U.S. Open 2009 recap June 25, 2009
Posted by Mike C. in Golf, Personal, Sports, Travel, TV, Weather.add a comment
Last week, Bethpage Black Golf Course hosted the 109th U.S. Open [Golf] Championship. The Black Course is one of five golf courses at Bethpage State Park. The other ones are Yellow, Red, Blue, and Green. Depending on where you are on the Black Course, you are in Old Bethpage, Melville, or Farmingdale, New York. The course also hosted the 102nd U.S. Open in 2002 won by Tiger Woods.
Heavy rains delayed the tournament on Thursday and Saturday. That pushed each round up a day. The first round was mostly played on Friday, the second round was played on Friday and Saturday, the third round was played on Saturday and Sunday, and the final round on Sunday and Monday. Needless to say, the suspension-of-play airhorns (or whatever they’re called) got quite a workout. Those rains, coupled with thousands (at least) of feet walking on the grounds created widespread mud puddles.
I was there three days during the week of the Open: Sunday, June 14, for the free pre-championship opening weekend; Tuesday, June 16, for the second Practice Round; and Sunday, June 21, for much of the third round and the start of the final round. (In 2002, I was there on June 9 and 15.)
In the days and weeks ahead, I will gradually add pictures taken on the 14th and 16th to this post.
Here are pics from June 14:
This was a special exit on the Seaford-Oyster Bay Expwy. (NY 135) northbound for U.S. Open shuttle buses coming from Jones Beach.
Heading for parking lot C:
Entering Lot C:
Getting on the spectator shuttle to the Black Course:
This is normally the parking lot for the golf courses, but during the Open, it was a pick-up/drop-off lot:
Entering the course…
Testing the jumbotron:
Fans watching players on the practice range:
The merchandise pavilion:
As people exited the pavilion, they were greeted by posters for future U.S. Open Championships:
The site for the 2016 Open was later revealed to be Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania:
One of many concession stands:
The back of the practice range grandstands:
Walking up to the grandstands:
A tee shot in mid-flight:
Another one:
Both pictures were cropped versions of larger ones.
The main gate for shuttles to and from Jones Beach:
Let’s look inside the American Express Championship Experience tent…
The history of the U.S. Open:
An Open timeline:
Back outside, this is the gate for shuttles to and from LIRR Farmingdale Station:
Me:
Pictures from my practice round trip on June 16 still to come.
After 72 holes had been completed, Lucas Glover had won. It was his first major championship, and only his second win on the PGA Tour.
8/18/12 UPDATE: In a major case of procrastination, I never got around to posting pictures from my practice round trip. With The Barclays coming to Bethpage Black next week, it’s time for me to finally post those pics. Since there are so many, I’m posting them in gallery form. Unfortunately, I don’t know how to limit what pictures to include in the gallery. So, scroll down until you see MC61609003 – a picture of buses.
8/2/16 UPDATE: I figured out how to limit the pictures. Forget what I said in the previous update. All pictures in the gallery below are now from the practice round.
Latest TPiR double showcase winner March 11, 2009
Posted by Mike C. in Game Shows, Media, TV.add a comment
For third time in a month, and the fourth time in three months, a contestant on “The Price is Right” wins both showcases in the Showcase round. Today, the lucky contestant was Lorna Baker.
Lorna was the fourth of the first four contestants to come on down at the top of the show, and the fourth contestant to make it on stage, winning a Traeger Lil’ Pig grill in One Bid. Once on stage, she played Freeze Frame and won Wesley Allen bed with a Laura Ashley mattress.
In the Showcase Showdown, she spun 1.00 on the Big Wheel, winning $1,000, but nothing more in her bonus spin.
In the Showcase round, Lorna passed the first showcase to the runner-up, Catherine. The first showcase consisted of a Kitty Hawk Kites kiteboarding kit, a Segway scooter, and a Toyota Prius hybrid car. The second showcase contained Broyhill’s Affinity living room collection, Noritake dinnerware, a private chef from Big City Chefs, and a trip to Brussels, Belgium! (Sorry, I morphed into announcer Rich Fields for a second.)
Lorna’s bid for that second showcase was $17,250. The actual retail price…$17,333! With a difference of $83, $4 less than Zachary Newton’s difference two weeks ago, Lorna Baker won both showcases. In all, she won $56,150 in cash and prizes. What a day.
Video of today’s show can be found here. Skip to 16:55 to see One Bid and Freeze Frame, 28:34 for the Showcase Showdown, and 31:23 for the Showcase round.
