Michelle Wie sellouts back in action

Please name the 6 PGA Tournaments in the
0 for 6 if she misses the cut at next
year's SONY. I am curious about which
one you are leaving out.

Readers? Help Jim C out...

Yep...Big 'ol ZERO.
Just like her ancestors

"The LPGA Safeway International changed the date of the event, after holding discussions with B.J., Michelle's father."

Now you are starting to spread blatant lie to chastize her!!! Nowhere in the news article said that they tlaked to BJ about changing the date and yet you reported it like the fact.

You are now below Baldwin in blog world, Tim. You are getting ridiculous.

June...it is Bald Loser not Bald Win.

Also, it is McDuck not McDonald.

Ahh, Tim. What are your opinions on politicians, actors, and other people who sell out in our world? The rich and famous are expected to sell out; if they didn't, they'd never become rich and famous. Big-ahss Republican Tom Reynolds came close to losing his seat to outside Jack Davis here in Buffalo-land. How did Reynolds distance himself from the Foley scandal? By surrounding himself with kids at a press conference. Now that's selling out! Let Wie play as many PGA tour events as she likes...I have yet to read non-golf writers complain about all the attention she takes away from their sports. If she is pulling people in, let her.

Ron Mon, I don't know how much distancing Reynolds needed to do, but I do know one thing: at least Foley had the decency to resign and his constituency the decency to no longer support him. This lies in stark contrast to Gerry Studds of Ma., who had sex with a teen boy and then was RE-ELECTED!

Liberals are beneath contempt.

Call me crazy, but wasn't all the hoopla about the 2007 season because the LPGA was moving dates around. The Safeway just got the luck of the draw when the LPGA shuffled the deck as far as Michelle is concerned.

So Timmy you say BJ Wie has some pull with the LPGA and Ms. Bivens? I seriously doubt that is a fact or even possible. This obviously was a figment of your imagination.

Do you still have your mommy check under the bed for the boogey man (or BJ Wie) Timmy?

Like every pro athelete and every for-profit organization, Wie is simply capitalizing her marketability...

If she is to be condemned, then so do 95+% of the population.

Bless you Tim for stirring up the pot. Been so long since I have seen a blog about the Pineapple Princess this site was getting boring!!!
Let them continue to push her, sooner or later they, the few followers will become like the followers of T.O... They will hate her too (and Nike)like the rest of us...
When the young lady wakes up from this dream, she will go where she belongs, on the LPGA and dominate like she should with her abilities. Instead let her sleep...

Tim you said she was 1 for 11 on the pga tour.
You were obviously talking about missed cuts.

Then you said she was 0 for lifetime on the lpga tour, without changing the subject. So obviously you were still talking about missed cuts, and not wins.

She has in fact made alot of cuts on the lpga tour. In fact she hasn't missed a cut in quite a while on the lpga tour. Check your facts.

The quote from Tim's blog:

"And the Sony Open people have given her another sponsor's exemption. This will be her chance to go 0 for 4 at making the cut at the Sony and 0 for 6 on the PGA Tour. She's 1 for 11 in making the cut at men's event, her lone successful attempt coming at an Asian Tour event in Korea.

Oh, I forgot to mention she's also 0 for lifetime on the LPGA. "

So he was wrong. She has made plenty of lpga cuts. Then again, he is wrong quite a bit.

Stanley, not wrong, just unclear, which is almost as bad. I meant she has never won an LPGA event. I have a feeling you knew that, though.

I wonder if talk about sliding a little money under the table is what B.J wanted to talk about?

Baby Blue Eyes, you're definitely 20-20!

Tim, the possibility (probability?) that LPGA Safeway International changed its dates to accommodate Wie could be viewed as a testament to her draw. Wie has captured the imagination of people the world over despite a small but loud group of detractors who seem unable to grasp what she's all about. They look at winning as the end all, losing sight of the true meaning of athletics.

