Livestrong

A couple of weeks ago, my grandpa was found to have contracted a form of leukemia. His white blood cell count was over 60,000, which is 100 times more than it should be. He was put on medication to bring his white blood cell count down, and the outlook was good. But last week, his white blood cell count was still too high and his red blood cell count was too low, making his situation more dangerous. He had another test done to see if his leukemia can be treated with medication where the odds of living are really good versus a bone marrow transplant, where the odds of living are not as good.

My grandpa is a wonderful man. He was in the Navy during WWII, was mayor of Lewisburg, OH, and worked at Good Samaritan Hospital in Dayton. Now, he's an avid watcher of the Stock Market and a very active Republican. He doesn't have the cleanest mouth, but he's funny to listen to. He demands nothing but the best from me, which keeps me going. When I think I've done all I can, he finds a way to squeeze more out of me. He really wanted me to be a lawyer and go into politics haha, but I don't think I've disappointed him too much by becoming an Economist since I can tell him where to put his money in the Market. I really hope this isn't his time to go, so if you could keep him in your prayers, that would be very kind of you.

To possibly inspire him as he battles this, I think I'll get him a Lance Armstrong Livestrong T-shirt. He loves things like that, and who knows, maybe it'll make some difference.

And yes Grandpa, "I'm knocking the ass off of em down at Miami."

Alright, what can we talk about tonight:

• How about the trainwreck that was the final round of the US Women's Open???? First, Annika Sorenstam tried to literally do what Arnold Palmer did in 1960 during his comeback US Open victory, which was drive the 1st green. Annika, sorry, you're no Arnie. Annika made bogey, shot 77, finished at +12. 18 year old Paula Creamer, started tied for 4th, shot 79, finished at +10. The final group of Michelle Wie and Karen Stupples almost duplicated what Retief Goosen and Jason Gore did in last week's US Open when they played in the final group. Wie double bogeyed the 1st hole and never got it going, shooting 82, finishing at +12. Stupples, who won last year's Women's British Open, shot 78 and finished at +8. It essentially came down to 4 players: Lorena Ochoa, Dukie Brittany Lang, Birdie Kim, and Morgan Pressel, currently the #1 amateur in the US, 16 years old.
• Ochoa was the only one taking it to Cherry Hills, making 4 birdies on the back 9 to get to +3, which was good for a share of the lead at that point. Then, Ochoa badly duckhooked her tee shot into the water at 18, leading to a quadruple bogey. Her tee shot was so bad, she created a divot before she hit the ball, which I do from time-to-time. Meanwhile, Lang showed why she plays for the #1 team in women's golf, shooting an even-par 71 to post +5. That left Kim and Pressel, who were both +4 heading to 18, the toughest hole on the course. Kim, in the group ahead of Pressel, was in the bunker about 30 yards short of the green. Kim was 141st in sand saves, getting your ball out of the bunker, then putting it in on the next shot. 141st isn't very good. In addition, Kim had only made the cut in 10 of her previous 34 LPGA starts!!!! Naturally, as Pressel was walking to her ball in the 18th fairway, Kim holed her bunker shot for a birdie, finishing at +3 for the tourney. Pressel was obviously devastated, and made bogey on the last hole to finish tied for 2nd with Lang.
• So, where does that leave Michelle Wie? For the last month, she put all the talk to rest about needing to beat girls her own age before playing in the bigger tournaments. Yesterday, she looked as if it were her tournament to lose, playing with the poise of a seasoned professional. But today, that wasn't the case. It's one thing to play well and be the novelty of an event, but it's another thing to produce the goods in "winning time". While the moment was too much for Wie, who hadn't been in a situation like this since winning the Girls Junior Amateur 2 years ago, it wasn't too much for Pressel and Lang, both experienced and seasoned amateurs who have WON frequently. Granted, everyone, including the pros, had trouble on this golf course. But, this is also the only major tournament where the best US amateurs can play, making this the toughest event in women's golf because as was seen this week, the best women's golfers are the young guns. I wouldn't be surprised if the likes of Pressel and Lang played in all of the majors, they would finish near the top because they know how to win. As much as Michelle Wie has gotten better and as talented as she is, she needs to learn how to win. There has to be a way for her to play more junior events, while cutting back on some of the bigger events she plays in. Those bigger events will always be there for her, but the time of learning how to win won't because there's always someone better coming up behind you.
  
• One more point about women's golf. This isn't the case for all, but there are a large number of women who play SLOOOOOOWWWW. No wonder some of the rounds at Cherry Hills were close to 6 hours?!?!?!?! In addition, some women talk way too much to their golfball. The moment they hit it, immediately you hear, "Go, go, go, go, go, sit, sit, sit, sit." And this isn't just on tee shots and approach shots, this is on chips and putts too. Who talks to their ball that much on a chip and a putt?????
• Wow, four bullet points on women's golf, who would've thought. But women's golf is up and coming, it has a very bright future.
• Tomorrow is one of the best days of the tennis year as the remaining 16 men and women at Wimbledon all play tomorrow. Among those absent is Serena Williams, who lost to 85th ranked Jill Craybas in the 3rd round. Craybas has only won 8 grand slam MATCHES in her career (she's 31 years old), and 3 of them have been this year at Wimbledon. Serena acknowledged, "I guess you have to prepare more than a week for a major and actually practice. I don't practice." WELL, LOOK WHO FINALLY GOT A CLUE!!!!!!!! This is why I have no respect for the Williams sisters. They don't put in the time necessary to be great players, but they think they can just show up and play great. What wastes.
• Texas defeated Florida 4-2 and 6-2 to win the NCAA baseball championship, the Longhorns' sixth. Well, Miami can say they lost to the national champs.

Tuesday is the NBA Draft, so tomorrow I'll try and have a preview and tell you who should've stayed in school.

6 days until the Tour

Song of the Day: "Rub You The Right Way", Johnny Gill, formerly of New Edition. Gotta love old-school.