Tahoe celebrity golf tournament was a fun event

I thoroughly enjoyed my first experience covering the celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe last week.

Despite the fact that Michael Jordan wasn’t there because of a scheduling conflict and Tony Romo missed because of training camp, the event drew nearly 40,000 fans. Based on what I’ve heard regarding Jordan, I wouldn’t be bothered if he never came back. If you are going to play in the event you have to have some interaction with the fans and media alike. Jordan, from what I’ve been told, did neither.

Guys who get it are guys like Billy Joe Tolliver, Steph Curry and Mark Rypien. I followed all three at various times during the competitive rounds, and all three mixed well with the media and fans, and still concentrated enough to play well.

Curry had a big following, and even though fans were not supposed to ask for autographs and pictures during the weekend, Curry seemed more than happy to oblige the fans. He said he plans to come back next year if he’s asked, and I can’t fathom that not happening.

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Lifetime ban.

That should be the punishment meted out to anybody who is guilty of drugs a second time, or who is accused then lies about it, and later is caught. Are you listening Ryan Braun, A-Rod and Bartolo Colon? You guys should be out of the game forever.

The Yankees owe A-Rod a ton of money, and I think the team is hoping that A-Rod is banned by MLB so they can void his contract. I’m sure that there must be some drug clause in his current contract. If there isn’t, the Yankees are stupid. Why can’t A-Rod understand the reason the Yankees are dragging their feet is because they don’t want him anymore? Let’s face it, if the Yankees really thought A-Rod could play he would have been on the roster by now. A-Rod is through, but he’s the only one who doesn’t know it.

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And while we’re on the subject of baseball, can you believe the fire sale that is going on in Chicago? Right now, that team has just a few starters I recognize. They dumped Matt Garza, Scott Feldman and Alfonso Soriano, three pretty good players. The Cubbies will continue their struggles this year, and the blame will fall to Dale Sveum, who is only as good as the talent management gets for him. Hey guys, I’m sure Tim Lincecum will be available at the end of the year. You’ve wasted a lot of money over the years on free agents, why not take a chance with Timmy?

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Adam Whitt, Carson High grad and current University of Nevada pitcher, is 3-0 with six saves and a 3 ERA playing in an East Coast collegiate league. He was selected for the all-star game.

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Colby Blueberg, former Carson star and Whitt’s teammate at Nevada, has been throwing well for the Peninsula Oilers in the Alaska Baseball League. Blueberg is 1-0 with a 2.03 ERA in 12 relief appearances. He’s given up four earned runs in 17 innings, and he’s averaging nearly a strikeout per inning.

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Kudos to Hunter Mahan. The PGA star left the Canadian Open, despite the fact that he was leading, to be with his wife who is pregnant with their first child. According to reports, she is a couple weeks early. I applaud you Hunter. You did the right thing.