Winter pre-order update #1 February 25, 2009
Posted by Mike C. in Animation, Football, Jazz, Personal, Sports, TV.add a comment
The first round of pre-orders came out yesterday (Tuesday) and promptly arrived at my front porch. The items were:
Jeff Kashiwa, “Back In The Day”
Pieces Of A Dream, “Soul Intent”
“Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder” (DVD)
“Super Bowl XLIII Champions: Pittsburgh Steelers” (DVD)
After bringing everything in, opening the packaging, and unwrapping, I ripped (loaded CD tracks from) “Back In The Day” and “Soul Intent” to my computer. I didn’t get to watch the “Futurama” DVD or listen to the CDs, but I did watch the Super Bowl XLIII DVD. It was in widescreen format, which was zoomed by my HD upconversion DVD player. That’s why I love the player.
I’ll get around to CD listening in the next day or so.
Another Double Showcase Winner on TPiR! February 19, 2009
Posted by Mike C. in Game Shows, Media, TV.add a comment
Today on “The Price is Right,” Lindsey Marie Kowal won both showcases in the Showcase round! Lindsey Marie – a Cleveland, Ohio, transplant living in Las Vegas – came within $116 of the actual retail price of her showcase, which featured Jo Malone products, a bedroom set (with mattress), and a jet ski. (If a contestant is within $250 or less on their bid, they win both showcases.) She was the first Double Showcase winner since Terry Kneiss, another Vegas resident, won in December. Host Drew Carey exhibited much more enthusiasm than last time, which means there won’t be an uproar from fans on the internet. (I’d be surprised if there is.)
The second showcase was James Bond-themed with a watch, an assortment of “007” movies on blu-ray disc, a home theater system with blu-ray disc player and a 46″ plasma TV, and a trip to Monte Carlo.
In addition to the showcases, Lindsey Marie won snowboarding equipment in One Bid, the game played in contestants’ row.
Video of the full show can be found here. The Showcase round begins at 31:37.
2/24 UPDATE: Today, only three airdates later, “The Price is Right” had another Double Showcase winner! Zachary Newton, the top winner in the Showcase round, came within a mere $87 of the actual retail price of his showcase. The showcase featured a bedroom set (with mattress), snowboarding and skiing equipment, and a snowmobile.
Zachary passed the first showcase, which featured nine iPod Nanos, a monthly home spa party for a year, and a trip to Sweden.
His One Bid prize was a refrigerator/freezer.
Video of the full show can be found here. The Showcase round begins at 32:22.
Winter pre-orders February 9, 2009
Posted by Mike C. in Animation, Football, Jazz, Personal, Sports, TV.add a comment
It’s time for another round of pre-orders on Amazon.com. The pre-ordered items range from jazz CDs to animation DVDs to a Super Bowl Champions DVD. Here’s the list:
Jeff Kashiwa, “Back In The Day” (2/24)
Pieces Of A Dream, “Soul Intent” (2/24)
“Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder” (DVD) (2/24)
“Super Bowl XLIII Champions: Pittsburgh Steelers” (DVD) (2/24)
Rippingtons, “Modern Art” (3/10)
Down to the Bone, “Future Boogie” (4/21)
Check back in the coming weeks for pre-order updates, which will come when the items arrive or if I pre-order anything else.
2/10 UPDATE: Chuck Loeb, “Between 2 Worlds” (3/24)
Defending Drew Carey December 17, 2008
Posted by Mike C. in Game Shows, Media, Radio, TV.add a comment
5/16/19 UPDATE: I wrote a long overdue follow up after watching Perfect Bid: The Contestant Who Knew Too Much.
Yesterday on “The Price is Right” on CBS, a contestant named Terry Kneiss (“niece”) from Las Vegas made a perfect bid in the Showcase round and won both showcases. This was only the second time in the history of the show that a contestant bid perfectly. The other time was in the first season, 1972-1973.
For not being enthusiastic enough in announcing this milestone, host Drew Carey has been roundly criticized, especially on the internet. Other criticisms include: he bungled the situation, he can no longer be defended, he shouldn’t have been the host in the first place, bring back Bob Barker, etc.
I was going to link here to video of yesterday’s Showcase round, so you could just for yourself. But it wouldn’t load properly. Instead, click here for the full episode on CBS.com. Then, scroll ahead to 31:25 for the full round or 37:06 for the stoic reaction that’s infuriated so many people.
I am here to defend Drew. I believe he was simply in stunned disbelief and shock. Not everyone handles that situation by yelling and screaming. Drew has had the yelling, screaming reaction before, but he is far from perfect. If you want Drew to be wildly enthusiastic every time, you’re going to be disappointed. Clearly, many were disappointed by this. If you want to stop watching “The Price is Right” because Drew isn’t enthusiastic enough for your taste, it’s your choice. But there are plenty of people like me that support Drew and will continue to watch. I have been a Drew Carey fan since “The Drew Carey Show,” I became a bigger fan when he started the U.S. version of “Whose Line is it Anyway?,” and I’ve supported him on all projects since.
