The next Bill Murray movie may not draw big in St. Louis.
The actor, funnyman, baseball enthusiast and noted Chicago Cubs fan took aim at the rival St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday, as he played in the John Deere Classic pro-am golf tournament in Silvis, Ill.
This wasn't any jab, though. Murray said Cardinals fans are aligned with Satan.
"Murray found time for almost everyone who approached him Wednesday, especially if you were a little kid or a pretty girl," wrote Don Doxsie of the Quad City Times. "If you were a St. Louis Cardinals fan? Maybe not. Murray, wearing a floppy hat and a blue and gold paisley shirt that was perpetually untucked, began bantering with the masses before he took his first swing. He asked if any fans saw his beloved Cubs sweep St. Louis in a doubleheader Tuesday. One woman behind the ropes said she was a Cardinals fan."
"Satan's messengers on Earth," was the way Murray described the Cardinals, adding, "And then it turns out your team is cheaters, too."
Uh oh, Murray was hitting the Cardinals about the recent hacking scandal, too.
The question becomes whether the Best Fans in Baseball can shake off the musings of a Cubs-loving funnyman. It could be that St. Louis fans just endorse Dan Aykroyd as their new favorite Ghostbuster and move on. Bill Murray is too unpredictable a foe.
One and down
Justin Rose hit an elderly spectator on the head with a wayward drive at the Scottish Open on Friday and the sight of the wound caused a 14-year-old boy to faint.
On-course medics rushed to the scene to attend to the elderly man and the teenager, who had been revived by other spectators.
"Fortunately, the older chap was OK," said Rose, the defending Scottish Open champion after a second consecutive 4-under 66 gave him a share of the clubhouse lead at 8 under with Ireland's Shane Lowry.
"I saw a bit of blood, and that's never a good sight," Rose said. "He was an elderly gent, but he took it all incredibly well...
"And bless the young fellow. He got a bit weak at the knees but fortunately he came around quite quickly."
Rose, a former U.S. Open winner, said he would send the injured man a few signed items as an apology.
Open issues
Though the golf world got a tournament that went down to the wire at last month's U.S. Open with Jordan Spieth's victory, host Chambers Bay and the United States Golf Association came under fire for myriad issues for players and fans alike.
USGA Executive Director Mike Davis opened up Friday, offering some candor about two regrets he had about how his organization handled the unique venue.
Speaking at the U.S. Women's Open in Lancaster, Pa., Davis said he wished fans could have enjoyed a better viewing experience and admitted he should have been more open with the players about poor conditions on the putting surfaces.
Most fans at Chambers Bay were confined to grandstand seating throughout the championship. The hilly course was difficult to traverse for the average fan and a lack of flat viewing areas made it almost impossible to follow groups around the course. Davis said the issues were underestimated.
"We knew it was going to be hard, but, honestly, we didn't know it was going to be that hard," Davis said, according to Golf Channel. "We were so focused on spectator safety."
QUIZ
What was the name of Bill Murray's character in the 1980 movie Caddyshack?
ANSWER
Carl Spackler
Sports on 07/11/2015