Tavares shouldn't have weight of LI on his mind

July 8, 2009

You say "Tav-AIR-us," I say "Tav-ARE-us." And that's from his own family. True story: A snap poll of John Tavares' folks at his first Islanders news conference revealed that his mom, Barbara, pronounces it the first way and his dad, Joe, goes with the latter.

Recent columns

• The July 4 signpost says Yanks are pretty good

  July 4, 2009

  It is possible to miscalculate how much of a milestone July 4 really is. Legend has it that on that very date in 1776, King George III of England wrote in his personal journal that nothing of importance happened that day. Oops.

• Rare 'Albatrosses' highlight LIers' rounds

  July 4, 2009

  Becoming a good friend of a pro golfer who was in the U.S. Open was a big deal for Darryl Garner of Amityville. Garner even played a round with James Kamte, who had played a practice round with Tiger Woods. It just wasn't the greatest thrill of his golf career. Not even close.

• Seventy years later, Gehrig not forgotten

  July 3, 2009

  Lou Gehrig did not stop after he said he considered himself the luckiest man on the face of the Earth. There was much more to that speech, just as there was much more to the Yankees first baseman than the iron-man streak and the tearful, hopeful words of a dying man on July 4, 1939.

• Bethpage Black an ideal venue for Ryder Cup

  June 27, 2009

  Pro golfers had never heard the eardrum- rattling cheering they experienced during the U.S. Open at Bethpage, so they started imagining what an amazing chorus that whole throng would make if it chanted "U-S-A!" It is worth thinking about holding the Ryder Cup on the Black Course, top players said, and officials tend to agree with them.

• Champion Glover a New York kind of guy

  June 22, 2009

  Everybody knows that New York golf fans adopted Phil Mickelson in 2002, even though no one knows exactly why.

• Champion Glover a New York kind of guy

  June 22, 2009

  Everybody knows that New York golf fans adopted Phil Mickelson in 2002 even though no one knows exactly why. This time, they seem to have made Ricky Barnes their new man, also inexplicably. Fine. There always is room in the family. The point is, though, that the golfer who was a much better fit all along was Lucas Glover.

• For Ricky Barnes, tossin' and turnin', stomach churnin'

  June 21, 2009

  At least he did not have to sleep in his car. Unlike many golfers aiming for a big round at the Black Course in the morning, Ricky Barnes did not have to camp out in the parking lot for a tee time. He had to do something much tougher. He had to sleep on a share of the lead in the U.S. Open.

• Only Tiger can make U.S. Open washout memorable

  June 20, 2009

  The sun still can shine on this U.S. Open. There still is a chance that the biblical-caliber rain can be washed away, the mud dried up, the snafus smoothed over. Instead of being remembered for all the angst, or being forgotten altogether, the 109th Open still could go down as one of the greatest ever.

• Fans treat Mickelson like native NY sports hero

  June 19, 2009

  Phil Mickelson, being educated in such things, could appreciate hearing it in these terms. All day, the public treated him as if he were Derek Jeter. And by the time he finally finished playing, it seemed as if he had been around as long as Ed Kranepool.

• USGA makes right call on tickets

  June 19, 2009

  The people at the U.S. Golf Association, so much kinder and gentler that they have made the U.S. Open rough more humane in recent years, came to their senses and decided they had to do something. Not a full refund, but something.

• U.S. Open co-leader Jeff Brehaut on top of the (water) world

  June 18, 2009

  So what's a little water? Jeff Brehaut has seen worse. Once, the Missouri River was so swollen during the North Dakota Dunes Open that a bridge leading to a par 3 was impassable, so the whole field had to skip that hole. Brehaut shot 62 that day.

• Mickelson a formidable opponent for breast cancer

  June 17, 2009

  Breast cancer might have just met its worst enemy.

• Tiger has changed since 2002 Open win at Bethpage

  June 16, 2009

  This is not the same Tiger Woods who won the U.S. Open the last time it was at Bethpage. He has a new coach, new knee, new swing, new marital status and a new family. He is a different golfer and a different man than he was in 2002.

