Morning Coffee

by Peter Bean on Jan 29, 2007 8:41 AM CST in Quick Hits Comment 28 comments

Baseball season is underway! The Longhorns defeated the Alumni 9-6 with a 6 run ninth inning rally to kick off baseball season at the Dell Diamond. Roger Clemens through out the ceremonial first pitch. Game Box Score here.

Elsewhere around the 40 Acres: Top ranked men's swimming and diving waxed #24 Texas A&M over the weekend, 129-106. . . The Lady Horns hoops team (14-7, 3-4) was upended in Lubbock 49-48 on a three point shot with 6 seconds left in the game. . . The 20th ranked ladies tennis team took out Kansas 6-1. . . #12 men's tennis fell to Michigan 5-2. . . Heptathalete Donovan Kilmartin, national champ in 2006, auto-qualified for the 2007 NCAAs by winning the Roger Cox Heptathalon Championship in Albuquerque.

While most teams scramble to fill the back ends of their classes, Mack Brown's early recruitment strategy has him focused in on just one final player during the last push before signing day: Dallas Skyline safety Christian Scott. Mack Brown's also angled things so that he'll get the final in-home visit with the young man, which is a great sign for the 'Horns. Scott is Rivals #18 rated player in the state, and third highest rated defensive back, behind Texas commits Curtis Brown and Ben Wells.

A look at the Big 12 men's hoops scoreboard this weekend: Kansas waxed Colorado 97-74. . . A&M took care of Oklahoma 70-61. . . Missouri beat Texas Tech 71-58 in Columbia. . . Oklahoma State held off Iowa State 62-50. . . Kansas State beat Nebraska 61-45. As noted over on the Phog Blog (the Big 12's best college hoops blog), despite what you hear from mainstream media folks, the Big 12 has been anything but unpredictable. Road teams rarely win in this conference, and every result from Saturday fell in line with what was predicted in the "Real Standings." If you -are- a Big 12 college hoops junkie, do yourself a favor and be sure to bookmark the Phog Blog. Take a minute, too, to read AW's commentary on why Kansas should win the Big 12.

Question of the day: who's hotter right now? Tiger Woods, who just won his seventh straight PGA Tour event on Sunday at the Buick Invitational? Or Roger Federer who won 21 straight sets romping through the Australian Open?

--PB--

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Federer

He absolutely demolished a resurgent Andy Roddick in the semi-final.

Starting in January 2007, just another Limey Longhorn

by patienthornsfan on Jan 29, 2007 10:07 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Federer

winning EVERY set would be like leading after every round in golf. Plus, Federer is constantly playing in tournaments. He doesn't skip ones here and there like Tiger does. Tiger's streak goes all the way back to last summer, August I believe, because he's only played in 7 tournaments since then.

...til Gabriel blows his horn

by BigTexBD on Jan 29, 2007 10:30 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

quick question about the recruiting class...

Did chiles get graded down from 5 stars to 4 stars on rivals' website, or am I just completely hallucinating? I could have sworn that when I looked several weeks ago, chiles was given 5 stars and the horns class overall had well over 2500 points cumulatively. Also, curtis brown is ranked as the 4th best football player in texas and has 5 stars; chiles is rankeD ahead of him (third overall) yet has only 4 stars. Did anyone else see this, or am I crazy?

by mento on Jan 29, 2007 10:42 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

You're not crazy

Rivals (national) downgraded Chiles from 5 to 4 stars after a lackluster performance at the Army All American game/workouts. The Texas Rivals staff disagreed with the downgrade in stars, however, and didn't budge Chiles in their state Top 100.

--PB--

by Peter Bean on Jan 29, 2007 10:58 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Don't know enough about golf

Federer is clearly more dominant statistically. He won every single set, for fuck's sake. He wins a higher percentage of his matches. But many people say that it's harder to win a golf tournament than a tennis tournament. I don't know enough about golf to really know. I'm not sure, but I think Federer won about 75/80% of his matches since last year (16/21ish) and Tiger's won about half of his. But many golfers will tell you that batting .500 in golf is a ridiculously hard thing to to.

by hornbone on Jan 29, 2007 11:11 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Wining a golf trounament is harder.

They made a good point on the golf telecast that when you play a tennis tournament you play one player at a time, where as in golf you play the entire field. Also in tennis you have a direct effect upon you opponent, you do not have this advantage in golf.

by billb on Jan 29, 2007 12:50 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

More equivilant to Match play in Golf?

