ILMgolfnut

My guess is that the Falcons are taking a page out of the Green Bay book. The Packers have taken QBs (Rodgers and now Love) and let them sit and learn for a couple of years before throwing them into the fire. It seems to have worked pretty well, and you have a better chance to win during that internship than if Penix were going to start right away.

Welcome to the asylum, uh, the Good Morning Thread! You'll find the inmates are very friendly.

I got out of downtown Detroit just in time, and saw numerous football fans arriving at DTW Wednesday afternoon. So I am not surprised at all that it was a mob scene.

If you're serious about working up to a marathon, I've done 19 of the damn things and am/was a certified coach with the Road Running Club of America. I'd be happy to answer any training questions.

Good morning Spies! Sorry to have missed the community call yesterday; I was asleep. Seriously. I've been teetering on the edge of absolute exhaustion for weeks, and I think Detroit and Wednesday's return trip pushed me over the edge. I'd wake up to eat something or go to the bathroom or whatever and go right back to sleep. And then I still went to bed at my normal time after watching a little playoff hockey. Next week isn't going to be any better: Drive to Charlotte (4 hours) on Sunday, work there Monday, drive to Raleigh (2.5 hours), work there Tuesday, drive home (2.5 hours), fly to St. Louis Wednesday, work in the Illinois 'burbs on Thursday, fly home Friday morning because I'll work too late to get back to ILM on Thursday. Wears me out just looking at it. Golf-related stuff: I think I'm up to a Rypstick workout and a Fit For Golf workout today. Maybe. My new golf shoes arrived while I was gone and I'll try them on today.

Good afternoon Spies! The last 26 hours have been ... interesting. Worked nine hours in Detroit yesterday, headed for the airport. While waiting for my flight, was notified by the airline that it was delayed, and that I should seek an alternate flight. Number of alternate flights available to ILM last night: Zero. Called my corporate travel agent. It took three calls, but they got me on a flight at 7:30 a.m. today after I take the delayed flight to Charlotte and spend the night there. At this point a gate agent shows up and I talk to her. She looks at what the travel agent did and advised me that I still had the seat on my 10:58 pm flight home, along with the 7:30 flight today, and that there was a decent chance of making the 10:58. But she gave me a hotel and meal voucher in Charlotte just in case, since the delay was due to mechanical issues. Finally leave Detroit, get off the plane in Charlotte 12 minutes before my flight to ILM is scheduled to board, I powerwalk through the airport to the departure gate and arrive just as boarding begins. Then once I'm on the plane our departure is further delayed while maintenance crews complete some work and some paperwork. Finally left at 11:39 pm, flight home is uneventful, retrieve my car and get home at exactly 1 a.m. Then this morning I'm a zombie. Went to a doctor appointment at 8:45 (eyes barely open), came home and went back to bed until 5 p.m. Got a couple of nice emails from Mike Carroll of Fit For Golf. During our huddle with him last week for the FFG test, I advised him that I didn't think I could do one of the warmup exercises properly because of my post-surgical back. He asked me to send him a video of my attempts to do it; GF shot the video on Saturday and I sent it to him. He got back to me and suggested a variation of the exercise. Today he asked how the variation was working. I said it was slightly better than the original version, but not much. But it's nice that he's taking the time to help me with this when I'm not even a paying customer.

I don't pretend to be a draft expert or a Maye expert, even though I live in NC, but draft analysts have said Maye has some bad habits he'll have to break, including hanging onto the ball too long and being too slow in going through his reads. Even with a rocket, accurate arm he could flop if he doesn't fix those issues.

When I was having sciatica last year, a physical therapist taught me a stretch that helped, and I still use it when I get a flareup (like last night, for instance). Like this: https://myhealth.alberta.ca/Health/aftercareinformation/pages/conditions.aspx?hwid=zp4474

Furthermore, it's not unheard of for the school to take over a hockey club and promote it to varsity status. Arizona State did that after the NHL Coyotes came to Phoenix, and for the last few years the Coyotes have been playing at the ASU rink. Now the Coyotes are headed for Salt Lake City and probably a new name. But the Sun Devils hockey program will remain as an NCAA hockey team.

That one I can answer. ACHA is club hockey; my school (Arkansas) has a hockey club that is quite successful at that level, and the kids who play on it pay for the privilege and do fundraisers to cover travel expenses, etc. The NCAA schools are varsity, where the hockey program is officially sponsored by the school, and the players may have hockey scholarships. Some schools (I know that Michigan is in this category) have both varsity hockey and a hockey club, but Arkansas does not.

I always crack up when UK people get snippy on football vs. soccer. The word "soccer" was invented in England as a derivation of "association football," as in the FA, to differentiate the round ball game from rugby. And as far as I can tell, the word soccer was used commonly in the UK until maybe 25 years ago.

