No revenge for Tom Cable, just victory

OAKLAND -- He’s a rough-hewn sort, which is what an offensive line coach is supposed to be. But now Tom Cable is a head coach, of the Oakland Raiders, and his appearance, background and recent problems have not fit the image that some prefer.

We’ve heard it all. Tom Cable is Al Davis’ tool. We’ve written it all. Tom Cable is just filling space until he’s fired.

The last few days, with the Raiders getting crushed the previous weekends, with the accusations that Cable punched one of his coaches, the news and the rumors had been particularly nasty. A season on the brink? It  was a season in the sink.

So when the unexpected took place Sunday, when the Raiders sacked Donovan McNabb six times, when the Raiders held an opponent without a touchdown for the first time in 43 games, when the Raiders upset the Philadelphia Eagles, 13-9, Cable could have extracted a measure of revenge.

Could have pointed out we know less about football than about conjugating verbs, less about football than about restaurants in Barcelona. Could have gloated and said hey, he knew what he was doing all along. Which very well could be the situation.

He knew they could play, that it wasn’t a matter of tactics and strategy but of competition. And if deep down he was burning from all the words hurled his way, he wouldn’t be letting us in on the revelation.

“I think this makes a statement,’’ Cable said, making his own statement, “that we have good enough players, we have a good enough football team, and it’s a matter of whether we go out and fight for it. And today we fought to win. We deserved to win. We beat a good team.’’

What that makes the 2-4 Raiders, ending a three-game losing streak, is a legitimate question. In the NFL, good teams lose and bad teams win, if in either case not consistently, which is why they’re either a good team or a bad team.  And why the Raiders can get battered one week by the New York Giants, 44-7, and then the next week defeat the Eagles can be attributed to the “Any Given Sunday’’ Sunday.

But if the Raiders with their few hours of success satisfied a Coliseum crowd announced at 49,642, Cable was waiting for new answers. Like whether this was just the Eagles acting as if they would have been better off taking a swim in the Atlantic or whether the Raiders actually deserved to be a member of the NFL.

“The biggest issue in the locker room,’’  Cable insisted, and correctly so, “is how we handle this. How do we grow? . . . How do we turn it around and make it consistent, grow from it?’’

Cable had been telling us the Raiders were “about to turn the corner,’’  although you wondered if the corner were at Telegraph and 51st or one of the intersections of the Champs-Elysees. So Sunday he did give us a little post-game reminder.

“I said to you guys time and again,’’ was Cable’s instructional commentary, “stop looking to write negative things or worry about the BS. ... We’re developing a team and an organization that has struggled to win the last few years, and you don’t flip a switch to that overnight. Don’t wake up the next day and everything is rosy and ready to go. There’s a process.’’

On Sunday, the process included quarterback JaMarcus Russell, as taunted as Cable, connecting on 17 or 24 passes for 224 yards and, on a great catch and excellent blocks by rookie Louis Murphy, an 86-yard play for the game’s only touchdown.

The process included the defensive line chasing down McNabb and holding the Eagles to 67 yards rushing. “We got home after the Giants game,’’ said defensive end Trevor Scott, who had two sacks as did Richard Seymour, “and asked, ‘Is this what we want?’ We can’t be playing ball like that.’’

The process included Justin Fargas rushing for 87 yards on 23 carries and then on third and one, with 2:02 on the clock and the Eagles out of timeouts, JaMarcus Russell  throwing to Gary Russell for the ultimate first down.

“It was coming,’’ said Cable of JaMarcus’ play. “He’s been throwing balls much better.

“Our defense played pretty good, (and) we had enough of a run game to eat up the clock, maintain drives and keep them off the field. We went out and said, ‘Enough. Let’s play.’ There were no magic words.’’

Just for the first time in a month, a magic ending.

RealClearSports: No Forgetting the Earthquake World Series

By Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com

SAN FRANCISCO -- Twenty years ago, Oct. 17, 1989. 5:04 p.m. PDT, Athletics vs. Giants, Game 3 of the Bay Bridge World Series, a festive time that in an instant would become a tragic one.

"I didn't really feel the quake at first,'' Bob Welch said a while ago. He was in the visiting clubhouse, getting liniment rubbed on his shoulder. He was five minutes from walking to the bullpen to warm up, to prepare for his start.

"I thought they were rolling barrels on the ramps above the clubhouse.''

On the other side, Dusty Baker, the Giants' batting coach at the time, didn't have any doubts. He knew it was an earthquake.

Up in the second deck at Candlestick Park, where the overflow media had been seated, an area of temporary desks, the so-called auxiliary press box, I also knew.

What no one knew was how severe it would be. How it would knock down freeways, dissect the World Series.

Twenty years ago. I still have the memories. I still have a copy of the column I wrote for the San Francisco Examiner a couple of days after the quake. Not the night of the quake, because there was no power in the city.

The Examiner and Chronicle, a joint-operating effort, couldn't print. The Oakland Tribune could. The San Jose Mercury could, but not the papers in the city where the tragedy occurred.

Rob Matwick is an exec with the Texas Rangers now. Twenty years ago he was public relations director for the Houston Astros, assigned as many of his colleagues to work the Series. He was adjacent to me when it sounded as if a fright train were running through the park.

"What's that?'' he asked. As Dusty, I'm a native Californian. "An earthquake,'' I answered. I'd spent all my life in the state, south and north. I know earthquakes.

"But,'' I wrote 20 years ago, "I've never known one like this before. Candlestick swayed like a ship on a stormy sea. The quake lasted maybe 15 seconds that seemed like an hour.

"And then it was over, and some 60,000 cheered. They were Californians. They were Giants fans. They were survivors. Surely this was a sign from nature: No harm, no foul. ‘Play ball, play ball,' they began to chant.''

The teams couldn't play. No power. No lights. No idea of what was happening.

Norm Sherry, the Giants pitching coach, was telling those on the field, "The Bay Bridge is down.'' I had one of those little battery-powered TV sets. The bridge was standing, but a section of the upper deck had dropped onto the lower deck.

In effect, the bottom had dropped out of the World Series.

"After it stopped,'' said Welch, who now lives in Arizona, "I still thought I was going to pitch. Actually, I thought about (Oct. 1) 1987, when my last start for the Dodgers, there was a 5.9 quake in L.A. that rolled me out of bed.''

This one, the Loma Prieta Quake, named for the fault some 65 miles southwest of San Francisco, was first called at 6.9 on the Richter scale, where the rating is logarithmic and not merely one step above the next.

Then it was revised to 7.1, the worst earthquake in Northern California since the infamous one of 1906, which along with a subsequent fire destroyed most of San Francisco.

There was a fire in the '89 quake too, centralized in the Marina District, and because of low pressure, water had to be pumped from the bay. A couple of days after the quake, Joe DiMaggio was in line with Marina residents to check on property owned by his family.

That first night was science-fiction eerie. All of San Francisco was pitch-black. No lights, no elevators, no television. The next afternoon, baseball commissioner Fay Vincent spoke to the media in a ballroom at the St. Francis Hotel lit only by candelabra, as in the 18th Century.

From Candlestick to candelabra in a matter of hours.

Dozens were killed by the quake, many under a collapsed freeway in Oakland, never to be rebuilt. Damage was in the billions.

Candlestick, windy, much-reviled Candlestick, built on a solid ground, held up except for broken hunks of cement here and there.

The A's, who had taken the first two games in Oakland, decided to dress at their park and bus across the bay, maybe 23 miles from stadium to stadium. Wives and families had come in their own transportation.

Mark McGwire helped his then-girlfriend from the stands. As the A's Stan Javier, years later to play for the Giants, helped his wife, Vera. Oakland's Terry Steinbach embraced his wife, Mary. The Giants' Kelly Downs, in a photo that would be on the cover of Sports Illustrated, carried a young relative to safety.

Jose Canseco would be seen gassing up his Porsche some place down the Peninsula from Candlestick. Who knew if the San Mateo Bridge, the next one south of the Bay Bridge were open -- it wasn't at first -- or even the Dumbarton Bridge?

Some wanted the World Series stopped right there. Vincent, alluding to Winston Churchill insisting the cinemas in London be kept open during blitz to create a sense of normalcy, intended to continue.

Ten days after the quake, with a group of rescue workers, police and firemen tossing out ceremonial first pitches, baseball was back. But not for long. The A's won two more and swept the Series.

Twenty years ago, a time of joy and grief.

As a reporter since 1960, Art Spander is a living treasure of sports history. A recipient of the Dick McCann Memorial Award -- given for his long and distinguished career covering professional football -- he has earned himself a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was recently honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the PGA of America for 2009.

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http://www1.realclearsports.com/articles/2009/10/16/no_forgetting_the_earthquake_world_series_96505.html
© RealClearSports 2009 

RealClearSports: Wooden Wins a Big One, No. 99

By Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com

He couldn't win the big one. That was the criticism of John Wooden. Fifty years ago.

Times change. Perceptions change. Integrity never changes.

Couldn't win the big one.

Wooden was in his formative years at UCLA, a team competent enough in the old Pacific Coast Conference and its successor, the AAWU. But in the tournament, there was USF with Bill Russell, or Santa Clara with Ken Sears, and the Bruins were eliminated.

Then they began to eliminate everybody else. Starting in 1964, UCLA won all the big ones, won 88 games in a row, won seven NCAA championships in a row, and John Wooden earned a reputation he's never lost as the finest college basketball coach in history.

The great man, the "Wizard of Westwood'' -- a phrase Wooden still dislikes; it came from the title of a book by Dwight Chapin and the late Jeff Prugh -- turns 99 today, October 14. Ninety-nine, one short of a century.

Sadly, he is looking his age, frail, fighting through one ailment after another, the sort of problems not uncommon to those who make it to their ninth decade.

Delightfully, he never acts his age. He hates being pushed in a wheelchair. Doesn't want to be fussed over.

"I'm embarrassed not being able to get around,'' he said a while back. "I don't like it.''

Who does? In our minds, it's always yesterday, always a time of youth, when we never imagined what the future would be, never dreamed those old guys would be us.

The India Rubber Man someone called Wooden. He was the All-America from Purdue in the early 1930s. He would hit the floor and bounce up. Then he would hit a basket.

He became an English teacher and a coach. No, he became The Coach. After serving as a naval lieutenant in World War II.

