Amateur Analysis: Tony Romo's Contract Extension

Well, it looks like we got some NFL news in a slow point of their offseason. Dallas Cowboys QB Tony Romo became the highest paid Dallas Cowboy ever by signing a 6 year, $108 million dollar contract. This comes a few weeks after Joe Flacco broke the bank and signed a huge deal for the Ravens.

As someone who was raised in a pro-Cowboys home and is now a diehard fan of the team as well, I have mixed feelings about this deal. So, continue reading if you want to read what a Cowboys fan has to say about this event. If not, go ahead and find something else.

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Let me first some positives down. I'm a big Romo fan. In all honesty, which QB (that's available) could the Cowboys get at this instant that would make them better? I don't know of any. Alex Smith got traded, and everyone else that's considered expendable isn't better than Tony. In all truthfulness  the Cowboys had no other options, and went with a guy who's been their "guy" for the past 6 years. And it's not like he's been a scrub or anything. He's set numerous Cowboys QB records and has made his fair share of pro-bowls with a very average teams. Also, don't give me that whole "he's not clutch" nonsense. Click on this link, and then let's talk about his "clutchness". And to add to that, this move saves the Cowboys some cap space, which they desperately needed.So, Dallas basically locked up a dude who's the best out there that isn't trade/free agent worthy, has been their QB for a good length of time, and doesn't "choke" as much as people say he does.

With that said, I do have a few negative thoughts about HUGE deal. First off, this is a lot of freakin' money. $100+ million doesn't happen very often, so obviously this made headlines of all football related outlets. That's gonna add a ton of pressure to the guy. Secondly, he plays for the Dallas Cowboys, aka America's Team. They are already under the spotlight when it comes to American football, and throwing a huge deal to a high-profile QB is going to add more pressure and scrutiny to them. And finally: can you imagine how the media will react if Tony gets off to a bad start next season? Oh boy, that won't be good at all. He'll get criticized way more than he does right now. Which adds even more pressure. I just have a bad feeling that all of this pressure will add up overtime, which could lead to some sort of catastrophic meltdown.

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That's my 2 cents on how I feel about this contract extension, both good and bad. As a Cowboys & Romo supporter, I really hope he wins a Super Bowl soon so we can forget about this deal. Because if he doesn't win a SB, I'll never hear the end of it from opposing fans. And even with that fear, I can't wait for September to roll around.

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Do you feel this deal is good or bad? Let us know in the comments!

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Shell Houston Open POTW: Charles Howell III vs. Steve Stricker

Welcome to our Picks of the Week game! Rules are simple: Each week Bernardo and I will select one golfer entered in the current tournament. Whichever golfer finishes highest earns one of us a point. Exceptions: 3 points if our golfer wins the whole thing, Major Championships are doubled (so that's a possibility of 6 points), and tied finishes result in 0 points. Oh, and once we use a golfer, we can't use him for the rest of year. We're doing this until the TOUR Championship. Bernardo has won this 2 times in a row, so let's see if he can go for the three peat! 

JJ: As we close in on The Masters (2 weeks to go!), I'm going to pick someone this week that has a lot of motivation to guarantee his invite to Augusta: Charles Howell III. Charles is a native of Augusta, Georgia, and hasn't qualified for The Masters yet. He sits 57th in the world rankings, and needs a solid finish this week to finish in the top 50 and secure his place. With 5 top 25 finishes in 9 starts this year, he's already surpassed his earnings from all of 2012. And I expect this bounce-back season of his to continue this week at the SHO. He's long overdue for a win, and he might just get it on a course that is somewhat similar to Augusta National.

Bernardo: Steve Stricker

Last week recap: Bernardo’s pick of Ian Poulter easily out shined Jason Day, earning him another point.

