TheState.com: Bob Spear

Spear: Life is good after your name gets in the paper

Fri, 16 May 2008 08:21 EDT

ONCE UPON A time, in the days of a half-century ago when each of baseball’s major leagues included only eight teams and today’s communication network could not be imagined, scouts beat the bushes in search of talent, and some potential prospects no doubt escaped notice.

Bob Bolin almost belonged to that category.

Instead, a persistent high school principal kept nagging the area’s biggest newspaper for publicity, and the story helped Bolin emerge from the backwoods of York County. He capitalized on the opportunity, pitching his way into the big time.

The journey’s final chapter unfolds Monday night with Bolin’s induction into the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame.

In today’s high-tech world, the idea that a player who would win 88 major-league games and save 50 would not be recognized sounds ridiculous. But the mid-1950s meant hit-and-miss scouting, especially in rural areas, and Bolin’s surroundings — Smyrna and Hickory Grove — defined “rural.”

Should young athletes commit to college programs? Spear: ‘No’

Sat, 10 May 2008 21:43 EDT

Want to know what’s wrong with college athletics? The story of Michael Avery pretty much tells the tale.

Don’t know Michael Avery? Didn’t think so.

He is the poster child for robbing the cradle.

Michael Avery is a 6-foot-4 eighth-grader from California — and he has made a verbal commitment to accept the University of Kentucky’s offer for a basketball scholarship.

“That’s the funny thing,” Howard Avery, Michael’s father, told a Web site that follows recruiting. “We’ve got the college. Now, we need our high school.”

Spear: Track’s tough rhetoric is right on the money

Sat, 10 May 2008 22:18 EDT

DARLINGTON

YOU KNOW THE hype, the tub-thumping chant about Darlington Raceway. Too Tough To Tame. Too Tough To Tame. Too Tough To Tame.

Don’t think so?

Think again.

Climb in the spiffy Dodge Challenger and let’s take a spin. You’ll see.

Spear: Darlington proves as unforgiving as ever

Fri, 09 May 2008 21:59 EDT

DARLINGTON

IF THE GUYS on the No. 48 team could have looked into the future and brought three race cars to Darlington for this weekend, driver Jimmie Johnson could have gone for the hat trick.

The hat trick ... good in hockey, not in stock-car racing.

Hockey’s version, three goals in a match, leaves the fans cheering. Racing’s equivalent, three wrecked cars in a day, leaves ’em moaning.

And if the guy behind the wheel in two crashes has taken home the past two season championships, questions mount.

Spear: More mature Kim serves notice to rest of Tour

Mon, 05 May 2008 09:28 EDT

CHARLOTTE

LET’S NOT GO overboard, but, geez, Anthony Kim made his one-time braggadocio look real Sunday as he lapped the field in the Wachovia Championship.

If his long-range prediction matches his short-term look into the future, professional golf soon will have another member in its elite echelon.

What’s that, you ask? You have never heard of Anthony Kim and suddenly his name appears in the same paragraph as a reference to Tiger, Phil, Ernie, Vijay and the gang?

Well, he does not belong yet.

Spear: Yes, Holtz should be in the hall of fame

Sat, 03 May 2008 23:32 EDT

Yes, yes, yes, Lou Holtz saw his South Carolina teams struggle — and sometimes drift aimlessly out of control — in the final two seasons before his retirement from coaching. His micro-managing and undercutting his assistants almost guaranteed that scenario.

But we are talking about a career, not just a couple of stumbles close to the finish line, and he without question belongs in the College Football Hall of Fame.

Consider the entire body of work: success at every stop on his college head-coaching journey, ranging from William and Mary to North Carolina State to Arkansas to Minnesota to Notre Dame to, yes, even South Carolina.

The finish, especially the 63-17 loss to Clemson in 2003 and the fight during another one-sided loss to the Tigers a year later in his final game, casts a pall on his achievements.

Lest we forget, he guided the Gamecocks to a pair of bowl victories over Ohio State, accomplishments the Carolina faithful had only seen in their dreams.

Spear: Fans see hope in '08 Tigers

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 08:07 EDT

THEY CAME WEARING orange and optimism Monday night, and who can blame them?

A year later, the record is only one game better and another near-miss in the Atlantic Coast Conference hovers like an albatross. Yet, the atmosphere surrounding Clemson football is drastically different.

Seldom have similar records, 8-5 in 2006 and 9-4 in ’07, provided a more startling contrast.

Oh, coach Tommy Bowden says his annual press-the-flesh tour with fans remains like always, but their smiles and laughter say otherwise. The 2006 baggage of a 1-4 finish and a sad-sack bowl game performance has been replaced by the promise of a glittering tomorrow.

Fast forward to Monday night’s Clemson Club gathering at Seawell’s. This time, the faithful could savor a last-second win against archrival South Carolina and find solace from a solid effort in an overtime bowl loss.

Spear: Perhaps, a little Boo could cure U.S. Ryder woes

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 06:57 EDT

HILTON HEAD ISLAND

LET’S PLAY “WHAT if,” a game that presents assumptions with the answers limited only by imagination.

Today’s topic: What if Boo Weekley’s second consecutive triumph in the Verizon Heritage propels him to a place on this year’s United States Ryder Cup team?

Before replying, consider how serious the competition has become. The Europeans’ domination in recent years has elevated the intensity on this side of the Atlantic, and the U.S. pros have become targets of ridicule.

Could Boo, the self-styled country boy, be worthy of a place on the team?

Should other colleges host championship games? Spear says yes

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 22:08 EDT

Hey, fair’s fair, and one university should not have a monopoly on the opportunity to impress potential recruits by always staging high school championship football games — if the site of a championship game really matters to future college players.

Certainly, the South Carolina High School League should not be locked in to one venue.

Whether playing a high school game at South Carolina’s Williams-Brice Stadium or Clemson’s Death Valley would be the deciding factor in a young person’s choice of schools can be debated.

Generally, the impact of the championship game site on recruiting is minimal. Would playing a game at one school’s stadium instead of another sway a player to change his mind? Besides, teams that compete for the championship probably will have no more than a couple Division I prospects out of the hundreds of names bandied about by recruiting services.

Clemson coach Tommy Bowden thinks so the site matters, and he will get his wish with some of the games moving to Death Valley in 2009. USC’s Steve Spurrier sees the change from Williams-Brice as no big deal.

Spear: Stoic Gainey counts to 10

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 22:06 EDT

HILTON HEAD ISLAND

TOMMY GAINEY, A man with considerable golfing ability and even more restraint and candor, earned a three-cheers salute at Harbour Town Golf Links on Friday.

No, he did not light up the scoreboard and stampede the field in the Verizon Heritage.

Rather, an opposite situation — a horrible, terrible, pick-an-adjective, three-balls-in-the-water score of 10 — put him in the spotlight.

The PGA Tour rookie, who came from nowhere to earn a place in golf’s major league, went through that nightmare, yet maintained his poise after being asked the dumbest question of any year.

Spear | Trahan’s patience pays off

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 23:05 EDT

HILTON HEAD ISLAND

D.J. TRAHAN BOGEYED his second hole, threw away another shot on his sixth and stood 3 over par after eight holes Thursday morning in the first round of the Verizon Heritage.

That’s not the way he wants to start any tournament and especially this one, on the Harbour Town Golf Links where he learned to play golf.

Suddenly, though, the putts started to fall and he sizzled. He raced around the front nine, his final holes, in 6 under and his 3-under 68 positioned him nicely in the PGA Tour’s only stop in South Carolina.

Those who have watched his progression — from junior wins to state amateur championships to the USGA’s Public Links title to All-America honors at Clemson to a pair of Tour wins — are not surprised.

Spear | New and old showcase Darlington’s changes

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 22:49 EDT

DARLINGTON

YESTERDAY AND TODAY converged at Darlington Raceway on Wednesday, and the old guy reminded everyone how good he was and illustrated that he still knows a thing or two about speed, especially at stock-car racing’s oldest super-speedway.

“To see him pass in the 21 car at Darlington ... that’s pretty special,” said Carl Edwards, a three-time winner on NASCAR’s top circuit this year.

“Him” is David Pearson, who won 105 races in a Hall of Fame career that ended long ago. But the driver called the Silver Fox still knows the track where he won 10 times, earned 12 poles and posted 24 top-five finishes in 47 races.

Track officials pulled his famed 21 Mercury — a 1971 model — out of the museum and sent the car to the builder, Leonard Wood, for a quick overhaul. The veteran owner worked his magic.

Player’s pupil teaches Masters field a lesson

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 07:19 EDT

AUGUSTA

WE CAME TO watch Tiger or Phil add to their championship collection.

Instead, we go away after receiving a wonderful introduction to Trevor Immelman.

Who is this guy who stole the show over four days at Augusta National Golf Club to walk away with the 72nd Masters?

His physical maladies — a stomach ailment during the 2007 Masters and surgery for a benign tumor on his diaphragm in December — have been well chronicled, but what about the golf skills that brought him a major championship?