UCLA hired him from Indiana State in 1948. He headed west and almost headed back to Indiana. Life in southern California, call it the "Hollywood Effect,'' was unsettling. Wooden considered leaving not long after he arrived.

But he still was there when I entered in 1956, a freshman on the school paper, the Daily Bruin, sent to interview Wooden in less than elegant campus surroundings, a spartan office in a wooden bungalow maybe 150 yards from an antiquated gym so small (2,500 seats) and so closed-in it was, in a word-play on the Tennessee Williams drama, nicknamed "The Sweatbox Named Perspire.''

Wooden was polite if impatient. Businesslike. Efficient. The Pyramid of Success, now marketed, was attached to the wall. He had his ideas. When he would get his players, Walt Hazzard (Mahdi Abdul-Rahman) and Gail Goodrich, Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and Bill Walton, the ideas were brilliant.

Twenty-seven years, 10 NCAA titles, 620 wins, 147 defeats. UCLA finally got its building, Pauley Pavilion, in 1965, and Wooden finally got an office worthy of his status. But deep down, he was still the no-nonsense guy from Middle America.

For many years, Wooden has lived in an unpretentious San Fernando Valley condominium that is more museum than residence. Memories, homilies and most of all awards are on virtually every inch of the walls, atop every desk, table or trophy cabinet.

There is a letter from Richard Nixon, a bobblehead doll of Tommy Lasorda, a Yankees cap from Derek Jeter, a photo montage of John Stockton, of whom Wooden wistfully noted, "Was the last player in the NBA to wear shorts, not bloomers.''

He has books about Mother Teresa, a Medal of Freedom award from George W. Bush, a football autographed by Don Shula and, of course, photos of the UCLA teams he coached to titles before retiring in 1975.

"Nell arranged those pictures in the Pyramid of Success,'' explained Wooden, alluding to his wife, who died in 1985. "I didn't like that, but I wasn't going to change anything she did.''

Nell Riley was the only girl John Wooden of Martinsville, Indiana ever dated. There's a framed photo, leaning against a wall, of the two of them, John 16, Nell 16. The love of his life, to whom he still writes a letter the 21st of every month.

Her name is alongside his on the basketball floor at Pauley. It was the only way he would allow the court to be dedicated, to both of them.

Wooden is a baseball fan. He would come to UCLA games when they still played at a utilitarian facility on the land where Pauley was erected and harass the opponents, a classic "bench jockey,'' insulting but never obscene. Wooden can talk about Babe Ruth. Or about Barry Bonds.

John Wooden knew. John Wooden knows. In 99 years, he hasn't missed much. Including winning the big one.

As a reporter since 1960, Art Spander is a living treasure of sports history. A recipient of the Dick McCann Memorial Award -- given for his long and distinguished career covering professional football -- he has earned himself a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was recently honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the PGA of America for 2009.

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http://www1.realclearsports.com/articles/2009/10/14/wooden_wins_a_big_one_no_99_96503.html
© RealClearSports 2009

SF Examiner: The day the Battle of the Bay was rocked

By Art Spander
Special to The Examiner

It began with more sound than fury, a rumbling as if every fan at Candlestick Park was stomping their feet. Up in the second deck, where tables had been knocked together to serve as an auxiliary press box, the man alongside choked out a question.

“What’s that?” asked Rob Matwick, now an executive with the Texas Rangers.

Twenty years ago, he was the public relations director for the Houston Astros. He had never experienced what he was about to experience. Neither had anyone.

“An earthquake,” I answered flippantly.

Then as the grandstand vibrated and the noise exploded, Matwick, panicky, gasped, “Is it a bad one?” Soberly, I responded, “Yeah, it’s bad.”

We know the date: Oct. 17, 1989. We know the time: 5:04 p.m. We know the setting: Game 3 of the World Series between the Giants and A’s. We know the result, dozens killed, billions of dollars in damage, a Richter reading of 6.9.

Candlestick, nicknamed the “The ninth blunder of the world,” by the late, great Herb Caen, was a terrible place for baseball. “Blow it up,” was one man’s slogan. But when that quake hit, loathed, belittled Candlestick held firm. As do the memories across two decades.

When the quake stopped, the chanting started, “Play ball, play ball.” But they could not play. Power was out in The City. They would not play. The A’s and Giants were scattering from the clubhouses onto the diamond, looking into the stands for loved ones.

The first two games of what was nicknamed the Bay Bridge Series had been won, easily, by the A’s in Oakland. Someone had hung a bed sheet sign from the upper deck at Candlestick before Game 3: “I am the Giant. I will be heard.”

What we heard was a giant of another sort. One that tumbled freeways and severed a section of the Bay Bridge. One that had journalists wondering whether the 86th World Series should be resumed, which it was 10 days later.

The A’s had dressed at the Coliseum and traveled to San Francisco by bus. The quake created chaos. There was a famous photo of Jose Canseco in his uniform, pumping gas somewhere down the Peninsula, the car having been driven over by his wife at the time.

That first night San Francisco was dark, without any lights. Hotel elevators didn’t run. Visiting sportswriters hiked up pitch-black stairwells. The day after the quake, a candlelit press conference with baseball commissioner Fay Vincent was held at the St. Francis Hotel on Powell Street.

A few days later, Joe DiMaggio appeared in the rubble of the Marina district, waiting in line with others, to check on a residence owned by his family.

Baseball resumed Friday, Oct. 27. Ceremonial pitches were thrown by 12 public servants and rescue workers, one of whom, Steve Whipple, had seen Buck Helm alive in the wreckage of the Nimitz Freeway.

We sang, “San Francisco open your Golden Gate.” Someone held a sign, “Most Valuable Park, Candlestick, No Crumble Under Pressure.”

The Series was back, if not for long. The A’s swept. They were champions. It almost didn’t matter. We were survivors. Which did matter.

Art Spander has been covering Bay Area sports since 1965 and also writes on www.artspander.com and www.realclearsports.com. E-mail him at typoes@aol.com.

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http://www.sfexaminer.com/sports/Spander-The-day-the-Battle-of-the-Bay-was-rocked-64186587.html
Copyright 2009 SF Newspaper Company

SF Examiner: Spectacle of Presidents Cup comes to a close

By Art Spander
Special to The Examiner

And so the golfing gods depart, the marquees come down and Harding Park, the little muni that could, goes from Tiger and Phil to a lot of neighborhood Joes, which is as it should be on a public golf course.

The weather wasn’t quite what was expected — brrr! — the competition was less than hoped, but The Presidents Cup was four days of memories and birdies. That ain’t bad.

Once again the United States was a winner against the international team, this time 19½ points to 14½ — not exactly a shock when the top three players in the world rankings are Americans and they play like the top three players in the world rankings.

Tiger Woods, No. 1 on the list, was a winner in all five of his matches; Phil Mickelson, No. 2, had four wins and a tie; and No. 3 Steve Stricker was 4-1.

“That’s what you expect out of your No. 1 player in the world,” Greg Norman, the international team’s captain, said of Woods. “You need him to step up to the plate. And sometimes he hasn’t done that, [but] this time he did do it.”

This time he teamed with Stricker to win their two foursomes and two four-ball matches. And then Sunday on his own, in what some called revenge for the stunning outcome of the PGA Championship in August, Woods crushed Y.E. Yang of Korea 6 and 5 in one of the 12 singles.

When Lincecum and Cain pitch shutouts, the Giants can’t lose. When Mickelson and Tiger pitched virtual shutouts, the U.S. couldn’t lose.

“I needed him — it sounds stupid — to go 5-0,” Fred Couples, the U.S. captain, said of Tiger’s perfection. 

The event needed him to provide the cachet of a high-level attraction, which The Presidents Cup certainly was.

If San Francisco didn’t exactly need the match-play event to verify its status as a world-class city, it still was a welcome addition.

Big-time golf makes such infrequent appearances in the West — although the U.S. Open will be at Pebble Beach next year and San Francisco’s Olympic Club in 2012 — that The Presidents Cup became a special presence in The City.

Yes, there are cable cars that climb halfway to the stars, but how often do guys such as Tiger, Ernie Els and Geoff Ogilvy walk the fairways out beyond Twin Peaks?

America again had a home-nation advantage in winning the event for the sixth time in eight chances. But Norman, the Aussie who grew up playing Royal Melbourne — where the tournament will be in 2011 — pointed out that the Harding crowd gave support to the international team, if not as fully as to the U.S. squad.

“I think it was a 70-30 split,” Norman said. “That would be expected here in San Francisco. We have a lot of ex-pats from around the world. Asian nations are represented very well here. There were a lot of Australians, and I saw a lot of Canadians out there and a lot of South Africans wearing their rugby jerseys.”

If Norman was impressed with the gallery, he was no less impressed with the venue. “I think,” he said of Harding, “with just a few minor adjustments it could be a magnificent course worthy of holding a PGA or a U.S. Open championship.”

Norman has no idea whether he will be asked to repeat as captain, but everybody has the idea Ryo Ishikawa of Japan is going to be one of the game’s best. In a match crossing generations and cultures, the 18-year-old on Sunday beat America’s 49-year-old Kenny Perry, 2 and 1. Ishikawa had three wins and two defeats.

Sean O’Hair of the U.S. — who had been coached during the week by Michael Jordan on intensity, and by Tiger and Phil on putting — overwhelmed Ernie Els, winning 6 and 4.

“I always enjoy getting advice,” said O’Hair, the team’s rookie. “Tiger always has been a friend of mine, and it was good to play Saturday with Phil. I learned so much about reading greens.”

Mickelson, a 2 and 1 winner against Retief Goosen, was elated when his wife, Amy — receiving treatments near San Diego for breast cancer — arrived Saturday.

“That was awesome,” Mickelson said. “What a wonderful surprise.”

The way he, Tiger and Stricker played also was wonderful, but it hardly was a surprise. They’re the top three in world rankings. And they played like it.

Art Spander has been covering Bay Area sports since 1965 and also writes on www.artspander.com and www.realclearsports.com. E-mail him at typoes@aol.com.

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http://www.sfexaminer.com/sports/presidentscup/Spectacle-of-Presidents-Cup-comes-to-a-close-63976302.html
Copyright 2009 SF Newspaper Company 

SF Examiner: Stricker’s comeback lands him on Team Tiger

By Art Spander
Special to The Examiner

He’s seen as the other guy, the accompaniment to the main act, part of a twosome which some might consider a single. Steve Stricker was Tiger Woods’ partner in all four Presidents Cup team matches, an accessory, perhaps, also a necessity.

