Results tagged “Art Spander” from The Sports Desk

I e-mailed Art Spander, the Bay Area columnist who is writing about the Masters for us this week, and asked for his favorite memories of covering 42 Masters in a row.

"My first, 1967, was Ben Hogan's last," Spander said, "and on Saturday he shot 66, which was like watching Babe Ruth step out of the dugout at Yankee Stadium at age 50 and homer."

Art went on: "Hogan's round, Nicklaus' win at age 46 in 1986 and Tiger's record-breaking victory in 1997, which changed the face golf presented to the world, literally and figuratively, probably are the highlights."

That's Hogan pictured above.

Another great thing about attending so many Masters: "Experiencing the growth change of Augusta from a verative 19th-Century southern town to a 21st Century mini-metropolisis. From few motels and no restaurants other than a House of Pancakes to a place where even a Californian would be satisfied with the food and wine list."

Does anybody out there have a similar streak of attending the same sports event, in Southern California or elsewhere? Share your experiences. We promise to look envious.

We're publishing Art Spander's columns from the Masters this week. Art, the veteran San Francisco Bay Area columnist, has covered more than 40 Masters in a row. Which is nothin' compared to the fact the L.A. native has attended more than 50 Rose Bowls in a row.

With all that experience at Augusta to inform him, Art writes about the difference between past years and this year in the column he filed today: "The Masters was different from the rest, a place of excitement, a place where boldness was rewarded and the responding cheers bounded down the 10th fairway or along the 14th like a big drive from Tiger or in other years Jack or Arnie. Now, as Tiger Woods said, it’s U.S. Open light, or British Open West, golfers playing with care, golfers worrying the next shot might be the one which ruins their chances instead of raising their hopes."

Read the whole column on Friday to see why Art thinks the roar is gone from the Masters.

-- More recommended reading Friday: The Dodgers off-day feature about hot-hitting James Loney by our own Tony Jackson. You've got to like a story that mentions Elisabeth Shue (pictured, above right) before it mentions a baseball player (not pictured).

-- The Daily News' Rich Hammond points out a weird example of East Coast bias: The website for baseball's California League presents game schedules in eastern time. Tonight: Lake Elsinore Storm at Lancaster JetHawks, 10 p.m.