What a day

Taking a cue from Peter King of Sports Illustrated, I'm gonna do a rambling series of posts-within-a-post that may or may not have a unified field theory of existing in tandem.

- So, Manny Ramirez tested positive for a drug that boosts testosterone, is handed a 50-day suspension, and withdraws his appeal (kinda seems like the move of a guilty man). Damn. He tested positive for a drug given to 'roid-heads who want to hide the 'roids. A drug designed for women, no less. We can all guess which somebody will be hitting Raphael Palmiero's Viagra in a few years. Folks, given the pervasiveness of performance-enhancers in sports (mark my words, the PGA is next!), I'm really rethinking my failure to stick as a high school athlete (I was cut from every sport, even those without cuts...). Basically, I could continue to believe that I sucked, but now I'm starting to think that the other kids were doped up. Yeah, that's the ticket. I was robbed!

- I ended up working late to the point where the Social Media Club Richmond event was halfway done (I'm happy they're getting together because back in the "olden days" of the blogosphere, it was hard to get folks together...and for the record, Morton's has better steak than Ruth Chris. There I said it.). So, I sent my regrets and headed home...where I immediately proceeded to delete my Twitter account.

- Come on, people. Twitter is stupid unless you're in the news, PR, or marketing business...or unless you have untreated OCD. There's a reason that 60% of users drop it after one month; hell, at least I lasted a year. 520-something updates and 200-plus "followers" weren't enough to keep me interested, especially because I'm a writer, not a one-liner. As one of my Facebook friends said in response to a long, pointed FB status update, "Now I see why 140 characters weren't enough." Exactly. My snarkasm takes longer to spill out. Goodbye TweetDeck, Twitterholic, and the banal public curiosity about a product whose shelf-life as a standalone technology is coming to an end. Anywho, I came, I saw, I hit delete...I'm still holding onto one private-access-only Twitter account (twitter.com/conawayhaskins) for safekeeping because the guys who started Twitter also started Blogger, which they eventually sold to Google, and well, Twitter makes more sense as a function of another technology (i.e. Blogger, Google Apps, etc.), not as a primo technology in and of itself.

- I'm really wondering what the hell is up with customer service these days. First, our telecomm provider screws up our order and installation times (we switched companies in frustration). Then, I get harassed at a local big-box sporting goods retailer whose odd golf salesman actually accuses me of using a buffer to clean up a club that I'd just bought but returned (un-hit) soon thereafter when I found it cheaper. If the concept of me using a buffer wasn't so hilarious (have you felt my hands? I ain't exactly Mr. Tooltime), I'd have gone off. Then, we get the run-around with a contractor about our roof. Finally, Conde Nast screws the pooch by shutting down Portfolio magazine when I've got 2 years left on a subscription. I still haven't heard about the options they're offering subscribers despite being told by the poor folks in the subscription department that they'd email us with choices (hint: I like the New Yorker so much that I converted my Golf Digest subscription into that rag). Companies will soon learn that in hard economic times, treating customers right will be the difference between survival and Chapter 7 or 11. Read Dale Carnegie people!

- At any rate, it looks like our microfarming experiment is turning out well. We'll have plenty of potatoes, beets, and carrots to munch on when the cooler weather gets here in a few months. Sadly, I think that the beans and greens will struggle to make it. But, that ain't half bad for first-timers. It's easier to be a locavore when you grow the food yourself.

- Have you ever noticed that Juicy Juice makes wonderful mixers for cocktails? Seriously. I know this stuff is marketed to parents as a healthy 100% juice alternative (man, I've been cutting it 50/50 with water because their fruit concentrates are way sugary), but it's amazing how a little Juicy Juice added to, say Tanqueray Rangpur, Absolut Pears, Southern Comfort 100 proof and such makes a nice, smooth-drinking nameless cocktail. And it has vitamins!

