Bad News

Johnny had responded to a call from his lawyer, insisting that they meet at once. He arrived at his lawyer's firm, and was ushered into his office.

"Do you want the bad news first or the terrible news?" the lawyer asked.

"Well, if those are my choices, I guess I'll take the bad news first."

"Your wife found a picture worth a half-million dollars."

"That's the bad news?" Johnny was stunned? "If you call that bad, I can't wait to hear the terrible news."

"The terrible news is that it's of you and your secretary."

Determination

"The difference between the impossible & the possible lies in a person's determination."

Tommy Lasorda
Professional Baseball Manager

Leadership

One can become a leader only if one is supported by an ideology which makes other people tractable & accommodating.

- Ludwig Von Mises

U.S. Open 2007, Oakmont

Angel Cabrera hit all the right shots to hold off Tiger Woods & Jim Furyk by a stroke on Sunday at the U.S. Open, shooting a 1-under-par 69 at brutal Oakmont & giving Argentina its first major championship in 40 years. And for the second straight major, Woods played in the final group & couldn't deliver in the clutch. Woods squandered birdie chances with his wedge & his putter, & Furyk paid for a risky choice of driver on the 306-yard 17th hole & fell out of the lead with a bogey.

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The only other Argentine to win a major was Roberto de Vicenzo in the 1967 British Open at Hoylake. Cabrera made his share of mistakes — everyone did on this brutally tough course outside Pittsburgh — but he overcame late bogeys on the 16th & 17th holes with a perfect tee shot & a par that gave him the victory. Even so, this major will be remembered for gaffes by the guys chasing him.

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Woods, a runner-up to unheralded Zach Johnson at the Masters, played the final 32 holes at Oakmont with only one birdie. He missed a birdie putt from 6 feet on the 13th, & the only clutch putts he made on the back nine were for par. As poorly as Woods hit the ball in the final round, he only needed one birdie over his final three holes to force a playoff. Woods hit 3-wood off the 17th tee into a deep bunker, but he couldn't keep it on the green & had to make a 7-footer for par. His tee shot on the 18th looked good when it left his club, but hopped along the line of first cut & deep rough, & his approach ran some 30 feet by the flag. His birdie putt was just long & right, & Woods again was the last man to leave the 18th green at a major, no trophy in hand.

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Cabrera might not have been the winner anyone expected, especially at Oakmont, which has produced U.S. Open champions of the highest caliber. But he earned his victory against the best. Cabrera delivered a 1-2-3 knockout during a difficult week. A birdie on his final hole Friday caused second-ranked Phil Mickelson to miss the cut in a major for the first time in eight years, & he was even stronger down the stretch with Woods & Furyk, No. 1 and No. 3 in the world, both poised to catch him.

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Woods, the best closer in golf, was a mystery. He couldn't make a timely putt at the Masters. He couldn't find his swing at Oakmont. Personally, watching him playing is both pleasure & pain, this time, more pain. That's all.

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Better game next year, Tiger!