AJC > Sports > Columnists > Archives > 2005 > August > 26 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USHoltz does Spurrier no favors
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Furman Bisher
FOR WHAT IT’S WORTH: Oh, boy, I guess it depends on which state you live in, but any way you look at it, you could say that Lou Holtz was really setting up his old pal Steve Spurrier for a fall at South Carolina. Picks Georgia to be “down a little bit.â€? Picks the Gamecocks to win their big game — in Athens. Says Spurrier came to South Carolina because he felt he could “win big.”
Now Steve is left to live with the penalties brought on by Lou’s discretions while he was head Gamecock. Oh, Lou has apologized, but that’s easy, after you’re off the reservation…
Now we know where the Roger Craig of baseball is: The old pitcher-manager is living on Hilton Head and playing golf regularly with Bob Kent, who pioneered The Omni… So whatever became of Travis Jervey?
*There is one striking similarity in Braves history to the astonishing surge of Jeff Francoeur. In 1957, the Milwaukee Braves called up a South Carolina farmhand named Bob Hazle when Bill Bruton broke a leg, and Hazle broke in such blazing style he was nicknamed “Hurricane.” (There had been an Atlantic storm that year named “Hurricane Hazel.”) Down the stretch to the pennant, Hazle hit .403, seven home runs, drove in 27 runs in 41 games and was a sensation. That was it. The following season he was soon gone, traded to Detroit and out of the big leagues. He settled in Newberry, became a liquor salesman and died in 1992 at age 61.
*It’s doubtful you have ever seen as much bad golf played on the final round of a major championship as on the Sunday at Baltusrol. And that “strongest field in golf” claim, CBS makes on behalf of the PGA of America, hardly stands up with 25 club pros in the field. My guess is, it’s The Players Championship.
*Mystified by the origin of the name, Baltusrol, somebody on television suggested (uh-oh) “it was some Indian tribe.” It was the name of the farmer who owned the property, Baltus Roll, who was murdered mysteriously.
*Take nothing away from Jeff Francoeur, but considering the pressure under which the amazing Brian McCann performs day after day, a kid dealing with all those pitching veterans, his youthful cool plus his strong bat. You rarely ever see a 21-year-old handle himself with such aplomb. He may not be rookie of the year, but the year has a while to go.
*Hey, it’s out of the NCAA’s league, but how about General Motors naming one of its cars after Chief Pontiac?
*Seems we’re into a generation that wouldn’t know the difference between Pearl Harbor and Pearl, Miss., and cares less.
*Tell you one thing, if I had one golf shot that would decide if I live or die — and I don’t care if it’s in the actual trees — I’d want Tiger Woods hitting it for me.
*Jack Nicklaus’ design firm is laying out a golf course on Okinawa, but the supervisor on the project is son-in-law Bill O’Leary, the onetime Georgia Bulldog linebacker.
*Oh, you Pete Babcock-bashers. He’s not looking too bad now, with all the turmoil swirling around the Hawks. And how much do you know about Joe Johnson? Seventy millions for five years! Is Magic Johnson back?
*On Instant Replay coming to the SEC: In the Big Ten, the cost of installing the system was $400,000; three officials were required in the booth; 43 plays were questioned and 21 were reversed in 57 games last season.
*Get this: The Russian Open, a European Tour event, was sponsored by Cadillac this year. Cadillac Russian Open. Putin goes to bed with capitalism.
*Davis Love III, on being paired with John Daly: “It’s like a circus. It’s like playing with Elvis, being out there with Daly.� Not that Davis ever played a round with Elvis.
Permalink | Comments (7) | Categories: Furman Bisher, Other
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By Clark Spratlin
August 27, 2005 11:03 AM | Link to this
The 25 Club Professionals in the PGA field represent the men and women who taught the rest of the field to play the game. These players are more interesting to follow than the bottom tier of tour players. That being said the field contained 97 of the top 100 in the world. So 25 (20 next year) spots is a small price to reward the best players from the PGA of America. To the 25 tour players who did not get in….Play better!
By gail beaty
August 27, 2005 10:53 PM | Link to this
the type on these blogs is so small i can barley read them.
By Brian
August 28, 2005 04:37 AM | Link to this
Gail, if you use Internet Explorer for your browser, go to the menu at the top and click “View”, then go to “Text Size”, and choose a larger text size.
By Doug Farley
August 29, 2005 05:45 AM | Link to this
Mr. Bisher: Please reconsider your comments re this generation. I, at first, agreed with you, BUT these are the same kids that are fighting the good fight FOR US in Afghanistan and Iraq. They’re fighting an enemy they can’t see that thinks nothing of killing their own to get to us. Thx…Doug Farley Maj USMC (Retired)
By Caroline Johnson
August 29, 2005 09:36 PM | Link to this
Furman, I’m the sister in law of Marty Blake. Don’t know if you knew he is getting an honary award from the NBA Hall of Fame. He is very proud of this, as is his family. Thought a column on him would be nice. BTW we are Fayetteville neighbors, I think.
Thanks, Caroline
By Mark Duvall
August 30, 2005 01:19 PM | Link to this
C**-a doodle doo, C**-a doodle doo CAROLINA GAMECOCK THE HELL WITH YOU!!!
Who cares about Spurrier and the Gamecocks! Go Clemson Tigers!
By Mel Derrick
September 4, 2005 08:36 AM | Link to this
Furman, Thanks for the memories. The man who taught me how to write has a For What It’s Worth graph on my old grammar school buddy, Bob “Hurricane” Hazle. The first piece I did on Bobby was for the Woodruff (SC) High Times; the last was the day after he passed away. Bobby was one of seven major leaguers to come out of the small town of Woodruff. Others included his older brother Joe, who had a cup of coffee with the White Sox; Sammy Taylor, one of the original Casey Stengel Mets, and Ken Harrelson, who always listed Savannah as his home town but was born in Woodruff. You can look it up. Best regards, Mel Derrick.