Dixie County Advocate, Cross City, Florida Thursday, March 10, 2005 Bhddy Martin's Sports Commentary About The 'Florida Swing' on the PGA Tour A long time before there was an official PGA Tpur, there was' the St. Petersburg Open Ir[vitational ... and the West Palm Beach Open Invitational ...and the Greater Jacksonville Open. The so-called "Florida Swing" didn't really even exist in 1.958 when Arnold Palmer won in St. Pete and the next year when he won the West Palm Beach Open Invitational. It was only with the emergence of golf's two biggest superstars, Palmer rand Jack Nicklaus, in the late y Martin 1950s that the game began to explode dn t, America's television screens and proliferate on tife Bermuda grass greens of Florida. Today we hav toe back-to-bck-to-back-to-back PGA Tour events in the Sunshine State and there ate so many other professional golf events in our state that we virtually have two seasons. One of tlem, called "The Florida Swing," began last vieek in Miami. a There is so much more yet to come that it': an embarrassment of riches, including the Funai Classic at Walt Disney World, Franklin T7empleton Shark Shootout in Fort Myers, Chrysler Championship in Tampa, Outback Pro- Am in Tampa, etc. From the Doral, to the Honda, to Arnie's place and then culminating with the almost-major Players Championship in Ponte Vedra, the "clorida Swing" is to golf as the playoffs are to oher major sports the countdown to tie championships. Everything points toward Augusta and the l4asters, the opening salvo for a run at the majors, and by the time they've reached Ponte iedra, they've got to be smiling. That's a long way for the days of the St. Pete Open. Without Palmer and Nicklaus becoming Florida residents, however, this might not have ever happened. A"'rnie started it by playing in St. Pete, and7 West Palm, then as a regular in the Citrus Open in Orlando, which eventually became his own event at Bay Hill.- Nicklaus moved to Palm Beach from Ohio and influenced the game in this state heavily, including the .time in 1971 when 'he.- helped convince the PGA, to '-move the fourth. major of the year to the first major. The PGA was played at the PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens that year. Gary Player was the houseguest of Nicklaus and they wound up contending for the title. "You can't beat the rent," Player said, "and you can't beat the host, either." He was right:-Nicklaus won. Florida has been good to The Golden Bear anod,Jack has ,been. equally good for our state. Nicklaus was a big supporter of the. Dofal. no \ called the Ford Championships., whichh began in 1962. He won it twice. He also won the Honda twice when it was called the Jackie Gleason Int.errary Classic. Nicklaus ne\er won ,in Orlando, before or after it was at Arnie's place (Palmer only won it once there, at Rio Pinar Country Club). But Jack did make his mark with three wins at The Players Championship, starting when,it was played in. Atlanta, and again when it was played at Inv'errary and finally at the old Sawgrass Course in Ponte Vedra. Counting the. PGA in 1971, that's eight Thank You Coach P.J. Hope and the Dixie County Hig Bears would like to send a special thank you to th Sdpt. Bennett, Mrs. Lord- and especially th Department for the new concession building at the \\as put to use last Thursday night and a home g great. '- Also a BIG thank you to the following businesses who purchased signs in support of the Foodland, Florida Forest, Video's Unlimited, Shai Sabback Photography, Hill Insurance, VanAemamr D. VanAemam Logging, Shamrock Sod, Lamb PrOperty Appraiser J. Hal Chewning, Jr., Mitche Gay Mechanical Contractor, Suwannee Indust Rotintree Moore Ford-Toyota, Dixie Che rol JeWelry, MJ Logging, Suwannee River Pine Straw School Board, Cross City Correctional Institutio Club, Dixie County Advocate, Mitch's Gold & D Hawk Enterprises, Inc., Herring Bail Bonds, Kin Hay's Automotive, Cheek Pharmacy, Pinner's Oa Dixie Nut House. Don't forget to come out and support the Lad some fine food to eat and enjoy watching som pl ys. : AGAIN, THANKS FOR THE NEW CONCES P. victories in Florida for Jack. So it has been a great partnership. So thanks, Arnie and Jack, for all the support in our start. Hopefully it can be sustained: .Today, with the proliferation of some.nearly 50 