Reality TV? It’s Time to Enter a New Arena
The surprising showing of the U.S. soccer team in the World Cup is because of one man, says Tony Kornheiser of the Washington Post:
“All credit goes to [Coach] Bruce Arena, who went into the World Cup pooh-poohing his own team and praising everybody else’s. He’s like Lou Holtz--except his pants don’t flap in the wind.
“Now soccer is so hot, everybody wants to get up and watch the U.S. play. If Arena can create ‘appointment viewing’ at these ungodly hours, he can dump soccer and jump directly to network vice president in charge of programming.”
Not his bag: Tiger Woods was asked by a British reporter at the U.S. Open if he had been following the World Cup, and if he had any favorite players, such as Brazil’s Ronaldo, England’s David Beckham or U.S. goalkeeper Brad Friedel.
Woods just stared back.
“You’ve got the wrong country,” he said.
Trivia time: What country has the most all-time World Cup losses?
Mood indigo: Gil LeBreton of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram says it will take considerable time before 1998 champion France recovers from its miserable showing at this year’s World Cup:
“It’s a fate that may not translate as well in America. In baseball, there’s always next year. But in soccer, the World Cup champion reigns for four glorious years. The adulation--and the expectations--tend to grow exponentially.
“For the French, it all ended here Tuesday like a bad meal. Adieu, Les Bleus. They’re toast. French toast.”
Papal impostor: A man bearing a striking resemblance to Pope John Paul II showed up at a recent Texas Rangers’ game, wearing a white cassock and shaking hands with fans. He had people wondering, especially with the Catholic bishops meeting this week in Dallas.
“He was good, whoever he was,” Ranger TV announcer Tom Grieve said. “I knew he wasn’t the pope. I just didn’t know whether he might be a cardinal or a bishop.”
Someone in the press box wondered why a bishop would be wearing white.
“Well, we are the home team,” Ranger publicist John Blake replied.
New digs: Jerry West, president of basketball operations for the Memphis Grizzlies, closed on the purchase of a home Wednesday for $3.5 million.
The 16-room English Tudor-style, two-story home includes five bedrooms, six full bathrooms, three half-bathrooms, a large kitchen, paneled library, six fireplaces, a weight room and a three-car garage, on seven acres.
The home is located in the gated community of Southwind, Tenn., near the Tournament Players Club--home of the PGA’s FedEx St. Jude Classic--where West presumably will be able to play golf.
Trivia answer: Mexico, which has a World Cup record of 10-19-11.
And finally: Jerry Greene of the Orlando Sentinel, commenting on the difficulty of the Bethpage Black golf course:
“We’ve got a U.S. Open being played on a public course designed by Freddy Krueger and used by the Mafia to hide bodies in the rough.
“It’s the PGA Tour--plus some amateurs who will serve as chum--in a special edition of ‘Fear Factor’. Granted, none of the pros may end up covered in rats, but we can hope.”
