Sports Commentary

Though a native of Arizona with dozens of summers under my belt, the heat this year and the lack of rain has fried my brains, so to speak. What to do?

My background in the Prescott area has been primarily tennis and health clubs since 1985. Teaching and managing facilities. As of the past few months our tennis avenues have been compromised with Yavapai College shutting down the tennis facility once again, the PHS tennis facility with limited hours now that school is back in session Monday through Thursday, the Prescott Athletic Club who recently opened their pool, tennis and pickleball courts and had hoped to have a grand opening — now shut down due to City of Prescott technicalities on a building that has been up and running for over 30 years. A lot of discombobulation to say the least.

Those of you who have experienced a putting coaching session with me, know that I strongly suggest practicing with your eyes closed.

Connecting the dots, one thing leads to another. Now that I have been introduced to the backside of Mayer, as a hiker, I have rediscovered Trail 9434.

A good 700 miles away from Nashville, Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott violated the time-weathered NFL approach of ignoring anything that doesn't directly deal with winning football games.

In case you missed it, two of the power five football conferences, representing the biggest college football programs in the country, decided to take a hiatus from competition this season.

This is the third in a series of columns to assist you with putting. We will discuss different types of strokes and how to get the most out of your practice putting sessions.

Defying all skepticism that this was nothing more than a watered-down money grab with little chance of reaching the finish line (yep, I’m raising my hand), Major League Baseball has pulled off its two-month sprint of a regular season amid the coronavirus pandemic.

There comes a day when you’ve been on the tennis tour much longer than most, and in this case 22 years for right-hander Mike (two minutes older than his twin) and lefty Bob Bryan, the winningest doubles team in the history of tennis!

Approaching the trailhead on County Road 177, Jimmy suggested we start hiking from a wide spot in the road, on a ridge half a mile above the closest starting point, a small canyon where the trailhead for Trail 9434 is found.

On his first day in office in 2015, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred began to implement his vision for what has become known as “One Baseball.”

Putting is not a physical science, it is a mental art. Everybody tries to get too technical when it comes to putting. They put way too much emphasis on the mechanics.

Dustin Johnson had never been to Winged Foot until this week for the U.S. Open, or so he thought. The man is renowned for having a short memory.

As a tennis columnist the past 27 years and playing, teaching and making a living of sorts in the game since the late 1960’s, I’d much rather be writing about the U.S. Open (being played without a crowd, but still playing) or the Bryan brothers (greatest doubles team ever) who have just retired.

Unless you’ve been quarantined without access to the news for the past eight months you know 2020 has been the year of change. Nothing exemplifies that more than the about face taken by the NCAA regarding playing sports when students aren’t on campus.

A putt, even from two inches, counts the same as a booming 300-yard drive. The easiest area of our game (and score) to improve upon is putting.

I had a chance to recently catch up with Prescott’s Taylor Johnson at UCLA. Here is a peek at what we discussed:

“Challenging, easy hikes” might be a contradictory statement, but the reality is that there is a continuum from easy to difficult. It’s not one or the other. It also varies widely between individual hikers. Easy for me could be difficult for you, and vice versa. Strawberry Crater offers just such a paradox for hikers.

Talk about confusion. Mere days after announcing their 2020 schedule, two of the power five conferences in FBS football shut the door on a season. The other three conferences? Not a chance…yet.

Boy, this COVID-19 thing has sure thrown a monkey wrench into our lives!

I guess in these trying times, being somewhat flexible is necessary. The Yavapai College tennis facility will now begin its second time of being shut down due to the virus or complications surrounding it.

Having hiked here many times, alone and with others, I was looking forward to cooling off on the trail to the summit which sits at more than 9,000 feet above sea level.

Should sporting events be open to fans? The answer depends on who you ask.

We are now in our monsoons, which means playing in soft, wet conditions. I will share some things that I think are important to playing your best during this time of year.

Over the years I’ve got to see a lot of different tennis, multi-purpose clubs, country clubs, sub-division recreational areas, college, high school and parks and recreation facilities, each one has its own challenges to be the best they can in servicing their clients.