By updating RealClearSports I read hundreds of articles every week but sometimes there are particularly passages that need highlighting. And to make these passages more palatable I'm doing them in award form! The awards are completely random and will change weekly (though some may become reoccurring).

Golf. It is the most individualistic sport there is. You don't play it as a team and you don't even play directly against an opponent. But every two years teams from Europe and the U.S. face off and suddenly it's a team sport? There's been so much written about how Colin Montgomerie and Corey Pavin are as captains. Does it even matter? Montgomerie said something to the effect of how happy he was his team won but he had little to do with it because he's not the one out there swinging the clubs. And while some consider this modesty, I consider it honesty. This isn't a team sport and let's not pretend like it is. I know there's some strategy involved in who leads and who is anchor and obviously who the captain picks to play is extremely important, but these articles that say the Europeans are better because they are a better team are just ridiculous. Maybe they care more about the event than the Americans and maybe that's because of people like me that believe golf should remain an individual's game.

Best Use of Copy and Paste

Bud Poliquin of the Post-Standard punished himself by "writing" this 50 times: Despite my pre-corrected suggestion to the contrary, the New York Yankees did qualify for the 2009 MLB playoffs and they rather gloriously won the World Series, too.

Well, that's one way for newspapers to provide extra content without much work.

No Faith in America

Dan Wetzel of Yahoo! Sports thinks Dez Bryant dropping $54K on dinner will hurt the NFLPA in negotiating a new contract because of public opinion: "Cowboys rookie drops 54 grand on dinner" is the kind of news summary that fits perfectly into our Twitter/ticker world. For many, there's no perspective or additional information needed to make a conclusion. A 21-year-old just spent more on one meal than the median annual income for an American family. Personally, I don't care. Others, no doubt, do.

I refuse to believe people are this dumb. I think people only care about the product on the field and care little about what these athletes do with their money. Sure, the headline is something that will cause some to shake their heads but Michael Vick has proven that it doesn't matter what you do off the field if you can produce on it. But the biggest problem I have with this assumption is that Dez Bryant's spending is suddenly the most decadent thing an athlete has done. Seriously? Just look at their fleets of cars or $100K jewelry. I think people are aware that many athletes spend frivolously. That's what will hurt the NFLPA more than perception. Players will have to come back to work before they go bankrupt.

Most Schizophrenic Column

Tom Sorensen of the Charlotte Observer seems very conflicted on Jimmy Clausen's potential: Clausen has offered only glimpses of his potential. But I'm certain he'll be the best passer the Panthers have ever had, and I think he'll be the best quarterback. ... Walk into the locker room Wednesday, and you would not pick Clausen as a leader. He's not a big guy. He does not come across as a fierce guy. His body implies that he spends more time with Little Debbie products than with large, small or intermediate weights.

And this guy you peg as not looking like a leader is going to be the best quarterback the Panthers have ever had? Maybe it's more an indictment of the Panthers past QBs than it is faith in Clausen. Who does he have to live up to? Delhomme who completely fell apart last year? Chris Weinke? It's amazing what that franchise has done without decent quarterbacks.

Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel often takes unique approaches to his column. I recently gave him props for stating how stupid it was for him to write an article about Tim Tebow after he took two snaps in a game in Jacksonville. But this time Bianchi misses the mark. In this article Mike Bianchi has a conversation with Bear Bryant from the grave: That's when it happened. That's when I heard his gravelly voice growling at me from the great unknown.

"You know, son, somebody asked me once to donate $10 to help pay for a sports writer's funeral. I pulled out a 20 and said, 'Bury two of 'em.' "
Bear, is that you?
"No, it's Knute Rockne. OF COURSE IT'S ME!"

If Bear Bryant read this he'd be rolling over in his grave...oh wait.

Sentence I Never Thought I'd See Written

Ron Cook of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote about Roethlisberger's relationship with Ray Lewis and how Lewis has been giving him advice on how to handle his current situation: Finally, there is an appreciation for Roethlisberger's intelligence.

Roethlisberger? Intelligent?!?!? The same guy that didn't wear a helmet and got in a motorcycle accident and then said he would continue to not wear a helmet? The same guy who's been accused of sexual assault? The standards must be pretty low in the NFL if Big Ben is considered intelligent.

This analogy really doesn't work. A more comparable one would be if five other people got speeding tickets but only you had to pay the $500 fine. It's not like those other players didn't get caught. They were arrested just like Roethlisberger but then weren't punished the way Big Ben was. Don't think this is me defending Roethlisberger - it's just me poking holes at an analogy. It's kind of what I do.

Flawed Logic

Tim Cowlishaw has been pumping Josh Hamilton for MVP all year long. When Hamilton was hot he said he should be the MVP. When Hamilton got injured he wrote that he should be the MVP. A month later with Hamilton still injured he wrote he should be MVP. We get it. But Cowlishaw recently roped in Felix Hernandez's bid for the Cy Young into his argument. He reasons that winning is more important than stats and thus argues that C.C. Sabathia should win the Cy Young and Hamilton should win the MVP: I understand that Hernandez leads the league in ERA (2.27) and pitches not only for a poor hitting team but a historically poor hitting team.

But the Mariners' failure can't simply be disregarded. It's not his fault, but that's the end of the story.

Surprising Revelation of the Week

Charley Waters wrote a story for the Pioneer Press about a long-time beer vendor with the Twins who just got popped for selling to a minor. The story is pretty straight-forward but one part made me reevaluate my life: McNeil said he doesn't know how long he'll be suspended from working at Twins games. Each game without work, though, could cost him roughly $500.

Wait. Vendors make nearly $500 a game? Are you serious? What am I doing wrong? They work 82 games for maybe 5 hours a game and bring home over $40K? That's nearly enough money to buy dinner for the Cowboys!

Bill Simmons' Pop Culture Reference Rundown

It's almost not even worth mentioning this week. He had just two measly references. The article was about Michael Vick's redemption so of course Marley and Me and Shawshank Redemption were mentioned. And that was it.

Waste of Space

LeBron made big news this past week when he said race has played a factor in the backlash to him since "The Decision." It wasn't that big of a deal but columnists ran with it including Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press: