Henry Bolsters His Trophy Case by Adding the jasathletics College Football MVP Award

There is no doubt that Christian McCaffrey and Deshaun Watson both put together very solid seasons. It is hard to look past the big numbers put up by quarterbacks Matt Johnson of Bowling Green and Brandon Doughty of Western Kentucky too. One man put himself just a notch above though by rushing for almost 2000 yards and scoring 23 touchdowns. With that being said, I would like to name running back Derrick Henry of Alabama as the 2015-2016 jasathletics College Football MVP.

Possibly surprisingly, this marks the first time that a running back has taken home this prestigious honor, and this breaks the four year streak of a quarterback winning this award. This is also the fourth time in the seven year lifespan of the jasathletics College Football MVP award that the Heisman winner has also had the top individual prize in college football bestowed upon him. At the midway point of the season it looked as if Leonard Fournette was a lock to win the top two individual awards in the game, but the pendulum swung towards Derrick Henry and never went back when LSU played Alabama. In that game Henry ran for 210 yards and 3 touchdowns whereas Fournette only ran for 31 yards and 1 touchdown. The fact that Henry went over 200 yards on three other occasions and scored at least one touchdown in every game didn’t hurt either. Congratulations to Derrick Henry, the seventh winner of this high honor.

So, You're Playing It Too Cool?

Thanks to The Art of Courtship (see post on July 29, 2014) or, if you struggled to apply the principles of The Art of Courtship on your own, The Art of Being a Wingman (see post on August 1, 2015), you are now in a relationship with a female. You may think that the difficult part is over. However, a lot of men struggle with the transition from the initial stages of courtship to sustaining the relationship. The most common mistake is “playing it too cool.” (Yes, it is possible and a fair share of men don’t even realize that they are “playing it too cool.”)

Sure, “Baby, you’re so hot, I can’t help but play it cool” pulled her heart strings the first ten or so times you said it. She might have even enjoyed the “Just playing it cool baby, you know my style” texts that you sent daily for the first few weeks of your relationship. But there comes a time when cool is just cold. And, it might have been cute at first to have “Malt Shop Buddies” as your Facebook relationship status, but keep that status too long and your only “Malt Shop Buddy” will be your wingman.

Now that you have changed your Facebook relationship status (No seriously, you better change it before you continue reading), you may be wondering what else you can do to put your relationship back on track. Well, “playing it too cool” is often interpreted as indifference and even a lack of commitment. So, I suggest that, the next time you are enjoying a malt together, that you say something like, “If you ever end up in prison, I will come and visit you every Tuesday.” She might be slightly offended that you could see her going to prison, but the commitment that is demonstrated by such a statement should overshadow this. (By the way, if you really think that the female you are endeavoring down the road of courtship with has a good chance of going to prison, you should probably get out of the relationship.)

While it is good to use some bold words to show your commitment, it is even more important to show commitment through actions. Before proceeding, I would like to pause for a word of caution though as I think some men are tempted to be a little too bold. So, for those of you thinking about buying a ring tomorrow, I would like to remind you that, dude, your relationship status was "Malt Shop Buddies" one minute ago. Now that any rash notions of being too bold have hopefully been erased from your mind, I would like to apprise you of how to properly show commitment in the transition from the initial stage of courtship to the sustaining and growing the relationship phase.

First, I suggest taking some notes. So, the next few times you see the female who possesses the left hand which you would eventually like to bestow jewelry upon, make sure to bring a notebook and document the conversations you have with her. She may find it a touch peculiar that you are taking notes, but more often than not, she will see this as a sign of commitment as you are showing that you are interested in understanding her and your relationship better.

Once you feel that you have taken sufficient notes, take some time to review them. In particular, look for patterns. As an example, suppose you notice that she mentioned that Halifax, Nova Scotia, is her favorite capital city of a Canadian province on multiple occasions. (Settle down “Malt Shop Buddy,” I know you are thinking that Halifax would be a great honeymoon destination. Your relationship just isn’t at that point yet.) A great way to act upon this knowledge (without being too bold) would be to rent a documentary on Halifax and watch it together.