Wie is, simply put, an athlete, and athletes are defined by their hunger. Obviously, she's not just any athlete, but a gifted one. As an athlete, she's in the game to win. But she's not interested in "just winning." If this were the case, then, yes, it would make sense to enter easier tournaments. Much to her credit, she's aware of her abilities, and as an athlete, she wants to push herself, to challenge herself, to set the highest possible goals.

Winning in events that are less challenging is simply not satisfying for true athletes. They live for, hunger for, challenge. Given the choice, they would always opt to test their abilities in the toughest arenas possible -- even when, or especially when, winning seems improbable. Their victory is in the attempt, in the pursuit, in the effort to leave it all out there. Their win is in the learning, the growth, the development, the inspiration that comes from every attempt against the most formidable competition.

For Wie, the toughest foes are in the PGA. Yes, the LPGA is also competitive, and she will be there, too. But at this point in time, the PGA is the biggest game in town, and Wie, as an athlete, is hungry for the competition. And sports fans throughout the world understand her drive and her quest, and they're drawn by the process. They understand that, as in all great undertakings, success may take years. But they're in it for the long haul. They believe.

KIMO, you've written a fine response, even inspirational.

But, though your words are good, your logic is flawed. Winning IS everything to the true athlete. They accept nothing less.

And the fact is, Wie is not ready to take on the PGA Tour. She has shown that repeatedly.

Not only that, there are winners on the LPGA who are more worthy of taking on the PGA.

She's done nothing to warrant such a dramatic leap in competition, as she has proven again and again.

She seems to neglect the fact that her misplaced ambition has consequences for others. But, unfortunately, it appears she cares only about herself.

Timmy,

Say what you want about Wie. The fact that you are getting these many responses is a teatament to the interest she is able to draw. Now try to write about Ochoa, you will get far less response....

Now if you are a tournament organizer, would you be able to resist the marketing power of Wie?

Kimo,

What you write is like seeing the world through rosy glasses. If I have to guess, you are probably a children book author where the world is full of straight-forward people with no hidden agenda. You probably also believe everything you see on TV and every article you read.

Baby Blue,

Yes, Kimo has always exhibited pollyannaish tendencies. He lives in the town of Spectre in the movie "Big Fish"(okay, I know, it's an obscure reference). He could have led the "Children's Crusade" in the Middle Ages. (Okay, another obscure reference. These quips really are funny . . . it's just that no one will understand them.)

And I agree with Tim on this one. If Kimo's characterization of a true athlete is accurate, then I suppose that Sorenstam and every other dominant female athlete are not true ones. After all, if they were, they'd be casting their lesser female competition aside in favor of throwing their hats into the ring against men.

[QUOTE]tim: KIMO, you've written a fine response, even inspirational.
But, though your words are good, your logic is flawed. Winning IS everything to the true athlete. They accept nothing less.[END QUOTE]

Let me put it another way. If winning were everythng, Wie would join and compete in the LPGA. Period. End of story. (Literally!) Fortunately, the story doesn't end there. In fact, this is where the story begins. Wie has decided to compete in a tougher arena, the PGA, where the challenge is seemingly insurmountable. All the elements are there for compelling drama: not only is Wie an underdog, but she's an underdog representing half the human race -- women. It couldn't get better than this! And this brings us to the heart of _your_ argument:

[QUOTE] Tim: And the fact is, Wie is not ready to take on the PGA Tour. She has shown that repeatedly.[END QUOTE]

I beg to differ, and apparently her fans and those who decide on invites do, too. She's shown that she can compete against men and has made the cut (in an arguably lesser tournament in Korea) or come close enough to sustain support. Yes, she's had failures, too, but that's part of the saga. Nothing worth doing is easy. The greater the failure, the greater the eventual victory.

[QUOTE]Tim: Not only that, there are winners on the LPGA who are more worthy of taking on the PGA.[END QUOTE]

This argument is almost not worth responding to. A simple rhetorical question will do: Who's stopping them?

[QUOTE]Tim: She's done nothing to warrant such a dramatic leap in competition, as she has proven again and again.[END QUOTE]

This argument's redundant.