JJ's used: Brandt Snedeker, Jason Dufner, Padraig Harrington, Luke Donald, Rory McIlroy, Billy Horschel, Retief Goosen, Jason Day

Bernardo's used: Keegan Bradley, Brandt Snedeker, Phil Mickelson, Aaron Baddeley, Tiger Woods, Graeme McDowell, Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter

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Arnold Palmer Invitational: Tiger's Triumph

TW with the King

If the WGC Cadillac Championship didn't show it, let the records show that Tiger Woods is officially best player in the world right now.

And even if you didn't need the statistics, you could tell that it's not even close right now.

Bar none, Tiger is being Tiger again. With 3 wins this early in the season, the days of him struggling (2010-2011) seem long gone now. He's putting like he did 5 years ago, and his short game is as rock solid as ever. Everything seems to be clicking.

His "intimidation" factor also seems to be in full effect again. Fowler faded on 16 (triple bogey), Rose struggled late in the 3rd round, and G-Mac couldn't make any putts at the Cadillac Champ. Pros are once again starting to realize what it's like to play in the black hole known as Tiger Woods.

Tiger's 2 shot victory today at the API gives him the number 1 ranking and some serious momentum heading into Augusta. He's obviously the big favorite for The Masters, and rightfully so. And even though the "purists" out there will say he isn't back until he snatches up a major championship, I think they know it's a matter of "when" rather than "if" now.

That's a great thing to have for us golf fans, and a terrible thing out there for the other professionals. Because unless someone steps up to TW, we could be in for a "2000 season" all over again.

Congrats, Tiger.

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Arnold Palmer Invitational POTW: Jason Day vs. Ian Poulter

Welcome to our Picks of the Week game! Rules are simple: Each week Bernardo and I will select one golfer entered in the current tournament. Whichever golfer finishes highest earns one of us a point. Exceptions: 3 points if our golfer wins the whole thing, Major Championships are doubled (so that's a possibility of 6 points), and tied finishes result in 0 points. Oh, and once we use a golfer, we can't use him for the rest of year. We're doing this until the TOUR Championship. Bernardo has won this 2 times in a row, so let's see if he can go for the three peat! 

JJ: Since we're only 3 weeks away from The Masters (Hooray!), it's time for most guys to get their golf games' in peak form. One of the guys who I expect to play well from here on out is Jason Day. The 25 year-old has had a solid season so far (no missed cuts), and as the season really begins to pick up, I think he'll step his game up another level. We expected a lot from him and 2012, but he didn't really deliver like he did in 2011. Now that he's had some time to get the pressure off of him, I think he'll show us that he belongs in the "elite" conversation this week.

Bernardo: The Arnold Palmer Invitational is a favorite stop for many and usually is dominated by El Tigre. This week I’m going with Ian Poulter. He hasn’t played much in the states this year but that shouldn’t stop the Englishmen from playing well this week. Good luck old chap!

Last week recap: Bernardo’s pick of Sergio Garcia continued his excellent season with another top-10, and earned him the point over JJ’s pick of Retief Goosen.

JJ's used: Brandt Snedeker, Jason Dufner, Padraig Harrington, Luke Donald, Rory McIlroy, Billy Horschel, Retief Goosen

Bernardo's used: Keegan Bradley, Brandt Snedeker, Phil Mickelson, Aaron Baddeley, Tiger Woods, Graeme McDowell, Sergio Garcia

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Tampa Bay Championship: Kevin Streelman

Kevin Streelman’s victory is a great example of perseverance. After shooting an average first round (73) he fired back with three solid rounds. The task of winning would not come easy with players like Boo Weekley who shot 63 on Sunday. He also had a few veteran winners closely chasing his lead (Luke Donald, Sergio Garcia, Pat Perez), but failed to get the job done during the final round. 

What’s next: This is Streelman’s first victory on tour since turning pro back in 2001 another great example of perseverance.  We’ve seen sparks of greatness from Streelman but he’s lacked the necessary tools to get the job done. That possibly being confidence but now after defeating a fairly stacked field this should definitely be a confidence booster. Hopefully we’ll see a bit more of Streelman this year, most importantly in the winner’s circle. 

