LPGA
I had the pleasure of following Canada's number one female golfing sensation during her second round at the Bank of Hope Founders Cup tournament in Phoenix, Arizona. Brooke Henderson's gallery may have only numbered about 50 "snowbirds" when she began her early morning round but by the time she reached the 18th green, there were about 400 appreciative, mostly Canuck fans enjoying her talent, which was by far the largest and loudest gallery on the course.
Although she didn't end up winning the tournament, tying for eighth place and winning $34K, she did turn a lot of American heads with not only her sensational shot-making ability but her composure and etiquette as well. In the past I have been quite critical of the LPGA because there are far too many short courses being played by these young women who can really bomb their drives out of sight, resulting in too many wedge shots to the green. It was really impressive how these young women played with so much skill and finesse.
So impressive in fact that a simple solution would be to let the rough grow longer and lengthen some of the holes they play because they no doubt have the talent to handle a tougher, longer track. Too many LPGA events are won by ridiculously low scores in the -20 to -24 range, like this one which had a winning score of -22.
Ford World Championships
For the first time in 20 years, a Canadian women's curling rink didn't make the playoffs at the World Championships, which was held this year in Denmark. The top six teams made the playoffs. I know other countries have made improvements in their game but to not even be among the top six has to be quite embarrassing for a nation that has dominated this sport for decades.
Chelsea Carey and her Canadian cohorts struggled all week in every phase of their game, which included some questionable strategy at key points and realistically didn't deserve the honour to move on. She will definitely learn from this experience and hopefully one day will make her way back to this international competition.
MLB
Somebody please tell me this is not happening. Just when you thought it couldn't get more out of hand, more ridiculous, it does. First Manny Machado signs with the Padres for $300 million, then so-called superstar Bryce Harper raises that to $330 mil when he inks a deal with the Phillies, big for 10 years. Then Mike Trout blows all that out of the water when he signs the biggest American sports contract in history, a 12-year deal worth $420 million that'll keep him an "Angel" forever. Life is good!
EL
It won't be long before the WCWJ (Wheat City Whiskey Jacks), the newest kid on the newest baseball block, start their first season in the EL (Expedition League), a summer league for college players. The 10-team league has teams in North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming and now, Manitoba. It is in its second season and is mostly composed of American collegiate athletes with a sprinkling of Canadian content thrown in for good measure and local support.
The Brandon team will play out of Andrews Field and play 32 home games. Their first game is on May 24 and first home game is on May 28 against the Souris Valley Sabre Dogs (Minot).
Until next time....