- It's been kinda fun hijacking my wife's blog for the past few months, but I'm rather tired. I finally got that Scott Yancy piece done, and my writing mojo went south as soon as I hit publish (and after it was picked up by BASN). The Visual Arts Center of Richmond is offering workshops, and they sent me a reminder that my membership (read: donation) had lapsed, so maybe I'll go do a fiction workshop or something. As the old folks say, I'll do blog posts when the spirit moves me. Otherwise, be good to each other. Peace!

Brother can you spare a ball marker? Where did all the men's pro golf go in Richmond?

It seems like every spring, Richmonders could count on seeing top-shelf or future top-shelf men's professional golf. Back in the day, the Greater Richmond Open would come to town showcase the future stars of the PGA and offer local wannabe pros a shot at glory. Well, it looks like 2009 will be a relatively barren year as far as the men are concerned. Last year, The Dominion Club announced that it would "cease to host the Nationwide Tour's Henrico County Open effective during the 2009 season."

The reason given was that, "The tournament is without a title sponsor." The upside was that the environment would benefit as the club management looked "forward to returning the course to its preferred turf management practices and eliminating the overseeding of the rough." Still, the area golfing public suffered as American golf's AAA league packed up and left.

The drought doesn't end there. The Hooter's Tour, one of golf's AA entries, also pulled out of Richmond after hosting a regular event south of the river at Lake Chesdin. However, the lower-tier (A-level, perhaps?) but high-stepping eGolf Professional Tour (formerly the Tarheel tour) will be holding it's $220,000 Greater Richmond Open in the outskirts of the city, splitting time between Petersburg and Providence Forge. There are also events an hour away in Gordonsville and Farmville, but those are just shy of the Metro region's regular purview.

Despite the professional men kicking Richmond to the curve, the LPGA’s main developmental tour – the Futures Tour – is coming to town in August. Golf fans will be able to check out the next generation of women stars. And, this weekend, Williamsburg is playing host to the best women golfers in the world as the Michelob Ultra Open hits Kingsmill.

It's actually a good thing that the ladies are coming as most average male golfers could learn more from them than from Tiger & Co. That is, if they were really honest about the quality of their games and speed of their swings. Depending on how the spirit moves, this is one way below average duffer who may mosey on over to Patterson Road to watch and learn.

A Walk Nearly Spoiled: A Quick Update as Yancy's Game Goes South...Again

So, it looks like Scott Yancy did not have much success on his first outing on the Hooters Tour. Playing on that circuit's Carolina Series event at the Charlotte National Golf Club, he shot a 78 and was disqualified. Par was 72, and from the looks of things, had he not been DQ'd, he would've started the 2nd round with a shot at making the cut and cashing a check.

Speaking with him earlier in the month, Scott had scaled back his outlook a bit, saying "My goal is to make it to the PGA tour, [but] right now it looks like a great happening would be to make the cut in a Hooters event." For now, he seems resigned that he may not be PGA material. He o his plan being delayed. Playing on the virtually unknown Moonlight Tour, he did okay making it onto the "order of merit" with a handful of points.

As for winging it on the Hooter's Tour, Scott plans to play in the tournament taking place on May 11-17 at Sunset Hills Country club in his hometown of Edwardsville, IL.

If you need a refresher, a set of four articles on Scott's journey was published by the Black Athlete Sports Network around Master's Week. You can find the originals here, here, here, and here. The raison d'etre for why a Richmond blog is writing about a wannabe pro golfer in Illinois is here. Enjoy.

Telling magazine salesmen that their product is dead isn't in my "Portfolio"

Earlier today, word came via Portfolio.com blogger Jeff Bercovici (hat tip: Huffington Post) that the Conde Nast publication's time on digital Earth was drawing to a close. Apparently, the investors and management of the media company decided that their 21-month experiment in a glossy, behind-the-scenes business journalism magazine just wasn't cutting it. Now, Portfolio will end up on the scrap heap of creative destruction that is transforming the media business before our eyes.

