Will Tiger Woods Win The 2009 US Open?

June 17, 2009 By

The 2009 U.S. Open is set to tee off on Thursday, June 18. I hope this year’s U.S. Open can come close to matching the excitement of last year’s classic.

In case you forgot, the 2008 U.S. Open featured a 45-year old named Rocco Mediate and Tiger Woods, the world’s top-ranked golfer, who had missed the previous two months due to knee surgery.

The affable, always-smiling Mediate was in the clubhouse with a one-stroke lead as Tiger stood over a 15-foot putt on the final hole that he had to make to force an 18-hole playoff the next day. And as only Tiger could do, he sank the putt.

On Monday, Rocco and Tiger provided one of the most exciting days in golf history, which was made even more dramatic by Tiger’s knee problems, which left him grimacing after many tee shots. It first appeared as though Tiger’s experience would be too much for Mediate as he built a three shot lead with eight holes to play. However, the gritty Mediate refused to quit and actually led by one four holes later. And as he had done on Sunday, Tiger had to make another putt on 18 to tie, which, of course, he did. Tiger went onto win on the next hole, the 91st hole of the tournament.

It was his 65th career victory, passing Ben Hogan for third all-time, and 14th major. Tiger raised his playoff record to 15-2 and made it 14-of-14 in majors when he had at least a share of the lead going into the final round. For Mediate, I’m sure there was disappointment, but you would have never known it. He won over a legion of fans and quickly became one of the most popular golfers on tour. His affable personality has opened up a world of opportunities, from endorsements to appearances to motivational sports speaking.

This year’s event starts on Thursday at Bethpage Black in New York. The initial weather forecast calls for rain off and on throughout the week, and if that holds true, it’s going to keep the scores low and reward those players who keep the ball in the fairway and out of the notoriously-thick rough. So who am I picking to win this year’s event?

Tiger won Jack Nicklaus’s event a couple of weeks ago at Muirfield and drove the ball better than he has all year. If he plays the same this week, he could be tough to beat. I also like a few international golfers, including Geoff Ogilvy, the 2006 Open winner, and Retief Goosen, a two-time Open champion . My darkhorse…Brian Gay, who won the event in Memphis last week after leading wire-to-wire. A two-time winner this year, Brian is a tough competitor when he’s on top of his game.

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Is Phil Jackson The Biggest Clutch Perfomer Of NBA Finals This Year?

June 7, 2009 By

Who would you vote for as the biggest clutch performer of the NBA Finals this year? Kobe Bryant? Dwight Howard? How about trying Phil Jackson?

When you think of Phil Jackson, you think of winning. Jackson is the only coach in NBA history to win more than 1,000 games. He won two NBA Championships in 1970 and 1973 as a player for the New York Knicks. He was also the head coach of the Chicago Bulls when they won six NBA Championships in a span of eight years in the 1990’s. After a short-lived retirement, Jackson returned to coach the Los Angeles Lakers and led them to three consecutive NBA titles between 2000 and 2002.

He’s tied with Boston Celtics legend Red Auerbach with 9 NBA coaching titles and will hold the all-time record with 10 if the Lakers defeat the Orlando Magic in this year’s finals. If you think about it, that’s really an incredible feat given that only three other coaches in NBA history have won more than two titles.

Sure, you might say it’s easy to win when you’ve coached the likes of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Shaquille O’Neal, Dennis Rodman and Kobe Bryant, but it takes a special talent to get a group of superstars to play as one. Jackson commands respect from his players and gets them to play at their full potential. My favorite quote by Jackson….“Good teams become great ones when the members trust each other enough to surrender the Me for the We.”

Jackson is a complex individual and very much a thinker. He’s known for his use of Tex Winter’s triangle offense as well as a holistic approach to coaching that is influenced by Eastern philosophy, earning him the nickname “Zen Master”. (Jackson cites Robert Pirsig’s book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance as one of the major guiding forces in his life.) He also applies Native American spiritual practices as documented in his book “Sacred Hoops”. So while Jackson may be a bit different than most other coaches, whatever he’s doing works.

