Golfgal Golf news and commentary from a business woman’s perspective.
Well…I don’t know about you, but for me this week’s Big Break was one sad experience after another, starting with the first immunity challenge. Not one of the players came to that challenge with their A game/shot. No wonder they asked for “do over”.
Sure, Tony and Gipper got two points and won immunity and deserve congratulations, but that was a pretty sad way to win the chance to compete in the Children’s Miracle Network challenge — sad for the producers, sad for the sponsors and sad for us viewers.
It was also sad to watch Mike plug that ball into the hazard – talk about your bad luck! And it was sad that friends who teamed together had to play against each other later in the show.
But the saddest part of all was watching JR’s ball take a dive into the water, followed by his 4th and 5th shots in the sand. He’s so much better than that. There’s a reason this was his first elmination challenge on the show. He’s a good player. But even the good ones have bad days/shots and all it takes is one bad shot and it’s back to Nebraska. Sorry to see you go, JR. I want to see your tatoos on the PGA Tour, so don’t give up. What would the commish think of those! I wonder if you’d be asked to wear long shirts with the mandatory long pants on tour. 😉
But as sad as the show seemed to be, what saved it for us all was that “Come back tomorrow shot” of Mike’s. Wow! My golfguy thought it was the best part of the whole show and I had to agree with him. It was sensational. Go Mikey!
I had the pleasure of talking with Vincent, Blake and Kevin this week. They all had interesting perspectives on the day. Vincent had to watch his team mate take the walk of shame. Blake had to support Mike through his frustrations and Kevin got to play with Andrew. I couldn’t wait to find out what they all thought about tonight’s show, starting with Vincent.
Blake was pretty quiet tonight (except for those shorts!) but that’s probably because his partner was so talkative. Mike certainly had a lot to say this evening, but in the end, his clubs spoke the best for him.
Kevin was benched tonight. Usually that’s a bad thing, but not on the Big Break. Glad to see he was able to sit back and relax for a change. He’s spent his fair share of days wondering if he was going home. It was time for him to get a break.
Next week looks pretty cool at the race track. And Blake’s temper looks to be back in fine form. There are hints that Andrew may finally be feeling the heat as well. Can’t wait to watch.
Golfgal
Kevin has now advanced as far as Courtney did at Ka’anapali, where she was the 6th one eliminated.
It’s pathetic the confessionals are wasted. Kevin said he’s been looking for them on the Golf Channel website, obviously remembering the situation during Ka’anapali, when every individual confessional was posted, sparking huge response via comments underneath the videos. Golf Channel has become increasingly petrified and lazy. For Big Break Michigan they edited and merged the confessionals, down to 2 or 3 minutes total each week. For PEI it was similar but even more limited. This time they are completely absent from the website.
Hard to disagree with you Ausi as you are one of the most ‘bang on’ commentators I’ve met on forums and on Big Break reviews. I wish you had your own blog actually so I could comment :). OR you could do a guest appearance on mine anytime!
As usual…I agree with you again, but sadly, the confessionals are no where to be seen. I sometimes wonder if the contestants were just not ‘publishable’ at that point in the day (maybe one too many beers or martinis ;))and so their ‘confessions’ weren’t easy to include OR if they were just too darn forthright and that’s not good TV.
Anyway..nice to see Mike’s come through this week.
I found the challenges a bit flat tonight. Was it the players not living up to them or the challenges too challenging?
Golfgal
Definitely a flat episode. And spoiled by JR’s facial appearance in the interview clips. One look at his eyes and I knew he was gone. Sean, in contrast, didn’t give away anything.
Kevin nailed it, worst group performance ever in Big Break. I was stunned when the Finaus finished with 2 and they used a remark from Tony that hinted it might be enough. Winning with that number hadn’t crossed my mind. I checked Big Break Michigan, the second episode. Haymes and Bernie won that progressive distance challenge with 9. Casey and Rachel had 5. Three teams managed 3, and three had 0. This time it was a ridiculous 0-2-0-0.
The confessionals are designed to be forthright. They even ask leading questions. That’s what all the Ka’anapali contestants reported, and if you remember those videos from the website the players would be reading the questions then contemplating before responding. The spats were terrific, Lori and Christina’s feud with others giving their versions and taking sides. That was the best overall impression because we had the weekly episode, the real time confessionals posted on the website — several minutes per player every week — then your blog/GFW with the current interviews. I think Golf Channel turned lazy and protective. If you include the full confessionals on the website the players define themselves. Big Break wants to define them.
BTW, every time I resolve to start my own blog or own site, I debate the format and end up rationalizing to wait until I’m comfortable with the focus. It’s been several years. LOL.
No one had better drama than BB Ka’anapali for sure. Where did you get all the data about those shots? Do you keep an archive of every show? 🙂
Still an open invitation to write a post on my blog anytime Awsi. Seriously, pick a topic related to golf and then blog away!
cheers
Gayle
Why did he even finish out the last hole? He should have conceded after the first bunker shot.
I thought the same thing. But I guess they were offically playing “stroke play” so I guess he had to finish. It was almost cruel however.
Cheers
Gayle
I can’t STAND that Giulliani douchebag. He even has a smirk on his face like “Just you wait”. Sorry dude, but you got kicked off the Duke team for A- not being good enough and B- being an assbag. Then you got your daddy and his lawyers involved, and STILL couldn’t get reinstated. Now, you’re on BB.
It’s funny; you can tell the ones that are afraid because they have to try and rile the other guy(s) up. “Getting in their head”, they say. If someone is good enough, they wouldn’t need to do that (see Vincent, Tony and Gipper).
I hope he gets eliminated soon- maybe I’ll start paying more attention.
It sure goes to show how the pressure gets to people. How many of my guy friends think they would do SO much better than the competitors on air.
Ha! I’d like to see them try! I hope the best for all players, and that is that each can play their best when they need it!
Thanks for your thoughtful review!
Cheers!
Catherine
Andrew may not be the easiest guy to warm up to if you’re in the BB with him, but come on….. He’s not that bad! Blake looks like a complete idiot who can’t handle any pressure when he reacts the way he does. He’s probably a pretty good player, but grow up and buck up – just get the job done. And this stuff of ganging up on someone is childish. If BB doesn’t get any better than this it will be short lived.
JD
BB is the master, I think the whole drama will pass in due time.