• LI a great place for Open

  June 15, 2009

  Somewhere in the far corners of the country, golfers probably finished a $2 Nassau the other day, ordered a couple of beers and wondered aloud why in heck they keep holding the U.S. Open on Long Island. If they only knew that the $2 Nassau is part of the answer.

• Boe deserves to be remembered fondly

  June 8, 2009

  Even Roy Boe's beleaguered partners used to say they would go steaming into a meeting about the money he owed them and walk out asking to buy more shares.

• The Mickelsons are a part of LI's family

  May 20, 2009

  There's just something about this guy.

• Tiger Woods still recalls roar of Bethpage Black

  May 4, 2009

  Until very recently, the most pressing issue in golf was the hush. It seems like only yesterday (in fact it was last month) when everyone in golfdom was wringing his or her hands about the fact that roars had disappeared from Sunday afternoons at the Masters.

• Rangers should worry about roster changes

  April 28, 2009

  John Tortorella made a very good point the other day. He often does, by the way, when he isn't frowning or verbally jousting, but this one really hit home. He said that the close losses are the ones that really get you because they fool a team into thinking it is better than it really is.

• Time for accountability from Rangers

  April 27, 2009

  Any Game 7, such as the one the Rangers will play against the Capitals tonight in Washington, is when all accounts come due.

• Don't give up, Rangers fans; anything can happen

  April 26, 2009

  Before the puck was dropped, television cameras captured exiled Rangers coach John Tortorella patriotically holding his hand over his heart for the national anthem. By the second period, the suspended coach, watching from a suite upstairs, must have been tempted to put that hand over his eyes.

• Rangers' storyline full of ironies and oddities

  April 26, 2009

  GREENBURGH, N.Y.

• Tortorella shows who is leading Rangers

  April 24, 2009

  When Alexander Ovechkin said the other day that the Capitals were playing well as a team but that "one guy beats our team," he was selling the Rangers short. Or he was thinking of the wrong guy.

• Bigger deal ... A win for the Rangers or Ovechkin?

  April 23, 2009

  Before this series started, a good little mental exercise would have been to get yourself to put away all loyalties, put yourself in the NHL marketing wizards' shoes and figure out which would be better for the league: A showcase win for the greatest player or a showpiece win for the biggest market?

• Gritty captain Drury is heart of Rangers

  April 22, 2009

  Chris Drury did just fine when he tried to explain how much he cherishes being a Ranger. He did so well that he helped convince Long Islander Matt Gilroy to sign with the club. But with all due respect to Drury's oratory, which doesn't carry much beyond three feet, Drury does a much better job in showing than telling.

• Have Caps regained the momentum?

  April 21, 2009

  Regardless of what happened Monday night, the Rangers still are in control and in great position to win this series. Or are they?

• Home edge no factor in Rangers-Caps series

  April 20, 2009

  It was so safe to assume that this game was just going to be like the first two, only more so. If ever there were a sure thing, it was that the Rangers would play even better than they had in Washington, because they were coming back home. As it turned out, they came back to Earth instead.

• Lundqvist has been real agitator against Caps

  April 19, 2009

  Everyone knew going in that there was a good chance one Ranger could be a real pain in the neck to the Capitals. It was a real possibility that one of them could get the Capitals off their game by getting under their skin. Sure enough, that is just what has happened.

• Rangers will have new fan

  April 18, 2009

  WASHINGTON

• Ferraro watches son chase NHL dream

  April 18, 2009

  When he arrived at Islanders training camp in 1991, Ray Ferraro was hopeful. His second child, Landon, had just been born, and Ferraro pointed out that the first time he became a father, he had scored 41 goals. Sure enough, that was Ferraro's finest season - 40 goals, 40 assists and a trip to the All-Star Game.