While acting upon a single piece of information from your notes is good, taking advantage of multiple nuggets of knowledge simultaneously will truly impress a lady. For example, suppose you also notice that she likes to partake in a glass of punch of the Hawaiian variety on occasion. (Possibly wishful thinking on my part as additional information that I have gained since my Hawaiian Punch poll suggests that males, not females, prefer Hawaiian Punch drinkers. However, earlier today, I did receive confirmation from multiple female sources that Snapple could be the way to go. So, fellow juice enthusiasts, there is still hope.) Thus, to really seal the deal and transition your relationship to the next stage, you could have two glasses of Hawaiian Punch prepared for her and you to drink while watching the Halifax documentary. (If you are feeling especially romantic, I suggest one glass with two straws.)

At the end of the day, “playing it too cool” is a challenge that many men face as they progress down the road of courtship. However, if you apply the aforementioned plan of attack, your relationship thermostat should get set to the proper temperature. So, erase that “Girl, there is no place I would rather be than with you” text that you were about to send before you starting reading this, buy a notebook and pen, and tell her that in person. Trust me, that statement will mean a lot more if you are actually with her when you say it. (For those of you that are wondering, yes, I did drink Hawaiian Punch while writing this article.)

I Hope You Enjoyed the Ride

This season for the Twins was fun, a lot of fun. Sure it is disappointing that they didn’t make the playoffs, but they were in the mix, they had a chance going into the final weekend of the season. Watching your team with a chance right to the bitter end. That is when sports are fun to watch even if things don’t turn out as hoped. This is especially true since no one thought that the Twins would fare any differently than the past four years.

I can’t help but wonder what set this team apart from the teams of the previous four seasons. I don’t know if their pitching was really that much better. There seemed to be more quality starts, but there were plenty of bad ones too. The bullpen had its good moments, but it certainly had plenty of bad ones too, and the troubles that Glen Perkins had in the second half definitely put the bullpen in a tough spot. The team batting average was sub-par. Although they did hit pretty well with runners in scoring position. They had some decent power thanks to Brian Dozier, Trevor Plouffe, Torii Hunter, and Miguel Sano, but this certainly wasn’t a huge home run hitting team. The defense was certainly solid thanks to Eddie Rosario, Brian Dozier, and others. I don’t know if slightly better defense is enough to win 13 more games though. Miguel Sano certainly carried the team on his back at times. All things considered though, I don’t know if there is a way to quantify why this team was better. I think it was just the intangibles.

Two intangibles that stand out in my mind are the leadership and attitude that were brought to the clubhouse by Paul Molitor and Torii Hunter. In the offseason, I didn’t think that a change at manager was going to make much of a difference, but in the end, it appears that it made a huge difference. There was just a different feel in the dugout, and the change at manager is one obvious difference between this year and the previous four. Molitor should be manager of the year. Unfortunately, that honor is going to go to A.J. Hinch simply because Houston made the playoffs and Minnesota didn’t.

When Torii signed with the Twins this offseason I thought two things, “It will be fun to have Torii back on the team” and “It really doesn’t make any sense for him to sign with the Twins because all he needs at this point in his career is a World Series.” I guess Torii saw something that I didn’t. I am glad he did because it was definitely fun to have him back on the Twins’ roster. The Twins players seemed to be having more fun this year both on and off the field thanks to Torii (and his dance parties after wins) as well. This gave the team a looseness this year that I haven’t seen in a while. There is no doubt that Torii’s extensive playoff experience and veteran leadership made a difference too. Even though Torii struggled on the field at times, having him on the team made a huge difference.

Still, it wasn’t just Paul Molitor and Torii Hunter. It was the whole team that had a different feel, even the players that have been with the Twins for a while. I just can’t quantify it. I think I can describe it with one word though: resilient. Man was this a resilient team! There were so many times that they could have packed in the season. Think about it. They started out 1-6. Considering the previous four seasons they could have easily continued sliding in the wrong direction, but they battled back. With one week left before the All-Star Break the Twins were slowly leaking oil, but again they battled back thanks to late inning heroics by Brian Dozier certainly fueled by his All-Star snubbing. When they were getting bombed by Toronto in August on the way to a four game sweep the Twins could have rested on their solid first half and called it a good enough year, but they battled back. When the Twins lost three ball games that they should have won in the Bronx a few weeks later, the Twins should have been left with no petrol in the tank. Again though, they battled back. This time by taking four games at Camden Yards against an Orioles team that was on the rise and following that by taking the first two games in Tampa. Having already clinched a winning season, the Twins certainly could have called it a year after Tyler Duffey gave up a two-run home run to lose the lead late in the game against Cleveland last Thursday. Once again though, they battled back, won the game, and gave the fans in Minnesota some hope on the final weekend of the year. Unfortunately, the final weekend didn’t go as planned, but boy howdy was it fun just to have a chance.  On May 28th I told you to " just enjoy the ride." I did. I hope you did too.

