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Tom Watson Photograph: Stuart Franklin/Getty Images Europe

It was late Sunday afternoon at the Turnberry golf course and 59 year old Tom Watson was staring down a medium length putt that would seal his victory at the 138th Open Championships. He could feel a brisk wind hitting him; the same wind that was coming off the ocean all day and reaching speeds of over 20 mph. He knew what was on the line as he stared down at the hole. If he was to sink that putt then he would complete one of golf’s most amazing feats by becoming the oldest man to win a major golf championship at the age of 59. Watson had the opportunity to win his first major title in 26 years (his last victory in a major happened to be the 1983 Open Championships) and win his 6th Open Championship, tying Jersey’s Harry Vardon for the most wins ever at the Open. Tom Watson had the chance to finish a dream weekend in Scotland that would conclude with him hoisting the Claret Jug for the 6th time. Tom Watson had a lot on the line.

Watching from the Club House was the American Stewart Cink. Cink was the club house leader and the only other player in the tournament that had a chance to take the victory. Earlier, he had sunk a fifteen foot birdie putt at the 18th to post a score of -2. As he watched, he knew that if Watson missed his par putt, then he and Watson would enter a playoff for the Championship. He knew that the putt would determine whether or not he would have a legitimate shot at his first major victory. The former 3-time All-American at Georgia Tech and 1997 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year knew that victory was within his reach, but it all depended on one putt.

With the entire crowd in complete silence, Watson hit his putt. As the putter hit the ball his eyes inched forward as he watched the ball move toward the hole. The ball rolled along the green and then broke to the right. The putt was not to be. It stopped short of the hole and a little bit to the right. Watson then tapped in the bogey putt and finished the day at -2, thus forcing a playoff between he and Cink.

The Open Championship has it’s own unique style of a playoff, where players golf four holes and see who can do it in the least strokes. Cink took care of Watson easily in those four holes, as he finished six strokes ahead by the end of the playoff. It was not Tom Watson who would be holding the Claret Jug by the end of the day, but rather Stewart Cink. Although, it would have been nice to see a 59 year-old win a major, we have to remember that Cink had never won a major before in his career. Watson had already won eight. So whether you were rooting for Watson or Cink, it was overall a great weekend on the links.

The next major to be played on the PGA tour will be “Glory’s last shot”: the PGA Championship. The tournament is nicknamed “Glory’s Last Shot” because it is the last major tournament in the season, the last chance at immortality for each golfer. Will Watson bounce back and win the PGA (which happens to be the only major tournament that he has never won)? Will Tiger rebound from a poor weekend at the Open and win his first major since coming off of his knee injury? Will the World number 2, Phil Mickelson, reclaim a title that he earned in 2005 as the victor of the PGA Championship? These questions and more will be answered in August at the Hazeltine National Golf Club.

Zach Seites-Rundlett

The recent release (June 19) of the Apple iPhone 3GS (I’m sure we have all seen the commercials and advertisements for Apple’s newly updated version of the iPhone) has an innumerable amount of what the iPhone calls “apps” (features). The various apps allow you to perform different functions such as listening to music, recording videos, going on the internet, using e-mail, looking at maps, taking photos, and a number of other functions. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that it is also supposed to work as a phone.

Apple introduced the original iPhone on June 29, 2007, after a very long and hyped up wait. With Apple’s recent widespread successes in selling both computers and iPods, Apple decided to expand upon it’s already popular name by venturing into a business that was growing perhaps even faster than Apple’s bank itself, the cell phone industry. The iPhone was to go farther and be better than any other phone before. It was to combine music, internet, e-mail, camera, and verbal communication into a singular device. It was to be a multitude of devices all fit into one. However, there is one question to be asked. When does it all become too excessive?

We appear to have an American society that is becoming more fast-pace and technologically advanced than ever before. This advancement is not unexpected, given the fact that society is always progressing forward and inventing new gadgets and devices in order to move ahead. But are we becoming too obsessed and infatuated with objects such as iPhones and other similar devices. The iPhone allows us to do so many things right out of our own pockets, but is their an actual need to be able to constantly go on the internet or message your buddy whilst enjoying a picnic, taking a hike, watching a sporting event, or driving. I believe personally that it has extended far beyond the definition of superfluous (useless or needless). How can one possibly enjoy what they may be doing when half of their attention is focused on watching a surfing dog on youtube or messaging their friend about the weather.

Let’s use going to the beach as an example. One might visit the beach to enjoy the water, spend time with other people, go surfing or bodyboarding, meet other people, play a particular sport such as volleyball or Frisbee, or just take in the natural beauty of the coastline. There are many reasons why one might enjoy going to a beach, but the list does not include playing solitaire on your phone, or text messaging your friend about how good you thought a movie was. Perhaps you may want to take pictures at the beach, and if that is the case then there is still no need for a multi-functional device, rather you could bring a camera which will give you much better quality anyway.

