The Smoking Gun makes the easy ID of a black Bridgestone cap on suspect number one while I'm pretty sure Daily Mail Reporter gets it wrong in claiming suspect 2 is wearing a Ralph Lauren hat (the hat they show has the "3" on the left side, the suspect's hat has the number, possibly a 7, on the right side).
Thanks to reader Kevin for David Feith's WSJ story on an upset philanthropist and the head of Bowdoin College butting heads over identity politics on the golf course.
The dispute has since led to a rich-guy commissioned study and upheaval at Bowdoin.
One day in the summer of 2010, Barry Mills, the president of Bowdoin College, a respected liberal-arts school in Brunswick, Maine, met investor and philanthropist Thomas Klingenstein for a round of golf about an hour north of campus. College presidents spend many of their waking hours talking to potential donors. In this case, the two men spoke about college life—especially "diversity"—and the conversation made such an impression on President Mills that he cited it weeks later in his convocation address to Bowdoin's freshman class. That's where the dispute begins.
In his address, President Mills described the golf outing and said he had been interrupted in the middle of a swing by a fellow golfer's announcement: "I would never support Bowdoin—you are a ridiculous liberal school that brings all the wrong students to campus for all the wrong reasons," said the other golfer, in Mr. Mills's telling. During Mr. Mills's next swing, he recalled, the man blasted Bowdoin's "misplaced and misguided diversity efforts." At the end of the round, the college president told the students, "I walked off the course in despair."
Ben Bolch in the LA Times and Rick Reilly of ESPN.com both wrote superb stories about the difference in travel then and now, which, as in golf with streaks like Byron Nelson's 11 straight wins, makes serious sports fans even more appreciative of runs like the '71-72 Lakers' 33-win streak. We have the rare opportunity to learn a few insights into that amazing Lakers team from the traveling secretary and broadcaster, my dad, Lynn Shackelford.
Though we anticipated the Heat taking a 28-game streak to San Antonio Sunday afternoon, their loss this week to the Bulls puts the Lakers' amazing run into perspective, particularly in light of the hurdles NBA teams faced then: commercial jet travel (often in coach), and four sets of back-to-back-to-back games, something that would never be allowed today.
The "firsts" with the 1971-72 Lakers:
- First time anyone ever went two calendar months without a loss - First time anyone scored 100 or more in 81 of 82 games - First time starting guards averaged more than 50 points a game - First time anyone won 37 games at home out of 41. - First time the margin of victory was 62 points in a game (Golden St.) - First time a team won 69 games in the regular season
Regarding that amazing team and the world revolving around it, Lynn answered some questions via email:
GS: Much was made of Elgin Baylor's retirement nine games into the season, which was then followed by the 33-win streak. Pure coincidence or was he at the point in his career where he was somehow dragging the team down a bit?
LS: As much as everyone in Los Angeles loved watching Elgin play, Bill Sharman knew a young Jim McMillian would be a better fit. In the season's second game he scored 28 off the bench. Management convinced Elgin to retire. I still am amazed, as Elgin liked nothing better than playing hoops. No doubt there had to be some financial incentive there. There is only one ball and McMillian was great at finishing plays, he didn't need the ball like Elgin. McMillian averaged 19 points a game and allowed the ball to be in Jerry West's possession longer, which in turn allowed the team to play at a quicker pace. It was one of those decisions that a coach has to make, and at the time Sharman had the clout and the willingness to make the tough call.
GS: Besides serving as the team's other broadcaster along with Chick Hearn, give us an idea what you did as traveling secretary.
LS: I handled all the petty cash that needed to be spent on the trip, which could mean reimbursing players for cabs (Wilt's was always the highest), handling airline tickets, scheduling the bus for pick-ups at airports and hotels. One year, I think it was 71-72, I had to call the players and make sure they were awake in time to catch the bus to the game. Demeaning for all involved, but at age 24 I was happy to be there and making $14,000 a year.
GS: Didn't Wilt and some others have some special needs you had to tend to?
LS: Wilt always wanted the 1st row on the aisle, not sure if was for leg room or to be closer to the flight attendants. Maybe both. I always requested extra orange juice and 7-Up. Wilt would mix the two as it was his favorite drink. He was the only one willing to sit next to Happy Hairston, who talked way too much, especially about his teammates. Goodrich always wanted the back row of first class on the window and just slept the whole flight. West had to have an aisle seat. He was too restless to sit and would wander up and down the aisle hoping to find someone to talk to.
GS: The Lakers have said they didn't really think about the streak until well into the double digits, when do you recall it starting to wear on them, if at all?
LS: I remember looking at the schedule with a couple of writers and one or two players after about 15 wins, and we concluded they should win every game until January in Milwaukee. Even though there were only 16 teams, and few easy wins, this group was very confident, well-conditioned and understanding of how to play their best game after game. As veterans they took emotions out of the equation and just rolled night in night out. Chamberlain and West had proved everything individually and were at a point in their career where they realized they couldn't score 40 or 50 every night, but were among the smartest veterans in the game. Until the Milwaukee game, which they lost, it was a very positive experience. Their closest game in the stretch came when they tied the old record with their 20th consecutive win. It came at home against Phoenix, who had won eight straight. It was an overtime win. Dick Van Arsdale and Connie Hawkins led the Suns with 31 and 28 points respectively. The Lakers were led by Goodrich, McMillian and West with 32, 31 and 28 points. West, who would lead the league in assists, had 11. Otherwise this was a potent machine who put teams away fast with quality defense and league leading offense of 121 points a game.
GS: Even with so many big egos, they must have been a fairly cohesive? How did they compare to your UCLA teams in terms of a unit?
LS: There is a coaching expertise that convinces players (sometimes they aren't even aware of it) to sacrifice some scoring in order to make the team better. For example West liked to pass and didn't need to score to be happy. Wilt led the league in rebounding and didn't shoot much. This from a guy who, 10 years earlier, had averaged 50 points a game. Hairston honed his rebounding skills and had 1,000 rebounds, the only time two players on the same team had 1,000 rebounds for a season. At UCLA, John Wooden knew Kareem (Lew Alcindor) could average 40 points a game but that wouldn't be best for the teammates and the team for a full season. In terms of egos, we never had anyone like Wilt Chamberlain, who one night might be upset by an opposing player and decide to score a lot of points or another night decide to see if he could make every one of his field goal attempts and refused some open shots. I think he counted his rebounds every night. Once I saw him arguing with the statistician after a road game. Wooden would never have a player like that, but Sharman did his best with the situation and his best was wonderful.
GS: Where for you does that 33-win streak compare in the annals of great moments and sports and even though you were not a player on the team after having been a part of a historic run at UCLA, considering how much the travel played a role in making the streak what it is, do you look back on it as something you contributed to?
LS: I meshed well with Sharman. He was detail guy. We would consult on when the bus should depart from the hotel, taking into account traffic, etc. I would even bring him weather reports and once we canceled our flight and bused from Detroit to Chicago due to inclement weather.
Having said that anyone with some intelligence could have filled my role. I watched the Bulls/Heat game the other night as a very curious observer. Naturally there are fond memories of being there and watching every game. It just seemed so easy that year. Wonderful harmony and few injuries. The next season Wilt was a holdout in the fall camp and the magic just seemed to disappear. Still the Lakers got to the finals, losing to the Knicks in 5. There were tons of Hall of Famers in that series. Naturally, the UCLA streak of championships is different because it encompassed different players and personalities every few years. As a starter I obviously feel more kinship to that streak of titles. After watching the Bulls/Heat game though I am even more convinced that the 33 game win streak will live a long time.
The 1971-72 Lakers got together for a reunion last April hosted by Coach Bill Sharman and his wife. Lynn hosted the roundtable that has been posted in four parts. Amazingly, the videos have very few views considering this is probably the most dominant team in NBA history and perhaps American professional sports history.
I know, he's totally adorable, but yes, Owen Kopinski is an anchorer!
He was on the Today Show showing off his anchored swing, and can be seen in the video below draining some bombs with the putter anchored. I still say ban it.
Sorry, Little Owen. This is for the best. Some day when you are winning the Masters with a conventional grip, you'll understand!
It's also a reminder that there is no good reason not to stay away from the Hurdzan-Fry design, which is understandably but unfairly tainted by freak incident.
The 18-foot sinkhole eventually turned into a yawning void in the landing area of the 14th hole, a par-5 that measures up to 509 yards. It took several thousand cubic yards of rock to fill it in, and the area is roped off as ground under repair until the warm weather returns and allows for the replanting of the zoysia grass.
After seeing that Milar told a newspaper that he might have trouble returning to AnnBriar, Russ Nobbe worries that business might suffer. "Will people stay away? That's the fear we have," Russ said. "I mean, reporters are asking us if it's safe to play here."
"That would be a shame if golfers think they can't go back," Hurdzan said. "People are afraid of what they can't see, but when it comes to golf, people don't stop playing even though they could get struck by lightning, and that's a much bigger risk. There are sinkholes all over the country. But people don't stop building houses or driving down the road."
"It's a freak, freak, freak thing," Rzepczynski said.
On his second shot on the first hole of a round of golf, Rzepczynski attempted to punch shot around a tree. He made the shot and collapsed, his eye struck and bruised by something. The golf ball traveled far enough that he is unsure how it could ricochet off the tree and his eye and still carry into the fairway. He is unsure if something else was hit by the club and damaged his eye.
The Daily Record with the inspiring (short) story of the one-legged "pensioner who has cancer and poor eyesight" named Joe McLaughlin.
The 70-year-old aced the Jubilee's par-three fifth.
Incredibly, it was Joe’s fifth hole-in-one in 60 years of playing. The former teacher, of Glenmavis, Airdrie, lost the lower half of his left leg in 2009 after developing a blood clot in his thigh.
He has daily chemotherapy after being diagnosed with skin and bone marrow cancer and has a cataract in his right eye.
It was initially thought the skull was about 100 years old but archaeologists discovered it dated from the Iron Age – about 500BC.
It has been sent to Dundee University’s forensic anthropology department for further examination. Experts now hope to dig up the rest of the girl’s skeleton. The nine-hole Old Golf Course, is owned by East Lothian Council.
A council spokeswoman said yesterday: “On discovery, the police were contacted so that they could determine if this was ancient or related to something more recent.”
Over the years we've all heard the stories about La Costa being a mafia-preferred resort, and though he does not confirm the rumors of special escape tunnels under the course,
Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning Drive, is co-host of The Ringer's ShackHouse is the author of eleven books.
Either way, they're both the lowest form of being on the planet and no companies are at fault here. Other released FBI images of the suspects can be seen here.