In His Prime

I am a man that is not afraid to admit his mistakes. Earlier this year, I named Brooks Koepka as the future of American golf (See post on February 8, 2015). Don’t get me wrong, Brooks Koepka is a great golfer that I do expect to play a large role in the world of professional golf over the next few decades. The problem is, he is not Jordan Spieth. (In fairness to me though, I did say that I expect Spieth to “very ably challenge” Koepka.)

On Sunday, Spieth capped off one of the better years in the history of golf by claiming the FedEx Cup thanks to a victory at the Tour Championship, and put the notions of Jason Day being player of the year to bed. There is no doubt that Spieth’s five total victories plus the FedEx Cup this year are impressive. Almost as noteworthy is the fact that Spieth is so good that he shot a total of 271 at the Tour Championship and basically wrote the title of this article for me. (If this sentence doesn’t make sense, don’t worry about it. If it does, take a few moments to enjoy the fact that this sentence makes sense to you.) What really made 2015 a special year for Spieth though is what he did in the four tournaments that define most professional golfer’s careers. He took home the Masters in record tying fashion. Then he followed it up by grinding out a win at the U.S. Open, albeit with some help. With two majors under his belt, something most professional golfers only dream about as a career major total, Spieth almost did the unthinkable at St. Andrews as he came up painfully short of hoisting the Claret Jug and setting up utter chaos at Whistling Straits. With the single season grand slam no longer a possibility, Spieth could have had a letdown at the PGA Championship, but once again he battled, and it took a record setting performance by Jason Day to keep Spieth’s hands off of the Wanamaker Trophy.

Jordan Spieth is indeed in his prime. Surely a crazy thought as he has spent only 22 and some change years on this planet, but nevertheless true. Not only that, he probably has at least two decades of being in his prime ahead of him. What really makes the future of professional golf bright though is the fact that it is not a one man show. Jason Day made this very clear by having a truly remarkable late summer that included his first major championship and was good enough to seriously put him in the player of the year conversation with Spieth; a conversation that had looked like it was over in June. One must not forget the Northern Irishman either. It is amazing to think that, just a year ago, Rory McIlroy was the man with two majors in one season and on top of the world of golf. I suspect that he is poised to bounce back next year. (Although I am not entirely sure that it could be called a bounce back year. He won multiple times this year and had a pretty solid season. He was just overshadowed by Spieth and Day.) Finally, it bears mentioning that Rick Fowler was no slouch in 2015 either. It was nice to see him finally compile a trophy case worthy of his bank account. Any one of these four men by himself would be exciting. All four pushing each other to be the best golfer in the world. Now that has the makings of being something special.

The Old Stomping Grounds

On the Saturday of Labor Day Weekend I had the privilege of going back to the first golf course at which I was a season pass holder, Grand View Golf Links. Although I moved on to bigger and better courses with age, this nine-hole track located just outside of Duluth, Minnesota, will always hold a special place in my heart.

Grand View can be characterized as a quirky layout and it wastes no time in apprising a golfer of this fact as it opens with a par three, a rare occurrence for a first hole. Although it plays uphill, it is only 132 yards and offers an opportunity to get off to a strong start. With a deep ditch to the left, a row of pines to the right, and a green that slopes from back to front, it still demands a certain measure of respect and can certainly punish the nonchalant golfer.

The second is a short par four that plays well downhill. With plenty of room to miss on the right, a golfer can take a slash with the driver off the tee. However, hitting less that driver on this short par four is certainly a reasonable play. The real defense on this hole is the green which slopes downhill in the first half and then levels out. With this being the case, it is often necessary to land even wedge shots short of the green if one wants to hold the putting surface.

