Grinding in Canada, and Dufner is The Man!

From the Monday Morning Quarterback....

*Before today, my favorite sports moment or image of all time is Joe Namath walking off the field after his underdog Jets upset the Colts in Super Bowl III.  (Eck performing the punch, and Tiger's fist pump up there too!) There is no image cooler that Broadway Joe walking out the tunnel in the Orange Bowl with his index finger high in the sky, the original were number 1 sign.  Well hold on Joe,  today in Pittsburgh New York comes Jason Dufner.   Dufner is a classic example of Mr. Cool, Calm, and Collected.  In fact, some would even say is a tad on the boring side.  Hold everything--today at Oak Hill Country Club, Dufner captured his first Major Title, winning the PGA Players Championship by two strokes over Jim Furyk. While the final few holes contained little drama, the celebration was, well, memorable.  As a joyous Mrs. Dufner rushes up to greet her husband, Dufner gives his spouse a love squeeze on her rear cheek, man style!  Oh man the spoils of being a champion!  Not only does the Duf Man take home a tidy 1.5 Million, he celebrated in real style.  Even better, Jason directed his wife to pick up a few acorns to plant back at their home to remember this day forever.  Well, to the Dufners, today I raise my glass to you!

*The A's won an absolute grinder in holding off the Blue Jays 6-4.  The bottom of the ninth lasted for what seemed like an eternity, and finally ended with the bases loaded, and Balfour inducing a ground out to second base.  The victory was a very nice win for the Green and Gold.  Brandon Moss and Al Callapso had the big hits in the win.  For Manager BoMel, it was a dramatic way to record victory number 700.  One injury concern, Coco Crisp appears to have a injured wrist.  Coco made a headlong, diving catch early in the game, but had to leave in the 8th inning.  BoMel said Coco will not play Monday, when the A's and Jay's play an extremely early 9:37 PST game.  For the A's, there would be nothing better than enjoying that long, long flight home.  The A's will open a 10 game home stand on Tuesday against the Astros, followed by the Indians and the Mariners.

*While the A's trail the Rangers by a game, they currently are tied with the Rays for the two Wild Card Spots.  With the A's payroll near the bottom of the league, is making the playoffs the biggest prize A's fans could hope for?  How about winning a series or the Wild Card Game?  Just a thought.  The Orioles trail t he A's and Rays by a game and a half, while the Royals and Indians remain in striking distance.

*A's farmhand for you to keep an eye on is left-handed hitting outfielder Jake Goebbert.  The former Astros farm hand has been raking in Sacramento, and could find himself in Oakland soon.  Speaking of soon, I believe it won't be long until Bret Anderson is pitching for the A's, and I predict, it will be in the pen to begin with.

*Watching the Dufman and Jim Furyk made me ponder what makes Tiger and Phil so special.  I belive it is simply because those two seem capable of pulling out some amazing shot on just about every hole.  This is no offense to the all the tour players, simply credit to Tiger and Phil.  If Tiger can ever be in the lead late in a major, I can envision the crowd just going nuts!

*Giants fan, really?  Tossing a banana at an opposing player.  Not cool, not coll at all.  Try booing.

*Did any of you see the clip of the great catch made in a wiffle ball game?  Try comcast?  Anyway, while the catch is fantastic, how about the scaled down version of Fenway Park?  Impressive people, very impressive.

*While the Raiders win last Friday over the Cowboys essentially doesn't mean anything--well, I can tell you this, in our society, it always feels better to win!  The Silver and Black travel to New Orleans this week--now beat them, and the nation will be out in full force buying Matt Flynn jerseys!