That’s my longshot pick for this weekend’s Kraft Nabisco Championship, Grace Park. Grace wouldn’t normally be considered a longshot. She is the 2004 KN Champ plus a former winner of the Vare trophy. When healthy, I doubt there are more than four better players on tour than Grace Park.

However Grace has been injured for much of the last two years. She had her worst season ever in 2024. Kind of reminds of what happened to Se Ri Pak in 2024 and 2024. We all know what happened to the Korean Golf Queen in 2024.

On the plus side for Grace, she had a top 20 last week at the Safeway tournament in Arizona. That included a third round 65. That’s the type of play that could make Grace a winner this weekend.

Other longshot or not obvious picks (in addition to being South Korean golfers) are Shi Hyun Ahn, Jee Young Lee and Seon Hwa Lee. Any of these ladies could be jumping into the pond after Sunday’s final round.

Oh and for the latest stupidity in the Golf MSM, we have who else John Antonini from Golf World magazine who writes of Hee Won Han-

The Kraft Nabisco is the only major a Korean player hasn’t won, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be represented on the leaderboard.

Grace Park is definitely South Korean. She has lived in the US since age 11, but considers herself Korean. John Antonini is just one more clueless idiot in the golf media.

 Doug Ferguson writes about the obvious(or some would say realistic) pick this weekend. No doubt about it, Lorena Ochoa is playing sensational golf and has to be considered the favorite. I’ll stand by my New Year’s pick, Se Ri Pak.

Reminder- Michelle Wie is not playing this week. 

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. - Lorena Ochoa finds inspiration just about everywhere she turns in the California desert.She never came closer to winning a major than one year ago in the Kraft Nabisco Championship. The Mexican star tied an LPGA major record with a 62 in the opening round, only to carelessly throw away shots over the weekend. And despite a birdie-par-eagle finish to force a playoff, she left Mission Hills empty after losing to Karrie Webb in a playoff.“I didn’t like the feeling of losing, kind of giving the tournament away after a great first round,” she said. advertisement

But the Coachella Valley is filled with positive vibes, too, for it was only five months ago at Bighorn that Ochoa produced perhaps her most significant victory to date.

She trailed Annika Sorenstam by 3 shots going into the final round of the Samsung World Championship on a course where Sorenstam had never lost and was going after a record sixth victory. Despite such daunting odds, the fearless Ochoa fired at flags and closed with a 7-under 65 to win by 2.

It sent Ochoa on her way to winning LPGA Player of the Year and the money title, which had belonged to Sorenstam the past five years. And it allowed her to truly believe that being No. 1 in the world was only a matter of time.

Perhaps the time is now.

Ochoa can move to No. 1 in the women’s world ranking and fill the only hole in her credentials with a victory in the Kraft Nabisco Championship, which starts today at Mission Hills.

There is little to suggest she is not the favorite.

She is coming off a six-victory season that allowed her to sweep all the major awards. And she is coming off a victory last week against a strong field at Superstition Mountain in Gold Canyon, where she birdied four of the last five holes.

“I would say Lorena is playing very, very well,” Sorenstam said. ” . . . So far, and right now, she’s playing some superb golf. So I’m not surprised that the gap is smaller and smaller.”

The Kraft Nabisco is played on the same course every year, and the 101 players make it the smallest field among LPGA majors.

In her fifth year on tour, about the only thing Ochoa, 25, has not achieved is winning a major.

Her first decent chance came two years at Cherry Hills, a grueling test for the 2024 U.S. Women’s Open. Ochoa was among the early starters and was poised to post a score of 3 over - the winning score that day - until she hooked her tee shot on the 18th into the water and stumbled to a quadruple bogey. 

Via the AP: Theismann out, Jaworski in on ‘MNF’

Joe Theismann will no longer be part of the network’s “Monday Night Football” broadcast and will be replaced as an analyst by Ron Jaworski, the former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback, the network announced Monday.

Jaworski will join play-by-play announcer Mike Tirico and analyst Tony Kornheiser in the booth. Suzy Kolber and Michele Tafoya will handle sideline reporting.

Intriguing. And, I must confess, an improvement.

Via the AP: Texans waive Carr

The Houston Texans waived quarterback David Carr, the first draft pick in franchise history five years ago, and running back Domanick Williams.

That was fast.

Via the AP: Cowboys sign UFA safety Hamlin to pair with Williams - Friday March 23, 2024 6:44PM

The Dallas Cowboys signed former Seattle safety Ken Hamlin on Friday. Terms weren’t released.

Allegedly Hamlin is a good cover safety. May it be so.

Via the AP: Texans introduce Schaub as starting QB

- The Houston Texans introduced quarterback Matt Schaub at a news conference on Thursday, saying he will replace David Carr as the team’s starter.

Wow. While I expected that they acquired Schaub to be the starter, I didn’t expect them to come out and say so the very first day.

Via the AP: Cowboys super fan “Crazy Ray” dies at 76

Wilford “Crazy Ray” Jones, the boisterous Dallas Cowboys fan who energized crowds for decades with his cowboy getup and sideline cheerleading, died Saturday. He was 76.

Jones died at his home, said Tracy Moberly, a friend of the family. Diabetes and cardiovascular disease were listed as the causes of death, according to the Dallas County medical examiner’s office.

Known as the Cowboys’ unofficial mascot, Jones entertained fans with sideline antics and magic tricks while wearing his signature chaps, six-shooter and blue vest.

Though he was not paid by the Cowboys, he was given a special parking space at Texas Stadium and granted all-access at home games.

May he rest in peace.

Via the FWST: Conradt resigns as Texas coach

Texas women’s basketball coach Jody Conradt resigned Monday after her team for the second straight season failed to reach the NCAA tournament.

Conradt is the second winningest coach in Division I college basketball, behind only Tennessee women’s coach Pat Summit.

Conradt got her 900th last Tuesday in the first round of the Big 12 Conference tournament. She had what some considered to be the nation’s top recruiting class this season, but injuries, inexperience and immaturity hurt the Longhorns.

Conradt is 900-306 in 38 seasons: four at Sam Houston State, three at UT-Arlington and 31 at Texas.

While I am not a big followers of women’s basketball, I know enough to know that Conradt has had an impressive career and has been a fixture at Texas for some time–31 years at one place is an amazing run.

In any event, a big Hook’Em to her.

The Austin American-Statesman has a more extensive piece (Conradt resigning as Texas coach), which includes the following::

Conradt, 65, said she started thinking about retiring earlier in this season. Texas in one stretch lost five games in a row.

“I’m not going to take another coaching job,” she said.

Technorati Tags: Jody Conradt, Lady Longhorns

Cowboys re-sign lineman Colombo

Via the Star-Telegram: OL Davis agrees to Bigg deal

Davis, who grew up in Wortham, about 80 miles south of Dallas, got his wish Sunday, agreeing to terms with the Cowboys on a seven-year contract worth roughly $49.6 million.

The deal, which includes a $16 million signing bonus and guaranteed money totaling $18.75 million, is expected to be made official today.

The signing bonus is the largest in Cowboys history. Deion Sanders, Troy Aikman and Larry Allen each received the previous high of $13 million.

Dallas needs OL help, and it is unclear if they will be able to sign Colombo, so the move makes sense.

The hard part here is to judge whether Davis is worth the cash and how we should evaluate the seemingly huge contract and historic signing bonus. Both, I must confess, seem awfully high considering that Davis never lived up to his potential with the Cards. On the other hand, he was playing for the Cards…

The comparisons to Aikman and Sanders in regards to signing bonuses isn’t a good, only because it has been a while since either signed a big contract, let alone played for Dallas. These numbers always inflate over time–sometimes ridiculously so.

And while the deal is for a grand total of almost $50 million, the guaranteed money is less than half of that. If Davis plays anywhere near potential, the money will have been well spent (which is easy to say when, since it isn’t my money).

Apparently, too, this is what the market price is for OLman these days:

the Cowboys quickly realized what the market was dictating. Free agent guards Eric Steinbach (Browns) and Derrick Dockery (Bills) signed seven-year, $49 million deals Friday, with each getting between $17 million and $18 million in guaranteed money.

Neither player has a Pro Bowl appearance on his résumé.

Hopefully Dallas can still re-sign Colombo and Davis can play Guard, although he also can play Tackle:

Right tackle Marc Colombo is testing the free agent market, but the Cowboys hope to re-sign him. If he doesn’t return, Davis is an option at right tackle.

If Colombo returns, Davis could play right guard, because Rivera might be forced to retire after a second back surgery in three years.

Davis could also be an option to eventually replace Flozell Adams at left tackle. Adams is entering the final year of his contract.

tags: NFL, Dallas+Cowboys, Leonard+Davis, Free+agency

The DMN’s Cowboys Blog has some speculation on LB Joey Porter and OL Leonard Davis.

Either would be intriguing additions, to be sure. Davis is huge, was great in college, but hasn’t made much of a splash at Arizona. Of course, given how bad the Cardinals have been, it is hard to know if Davis is not as good as one would think, or if the problem is simply the Cards. I am willing to think that it is just the Cards, so hopefully Dallas gets him (we need OL help) rather than the Skins.