By Erik Jacobsen
Staff Writer

Everyone has their favorite sports weekends of the year. Some love the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament, others love the opening weekend of the NFL and some really get excited about Daytona 500 weekend.

Although this isn't traditionally thought of as a great sports weekend, for those of us in Chicago it certainly deserves a look this year. Simply put, there's something for every sports fan over the next three days.

On the local front, Chicago's two first-place baseball teams are both at home in a pair of high-profile series. The Cubs host arch-rival St. Louis with a chance to bury the Cardinals' hopes in the NL Central. Meanwhile, the defending champion Red Sox are paying a visit to U.S Cellular, where the White Sox will try to prove they have what it takes to make a lengthy run in October.

The excitement extends well beyond Chicago, though, as Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia and others are vying to win golf's final major of the season at the PGA Championship at Oakland Hills in Michigan.

As if that isn't enough, the Beijing Olympics are also starting up on the other side of the world. NBC will be providing sports nuts with around-the-clock coverage, so there will never be a moment when you can't catch come some action. Who's up for some air rifle Saturday morning?

Throw in Saturday's Arlington Million at Arlington Race Track, the continuing NASCAR Nextel Cup chase and the building excitement over NFL training camp and it's clear there's plenty to keep an eye on this weekend. So find your favorite spot on the couch and make yourself comfortable because it doesn't get much better than this.

By Erik Jacobsen
Staff Writer

Sure, Greg Norman's poor showing in the final round of the British Open was disappointing. However, the 53-year-old put on a pretty good show throughout the weekend and would have needed to be at the very top of his game to beat Padraig Harrington, who was outstanding down the stretch en route to his second straight Open title.

How about that shot at No. 17 by Harrington? I loved how the broadcasters were questioning the move as the ball was in the air. Then as it rolled onto the green and broke toward the pin, they were left speechless as Paddy was left with a short eagle putt.

Speaking of the broadcast crew, I found ABC's coverage to be lacking. I know the ABC/ESPN crew isn't doing much golf these days after dropping its share of the PGA Tour schedule. But the broadcast seemed pretty choppy for a major championship, especially considering what CBS and NBC do for the other three major tournaments.

Among my biggest complaints were the high number of commercial breaks. It seemed like after every other shot we were going for a word from the sponsors. I also didn't like how the telecast had so many key shots on tape delay and how a number of shots - like Norman's late chip out of fairway bunker - weren't even shown. I know this might have to do with sharing a feed with European counterparts, but the effect wasn't very pleasing to the viewer. Another beef I had was that key shots down the stretch by players like Anthony Kim, Ben Curtis and Henrik Stenson were never shown. In an event without Tiger Woods in the field, there is no excuse for ignoring some of the players who were in the hunt late in the final round.

As for the broadcast team, there weren't too many blunders. Mike Tirico was solid as usual, but I'm still not seeing him as one of the sport's top voices. Paul Azinger was informative as usual while adding in a few of his customary zingers. Tom Watson fared pretty well for being a newcomer in the booth, but you can tell he still needs some work. Also, I'm not normally a fan of Tom Rinaldi, but I did enjoy his postround interviews, which were well conducted and made both the viewer and player feel comfortable.

One more note on the broadcast. It was annoying that ABC never fixed its graphic showing Greg Norman's record in majors when holding a 54-hole lead. It said he led the 2006 Masters, when indeed it should have been the 1996 Masters. Somebody needs to do some copy editing over there.

All in all, it was a pretty entertaining major considering Tiger wasn't in the field. That gives us some hope looking forward to next month's PGA Championship at Oakland Hills.

*On a local golf note, Black Sheep Golf Club in Sugar Grove continues to attract big names to its facility. Chris Brown, a Naperville native and running back for the Houston Texans, played at the course Sunday. Meanwhile, former Cubs catcher Todd Hundley was in the field for an event at the track Friday.

By Chris Pummer
Staff Writer

Some have already suggested that LPGA officials should have let the fact that Michelle Wie forgot to sign her scorecard slide and not disqualified her. The justification being that there would be a huge amount of interest if Wie were in the field Sunday competing for her first LPGA Tour victory.

I say forget about that. The rules are the rules, and leaving your John Hancock on the scorecard at the end of a round is the most basic of requirements. Just like if I don't turn in my timecard, I don't get paid.

Could officials have let it slide? Sure, but only while compromising the integrity of the game and its rules.

Besides, Wie shouldn't want her first win stained by the notion that she got a free pass that another golfer wouldn't have gotten.

By Erik Jacobsen
Staff Writer

Who needs Tiger Woods in a major championship?

That's the prevailing opinion now that Greg Norman has come out of nowhere to put himself in contention at this weekend's British Open. After his second straight 70, Norman is alone in second place at even par, one stroke behind leader K.J. Choi.

Seeing the Great White Shark in the hunt brings me back to my formative years when I first started to enjoy watching golf in the mid-1990s as a pre-teenager. Back then, Norman was the man, even though he rarely pulled through in crunch time (this is the guy who has 29 top 10 finishes in majors but only 2 major titles).

I'll never forget watching Norman's collapse in the final round of the 1996 Masters with a final-round 78. It was agonizing watching the man let a six-shot lead slip away into oblivion and eventually a five-shot defeat with one awful shot after another. When Norman fell to his knees after nearly chipping in for eagle at No. 15, it was the first time I truly realized what a cruel game golf is.

Now Norman is back at the age of 53, providing an interesting storyline. He joins Rocco Mediate and David Duval as the guys within three shots of the lead at the 36-hole mark that you can't help rooting for this weekend.

Norman has a new high-profile wife of less than a month and we all know he has friends in high places. But a victory this weekend would do way more to rekindle Norman's star power than those connections ever could.

By Erik Jacobsen
Staff Writer

I have nothing against Phil Mickelson. I just think he's missed his chance to earn his spot in the pantheon of golfing greats.

The proof was there Thursday when Mickelson carded a 9-over-par 79 in the first round of the British Open at Royal Birkdale. That leaves him in a tie for 123rd place and in line to board a plane back to the States on Friday night.

Some Lefty lovers will point out that Mickelson never performs that well at the British Open while others will say he's been overthinking his appearances in majors lately.

Those are nice excuses, but take a look at Mickelson's recent showings in major tournaments and the decline becomes apparent. Since his meltdown at Winged Foot in the 2006 U.S. Open, Mickelson has only one top-15 finish in a major championship, and that came at this year's Masters where he tied for fifth but finished six strokes off the lead and was never really in contention.

Mickelson was at his peak going into that U.S. Open as the owner of both the Masters and PGA Championship titles. Maybe his collapse caused the downward spiral, but he hasn't really been the same since. Sure, he's won five events in the time since, but Mickelson's showings in the majors are telling, especially for a guy who prepares tirelessly for each major championship.

Lefty is fun to watch when he's on top of his game, but don't count on seeing that much more during his career. But with a beautiful wife and lovely children, things could be much worse for Mickelson.

By Erik Jacobsen
Staff Writer

A pair of PGA Tour pros paid a visit to Black Sheep Golf Club in Sugar Grove on Friday. For Tour rookie Kevin Streelman, the visit was a homecoming.

Streelman was joined by fellow pro Kevin Stadler at the acclaimed private course. Streelman has close ties to Black Sheep and is the course's touring professional.

Streelman is enjoying plenty of success during his first year on the Tour. He's earned $526,516 and is No. 110 on the Tour's money list. He has three top-15 finishes this year.

With the PGA Tour coming close to home, Streelman decided to take this week off and skip the John Deere Classic in Silvis. He'll reportedly return to action next weekend at the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee.