Monday, April 14, 2008

What’s in Cheney’s sunglasses?

You may have seen it, and you may have not. But last week, questions were asked about the image that appeared in vice president Dick Cheney’s sunglasses in a photograph. Cheney was on a hunting/fishing trip in the northwest and the image showed Cheney grinning as if he thoroughly enjoyed what he was looking at.

The reflection in his sunglasses appeared to capture that of a naked woman. At least, that’s what some folks said.

People jumped on this bandwagon, whether the picture was legit or not.

The picture was released by the White House. Do you really think the White House would release a picture of the vice president in the company of naked women? Are White House photographers invited to attend outdoor hunting parties that include strippers? Please.

The image may look like a woman, but more than one person investigating the photo confirms it’s just his hand. This does not mean there wasn’t a naked woman prancing in front of Cheney or the White House photographer, but she wasn’t in his sunglasses. 

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Immelman on the mark

I’m glad to say I had the opportunity to watch Trevor Immelman during Masters week. OK, so I watched him take a few chips and putts around the second green during Monday’s practice round. But still, I think it’s cool to say I got a glimpse and took a few pics of this year’s Masters winner before the event actually started.

Friday, April 11, 2008

Double-dipping, football and heart surgery

I often visit the Lee County Courthouse to survey folks regarding a variety of issues. This week’s issue revolves around legislators and the double-dipping ban. Thankfully, I found five folks in less than an hour.

Two dudes I bumped into, but did not poll on the subject, were Auburn football players Sen’Derrick Marks and defensive end Quentin Groves. Of course, Groves is looking forward to the April 26 NFL Draft, where he is expected to be taken in the first or second round. He’s driving a nice black SUV, so I kinda envied that. I bet my old dumpy car gets better gas mileage.

I learned Friday morning in a news report that Groves underwent heart surgery last month. Don’t fret. It ain’t serious. Apparently, he had a condition called Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome, which the surgery repaired. It should not effect his draft status or NFL career. I’m glad to hear that.

After a season at defensive end, Marks said he would be returning to the interior of the line. Marks is good on the inside or outside, so it just looks like Auburn will use him wherever the team needs him depending on depth at the positions.

I wish both of these guys the best. Still don’t know how they feel about legislators and double-dipping though.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Amen Corner’s signature hole

Took this picture Monday at Augusta National. Thought it was attractive. If you weren’t sure, this is the par 3 12th hole—arguably the most picturesque and signature hole at The Masters.

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Masters hopeful won here in 1997

Following Tiger Woods at Augusta Monday at Masters practice was difficult simply because most of the patrons inside the facility followed him too. But if I wanted to watch other players such as Zach Johnson, Ben Crenshaw or Vijay Singh, I had no problem.

As my roll of film was nearly exhausted, I spotted Steve Flesch approaching the second green. Flesch won the first professional golf tournament I ever covered, the 1997 NIKE Tour Championship at Grand National. Looking back at his rounds for that week, it’s hard to imagine anyone shooting 69-68-68-73 at a course I can’t break 100 without bending the rules. The dude broke 70 at Grand National three days in a row and he never moved his ball to a better spot on the fairway or took mulligans. He must be good or something.

Regardless, I snapped a couple of shots of him tuning up for this week’s Masters. Flesch dropped a few balls into the sand and practiced knocking them on to the green. Pictured above is one of his shots.

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Azaleas, Tiger, and egg salad sandwiches

I’ve never seen a golf course more beautiful than I did Monday. It was cold, damp and overcast, but even drab skies couldn’t take away from Augusta National’s radiance.

The azaleas and dogwoods were blooming—just like they are here in east Alabama—except their presence behind select greens, coupled with Rae’s Creek and the tall Georgia pines painted a stunning masterpiece, often repeated through reflections in the ponds.

Even after Tiger Woods and his throng of thousands that followed his every move finished Amen Corner, the 11th, 12th and 13th holes outlined with flowers and the meandering creek and its picturesque bridges, many stayed behind. There was nobody to watch. Masters practice was in full swing, but Tiger had little company in his wake. The grandstands that overlooked the 12th hole remained packed. At that moment I realized that people weren’t necessarily here to watch Woods, or even golf for that matter. Many were at this very spot simply because it is mesmerizing. People talked, drank and took pictures. They were in golf heaven, sacred ground, and didn’t want to leave.

I left.

I was hungry and an egg salad sandwich sounded good at the time.

