Author Danny Vinik

He Does It Again

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Was there any chance that Tiger was going to miss that 16-foot birdie putt? Everyone knew it was coming. It was just a matter of how dark it would be when Tiger would sink the putt to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational on the 72ndhole. Starting the day 5 strokes behind Sean O’hair, Tiger fought back quickly to get within stroke by the 8th hole, but O’Hairfought back, birdieing number nine andreaching the turn with a two stroke lead. A combination of O’Hair bogeying 10 and Tiger birdieintiger-comebackg 13 left the two tied after the 15th hole. Even more, Tiger took the lead on 16 when O’Hairbogeyed. The lead was short-lived though as a poor tee shot left Tiger with a bogey on the par-3 17th. The two entered the 72nd hole tied. Who did you expect would win?

Woods and O’Hair both reached the green in regulation, leaving themselves pretty lengthy puts though. First up, O’Hair hits his putt short and to the left, leaving the ball about 4 feet away from the hole. You could hear murmurs rise in the crowd as everyone knew that Tiger had a shot to win it. He spoke with his caddie, aligned the ball, and measured the precise line of the putt. Finally, as anticipation reached its peak, Tiger stepped up to his ball. A clean stroke and the ball made its way towards the hole. Just as it was about a yard away from the hole, Tiger takes a skip step backward before pumping his fist in the air as the ball smoothly sank into the cup. Tiger had done it again. Continue reading “He Does It Again” →

Gold Redeemed

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Photo: ESPN

After 8 years if embarrassment, the United States’ Mens’ Olympic Basketball Team is back on top. While most of the country slept this morning, Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, and company squeaked out a 118-107 win over Spain to capturethe gold medal. Dwayne Wade scored 27 points and Kobe added 20 in a hard-fought, offensive game in which the US led by only 2 points with a couple minutes remaining. The US beat Spain by 37 points earlier in the Olympics and most people expected a similar result in the gold medal game. Spain had different ideas however. They came out ready to play and never let up. As a team, the Spaniards shot 51.4% from the field and 47.1% from 3-point range. They out-rebounded the US 37-31 and had only one fewer assist then the Gold Medal Winners. Pau Gasol had 21 points for Spain while Rudy Fernandez had 22 points. In what was supposed to be a celebration game for the US, Spain nearly pulled the upset of the Olympics.

As I look back on this gold medal run for the US team I have to wonder, why was this final game so close? Except for a preliminary game against Australia, the Americans destroyed every other team they met except for last morning’s game. They beat this Spanish team by 37 points earlier in the games and Spain was missing Jose Calderon this time. There is one glaring difference between the gold medal game and every other game the US played. The US took the final game for granted. Theystopped their throttling defense and yes, Spain shot the lights out, but they also had more wide open jumpers than any team that has played the US so far. It shouldn’t have been close, but it was. Kobe saved the team from another embarrassing upset by scoring 13 key points in the 4th quarter, including a four-point play in the final minutes of the game. Continue reading “Gold Redeemed” →

The Greatest Olympian

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Photo: SI

Michael Phelps completed the unthinkable last night, winning eight gold medals in a single Olympics to surpass Mark Spitz’s 36-year-old record of seven gold medals in one games. Phelps swam 17 races, won 8 gold medals, and set seven world records. He won one of the closest races of all-time, when he snuck in front of Milorad Cavic at the last moment to beat Cavic by .01 seconds. He watched Jason Lezak complete on the greatest comebacks in swimming history to keep Phelps’s hopes of eight gold medals alive. He has secured the title of Greatest Olympian of all-time. Some are even asking if he is the greatest athlete ever. Phelps’s accomplishments at this Olympics go past the unreal, past dreamland, and into the absolutely unimaginable.

Only Mark Spitz knows what Michael Phelps is going through. When you swimming 17 races at full speed in 10 days, conduct countless interviews, and get mobbed by fans everywhere you go, life must very tiring. Phelps pushed through though. He carried a smile at all times, except before races when he walked out headphones in his ears and a stern, concentrated look on his face. He may need a couple weeks off before getting in the pool again, but I don’t think so. With someone like Michael Phelps, he lives for he water and no amount of pain is going to keep him away from that liquid bliss. Will he back in 2012? Yes. Now I can’t say that for certain, but I cannot imagine a situation other than injury that would keep Phelps away from the 2012 games. Continue reading “The Greatest Olympian” →