The LPGA Tour for the last few years has wrestled with the dilemma of so many young South Korean women making a splash and the hint that it was bad for business. Tour officials know they could never put a limit on how many South Korean players can make the tour, so imposing an English proficiency provision is a veiled attempt to do so.

I love playing golf, its a great sport, but I don't like golf culture. There is something subtly unwelcoming about it. Every few years the thin layer of modernity gets scuffed off by some event and you see these people for who they really are. This move, ripped from the pages of 1920's "Jim Crow" laws in the South, is the latest evidence that the sport is run by a bunch of racist old fucks.

LPGA way out of bounds - The Boston Globe

I believe it to be true, that Candler Park Golf Course was the private golf course of Coca-Cola founder, Asa Candler. He lived nearby, & this intown-neighborhood of Atlanta currently bears his name. He entertained clients there in the early days of our world-renowned beverage. Years passed, & somewhere down the line, it was donated to the City of Atlanta, who capably owns, manages & maintains it now.

Last weekend I drove past what is certainly Atlanta's coolest golf course. I need to get back down there a play a round sometime soon.

You have to walk, no carts, which means that playing there actually counts as exercise. Furthermore, you are just as likely to see tattooed punks from little five points as frat boys in dockers on the course, and beginners are more common than stressed out executives. This means you are unlikely to get hassled by a crusty old course manager over "pace of play." In fact, the course managers might not even be there at all, as you are allowed to play on the honor system - shove a 10 spot in an envelope and tee off. All of this contributes to a laid back feeling that makes golf the relaxing experience it was meant to be.

Do bring your divot repair tool as the low budget course understandably depends on players who are good to the facilities. Its also likely that you'll be approached by a homeless person selling balls. Buy some. Its a legitimate service. Who else is going to clean those balls out of the woods?

Candler Park Golf Course - Atlanta, Georgia

To access buoy data by phone, select the “Dial-A-Buoy” heading. The Dial-A-Buoy Data Center (888-701-8992) provides telephone access to all of the weather reports from the buoy and coastal weather stations operated by the National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) and numerous Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOSS) partners. The telephone-accessed computer system allows selection of a reporting station by its ID (look it up on line and save the reference number for later use) or by entering the buoy’s approximate latitude and longitude. An interactive voice menu allows selection of the desired reporting station or buoy. Both current observations and forecasts are delievered in a computer-generated voice. Mariners sailing in areas such as the Gulf of Mexico can also access weather information from sensors on oil platforms such as Station 42362 — Brutus — Green Canyon 158, a fixed drilling platform located at 27.8° N, 90.67° W.

In my phone phreaking days I would have thought it interesting to know of a phone number from which one could receive an automated weather report from an ocean buoy.

Weather call | Articles | Ocean Navigator

I mentioned earlier that I wanted to learn to surf. I'm also interested in learning to sail, and I've been putting a lot more effort into that recently. The reason, I think, is that there are certain basic pleasures of the ancient world that one has to work very hard to come by today. We've cut ourselves off from things that even our grandfathers took for granted.

One of the pleasures of sailing is the ability to return to darkness. Sitting in a quiet cove, with the horizon marked by the scissored black cut-outs of pine or palm trees, is to know pure relaxation. The stars may be reflected, if you’re lucky, in the smooth water, or you might see the anchor lights of other boats moving in gentle arcs against the constellations.

One of the strangest experiences I’ve had at sea was being becalmed in the middle of the Pacific at night on a mirror-smooth sea. The stars, and even the moon, were so perfectly reflected that you couldn’t find the horizon, so it seemed as if our boat was a satellite in space, surrounded above, below and on all sides by stars.

Why I want to learn to sail...

I've been meaning to learn to surf....

SURFOLOGY

It finally happened. NashvillePost.com has learned that after weeks of circling the Nashville Predators, a local investor group landed on Craig Leipold's doorstep yesterday morning and made him a formal offer for the team. Multiple sources have confirmed this news on the condition of anonymity.

There are no details yet on the size of the offer, as no one publicly associated directly with the deal is talking. David Freeman, former chief executive officer of Commodore Medical Services and now CEO of 36 Venture Capital, is putting the group together. Herb Fritch, CEO of insurer HealthSpring, is also among the group.