• Rangers can put hammer down on Caps

  April 16, 2009

  There is a natural inclination for a road playoff team to feel satisfied with one win in the first two games. "All we need is a split," is how the theory goes. The Rangers need to fight that inclination the way they fought back after squandering a two-goal lead Wednesday night.

• Lundqvist must excel for Rangers in playoffs

  April 15, 2009

  Not to put any extra pressure on Henrik Lundqvist or anything, but for the Rangers to have any success in the playoffs, he will have to be better than he ever has been. And his coach said that he has been the best goalie in the National Hockey League.

• Tavares could be the Islanders' lighthouse

  April 14, 2009

  Finally, the Islanders have a chance to shine. John Tavares is their ticket out of Nowhere, USA. The 18-year-old Canadian center, who they won the right to pick by winning the draft lottery last night, is their chance to get out of the dark. He is their lighthouse.

• Humble Perry won't shy from wide Open at Bethpage

  April 13, 2009

  When Jack Nicklaus won the Masters in 1986, it was unfathomable that a 46-year-old could do that. When Kenny Perry lost the Masters on Sunday, it was mystifying that the 48-year-old could let it slip away.

• Tiger and Phil were the masters of the Masters

  April 13, 2009

  Golf history will have its own say over how the electrifying Phil Mickelson- Tiger Woods twosome at the Masters Sunday is remembered. It could rank as one of the greatest duels ever, right up there with Francis Ouimet-Harry Vardon. For now, though, we can see it only one way: A heck of a setup for Bethpage.

• Augusta's greens turn players red

  April 11, 2009

  AUGUSTA, Ga.

• Mark Herrmann: Ovechkin has become smiling face of NHL

  April 11, 2009

  Before the season started, there was debate about the fact that Alexander Ovechkin was left out of the NHL's fancy promotional campaign, which featured Sidney Crosby. Now, at the end of the regular season, there is debate about whether Crosby's Penguins teammate, Evgeni Malkin, has a chance to take the Hart Trophy from Ovechkin.

• A boring Masters is a matter of who wins

  April 10, 2009

  AUGUSTA, Ga.

• Rangers-Devils has become area's hot rivalry

  March 31, 2009

  In one of the season's bigger upsets, the deepest derisive chants at Madison Square Garden last night were not targeted at a certain retired Hall of Fame defenseman. Martin Brodeur, the new taunt of the town, is no Denis Potvin, but he is getting there.

• You can't be wild about Minnesota's style

  March 25, 2009

  The Rangers can be very relieved and glad they got through that one. Not so much because it was a tough two-point night in a tight race for the playoffs. The real achievement was not catching whatever the Wild has.

• Piazza makes impact as Italy's hitting coach

  March 11, 2009

  There is no telling where Mike Piazza will go next. Even he does not know. As New York knows and Italy is the latest to attest, wherever it is, the place will be better for it.

• Sleepwalk continues, and Sather created the nightmare

  February 27, 2009

  John Tortorella assessed the situation and summed it up this way: "This is over. And now we can start fresh."

• Tortorella: Substance behind fire and brimstone

  February 25, 2009

  If John Tortorella were really the hothead he is made out to be, he would fly off the handle about always hearing what a hothead he is made out to be.

• Rangers make Renney their undeserving fall guy

  February 24, 2009

  'This," Henrik Lundqvist said in a somber locker room yesterday, "is how it works, I guess."

• Pick of litter for Rangers not always right one

  February 19, 2009

  Now, for an episode of Rangers Rewind. Go way past the hours since last night's absolutely vital hold-on-for-dear-life win, which they couldn't afford not to get. Don't even stop when you've gone all the way back to Jan. 27 and the last time before last night that Scott Gomez had scored a goal.

• Memo to Islanders: There's a lesson in Pens

  February 17, 2009

  As Dan Bylsma might say, you've got to start somewhere. For him, it was a one-point shootout loss in his first game as Penguins interim head coach, right where he started his NHL coaching career as an Islanders assistant in 2005-06.