Got an email from my club in Scotland that they're having Srixon and Cleveland fittings on Monday. Unfortunately I'm not there to take advantage

I spend a lot of time in Raleigh, and one of the hotels I rotate is right across the street from PNC Arena, but not when the Canes are in town; they jack up the room rates on hockey nights. Haven't made it to a game there yet. My only NHL game to date was when I attended a medical convention in Montreal probably 25 years ago. Sat up in the nosebleeds at Centre Bell where all the teenagers sit; I was the oldest one in my section by about 20 years and the only one who didn't speak French. Really enjoyed it though, and at some point I'm going to go to some Canes games.

Same here. I'm a dues-paying member of Arsenal FC so yesterday's 5-nil waxing of Chelsea was a highlight of my day. Will be tough for us to top Manchester City for the Prem title, but at the same time MCFC has no room for error either. And I have a good friend who has the misfortune of being a Tottenham fan, so we go back and forth on that. Especially this weekend since Arsenal visits Tottenham for the North London Derby.

I'm in Detroit now, leaving town this evening just as things start to ramp up for the draft. There was a welcome desk for incoming draft fans last night at my hotel, and there are NFL Draft signs all over the place. I'm a Packer fan too, dating back to the Lombardi/Titletown era (yes I'm old enough to remember the Ice Bowl). Have my one share of Packers stock which is completely worthless. I tell people I own as many shares of an NFL team as my fellow Arkansas graduate Jerry Jones. Only his share is worth $9 billion or so and mine is worth zilch.

Enjoy the trip! I'll be at DTW in about eight hours

I texted that to GF. I suspect she would say every day with me is Gray Haired Grumpy Old Man Day. No bow ties though. My usual work garb is scrubs.

I prefer golf, or anything else, in colder weather; if I never experience another day of temperatures above 30C it would be fine with me. On my Scotland trip last fall it never got above 12C and was frequently in single digits, but the chill only became an issue if, as frequently happened, there was significant wind or rain or both. The nastiest day on my trip was the day I played Fortrose and Rosemarkie, and I was so discouraged by that that I joined their club!

I don't think I still have any of the drawings. This was like 30 years ago. There is one place where I might have stashed some and I'll look after I get home.

Didn't have much time or energy for sightseeing, but as a former architecture major I found some of the downtown buildings quite interesting as I drove to and from the hotel (including my hotel itself, which was built a century ago as the home for the first radio station licensed anywhere in the US*). Along with somewhat of a skyscraper visible from M10 heading north out of downtown, which I have been unable to determine what it is. I had hoped the Tigers would be home, but no such luck, and the Wings and Pistons both missed the playoffs. Also considered a run through the tunnel or over the bridge to Windsor, but probably would have had to do that Sunday. * -- There is some dispute of that title. Other claimants include KDKA in Pittsburgh and KCBS in San Francisco. It appears KCBS actually started first, as a project of an amateur broadcaster before World War I, but the government banned private ownership of radios or transmitters during the war, so there was a hiatus for a while. The Detroit station, which still exists, is WWJ.

I drew up some designs for the old Golf Digest Armchair Architect contests but I don't think I ever actually submitted them. As I recall, they gave you a topo map of an area and you could fit in two or three or four holes on that site. Then later I played around with some early hole design software. Never got beyond that though. But I've filled up a few notebooks of graph paper with course designs.

I have designed more pseudo courses than I can count, but never on a real plot of land. Guessing that's a par 4. You might do something with the green so that if you drive right but stay out of the bunkers, you get an advantage on the second shot into the green. Could be rotating the green a touch, or putting in a bunker that you'd have to carry if you drive down the left side.

Interesting project. At one point I was looking into creating an artificial turf green in my backyard, many many moons ago, but the expense and disapproval of the then-spouse nipped that idea before it ever reached the bud stage. Never would have thought of constructing a real grass green. Anxious to see how it goes

Company won't pay for me to stay, and yes I'm ready to get home. But yeah the city seems to be getting excited. Signs everywhere, including on the buses and light rail, and there was a welcome desk for draft fans at my hotel last night. But not in the lobby; this is the only hotel I've ever seen where the lobby is on the third floor. Made it easier to check out though since my room was also on the third floor. @CSiders12 my condolences. That's gotta be rough.

Exactly. And nuking a kids 7i 190 or whatever. Another full day of work before flying home from the Mitten. AA and Delta both have flights that arrive at ILM around midnight and it seems like I'm always on them. Including tonight. I'm gonna be pretty useless tomorrow. Fortunately I really don't have to do any work tomorrow.