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18 comments

  1. § John Z Email said on :
    William,

    What you say is all very true, but I'd like to add a little something more.

    James was indeed a prodigy, a boy in a man's body.

    And although he didn't have a college career, he did play four years for his high school team in which he emerged as a super star against amateur(HS) competition.

    Michelle Wie has just now finished high school, but she never had any competition during that time against her peers in which she emerged as dominant. Therein lies the difference. And apparently it's a big difference.
  2. § Avid Golf Fan said on :
    Tiger won 3 Jr. Am's and 3 Amateurs in addition to countless amateur events against his peers. Wie won 1 USGA Am event and is winless since that event. Tiger was noted in the press not hyped -- TGC started in 1995 and wasn't much in 1997, the internet was just starting to bloom in the 1990's and is full blast in the 2000's. I was just as avid a golf fan in the late 80's/90's as I am now but I just heard rumors on occasion about Tiger like I hear now about Ashleigh Simon and Kiran Matharu (not sure of the spelling of her name) -- possible women stars from South Africa & the British Isles. I was not forcefeed Tiger before his professional wins in 1997 like the endless, endless coverage of Wie to the exclusion of other, and IMHO, better women golfers such as Annika, Lorena, Pressel, Creamer, Lincicome, MH Kim, etc. Wie has been hyped so far that non-golfers know who she is instead of the situation of Tiger where only avid golf fans knew about him. And, the golf analysts were cynical about Tiger's prospects. Go find the original interview with Curtis Strange or watch Mark Lye's original commentary. Unlike Nobilo's, Chamblee's, Hewitt's, Rosaforte's, etc. after Wie turned pro that Wie's the next Tiger Woods! She'll win before the year is out! I actually blame the media overhype on the fact that most golf media only watch the PGA. There are very few media types that were/are closely following the women's game. Those that did, such as Dottie Pepper and Steve Duemig, when originally asked (since Pressel and Wie turned pro within weeks of each other and are about a year difference in age) picked Pressel. Pressel now has a Ladies Major in her pocket and is still being overlooked! Well, it'll be interesting to see how all the Media types backpedal from this because this is becoming downright scary -- Michelle may never recover from her "injuries".
  3. § CB MAXWELL® Email said on :
    Yo Bill,
    I think I want you as my agent. Call NIKE for me will ya. I am 57, grey hair and occassionally break 80. Lately however,I have been mostly in the 80's. But, I feel confident, I can take on Wie. We could call it the Ol' v the Hyped!
  4. § Judge Smails Email said on :
    If Bubbles' game keeps going south, even Jennifer Mario the Queen Bee may be a able to take her on soon.
  5. § Jim C Email said on :
    I am glad to see that William recognizes that it is not necessary to win in order to be a champion. LeBron James has proven himself to be a champion even if Cleveland loses the NBA Finals and comes in second.
  6. § Jon said on :
    So, according to Lebron James's timeline, Wie has till 22 to be one of the two in contention for the championship?? I think it can be done. Always two sides to a story or spin. I understand, though, where the animosity is comming from. 20 million is a lot of money. Some would say life altering. She happens to be fortunate in capturing people's imagination: the right person at the right time with the right stuff. Her swing for me is a thing of beauty, or at least it was before Leadbetter. I think she should get a new coach, Gilchrist for one and get a separate short game coach (One putt's idea). But what do I know... Keep blogging, William. I do enjoy your writing.
  7. § Jim C Email said on :
    JON

    The animosity was there back in the Spring of 2004 when Wie was given a special exemption to the US Womens Open because her perormance in just a couple of LPGA events earlier in the year would have earned her an exemption had she only been an LPGA pro. It was there in 2005 following the US Open where the big story was not Birdie Kin's win, but the fact that Michelle finished back in the pack tied with Annika--and of course, US Open loser Morgan Pressel was given an opportunity to complain in SI that not enough attention was given to Michelle's 82--all this while Wie was still an anateur.
  8. § Jim C Email said on :
    By the way, I checked the record. Wie has been a NIke pro less than 2 years, and in LeBron James' first two years his team never even made the cut(playoffs) a single time.
  9. § Ray Email said on :
    Will the "overhyped" card has followed her around for years and is not a new thing. She had the world given to her on a silver platter without having to actually win anything and you are right--- it's time for her to prove her worth but I really just don't think she can. I think a lot of people forget that this pedestal that was created for her was due to the fact that she one day might play on the PGA Tour. If she ends up being another top 5-10 player on the LPGA, that is nothing really in the grand scheme of pro sports. It's certainly not worth the cult status that follows her around.
  10. § Stanley Email said on :
    William,
    I don't know much about basketball and obviously you don't know much about golf.

    Someone mentioned that Le Bron is 22. Firstly that is 5 years older than Michelle but that's just one factor.

    As I said, I don't know much about basketball, but I would imagine that people at 22 who have lots of energy would be quite commonplace at the top teer of the game, given that they do a lot of running around. I would also hazarrd a guess that a 50 year old guy would be unlikely to play on one of these top teams. How about another guess. I doubt a 40 year old would be on one of these teams not to mind winning many titles at the top level like Vijay has in golf.

    William, you are comparing apples to oranges. Le Bron James is right in his prime. In golf a the majority of top players peak in their thirties. Golf is a different ball game to put it mildly.

    It is also the case that Le Bron can have a bad game or even a bad section of a game and rely on his teammates. Golf doesn't afford such luxuries except in the seldom held team events.

    Anyway, that has successfully dismantled your blog. The lesson for you is that there is much more time to live up to the hype, and that basketball and golf are not similar games.
  11. § Alex Email said on :
    Stanley,

    Since Bubbles didn't play in the Ginn Tribute, which proved me correct once again, do you think she is healthy enough to give it a go in the LPGA championship this week?

    She definitely should play since this is one of the few events in which she is actually qualified to play without an exemption.
  12. § Stanley Email said on :
    Alex,
    Michelle did play at the Ginn Tribute. A wd will count as one of her sponsors exemptions, she cannot play another instead of it.

    She is having physio on her wrist and is going to take some swings and then decide if she should play the lpga championship.

    As you pointed out, she has qualified for the lpga championship so people won't be able to complain about her taking a spot away from anyone which was a bogus argument anyway.
  13. § Alex Email said on :
    Stanley,

    I seem to have missed it. What score did Bubbles post at the Ginn Tribute?

    She and Young Jo were the only two withdrawls without a score after their names.

    By the way, Big Stan, how close, in your opinion, is Bubbles to that sure-fire 2007 win that you predicted?
  14. § Judge Smails Email said on :
    How close is Bubbles to such a win? Perhaps a rebuilt psyche away.
  15. § Johnny N. Email said on :
    Alex: "What score did Bubbles post at the Ginn Tribute?"
    ____

    She posted a WD Alex, sorry you missed it.
  16. § Alex Email said on :
    Johnny N,

    Actually, I didn't miss Bubbles' non-score.

    It appears that her favorite scores of late are not in numbers at all.

    Rather, she posts in letters---WD, MC---and, I almost forgot, DQ.
  17. § Judge Smails Email said on :
    Alex,

    Bravo, with that last post you shot a 62. Very well put.
  18. § Lance R Email said on :
    Is there an acronym for "heat exhaustion?"

    By the way, I was at the Ginn last week and saw her tee shot off of number 3. Had the ball not slammed into the side of a pickup truck, it would have ended up in another time zone as it was still screaming to the right.

    Looked like one of my shots!!!

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