official events on the PGA Tour, golf is no longer a novelty. Much of the marquee has vanished from events once considered key venues. In a way, success is choking the PGA Tour, because dance cards are rarely filled with all the big names. It's good to see some of the big boys back for Doral because it's getting to be a.rare occasion when they all meet. Last year there were only eight events four of them major championships when Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh and Ernie Els all played in the same tournament. Woods now lives in Orlando and Vijay in Ponte Vedra. Maybe they could read up on their history and follow in the footsteps of Arnie and Jack in stumping for their home state. Quick Jump Starts 1. I've got $5 here as a down payment on all the minor league hockey teams if you want to join 2. me-these guys are actually in business and surely we could buy them for less than $3.5 billion. 3. If Martha Stewart can go to prison and come back "bigger than ever," then how come it never worked that way for. Mike Tyson. 4. Condolences to the Nicklaus family for the loss of their 17-month-old grandson, son of Steve and his wife, who drowned tragically while under the supervision of a nanny. 5. 4. So long to Bucs quarterback Brad Johnson arid thanks for the Super Bowl memories. , 6. I've changed my mind about instant replay in football and salute the SEC for choosing to try it out next fall. Short Stuff The Washington Nationals are already No. 2 in Major League Baseball for sales of gear, prpving that success in the nation's capital is still possible without a track record ... Ever so quietly, former Florida All-American IkeHilliard wide receiver was cut, by the Giants Thursday after nine years, even though GM Arnie Acorsi said the oft-injured Hilliard was "one of my all-time favorite .-players" ... .Urban Meyer,, was so impressi'e,.at Utah tha, even .golfer Mlike Reid says nice things about him, and Reid is a backer of hated rival BYU. Nothing but 'Net (with a little help from Buddy's Cyberfriends) Buddy's E-Mailbag Buddy, here's one for you: Poka High School in West Virginia call themselves yep... the Dots! Gotta love that one! NASCAR Todd, Arcadia.. Bumper sticker, sign or T-shirt 1. 1 I used to be indecisive. Now I'm not sure. 2. Protons have mass? I didn't even know they were Catholic. 31 Work for God. The retirement benefits are good. Toda) 's Proverb If at first you don't succeed, shouldn't you try doing it like your wife told you to do it? And good morning... All you college hoop fans. It's March Madness month and time to brush up on your bracketology, RPI ratings and chose those bubble- teams. (E-mail Buddy Martin at bmartin@sun- -herald.cbm) RRMS Softball/ Date Team 3-18 Perry ;h School Lady 3-22 Williston e School Board, 3/24 Perry he Maintenance 3/28 Chiefland softball field. It 3/29 Lake Butlei a 4/1 Starke- ame and it was 4/4 Steinhatche .. .. 4/5 Ft. White inimuiduas anc team: Sulway rock Vet, Fred i Logging, John b's Feed Store, 11 Realty, W.W. rial Solutions, et, Alexander's v, Dixie County )n Employee's iamonds, Flying g's Tire & Oil, sis, and Maria's ly Beats and get ie great softball SSION STAND!. FISHERMAN'S GUIDE T( I - Lady Bears Even Record At 2-2 With Win Over Taylor County The DCHS Lady Bears evened their record to 2 & 2 with. a 9-0 win, over. Taylor County Tuesday night. They took the lead in the' first inning, scoring four runs, adding another iun in the third and another four in the fifth inning. The Lady Bearsihad eleven hits on the night. Gbach P.J. Hope stated, He was proud of the team, even though they are very young they played with a lot of heart and kept their heads in the game and really hit the ball well tonight." ' Pitcher Caroline McClellan struck seven batters out, had 0 earned runs and had six assisted put outs. She was 2/3 at the plate and scored two runs. Deirdre Godbolt was 2/3, scored 1 run and had 2 RBI's, Vanessa Hollis hit a triple, scored two runs and had 1 RBI, Jessica Chewning: went 2/3 with a triple, a double, scoring 1 run and driving in 2 RBI's. In last Friday bright's logs against Williston, 7-3 Katrise Kirkland was 2/3 and had 2 RBI's, Chewning went 2/3 with a double and 2, RBI, Jaime VanAemam was 1/3 with 2 Baseball Schedule Time Place 4:30 Home ,4:00 Away 4:30 Away 4:30 Away r 3:30 