slangin' knowledge... since 2003.
She’ll be tuning up for Wimbledon there. The DFS in Birmingham is on a grass court. She’s won there before. She just lost at the French Open. And, uh… you know, here’s a picture. It’s from the French Open, it’s a historical account of what happened, and… you know, that’s news. It’s news that she lost, because she’s a fine tennis player. So here’s a picture of her during that loss. She lost. News.
So, here’s a quote I thought I should post. It’s from Peter Vecsey’s column yesterday in the New York Post.
“Stephon [Marbury] is the worst teammate I’ve ever had,” Tim Thomas told me an hour after the Suns had eliminated the Clippers, echoing the sentiments of Jayson Williams, Keith Van Horn, Kurt Thomas and several Suns and Knicks who wish to remain anonymous. “We grew up together, yet the whole time I was with the Knicks he never talked to me. Not once. Not until I was traded did he say anything. When I was leaving he came over and gave me an I-Pod he’d bought as a going-away present. He even installed hip hop music. They don’t come any weirder.”
Well, that settles it, doesn’t it? I mean, when Tim Thomas is calling you a bad teammate, it may be time to re-evaluate things. This is a man who knows everything there is to know about being a bad teammate. Tim Thomas has spent entire months, nay years, refusing to exert himself. And he feels that he is in a position to criticize Stephon Marbury as a teammate.
But hey, at least he got an iPod out of it. And not only that, but… an iPod pre-loaded with Stephon Marbury’s favorite music. That’s a special treat. I think Tim Thomas got a re-gifted iPod. Awesome. And there are at least eight Knicks right now reading that and hoping they get traded, so 1) they’ll finally get to talk to team leader Stephon Marbury, and 2) he’ll buy them an iPod.
She was -2 with nine holes to play. I thought she had a legitimate chance to make it happen. I was pulling for her. But then she choked like a… well, seeing that she’s a 16-year-old girl, it’s probably best to leave the imagery out of it. So, let’s say she faltered down the stretch. I think that’s fair. And appropriate.
So, despite disagreeing with Adrian Wojnarowski’s contention yesterday that her father is wronging her by allowing her to even try to play in the US Open, I would wholeheartedly agree, and have in the past, that Michelle Wie needs to learn how to win against her own competition first. Learning how to play great golf, and learning how to close out a tournament, or even a round, aren’t the same things. It’s not the first time Michelle Wie has come up slightly short in a clutch situation. And that will come with time. Hey, it happened for Dirk Nowitzki.
Had she qualified, though, the task awaiting her at the U.S. Open would’ve been monumental. The USGA likes the set up their U.S. Open courses to be not challenging, not difficulting, and not demanding… but completely fucking unfair. I was thinking about that today. Asking a 16-year-old to play Winged Foot, set up to U.S. Open specifications… at the very least, it would be humbling.
Anyway, it doesn’t matter. She didn’t make it. And, obviously, I’m not ssuggesting she should stop playing these men’s events. There’s something to be learned there, too, and I don’t blame her for wanting to do it. But she’s got to learn how to win, and how to finish things off. I’d like to see that happen at some point.
The Scientology people are getting into NASCAR. “Dianetics,” the book by L. Ron Hubbard that is largely responsible for making popular all of this Scientology nonsense, is sponsoring a racing team. On the team name, they’re deciding between “Ignite Your Potential,” or “Team Crazy Motherfucker.” It’s still up in the air.
The reason that Scientology wants to get involved with NASCAR is obvious: because Tom Cruise was damn good in “Days of Thunder.” Some OT VIII Scientologist, who is completely gone, caught Days of Thunder on basic cable and thought to himself, “Yes. Scientologists have a talent for this, how do you say, auto racing? Yes. This is how we will con more–er, spread our word.”
Actually, I don’t think it will be Tom driving the car, unless there’s room in the back for Katie Holmes and the poor child who is facing a major uphill battle in life. I think they have another driver lined up:
Driver Kenton Gray credits Hubbard’s work with making him a good driver. “It’s markedly improved my focus and my consistency,” he said in an announcement from Hubbard’s publisher. “Through ‘Dianetics’ I’ve handled stress and increased my performance and ability to compete—both on the track and in life.”
Wow. Straight off the infomercial, huh, pal? Spoken like Ron Popeil. Or anyone else who’s trying to sell something.
After having lost 75 pounds, and showing up with 11.5% body fat, Shawn Kemp was at a Denver Nuggets camp for free agents yesterday. And reports have him playing well, and George Karl was impressed. Of course, you could probably hear the exact same thing about everyone else at that camp… so I have no idea how close Shawn Kemp is to being able to land a roster spot in the NBA.
And despite how enjoyable it is to ridicule Shawn Kemp… getting back in that kind of shape at his age took some serious work. This man has been dedicated, and I give him a lot of respect for even trying. It would’ve been easy to just disappear. But he’s not happy with his legacy, he’s not happy with what people think about him, and he’s not happy with how he let his own career end. So he’s doing something about it. I can get behind that.
So whether or not he actually gets back in the league (and I think he will), he’s already accomplished a lot. I’m rooting for him. He’s been buckling down and working hard over the past month, which is not something I can say for the Detroit Pistons.
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