 Following the second is another par four that offers room to miss on the right and, if you plan on missing the fairway, right is the way to go as the Dry Dock Bar and Restaurant parking lot sits just to the left of the fairway. A final consideration off the tee is the ditch that crosses the fairway 232 yards away. Even if one can’t reach this ditch, hitting less than driver off of this tee is not a terrible idea as the hole is only 326 yards. Just like with the tee shot, for the approach, if you plan on missing the green, miss right, as there is a hill just to the right that often repels a golfer’s ball onto the green.

 The fourth is a par four of only 267 yards that certainly offers some the opportunity to drive the green. As is the theme at Grand View, the place to miss on this hole is right. However, this does leave a tough uphill shot over a deep bunker. A well placed tee shot though, for those that don’t have the firepower to reach the green, leaves an easy shot to a green that is essentially in a bowl. With this being the case, any shot that reaches the edge of the bowl will roll down onto the green.

Back in the day, the fifth played as a long, uphill par three. The green has since been moved further up the hill and to the right and now plays as a par four. The tee shot sets up nicely for a smooth baby fade (for a right-handed golfer) with the big stick, a shot that certainly fits my eye well. Playing uphill to a two-tiered green, one cannot fall asleep on the approach though.

 Another somewhat recent change at Grand View is the new back tee on the sixth. Even with this added length, the hole isn’t terribly difficult as it is a par four of 367 yards that plays downhill. Not only that, the hole allows a golfer to take a solid rip with the driver as one can hit the ball almost anywhere and still be in play. The terrain at the sixth is somewhat hilly though which can make for an awkward stance on the approach.

At only 425 yards, the seventh is a very short par five. It does play slightly uphill and has out of bounds down the whole left side, which adds some challenge. As usual though, there is plenty of room to miss on the right. Any integer greater than five on this hole will surely anger most golfers that have any facility in the game.

Back in the day, a golfer could take out the anger induced by a poorly played seventh on the eighth by pulling out the driver and having a rip at the green as the eighth used to be a semi-drivable par four. In modern times, the eighth is a short, downhill par three carved out of the woods on the hillside to the left of the old eighth. Only a less than full wedge is needed. Even so, it can be tough to get the ball close to the hole, especially with a front pin, as the green slopes from front to back.

 Throughout the round, a golfer is probably wondering why the course is called Grand View. Well, that question is answered on the ninth tee, which is well above the fairway, and indeed offers a grand view of the countryside. The hole is a par four of 375 yards that plays towards the parking lot. With the hole playing so far downhill, driving the green is not out of the realm of possibility. The prudent play, however, is to knock an iron down the fairway, which leaves only a short wedge shot to a green that slopes slightly from front to back making it difficult to hit the ball close to a front hole location.

If you have never played Grand View, I hope that I have you intrigued with the course and, if you have played Grand View before, I hope that you are yearning to go back. For me, it was definitely great to go back to the old stomping grounds, to play the holes that I have played so many times before and to see the changes to the course as well. Grand View is where the game of golf first courted me in earnest, and I must have been truly smitten because I am still an avid golfer to this day, and the game never even had to take me to a malt shop. Even as I write, my mind hearkens back to various memories at Grand View like all the times I took empty beer cans from the golf course trash cans and put them into my friends’ golf bags hoping that they wouldn’t notice and that their parents would find them. Those were good times indeed, good times indeed. 

The Art of Being a Wingman

Congratulations, you have mastered the art of courtship and are now in a relationship with a female! The only problem is that your buddy is still single and it pains you to see him struggle with the basics of courtship even after reading “The Art of Courtship” (See post on July 29, 2014). Since you are a good friend, and because you can’t bear to hear him say, “Baby, I’m so hot, you can’t help but play it cool,” one more time, you decide to become his wingman.

Having successfully navigated the waters of courtship yourself, you are probably confident, even arrogant, with regards to your courtship skills. You probably think that being a wingman will be easy because all you have to do is find your friend a suitable female and then nudge them down the road of courtship. Sure, igniting the fire of romance is certainly a large duty for any wingman. However, what most wingmen forget is that the whole reason why your friend needs you is because he doesn’t have the necessary skills to succeed at courtship. In most cases there are messes from the past that you will need to clean up before you can move forward, and oftentimes a wingman needs to stoke the fire throughout the early stages of the relationship.

Let’s start from the beginning with some scenarios you could run into. So, suppose your friend has just made another mess at the local malt shop. In your conceit, you are tempted to bring him right back. At this point though, you have to remember that your friend is not emotionally stable. What he really needs are some kind words such as, “Dude, you did your job. You brought the court, unfortunately she was unable to bring the ship to port.” Then give him a few days to collect his thoughts.

