Madden Covers Through the Years

This was in an ESPN.com story about the Madden video game over the years. Love the ole school covers with just Madden on the cover, talk about an ego crazy person.

Sad News For South Jersey Golfers

I always held out hope that the story would be different, but today I found out different. The Blue Heron Pines East Course (course map above), which was a favorite of mine, is never going to come back. The Press of Atlantic City reported that the course will soon be sold to a developer so housing can be built. Its such sad news. The course has been closed for the last couple of years, but I continued to hold you hope that it might reopen, but that is not going to happen.

Its rare that you see a course that has hosted a USGA event only seven years ago close. The course, which was extremely difficult, hosted the 2003 USGA Public Links. The event included such PGA Tour players as Jeff Overton annd Brandt Snedeker. The event also included countless college stars of the time including Chez Reavie. Snedeker, Nashville, Tenn., triggered by 11 birdies in 27 holes, defeated Dayton Rose, 20, of Stillwater, Okla., 10 and 9, in the 36-hole match play final.

During the last couple of years the golf industry has taken its share of hits and selling of Blue Heron East is a hard hit to take. There are few courses in the area that tested people this much, from its greens to its fairways, it was challenge and now its a challenge that will be gone forever.

Prospects = Merchandise Money

First it was Jayson Hayward, then it was Mike Stanton, then Strasburg, and now Dominic Brown. What do all four have in common. These are arguably the best four prospects in baseball who have made their major league debuts this year, but besides that they have been making a ton of money for their big league clubs since the first day they walked on the field.

While people complain about the Internet, it has been a great marking tool for major league baseball when it comes to getting people ready for the next generation of stars in the game. If there was no Internet would any know about Staton or Brown, but because of it people have been able to check on them on a daily basis, which means when they came up people are wanting any type of jersey or shirt with their name on it.

The first day after Strasburg first start I order a t-shirt jersey of the stud. Despite it being the first day, the shirt was still on back order and came about five weeks later.

Then Brown made his major league debut on Wednesday night and then the fun happened. He hit an RBI double in his first at-bat, scoring Jayson Werth, and scored his first run on a fielder's choice by Wilson Valdez. He notched his second hit with a single in his third at-bat, scoring again on a double by Carlos Ruiz. So I went to the Phillies game on Thursday night and in one of the clubhouse stores there were a bunch of Brown t-shirt jerseys and people where buying them up and at $25 a piece the Phillies were making some coin.

The same thing happened to Hayward at the start of the year. Without the Internet would baseball fans be so willing to fork out money for any minor league player that comes up, I think not, but with people knowing in advance about these players they are a little more willing to spend their money and make a ton of money for their major league teams.