Tiger seems to be less dominate at that, although that is just my general opinion, I have absolutely no stats to back that up.

by Wells on Jan 29, 2007 2:05 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

The US amatuer

is match play, Tiger won three straight of those, I think he has been pretty good in those to I know he has won a couple of WGC match play events. But even in match play, you do not directly effect your opposition. A good drive does not hinder your opponents chances on that hole the same way a good serve does in Tennis.

by billb on Jan 29, 2007 3:18 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Very true

Like I said, just a feeling with no facts to back it up, which I should probably just shut up about or look up actual stats next time.

by Wells on Jan 29, 2007 4:13 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Nobody said it better.....

...than hornbone. "He won every single set, for fuck's sake." Only one other person has done that in god knows how many years.

What gets me is how he drops to the floor still as if he's overwhelmed by the fact that he just won, again.

G Baby

by ayden8203 on Jan 29, 2007 1:42 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Its Woods

The state of tennis is now a joke there are only three formidable and not even that for Federer. Roddick (guy invented the collapse) Nadal (only knows how to play on clay) and Blake (too old). Woods' streak is not as impressive but its harder certainly because golf is a much harder sport.

If i practiced tennis since i could walk i would win some tournaments. I've been practicing golf since i was seven and the lowest that i have shot has been a 76. That just shows how good Tiger is. And how difficult golf is.

The womens game is so much more interesting and better because there are more rallys and its shorter. Plus it is who could outgrunt someone.

My boy Tiger is the more dominant player because he doesn't even have to play well in order to win. The other guys get intimidated. If Federer plays poorly he probably loses thats why Tiger is better. I don't know many guys that get intimidated by a guy that cries after every win.

Tiger is going to win a Grand Slam while i don't really care about that Swiss wussy.

Please for Christ sake back down on the comments. I'm sorry that i'm the brightest guy here. What can i say?

Vince Young is a beast.

by txlonghorn on Jan 29, 2007 4:18 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Federer

There is no way you can say that Golf is a harder sport. You have been playing golf since you were 7, Ive been playing tennis since I was four and im nowhere close to the top of the game. Now im not gonna sit here and say that Tennis is harder than golf because I really dont know, but please do not berate a game which you have never played before. As for Tiger being dominant because he wins even on bad days, Federer can beat 9/10 players easily even when he is having a bad day. Federer and Tiger are great players who have left a lasting impression on both of their respective sports, I dont think we will be able to judge them until they are done.

Peace

Texas '11

by rutaj04 on Jan 29, 2007 8:22 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

sorry, but no

Where to start? First, you say that Tiger is more dominant because Federer doesn't have any formidable opponents. I love the logic. He's less dominant because he's too far ahead of his competition. Whuh?

Second, is golf harder than tennis? I don't know, maybe, but it's apples to oranges. But saying that if you had practiced tennis as much as you practiced golf you would have won some pro-level tournaments is ridiculous.

Third, you have the women's game EXACTLY wrong. Yes, it's shorter. But there are FAR fewer rallies in the women's game. The points last WAY longer on average in the men's game, there are more drop shots, more net play, etc. The men's game is much more "artistic" than the women's game. It just is. Look at how many errors the women make.

Fourth, Federer doesn't have to play his best to win. He consistently plays just a bit better than his opponent, stepping it up when he has to, apparently with no upper limit.

Oh, and I forgot to mention your offerings of Federer's "formidables." You just named the #2, 4, and 6 players on tour, leaving out #3 (Davydenko) and 5 (the guy he played in the final and who played him the closest, Gonzalez).

I can completely buy the argument that Tiger is the better player, or more dominant, but not for those reasons.

by hornbone on Jan 29, 2007 10:04 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Ok DV

At least you have confidence.

Look, I am glad that you shot a 76, but if you practiced tennis since you could walk you still would not be about to win a pro tournament, in fact you would not be able to win a game against the top 20 in the world.