[QUOTE] Tim: She seems to neglect the fact that her misplaced ambition has consequences for others. But, unfortunately, it appears she cares only about herself.[END QUOTE]

This is a very weak argument. All action has reaction. That's neither selfish nor thoughtless. Your having your job means someone else can't have it. My being on the road in a traffic logjam means folks behind me will be stuck a bit longer. Just a fact of life, a consequence of sharing the same planet.

Tim, on another note, I want to thank you for creating and sustaining dialogues such as this re an event with "historical" written all over it. Makes the process that much more exciting.

[QUOTE] Baby Blue Eyes: Kimo, What you write is like seeing the world through rosy glasses. If I have to guess, you are probably a children book author where the world is full of straight-forward people with no hidden agenda. You probably also believe everything you see on TV and every article you read.[END QUOTE]

Hey, Baby Blue. That's a lot to make out of what little I've written. If I do the math, that's like 2 + 2 = 999. You have quite an imagination. I have to give you that much. Thanks for the reply.

[QUOTE] Judge Smails: Baby Blue, Yes, Kimo has always exhibited pollyannaish tendencies. And I agree with Tim on this one. If Kimo's characterization of a true athlete is accurate, then I suppose that Sorenstam and every other dominant female athlete are not true ones. After all, if they were, they'd be casting their lesser female competition aside in favor of throwing their hats into the ring against men.[END QUOTE]

Hail, Smails! Good to see you, again. Re your argument -- it's a combo non sequitur and ignoratio elenchi with a dash of false dichotomy thrown in. Yes, I've placed Wie and her ambitions in the set labeled "true athletes," but doing so doesn't necessarily mean I removed others such as Sorenstam. Logically, the set can also include those with different ambitions. There's also the heavy odor of a red herring here. Let's stick to the issues, shall we?

I suppose I will take the bait. If "winning is everything to the true athlete," why aren't the 90% of the PGA tour players moving down to the Nationwide, the European, or the Asian Tour, where they have a chance to win. A catchy phrase but not so applicable to an individual sport with a huge field. Maybe some 130 plus PGA tour players would like to play against the best golfers in the planet.

If we were to subscribe to Tim's warped view of how the world turns the only professional golfers in the field should be those who have won an event. The rest are just losers who should stuff their clubs in the closet and start writing golf blogs. At least they would bring some knowledge of golf to the board.

Each week thousands of professional golfers around the world on the Pro tours tee it up. Less than one percent will be winners. I guess (if we use Tim's standard) the 99 percent of non-winners should quit.

Seventeen year olds that have won an LPGA Tour tournament = Zero.

Seventeen year olds that have won a PGA Tour event = Zero.

Who knows Tim maybe one of those stats will fall this year, there are some pretty good seventeen year old golfers playing the tours. Heck Tim there must be hundreds of them waiting in the wings.

Kimo
Don't you think she should at least win one of those "less challenging" events to prove to the public and herself that she is ready to move on? At this point in time the biggest game in her town is the LPGA. When she can prove she is as dominating or worthy as Annika then the PGA might become the biggest game in town.

Jon
Those 130 or so players earned the right to try to win, Ms Wie has yet to earn or played her way into anything.

Did anyone read the Annika interview?
"I played good on this course"--but not
good enough to make the 36 hole cut in
an LPGA event.

"Comment from: gpro.51 [Visitor]

Jon
Those 130 or so players earned the right to try to win, Ms Wie has yet to earn or played her way into anything."

Yep Jonny u'r right there. About 120 of them gals would kill to have the season Michelle Wie put together.

30 to 35 percent increase in the gate

20 to 25 percent increase in viewership

More money paid out to sponsored charities

Able to get a Sponsor's Exemption to any LPGA event you choose to enter

Purses increasing in the hope to entice Annika or Michelle in the field

Event organizers scheduling around Michelle's school schedule

Events popping up in Asia

Jon, thus is the power of Wie.

Hey Jon the LPGA gals are beginning to love this Wie kid. Chaaaa CHING$$$

I can't wait until her game matures, what a show that will be. It took Lorena five years including three full years on the tour to start peaking. Maybe we won't have to wait that long for Miss Wie.