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Tampa Bay Championship POTW: Retief Goosen vs. Sergio Garcia

Welcome to our Picks of the Week game! Rules are simple: Each week Bernardo and I will select one golfer entered in the current tournament. Whichever golfer finishes highest earns one of us a point. Exceptions: 3 points if our golfer wins the whole thing, Major Championships are doubled (so that's a possibility of 6 points), and tied finishes result in 0 points. Oh, and once we use a golfer, we can't use him for the rest of year. We're doing this until the TOUR Championship. Bernardo has won this 2 times in a row, so let's see if he can go for the three peat! 

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JJ: For this week, I'm going with Retief Goosen for a few simple reasons. First and foremost, he's won here before. That gives a mental advantage to him already. Second, he plays well at tough courses (U.S. Open champ), and this tournament is known as one of the toughest. Finally, he hasn't won in a while, and is overdue for a W. It only seems fitting that he should play well here, and possibly grab a win too.

Bernardo: This week I’m going with my favorite player on tour, Sergio Garcia. He played well last week finishing in a tie for third. With that said he should be able to carry on the good play into this week.  Sergio could definitely use a win this year and why not start off early (this will be his 4^th event he’s played on the PGA Tour this year). With a fairly stacked field a great finish or possible win should be greatly noted.

Recap: Due to some unforeseen issues, there was no POTW for the WGC Cadillac Championship. Therefore, it is considered a tie.

JJ's used: Brandt Snedeker, Jason Dufner, Padraig Harrington, Luke Donald, Rory McIlroy, Billy Horschel

Bernardo's used: Keegan Bradley, Brandt Snedeker, Phil Mickelson, Aaron Baddeley, Tiger Woods, Graeme McDowell

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WGC Cadillac Championship: Red Dominance

TW with a trophy he's very familiar with

With today's win at the WGC Cadillac Championship, Tiger Woods earned his 76th total PGA TOUR victory and his 5th win in the last 50 weeks. And although he's been "back" since his triumph at Bay Hill in 2012, I think most would admit that, after this week's showing, he really is "BACK".

Although he hasn't won a major in 5 years, the questions of him being able to hang with the games elite are now gone. Look at the top-10 leaderboard of this week's event. The star power on it was incredible. Graeme, Phil, Sergio, and Adam Scott are just a few of the tons of pros who played well this week. So for Tiger to take down others who were playing well just shows how good his game is right now. And since he hadn't won a WGC event in 4+ years, it is a good sign for him to win tournaments that are known to be just 1 notch lower than the big 4 events.

Tiger won this event on Saturday, with stellar ball striking and some of the best putting he's had in his life (thanks to Steve Stricker). All he did on Sunday was stay in cruise control and let everyone try and catch him. As it turned out, nobody did. Just like old times when he was the man.

Obviously, Tiger is still the number 2 ranked player in the world, but with this 2 shot victory, everyone pretty much knows he's number 1 again. It's only a matter of time before the rankings show it. And with Rory's game turning around, we could be headed for a very special version of The Masters this year.

Congrats, TW!

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Honda Classic: Michael Thompson

What an exciting week for Michael Thompson who held his composure and got the job done on Sunday with a round of 69. With a few bad memories from the last time he was in the hunt, Michael learned from his mistakes and correctly applied his newfound approach today (yesterday). This win is Michael’s first win on the PGA Tour, allowing him to play next week in the WGC event.

The Honda attracts a large amount of great golfers, so winning here feels like winning a major championship.  Not to mention PGA National can be a tough task for many. This is evident in the case of the World #1, Rory Mcllroy, who struggled during his second round, ultimately withdrawing (Best wishes to Rory).

What’s next: Well Michael is currently 27 turning 28 this year and if the common trend on Tour stays true (many players tend to play well during their early 30s) this might be the beginning of something great. Best of luck Michael!

Video: Rafa Nadal Interview

Let me get this out of the way first: I'm a huge fan of Roger Federer. Always have been, always will be. In my mind he's the GOAT. So naturally, that makes me dislike the player that is Rafael Nadal. He's always been Roger's kryptonite, with this defensive/high-spinning/lefty style of play. Every time he beats Roger, it makes me dislike him (as a player) even more.