Spear | Crouching leaders take note of lurking Tiger

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 22:56 EDT

AUGUSTA

HO-HUM. ANOTHER GREAT escape on the finishing hole. Another round to make those who dismissed Tiger Woods’ chances in the 72nd Masters to pause and reconsider the rush to judgment.

Indeed, the world’s best golfer sparkled on this cool Saturday at Augusta National Golf Club, jumping to the fringe of the championship conversation with 18 holes remaining in the year’s first major.

He left himself with a mountain to climb; he trails Trevor Immelman by six shots, and three others stand between him and the leader. Yet, he lurks within striking distance, and front-runners have been known to wobble with Woods in the rearview mirror.

To succeed, he will need to erase perhaps the only blot on his sterling credentials. He has never rushed from behind to win a major, but his performance Saturday suggested he is primed for a par-busting round.

Is the Masters the greatest golf major? Spear says no

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 21:58 EDT

The aura and ambiance that surround the Masters each spring earn the highest marks, and the tradition carved out over the Augusta National Golf Club course since 1934 stands second to none.

Equipment changes and the course undergoes periodic alternations, but today’s golfer can still play in the shadows of the games greatest players. Both they and fans who congregate each year know the history chapter and verse. You know the conversations: “Remember when Arnie made eagle from those trees?” and “That shot reminds me of Tiger in 1997.”

That said, the Masters comes up far short in terms of quality fields.

History, beauty and tradition go so far in deciding the best of golf’s major championships.

Most of today’s top players qualify, but the limited number — 94 started this year — make the point that genuine quality depth is lacking.

Spear | Caddie’s call turns Flesch into contender

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 09:41 EDT

AUGUSTA

STEVE FLESCH STOOD in the middle of Augusta National’s 13th fairway Saturday morning and stared at the creek-guarded green more than 200 yards in the distance. With his ball on a hanging lie, he faced a decision.

He wanted to hit a 4-iron. Caddie Paul Fusco insisted on a 3-iron.

“I have a hard enough time with a 3-iron off a flat tee box (with the ball) teed up, much less off a hanging lie,” he would say later.

The caddie won the debate, and Flesch hammered the shot. With the ball in flight, he figured, “too much club.” With the ball rolling across the green, he knew, “too much club.”

Spear | Lyle flashes back 20 years

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 11:26 EDT

AUGUSTA

WHETHER BY CHANCE or by design, his caddie wore Augusta National’s familiar jumpsuit emblazoned with the No. 88.

Whether the number was the luck of the draw or a symbol to commemorate the 20th anniversary of his triumph on these grounds, Sandy Lyle peeled the pages off the calendar in Thursday’s first round of the Masters.

Just past his 50th birthday and getting settled on the old-guys tour, he played Thursday like the Sandy of yesterday: the teenage prodigy, the shot-maker who won the British Open and the Masters, the player who helped breath fire into Europe’s Ryder Cup team in the 1980s.

In the group with J.B. Holmes, Lyle used guile and experience to compensate for playing his second shot sometimes 50 yards behind one of the PGA Tour’s biggest cannons.

Spear | Don’t forget about Phil this week

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 11:11 EDT

AUGUSTA

HE OWNS 31 PGA Tour tournament championships and ranks second in the world. His credentials include three major titles, including two of the past four Masters. His performance chart this year shows a victory in Los Angeles and a near-miss in Phoenix.

Yet, Phil Mickelson — like all the others — comes to the 72nd Masters reduced to almost an afterthought.

Is Tiger Woods’ shadow that imposing?

Should this tournament be renamed the Tiger Closed?

Even at 72, Player still fit to take on Augusta

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 07:11 EDT

AUGUSTA

IF THE MYSTERIES OF Augusta National Golf Club’s 7,445 yards present a Rubik’s Cube-like puzzle to the most-seasoned golfers, imagine the challenges that face first-time participants in the Masters.

Reactions range from confounding to perplexing to downright impossible, and the wise ones seek the counsel of veterans.

Richard Sterne and Liang Wen-Chong found the perfect instructor Monday in preparation for the 72nd edition of the year’s first major championship:

Professor Gary Player.

Spear | Expand the NCAA field? Surely you jest

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 19:14 EDT

The suggestion to expand the NCAA tournament sounds appealing, and “sounds” is the operative word.

You know the deal: Every team qualifies, every team receives a chance to ride a miraculous parade of upsets to the championship, every team dreams of grandeur.

Let’s get real here.

Adding teams to the tournament and expanding the playoffs for goodness knows how long changes nothing.

By the time the eliminations reduced the field to the current stage, the world would be tired of watching and the same names — the heavyweights — would be in championship contention.