Being a subscriber, I gave the subscription office a call when I stepped out to grab a sandwich seeing what my options would be in terms of refunds, transferal of service to another product, etc. I ditched the automated service by pressing "0" and got a warm body who was eager to help me with my "subscription." After telling him that I heard the news of the magazine's imminent demise, instead of offering me an alternative, he retorted "Where'd you hear that from, sir?" I replied, "I saw it on your website - Portfolio.com - that the magazine was being cut." He replied, "Really, I haven't heard anything about it. Hold on." He came back on a few seconds later sounding shaken. "Well, I guess that we're the last to know in these situations."

He took my email address and informed me that the company normally offers a refund or a shift to another magazine. At that point, I was less concerned about my rather low-priced subscription and more concerned that I may have alerted this young man that his job or the job of his friends may be in danger. How sad.

Horton Vineyards 2007 Vidal Blanc: It's one in the morning, and do you know where your wine is?

Well, after a late-night run to feed a wine fix (since Lent ended, I'm easing myself back into alcohol consumption), I managed to score a bottle of 2007 Vidal Blanc from Orange County's Horton Vineyards. From the hands and minds of one of Virginia's finest wine producers, this little bottle of liquid pleasure only cost me around $6 at an area Kroger. That's a great deal considering that the 2006 version retails at $10/bottle at the vineyard itself and Vidal Blanc isn't know for aging well over the long term.

As one of the last 2 bottles on the store shelf, it's always a crap-shoot seeing if the wine was overexposed to the heat and light of a grocer's shop. But, for $6, it was a no-harm-no-foul situation. Anyway, I'm glad that I picked it up. Upscale it's not, but this semi-dry white wine ain't half bad (there's no info about it on the website - the 2006 info is up). It actually reminds me of one of the pear hard ciders offered up at your local brewery - sweet but not sugary, definitely high on the alcohol content, but dry enough avoid sending you into brain cramp territory.

This isn't a dessert wine, but it would be good to drink solo before or after dinner. The label was pretty much correct in terms of noting the pineapple and citrus notes.

As far as Virginia wines go, Horton is usually a can't-miss proposition. Once upon at time, we serendipitously lucked up into a private tour of the entire wine-making operation by the owner, so there's always a bit of sentimentality attached to wines under the Horton label. But, their reputation is well-earned. If you manage to find the '07 VB, and it's under $7-8, consider it money (and time) well spent.

Soak(ed) in Short Pump?

For the past few weeks, going to Short Pump Mall (Town Centre, Fashion Park, Galleria..or whatever name the developers gave it) has been kinda sad. One of my favorite spots to pick up goodies for the special ladies in my life (and the occasional manly metrosexual product, too) has apparently closed it doors.

Soak was a cute little store near the 1st floor of Dillards that opened up to some media fanfare back in the day. They had a variety of spa products, including some body scrubs that (I've been told) tasted like candy. The staff was always nice and accommodating, especially when I'd show up exasperated at Christmas time looking to take care of multiple gifts without duplication and within budget. I always figured that closing down their Carytown operation and focuses on the higher traffic reaches of downtown Short Pump would work better. Guess I was wrong.

I've searched the local business news and found nothing about the store's apparent demise. Calls to the shop and the distribution center were met with that awful "phone line is no longer in service" message, and the two websites are either static or dead. I guess the economic downturn has claimed another victim. Oh well, birthday, holidays, and other events just won't be the same...and neither will my hurtin' feet (no comment).

A Walk Nearly Spoiled: Carolina On His Mind

After winning the local “Dave Thomas Invitational” money event, Scott Yancy won another local event called the Walt Leidner Invitational in his home state of Illinois. Then, in July 2008, his game went south…literally. He had decided to take another route to the PGA tour by trying his luck at the Tarheel Golf Tour, a minor league circuit based in the Carolinas and Virginia. The Tarheel tour is professional level golf, with the top money winner in 2008 hauling in just over $100,000 playing in 16 of the 20 sponsored events. The 2007 money-winner pulled down just over $80,000 participating in all 20 events. That seems like good money for the average joe, but when you consider that the average caddie for a top 100 PGA players makes more than that carrying a pro’s golf bag and recommending shots and clubs, it is a paltry sum.