Chase Cole, an attorney with Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis who has been working with the group, declined comment. Freeman offered a "no comment." But he reissued the following statement via e-mail:

"A group of Nashvillians continues to pursue a purchase of the Predators on behalf of the Nashville community. While we recognize the intense interest of the local community in the future of the team, we ask for your patience and understanding as we go through this confidential negotiation process. In deference to the club's request, we will be unable to offer any further public information or comment regarding our bid until a binding agreement is in place."

Confidentiality agreements are likely in place, and nobody wants to make the same mistake as Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie in having a lot of information made public before a binding agreement is in place.

Predators fans have been rooting for the local ownership group to step forward, and NashvillePost.com has reported that Leipold wanted to see the local group step up, even being open to offer something of a Nashville discount. That may mean the price the group would pay is somewhere below the $220 million or more Balsillie offered.

Meanwhile, William "Boots" Del Biaggio, who has a minority investment in the San Jose Sharks, may still be in the picture as a potential bidder.

Thank you!

Local group makes bid on Preds

Thanks to unmanaged for pointing out that tickets are already on sale for the new Hamilton NHL team. Here is more:

Two days into the campaign, the number of people putting deposits on season tickets for a potential National Hockey League team in Hamilton overtook the number of season-ticket holders of the Nashville Predators.

By early Friday afternoon, Jim Balsillie, who is trying to buy the Predators, sold almost 10,000 seats and luxury suites for Copps Coliseum, where the team will play if it is moved from Nashville. The Predators currently have just under 9,000 season-ticket holders.

Apparently if this effort isn't successful Leipold promises to scuttle the team.

If the Nashville Predators are not sold by June 30, which seems unlikely now, sources say club owner Craig Leipold is prepared to vastly trim his player payroll next season, even if it means dismantling a Stanley Cup contender.

The so-called scorched earth tactic, reminiscent of baseball's Florida Marlins, is designed to minimize financial losses next season, which will almost certainly approach US$10-million, and force the City of Nashville to buy more tickets if it wants to keep professional hockey in the Tennessee capital. It would also demonstrate to National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman, who doesn't want the team relocated to Hamilton, that Nashville is an unsustainable market, which Leipold has repeatedly said.

Basically Leipold has put a gun to the head of the Predators and told the NHL he'll pull the trigger if they won't let him have his money. It appears clear that Nashville is fucked unless local businesses actually buy the team out from Leipold. The ticket sales effort won't help. More...

It's not like Bettman can save hockey in Nashville. It would appear to be history, the vultures from other cities circling in numbers. There's said to be another lesser offer into Predators owner Craig Leipold to move the team to Kansas City, but he obviously would prefer to be able to sell to Balsillie for the much higher number -- more than $50 million higher.

Bettman would prefer to see the team stay in the U.S. with an eye to making the league a more saleable commodity to a major U.S. television network, so he would prefer to see the sale go through at these June meetings and then deal with the relocation issue later when the Preds can get out of the lease.

Burning the Predators

The Our Team coalition is a group of Predator fans, business leaders, and other volunteers who are passionate about Nashville and committed to keeping the Preds in town. The campaign's goal is to help drive Predators season ticket sales within the local business community by personally reaching out to decision-makers within four key business sectors: major corporations, small and medium sized businesses, downtown businesses, and the hospitality/tourism industry.

ourteamNasHviLle

It's over for Ottawa and not just because they suffered a crushing 3-2 defeat against the Anaheim Ducks in Game 4 or that they have to go back to Anaheim trailing the series 3-1.

Bleh. I'm not a big fan of Anaheim.

Anaheim Ducks, Andy McDonald, Anton Volchenkov, Chris Pronger, National Hockey League, Ottawa Senators - CBS SportsLine.com

Nashville Predators Interest Surveys

Thank you for visiting our web site and taking the time to answer a few questions concerning the Nashville Predators. As you know, the Predators are Nashville's team, and a large coalition of community and business leaders is committed to ensuring that the Predators stay in Nashville. To accomplish that goal, it will be very helpful for us to have a better understanding of the reasons why people support the team, and in some cases, why they do not.

If you are a predators fan, or in particular someone who does business in Nashville who has looked into season tickets, let them know what you think, and pass this on.

Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce - Predators Survey