Nothing like British Open.
Hey, Woody. Which of the four major golf tournaments is your favorite?
Ray, Denver
Woody Paige: My favorite is the British Open because I love being in Scotland or northern England for the week, hanging out with the people and enjoying the country and riding the trains and going to Loch Ness to see the monster and visiting the land where Braveheart hung out and learning more about the history of Great Britain.
I love the courses, and I’ve been able to play most of them. I love the fact that anybody can buy a ticket. Unlike in this country, they just keep selling tickets, and if 500,000 people showed up, they’d get in.
Love the fish and chips at the Open and how the weather affects the tournament — it can be 30 or 90 degrees. And driving on the wrong side of the road with a stick shift and staying in a bed-and-breakfast or in a castle (the last time I was at Muirfield) and visiting the castles and the museums in the morning and leaving the courses (after writing) well after midnight.
These are the memories I’ll have — watching Tiger in his first pro trip to the Open and spending all his time trying to hit out of gorse and off railroad tracks and watching him a few years later totally destroy St. Andrews and the field in the Open to win easily, and watching Colorado’s Hale Irwin whiff on a two-inch putt, and finishing second by a shot, and watching Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus win those Opens and riding on the plane back from Scotland with Tom Weiskopf, and he showed me he had bought a dozen sweaters, just like all the other tourists, and being in line at the airport with Fred Couples and talking about the meaning of the Open.
I love the Masters, and the U.S. Open is difficult, but my favorite three events are the Olympics (because of the countries where they are held), Wimbledon and the British Open when the Scottish bagpiper plays to start the round in the morning.
A sure thing.
What are Shannon Sharpe’s chances of being elected to the Hall of Fame?
Chuck, Sterling
Woody: 100 percent. I was on the Hall of Fame committee for about 15 years, and I can guarantee you that Shannon, because of his Super Bowl rings and his accomplishments as a tight end and his mouth, will get in, likely on the first ballot. He’s next, and the last for a while from Denver.
Digit defense.
Do journalists protect their hands and fingers like concert pianists — you know, like eating hamburgers with a fork and knife lest they bite them?
Shawn, Littleton
Woody: I’m from the South. I eat with my fingers, Shawn. Most sportswriters don’t know the difference between a fork and a knife. Plus, we mostly eat hot dogs in press boxes.
I broke the ring finger on my left hand this winter, and I thought I was going to have to type words that had no S’s in them. But I learned to type with pain.
Different values.
How come some of the best NBA coaches are fired if their teams do not win the championship for a few years while Mike Shanahan, with a mediocre record over several years, appears to have been anointed Head Coach for Life?
John, Westminster
Woody: Mike Shanahan does not coach in the NBA.
X marks the spot.
Have you ever covered anything like the X Games or Teva Games?
Chuck, Denver
Woody: Yes and no. I don’t even know, Chuck, what the Teva Games are. But I’m available. The Winter X Games in Aspen I’ve covered several times, and I love them, honestly. All the events of the X Games will be in the Olympics someday.
I have TiVo. Are you sure they aren’t the TiVo Games? I could participate in the TiVo Games. If you ever get a chance, everyone, go up to the X Games, and they’ll take American Express.
Woody Paige first joined The Denver Post in 1981 as a sports columnist. Reach him: 303-954-1095 or wpaige@denverpost.com.