Another situation you could run into is perhaps your friend has “come on too strong” with a female. Maybe he saw a female at the malt shop and was so smitten that he mistook her completely ignoring him as “playing it cool.” As a result he found her address online, broke into her house, and played the cello as she walked in. At this point, your friend has breaking and entering charges as well as a restraining order on his hands. With this in mind, it is paramount that every wingman be well versed in law so that he can help his friend out in a jam like this.

A final situation that you could run into is maybe your friend has the basics of courtship down, but still lacks some of the more advanced skills. For example, maybe your friend has succeeded at the malt shop and successfully invited a female over for dinner. At this point he decides to make his famous mustard hotdish (a layer of tater-tots on the bottom, a two inch layer of mustard, ground beef, and chopped onions). This is where the wingman needs to step in and put his culinary skills on display. (I suggest freshly caught grouper and huckleberry pie.)

Now that we have gone over a few general situations, I would like to go more into the specifics. As I mentioned before, most wingmen are arrogant thanks to their own success in the realm of courtship.  A wingman with a brash attitude is usually clueless though. In fact, most supercilious wingmen walk into the malt shop, go up to the first female they see and say something like, “See that male over there. He said something about courtship and having a difficult time. Then he told me that he would buy me a malt if I came with him and got the ball rolling. So, it might be a good idea if you go over there and talk with him. If it works or it doesn’t, either way my feelings won’t be hurt. To be honest, I am just here for the free malt.” In some extraordinary situations, having a wingman this inept has elicited the pity of a female and actually led to successful courtship. To become an elite wingman though, one will want to use the following plan of attack.

First, as you walk into the malt shop (which is usually a good place to start unless you want to aim for the extreme ends of the spectrum, a risky endeavor for any man) you need to turn your focus from malts to finding a female for your friend. As I have mentioned, you will no doubt feel tempted to waltz in and approach the first female you see. A better method though is to sit down, “play it cool” for a while, and just get a feel for the malt shop scene. (It should be noted that, if done right, “playing it cool” can sometimes lead to females approaching you and your friend. However, this is a rare, acquired skill that should not be relied upon.)

Once you have a feel for the vibe of the malt shop, approach a female and break the ice by bringing up a current event. For example, you could say something like, “What are your thoughts on the French ambassador to Canada’s speech last night?” Even if she didn’t hear the speech, she will be flattered that you have fancied her an intelligent woman. At this point, you can start to work the magic by saying, “I noticed that your left ring finger is conspicuously devoid of jewelry. Do you anticipate this to continue in the near future?” Her answer to this question should let you know if you should abort or proceed to sealing the deal. 

If you need to abort, you didn’t correctly asses the vibe of the malt shop. So, before approaching another female, sit down with your friend for a while, “play it cool,” and reassess the malt shop flow. Once you have your finger firmly on the pulse of the malt shop, take it from the top, and follow the blueprint in the previous paragraph.

On the other hand, if your assessment of the malt shop was solid, and you are ready to seal the deal, proceed by saying one of the following (1) “See my buddy over there. He’s pretty sweet on you,” (2) “See that chap over there. He is rather smitten by you,” or (3) “See that fellow over there. He is interested in endeavoring down the road of courtship with you.” (Make sure to instruct your friend to nod his head back slightly when you and the female look his way.) As to which of these to use, I suggest going with your gut. If you truly have your finger on the pulse of the malt shop, you will know which is best.

At this point the female will sit down with your friend. If you have correctly prepared him, he will have a strong knowledge of the French ambassador to Canada’s speech (or whatever current event you chose) and be able to seamlessly take your place in the conversation. With the conversation rolling, you will want to give your friend some space. So, go and enjoy a malt at a table by yourself.

If your friend has followed your instructions correctly, he will ask the female to dinner. With a “Yes” in hand, he will give you the signal (I suggest something subtle like having your friend pat himself on the head). Once you have the signal, you will complete a perfect day at the malt shop by bringing them one malt with two straws.

With your friend solidly on the road of courtship, you can ease off the wingman throttle a little and let your friend exercise the courtship skills that you have bestowed upon him. However, be prepared to jump into action at a moment’s notice if, for example, you see your friend buying mustard in bulk.