A man who almost left the game, Stricker, 42, has no ego problems. And of late, after twice winning the Comeback of the Year Award and this year having won three times and moving to third in the world rankings, no golf problems either.

The person assigned to join Tiger, especially in the alternate-shot, foursomes format, has to understand it’s not going to be a walk at Harding Park. The fans are there to see Woods. Saturday morning they were yelling, “Hey, Tiger.” No reference to Stricker.

But he and Tiger work well together. And when Tiger holes a 22-foot birdie putt 17 and then rips a 3-iron onto the green for his second shot on the 18th to set up Stricker’s eagle putt, Steve just smiles. “I have a front row seat,” said Stricker. “We all know what he does.”

What the two of them did was win the final two holes of the foursomes to beat Mike Weir and Tim Clark of the Internationals, 1 up.

When a few weeks back Stricker briefly was atop the standings of the FedEx Cup, eventually won by Tiger, Steve said, “We’re taking up space in [Tiger’s] world, but I’m thrilled to death to be playing how I’m playing.”

Especially after never finishing better than 151st on the PGA Tour money list from 2003-05.

His wife, Nicki, once his caddy, was home with their two young children. He was feeling sorry for himself, was ready to quit.

“I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do the rest of my life,” he said once. “I didn’t have the desire that I really needed to play this game ... Then at the end of the 2005 season, I went back to Tour school, didn’t make it and just kind of rededicated myself to work harder.”

Obviously, it worked far better than anyone might have imagined.

“I think we approach the game with the same mentality,” said Tiger of Stricker. “We just play it differently. I hit the ball a little farther. But our mentality and how we play and compete is exactly the same.”

Stricker, who grew up in Wisconsin but went to the University of Illinois, also has the right mental approach to be Tiger’s teammate.

“It’s been a blast,” said Stricker. “I hope he’s not sick of me.”

Nobody gets sick of winning.

Local legends make return to Harding

They had come home, in a sense, back to the course where long ago they had perfected the game. Ken Venturi and Johnny Miller were at Harding Park, for them a place of history and memories.

Each graduated from Lincoln High, a few miles away from Harding. Each had gone on to win a U.S. Open. Now Miller, 62, was working The Presidents Cup as NBC’s co-lead announcer with Dan Hicks, while Venturi, 78, was in attendance to observe and remember.

The trophy case inside the entrance to Harding’s Sandy Tatum clubhouse is dominated by the huge cup Venturi earned in the famous San Francisco City Championship of 1956, when he defeated E. Harvie Ward in a finals watched by 10,000 people.

Miller told the TV audience he used to fish in Lake Merced off the edge of the 18th hole, which for The Presidents Cup was played as the 15th hole.

“I followed him,” Miller said of Venturi who later was a commentator for CBS, “in his two careers, as a golfer and an announcer.”
Venturi, won the U.S. Open in 1964, the last year two rounds were held the final day, surviving 90-degree temperatures at Washington’s Congressional Club. Miller’s title came nine years later at Oakmont outside Pittsburgh.

It was fitting Venturi’s final tour victory was at the 1966 Lucky International at Harding, where his father once had been the pro. Miller never won at Harding but he did at Pebble Beach and Silverado in Napa.

On target

Despite an unseasonably cold, cloudy Saturday, another sellout crowd of some 28,000 — including Condoleezza Rice and former U.S. Open winner Juli Inkster — swarmed about Harding Park to watch The Presidents Cup. Support from Northern California sports fans has been overwhelming for this second of the five golf events promised to Harding Park over a 15-year span after $16 million was spent for improvements on the public course.

Who said it

Steve Stricker

Tiger Woods holed a 22-foot birdie putt on 17 in the morning after Steve Stricker’s relatively poor bunker shot and squared the match against Mike Weir and Tim Clark. Asked how he continues to come through, Woods quipped, “Luck.” Not exactly.  Stricker  said, “He kept telling me we are going to win. He was calling it all the way. Believing is one thing, and he pulled off some great shots at the end.”

Jim Furyk

“I love playing with Justin,” was Jim Furyk’s comment after he and Justin Leonard beat Ernie Els and Adam Scott, 4 and 2, in foursomes. “But we split up in the afternoon. We hit the ball so much alike. You need someone who plays totally different. Anthony [Kim] and I are two different people who get along great.” They also played strong against Scott and Angel Cabrera in four-ball.

Match to watch

Who else but Tiger Woods? Teaming with Steve Stricker, so far he is 4-0 in two foursomes, two fourballs. Today Tiger and the 23 others on both teams play singles, match play. Woods is 3-2 overall in five previous Presidents Cup singles, his losses coming in the last two Cups, to Retief Goosen of South Africa in 2005 and Mike Weir in 2007. After Saturday, he is 9-2-1 in foursomes, or alternate shot competition.

By the numbers

Total singles matches that will be played today: 12

Tiger Woods’ career Presidents Cup singles record entering today: 3-2

Vijay Singh’s career Presidents Cup singles record entering today: 1-4-2

To see The Examiner's complete coverage of the Presidents Cup go to http://www.sfexaminer.com/sports/presidentscup/

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http://www.sfexaminer.com/sports/Spander-Strickers-comeback-lands-him-on-Team-Tiger-63941002.html
Copyright 2009 SF Newspaper Company

SF Examiner: Leonard takes his shots

By Art Spander
Special to The Examiner

It was a matter of shots for Justin Leonard. The kind you hit. The kind you drink. Or make people think you’re drinking.

Leonard had a good Friday in the Presidents Cup. Teamed with Phil Mickelson to win their four-ball match at Harding Park. Helped the United States stay in front on Day 2, in effect ending up where it began, with three victories and three losses to the Internationals.

A lead that was 3 ½ -2 ½ after Thursday’s alternate shot foursomes was 6 1/2 to 5 ½ after Friday’s four-balls. A total of 17 /2 points is needed to win the Cup, which has five foursomes and five four-ball matches today and 12 singles Sunday.

Thursday, Leonard, a great putter, missed a 2-3 footer for a birdie on the 18th green, costing a victory and half a point. Leonard and Jim Furyk halving the match with Retief Goosen and Y.E. Yang.

“I was pretty mad at myself,’’ said Leonard. “Pretty upset. I went to the putting green and hit some putts and cooled off a bit. Then I told a little joke in the team to to let everybody know I was OK.’’

Then Leonard, not exactly known for his sense of humor, pulled a big joke. He had Furyk’s caddy, Fluff Cowan, line up glasses at the bar of what appeared to be vodka but was only water.

“I went in,’’ said Leonard, “slammed the door, threw my stuff down and walked over to the bar and took these five shots like they were nothing and then slammed a beer. The beer was real and tasted good.’’

His wife, Amanda, was in on it. Unlike some others.

“I think,’’ said Leonard, “a couple of wives thought, ‘Wow. He’s really into this.’ But it was all in good fun, and I just wanted to show everybody that I was good.’’

He was more than good.  He was excellent. With the match Friday all square after 12 holes, Mickelson won 13 with a birdie and then Leonard won 14 and 16 with birdies.

“”We had a great partnership,’’ said Mickelson. “He came back after finishing the way (he did) Thursday night. He showed a lot of heart today.’’

Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker showed a lot brilliance. They whipped the Internationals Geoff Ogilvy and Angel Cabrera, 5 and 3. After smashing Ogilvy and Reyo Ishikawa, 6 and 4, on Thursday.

“Steve and I get along well together,’’ said Woods. “In this format you have to make a bunch of birdies and we did most of the day.’’

Only once during the day did Tim Clark make eagle, a 3, but it came at 18 and gave him and Vijay Singh a 1 up win over Stewart Cink and Lucas Glover to keep the Internationals where they started, one point behind.

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http://www.sfexaminer.com/sports/presidentscup/Spander--63929577.html
Copyright 2009 SF Newspaper Company

RealClearSports: Tiger Is a Majority of One

By Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com

SAN FRANCISCO -- This is a team event. This is when golf makes it "us'' against "them,'' country against country, or more specifically in the Presidents Cup, one country, the United States, against a group of them combined, Australia and Japan, South Africa and South America.

And yet this four-day competition held at a muni course on the western edge of San Francisco, Harding Park, a muni course that is not very far from the San Andreas Fault and very near the Pacific Ocean is not much different than most tournaments.

It's all about Tiger Woods.

He's only one player on a 12-man American team, a group that includes Phil Mickelson, Steve Stricker and two of this year's major champions, Lucas Glover and Stewart Cink. But as always, Tiger is a majority of one.

He's the focus. He's the main man. In press conferences, where he's practically invisible behind a wall of television cameras. On the fairways, where his galleries dwarf those of other players.

Tiger brings them in. Michael Jordan, his pal, is an unofficial assistant captain, chosen by Fred Couples as much because he is Tiger's confidant as anything else, is at Harding. So is Barry Bonds, back in the area where he grew up and played. So is the great Jerry West, a scratch golfer himself.

The event is special. San Francisco knows its place among the globe's chosen cities. Narcissism is not exactly unknown among the citizenry. When there's news breaking, no matter what the story and where the location, the live shot is always of someone standing with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background. Unless it's the Bay Bridge in the background.

But this Presidents Cup is special. Because in the last 20 years, since the Earthquake World Series, there have been only two notable sporting events that actually took place in the region: the 1998 U.S. Open and the 2002 World Series.

And because Tiger Woods is playing.

He once went to school at Stanford, but that was 13 years ago, before the legend had been established. Tiger doesn't come around here very much any more. But he's here now. So is the Presidents Cup.

On Day 1, Thursday, Woods teamed with Steve Stricker, who might be described as the anti-Tiger. Stricker is pure Midwest, quiet, unassuming, content to play the game and earn his money. A good guy. A very good golfer. But not the sort who has fans chanting his name. As they chant Tiger's.

Northern California weather can be mysterious. You're familiar with the line that Mark Twain probably didn't say but no matter who did say it is wonderfully accurate, "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.''

Earlier in the week it was among the warmest autumns anyone had ever spent in San Francisco. But the fog and chill arrived just before the first tee time. So there was Tiger, who doesn't like long sleeves because they restrict his swing, in a long-sleeve sweater.