Watching Masters practice is fun because the players aren’t as serious, other than Tiger spouting a few unnecessary F-bombs, and take numerous turns chipping and putting around the greens from multiple angles. Pin placements will be different each round, so they wanted to get a feel for all areas of the greens.

Another thing that caught my eye was the grass. That stuff is immaculate. It’s so soft and green, it doesn’t look real.

Also, the practice rounds are the only rounds patrons (that’s a fancy term for fans) can bring cameras and photograph PGA Tour stars to death. Everyone wanted Tiger’s picture. That’s why it was so difficult taking close-ups of the tournament favorite. I had no problem standing beside the tee box when defending champ Zach Johnson pulled out his driver and was practically alone when Ben Crenshaw and Steve Flesch, who won the 1997 NIKE Tour tournament at Grand National in Opelika, approached the second green.

If you’ve always wanted to walk Augusta National, the practice rounds are your best bet. Badges are available along Washington Road, the four-lane street outside the course, from people looking to make a profit. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so why not head to Augusta one year in the near future? Concessions are very inexpensive and the course is fan-friendly. You get to walk across the famous fairways from time to time. That’s like walking across Lambeau Field.

The Holy Grail of golf lies just four hours away. If you drool at the chance to stroll on the grounds and see the world’s best, try heading to a practice round in the future. You’ll be glad you did.

Friday, April 04, 2008

State political candidate list complete

Here is a complete list of candidates who qualified by Friday’s deadline to run for major state and federal offices, with “I” designating incumbents:
U.S. Senate
I-Jeff Sessions (R)
Earl Mack Gavin (R)
Vivian Davis Figures (D)
Johnny Swanson III (D)
Mark ``No NCAA’’ Townsend (D)

1st Congressional District
I-Jo Bonner (R)
Tommy Fuller (D)

2nd Congressional District
David Grimes (R)
Jay Love (R)
John W. Martin (R)
Craig D. Schmidtke (R)
Harri Anne Smith (R)
David Woods (R)
Bobby Bright (D)
Cendie Crawley (D)
Cheryl Sabel (D)

3rd Congressional District
I-Mike Rogers (R)
Joshua Segall (D)

4th Congressional District
I-Robert Aderholt (R)
Greg Warren (D)
Nicholas Sparks (D)

5th Congressional District
Mark Huff (R)
Ray McKee (R)
Wayne Parker (R)
George C. Barry (R)
Angelo ``Doc’’ Mancuso (R)
Cheryl Baswell Guthrie (R)
Parker Griffith (D)
David Maker (D)

6th Congressional District
I-Spencer Bachus (R)

7th Congressional District
I-Artur Davis (D)

Alabama Supreme Court
Greg Shaw (R)
Deborah Bell Paseur (D)

Court of Criminal Appeals-Place 1
Peggy Givhan (R)
Beth Kellum (R)
Lucie McLemore (R)
Teresa Bearden Petelos (R)
Steve Dodd (D)
Clyde Jones (D)

Court of Criminal Appeals-Place 2
Mary Windom (R)
Duncan Crow (R)
Chris Mixon (R)
Jeff Duffie (D)
Jon Hayden (D)
Aimee Cobb Smith (D)

Court of Civil Appeals
I-Bill Thompson (R)
Kimberly Drake (D)

Public Service Commission President
Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh (R)
Matt Chancey (R)
Jack Hornady (R)
Lucy Baxley (D)

State Board of Education-Place 1
Paul H. Christopher (R)
I-Randy McKinney (R)
Kenyon T. Berry (D)

State Board of Education-Place 3
I-Stephanie Bell (R)
Skip Smith (R)
Judy West Bell (D)

State Board of Education-Place 5
Lula Bridges (R)
I-Ella B. Bell (D)

State Board of Education-Place 7
Gary Warren (R)
Brett Whitehead (R)
Earl Gardner (D)

Fenway hawk attacks A-Rod

Alexa Rodriguez is no relation to Yankee star Alex Rodriguez. But that didn’t stop a defensive red-tailed hawk from attacking the 13-year-old girl Thursday during a middle school field trip to Fenway Park—home of the Red Sox.

Alexa even goes by the nickname A-Rod, same as the Sox nemesis.

The Yankees and Alex Rodriguez visit Fenway for a three-game series next weekend. Not sure if the hawk will be in a fiesty mood, but just in case, A-Rod should bring extra head gear.

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

I’m golfing at Augusta next week!