If you’re a fellow Drew Carey fan/supporter, you’re welcome to leave a comment. I look forward to hearing from you.
And congratulations to Terry. You wrote a second chapter for the history books.
12/18 UPDATE: TMZ – I can’t believe I’m linking to them – has audio of an interview with 93.1 The Party in Las Vegas.
And Paul Walsh of The Minneapolis Star-Tribune has a report on Terry’s win and the “internet buzz” that followed it (and, of course, Drew Carey’s stoic reaction).
Cablevision adds CNBC HD, but not FBN. December 5, 2008
Posted by Mike C. in Media, Personal, Sports, TV.2 comments
On Tuesday, Cablevision added four more HD channels to their lineup. The key add among them was CNBC HD. This flies in the face of customers like me that have been lobbying for the Fox Business Network to be added. I’ve been as vocal as I can be since a week before FBN debuted in SD (standard definition) and HD (high definition) on October 15, 2007.
Originally, I was going to say more, but I decided to hold back.
The other channels added were also under the NBC Universal umbrella: Bravo HD, SCI FI HD, and USA HD. This means that next year, I’ll be able to watch early rounds of the tennis U.S. Open in HD.
From the press release linked above:
Bravo HD (iO TV channel 745) offers Bravo’s critically acclaimed arts and entertainment programming devoted to the food, fashion, design, beauty and pop culture genres including critically acclaimed series “Top Chef 5,” “Top Design 2,” Shear Genius 2,” “Tim Gunn’s Guide to Style 2” and “The Real Housewives of New York City 2.” CNBC HD+ (channel 771) has become the essential service for the investor, providing all the elements of CNBC with greater levels of information equipping the viewer with more tools necessary to make investment decisions. SCI FI HD (channel 748 ) continues to fuel the imagination of viewers with original series and events, blockbuster movies, and classic science fiction and fantasy programming including “Sanctuary,” “Stargate Atlantis,” “Battlestar Galactica,” “Ghost Hunters” and “Eureka.” USA HD (channel 738 ) is the #1-rated television network in all of basic cable for the past three years. USA offers hit original series and feature movies, sports and entertainment events, off-net television shows and blockbuster theatrical films. Hit original series include: Emmy-winning “Monk;” Friday night comedy “Psych; #1-rated cable show of summer, “Burn Notice;” the #1-rated new show of the summer “In Plain Sight;” and the Emmy-winning series “The Starter Wife.”
2/13/09 UPDATE: After getting a comment to this post, I noticed that the “8” and “)” became a sunglasses emoticon: 8)
I’ve added a space between the two characters to fix that problem.
11/19/09 UPDATE: FBN has finally come to Cablevision!
Finally, a new post! November 16, 2008
Posted by Mike C. in Audiobooks, Books, Bowling, Jazz, Media, Personal, Technology, TV, Video Games.3 comments
I have not posted anything to my blog in a week and a half. So, let’s get a few things out of the way:
1. Last Saturday afternoon, I went to the Barnes & Noble in Carle Place for a book signing and discussion event. The author was Steve Doocy, co-host of “Fox & Friends,” the Fox News Channel’s daily morning show. The book is “Tales from the Dad Side.” I had purchased the unabridged audiobook on Amazon a few weeks earlier, but I bought the book itself before I went up to the discussion area.
When it was my turn to have my book signed, a female employee was nice enough to take a picture of Steve and me:
It was a pleasure to meet him in person. Thank you very much, Steve.
2. Last Saturday night, I bowled another 200+ game playing Wii Sports’ Bowling for Nintendo Wii. You may remember back on August 31, I bowled a 257. On this night, I wasn’t able to match that score, but I did come close: 219. Here’s the final scorecard, as seen from a picture of the TV taken after the game:
3. Though I had said in early June that my computer was working and “back to normal,” nothing could have been further from the truth. The blue screens of death (BSODs) continued, becoming a matter-of-fact occurrence. I would get at least one per day. On some days, I would get up to four BSoDs! I mistakenly believed they were the result of my NVIDIA nForce Serial ATA drivers not working with Windows Vista Home Premium Service Pack 1. Then, in mid-October, it finally hit me: it’s faulty memory causing the BSoDs. That’s what I get for buying four discounted 1 GB (gigabyte) memory DIMMs in late May. I replaced two of them with Dell DIMMs after ordering them from the Dell website. They were made exclusively for my computer, a Dell Dimension E521, based on my Service Tag. I have not had a blue screen since installing them (knock on wood).
