Barkley fears last place
Former NBA star Charles Barkley on playing in this week’s 16th annual American Century Celebrity Golf Championship at Lake Tahoe:
“I understand that if I were any good, I’d be over in Scotland right now, getting ready for the British Open.
“My No. 1 goal is to win money in the casino.
“My No. 2 goal is to not hit anybody.”
The former NBA star is among dozens of athletes and celebrities who will play in the $500,000 tournament that runs Friday through Sunday at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course.
Former NHL player Dan Quinn is the favorite to win his third straight celebrity championship. A 500-to-1 long shot, Barkley finds some comfort that Chris Webber of the Philadelphia 76ers is in the field again.
“Thank God C. Web is going to be there. If I can’t beat C. Web, I really have to give this game up,” Barkley said. “That guy shot 130 (last year) and we gave him like 50 shots.”
Have wife, will compete in Finland
Dennis Rodman turned up recently in, of all places, Sonkajarvi, Finland.
He claimed to have been vacationing but ended up as a guest of the Wife-Carrying World Championships, which were won by Estonia for the eighth consecutive year.
Rodman didn’t compete, he said, because he had no wife, which might explain why he was really there, reports the Los Angeles Times.
According to Finnish legend, wife-stealing was once commonplace in the region, hence the contest.
The former NBA star could certainly have picked up a few pointers from winner Margo Uusorg, who with his better half draped over his shoulders, completed the 830-foot obstacle course in 59 seconds.
When hell freezes and pigs fly
Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling was in Las Vegas last week, watching his team in a summer-league game. At halftime, he was asked by the Las Vegas Review-Journal whether Vegas was ready for its own franchise.
Sterling said he didn’t do interviews and hinted that he wouldn’t for a long time.
“When we win the championship, I’ll talk,” he answered.
They do it all for you at the Embassy
Brett Simpson, a competitor in the upcoming Honda U.S. Open of Surfing at California’s Huntington Beach Pier, said it will be good to be back at his home break.
He spends much of the year traveling, and there are perks, such as being able to sample international cuisine.
But the food isn’t always good, he added, surprisingly listing France as an example:
“All those baguettes and hard rolls. … Your gums start bleeding after eating those things.”
Fortunately, the American Embassy is usually close by. That’s the name surfers have given McDonald’s. “We spend a lot of time in the American Embassy,” Simpson said. “They even speak English there.”
Wie out of place, from a physical view
Mike Downey of the Chicago Tribune, defending Michelle Wie’s right to play on the men’s tour:
“It isn’t as if golf is too rough for a 15-year-old. Vijay Singh isn’t going to make like a linebacker and tackle her. And it isn’t as if a female can’t compete with these finely tuned physical specimens. I just watched John Daly, Tim Herron, Olin Browne and Jason Gore play in two big tournaments. They looked like four sportswriters.”