Nativism

Roughly 45 years ago, a boy was born, known then and forever as "Greensburg's Rocco Mediate." (I assume that if we check his birth certificate, we will see that "Greensburg's" is his first name, and "Rocco" his middle name.) Over the last four days, GRM played an extraordinary four rounds of golf and achieved a tie with ETW, who name needs no elaboration. ETW's birdie putt on the 18th hole at Torrey Pines yesterday was the most riveting 15 seconds of sport that I saw yesterday. GRM's reaction, like his demeanor all afternoon, was pure class. It's no wonder that just about everyone loves GRM, or that all of Pittsburgh claims him as one of us.

The most riveting 45 minutes of sport yesterday, however, were the second half of Turkey v. the Czech Republic in Euro 2008. Turkey, down 0-2, scored 3 goals in the final 15 minutes (the second from a tragic misplay by the brilliant Czech Čech) to win the match and secure a berth in the round of 8. The Czechs bounced home.