Bright red. For the U.S.A. But, as locals noted, for Stanford.

Team golf is a bizarre animal. There's four-ball or better ball, in which two guys from, say, the U.S. play two guys from the Internationals. All four balls are in play. And the golfer who takes the fewest strokes wins the hole for his team.

But on Thursday, the game was foursomes, or alternate shots. That meant Tiger hit the drive, then Stricker the next shot, then Tiger the next shot and so on until the one ball they were playing was holed out. It's a form of torture when your teammate hits into a bunker or the rough and you are forced to make up for his wildness.

When John McEnroe still was active, the toss-out line around tennis was that the best doubles team in the world was McEnroe and whoever was his partner that day. Same thing, in foursomes, with Tiger.

In the match-play format, meaning every hole is a separate entity and a match is over when one side leads by more holes than remain, Woods and Stricker overwhelmed Geoff Ogilvy and Ryo Ishikawa, 6 and 4. That's like beating someone by three touchdowns.

Woods now has the best foursomes record of anyone in the nine years of Presidents Cup play, eight wins, two losses and a half.

"I felt a little extra pressure going out today,'' said Stricker. "I was comfortable having Tiger as a partner, but I wanted to make sure he was comfortable having me as a partner because I didn't want to feel he had to hold up my end as well as his end.''

Tiger Woods will hold up both ends and the middle. He's a big reason the Presidents Cup is a sellout. He's a big reason the U.S. has the first-day lead.

"Where's Tiger?'' some breathless fan asked when he and Stricker were still in the distance.

Where's Tiger? Where he always is. By himself in the world of sport.

As a reporter since 1960, Art Spander is a living treasure of sports history. A recipient of the Dick McCann Memorial Award -- given for his long and distinguished career covering professional football -- he has earned himself a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was recently honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the PGA of America for 2009.

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© RealClearSports 2009

SF Examiner: Americans generate momentum early on

By Art Spander
Special to The Examiner

SAN FRANCISCO — It doesn’t get much better than this. For the world’s best golfers. For a muni called Harding Park. For a sellout crowd which knows this sort of an event may never come along again in San Francisco.

Day 1 of The Presidents Cup on Thursday offered more sunshine than expected, as many close matches as anticipated, not quite as much success from the International team as hoped and, naturally, a brilliant showing from one Eldrick “Tiger” Woods.

Tiger and Steve Stricker were anything but the odd couple in the foursomes, the alternate shot competition, crushing Geoff Ogilvy, the Australian, and Japan’s teenage “Shy Prince,” Ryo Ishikawa, 6 and 4.

They used to say the best tennis doubles team in the world was John McEnroe and anyone else. In foursomes, where one man hits a shot, and the other the next shot and so on until the ball in is in the hole, that would apply to Woods. He now is 8-2-1 in Presidents Cup foursomes.

“It’s just one of those things,” said Tiger, “where you’ve got to make birdies at the right time and make a lot of them.”
What the International team, the Aussies, Japanese, South Americans, South Africans, Koreans, Canadians and Fijians, didn’t do was win enough matches.

The Americans, despite a yanked putt by Justin Leonard on the final hole of the final match which dropped him and Jim Furyk into a tie, still took the lead 3½ points to 2½.

The Internationals have won only once in the previous eight competitions, and as Ogilvy of Australia had contended, to make this tournament a rivalry instead of an exhibition, the Internationals need to do something other than just show up. After Thursday, that probably isn’t going to happen.

“The game can be cruel,” said Greg Norman, the International captain — a man who having blown Masters tournaments and had a British Open and PGA snatched from him knows how cruel.

“We are not too despondent about today,” said Ernie Els, who combined with Adam Scott for one of the two International wins. “That’s one of the better starts we’d had, believe it or not, the last three Cups.”

At one of the better venues, according to Phil Mickelson of the U.S., who teamed with Anthony Kim for a 3 and 2 win over Mike Weir and Tim Clark.

“It’s a really wonderful course,” said Mickelson, “and it’s perfect for this event.”

There was an imperfection from someone in the gallery who, when Ogilvy was about to putt at three yelled, “Noonan,” a term from “Caddyshack,” which translates as “Miss it.”

“Tiger,” said Stricker, “did the classy thing and apologized.”

Why are we not surprised?

 

Celebrity turnout at Cup boosts energy

The people watching Thursday’s first round of The Presidents Cup were no less recognizable than the people playing. In the gallery or in a golf cart were, of course, Michael Jordan, who U.S. captain Fred Couples invited for moral support, fellow basketball superstar Jerry West and ex-Giant Barry Bonds.

Jordan has talked about going on the pro golf tour, and on Wednesday was teeing it up at Olympic Club, across the road from Harding Park where he returned Thursday. West was a scratch golfer at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles. Barry can play well enough.

“I think it’s good for the game of golf,” said Tiger Woods of the celebs, most of whom were watching Tiger and partner Steve Stricker. “The great sports figures have all come out here and supported golf. It couldn’t be any more positive than that.”

Phil Mickelson, a big-time fan, particularly of his hometown San Diego Chargers, said, “It’s cool to have those figures out supporting the game of golf, and it’s cool we could have somebody like Michael Jordan bring a lot to the table for our team.

“I think that shows the extent or the reach golf is starting to have.”

Bonds, who just finished his second year out of baseball, resides now in Beverly Hills but is a Bay Area native. “I’ll be here for the whole event,” was Barry’s Presidents Cup promise.

 

On target

Justin Leonard, remembered for the huge putt which gave the U.S. the lead in the 1999 Ryder Cup, missed a 3-foot birdie putt on the 18th green in Thursday’s final match. That cost the Americans the hole and dropped Leonard and partner Jim Fuyrk into a tie, all square, with Retief Goosen and Y.E. Yang, with each side getting half a point. Leading 2 up after 16, Leonard and Furyk lost both 17 and 18 to birdies.

 

Who said it

Tiger Woods
The No. 1-ranked golfer and Steve Stricker never trailed in scoring a 6 and 4 win over the Internationals’ Geoff Ogilvy and Ryo Ishikawa. “We didn’t give these guys a chance to get into the match,” Woods said after walking off the 14th green at Harding. “We put the hammer down pretty good.” They took the lead with a birdie at two, followed with a birdie at three and were at least two up the rest of the way.

Phil Mickelson
Lefty and Anthony Kim won the par-4 sixth hole with a bogey. Kim, driving, hooked the ball only 180 yards off the tee. Then Mike Weir, teamed with Tim Clark, bounced one off a cart path about 160 yards. “They hit a few more trees,” said Mickelson, “and when it was all said and done we both had 5-footers for bogeys. We made ours. They missed theirs.”

 

Match to watch

It’s fourball today, or better ball, with the low score from either player counting on each hole. The final grouping at 11:55 a.m., is Geoff Ogilvy and Angel Cabrera of the Internationals against Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker of the U.S. Stricker-Woods whipped Ogilvy-Ryo Ishikawa, 6 and 4, Thursday in foursomes, but Tiger has the most four-ball losses, seven, (he’s 3-7 overall) of anyone in Presidents Cup play.

 

By the numbers

3 Matches that went to the 18th hole Thursday
0 Holes Geoff Ogilvy and Ryo Ishikawa won against Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker
6 Birdies Woods and Stricker produced during their 6 and 4 victory

Art Spander has been covering Bay Area sports since 1965 and also writes on www.artspander.com and www.realclearsports.com. E-mail him at typoes@aol.com.

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SF Examiner: The City provides the ideal golf backdrop

By Art Spander
Special to The Examiner

SAN FRANCISCO — Enjoy it, Tiger, and Y.E., and Geoff. This is your week in the city that knows how, the city that takes on recessions and earthquakes and never quits, a city which thinks like a golfer two-down at the 17th tee: How are we going to hang in there?

This is your week and our week, a week to appreciate talent and celebrate sportsmanship.

What a brilliant blending, an “only in San Francisco” mix, millionaire athletes playing their game on a public course, Harding Park, a facility open to all in a city which is never closed to any.

We love our golf. We love our sports. We love our diversity.

That The Presidents Cup matches, which start Thursday, involve players from America and Australia, Korea and South Africa, Canada and South America, and Japan and Fiji, couldn’t be more appropriate for a region with dozens of cultures.

A region brought to life by pioneers who crossed the mountains and sailed around Cape Horn, by Latinos whose ancestors followed Father Serra, by Asians who crossed the sea to build railroads.

It’s different here by the Bay, by the Pacific, different in Oakland and Berkeley, different in Marin and San Jose. We’ve been there, done that, but we never can get enough.

We’ve had teams win Rose Bowls and Super Bowls, had U.S. Opens at the Olympic Club, saw Ben Hogan stunned by Jack Fleck, the Washington Bullets stunned by the Warriors. We’ve had World Series, including the most infamous of them all, 20 years ago, when we were shaken physically, but never shaken symbolically.

Now it’s 20 years after the A’s-Giants World Series, the Earthquake Series, and The Presidents Cup, with Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, Y.E. Yang and Geoff Ogilvy, arguably is the biggest sporting attraction in the Bay Area since then, along with the ’02 World Series and the ’98 U.S. Open at Olympic.

The weather is spectacular. The scenery is great.

“A beautiful place,” said Ogilvy, the Aussie who won the 2006 U.S. Open. “Stunning. We should play on the West Coast more often.”

The celebrities are impressive — President Bill Clinton and Michael Jordan for a start. During the practice round Wednesday, caddies for the U.S. squad wore jerseys from the Giants’ road uniforms, the grays with “San Francisco” on the front.

Steve Williams, Tiger’s guy, had No. 24. Not a bad twosome, T. Woods and Willie Mays. We do know how to put on a show, if a subtle one.

We have our faults: San Andreas, Loma Prieta. We have our priorities — right down the middle, guys.

No matter who wins this Presidents Cup, there will be no losers. In San Francisco there never are, no matter the final score.

Art Spander has been covering Bay Area sports since 1965 and also writes on www.artspander.com and www.realclearsports.com. E-mail him at typoes@aol.com.

