Second Thoughts

Speedster turns down race invite

Bubba Watson of the U.S. celebrates with his champion trophy during the award ceremony of the HSBC Champions golf tournament at the Sheshan International Golf Club in Shanghai, China, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2014.
Bubba Watson of the U.S. celebrates with his champion trophy during the award ceremony of the HSBC Champions golf tournament at the Sheshan International Golf Club in Shanghai, China, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2014.

Golfer Bubba Watson visited the spring training home of the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday in Goodyear, Ariz., to chat with some players on a team he now owns and to challenge one of them to a foot race.

photo

AP

Atlanta Braves pitching coach Roger McDowell.

The two-time Masters champion likes his toys, and he goes out and buys them, including the General Lee from The Dukes of Hazzard. He is also a minority owner of a minor-league baseball team, the Class AA Pensacola Blue Wahoos, which is part of the Reds' farm system.

Once in camp, Watson challenged Reds speedster Billy Hamilton -- who was second in the majors with 56 steals in 2014 -- to a race.

Kind of.

"He chickened out today. He's got to stretch," Watson joked. "They're making him do some physical stuff. He gave me a bat and stuff. He played with the Blue Wahoos and is known for being kind of fast.

"I said, 'I start at second base and he starts at home,' and in the clubhouse, he said he could still beat me. I said, 'There's no chance.' But they're not letting him run right now. They want him to stay healthy, I guess."

Probably a good call.

Forgetful round

An unusual situation played out Thursday at the PGA Honda Classic when rookie Mark Hubbard was disqualified after failing to officially register for the event.

Hubbard began the day as the tournament's first alternate, but he replaced Louis Oosthuizen, who withdrew before his 7:15 a.m. tee time. Hubbard shot a 4-over-par 74 at PGA National before being informed he was disqualified.

While players face "disciplinary action" for failing to register before pro-am or practice rounds, the penalty under the PGA Tour's player code of conduct becomes much steeper once the competition begins.

"A player failing to register prior to his first official tournament round shall be ineligible to participate in the tournament," the policy reads, "unless satisfactory evidence of a mitigating circumstance has been provided to the on-site tournament director."

Hubbard was told of the disqualification via phone by Slugger White, the Tour's vice president of rules and competition.

"I told him I felt bad about it, but there was nothing I could do, unfortunately," White said. "I hate it, I just do. But we've got to know where you are and what you're doing. It's unfortunate."

The incident is not without precedent. Chad Campbell was disqualified prior to the second round of the 2010 Deutsche Bank Championship after failing to register, a result that effectively ended his season.

"It's for their own good because then their insurance kicks in," White said. "You don't need to come out here and hit somebody -- there's a lot of different things."

10-second royalty

It pays to have been on Seinfeld. Just ask Atlanta Braves pitching coach Roger McDowell.

McDowell, who worked as a reliever for 12 major league seasons, made a quick cameo in one of the more memorable episodes of the popular comedy television sitcom. Even though he was on-screen for fewer than 10 seconds, McDowell still gets some money every time his episode airs.

"Braves Pitching Coach Roger McDowell gets a royalty check for $13.52 every time his Seinfeld episode airs," John Kincade of CBS Sports Radio tweeted Wednesday.

McDowell and former teammate Keith Hernandez play themselves in an episode called "The Boyfriend," in which the characters Kramer and Newman recall how someone spat on them after a game at Shea Stadium. At first, the guys accuse Hernandez, but the first baseman said it was actually McDowell who did the spitting.

McDowell doesn't have any lines and is hardly on camera in the episode.

QUIZ

Who was the first American-born black hockey player in the NHL?

ANSWER

Val James played in seven games for Buffalo Sabres in 1982.

Sports on 02/28/2015

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