Jackson was inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame in 2007 and, as part of the NBA’s 50th Anniversary in 1999, was named one of the 10 greatest coaches in league history. The others on the list were Red Aurbach, Chuck Daly, Bill Fitch, Red Holzman, Pat Riley, Don Nelson, John Kundla, Jack Ramsay and Lenny Wilkins.

For most coaches, one NBA title would mark a successful career. Said Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy, “”We’re not going to win the coaching matchup. Phil has won more playoff series than I’ve won playoff games. You’ve got to be yourself. I couldn’t be Phil even if I wanted to.” No one can be Phil Jackson. That’s why I believe he’ll go down as the greatest coach in NBA history.

If you would like to hire Phil Jackson for a speaking engagement, appearance, endorsement, autograph signing or special event, request Phil Jackson booking agent information from PFP Sports and Celebrity Talent Agency. PFP is a top sports booking agent for athletes, sports stars and celebrities.

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Can Chauncey Billups Win The NBA Title For The Denver Nuggets?

May 18, 2009 By

The Denver Nuggets are on a Rocky Mountain high. Can Chauncey Billups lead the Denver Nuggets to an NBA Title ?

The Denver Nuggets are the feel-good story of this NBA postseason. With limited success in recent years, no one gave them much of a chance, instead preferring to focus on an anticipated Kobe Bryant – Lebron James matchup in the NBA Finals. With a 3-1 series victory over the Dallas Mavericks, the Nuggets advanced to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 1995.

Although the Nuggets have never won a NBA Championship, they do have a history with such NBA greats as Hall of Famers David Thompson and Dan Issel. But it’s been a long time since they been considered a title contender. Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle called the Nuggets “a legitimate championship-caliber team”. “The Denver Nuggets are going to win the whole thing,” said Hall of Famer Charles Barkley. “This is the year of the Nuggets.”

The next round against the Los Angeles Lakers should be very exciting. The Nuggets are playing excellent basketball right now and have the ability to score a lot of points in a hurry if the opposition gets complacent. Additionally, their defense could give Lakers big-man Pau Gaisol trouble. As for Kobe Bryant, you know he’s going to score a ton of points – you can only hope to contain him.

In recent years, the Nuggets have had talent with the likes of Carmelo Anthony, Nene and Kenyon Martin and a well-respected head coach in George Karl but have been considered underachievers. Each of the last five years, they’ve been eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. Most importantly, they’ve lacked that one person who can provide leadership and take them to the next level.

Enter Chauncey Billups … Billups, a Denver native who played collegiately at the University of Colorado, was acquired from the Detroit Pistons prior to the start of this season in a trade for Allen Iverson. Billups enjoyed great success in Detroit, leading the Pistons to the 2004 NBA Championship and being named Finals MVP. Incredibly, this will be Billups’ seventh consecutive conference finals.

But even with his success in Detroit, no one expected what his presence would do for the Nuggets. You can use whatever analogy you want, but the bottom line is that Billups’ presence has made everyone less selfish and taught them to play as a team. If you talk with athletes who’ve one a championship in any sport, one of the recurring themes is unselfishness and teamwork. In this day of egos and skyrocketing salaries, it can be difficult to get a bunch of superstars to be on the same page. When that occurs, teams have a chance to accomplish something special, which is what we’re seeing with the Nuggets.

I don’t know whether the Nuggets can beat the Lakers and advance to the NBA Finals, but I think they stand a very good chance given their play thus far in the playoffs. The Nuggets need to win each of their home games – they’ve won 16 in a row at the Pepsi Center – and can only hope to steal one in Los Angeles – they’re 2-19 overall at the Staples Center.

Regardless of the outcome, it’s been a very entertaining season for Nuggets fans and (hopefully) a reawakening of a franchise that had gone dormant.

Contact Chauncey Billups booking agent here for a speaker appearance or endorsement.

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