• Rangers win without wowing

  January 27, 2009

  This might be the first time in sports history that a team finishes first and then sneaks up on everybody. Who knew that the top of the standings would be such a good hiding place?

• Keep Stanley Cup Finals at home

  January 22, 2009

  The idea of holding the first two games of the Stanley Cup Finals at a neutral site is quite interesting. Ludicrous, but interesting.

• Isles could use Devils' Parise

  January 21, 2009

  Imagine if Zach Parise were a Ranger, or an Islander. The best young player in the New York area, an All-Star, would be perfect for either team, both of which could have had him.

• Devils' advocate on Shanahan signing

  January 12, 2009

  If we didn't know better, we would think the Devils were getting sentimental and soft. They signed Brendan Shanahan, just shy of his 40th birthday and 22 years removed from when he was their No. 1 draft pick. That comes on the heels of their reunions with Bobby Holik and Brian Rolston.

• Island Hills Golf Club: We're not for sale

  October 30, 2008

  Island Hills Golf Club was used for military parachute training during World War II, so it is not the type of place to get panicky about the sky falling. On the other hand, as a venerable golf club, it does not want to let anyone go around reporting the wrong score.

• Long Island's got 2 PGA Tour pros for 2009

  October 23, 2008

  Larry DellAquila, the Nassau Community College golf coach, was following the tournament from Chattanooga over the Internet. "When he made double bogey, I went crazy," he said, referring to his former star player, Arjun Atwal.

• Swings he can deal with

  October 16, 2008

  Logic would suggest that Allan Renz of Long Beach would feel validated and vindicated now, more than ever, about his decision to give up Wall Street for a career in golf. But the fact is many of his friends still work on the Street and so do many of his customers.

• Life of a caddie isn't a burden

  October 9, 2008

  They work seven days a week and sometimes do double shifts. They do heavy lifting and other physical labor. They need a lot of expertise and very little ego. They have to wait on their employers hand and foot and must always be polite.

• Golf grew on Islanders goalie coach Dunham

  October 2, 2008

  Islanders goaltending coach Mike Dunham might never have had a hockey career if his dad were not a golf pro.

• Turnesa, the next generation

  September 28, 2008

  Of all weeks for the PGA Tour not to be on live TV.

• Bethpage Black preps for 2009 U.S. Open

  September 25, 2008

  There were no earth movers, no chainsaws, no agronomists working over the Black Course at Bethpage State Park Tuesday afternoon. There were only golfers who knew the score. The course could host the U.S. Open tomorrow.

• Walker Cup headed to Island

  September 21, 2008

  Judging from the rivalry and traditions at the Ryder Cup this week, it seems obvious the Ryder Cup is the granddaddy of all international team golf matches. Close, but not quite. It's more like the little brother of the Walker Cup, which began in 1922, still is going strong and is headed here.

• LIer aims to play all 140 courses on Island

  September 18, 2008

  They stretch from Inwood, near the Queens border, out to Montauk Downs. Some are as public as you can get, others are as exclusively private as you can find. Some are right on the water, others are covered with woods. Someday, the disparate Long Island golf courses will have one thing in common: Jerry Wood will have played there.

• Double eagles, aces can run in family

  September 14, 2008

  Golfers know that only about half the fun of the game is in the playing, the rest is in the telling. Here's a tip of the cap to those who have shared their stories, either by e-mail, phone messages or on the golf blog ("On the Green" at newsday.com/sports).

• The odd life of assistant pros

  September 7, 2008

  People think being an assistant golf pro is a terrific job. Assistant pros agree, which is why they do it. They get to be around a golf course, get to talk about golf and even get to play a fair amount for free.

• Backyard golf course a hit in the neighborhood

  September 4, 2008

  With the fall growing season right around the corner, the superintendent at the East Marion Golf Association's course has great hopes that everything will look fresh. He is especially optimistic about how the tiny bent grass seeds will take root and germinate.

