It’s still surprising – though I guess it shouldn’t be – to look at the world golf rankings and see Mike Weir at 539th world.
He spent 110 weeks in the top 10 between 2001 and 2005.
It didn’t seem that long ago I was following him around Royal Montreal on a pristine fall afternoon watching him rally to beat Tiger Woods in a singles match at the Presidents Cup.
But a search for a new swing and recurrent problems with his right elbow have seen the 2003 Masters champ figuratively fall off the golf map.
Now comes word this morning Weir will be out for 3-6 months after having surgery performed on the extensor tendon of his right elbow by Dr. James Andrews in Florida.
He has tried to play with the bad elbow for at least a year – talking to him at the PGA last year, he was extremely frustrated with everything going on in his golf life – but rehab appeared to have only mixed results. He re-injured it at the RBC Canadian Open last month.
“My elbow has caused me problems over the past year and during the RBC Canadian Open it essentially became unplayable,” said Weir. “Dr. Andrews is the best in the business, and it’s my hope with patience, and diligent post-surgery rehab, I will be able to put my elbow problems behind me and look forward.”
Weir also needs time to get his swing straightened out. For sure, the elbow injury led to compensations. But he’s also been bouncing back and forth with coaches, going without a coach, back to old coaches.
Taking a forced prolonged break might be what Weir needs right now to get his golf life back in order and see if he can make a late-career rally.
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Weir out 3-6 months after elbow surgery
Steve Downie got a tune up
BOSTON – One of the really effective players for the Tampa Bay Lightning in their playoff run has been winger Steve Downie.
Formerly a loose cannon, Downie has settled down under coach Guy Boucher. He’s kept the Gong Show antics to a minimum and has become an effective member of the Lightning’s hugely successful third line along with Sean Bergenheim and Dominic Moore.
Along the lines of Vancouver’s Ryan Kesler, Downie has reduced his counterproductive interaction with members of the other team.
“I don’t want to take any credit for changing him. He’s the one doing it,” said Boucher. “He’s the one willing to take the steps. I was looking on TV yesterday and they were talking about Kesler pretty much in the same way that you’re talking now. He’s a guy that’s got some great hockey attributes and he was wasting a lot of energy doing other things.
“You can see him now he’s a dominant hockey player because his focus and his energy are going in the right direction. You know, at this level, I strongly believe now – I’m still a little rookie here – there’s one thing I see and that’s these guys are Formula Ones. The minute there’s one little thing that’s off, it has an incredible impact on the car and the body, basically. If your mind is not in the right place, if your energy is just slightly off because you’ve wasted some in places that you shouldn’t, you’re not going to get the maximum out of yourself. I think Steve understood that.
“To realize that is one thing. To put it into practice, it’s an every day training. He’s been great at it. There’s been a few times he’s had some trouble controlling his emotions, but nothing like before. It’s night and day from the beginning of the year…he has evolved and he’s really sold on doing what he’s doing now. Teams have tried to go at him in the first and second series but it ain’t working because he knows how important he is for us on the ice.”
Chris Pronger out for Flyers?
PHILADELPHIA – Reports here at the Wells Fargo Center are Flyers defenceman Chris Pronger will not be in the lineup for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinal.
Pronger left Game 1 early and sustained a suspected lower body injury. He did not take part in the morning skate today with some speculation he was battling a cold.
If Pronger is not in the lineup, it’s expected his spot will be taken by Danny Syvret.
One joke making the rounds was Pronger had not made it back from Pakistan after taking part in the raid on Osama bin Laden’s lair.
He’s tough, but not that tough.
Boston Bruins heading for Lake Placid
MONTREAL – You have to love all the stuff that goes on during the playoffs.
With an extra day between Games 3 and 4 of their opening round series against the Canadiens in Montreal (they can thank Canadian rock icons Rush who are booked into the Bell Centre Wednesday night) the Bruins will be upping and moving to Lake Placid for Tuesday and Wednesday.
Rush’s “Fly By Night,” a classic.
Lake Placid, of course, is the home of the Miracle on Ice and I guess the B’s will be looking to grab a little of that karma. More likely is Bruins coach Claude Julien, a former Habs coach, knows how crazy it’s going to be here for those two days – especially if the Canadiens have won a game out of the first three.
Sports Illustrated’s classic shot of Team USA’s win for the ages
Getting away to Lake Placid will help the Bruins get away from, if not it all, at least some of it.
You have to wonder if they want to be left alone with their thoughts, however, if they go to Lake Placid up 3-0 in the series.
Donald Sutherland and Cabot Links
Canadian actor Donald Sutherland provides the narration for the interesting trailer on Cabot Links, the highly-anticipated Cape Breton golf course which is expected to open 10 holes on Canada Day.
Why is this course creating such a buzz?
It’s got a lot to do with the people behind the project and the spectacular land which is truly links-style terrain.
Watch the trailer, you’ll see what we mean.