Thursday’s matches

FOURSOMES

12:10 p.m.: Mike Weir and Tim Clark, International, vs. Anthony Kim and Phil Mickelson, United States 
12:22 p.m.: Adam Scott and Ernie Els, International, vs. Hunter Mahan and Sean O’Hair, United States 
12:34 p.m.: Vijay Singh and Robert Allenby, International, vs. Lucas Glover and Stewart Cink, United States 
12:46 p.m.: Angel Cabrera and Camilo Villegas, International, vs. Kenny Perry and Zach Johnson, United States 
12:58 p.m.: Geoff Ogilvy and Ryo Ishikawa, International, vs. Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker, United States 
1:10 p.m.: Retief Goosen and Y.E. Yang, International, vs. Jim Furyk and Justin Leonard, United States

To see The Examiner's complete coverage of the Presidents Cup go to http://www.sfexaminer.com/sports/presidentscup/

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RealClearSports: Favre's Too Old? Too Spectacular

By Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com

So do you still think Brett Favre should have retired?

Not a bad evening for the man. Too old? Too spectacular.

We worry about others more than about ourselves. We're always giving advice but rarely listening to advice. Maybe we should just shut up.

That goes for sports journalists, writers, announcers, former players. The whole lot of us virtually demanded Favre give it up. Insisted he was making a fool of himself, was embarrassing the NFL.

Favre didn't hurt anyone. If you don't include the Green Bay Packers.

He's a football player who wants to play football. Disingenuous? Flip-flopping? That's trivial stuff. The way he passed against Green Bay is not.

There's a lyric from "South Pacific,'' a show that even predates Brett Favre: "...So suppose a dame ain't bright or completely free from flaws, or as faithful as bird dog or as kind as Santa Claus. It's a waste of time to worry over things that they have not; be thankful for the things they've got.''

Be thankful for what Brett Favre still has, which is a remarkable ability to throw a football, an unfulfilled passion for competing at football.

He will be 40 before this week is finished. The term "graybeard'' is descriptive, not only a cliché reference. But he's young as springtime when he's given time in the pocket. When he can thread a ball through defenders.

The Packers didn't want him after the 2007 season, not under his terms. It was a painful separation. But once he took his leave, Favre was under no obligation to walk away from the game.

We carry images in our mind. We hated to see Joe Namath stumble when he spent that season with the Rams, winced when Johnny Unitas tried to hold on after he joined the Chargers. It's not so much what the veterans do to themselves, but what they do to us.

We want to remember the homecoming queen when she was 21, not when she was 61.

Yet Favre at 39 is as memorable as Favre at 29. A father could poke his 7-year-old Monday night, assuming the kid hadn't gone to sleep, and tell him, "You're watching history, son.'' Because Brett Favre indeed is history.

An athlete is only what he can produce, only what his body allows. It was Joe Montana, the great 49ers quarterback, the winner of four Super Bowls, who had a ready answer when someone asked why he didn't quit. "What do you have to prove?'' was what someone wanted to know from Joe.

Nothing, in effect. Except for himself, to himself.

"When I retire, I won't be coming back,'' Montana had explained. "I'm not like an accountant who can take a sabbatical. So I'm going to keep going as long as I feel like I can play and I enjoy it.''

No regrets. That's the essence. No wondering what might have been. Just do it until you no longer can do it. And then don't look back.

You know there are individuals who wanted Brett Favre to make a mess of things. Individuals who were aching to say, "I told you so.'' What are they saying now?

That despite their misgivings, their disenchantment, Brett Favre is a champion, a player who makes other players better, a player who makes teams better.

The Vikings knew all about Brett Favre. They had lost to him more than enough. They saw him as the one who could be the leader, be the winner. So far, they are correct in their assessment.

We can never be sure when an athlete is done. A change of scenery, a new outlook, a revised dedication may resuscitate a career. We're too eager to write an ending. There, it's over, so go about your business and get away from us.

A Sports Illustrated article by the wordsmith Selena Roberts questioned Tiger Woods' future. In a year when Tiger came back from knee surgery, a year when he won six tournaments but not a major, he suddenly was on the downside and probably never would catch Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 majors. What?

Tiger is only 33, and to conclude his golf had reached a plateau is wild thinking. Maybe Selena is right. Most likely she's wrong. Nicklaus himself went three years without a major and then started winning them again with great frequency.

Tiger's going to be around a long while. So is Brett Favre -- he looked brilliant against Green Bay, looked like someone who deserved to be given the chance to work his magic.

Tiger Woods didn't suddenly lose his touch. Brett Favre never may lose his touch.

The great ones need listen only to themselves.

As a reporter since 1960, Art Spander is a living treasure of sports history. A recipient of the Dick McCann Memorial Award -- given for his long and distinguished career covering professional football -- he has earned himself a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was recently honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the PGA of America for 2009.

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© RealClearSports 2009

SF Examiner: Show us a commitment to excellence, Mr. Davis

By Art Spander
Examiner Columnist

Send us a sign, Al. Give us a word, Al. Tell us “pride and poise” still has meaning, there truly is a commitment to excellence. That the Raiders — your franchise, Al Davis — is more than a punch line from Keith Olbermann.

Tell us you’re still in control, Al, that you’re distressed with the way the Raiders have played, embarrassed by what’s happened with your head coach, frustrated by the performance of your quarterback.

You’re a Hall of Famer, Al. You were responsible for the Raiders becoming champions, and responsible for the merger of the AFL and NFL — at least in part.

You saved the career of Jim Plunkett, extended the career of George Blanda. Your team won a Super Bowl years before the 49ers did.

Now the Raiders are a joke. Literally. Now, alluding to the contretemps up in Napa and the rout by Houston, Keith Olbermann goes on NBC and cracks, “Coach Tom Cable wouldn’t be blamed for thinking prison might be a good option.”

The Raiders have fallen into a black hole. Will they ever be extricated? If they couldn’t beat the Texans, how can they beat the New York Giants or Philadelphia Eagles? Or anyone?

What do you think of people taking shots at your team? Of your ex-QB Rich Gannon saying current QB JaMarcus Russell doesn’t have a clue? Of your almost backup QB, Jeff Garcia, trashing Russell and others with whom Jeff spent training camp?

Do you have the wrong personnel? The wrong philosophy? Is the style that worked so well in the 1970s and ’80s outdated? Or have the seasons of losing had such a negative effect that it doesn’t matter who the players are or what the system is?

JaMarcus keeps throwing balls over people’s heads and says, “I guess I must play better.” Darren McFadden gets injured. And then Tom Cable is investigated because of an alleged attack on one of his assistant coaches. Can it get any worse?

What’s going on in the executive suite? Are you irate? Are you resigned? Do you wonder what happened to the Mad Stork and John Vella? Do you wonder what happened to the good old days?

Wasn’t this the season everything would get better? The season JaMarcus matured? The defensive line would shut down the run? That you had answers to most of the questions?

You used to kid that the pro football draft was a kind of sporting socialism, that it helped the poor while penalizing the strong, and since the Raiders were among the strong it never was to their benefit. Now you’re among the downtrodden, always selecting high, as high as the very first pick when you took JaMarcus, yet it still hasn’t helped.

Will anything help? You’ve had five coaches in seven seasons. You’ve had 25 wins in seven seasons. The Raiders used to win 25 games in two seasons. The Raiders used to win division titles. The Raiders used to win respect.

Remember when people feared the Raiders, Al? Now they dismiss them with a sneer, with an off-handed remark by Keith Olbermann. Did it burn? Tell us, Al.

And then tell us when the agony is going to end. If it ever is going to end.

Art Spander has been covering Bay Area sports since 1965 and also writes on www.artspander.com and www.realclearsports.com. E-mail him at typoes@aol.com.

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Copyright 2009 SF Newspaper Company

SF Examiner: Presidents Cup: Lefty is doing everything right

By Art Spander
Special to The Examiner

SAN FRANCISCO — All that nonsense about Phil Mickelson, the rumors, the criticism, is somewhere in the past. This has been his year, even though he didn’t win as many times as that Tiger guy, even though, like Tiger, he didn’t win a major.

But Phil won many hearts and respect that may have been lacking.

We call 39-year-old Phil Mickelson “Lefty,” because he hits the ball left-handed, even though he is right-handed, which goes against the old golfing concepts.

In the past, natural lefties — Ben Hogan, Johnny Miller for a start — played right-handed because left-handed clubs were hard to come by and because there was a wives tale a left-handed golfer was at a disadvantage. Until Mickelson and Mike Weir, the only lefty to win a major was Bob Charles in the 1963 British Open.

When Mickelson was a tot, he mirrored his father’s right-handed swing and never changed. Now after 37 PGA Tour victories, including two Masters and a PGA, why would Mickelson ever switch? What has changed is others’ viewpoint toward Phil.

There was an absurd article in GQ magazine three years ago that Mickelson was among the 10 most hated athletes. By whom? Not the public.

If you heard tough, sarcastic New Yorkers cheering for him at Bethpage during the U.S. Open, you’d understand how much Mickelson is admired.

As we know, both his wife, Amy, and mother, Mary, underwent treatment for breast cancer during the summer. Phil skipped the British Open, returned for the PGA and all the while kept the faith. Then eight days ago, he won the Tour Championship and he posed for a photo next to Tiger Woods, who took the overall FedEx Cup.

Both will be on the American side in The Presidents Cup this weekend at Harding Park, Mickelson and the International team’s Vijay Singh the only golfers to play in the previous seven Cups. For Phil, it will be a 15th straight year of competing in either the Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup.

Phil was Tiger Woods before there was Tiger Woods, on magazine covers, winning a pro tournament as a collegian — not even Tiger did that — but once Woods arrived, Mickelson seemed to be chasing a ghost.

No matter what he did, it wasn’t what people thought he should do — especially since he was 0-for-48 before winning a major — or what Tiger did. And when Woods and Mickelson were paired in the ’04 Ryder Cup, Phil was blamed for the twosome’s failings.

Now we’re past that. We’re past Phil’s 0-5-0 mark at the 2003 Presidents Cup. Now Phil ranks No. 2 in the world. Lefty is all right.

 

Singh’s issues with putting resurface

He’s won 21 tournaments after the age of 40, more than anyone, including Sam Snead. And his former caddy Paul Tesori, who has a major role in the brief history of The Presidents Cup once predicted Vijay Singh would be competitive into his mid 50s.

But Singh is 46 and, with only three top 10 finishes this year, the best of those a sixth at the Crowne Plaza Invitational, he appears to be losing ground. The putting problems he overcame to win three majors have returned.

A contender halfway through the PGA Championship in August, Singh shot 75 the third day, missing several short putts.

