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Friday, May 11, 2007
Sabbatini fires from the lip, shoots blanks
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Furman Bisher
Ponte Vedra, Fla. — Rory Sabbatini is a saucy little fellow who looks somewhat shorter than the 5-foot-10 measure awarded him by the PGA Tour Guide, a small body under the heavy load of an extended name — Rory Mario Trevor Sabbatini. He came from South Africa on a golf scholarship to University of Arizona and eventually settled in a suburb of Dallas. He came cracking wise, fit right in with the concocted image of the fictional Texan.
He admitted, in a news conference at The Players Championship this week that “I’ve become very narcissistic,” a rather stark confession from an athlete, many of whom have developed the same self-love affair, but wouldn’t admit it, without a sponsor.
“I’ve fallen in love with myself, and I just don’t notice anybody else out there anymore,” he said. Whew! That’s asking for it.
Sabbatini has been a lightning rod for public scorn since he strode ahead and played out the final hole at the Booz Allen Classic at Congressional, leaving behind a plodding Ben Crane. He had just come off the course at TPC Sawgrass on Thursday, tied for the lead in the renewal of the Tour’s own championship, eight strokes better than Tiger Woods, and feeling his oats. Say this for Sabbatini, since his unsporting display at Congressional, he has been more noticeable, though that was two years ago.
In a poll of Tour players taken by Sports Illustrated, 25 per cent of the players said the player they would most prefer not to be paired with was Sabbatini. “I don’t know 25 percent of the guys on Tour, and there are probably 25 percent I wouldn’t want to play with,” he said, rather testily.
Back up a week, to the stop in Charlotte, where Sabbatini had a round 8-under par last Saturday, took the lead and was paired with Tiger Woods in the final round. Woods won the tournament, Sabbatini was 10 shots worse than his Saturday round, and Tiger lost him in his dust. Now the news conference got interesting. Sabbatini was asked if a round with Woods didn’t, say, put a crease in his armor?
“No,” he said. “After watching him play Sunday, I think he’s more beatable than ever, and realizing that gives me even more confidence to want to play with him on Sunday again.”
Give Sabbatini credit for bravado, but the love affair with self began to unravel Friday afternoon. He parred the first five holes, then his game began developing hiccups. Bogey No. 6, bogey No. 7, bogey No. 8, and for some reason, this bold narcissistic fellow found himself trying to hang on. His score plummeted from 5 under to 2 under, and players like Peter Lonard, Nathan Green, Carl Petterson, Sean O’Hair all moved past him. Woods himself was not one to overlook the flying rumors of Sabbatini in the press conference.
“The new Woods,” as Sabbatini had referred to Tiger, eased under the cut line at 4-over par, not one of his better 36 holes of the season. Tiger landed a punch of his own. “I’ve won three times this year, as many as he [Sabbatini] has won in his lifetime,” he said. With a smile: “I like the ‘new Tiger.’ “
But the worst hadn’t come yet. On the 17th hole, the famed but infamous Island Hole — of which Woods is a spoken critic — Sabbatini’s first tee shot found water, then a second found water, and by the time he finished, he was charged with seven strokes. And beside his name on the scoreboard, his self-destruction was recorded. His score fell from minus-2 to plus-2, which shows the damage a quadruple bogey can do.
Just a lesson here, to those whose self-admiration might get out of hand: Don’t fire off recklessly into the air when you’re seriously outgunned.
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Everyone sick of Vick issues
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mark Bradley
Flowery Branch — He opened by saying he would only discuss football, and he closed by saying, “Don’t plan on talking about me anymore unless it’s about football.” But there’s another word that begins with an “f” that’s of even greater importance as Michael Vick seeks to go forward with his career and his life.
That word is “fatigue.”
His employer is tired of this. Arthur Blank was described as being “weary” of Vick’s travails in Friday’s AJC. Before mini-camp began, Bobby Petrino felt moved to address the reality of “distractions.” After Friday morning’s session, Petrino repeatedly had to invoke the new party line: “I’m only going to talk about football.”
No, Vick hasn’t yet been charged with anything regarding the pit bulls on his Virginia property, just as he wasn’t charged after the water-bottle incident. (He was charged with trespassing after fishing in the wrong Virginia lake, but the count was dismissed.) And it wasn’t a felony or even a misdemeanor to skip the breakfast meeting with members of Congress. (Crass, yes. Criminal, no.)
But there is, believe it or not, a greater issue than legality. There’s the mighty matter of perception, and the raging national perception is that Vick has lost control of his career and his life. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, the tough-talking new sheriff who has already suspended Pacman Jones for the year, has dressed Vick down, and Blank said Thursday he’d done the same.
Those men are tired of this.
I am, too.
I’m tired of driving up I-985 to witness yet another Vick “apology” — he didn’t say he was sorry for anything Friday, perhaps on advice of his attorneys — or “explanation.” I’m tired of writing about Vick and not describing touchdowns scored and games won. I’m tired of defending Vick as a good guy who’s being undone by shaky friends and relations. See, you can be a victim of circumstance for only so long; ultimately you change those circumstances or you become complicit in your own undoing.
In the grand scheme, it won’t be a grand jury indictment or a Goodell suspension that undoes Vick with this franchise. It will be the aggregate effect these untoward headlines have on those around him.
I saw the same thing happen with the Braves and John Rocker (who was, I should stipulate, infinitely less popular with his teammates than Vick is with his). They simply got sick of answering questions about him and his latest stunt.
And that’s the way it works. Vick can refuse to talk about anything but football, but industrious reporters will troop to other Falcons and ask, “What do you think about Vick?” It happened Friday, when the imported receiver Joe Horn spent much of his post-practice interview defending the quarterback with whom he hasn’t yet played a game.
And this is only May and minicamp. Imagine if there’s another ugly headline during the season, when the press is on hand most every day of every week.
I like Michael Vick. I think, and have always thought, he has a good heart. Petrino said Wednesday he has “to believe” in Vick, and I likewise want to believe. But these last seven months, from the finger-flipping on, have made it hard. How long before hard becomes too hard? How long before the Falcons decide the man in whom they’ve sunk $130 million is more trouble than he’s worth?
For Michael Vick as an Atlanta Falcon, there cannot be another shoe to drop. This dogs-on-the-property thing has to be the last mess. He has told Blank and Goodell he’s taking control of his career and his life, and he cannot merely give it a shot. He has to succeed.
Too many people are tired of waiting. I’m one of them.
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