5 things to talk about on the course: The Super Bowl, Tiger's troubles, and Apple's domination
By Alex Myers
From sports to TV to politics (OK, so mostly the first two), we
offer five hot topics that are sure to liven up your round of golf:
1. The Super Bowl: OK, we're ready to put "Deflategate" to bed and move onto the actual game. Well, first check out these incredible fumble stats by the Patriots since teams were allowed to use their own footballs on offense. A bit shady, right? OK, now
we're moving on. What a matchup. Brady vs. Wilson. Belichick vs.
Carroll. Revis vs. Sherman. Gronk vs. Beast Mode. And yes, there's
plenty to talk about with Marshawn Lynch's refusal to talk about
anything, but again, we're focused on the game since this could be an
instant classic.
As someone rooting as hard for the Seahawks as your typical golf writer roots against a Monday playoff, my biggest fear is the Patriots' cornerbacks completely shutting down Seattle's unimpressive wide receivers. As a result, I'm going to (gulp) predict New England wins 24-19. But boy, do I hope I'm wrong. PLEASE let me be wrong.
Related: NFL stars who love playing golf
2. Tiger's return: The week got off to an inauspicious start when he bladed a bunker shot into the crowd on TPC Scottsdale's 16th hole. Some claimed Woods did that on purpose, but "LOL" to that as the kids say. He then chunked, bladed and blocked his way around the course for most of Thursday, giving the Golf Channel cameramen a real workout before hitting a couple brilliant shots on the way in to salvage a 73. And it got worse on Friday, including a double bogey-triple bogey stretch during a front-nine 44. So much for Woods playing on Super Bowl Sunday. Instead, he's going to have to find something else to do to kill time in Phoenix before going to the game.
3. Apple: On Tuesday, the technology giant released an earnings report for the ages. Apple announced it made a record $75 BILLION in total revenue during the previous quarter to crush projections. Think Secretariat winning by 31 lengths or the Seahawks beating the Broncos 43-8 in last year's Super Bowl (Let's do it again, Seattle!). How did the company pull this off? Well, it certainly didn't hurt that it sold 34,000 iPhones per hour every day for the past three months. To those of you who just had to buy the newest update as soon as it came out, Apple's shareholders send a warm and hearty "thank you."
PHOTOS: The year in golf WAGs
4. Klay Thompson: Speaking of record-setting quarters, if you didn't see what this guy did last Friday night (Hey, that's a line from a potential Katy Perry Super Bowl halftime song!), you need to immediately. No, really, check this out right now:
Your browser does not support iframes.
Thompson, who on Thursday was named to his first NBA All-Star team, scored 37 points on a perfect 13-of-13 shooting, including making nine three-pointers. Again, this is in one quarter. (The previous record of 33 was held by George Gervin, who pointed out this week he didn't have the benefit of the three-point line.) I'd say that's the kind of stuff you only see in a video game, but I don't think that's even possible in a video game. Not even when a player was "on fire" in the old NBA Jam.
PHOTOS: The Oscars shows its anti-golf bias once again
5. Mitt Romney: In somewhat of a surprise, Romney announced on Friday that he's taking the air out of another possible campaign and not running for President in 2016. No offense to the guy, but should you even be allowed to run three times for the highest office in the land if you lose your first two attempts? And while we're talking limitations, should the Patriots even get a third chance to win a fourth Super Bowl? Yep, it all comes back to the big game. Enjoy it, folks, and remember, we are ALL Seattle on Sunday.
As someone rooting as hard for the Seahawks as your typical golf writer roots against a Monday playoff, my biggest fear is the Patriots' cornerbacks completely shutting down Seattle's unimpressive wide receivers. As a result, I'm going to (gulp) predict New England wins 24-19. But boy, do I hope I'm wrong. PLEASE let me be wrong.
Related: NFL stars who love playing golf
2. Tiger's return: The week got off to an inauspicious start when he bladed a bunker shot into the crowd on TPC Scottsdale's 16th hole. Some claimed Woods did that on purpose, but "LOL" to that as the kids say. He then chunked, bladed and blocked his way around the course for most of Thursday, giving the Golf Channel cameramen a real workout before hitting a couple brilliant shots on the way in to salvage a 73. And it got worse on Friday, including a double bogey-triple bogey stretch during a front-nine 44. So much for Woods playing on Super Bowl Sunday. Instead, he's going to have to find something else to do to kill time in Phoenix before going to the game.
3. Apple: On Tuesday, the technology giant released an earnings report for the ages. Apple announced it made a record $75 BILLION in total revenue during the previous quarter to crush projections. Think Secretariat winning by 31 lengths or the Seahawks beating the Broncos 43-8 in last year's Super Bowl (Let's do it again, Seattle!). How did the company pull this off? Well, it certainly didn't hurt that it sold 34,000 iPhones per hour every day for the past three months. To those of you who just had to buy the newest update as soon as it came out, Apple's shareholders send a warm and hearty "thank you."
PHOTOS: The year in golf WAGs
4. Klay Thompson: Speaking of record-setting quarters, if you didn't see what this guy did last Friday night (Hey, that's a line from a potential Katy Perry Super Bowl halftime song!), you need to immediately. No, really, check this out right now:
Your browser does not support iframes.
Thompson, who on Thursday was named to his first NBA All-Star team, scored 37 points on a perfect 13-of-13 shooting, including making nine three-pointers. Again, this is in one quarter. (The previous record of 33 was held by George Gervin, who pointed out this week he didn't have the benefit of the three-point line.) I'd say that's the kind of stuff you only see in a video game, but I don't think that's even possible in a video game. Not even when a player was "on fire" in the old NBA Jam.
PHOTOS: The Oscars shows its anti-golf bias once again
5. Mitt Romney: In somewhat of a surprise, Romney announced on Friday that he's taking the air out of another possible campaign and not running for President in 2016. No offense to the guy, but should you even be allowed to run three times for the highest office in the land if you lose your first two attempts? And while we're talking limitations, should the Patriots even get a third chance to win a fourth Super Bowl? Yep, it all comes back to the big game. Enjoy it, folks, and remember, we are ALL Seattle on Sunday.