For the uninitiated, the world of professional golf may seem obscure. From the polyester slacks and thick white belts that marked the games early televised forays in the 1960s and 1970s, golf has becoming a high-tech big-money sport with millions of dollars flowing at various levels. At the top of the professional food chain sits the Professional Golfers Association (PGA) Tour, a multi-million dollar organization that organizes 40-45 nationally-televised events per year, paying out a total in excess of $250 million in prize money. Founded in 1968 to separate the full-time competitive golfers from those who earn a living managing golf facilities or teaching, the PGA is the highest level of competitive golf in the world.

This is the realm of Tiger Woods, and it remains the white whale of many an aspiring golf pro. Annually, 125-150 golfers participate in regular PGA events, and most of those golfers also have endorsement contracts from golf, athletic and corporate sponsors that add additional millions for touring pros to earn. In 2008, the top 100 golfers on the PGA Tour made a minimum of $1 million each in prizes.

Below the PGA Tour exists the Nationwide Tour (analogous to baseball’s AAA leagues), the NGA/Hooters Tour, the Gateway Tour, and various and sundry other tours paying smaller amounts to competitors. The Nationwide circuit is the official development league for the PGA, and the top 25 money-winners on that tour earn the right to play in PGA events the following year. At any point in time, 65% of PGA Tour players trace their playing history to the Nationwide Tour. Golfers play in over 30 events totaling over $20 million in prize money.

Two competing entities occupy the playing space a step below the Nationwide Tour - The NGA/Hooters Tour and the Gateway Tour. The Hooters circuit is owned by the founder of the eponymous restaurant chain noted for scantily clad waitresses. Its golfers play in roughly 30 events that pay out a total of $6.2 million annually with host sites throughout the Southeastern and Midwestern US. The Gateway Tour is its primary competitor, owned in part by several PGA professionals, and offering over 50 events that pay a total of $7.2 million in annual prize money. It is based primarily in the Southwestern US and holds additional events in Florida. If the Nationwide Tour is the AAA of golf, the Hooters and Gateway Tours are golf’s AA, and many PGA champions got their start on these tours. This minor league life is Scott Yancy’s world, the place where he proclaims, “I am going forward with my dreams”



Scott’s time on the 2008 Tarheel tour was on par with that in his previous attempts at pro-level golf. He entered seven events, played six and was disqualified in one. He missed the cut in five of the six events he played, and in the other event, he lasted one round and there was not a cut. His lowest round was a respectable 71 and his highest never more than 84, which gave him an average of 78.7 in 11 rounds. However, in the final season event, the Tarheel Tour Championship, he was disqualified.

Speaking in October 2008, Scott attributed his lack of success to his own shortcomings, not the abilities of the competition. He says, “As for my performance on tour, yes the competition is good, but that has had nothing to do with my play. Quite simply I just haven't played well.” He believed that geography was part of his undoing asserting that, “A big part of the problem is that the types of courses we play on [the Tarheel] tour are different from the ones I grew up playing on. The greens are much faster, and there is so much more undulation in them.”

In his mind, this affects the strategy that a golfer must take to play the game well in Dixie. In addition to the course set up, Scott felt that “there is such a premium on driving the ball well because the rough is thick and makes it hard to stop the ball on these firm, fast greens.” He continued, “after my first tournament on the Tarheel tour where I shot one over [par] in the opening round and knew I had to shoot 68 the second day to make the cut, I probably took too many risks and played too aggressively, thus causing me to shoot +4 on the second round. But what can you do? You have to shoot 4 under, you know, so you have to be aggressive.” He seemed rather wistful about this noting, “sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.”

After just one tournament, Scott decided to make a rather drastic move. He said that “After that tournament, I decided that I needed to change my golf swing so that I could be more accurate and hit more fairways and greens. I enlisted the help of Brian Fogt at Bellereive Country Club in St. Louis.” He felt this shift would make him more competitive. However, over the next five events, his performance did not get better. He chalks this up to the swing overhaul, “The scores you saw after that first tournament are reflective of me trying to play golf on tour while working on swing changes. It's very tough.” Quite frankly, making swing changes in the midst of a season was a risky move. After his changes did not succeed, he changed back.