Just thought I’d say this because I can’t hold it in, but I’m golfing Sunday at Augusta. OK, so it’s not Augusta National. Augusta Municipal is the closest thing, and it’s cheap, which I like.

After Sunday’s round (I really think I can break 100), I’ll walk the fairways of Augusta National Monday morning to watch Tiger Woods, Sergio Garcia, Phil Mickelson and company practice for the Masters.

Augusta National is a special place. It’s serene with true southern beauty. I can’t say the rest of metro Augusta is as appealing. But the city does have Rhinehart’s, perhaps the best place in the world for greasy chicken wings and fried oysters. I can’t leave the city without stopping by Rhinehart’s.

I might bring a few blades of Augusta National grass back with me and replant them in my front yard, but they’d just wilt to death in the upcoming summer heat. Besides, golf course police would probably tackle me and toss me on to four-laned Washington Road.

I’ll post a few pictures next week.

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Alabamians scale back

According to a report by the Associated Press, more than 40,000 Alabamians lost a combined 207,871 pounds during the Scale Back Alabama weight loss contest. That’s pretty good considering participants lost 78,472 pounds last year.

Does this mean grease pits and all-you-can-eat buffets across the state are on the brink of going out of business? Not a chance. Though 40,000 entrants lost weight, we have no idea how much weight was gained by others in the state. Personally, I think I gained 10 pounds or so. I’m not going to stand for it either.

It’s good to see so many people dedicated to their health. Hopefully more people will catch on and salad can take the place of fried this ‘n that.

Monday, March 31, 2008

Booing president a right, but it seems wrong

I was a bit surprised Sunday night when many fans attending the Washington Nationals’ home-opener against the Braves booed President Bush as he made the season’s first pitch. Granted, it’s people’s right in this great nation to boo whomever they please, but it seems that booing the president is like booing the nation itself. The president, whomever it is, is a symbolic figure of America much like the flag and bald eagle.

Maybe folks were booing policies or poor decisions made by this administration. There are a few of those to choose from. Regardless, it seems that people have less respect for this nation than they once did. One thing’s for certain: folks boo leaders in other places and they get thrown in jail or worse. At a baseball game in America, they get hot dogs and peanuts.

Friday, March 28, 2008

Mayor promptly responds

I ran a blurb in my Friday column mentioning graffitti, some obscene, on the walls of the concession stand at the old ball fields (Smallwood Park) across Pepperell Parkway from Wal-Mart in Opelika. I’m pleased to announce Opelika mayor Gary Fuller has already contacted city officials about taking measures to either cover the graffitti or destroy the useless building.

However, the fields could also be on West Point Home property, private property the city can’t do anything about. Regardless, I’m very pleased with the prompt response.

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Auburn’s Nix headed to Turner Field

Former Auburn High and Auburn University pitcher Michael Nix will be one of two minor league pitchers to join the Braves this weekend at Turner Field in Atlanta for a two-game series against the Indians. Friday’s game begins at 7 p.m., while Saturday’s first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.

Nix has spent much of spring training with the big league club, along with a number of other minor league pitchers, to provide relief on the mound in live games and during batting practice in an effort to preserve the arms of the team’s regulars. He has appeared in three games, pitching one inning each time. Nix’s ERA is 3.00, while allowing one run on one hit. He has walked three and walked two.

Nix played last season with the Braves’ AA affiliate in Mississippi. He will more than likely be assigned to Mississippi or AAA Richmond following Saturday’s game.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Where did Doonesbury go? I have the answer

For conspiracy theorists wondering why Doonesbury is no longer on the Opelika-Auburn News editorial page, there is a pretty good reason. Gary Trudeau, the artist who creates the comic strip, is apparently on a three-month vacation. It’s hard to run Doonesbury for three months when there is no Doonesbury to run.

Until he returns, we’re plugging the space with Mallard Fillmore, another politically-oriented strip.

Monday, March 24, 2008

Atlanta tornado photo for sale

Want to purchase an incredible photo of the tornado that smacked downtown Atlanta March 14? Shane Durrance, who I read somewhere in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution once lived in Phenix City, took this incredible photo (link to it is: http://atlantatornado.org/)

Photos for sale range from 8x12 ($49.98) to 24x36 ($209.98). It seems a bit pricey, but at least some of the proceeds are going toward recovery efforts to clean up the mess.

I couldn’t imagine being at the top of one of those downtown skyscrapers (the Westin, for example) when that thing was coming. It must have been a scary night for the patrons at the Sundial, the cyclonic restaurant at the top of the hotel that actually rotates.