In conclusion, when acting as a wingman, check your arrogance at the malt shop door, and remember that courting a female and helping a friend court a female are completely different. Not only that, make sure that your culinary skills are sharp, your knowledge of law stout, and in case your friend encounters a classy woman, it does not hurt to have serviceable cello skills either. And one more thing, make sure to remind your friend that it’s, “Baby, you’re so hot, I can’t help but play it cool.” 

Just Enjoy the Ride

When the Twins started the season 1-6 I was hardly surprised. I don’t know how one could have been surprised. The Twins were coming off of four straight bad seasons. Sure the Twins made some offseason changes by bringing in local hero Paul Molitor as manager and bringing back Torii Hunter. However, I didn’t see either of these changes making much of a difference. This is not because I didn’t think Molitor would be a good manager or that Torii couldn’t still play at a high level (Although I have to admit that I was a little concerned that we could have another Randy Moss, Kevin Garnett farewell tour on our hands). In fact, I thought that Molitor would be a good manager and that Torii would have a decent season and get traded to a contender at the deadline. I didn’t see these changes making much of a difference because it doesn’t really matter who is in the dugout if the players on the field aren’t any good and one solid bat in a bad lineup doesn’t really add much either. Furthermore, after the Twins’ one big time acquisition Ervin Santana was suspended, there was little hope that the starting pitching would be any better as the Twins were essentially bringing back the same staff from the year before.

Then something very surprising happened. The Twins followed their 1-6 start by going 27-12 and climbing into a share of the AL Central Division lead. This turnaround can be attributed to many factors. Torii Hunter is indeed putting together a solid season. One that would certainly garner calls from many a contending team if the Twins weren’t in the mix themselves. Brian Dozier and Trevor Plouffe have really rounded into solid major league players that can hit the long ball, drive in runs, and hit for a respectable enough average. I admit that I would still like to see more from Joe Mauer, especially considering the money he is being paid, but he is healthy and putting up respectable numbers too. It helps that the role players are contributing, the starting pitching has been good, and Aaron Hicks has been making catches in centerfield on a regular basis reminiscent of a young Torii Hunter. It doesn’t hurt that the Twins have Glen Perkins, the best closer in baseball, either.

At the end of the day though, the season is young and one can’t help but wonder if the Twins’ success is sustainable. Personally, I think that the Twins are going to make the playoffs, especially since there are two wildcard teams now. At the same time, why worry about the playoffs? No one thought that the Twins would be tied for the second best record in the American League on May 28. So, let’s just enjoy the ride. 

The Future of American Golf Has Arrived

With Tiger Woods’ health and game ailing and with Phil Mickelson mired in a slump that has lasted over a year, one might think that American golf as a whole is headed in the wrong direction. This is far from the truth though. American golf has a bright future. In fact, there is one player that I fully expect to challenge Rory McIlroy for the top spot in the world over the next few years.

You may be thinking that I am referring to Rick Fowler or to Jordan Spieth or maybe even Patrick Reed. There is no doubt that Rick Fowler is a solid player. He proved this by finishing in the top five in all four majors last year. What he lacks are wins. A player of his talent should have more than one win on the PGA Tour. Jordan Spieth, on the other hand, recently showed that he as the ability to close the deal as he won the Australian Open and the Hero World Challenge towards the end of last year. He added these two non-PGA Tour titles to a resume that already included a PGA Tour victory. He is a lot younger than Fowler too and I think that he will very ably challenge the man that still remains to be mentioned. Finally, there is Patrick Reed. Reed is definitely a man that knows how to close out a tournament as he has won four times on the PGA Tour in the last year and a half. What worries me about him is his arrogance, his anger, and his sketchy past both on and off the golf course. With that being said, I truly hope that he is able to move on from his past mistakes and become the stalwart of American golf that he has shown he can be in his short career so far.

With all of that in mind, the American that I expect to challenge the Northern Irishman is Brooks Koepka (Pronounced Kep-ka). Before last week, when Koepka won the Waste Management Phoenix Open, most casual golf fans probably never heard of him. Even with a PGA Tour win under his belt, most casual golf fans have probably never heard of him. The good news is that I am not a casual golf fan. So, I can enlighten you.

