesday at 10pm.

That’s all from Augusta tonight.  I’ll be back on here (and in front of the camera) tomorrow.

Mike

P.S.  I know yesterday I mentioned tweeting during Brad’s round…turns out you can’t bring cellphones onto the course during the tournament play, so that idea is dead.  I’ll still tweet when I can @morigsports13.

Posted under Golf

Rockford's Brad Benjamin finds out Tuesday which former Masters champion he'll play with for his first two rounds at Augusta.

The Masters.  Golf’s “Grandaddy of ‘em all” (my apologies to Keith Jackson).  This time tomorrow night I’ll be in Augusta, GA getting set to follow Rockford’s Brad Benjamin at the most prestigious golf event in the world.

Somebody wake me up already.

It’s a great privilege for me to get this opportunity and I hope to make it easy and enjoyable for you to follow Benjamin’s rounds at Augusta.  First off, I’ll be tweeting (twittering? making tweets?…use whatever form makes you the most comfortable) throughout Brad’s rounds on Thursday and Friday.  You can follow me @ morigsports13 on Twitter.  I’ll also be using this handy blog to describe some of my adventures along the way.

Once the rounds are complete, Brad will jump in front of the camera with me and talk about his play that day.  Unfortunately the people at Augusta are EXTREMEMLY strict when it comes to usage of video of the play on the course, so don’t look for a birdie putt from Brad on number 12 to come across your screen anytime soon.

I also plan to catch up with Brad’s parents and the caravan of people who are making the journey down to Georgia for the event.  In talking with Brad’s dad, Steve Benjamin, last week… it sounds like it won’t be too hard to find Brad’s following come Thursday.

So, here’s to hoping everything goes off without a hitch.  I think it’s safe to say this is the biggest thing to happen to Rockford golf in a really long time, maybe the biggest thing ever.  And in a community that loves the game as much as we do in the stateline, that’s saying something.

Mike Morig

Posted under Golf

The Bulls snapped their 10 game slide with a win over Philadelphia on Saturday night but I for one wouldn’t mind seeing the Bulls lose the final 13 games of the season. While I’d love to see the Bulls make the playoffs, count me among those drinking the Kool-Aid that the rest of this season doesn’t matter. It’s all about the offseason. Another extended slide would be beneficial for two reasons. First, it allows Bulls management to finally rid themselves of Vinny Del Negro. Vinny’s shown signs of improving as a coach in his second season but you want him out of Chicago before Derrick Rose reaches his prime. Point two, if the Bulls miss the playoffs it returns them to the draft lottery. The same system that got them Derrick Rose. While they currently are tied for the 11th worst record in the NBA which would give them a 0.8% chance of winning the top pick, stranger things have happened. Even if they don’t win it, how valuable would a top 3 pick be. They don’t have enough cap space to get two full boat free agents, and frankly I’m afraid their going to get Ron Mercered again and come home with a bunch of second tier free agents. I’d love to see them use that lottery pick as part of a deal to land Chris Bosh in a sign and trade from Toronto, my preferred marquee free agent.  Toronto could then use that pick to land Bosh’s replacement as the face of the franchise and Chicago would still have enough cap space to sign another complimentary piece a la Rudy Gay, J.J. Reddick, or another player of that ilk. Even if they end up with the 11th pick instead of a top 3, it’s still win-win. Since they DON’T have the money for that 2nd big free agent they instead get a better draft pick which they can use to compliment Rose and hopefully that marquee free agent, and since they’re on a rookie deal they’re salary will be manageable.  Currently espn.com has Patrick Patterson of Kentucky going 11th, and with Taj Gibson in place I don’t neccessarily see Patterson with the Bulls but if they could pickup a shooting guard with an outside touch or an athletic wing to protect from Luol Deng’s eventual breakdown I’d be okay with that. So I say, take your time Bulls, heal up, and just lose baby.

Posted under Uncategorized

Tiger Woods broke his silence today and spoke for the first time since his Thanksgiving car crash and ensuing media firestorm regarding his infidelity. The first time I heard his 13 minute monologue was live on the radio this morning. In hindsight I’m glad that I was only able to hear his message because I think it allowed me to really listen to what he was saying and the inflection in his voice. In the beginning Tiger sounded genuinely contrite. As his statement proceeded he began to sound a little more wooden and a little more rehearsed which honestly is understandable given the magnitude of what he was admitting to and the height from which he was fallen, and how carefully crafted his statement needed to be.
He apologized to all the right people, sounded as if he is making real steps towards changing the attitudes that led to his great fall, and generally left a blue print for any future celebrities who must publicly bare the shame of what they’ve done.
All that being said, the one thing as an avid golf fan that I wanted to hear, he did not say, and that is when he is coming back to the tour. To be honest I can survive without Tiger on the tour, until….The Masters. It absolutely will detract from one of golf’s grandest stages, and the one with which he is most associated if he is unable to play. I want to see Tiger back on the tour being the scourge of all who walk the fairways. Making shots that no one thought possible, doing things we’ve never seen before or simply doing them better than we’ve ever seen.

Posted under Uncategorized

It amazes me that two weeks before the Super Bowl one of the ads was already in the headlines. Was it too racy?, too foul?, did it offend people’s sense of decency? No, no, and no. I’m of course talking about the
Pro-Life commercial featuring Tim Tebow and his mother that’s being paid for by the Conservative organization Focus on the Family. 
The ad is drawing the ire of certain women’s groups; “This campaign is about holding CBS and the NFL and the other Super Bowl advertisers accountable,” said Jehmu Greene, president of the Women’s Media Center, “for inserting an exceedingly controversial issue into a place where we all hope Americans will be united, not divided, in terms of watching America’s most-watched sporting event.”
I think what Ms. Greene means to say is that she wishes her organization had the financial wherewithall to run an ad with their beliefs in it. Another point brought up was that 40 percent of the viewing audience is women and how offensive this type of commercial would be to women. First off, why would women be offended by having a message directly aimed towards them during the premier television event of the year and one that is predominantly thought of as a man’s event.
For those of you who don’t know; when Tim Tebow’s mother was pregnant with him it was recomended by her doctors that she get and abortion because of the medicines being used to treat her amoebic dysentary she contracted while on a mission trip to the Philipines and the yet un-seen ad is supposed to focus around.
In an era when people are pleading for athletes to stand up for their beliefs and take a stand on moral issues I think Tebow should be applauded for standing up for what he thinks is right. The timing is especially good since Tebow’s coin with the media and the public will never be higher.

Posted under Uncategorized