By Chris Harrison staff reporter Never in women's golfer Angela Stanford's wildest dreams did she think one day she would be using her golf talent to represent her country. Stanford, raised in Saginaw, Texas, was chosen last Thursday to represent the United States in the June 24-25 Curtis Cup Match at Ganton Golf Club in North Yorkshire, England. Stanford is one of eight amateurs that has been chosen to compete in the Curtis Cup.
The Curtis Cup competition features two teams: one from the United States and one combined of players from Britain and Ireland. The match will feature three foursomes and six singles matches each day, with each match worth one point toward the team score. Each team gets a half point for a tied match after 18 holes. "I already know some of the players that I will be playing with on our team," Stanford said. "I played with Beth Bauer in junior golf and played against Hilary Homeyer in the amateur (tournament) one year. I am looking forward to playing with them as teammates." The match is conducted every two years, switching courses alternately between the United States, Britain and Ireland. The first Curtis Cup tournament was held in 1932, and the United States currently leads the series 21-6-3, but Great Britain and Ireland have won the last three Curtis Cups played in Europe (1988,1992 and 1996). Stanford said she is still overwhelmed that she made the United States team. "I had no idea that I was going to get the call to play," Stanford said. "I thought it was a joke at first because it was so late at night. I kept saying to them on the phone, 'you have to be kidding. Are you sure?' I was absolutely stunned and speechless. "Even right now I really don't think the reality of the invitation to play in the tournament has set in yet. I haven't been able to comprehend what is about to happen. Somebody told me they heard my name on the Golf Channel the other night, and I was just, like, 'wow.' Right now I am still walking on air." Coach Angie Ravioli-Larkin said she was just as overwhelmed as Stanford. The committee couldn't have made a better choice, she added. "It's such a huge honor, not only for Angela, but for the whole school," she said. "It's hard to actually put in words how big of an honor this really is. It's like playing in the Super Bowl. It's that big of a deal. "I think it is just about the same as being on the Ryder Cup team or playing for the U.S. Olympic Hockey team. Those are the kind of things I would compare it to when you're playing a sport for your country. When you get to represent your country in anything, you realize how important it is going to be." Not only will Stanford be representing her country in the Curtis Cup, but she will be taking TCU into an international spotlight. "I keep thinking that no one from TCU has ever played in the Curtis Cup, and that is all I have really thought about," Stanford said. "I really want to wear something that represents TCU. I don't know if they'll let me use a TCU head cover, but I've got to get a frog in there somehow." This will be the second time Stanford has represented the United States in a golf tournament, but the previous competition was not on the same scale of the Curtis Cup, she said. "I played for the United States in Japan at the Goodwill Games, but it was nothing like the team that I am going to play on for the Curtis Cup," Stanford said. "The Goodwill Games were more of a college-style format, where as the Curtis Cup is match play. "I guess what really keys me up about this match play is that the United States has lost three in a row over in Europe. Hopefully, we will turn things around this time in England."
Chris Harrison
We all know the drill about people in glass houses and such, right? What are we supposed to think about a certain local columnist who referred to the Dallas Mavericks' troubled teenage first-round draft pick Leon Smith as a "punk street kid who receives far too much sobsister sympathy"? Smith, who swallowed 250 aspirin on Nov. 14 in a failed suicide attempt, was a ward of the state of Illinois from the age of 4 through 18. The 19-year-old forward has been devoid of adult guidance and has lived apart from his siblings for most of his young life. Smith pretty much bounced from foster home to foster home during his high school days. Certainly you can see he's deserving of a great deal of sympathy. What, exactly, makes him a "punk street kid"? This is the same columnist who also referred to the Cowboys' Alonzo Spellman, who suffers from manic depression, as a "certified loon." This is the same columnist who has slung arrows at Cowboys' cornerback extraordinaire Deion Sanders for everything from his newfound passion for Christianity to being injured to wearing a do-rag to, well, you get the idea. This is the same columnist who so boldly regales his radio listeners with boasts about his proficiency downing alcoholic beverages. Sir, may your glass walls come crashing down.
I have mixed feelings about this Tennessee Titans in the Super Bowl thing. As a resident of Houston for 21 years, I watched enough Oiler-choke episodes to have mistaken them for P.J. Carlesimo. Just three seasons removed from their roots in Houston, this long-forgotten franchise has managed to stumble into the nation's biggest made-for-TV event. Whereas the Oilers were cursed, the Titans are "Kearsed." Whereas the Oilers once were eliminated from the playoffs three consecutive seasons by surrendering fourth-quarter leads, the Titans show grit and gumption in overcoming fourth-quarter deficits in three straight playoff games. Whereas the Astrodome wasn't worthy of a pig-roasting contest, Adelphia Coliseum is the shiniest spectacle in Hooter Hollow (or Nashville, whatever). Said longtime Oilers fan Tara Davis: "It's bittersweet because this is supposed to be Houston's celebration." Damn skippy. Aside: May the Titans' quarterback Steve McNair never have to answer one of the stupidest questions ever posed in journalistic history: "How long have you been a black quarterback?" Such a question was posed to Doug Williams, quarterback of the 1987 Super Bowl-winning Washington Redskins and the only other black quarterback to make an appearance in the Big Show.
Master P is certainly making them say Ughhhh. After Ron Mercer of the Denver Nuggets and Charlotte Hornets' Ricky Davis left P's No Limit Sports Agency, expect a continued exodus by his remaining clients - including former Heisman Trophy winner and New Orleans Saints' rookie Ricky Williams. Sources close to the situation said the dissatisfaction with No Limit stemmed from P's attempts at an NBA career and Williams' "disastrous, incentive-laden contract." Williams, the No. 5 pick in the NFL draft, signed a contract that could have earned him more than $9 million this year. In light of the Saints' recent "struggles," this could have occurred only if the big inmate from "The Green Mile" was playing right tackle and Jamie Foxx was New Orleans' quarterback. As it were, Williams reached only one incentive and earned $225,000 in an injury-plagued, two-touchdown and three-win season. Indianapolis tailback Edgerrin James, the No. 4 pick in the draft and a Pro Bowl selection, earned $14.75 million this season. Thanks to No Limit, Williams is probably the only first-round draft pick on a budget. Apparently there is a limit - to Williams' bank account.
"Smart Bombs" is a weekly column written by Opinion editor Joel Anderson, a senior news-editorial journalism major from Missouri City, Texas. He can be reached at (jdanderson@delta.is.tcu.edu). |
"I will never forget when they called me," Stanford
said. "Thursday Jan. 20, 2000. I looked over at my clock, and it said
10:41 p.m. I couldn't believe they had chosen me to represent the United
States in the Curtis Cup."| The TCU Daily Skiff © 1998, 1999 Credits |