I have always followed the European Tour as well as other international golf tours. A couple of years ago, I noticed something strange. More Americans were playing in European Tour events. With the PGA Tour and its junior circuit, the Web.com Tour, based in the United States there was really no need for players to go overseas. Nevertheless, this phenomenon was occurring. One of the names I recognized was Peter Uihlein. He was a stand-out at Oklahoma State and won the 2010 U.S. Amateur Championship. The other names I did not recognize. For some reason, the name Brooks Koepka stood out. Possibly because he was having some mild success on the European Tour. I clicked on his name on the European Tour website one day and what I found was even more surprising. Koepka had already won multiple times on Europe’s minor-league tour, the European Challenge Tour. I was very intrigued and, quite frankly, I thought that it was cool that an American had not only gone to Europe to play, but was having success there.

With my interest peeked, I started to look for Koepka’s name on European Tour leaderboards each week. He started to have more and more success, and I could feel that he was on a trajectory to eventually win on the European Tour proper. His success was such that he even started to gain access to big time events like the majors. Not only that, he was starting to get the attention of big time American players. In fact, he played a practice round with Phil Mickelson at the 2013 PGA Championship at Oak Hill. Afterwards, Phil mentioned that Koepka’s game was very solid. With an endorsement from my man Phil Mickelson, I was officially sold on Brooks Koepka.

As time passed, Koepka continued to show promise by finishing high in European Tour events, and even in the odd PGA Tour event. He still lacked a big-time victory though. He finally got that by winning the 2014 Turkish Airlines Open, which is one of the European Tour’s playoff events. With a European Tour trophy in his hands, he was finally a legitimate contender in the world of golf. Not only that, the month before his breakthrough victory in Turkey he started his first season as a PGA Tour member as he had earned enough money in the PGA Tour starts that he did get to gain member status.

With full membership on the PGA Tour for the 2014-2015 season, which started in October, one European Tour win, and four European Challenge Tour wins already on his resume, one could sense that 2015 would be a big year for Koepka. After coming out of the gates strong with a win in Phoenix that vaulted him to nineteenth in the official world golf rankings, it appears that 2015 just might be huge for Koepka. I fully expect him to win multiple times on the PGA Tour this year, and the good news for international golf fans is that he kept his European Tour membership as well and plans to play both tours (It appears that his focus will be on playing in America though). So, don’t be surprised if he notches a victory or two on the European Tour this year as well. With the trajectory that Koepka is on, he will certainly have a date with Rory at the top of the world rankings very soon and, if golf fans are lucky, there will be a few on course battles too. Overall, with Koepka, who is only 24, leading the way, and guys like Spieth, Fowler, and Reed hungry to win, 2015 could be a big year for American golf that could pave the way for the future.

And by the way, even though he hasn't played well over the last year or so, there is no doubt in my mind that Phil Mickelson still has some gas in the tank. So, don’t be surprised if he wins at Augusta or at Chambers Bay, which would complete the career grand slam for him, or really any other time he tees it up. 

TCU Claims its Second jasathletics Title

Coming into this season many people probably thought that the college football playoff would rend the naming of the jasathletics College Football National Champion obsolete. Although the lead writer at jasathletics was hopeful, even he had concerns that the jasathletics title would lose importance. Well, after one year, the results are in and, perhaps surprisingly, the jasathletics title is more relevant than ever after TCU and Baylor were left standing at the college football playoff altar.

The good news for TCU is that jasathletics values commitment and therefore would like to, not only propose, but also name Texas Christian as its 2014-2015 College Football National Champion. There is no doubt that Ohio State finished the season strong, but it is impossible to overlook the utter dismantling that Mississippi, from the heralded SEC, suffered at the hands of TCU. Not only that, jasathletics likes to look at a team’s body of work. What really stood out was each team’s one loss. Ohio State lost by 14 at home to a very mediocre Virginia Tech team, whereas TCU lost on the road by only 3 to a strong Baylor team. For more evidence, we can look at the one common opponent Ohio State and TCU had, which was a Minnesota team that is on the rise. Ohio State only beat Minnesota by 7, whereas TCU beat Minnesota by 23. At the end of the day, jasathletics couldn’t let TCU be denied twice in one season. Ohio State fans need not worry though because, with Ohio State bringing back many guys next season, I suspect that Urban Meyer just might catch the college football bouquet for next season.