But as a person, I like Rafa. He seems very humble, honest, and modest. He almost always gives credit where credit is due, and even though he's been accused of bad sportsmanship at times, he's usually a very respectable player on the court. Not to mention the fact that he grinds out every point, which shows us that he never gives up.

So when he started his return back from injury earlier in the year, I surprisingly felt more happy than sad about it. Although I realize once he's fully healthy, he'll probably be beating Federer again, I think his return is good for tennis. Heck, he's already won a few tournaments since his return, including a demolishing of World No. 4 David Ferrer in Mexico, 6-0, 6-2. I'm pretty sure it is safe to say that he's fine now.

And just for good measure, check out his interview below with ESPN's Chris Fowler. In it, he talks about the state of his game amongst other things.

Glad to see you back, Rafa.

Video: The Golf Boys - "2.Oh"

The PGA TOUR's superstar music group, aka the Golf Boys, have released their second single this morning. Following their critically-acclaimed hit "Oh, Oh Oh", "2.Oh" was their latest track, and oh boy is it AWESOME.

It continues a similar theme of "Oh, Oh, Oh", in which they are dressed in ridiculous outfits and having a lot of fun. It also keeps the idea of using golf related objects in funny situations going. This might explain why the title is "2.Oh" and not something else.

Check out the video below, and let us know in the comments what you think of it. Personally, I love it. And if you're feeling really good, see if you can spot all of the golfer references they make in the song. Find 'em all, and you'll get some major D.A. Points from me.

Amateur Analysis: Barcelona Blues

For the past few years, no club has been as dominant as FC Barcelona. They have won La Liga titles, Champions League trophies, and Copa del Rey crowns like they're nothing. There have been very few teams to defeat them, and each time they would lose, it would send shockwaves around the soccer/football world.

Nowadays, it seems like a Barca loss is becoming expected, with the latest coming today at the hands of Real Madrid yet again. With their normal manager Tito Vilanova receiving cancer treatment in New York, Barcelona has become a shell of itself. They look inferior to good opposition (AC Milan, Real Madrid), and don't seem like the dominant team that they normally are. They are in complete disarray and it's becoming sad to watch. 

With that said, here are my 3 main problems that are happening for FCB right now:

1. The trademark passing (or lack thereof)

Barcelona still pass the ball a lot and hog possession, but they aren't doing anything with it. It seems like they're passing the ball to kill time, instead of passing the ball to unlock defenses. This isn't the Barcelona we're used to seeing. Normally, we would see Barca pass it around to lull a defense to sleep, and then hit them with ridiculous upfield passing along with perfect through balls to score at will. Now it just seems like they pass the ball around because that's all that they know how to do. There hasn't been much execution on the offensive side of things (They have scored 2 goals in 3 matches against recent "good opposition"). Messi hasn't been receiving any top quality service, and has been very quiet lately. The defense hasn't been so great either, with both early and late concessions occurring more and more frequently. All of this is set up by their trademark passing through and with the midfield, which clearly hasn't been as "trademark" as it normally would be.

2. The managerial problem

Pep Guardiola left FCB at the end of last season, and appointed Tito Vilanova as his successor. Tito has arguably been as good as Pep, with him leading Barca to one of the best La Liga starts in modern history. Unfortunately, Tito was also diagnosed with cancer for a second time in December, and has not been around to guide his team. Therefore, he has had assistant Jordi Roura act as caretaker until his possible return in May. 

Things haven't gone as smoothed as planned, however. Roura's results have been troublesome, with 3 defeats in 4 games being the most recent bad piece of news. As much as he tells us that Tito is helping him out with managerial decisions, you can't help to think how it would be if Tito was there in a physical sense, coaching the team. Andres Iniesta admitted after the first Real Madrid defeat earlier in the week that the team was missing Vilanova's presence. So, although the saying was "any team could manage Barca and be fine" used to be true, it is very clear things have changed.

3. The luck with the referees

Okay, so this might not be the best argument for Barcelona when everyone says the refs are always on their side, but lately that hasn't been the case. At the San Siro, a goal should have been disallowed due to a handball but it wasn't. At the Camp Nou, they had 3 penalty appeals denied, one of which (Pedro) should have been clearly called, especially since Ronaldo had one at the other end got one called for similar contact. At the Bernabeu, they had another late penalty kick that wasn't called for a probably should have been. Some would say that this is just karma for the lucky calls they've got in the past, and for once, I think I would have to agree with that. The refs do need to call better games, however.

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Barcelona, for the first time, have all of the things that usually go right for them go wrong. No penalty calls, an unfortunate manager situation (get well soon, Tito!), and a lack of a passing game. And unless some of these things turn around, it won't get any better. It doesn't look good for them against Milan in the UCL. They are already out of the Copa del Rey. The only positive thing going on is La Liga. And if they can hold on to that while not having everything else that is ideal, then I think that would have to be considered success. But, with all of the attention that comes with this team, you just never know what might happen next.

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HTWD Report: Rory McIlroy Withdraws From Honda Clasic

The Rory McIlroy Saga

If you've been watching ESPN or have been on any social media site today, you already know by now that Rory McIlroy withdrew from his 2nd round at the Honda Classic. He couldn't finish his 9 holes in which he was playing terribly (I believe he was 7 over thru 8 holes when he WD'd), and, after putting a ball in the water on the 18th hole (his 9th hole of the day), he shook his playing partners' hands and walked off the course.

After that, chaos ensued. He didn't hold an immediate press conference and just took off with his camp in a car. There were reports saying that he was "in a bad place mentally", and just needed to leave. He eventually released a statement, citing a medical injury as his claim to WD (for those unfamiliar, if you WD mid-round in a PGA Tour event, you must give a medical reason). He later released an official statement, saying he was affected by "wisdom tooth pain that couldn't let (him) concentrate" and needed to just get out of there. So many stories and speculation in a span of a few hours that it seems like everyone is putting their own spin on what just happened.

With that said, here's my take.

Rory needs to face the media and come clean with why he really withdrew. Was it more of a mental or physical reason? Having 2 stories come out for this is not a very good look. He'll either look like a quitter, or a soft guy who couldn't get past a toothache.

If he really was "in a bad place mentally", then I've had it with him. I didn't like the move to Nike, and I don't like what he's doing now. How are you in a bad place mentally after getting a reported $200 million, are the No. 1 player in the world, and have a beautiful girlfriend? You put this on yourself, dude. The equipment problem was something you started, and you could have shut the entire media up by playing decently. Now, the questions about you and Nike will only get bigger by the minute. I can guarantee that we wouldn't be talking about your equipment had you not switched after a career year. With this WD, questions will remain and the pressure increase each time you're on the course. It's time to man up and play elite golf like you normally do.

If Rory really has a problem with his wisdom teeth, then some sympathy can be given. I've never had my teeth in serious pain, but I know friends who have had their wisdom teeth in pain/pulled out, and they have assured me it isn't fun. And although some sympathy can be given towards him, that doesn't make this situation less bad. Tiger's won a U.S. Open on one leg. The only time's he's withdrawn in recent history are because of his Achilles, which is a legitimate problem that could deteriorate your swing/health. But a wisdom tooth? That's going to raise questions about his toughness for sure.

All in all, I feel like this was a lose-lose situation for Rory. If he was struggling mentally, then he needs to toughen up. If he was struggling physically, then he still needs to toughen up. I feel like he should have kept playing, unless he was going to seriously do something bad to his mouth (which seemed unlikely). He should have kept going for the fans who paid money to go out there and watch him, regardless if he was going to miss the cut or not. At least if he missed the cut, it would have been an alleged issue of equipment, like it has been in his last few events. But now, the questions surrounding him are reaching an all time high. And at such a young and promising age, that is not something you want.

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