Why do you finish your comments with either a plea not to have people flame you or some weird plea to back down on the comments? What does that even mean? You keep on telling yourself you are the brightest guy here DV, your mom tells you every day so it must make it true.

by Wells on Jan 30, 2007 9:32 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Golf is way harder

The field of competition is bigger, the margin for error is ridiculous and every course is completely different. In tennis, all you need to do is play on Clay, Grass or Hardcourt. Golf courses are like a finger print and even with that, they constantly change the hole locations. Golf is an intensely tedious sport that takes much more practice and skill. Tiger Woods is fucking pimp and what he is doing is nothing short of one of the most impressive feats of our time. Taking nothing away from Federer but comparing Tennis to Golf is like comparing Chess to Checkers.

by kicker on Jan 30, 2007 6:05 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Nope

Sorry, but only someone who has played both sports at very high levels would be qualified to make that statement. And even then it would only be one mans opinion.

Texas '11

by rutaj04 on Jan 30, 2007 6:44 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

nope

It's obvious which is a more complicated game.

by kicker on Jan 31, 2007 10:12 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

So by your reasoning

Golf is by far the most complicated game. Basketball, football, baseball (although they do play with differing outfields), soccer and all of the rest of the sports I can think of play on a regulated playing surface, there for are less complicated than golf.

The only other game that compares is maybe disk golf.

by Wells on Jan 31, 2007 10:42 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

yes

Golf courses are all unique. They all provide different obstacles and require a different strategy each session. There aren't three different golf course layouts that are universal. Tennis is the same size playing arena with the only difference is 3 different types of surfaces. Add in the fact that golf is such a mentally strenuous game that involves different clubs, yardage calculation, loft etc....tennis cannot hold a candle. Tennis requires more athleticism, but is a much easier game to master than golf. It is hard to compare because the games are so different, but it is easy to see the complexities of golf far outweigh those of tennis. More Complex=more difficult to master.

by kicker on Jan 31, 2007 11:59 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Which is why

Disk golf is tougher to master than football, right?

by Wells on Jan 31, 2007 12:01 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

no one can master football

because it is a team sport and disk golf is a individual sport. Golf and tennis are individual sports and therefore comparable in difficulty. You can master a position in football--see: VY.

by kicker on Jan 31, 2007 12:11 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

comparable

IN TERMS of difficulty. sorry.

by kicker on Jan 31, 2007 12:12 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Fine

But mastering golf, or disk golf, is tougher than mastering the QB position?

by Wells on Jan 31, 2007 12:20 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

depends on the offensive

scheme. But still, Golf is hard as a bitch and definitely, IMO harder than Tennis. Godammit Wells, I have not gotten anything done at work today.

by kicker on Jan 31, 2007 12:50 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

The problem here

is that you're ignoring the fact that while a tennis player may not have to navigate unfamiliar territory, they have to out-think their opponent who's doing their best to out-think the first player. The mental aspect of tennis involves outwitting a living, thinking human being as opposed to variable landscaping.

This adds an incredible amount of complexity to tennis that golf doesn't have.

Does that mean tennis is harder to master than golf? Not necessarily, but saying that differing playing surfaces is the deciding factor doesn't make sense.

So take that.

by Kahuna on Jan 31, 2007 3:45 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

that was the point I was trying to make

But instead of saying it, I would rather try to twist logic.

by Wells on Jan 31, 2007 3:59 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

yeah.....BUT

in Tennis what the person trying to out think? Is he gonna hit it to the left or right side of the court? Is he gonna try a drop shot? Overhand or Backhand? That is not TOO incredibly tough to encounter with good instincts. I understand your argument, but Golf courses are designed by humans and hole location is moved by humans, so it is isnt entirely as robotic as you make it out to be. In truth, I am sick of this damn subject, we could go on forever. I technically suck at both of them, even though I play quite a bit of golf and am decent. I never really played tennis except on the X-Box (which is pretty fun). Fuck it Wells, Kahuna, I concede. Game set match.

by kicker on Jan 31, 2007 5:14 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Federer

Federer plays every tournament, and wins without breaking a sweat. Actually he dominates without breaking a sweat. Now, winning a major tournament in tennis is actually harder than winning a golf major. Why?

Because no one ever throws Tiger's ball back in his face and Tiger never has to run to make a swing.

Lots of people think tennis is pretty feminine, but it's a hell of a lot more athletic than golf. This makes it more difficult and impressive in exactly the same way golf is more difficult and impressive than chess.

Tiger is the best golfer on earth, but while he's still chasing a grand slam, Federer will win 10 more. Federer is easily more dominant than Woods.

by houstonrules on Jan 29, 2007 6:30 PM CST reply actions 0 recs