RSS
Home
Norman goes for title in crazy sports year
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
When I first started in this reporting business in the early 1970s, my irascible sports editor Fred Tharp at the Mansfield (Ohio) News Journal used to tell us an apocryphal story about a Kentucky high school basketball team, beset with injuries, that finished the regular season with a 0-18 record. However, the players got healthy just in time for the playoffs and went on to win the state championship.
This was before the Hoosiers movie. However, old Freddie was a little light on the details. We weren't sure if the story was at all true but his point was well taken. Anything is possible in sports. There are no lead pipe cinches. Underdogs can have their day to shine.
As the 137th British Open starts the final round this morning, for me, Greg Norman is that Kentucky high school team. What a improbable victory it would be, as I write this as he teeds off. He's 53-years-old. He gave up his PGA Tour card seven years ago. He hardly plays anymore. He hasn't won this century or in this past decade. Did the London odds-makers even put up a bet on him? What would it be 500-to-1? 1000-to-1?
If he wins today it would rank as one of the most remarkable in golf, if not all sports (save that Kentucky team). But consider this year. Look what has happened already. Remember the invincible New England Patriots? They lost. How about Roger Federer's unmatched run at Wimbledon. He lost.
Here's a look at some 2008 events, and we're only a little more than halfway through, and where I would rank them on the Upset Meter:
NCAA NATIONAL FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP (Upset Meter: 25 out of 100): LSU was the No. 1 team entering the game and really didn't have much of a challenge against No. 2 and unbeaten Ohio State. The Buckeyes jumped to a 10-3 first-quarter lead, but the Tigers scored 27 straight second-quarter points to go on to a 38-24 victory.
SUPER BOWL (75 out of 100): The Patriots were 18-0 entering the game, trying to become the first team since 1972 to go through the season unbeaten. The Giants were the wild card entry who had to win every one of their playoff games (11 overall) on the road. 17-14. New England had been the highest scoring team in NFL history, but lost 17-14.
DAYTONA 500 (Upset Meter: 40 out of 100): Ryan Newman was not the favorite going in, although he's part of a great Penske team and has 13 wins on the circuit. But Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon, among others, figured to have the edge. A miscalculation by Stewart at the end allowed Newman to surge to the victory.
NCAA BASKETBALL NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP (Upset Meter: 55 out of 100): Kansas is one of the great programs in the college game - 13 Final Four trips - and certainly is a perennial contender. But when the Final Four was set, the Jayhawks had the longest odds. The favorite was once-beaten Memphis. In the semis, Kansas crushed a veteran North Carolina team, 84-66, leading 40-12 at one point. Then in the final, they beat Memphis 75-68 in overtime.
MASTERS (Upset Meter: 70 out of 100): It's an upset when anyone can beat Tiger Woods at Augusta? But Trevor Immelman, with a 3-over-par 75 in the final round, managed to hang on for victory by three strokes over Woods. Immelman has had only one top 10 finish since.
INDY 500 (Upset Meter: 10 out of 100): Scott Dixon, the pole-sitter, won. No surprise here.
NHL STANLEY CUP (Upset Meter: 15 out of 100): Who knows? Who watches hockey anymore. Actually, I do know that the Detroit Red Wings are a highly successful franchise so winning it doesn't constitute much of an eye-popper.
U.S. OPEN (Upset Meter: 5 out of 100): Tiger Woods won. So? Big deal. But there's much more to this than a simple bow to the greatest player in our generation. Rocco Mediate, a 46-year old with a history of back problems and not much of a winning history, took him into a 18-hole playoff on Monday and still wouldn't let go. Woods finally won on the first extra hole after the two tied at 71. Woods made it a dramatic test because of a knee injury that eventually required season-ending surgery.
WIMBLEDON (Upset Meter: 60 out of 100): Roger Federer had not lost at Wimbledon since 2002 and Rafael Nadal seemingly only could win on clay. But in an epic five-hour match, Nadal knocked off the legend in five sets.
Then there's Fresno State winning the NCAA baseball title, Big Brown, trying for the Triple Crown, finishing last in the Belmont Stakes, and Spain winning the EURO Cup. It's been quite a year already. After all this, would it be a surprise if the Tampa Bay Rays win the World Series?
For more info: www.newyorktimes.com
