You can count me among the tweetin’ Twitterers (or is that the Twitterin’ tweeters?) now: http://twitter.com/MikeVacc
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The defiance is galling, the arrogance appalling. And yet, right there, on the USGA web site as I type this at 7:39 a.m., there remains the printed equivalent of saliva projecting into your eye:
U.S.Open Tickets
Thursday tickets will not be refunded or exchanged. Play will resume Friday at 7:30 a.m., weather permitting. Only Friday tickets will be accepted.
Translation: Bleep you, New York.
This is one of the greatest outrages we’ve ever seen perpetrated on the local sporting populace, ever. The USGA, an organization that made $155.8 million last year in revenue — including $50 million just on the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines — can’t see it in its heart to do the right thing here, even though play was suspended at 10:16 yesterday morning, even though most of the people who wanted to see Phil Mickelson never had a prayer since Lefty never even made it to the course.
They will blather on about logistics, about how it would be impossible to accommodate so many rain checks, and they are full of it, because one of the great appeals about having this tournament at Bethpage Black is that so many people have played Bethpage Black — and therefore know just how much space is available here. But even if we want to give the USGA the benefit of that doubt — a right they have not earned — there is zero excuse not to offer refunds on Thursday tickets.
The Yankees also made their fans sit through the rain yesterday, and they got some heat for it, but because they are the Yankees they not only allowed those who stayed to swarm into the good seats, they honored an old Steinbrenner Tradition and gave rain checks even though the game in question was already played. You know what that’s called? It’s called good business. It’s called caring about your fans. It’s called flipping your fans a morsel for their loyalty.
All the USGA flipped its fans was the bird yesterday. If this is the way they do business, they can take their tournament and keep it out of town from now on. Forever.
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There was a little bit of golf yesterday, and Jeff Brehaut was an awfully nice story to get out of it, for however long his mini-Cinderella tale lasts.
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The amazing thing about the Mets’ season is that the rest of the National League seems hell-bent on keeping them afloat until the reinforcements come rolling back. The Mets owe a debt of gratitude to the Blue Jays for sweeping the Phillies at Citizens Bank this week, and also various favors to the Angels, White Sox and Tigers for keeping them tied in the loss column in the wild card standings. You can’t imagine that largesse will last forever.
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The remarkable thing isn’t just that Brett Gardner was able to walk out of the Stadium last night after taking that hit against the fence. It’s that he held onto the ball.