4. Since my last pre-order update, I’ve ordered a few more CDs:
Tom Scott, “Desire” (Wounded Bird; re-release)
David Benoit, “Jazz For Peanuts” (Peak)
Kim Waters, “I Want You: Love In The Spirit Of Marvin” (Shanachie)
Saxophonist Tom Scott’s “Desire” was originally released in 1982 on Elektra, but was re-released on October 14. The tracks on the album are: the title track (re-recorded on “Them Changes” in 1990), “Sure Enough,” “The Only One,” “Stride,” “Johnny B. Badd,” “Meet Somebody,” “Maybe I’m Amazed,” and “Chunk O’ Funk.” I’m hooked on “Stride,” and also like “Chunk O’ Funk” and “Johnny B. Badd.”
“Jazz For Peanuts” was released on October 29. Six of the tracks were newly recorded by David Benoit:
- “You’re in Love, Charlie Brown” (Vince Guaraldi); This track features horn player Christian Scott on trumpet.
- “The Great Pumpkin Waltz” (Vince Guaraldi)
- “Wild Kids” (re-recording of track from “Urban Daydreams” in 1989); This track features pianist Taylor Eigsti. 2:16 into the song, David and Taylor kick into a lively improv section. Like Tom Scott’s “Stride,” I’m hooked on this section.
- “Be My Valentine” (Vince Guaraldi)
- “Rollerblading”; This track also features Christian Scott.
- “Re-Run’s Theme”
The non-Benoit tracks were:
- Wynton Marsalis Septet – “The Buggy Ride” (unreleased, recorded for “This is America, Charlie Brown: The Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk”)
- Dave Brubeck – “Benjamin” (from “Happy Anniversary, Charlie Brown!” in 1989; recorded for “This is America, Charlie Brown: The NASA Space Station”)
- Kenny G – “Breadline Blues” (from “Happy Anniversary, Charlie Brown!” in 1989; recorded for “This is America, Charlie Brown: The Smithsonian and the Presidency”)
- Vince Guaraldi [Trio] – “Linus and Lucy” (from “A Charlie Brown Christmas” in 1965)
Kim Waters’ “I Want You: Love In The Spirit Of Marvin” was also released on October 29. I just got this in the mail today. So, it’s too soon for me to review it. But I like the instrumental tracks I’ve heard so far. The “Marvin” is the late, great Marvin Gaye.
5. Tomorrow, I turn 27 years old (or young).
I think that covers everything that needs to be covered for now. Hopefully, it won’t be another week and a half until the next post.
Slightly good news: Cablevision adds more HD channels. October 16, 2008
Posted by Mike C. in Media, Personal, Sports, TV.add a comment
I went to the Cablevision About page to see if there was any new news and maybe a certain business channel added. Nope. That would be silly, of course. But five more HD channels were added this week:
BETHPAGE, NY, October 14, 2008 — Cablevision Systems Corp. (NYSE: CVC) today announced the addition of five new free high-definition channels to the iO TV digital cable lineup, which now offers customers 65 HD channels across Cablevision’s entire service area. The new channels, MTV HD, VH1 HD, CMT HD, Fuse HD and NHL Network HD, present leading music, pop culture and sports programming and will launch over a three day period from October 14-16.
Well, I had wanted NHL Network HD. So, at least I get that. Meanwhile, still no Fox Business Network. It doesn’t matter how many times Neil Cavuto says of FBN, “If you’re not getting it, demand it.” Cablevision doesn’t seem to care. Or does it? Toward the end of that link:
Sources close to negotiations indicate that FBN is closing in on a deal with one of three main holdouts: Dish Network, Cablevision and Cox.
My pessimism indicates that one of three is actually one of the two: Dish Network and Cox. I really hope I’m wrong.
11/19/09 UPDATE: FBN has finally come to Cablevision!
Presidential debate at Hofstra tonight October 15, 2008
Posted by Mike C. in Golf, Personal, Politics, Sports, TV.add a comment
The last of the Presidential debates between Democratic nominee Barack Obama and Republican nominee John McCain will be held tonight at Hofstra University in Hempstead. Last night, I actually considered going over there this afternoon, but I need credentials. So much for that.
A venue I was able to get into – after buying a ticket, of course – was the PGA Champions Tour’s Commerce Bank Championship, which was held at Eisenhower Park’s Red Course. As I documented in the post I’ve linked to, I appeared in a few crowd shots toward the end of Golf Channel’s coverage.
Back to the present, this was basically a post I felt obligated to make since the debate is about 25 minutes away from my house…barring heavy traffic, which there no doubt is.
MikeChimeri.com 