Home 4:30 Away ee 4:00 Home 4:30 Home 3 TIDE AND RIVER LEVELS Tides for the Coast of Dixie County March 11 April 7,2005 4181 29" 30.0' N 831 22.0'W Pepperfish Keys, Gulf Coast-cont * Day Date Moon HI FT LO FT HI FT LO FT HI FT Fri 11-Mar 3:11 AM 3.4 9:49 AM -0,1 3:24 PM 3.3 10:10 PM -0.3 Sat 12-Mar 3:55AM 3.2 10:15AM 0.2 3:45 PM 3.3 10:49 PM -0.4 Sun 13-Mar 4:37AM 2.9 10:38AM' 0.6 4:04PM 3.3 11:28PM -0.4 Mon 14-Mar 5:21 AM 2.6 10:58 AM 0.9 4:23 PM 3.3 Tues 15-Mar 12:09AM -0.2 6:09AM 2.2 11:17 AM 1.2 4:43 PM 3.1 Wed 16-Mar 12:59AM 0.1 7:13AM 1.9 11:35AM 1.4 5:05PM 3 Thu 17-Mar FQ 2:11 AM 0.3 9:12 AM 1.7 1'1:46AM 1.7 5:34 PM 2.7 Fri 18-Mar 4:02 AM 0.4 6:19 PM 2.4 Sat 19-Mar 5:37 AM 0.3 12:35 PM 2.1 4:24 PM 2 9:47 PM 2.2 Sun .20-Mar 6:34 AM 0.2 12:53 PM 2.4 6:20 PM 1.7 11:38 PM 2.4 Mon 21-Mar 7:13 AM 0 1:15 PM 2.6 7:06 PM 1.3 Tues 22-Mar 12:28 AM 2.7 7:44AM 0 1:38 PM 2.8 7:42PM 0.9 Wed 23-Mar 1:07 AM 2.9 8:10 AM 0 1:59 PM 3 8:15 PM 0.6 Thu 24-Mar 1:43 AM 3 8:33 AM 0 2:19 PM 3.1 8:46 PM 0.3 Fri 25-MarFM 2:18AM 3.1 8:55AM 0.1 2:38 PM 3.3 9:17PM 0 ,Sat 26-Mar 2:53 AM 3.2 9:17AM 0.2 2:56 PM 3.4 9:49 PM -0.3 Sun 27-Mar 3:31 AM 3.2 9:41 AM 0.4 -3:14 PM 3,5 10:22,PM '-0.5 Mon 28-Mar 4:11 AM 3.1 10:07 AM 0.6 3:35 PM 3.6 10:59 PM -0.6 Tues 29-Mar 4:55 AM 2.9 10:35 AM 0,9 3:59 PM 3.6 11:42PM -0.6 Wed 30-Mar 5:47 AM 2.7 11:07 AM 1.2 4:29 PM 3.6 Thu 31-Mar 12:35 AM -0.4 6:53 AM 2.4 11:42 AM 1.5 5:05 PM 3.4 Fri 1-Apr LQ RBI. If this game had not been *marred with errors the score would have been a lot closer. Coach P.J. said, "Our defense should have backed up our pitcher more and the'outcome of the game would have been different." On February 24 the Lady Bears defeated the Bronson Eagles. 10-2. Vanessa Hollis was 1/5 with a double, 2 runs scored and 1 RBI; Katrise Kirkland was, 14 1 double and. 1 RB1, ,,Jessica., Chewning 1/4,1 run scored, 1 RBI, Deirdre Godbolt 2/4, Caroline McClellan 2/4, 1 run scored, 1RBI, Callie Keen 2/4, 1 run scored, 1 RBI, Jaime VanAemam, 1/4, 1 run scored, 1 RBI, Kelly Fowler 2/2, 2 runs scored, 1 RBI, Shari Jeffries 2/2 2 runs scored, 1 RBI, Shontay Harris 1/2. Lady Bear Softball Schedule Date Team Time 3/10 *Westport 7:00 3/17 Trenton 7:00 3/22 *Newberry 7:00 3/24 *Dunnellon 7:00 3/25 *Willsiton 6:00 3/29 *Newberry 7:00 District Tournrament Newberry April 26-29th Place Home Away Home Away Away Away Bear Baseball Schedule Date 3/11 3/17 3/18 3/22 3/24 3/29 Team *Williston Bell *Westport *Williston T *Newberry Taylor Co (DH) Time 4:00/7:00 4:00(JV) . 7:00(V) 4:00/7:00 4:00/7:00 4:00/7:00 Place Away Home Home Home Home Away Stumped by the high cost of digital cable? Switch to DISH Network and save. Why is digital cable so expensive With DISH Network, you get over 60 all-digital channels, including local channels*, starting at $31.99/month - around a dollar a day! M No equipment to buy M No DISH Network commitment S'Free Standard Professional Installation on up to 4 TVs I, Free HD receiver upgrade FREE DVR UPGRADE DISH Player-DVR 522 I DIGITAL VIDEO RECORDER .... .., 0 PAUSE LIVE TV B* CREATE INSTANT REPLAYS a RECORD UP TO 100 HOURS WITHOUT VIDEOTAPE a SKIP RECORDED COMMERCIALS , Drop in any old time to place your ad or subscribe or just to say, "HELLO!" at the Dixie County Advocate. 5-Mar 6-Mar 7-Mar 8-Mar 11.85 Brought To You By STEPHENSON SEPTIC TANK SERVICE Landclearing, Pumping, Drainfields, Installation, Fill Dirt, Wells, Power Poles Plumbing, Electrical, Culverts & Limerock "WE DO IT ALL" Our Family Serving Yours For Over 30 Years Jody Stephenson 542-8844 or 542-8659 Sincs 1r83 s 7RI [I0EAMERICJAE R A L oColy Owad Bys 800-493-1327 John Skelly Eastwood Plaza Chlefland, FL .,,.. .. .. .. .. .. .. ... .. -,-..... .. .. "3 --- k-- 1-1- Page 9 Undefeated Tiny Trotters To Play Dixie's Finest .- -.-- ., Come One! 4 ... ' Come All!! Come watch the Undefeated Tiny Trotters as they play Dixie's Finest in a game set for March '18 7:00 P.M., DCHS Gym Tickets Are $5.00 In Advance & $6.00 At ., The Door Members of the Dixie's Finest N Team include: Mark Rains, Mr. " Peppers, Betty Hollis, Amanda Hires, Charlene Bechtold, Fred F r- Brown, Shawn Sumerall, Robbie Lamb, Latrasha Timmons, LaPorsha Teague and Lisa' Calhoun. , All proceeds go to benefit the L JV Volleyball team and their Summer Camp Project.' ... 1:46 AM -0.2 8:28 AM 2.2 12:30 PM 5:53 PM 3.2