By the time he got to an event in South Carolina, Scott “finally said ‘forget the swing changes,’” As he figured, “I may not be the most accurate player on tour, but I hit the ball so far that even when I'm in the rough, I can still hit wedges and 9 irons into the greens. So I went out and played ‘Scott Yancy, no holding back’ style golf.” He felt this made him much more competitive.

“I made 5 birdies and an eagle in the first round but managed to only shoot -1. Nonetheless it was my best round on tour this year and set me up in excellent position to make the cut. I made six bogeys in that round primarily because the golf course was so wet and soggy that I had a hard time playing chips and pitches around the greens. They just didn't react the way I thought they would and that left me a lot of 15 footers for par.”

Scott’s second round was shaky. He says, “I started off the front nine hitting the ball all over the map. I was dizzy when I woke up and my balance was off. I got up and down for par on the first 5 holes. I had hit no fairways and no greens, but mentally I was just grinding, you know. Finally I missed an ‘up and down’ on 6 and dropped back to even for the tournament.” Scott can painfully detailed getting derailed. Going from bad to worse, he ended up hitting a shot that required inventions from rules officials. After the dust settled, he ended up carding an 84.
“What a roller coaster. I learned my lesson - know the rules and always, always, always play my best no matter what,” he reflected.

Despite his less than stellar play on the Tarheel tour, with the 2009 season in gear, he says, “My game is back…I can promise you that I will play well....I have figured out what it takes for me to play well.”

So far, 2009 has proven interesting for him. Scott says that he shot +3 at a qualifying event for the Honda Classic when -2 was the necessary score. Hitting that bump has not stopped him. He says that, “I have my card on the Hooters tour again. Via my 13th place finish at Hooters Tour qualifying school this year, I am eligible to play the Hooters Tour events as I see fit. But I am not playing until I feel that my game is ready to be competitive.”

With several fits and starts in his past, Scott is starting to look frankly at his career choices. The dreams of an 18 year-old college freshman on scholarship turned into the hopefulness of a 23 year-old reality TV contestant. Now, at 28, he is blunt about his journey saying, “The major reason for me turning pro again is simply money. See, right now I work 50 hours a week in retail, my schedule varies quite a bit, and our peak days are on the weekends. So, it's really tough for me to take days off to play in tournaments. Also with the [work] schedule, sometimes I work at morning sometimes I work at night. It makes it so hard for me to get time to practice when most of the time I'm trying to catch up on my sleep so I can function the next day at work.”

Scott now realizes the sheer amount of work he must put in to get on the path to the PGA. “The only way I have a chance to make it to the PGA Tour is to be able to put in 10 hours a day like the rest of the guys that are out there. I just can't do that working [in a retail job]. Can you imagine how good of a basketball player Michael Jordan would've been if he had to work 50 hours a week during basketball season?”

Noting his desire for financial assistance, he says, “If I can get a sponsor or a few sponsors, I can get back to practicing and getting ready to compete out there. Otherwise I could try to be competitive based on my raw talent which is basically what I had to do when I was on tour before. I need money for a good teacher, membership at a tour quality golf course, and to pay enough of my bills so that I don't have that extra stress and pressure on my shoulders. It doesn't help knowing that if you miss a cut you might not have enough money for gas to go home.”

In his quest for golfing, he is turning to a higher power to set his feet on solid ground, saying “I believe that it's God's will for me to play, and my struggle is part of my testimony.”

Despite the longest of odds, Scott has confidently proclaimed that during the 2009 season, “My golf game will be ready and no matter what, I am going forward with my dream.” For a seasoned professional golfer with years of Nationwide and PGA tour action under his belt, such a plan would still be considered ambitious. But, for an Illinois mall employee with less than 10 years of competitive golf experience, who dropped off of two lower-level college teams and shoots scores that would barely win championships at the local country club, this undertaking is downright impossible. Yet, Scott Yancy toils on, and with a new season afoot and the power of the Internet and TV, everyone can watch to see if his good walk ends up spoiled.