June 25, 2009

By BRAD PYE JR.

Notes, quotes and things picked up on the run from coast-to-coast and all the stops in between and beyond.

Tiger Woods missed out on winning his fourth U.S. Open championship. He also failed to move within three of Jack Nicklaus’ all-time record of 18 Grand Slams. If Woods had won the U.S. Open Bethpage State Park Course at Farmingdale, N.Y., he would have been the only player to win 10 U.S. Golf Association championships.

And the beat continues

The Wimbledon Classic opened June 22 in London. Serena and Venus Williams entered as the No. 2- and No. 3-ranked players in the world, respectively. Venus beat Serena 7-5, 6-4, last year for her fifth Wimbledon title. Venus will be aiming for No. 6 now. A win will tie her with Billie Jean King. King told USA Today: “This is her place.” Will the Williams sisters end up in a rematch this year? They could. Serena won her first match against Neuza Silva of Portugal in straight sets, 6-1 and 7-5. Russia’s Dinara Safina is ranked No. 1. The women’s finals is July 4, and the men’s finals is July 5.

And the beat continues

Will Kobe Bryant and Coach Phil Jackson try for six titles to match the six Jackson and Michael Jordan won in Chicago? Let us hope so.

The Lakers’ Jordan Farmar hopes his Golf Classic & Gala is a championship event for charity. Farmar’s Golf Classic is set for July 20 at the Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks. For information, call Toi Crawford & Associates at (310) 358-1019.

Will Shaquille O’Neal wind up with his fifth NBA title, if the Phoenix Suns trade him to the Cleveland Cavaliers? Several veteran observers believe the 37-year-old Shaq has something left in the tank, and he could help the Cavs’ superstar LeBron “King” James get it done.

University of Southern California freshman DeMar DeRozan could be a lottery pick in the NBA draft, which starts today (June 25). Two other potential lottery picks are Duke’s junior Gerald Henderson and Memphis’ Tyreke Evans. Both are talented guards.

USC’s men’s basketball program continues to fall apart. Coach Tim Floyd abruptly resigned days ago and top recruit Derrick Williams was released from his letter of intent. Ditto for Lamont Jones. To boot, several of USC’s top undergrads have opted for the NBA.

And the beat continues

The L.A. Angels of Anaheim’s Torii Hunter became the first Angel to smack three homers in a game in six years. Hunter was on deck in the eighth inning when Bobby Abreu struck out and ended his bid to become only the 16th major leaguer to blast four homers in a game. The Angels beat the San Diego Padres, 9-1, in the process.

The L.A. Dodgers took two out of three games from the Angels to continue with the best record in all of baseball. The Dodgers are slated to play the Chicago White Sox and the Seattle Mariners.

The Dodgers’ Orlando Hudson is No. 2 in the second base competition for the July 14 All-Star Game in St. Louis. The Dodgers’ outfielder Manny Ramirez is the sixth top vote-earner. The Phillies’ Jimmy Rollins is the No. 1 vote-getter at shortstop with 1.2 million votes.

And the beat continues

Look for the top football positions in the National Football League to add a little more color. Commissioner Roger Goodell announced the other day the Rooney Rule has been expanded by requiring teams to interview at least one minority for all senior football vacancies. Currently, there are five minorities in top NFL executive positions. They’re Rod Graves (Arizona); Martin Mayhew (Detroit); Ozzie Newsome (Baltimore); Jerry Reese (New York Giants); and Rick Smith (Houston). Ray Anderson, NFL’s senior football executive vice president of football operations, is an African American, too.

Nnamdi Asomugha, Oakland Raiders Pro Bowl defensive cornerback, really cares about young people in East Oakland. Asomugha recently took a group of boys from the inner city of East Oakland to Washington, D.C., and New York City. They visited the White House and former President Bill Clinton’s offices in Harlem, N.Y.

And the beat continues

After knocking out Clyde Weaver (0-2) in his debut, 26-year-old George Foreman III declared: “It feels good to know all the torture my father (George Foreman, the former heavyweight champion) put me through paid off.”

And the beat continues

Remember the name Chalonda Goodman of Newman High of Newman, Ga.? She swept the 100 and 200 meters at the Georgia Class 5-A meet for the fourth consecutive year. Goodman has run the fastest prep 200 in the nation (23.32) this season and the second best 100 (11.30), and she still holds the Texas state 5-A meet record for the fastest 100 (11.45). She’s the University of Texas-bound.

And the beat ends

Brad Pye Jr. can be reached at switchreel@aol.com.