• Fresh ideas for a tired game

  August 31, 2008

  As a celebrated instructor (national teacher of the year in 1991) and author, Michael Hebron knows just about everything there is to know about the golf swing. That includes knowing that the swing isn't the thing.

• Tallgrass closing? Not according to the owners

  August 28, 2008

  Rumors of Tallgrass' demise have been greatly exaggerated (apologies to Mark Twain).

• LI golf fans deserve a regular Tour stop

  August 21, 2008

  Pro golf never seemed farther away than it does this week, with the PGA Tour in Paramus, N.J., rather than its old home at the Westchester Country Club. As far as Long Island fans are concerned, it might as well be in Kansas.

• Long, storied history of Port Jeff CC revealed

  August 17, 2008

  There is history in those hills, more than anyone knows, even as they are walking on them during a round at Port Jefferson Country Club (formerly Harbor Hills).

• LI GOLFBEAT: History echoes at Friar's Head

  August 10, 2008

  Judging only from some of the open, emerald fairways, you might think you were in Ireland. Judging from the views that encompass both tall trees and water, you might think you were at Pebble Beach. Judging from the general ambience, as Champions Tour player Loren Roberts recently did, you could say you were in heaven.

• LI GOLFBEAT: Aces: Like son, like father

  August 7, 2008

  Who says nobody's perfect? For one shot, any golfer can be. On one hole, an 88-year-old man, a 10-year-old boy or a neophyte golfing grandmother can be sure that Tiger Woods or Ben Hogan couldn't have done any better. That's the appeal of the hole-in-one, one of the most exhilarating feats in sports.

• LI GOLFBEAT: Junior event on LI sparkles

  August 3, 2008

  Golf still can pull young people. It can tug them away from video games and faster moving sports, it can nudge them across the country for tournaments. It can draw them even when their inclination is, as 16-year-old Kelly Shon of Port Washington put it, "At first, I was like everyone else, 'This is just a boring sport.' "

• Bethpage Red hosts amputee tournament

  July 31, 2008

  Every player in the tournament this week at Bethpage Red was thrilled to be involved in such intense competition on such a good course, even though every one of them wishes he or she weren't eligible.

• LI couple puts faith in padded gloves

  July 27, 2008

  The golf equipment marketplace is so tough that almost no one can say it fits them like a glove. Still, Rita and Chris Terris have a decent enough grip on their niche to report they are holding their own.

• Harbor Links: A touch of class in North Hempstead

  July 24, 2008

  When the Nassau Council of Chambers of Commerce scheduled a function last month to promote business during the 2009 U.S. Open, it chose to hold it at Harbor Links in Port Washington. The location was both practical and symbolic.

• A golf superintendent's job is never done

  July 20, 2008

  Those parched brown patches on your lawn are enough to make you appreciate the lush, green grass on the golf course. No one appreciates it more than the course superintendents who really feel the heat this time of year.

• Black has 'Open' feel for New York Open

  July 17, 2008

  No one playing in the New York State Open at Bethpage Black this week doubts reports that the rough has been cut at a height of 4 1/2 inches. They just aren't sure how many months it has been since the last time they cut it.

• Tour pros love touring Long Island's courses

  June 26, 2008

  On a free day during his week at the Commerce Bank Championship, which begins tomorrow at Eisenhower Park, Chip Beck drove to Southampton and played the National Golf Links of America. David Ogrin was hoping to sneak out to play Bethpage Black.

• Grella's story earns him an observer role

  June 22, 2008

  Considering how Phil Grella began his golf career, it is a wonder he still has one. Now a retired math teacher living in Rockville Centre, Grella was an 11-year-old caddie at Nassau Country Club, shagging balls on the practice range without a helmet.

• LI GOLFBEAT: Black calm before storm

  June 12, 2008

  The talk mostly was about the heat and about the storm that had brought down about 200 trees and temporarily closed three other courses at Bethpage State Park. That is to say, U.S. Open week at the Black Course was calmly ordinary - this year.