Vijay, from Fiji but a longtime resident of Florida, has played for the Internationals all seven previous Presidents Cups, been in more matches than anyone and has an overall record of 14-15-6.

But Vijay is best remembered for an incident in the 2000 Cup.

Tesori, a good enough player to have earned a Tour card in 1996, was caddying for Singh.

For a match with Vijay and Ernie Els against Tiger Woods and former Stanford teammate Notah Begay, Tesori wore a hat on which he had written “Tiger Who.” Woods and Begay won, 1 up.

After 2007, Singh dropped Tesori. It’s doubtful Tesori will put “Vijay Who” on his cap.

 

On target

Course superintendents, like umpires, seemingly are only noticed when things go wrong. Nine of Harding’s greens were burned when too much fertilizer was applied in the beginning of August and word was the course would not be ready. “It has been blown out of proportion,” said Wayne Kappelman, Harding’s superintendent. “It was repaired within a week, and all 18 greens are in great shape. The course is where it should be.”

 

Newsmakers

Adam Scott
A year ago, the Australian was No. 3 in the world rankings. Then, after months of injuries and other woes, he was No. 53 
and figured he had no chance of making the International team. But Greg Norman — also an Aussie — made Scott one of his two captain’s picks, saying, “At the end of the day he’s got the playing skills ... what he can bring to the locker room, he was a logical choice.”

Tiger Woods
The world’s top-ranked golfer had an uphill 15-foot putt, with darkness settling in, to stay in the match during a unique sudden-death playoff for the trophy against homeboy Ernie Els at the end of the ’03 Cup in South Africa. “If you missed,” Woods said, “you let your teammates down, your captain down, all the wives and girlfriends. It was one of the most nerve-wracking moments of my life.” He made the putt. Then it was agreed the U.S. and International teams would share the trophy.

 

Hole to watch

No. 15, 468 yards, par 4 
This played as the closing hole in the 2005 World Golf Championship and is normally the 18th when the course is used for public play. The tee shot must carry Lake Merced and a stand of tall trees, yet anything to the right is likely to find two large, fairway bunkers. Once in the fairway, the approach is to a green that is pitched subtly from back to front. Anything short could spin back toward the fairway.

 

Sports by numbers

14-15-6 Vijay Singh’s career Presidents Cup record
13-11-1 Tiger Woods’ career Presidents Cup record

 
5 Total players who will be competing in their first Presidents Cup

 

Schedule of events

TUESDAY
8 a.m. — Gates open to public for practice rounds

WEDNESDAY
8 a.m. — Gates open to public for practice rounds
4 p.m. — Opening ceremonies

THURSDAY
9 a.m. — Gates open to public
11:30 a.m. — Foursome matches
TV — Golf Channel

FRIDAY
9 a.m. — Gates open to public
11:55 a.m. — Four-ball matches
TV — Golf Channel

SATURDAY
6:30 a.m. — Gates open to public
7:30 a.m. — Foursome matches 
12:05 p.m. — Four-ball matches
TV — NBC (KNTV, Ch. 11)

SUNDAY
7:30 a.m. — Gates open to public
9:25 a.m. — Singles matches
TBD— Closing ceremonies (30 minutes after play ends)
TV — NBC (KNTV, Ch. 11)

Art Spander has been covering Bay Area sports since 1965 and also writes on www.artspander.com and www.realclearsports.com. E-mail him at typoes@aol.com.

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[ArtSpander.com Exclusive] Singletary’s caution being swept away in excitement

SAN FRANCISCO -- The head coach is acting like a head coach, wary, cautious. Do not get too excited, Mike Singletary is saying in so many words. It’s like telling a rooster not to crow at a sunrise. We’re not listening.

We’re watching, watching as the San Francisco 49ers return to the past; watching as linebacker Patrick Willis plays the way Mike Singletary once played; watching as the NFC West is turned upside down and the Niners turn into a team that, even if it can’t do it all, does enough.

Do not get too excited. That’s always the mantra of coaches. The team must get better, must work harder. Look at how the Niners started on Sunday against the dreadful St. Louis Rams. They were “fortunate’’ to get a first half touchdown.

But look at how the Niners finished, with a 35-0 victory -- their first shutout since the end of the 2001 season, 119 games.

But look at how the Niners finished, with a 3-1 record in the first quarter of the season, a victory over every other team in the NFC West.

But look at how the Niners finished, with a belief that even when they are less than perfect, even when All-Pro running back Frank Gore is missing because of an injury, even when they only have 228 yards in total offense, they can be successful.

Not in seven seasons, 2002, the last time they were in the playoffs, have the Niners been 3-1. Not in a long while have the Niners had a linebacker such as Willis, who in the fourth game of his third year had five tackles, three assists, two and a half sacks and a 23-yard interception return for a touchdown.

“Wow,’’ was the response from Singletary, a Hall of Famer, about Willis. “Wow is the only thing I can say, because he has so much talent. He just has to put his talent and knowledge together, and that’s where he is going to take it to the next level.’’

The 49ers already have reached the next level. Not the level of the Steelers and Patriots and Colts, but to a position they haven’t been in for seven seasons, where performance equals dreams, where respectability replaces regret.

Not because they defeated a Rams team that has been blanked in two of its four games, a Rams team that has scored only 24 points in four games. But because even when the Niners had their problems on offense, they were excellent on defense.

They were efficient, a term the late Bill Walsh used when he was pleased with a result.

Singletary is in his first year as full-time coach, having been elevated from the interim status given last season when he replaced Mike Nolan. There are no one-liners from Singletary, no routines. Just the simple, understated concept of hitting your opponent harder than he hits you.

“We don’t want any team coming in here and setting the tempo,’’ Singletary said when asked about his advice at halftime to a Niner team that led only 7-0, and only because the Rams fumbled a punt in the end zone.

“We want to set the tempo. We were not doing that. I had to remind ourselves this is our house.’’

Willis is their gem. So often we hear about high draft picks who are busts. Willis, to the contrary, has met all the expectations and met a great number of running backs head-on.

Someone wondered of Singletary, who some two decades ago was the middle of the champion Chicago Bears defense, if he ever had a game with the statistics Willis compiled against the Rams.

“Not an interception returned for a touchdown,’’ said the coach. “Those didn’t come very often, hands like rocks.’’

Those who a month ago suggested the Niners, without a winning season since ’02, would be atop the NFC West after the first month would have been judged to have rocks in their heads. Yet that is what has happened.

“That is our goal,’’ said Singletary, “to win the division. But that is not our goal. When you look at NFC West, a lot of people think it’s a weak division, but I don’t think that’s the case. We want to be one of the best teams in the NFL. But as we go forward, the most important thing right now is to win the division.’’

To do that, Gore, with a bad foot, must return soon. To do that, quarterback Shaun Hill must not get sacked four times. To do that, Patrick Willis and others on the defense, Manny Lawson, Takeo Spikes, must play as they did Sunday, limiting the Rams to 82 yards passing and 95 rushing.

“I think,’’ said Singletary, “our defense right now, we’re making plays. We’re headed in the right direction, but I want to make sure our guys understand we still need to improve. Did they do a good job? Yes, they did. Can we get much better? Absolutely.

“It’s a good sign we can generate points somewhere else, but at the same time, you say, ‘OK. Once our offense gets set, we’re really going to make some strides. ’’’

The excitement is building. Be careful Mike Singletary doesn’t find out.

L.A. Daily News: USC serves notice they aren't done in Pac-10 yet

By Art Spander
Special to the Daily News

BERKELEY — There's your answer: USC. Next question.

This wasn't a game, it was a reminder. When the Trojans put their minds to it, they also put an end to it. They certainly put an end to any thought Cal is in their league, figuratively that is.

Even if the Golden Bears are in the Pac-10. they no longer are in the Pac-10 race, not after the way USC crushed them 30-3.

Not the way USC crushed any hopes that the Trojans would be less than expected this season, even with the annual upset to a lesser light, this one to Washington.

That was an aberration. That was tradition. That was not an indication.

But this romp over Cal on a cool windy Saturday evening in front of a sellout crowd of 71,799 at Memorial Stadium was more than an indication. Whatever was wrong with Trojans at Seattle has been corrected, in a very big way.

"The way we moved the ball around was great," said USC coach Pete Carroll after his sixth straight win over Cal. "(Freshman quarterback Matt Barkley) played football like a real football player. Matt is our guy. We' re growing game by game."

Cal, which was supposed to challenge USC for the conference title, which two weekends ago was ranked No. 6 in The Associated Press poll, is getting worse game by game.

A week ago it took a 3-0 lead in the opening minute and then was whipped 42-3 by Oregon.

Against USC, the Bears threw an interception in the end zone with a minute gone and then were shut out for the next 49 minutes, or a total of 108 minutes going back the first 60 seconds at Eugene. Cal hasn't scored a touchdown in two games.

"Our defense," Carroll said to nobody's surprise, "was tremendous."

The opening three games, Cal's Jahvid Best had rushed for 412 yards and scored eight touchdowns. He was being promoted as a genuine Heisman Trophy candidate. But he gained only 55 in 16 carries at Oregon and less than that, 49 yards in 14 attempts, against a USC defense which some thought questionable.

"We attacked the running game," Carroll said, "and when they tried to pass we had pressure from the front."

So, for the first time in his eight seasons as Cal coach, Jeff Tedford has gone winless in his first two conference games.

The Bears appeared to play scared, or at least trying to keep the score close. Trailing 20-0 with some two and a half minutes left in the half and the ball on its own 38, fourth and one, Cal punted.

The boos were comparable to those USC fans offered at the Coliseum against Washington State.

Then, when Cal attempted, and missed, a field goal from USC's 21-yard line, with seven seconds left in the half, the boos were even louder.

Expectations had become disgust.

"Give USC credit," Tedford said. "They are a great football team. Their defense is one of the best in the country. We didn't execute very well in the passing game. But we can't be one-dimensional. We have to throw the football in order to be successful.

"We were zero-dimensional today, because we couldn't run it and we couldn't throw it."

The Bears were virtually zero on the scoreboard too, with only a 29-yard field goal with 4 minutes 15 seconds remaining preventing the shutout.

Barkley, who was at Mater Dei High in Santa Ana a year ago, was efficient, completing 20 of 35 for 283 yards, one of those passes for 56 yards to fullback Stanley Havili on the first play of USC's second possession.

