Imagine you're a sheep who's been wandering a forest near Melbourne, Australia. You haven't had a shave in quite some time and you've just been found by someone who's concerned about your wellbeing.
That's what happened to a sheep named Baarack (yes, that's the animal's new given name). He was found by someone out for a stroll earlier this month and Baarack is now in the care of Edgar's Mission Farm Sanctuary north of Melbourne, where he was shaved. How much fleece did it have? It was weighed out to be 77 lbs. worth. Baarack is apparently doing well and has made a lot of people warmer in the process.
Anyway:
The long road begins
Tiger Woods has had his shares of ups and downs over his illustrious golfing career. This latest event, though, is really going to test him.
We all know that Woods was involved in a rollover in California on the morning of Feb. 23 which sent him to hospital, where he had emergency surgery to fix multiple injuries to his leg. He had a rod inserted to stabilize his tibia and fibula bones, both of which are rather important for mobility. What's amazing is that he was even alive because one look at the wreckage would make you believe he was gone.
Thankfully, he was wearing a seat belt, which investigators said saved his life. He was also conscious when he was extricated from the vehicle so let's all hope the leg is the most serious problem he'll face. What he could live without was some dingus from CNN claiming that all the painkillers he had been taking for his back troubles must've been a cause. Not so much, said investigators, as there was no evidence of intoxication whatsoever.
I'm sure golf is the last thing from Woods' mind, as it should be, and he's worried about just getting better. If he does play golf again, it won't be for a long time and everyone, including myself, fears that he won't even be close to what he was before the accident. He's had one surgery but the state of his injuries leads you to believe he will have more. Many more, sadly.
You always hold out hope in times like this because you want to see someone like Woods go out on his terms. Every athlete's worst nightmare is an injury ending a career because you want to go out playing your last game. It would be sad if a car accident is what ended Woods' magnificent career.
Golf is where it is today because of him. There's more money in golf because of him. The profile of the sport is so much higher because of him. Tiger Woods is the reason golf became must-watch TV at the turn of the century. I just hope he has one more good one left in him.
Why not make fun of it?
I love it when teams troll controversy. Like that time the University of Tennessee's men's baseball team decided to have some fun with something which embroiled the school earlier this year.
The baseball boys beat Arkansas-Pine Bluff 21-1 (that's not a typo) on Feb. 23 and decided to have some fun after Max Ferguson hit a home run in the second inning. After he rounded third and headed for home, his teammates celebrated by raising a McDonald's bag over his head. Why would they do that, you're asking? Here's why:
Tennessee's football team was under investigation for paying recruits to come and play at the school. Now, this is nothing new as schools have been shunting cash to kids for decades. It's happened under the noses of people for so long that it isn't a surprise when it happens.
When it comes to Tennessee, though, the accusation was that assistant coaches of the football team was passing over the loot in McDonald's bags.
No word yet on whether there's been any punishment because at a school like Tennessee, football is king and there's no way you troll the kings of the hill and not get away with it.
Still, I got a chuckle out of it and you will, too, when you see the video. And if the football team has a problem with it, then maybe they shouldn't be so sloppy with the palm-greasing next time.
And finally …
Good Idea: Keeping comments to yourself.
Bad Idea: Giving your comments to a Rotary club and getting caught.
Brian Mather is the now-former president of the Seattle Mariners and when you read this, you'll understand why.
Mather was the guest of honour of the Bellevue Breakfast Rotary Club earlier this month and either Mather forgot to insert his brain or he embraced a three-mimosa minimum before addressing the faithful. In his speech, he decided to let everyone watching know how the team dealt with its prospects … by manipulating their service time.
In short, that deals with how a team keeps a player in the minors for "development." That one line right there will go a long way in how the next round of collective bargaining will go between Major League Baseball and the players union. You think the players will let that gem go quietly?
He also didn't think too highly about how the team had to pay for a Japanese translator for pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma. He whined about the team dishing out $75,000 for that position and also how the English of Julio Rodriguez, another Mariners prospect, wasn't the greatest.
You can go and find the video but here's a nickel's worth of free advice: if you're thinking about saying something that could sound stupid, save us the time and pull your lower lip over your head and swallow. You'll do the world a favour.
Until next time, folks …