• LI GOLFBEAT: Golf books for Dad, all

  June 1, 2008

  A question for golf fans: In 1979, two Spaniards played on the newly expanded European Ryder Cup team. One was Seve Ballesteros, who was the other? a) Jose Maria Olazabal, b) Antonio Garrido, c) Manuel Pinero, d) Jose Maria Canizares.

• LI GOLFBEAT: Nine is just fine

  May 29, 2008

  Let's play nine.

• Garden City's Tubbs a star in golf and hockey

  May 25, 2008

  It must be more than just coincidence that hockey players are such good golfers. Note, for instance, which celebrity won the Nationwide Tour's BMW Charity Pro-Am last week: Wayne Gretzky.

• Author Laurentino helps golfers get into swing

  May 22, 2008

  A golfer usually believes that the front arm has to be straight, the other elbow has to be pinned close to the body and, by all means, the head has to be very still and pointed down in order to make a good swing.

• Walter Travis remains an honored name in golf

  May 18, 2008

  This is the 100th anniversary of a bunker shot that didn't make it out of the bunker. It is a tribute to the great golf figure and Long Islander Walter Travis that people still remember the 1908 U.S. Amateur at Garden City Golf Club. The deep, difficult and controversial bunker that Travis built alongside the 18th green trapped one poor fellow and cost him the semifinal match.

• Golfers have chance to feel like a club member

  May 15, 2008

  What a dream it would be to feel like a member at a private club, to have someone take your clubs from your car, to have your own locker in the clubhouse, to be able to bring a foursome and play a manicured club - even if you're not a member.

• Practice wedges, putting, says short-game guru

  May 1, 2008

  What would benefit the average golfer more - hitting a 300-yard drive or chipping in from around the green? Here's the follow-up question - which of those shots does the average golfer spend more time trying to achieve?

• Ex-LIer writes book about getting into the 'zone'

  April 24, 2008

  As a counselor to PGA Tour pros, Michael Lardon has talked major champions through the agony of ruining a whole week with one double bogey. As a golfer who grew up in Huntington, Lardon plays with a buddy who can shoot 79 at Sunken Meadow one day and 106 the next.

• Sebonack is looking for a big-time tournament

  April 17, 2008

  Jack Nicklaus and Tom Doak designed Sebonack Golf Club in Southampton to look natural, to fit seamlessly in its surroundings. The people who run and maintain the course apparently have picked up on that trend, having recently earned the Metropolitan Golf Association's Club Environment Award.

• Perfection: A good lesson

  April 13, 2008

  Doug Mauch, the head professional at Wheatley Hills Golf Club in East Williston, sets a very high standard for his pro shop. It is a standard he learned at one of his previous jobs, at Augusta National Golf Club.

• My fantastic sign: Put these fans in Hall of Fame

  February 16, 2008

  There ought to be a way to acknowledge the fan who summarized M. Donald Grant's sad era as Mets impresario by standing at Shea Stadium and holding up a neatly printed placard that read, "WELCOME TO GRANT'S TOMB." There ought to be a way to honor the likes of the late Sign Man Karl Ehrhardt, our own enduring way of saying, "THANKS!" There ought to be a Hall of Fame for fans. Ehrhardt, a commercial artist from Queens who died last week at 83, would be a cinch first-ballot inductee.

• The Last Word

  January 20, 2008

  Here's some exit poll data you won't hear on the cable channels: When the political pundits reach into their bag of sports clichés, we all want to run like crazy for the exits.

• That harmless little grounder

  August 17, 2006

  The Mets and fate always have had an intense relationship.

• Smith legacy: a third Open

  June 13, 2004

  Anyone lucky enough to have seen a U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club has one enduring image. Maybe it is a venerable Ray Floyd or a youthful Tiger Woods. Possibly it's a triumphant Corey Pavin or a dejected Greg Norman.