If you are going to taste the splendors of the natural world and places such as a beach then there is no reason to spend the entire time focused on a phone. If one wants to spend a day watching videos on their phone or text messaging their friend, then one can easily do all of these things at home. If you really want to be social with one of your friends then get together with them rather than glue your eyes to a touch screen keyboard (iPhone feature) all day. Enjoy the beach for what the beach is, not as a place where you can sit and play with your phone.

If you have a phone that has an infinite amount of features than please don’t let it become an interference when you are doing other things. If you want to watch Youtube videos than watch them at home on your computer, not on a camping trip. There is much more to this world than iPhones. Remember, there were other things to do before playing virtual soccer on a little phone screen, there was playing actual soccer itself.

Zach Seites-Rundlett

Virtual Soccer

Actual Soccer

Steve Irwin (1962)-(2006)

Labor day was somewhat of a somber day as the beloved Steve Irwin ( the Crocodile Hunter) died. He was killed by the piercing of a stingrays stinger into his heart. He was filming a special for his daughters 9th birthday off the the great barrier reef in Australia. Friends and co-workers watched as the Australian Icon was pierced by the stingray and the emergency immediately called. He was later pronounced dead although he possibly died right as he was stung.

Steve Irwin is a sad pass for many. He was an Australian TV star and a conversationalist. He had a long running series on the discovery and animal planet channels called “crocodile hunter”. In 2002 he then released his own crocodile hunter. Memorabilia would also be made about Steve Irwin. He was also a zoologist and an overall beloved character. We will miss him surely.

R.I.P Steve Irwin

Zach Seites-Rundlett
– haynes.tv

As you all know, Floyd Landis an American Professional Bicycle Rider recently won the most coveted event in his sport, Le Tour De France. Shortly after winning it he failed a drug test saying he had a high testosterone level and he could possibly have his trophy taken away. Now he has joined up with a group of other extraordinary athletes who have had their reputations ripped up by the media, because of steroid accusations .

Illegal substances however has now become the biggest thing in sports from Justin Gatlins recent testosterone test in track and field to Barry Bonds ongoing criticisms and questionings in baseball. Speaking of Barry Bonds his whole Steroidal controversy in baseball has been very huge and a hot topic in sports news. For one thing he has given ESPN a load of stuff to talk about; he even has his own reporter (Pedro Gomez) who just reports on Bonds. In addition, he has his own show on ESPN called Bonds on Bonds which is Barry Bonds talking about the entire controversy. Then to cap it all off just about every 4th episode of Outside The Lines with Bob Ley features a story on Bonds or at least Steroids. Another great athlete ruined by steroids, Justin Gatlin, who could have destroyed a great track career. He won a gold medal in the 100 m at the 2004 Olympics and a shares record for fastest 100 m race ran tied with Jamaican Asafa Powell.

Another one of the guys in this group is Mark McGwire the man who hit 70 home runs in 1998 and 65 the following year having his two best years at the ages 34 and 35 and hitting a total 583 home runs career. People saying it was fishy how his two best years were somewhat late but the truth being told he had plenty of great years through his entire career. They also said that he was an abnormally large man, well truth be told he was always a big man. With him being eligible for the Hall of Fame class of 2007 all the predictions say he will not be accepted. Which is just too bad because he may or may not have taken steroids, nevertheless the assumption is he did take steroids. Barry Bonds may have worse luck than McGwire as he did get substantially larger but i mean, hey, there is such thing as a gym. It has just become something we just hear too much: great accomplishments and careers ruined by steroids.

For one thing we can ask is what about all the others? As we all know there is plenty of names who take steroids but not so many of them are remembered for it. What about the guy who came in fifth? Nobody cares whether he took performance enhancing drugs. What about that guy who hit 23 home runs, 88 RBI’s and had a .279 average nobody cared that he took steroids. Its only the great ones, the accomplishments we all dream of. They are the ones who are accused of taking anything that might make them perform to a higher level. In this group of athletes who have performed in the closest to perfection there is a majority who have passed every test. Every test thrown at them comes out with the answer negative .

Well, are all these big names really taking steroids? Have most sports been taken over by the act of cheating? Well I just don’t know, I just think people should be congratulated for greatness not scolded especially when science shows innocence.

If I have accomplished nothing else with this article I would just like to discourage anybody who would consider taking steroids; it is cheating and it destroys your body and not to mention your manliness (or your womanliness) and your complexion.

Zach Seites-Rundlett