Ace: "I can't wait until her game matures, what a show that will be. It took Lorena five years including three full years on the tour to start peaking. Maybe we won't have to wait that long for Miss Wie."

Ace, good point. In those five gruelling years, I'll bet Ochoa never thought, for a second, that she ought to confine her play to tournaments in Mexico where she could consistently beat the field. She's an athlete, like Wie, Sorenstam, Webb, etc. She lives to compete with the best, even if it meant not winning for so many years. Thanks for that eye-opening stat.

"Comment from: Kimo [Visitor]

Ace, good point. In those five gruelling years, I'll bet Ochoa never thought, for a second, that she ought to confine her play to tournaments in Mexico where she could consistently beat the field. She's an athlete, like Wie, Sorenstam, Webb, etc. She lives to compete with the best, even if it meant not winning for so many years. Thanks for that eye-opening stat.

Kimo, Kathy Whitworth who Annika is chasing for the most wins didn't log a victory until her fourth full year on the tour. It is a safe bet Michelle will not take that long.

Tim you said: "Winning IS everything to the true athlete. They accept nothing less."

That may be true, but some athletes are willing to take the pain of losing, if it means that they will eventually reach their goals.

Sure, it may not be fun on each occasion, but the important thing is that she keeps improving her game. Perhaps she has the intelligence to realise that she does not need to win everything immediately.
By improving her game, she can get to a level where she could win a big percentage of events on the lpga tour. Making a short term sacrifice for a long term gain is often a good thing.

Tim said "Not only that, there are winners on the LPGA who are more worthy of taking on the PGA."

Tim please list these players you refer to.
If it is Ochoa, then she could get an invite any time, so it is a non-issue. If she wants invites, she just has to state that and she will get the invites.

Kimo,

You can criticize my post using terms that you probably don't fully understand (non-sequitur), but the fact remains that you did nothing to refute my point.

If winnning were everything to the true athlete, then a boxing champion
who wins by avoiding toughest competitors is a true athlete--whlile one who faces his toughest
opponents and loses is not.

Judge Smails: "Kimo, You can criticize my post using terms that you probably don't fully understand (non-sequitur), but the fact remains that you did nothing to refute my point."

Hey, Smails. When you've been blndsided but don't know it, it's time to get out of the ring. Also, if you're going to correct another's spelling, be sure to get it right. Otherwise folks will start thinking you graduated from the Dan Quayle school of tomatos.

"Comment from: JIm C [Visitor]
If winnning were everything to the true athlete, then a boxing champion
who wins by avoiding toughest competitors is a true athlete--whlile one who faces his toughest
opponents and loses is not."

The way one measures their own ability is to test themselves against the best competitors available.

When I play a round with golfers of
lesser or around the same ability I tend to let my game slip a bit. On the other hand when I play in a tournament against tougher competition it raises my own game to a higher level.

There is no such thing as a relaxing round of tournament golf.

{Quote Kimo}Hey, Baby Blue. That's a lot to make out of what little I've written. If I do the math, that's like 2 + 2 = 999. You have quite an imagination. I have to give you that much. Thanks for the reply {End Quote}


Kimo,

I reached my conclusion based on your wide-eye, non-pragmatic view of Michelle Wie's current endeavor.

Kimo,

I could correct your grammar and punctuation as well.

Timmy Boy?
Since MW signed for the $10,000,000, all of you journalists?? have been green with envy!! When a baseball player signs an 8 year contract for $136,000,000 I don't hear a peep from you low lifes. That is $123,000 per game should you be counting. Get a life and leave Michelle alone!!

All claims to the contrary aside, Ace is
pretty comfortable in his role as bolshevik
propagandist.

We would rather call it PSYOPS Booger.

до свидания и хороший товарищ здоровья Boogar.

That's Booger with an "e" you dirty commie.

Judge - much as I appreciate listening to the enlightened discourse between you and Kimo...the fact remains that the phrase "non-sequitur" is in fact spelled WITHOUT a hyphen, according to every online resource I could find. *sigh*