The Trojans had been knocked because they had the worst third-down percentage in the Pac-10, 11 of 44, but they were 6 of 15 against Cal, and started on the first series.

"Third down is a big down," agreed Barkley. "We stretched (Cal's defense), and our guys did a great job of getting open. I think the coaches have had faith in me the whole time, but they've decided to open the playbook now.

"We think we're the best team in the Pac-10. We don't worry about anybody else."

Now everybody else has to worry about USC.

As everybody has forever.

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http://www.dailynews.com/sports/ci_13481905
Copyright ©2009 Los Angeles Newspaper Group

RealClearSports: A Good Man Takes His Leave

By Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com

SAN FRANCISCO -- He came to the plate in the second inning, the beginning of the end as it were, and the fans at the San Francisco Giants' final home game of 2009, Rich Aurilia's final home game with the Giants, began to stand and cheer. And there were tears in the man's eyes.

This last season with the Giants, this 11th season of the 15 years he has been in the majors, was less than hoped for Aurilia. His bat had slowed. His average had dropped to .215. All that didn't matter to the crowd.

They were saying goodbye. They were showing class to a player who never showed anything but class.

Aurilia wasn't Barry Bonds. Aurilia isn't Albert Pujols. But he was an All-Star when he had a 203-hit season in 2001. And as the Giants' Bruce Bochy, who managed against Aurilia and managed with Aurilia, would say, even when facing teams with Bonds and Jeff Kent, "Aurilia was the guy you didn't want up there.''

Now, on this Wednesday afternoon, with the sun shining, the bay a delightful blue and autumn nowhere in sight or in mind, Aurilia, at age 38, was the guy up there, and the crowd up on its feet.

Aurilia was the reminder of the way it was, the last player remaining from the 2002 World Series team. He had left, gone, to Seattle, San Diego, Cincinnati and then, because he still was able to help and because he never complained, he had returned in 2007 to back up at shortstop, third base, first base.

"He did a great job of accepting his role,'' said Bochy, who on Wednesday put Aurilia, the one-time kid from Brooklyn, who went to Xavarian High and St. John's University,  as did the great Chris Mullin, into the starting lineup for the first time since July 17.

It was a grand gesture, appreciated by Aurilia, appreciated by the fans, and before the day was done, and the Giants had beaten the Arizona Diamondbacks, 7-3, Aurilia would get two more standing O's and a curtain call. Even though he went 0-for-4.

It was his 1,291st game with the Giants. His last home game with the Giants. And when he went to play first in the top of the ninth, he put on sunglasses so nobody would know he was crying. Then, Bochy removed him, as was proper, and then more cheers.

It was a day for nostalgia. Randy Johnson pitched the ninth inning for San Francisco -- and having reached his 46th birthday in September, who knows if he's reached the end of the line.

Aurilia is unsure of whether he'll try for another team or just retire. He wanted just one last base hit. A blooper to center in the eighth was caught. "I thought I hit it just soft enough,'' he said, "and cracked my bat enough for it to fall in there, but it was just not meant to be.''

Nor was one more chance for the postseason. The Giants were better than expected, already reaching 86 wins, after only 72 in 2008, but they weren't quite good enough to get to the playoffs.

"That's the only thing I could have wished for me,'' said Aurilia, "that we were still in the race. But it's been a great ride, and I have great memories. I'm thankful Bochy put me in there and let me have a a day like that, because it's something I'll never forget.

"That first (ovation) surprised me. I guess they had been reading the papers knowing this would be my last game here. It's been an honor to be here, an honor to wear that uniform with 'Giants' across it the majority of my career.''

He'll go home to Arizona, near the Giants' spring complex, and then sort out what's ahead. "I know I won't be back here as a player,'' he confirmed, "and that's OK. But I know I have relationships here I'll keep forever, and there could be a spot in the organization if I decide to come back.''

Asked his most powerful memories, they were less about himself than about teammates.

"A lot of them were when I was on deck,'' he explained. "I was on deck when Brian Johnson homered (in the 12th against the Dodgers) in 1997; on deck when J.T. (Snow) homered in the 2000 playoffs off (the Mets) Armando Benitez; on deck when we clinched the NLCS (in '02) to go to the World Series.

"I guess that makes me a good teammate, because all my memories that are great have nothing to do with what I've done but with us winning.''

Nothing wrong with that. Everything right with Rich Aurilia.

As a reporter since 1960, Art Spander is a living treasure of sports history. A recipient of the Dick McCann Memorial Award -- given for his long and distinguished career covering professional football -- he has earned himself a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was recently honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the PGA of America for 2009.

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http://www1.realclearsports.com/articles/2009/10/02/a_good_man_takes_his_leave_96492.html
© RealClearSports 2009

SF Examiner: Presidents Cup is a different kind of fall classic

By Art Spander
Special to The Examiner

SAN FRANCISCO — This one will be our World Series since that’s not in the picture at the moment, our fall classic.

This one will be a prize for Sandy Tatum, the 89-year-old attorney who saw beauty in a run-down muni course.

This one will be a chance for us to get a different look at a city often covered by fog and hidden under political rhetoric.

This one is The Presidents Cup, the tournament where Tiger and Phil are teammates, not opponents, where Greg Norman calls the shots instead of hitting them, where, for a few days, golf grabs headlines that in October usually go to the Niners, Raiders, Cal or Stanford. 

Harding Park used to be San Francisco’s pride, a place Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus all played, a place native San Franciscans Ken Venturi and Johnny Miller — both U.S. Open champions — developed their games.

Named for the 29th president, Warren Harding, who died while visiting San Francisco in 1923, the course was a beauty. Then she became ragged, unappealing.

Tatum, once president of the U.S. Golf Association, led a campaign for restoration, PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem saw a chance to have the game return to The City, and $16 million later the project was completed, better than anyone might imagine.

Finchem promised five events over 15 years. The first was the 2005 American Express Championship, in which Tiger Woods beat John Daly in a playoff.

The second is this eighth Presidents Cup, matching teams from the United States and the rest of the world excluding Europe, which battles America in the Ryder Cup.

Harding is out on San Francisco’s western edge, across the road from the more famous, but not necessarily more admired, Olympic Club, site of four U.S. Opens and a scheduled fifth in 2012.

During the 2005 Am Ex, when told Harding was used as a parking lot for the ’98 Open at Olympic, John Daly cracked, “They should have held the Open at Harding and parked cars at Olympic.”

Twelve men a side in The Presidents Cup, Woods, Mickelson, Steve Stricker, Kenny Perry, Stewart Cink, among those on the American team, Ernie Els, Angel Cabrera, Geoff Ogilvy and Y.E. Yang, the man who beat Tiger, on the Internationals.

The U.S. captain is Fred Couples, while Norman heads the other squad. Competition, starting Thursday, consists of 34 matches, 
11 foursomes (alternate shot), 11 four-ball (or better ball) and 12 singles.

No World Series, but world class golfers. It could be worse. It couldn’t be much better.

Els makes long, strange trip to town

A week ago, he was in Atlanta for the Tour Championship. Next week, he’ll be in San Francisco for the Presidents Cup.

This week, however, Ernie Els is in Scotland for the Albert Dunhill Championship, not exactly taking the most direct route from Point A to Point B.

“This tournament has been so dear to my dad and me over the years,” said Els of the Dunhill, where he pairs with his father in the pro-am.

“We’ve played in it many times and we’ve made the cut through to the final day in all but one of the years. It’s a great time for me — you know, to be at the Home of Golf with my dad. We don’t get to see each other as much as we’d like, and when we play golf we can really relax and enjoy it.”

Els has played in five of the seven previous Presidents Cups. In 2003, when it was played in his homeland, South Africa, Els and Tiger Woods started to face each other to break a tie, but then captains Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player agreed to share the trophy.

As far as going from the Georgia to Scotland to California, Els, who turns 40 on Oct. 17, said, “I’ll give the Heinekens a week off. I’ve got a G-5. It flies straight in. I’ll do a lot of sleeping, a lot of resting. It’s just the [8-hour] time change, that’s all.”

On target

The Americans are considered the favorites, based on recent history and world rankings. It has the current version of the “Big Three” — Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Steve Stricker, not only ranked Nos. 1-2-3, but winners of the last three playoff events on the PGA Tour. It has five of the top 10 players in the world, and it’s lowest-ranked player is Justin Leonard at No. 37.

Newsmakers

Harding Park
The golf course’s most picturesque hole is the par-4 18th, requiring a drive over the corner of Lake Merced. But Mike Bodney, the PGA Tour’s senior V.P. of The Presidents Cup, said statistics showed a typical match ends on the 17th hole. So, Harding was rerouted with numerous hole changes, among those the 18th becoming the 15th hole, the 10th the first, the first the 16th and ninth the 18th.

Geoff Ogilvy
If The Presidents Cup, held only seven times previously, lacks the tension of the Ryder Cup, which began in 1927, that’s understandable. America didn’t really care about the Ryder Cup until it started losing to the Great Britain-Europe teams. The Australian Ogilvy sees that as a solution for The Presidents Cup, pointing out, “It’s going to take the International team winning a few times to annoy the U.S. and get them geared up like they are in the Ryder Cup.”

Match play

A closer look The Presidents Cup is match play. Low score wins the hole. If each team has the same score, a hole is halved. As an example, should the U.S. make par on the first hole and the International team bogey, the U.S. is 1 up. If the Internationals then make bogey on the second hole and the U.S. double bogeys, the match is even. A match ends when one side is farther ahead than holes remaining.

By the numbers

606 Length of the fifth hole in yards, the longest on the course

164 Length of the 14th hole in yards, the shortest on the course

7,137 Total length of course in yards

Art Spander has been covering Bay Area sports since 1965 and also writes on www.artspander.com and www.realclearsports.com. E-mail him at typoes@aol.com.

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http://www.sfexaminer.com/sports/Spander-Presidents-Cup-is-a-different-kind-of-fall-classic-63220002.html
Copyright 2009 SF Newspaper Company

RealClearSports: With Raiders, Nothing Ever Changes

By Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com

OAKLAND -- The coach said he is to blame. "To me, this is on Tom Cable,'' explained Tom Cable. No less is it on Al Davis, the man who hired Cable. Al Davis, who repeatedly has proclaimed, "I am the Oakland Raiders.'' So maybe Al Davis is to blame.

The Raiders are a team with convoluted priorities. They can't stop the run, but management put much of its effort in stopping a former player turned critic from attending practice.

They can't get the ball into the end zone, but in the post-game locker room they can get into the face of a journalist asking a legit question.

The Raiders are 1-2 after three games. It's going to get worse. They play at Houston, but then they play the New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Jets and San Diego Chargers. It's going to get worse, but after the last week, in a way, it couldn't get much worse.

The 23-3 loss on Sunday to Denver, in Oakland, almost was incidental. A game, a defeat. It happens.

What also happened was a Raiders assistant reportedly told the police in Napa, where the team holds camp, that Cable punched him and broke his jaw on Aug. 5.

What also happened was CBS analyst Rich Gannon, the last person to play quarterback for a Raider team with a winning record, was banned from the team facility for knocking the current quarterback, JaMarcus Russell.

What also happened was Lowell Cohn, a columnist from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, asked Richard Seymour, the guy the Raiders obtained in a trade from New England, whether he was assessed a personal foul for pulling the hair of the Broncos' Ryan Clady. Seymour grew belligerent, and a Raider official then started arguing with Cohn.

What also happened was the Raiders were some 18,000 seats short of a sellout, so there was no local television of the game in which the Broncos gained 372 yards to Oakland's 127.

Paranoia runs deep. Stole that line from Buffalo Springfield, a rock group that was together briefly in the late 1960s. That was a time when the Raiders used to be successful, a time when Davis didn't worry about what was written or said, just about his team performing.

Al is the creator of the phrase "Just win, baby,'' which in effect proclaims, who cares what the rest of the world thinks, just get more points than the other team. These days, however, the Raiders management, if not the athletes, care about the wrong things.

Russell, the quarterback, is in his third season. He was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 NFL draft. He's big, strong and throws interceptions. But he was Davis' selection, so he'll remain as a starter, maybe improving, maybe not.

Presumably Cable will remain as head coach. He's also Davis' selection, installed last season when Lane Kiffin was uninstalled.

Cable is either a cockeyed optimist or delusional. "We're just around the corner from where we want to be,'' was his comment. "It's right there in front of us.''

Right there behind him is the training camp incident. According to NFL.com, defensive assistant Randy Hanson told police he was struck by Cable, and the result was the broken jaw. Hanson's attorney, John McGuinn, called it "a classic case of felony assault.''

The Raiders are a classic case of incompetence. They haven't had a winning year since 2002, when they went to the Super Bowl and Gannon was their leader. But now he's persona non grata because Rich said the team "should just blow up the building and start over.''

Gannon finally was allowed on the property, after CBS whined to the NFL, and he definitely was at the Oakland Coliseum to watch the Raiders get pummeled by the Broncos. Probably had to choke back a few giggles.

But the Raiders are no laughing matter. Since '02, six plus seasons, they've had five coaches and 25 wins, no more than five in any of the six full seasons. When Russell threw his two interceptions in the first quarter against Denver, the fans, the faithful, started booing and never stopped.

"I have to have faith in the guy,'' said Cable of Russell. "His growth has been extreme regarding his work effort. He's just not consistent. He's part of the 10 percent of the team that has to bring his level up to the 90 percent which is performing.''

Then the coach pointed out, "Everything can be fixed, and if not it has to be changed.''

With the Raiders, little's been fixed, if anything, and nothing ever changes.

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http://www1.realclearsports.com/articles/2009/09/29/with_raiders_nothing_ever_changes_96491.html

© RealClearSports 2009

SF Examiner: Another Oakland athlete turns sour

By Art Spander
Special to The Examiner

OAKLAND — “Hello, vultures.” It was Stephen Jackson, the “get-me-out-of-here” guy getting in here with a welcome to the fifth estate, which is not to be confused with the four corners.

A few weeks back, Jackson said he wanted the Warriors to trade him and, subsequently, was fined $25,000 by the league for “statements detrimental to the NBA.”

But here it was media day — pro basketball is back — and here was Jackson, drawing a crowd seemingly larger than the one Sunday at the Coliseum for the Raiders.

Richard Seymour of the Raiders draws a personal foul for tugging at an opponent’s braids, and when asked about the incident by a columnist, grows belligerent. Seymour pulled a player’s hair, but didn’t like it when someone else pulled his own chain.

Then a day later, Jackson walks into the party, to borrow a line from Carly Simon, like he was walking onto a yacht, smug, smiling and when persuaded, truthful.

He knew full well he was the Warriors’ story and after some feigned indifference — “I already answered, so don’t ask me” — spent a good half hour telling the story, long enough to break your heart or your bankbook.

What happens to these athletes in Oakland? Are they stricken with Transpontine Madness? Is it being based adjacent to Berkeley?

Is it the new parking rates, a ripoff as big as Jackson’s fine?

Why did Matt Holliday bat zilch when he was with the A’s and turn into another Stan Musial with the St. Louis Cardinals? How come Seymour gets into a Raiders uniform and then gets into an argument? And why did Jackson receive a little $27 million bump in his salary and then attempt to flee?

Jackson’s explanation is that outside of him, the Warriors aren’t very good, but he said it in more gentle prose.

“We’re not getting any better,” was his analysis, followed immediately by, “No disrespect to all the guys on the team, and I’m not saying the job couldn’t get done with them.”

Thanks, Stephen. Such reassurance. No wonder you were chosen captain.

Jackson thought he could get it done with Baron Davis, pal Al Harrington and Jason Richardson, each of whom has been traded in the Warriors’ never-ending quest for instability.

They all were on the team when the Warriors in 2006-07 made the playoffs for the first time in 13 years and the only time in 15 years. Now it’s Jackson his own self, and uncomfortably at that.

“I know I had a big part in getting this organization back to the winning attitude, if not the biggest part, and every year I lost somebody that I felt helped me with that,” Jackson said.

Jackson said he stands by his attempt to get out of town.

“Even though I made the statements I made,” he advised, “I’m going to come here and play like I didn’t make them. I’m not going to lie down for nobody, even though we’ve been taking steps backward every year.”

Almost makes you want to tear your hair out. Oh, sorry, Mr. Seymour.

Art Spander has been covering Bay Area sports since 1965 and also writes on www.artspander.com and www.realclearsports.com. E-mail him at typoes@aol.com.

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http://www.sfexaminer.com/sports/Spander-Another-Oakland-athlete-turns-sour-62797762.html
Copyright 2009 SF Newspaper Company 

[ArtSpander.com Exclusive] Raiders end a demoralizing week

OAKLAND -- Another one of those days for the Oakland Raiders, with mistakes mounting and pressure building, and a post-game confrontation. A perfect conclusion, if you will, to another one of those weeks.

Rich Gannon was in the house Sunday, working with CBS-TV, observing and commenting on a game that the Raiders’ head coach understandably called disappointing, because it was. In fact, it was worse than that. It was demoralizing.

That’s the very same Rich Gannon who threw five interceptions for the Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII, or three more than JaMarcus Russell threw Sunday for Oakland. The very same Rich Gannon who had been banned from attending Raiders practice at the end of the week because he had knocked Russell for, well, doing what seemingly Russell can’t stop doing, missing receivers.

The Denver Broncos, however, didn’t miss a chance to take advantage of the Raiders, aka Team Chaos, winning 23-3. Yes, the game was that one-sided. For proof, consider this: Denver's total offense was 372 yards. Oakland's was 137 yards.

It’s all coming apart for the Raiders, even after three games. The battle with Gannon is indicative. Nobody likes criticism, but it is part of pro sports. You ignore it and try to improve. But the Raiders, for whom this seemed to be a season of enlightenment, are not improving. They lost a game Sunday, got routed. They lost their cool.

Richard Seymour, the guy who was supposed to help a defensive line desperately in need of help, the guy the Raiders obtained from New England a couple of weeks back in exchange for a first-round draft pick, the guy who didn’t want to report, got called for a personal foul early in the third quarter. He was caught pulling the long braids of Ryan Clady.

When columnist Lowell Cohn asked Seymour about the incident, he not only refused to answer but demanded Cohn leave the locker room, He would not, leading to a Raider official getting in Cohn’s face. What the Raiders need is for some of their defensive linemen to get in the opponents’ face. Or for Russell, the overall No. 1 pick in the 2007 NFL draft, finally to play like the overall No. 1 pick in the draft. Rather than to make Gannon look good by JaMarcus making himself look bad.

This one wasn’t on local TV. This was one had a crowd announced at 45,602. Row after row of seats in the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum, capacity 63,132, were unused. Or the booing for Russell, particular, and the Raiders in general would have been louder. And it was plenty loud.

Quarterbacks are always blamed. Long ago, Daryle Lamonica was mistreated verbally when he had a bad day for the Raiders. Across the bay, the booing of the 49ers’ John Brodie was historic. And yet, the derision for JaMarcus is notable. And unrelenting.

“I’m not really going to get into that,’’ said Russell. He had two interceptions in the first quarter. He was sacked three times. Eventually, he completed 12 of 21 for 61 yards, but only three of those completions were in the second half.

“Some plays you can’t control,’’ said Russell. “Because of a lot of coverage we had check-downs and had to stay (in the pocket) longer. Other than that I thought I did all right. The second interception, the receiver got knocked down, and I thought it could have been interference.’’

Then he made a concession that raised a question about the Raiders direction. “We didn’t show up on certain plays,’’ said JaMarcus.

The defense was on the field far too long, in part because it cannot halt the run -- the Broncos rushed for 215 yards -- and in part because Russell had the two interceptions and Darren McFadden lost a fumble. Three turnovers. And only 23 minutes and 45 seconds of possession time, compared to the 36:15 of the Broncos.

“We were not very sharp on either side of the ball,’’ Tom Cable, the Raiders’ coach, conceded. “Third down was an issue on both sides of the ball. We got outplayed, and that’s the bottom line here.’’

Cable said he hopes the booing “ticks off’’ his players, who should be no less ticked off by the result. “We have to play better,’’ said Cable. “The fans deserve better. I feel like we’ve got to keep moving forward. We’ve got to help JaMarcus be at his best.’’

The Raiders, contended Cable, in his first full season as coach, had been “making strides.’’ But in this game, all they made was a mess of things.

“We didn’t practice very well during the week,’’ he said.

They didn’t play very well on Sunday. But it would be like pulling hair to get the reasons why.