Gary Larrabee

Catching up on lots of golfie stuff today, starting with the four North Shore favorites who were honored at the annual Massachusetts Golf Association awards dinner at Wellesley Country Club January 10.

They saved the (Ipswich native) Richard D. Haskell MGA Player of the Year presentation for last, but I’ll make Colin Brennan of Indian Ridge first. Colin, the Johnson-Wales University golfer was presented the prestigious award, named for the late MGA executive director, by MGA President Paul Burke, the noted surgeon from Vesper.

Colin had one boffo year, winning the Hornblower (shooting 66 the second day, making up a nine-shot overnight deficit) and North Shore Amateur (with a course-record final round 65). was one of four co-medalists (including Myopia’s Jack Whelan, about whom we will make mention shortly), reached the quarterfinal round of match play, placed fifth at the New England Amateur and won the Tarlow Invitational at Thorny Lea. An outstanding season indeed.

In his acceptance speech, he recognized the “hideous looking” Ping mallet putter that was a major part of his success, as well as the supportive (and positively competitive) Indian Ridge membership (which would include attendee Colin Ahern, John Gilmartin and Web.com player Rob Oppenheim), but most importantly his parents, especiaily dad Peter, his favorite caddy.

Salem CC’s Stephen Dilisio for the fourth straight year received a plaque for wining his division at the State Juniors. No player has ever done that, and now the St. John’s Prep freshman has the chance to write more history at this year’s Junior at Essex County Club in Manchester, the only major event slated for the North Shore in 2013. Stephen, who was joined at his family table by two-time former State Junior champion and former Prep teammate Nick McLaughlin, now at the University of Virginia, won the Pre-Junior Division (14-15 age group) and finished third overall in 2012 at Oakley after copping three successive Boys’ divisions. He’ll be a favorite to win the overall crowns the next few summers and add to a record which may never be broken.

“As he said  at the previous three award dinners and on this night, “I hope to be back right here next year with all of you.”

The aforementioned Whelan received his award for capturing the Francis Ouimet Invitational last summer and North Andover resident Frank Vana Jr., now 50, though he doesn’t look even 40, appeared at the podium for the umteenth consecutive year to go along with his more than a dozen prior MGA titles, including two Amateurs, for winning a record eighth Mid-Amateur, this one at Framingham. After two surgeries last off-season, don’t be surprised if Frank wins several titles this year.

Happy 80th birthday to Ed Whalley (January 15) and happy 73rd (January 21) to Jack Nicklaus.

Tough go of it for Andover’s Briana Vega at LPGA Q-School late last year. It was a lousy enough week when she opened with an 82 and never figured into the opportunity to get through the 72-hole test and make it onto the 2013 Tour. But worse, her car was broken into in a hotel parking lot and a large assortment of Christmas presents were stolen. Keep pluggin’, Briana.

Congrats to Essex County Club product Peter Bronson, now the executive director at PGA de Espana in Madrid. Contact Peter at peterhenrybronson.com. Peter has spent the bulk of his golf career helping grow the game in Europe while working at clubs in Poland, Germany and now Spain, where he is Director of Education for the PGA of Spain and continues serving at the First Warsaw Golf and Country Club, where he runs the Peter Bronson Golf Academy.

None of the North Shore’s worthy clubs made the bi-annual Golf Digest  “America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses” list for 2013/2014. The only Massachusetts layouts to make it were The Country Club at No. 24, Old Sandwich at 68, Boston GC at 74 and Kittansett at 84. For the first time GD listed  “The Second 100 Greatest, and Eastward Ho! in Chatham, where Peabody native Brian Hamilton is approaching his 20th season as head professional, was ranked 174.

In listing the best courses per state, in the Bay State top 20 Essex CC was ranked No. 5, Myopia No. 6, Salem No. 7, Eastward Ho! No. 9 and Turner Hill No. 13. Congrats to you all

Essex, Myopia and Salem did not qualify for being listed in the top 100 or 200 because, as the magazine stated, none of those great tracks received the minimal number of evaluations required (45)  over the past eight years by a magazine course rater.

We have three magnificent Donald Ross courses hereabouts (Salem, Essex, Kernwood), a Herbert Leeds gem in Myopia and an outstanding Hurdzan/Fry modern layout in Turner Hill, one of Robert Trent Jones Sr.’s final routings in Ipswich CC, plus assorted others that golfing visitors always consider a treat to play, imost significantly Tedesco.  I will share my 2013 North Shore course ratings down the road.

The Danvers High boys’ basketball team keeps making history every time they take the floor. Last night’s 70-40 cakewalk at St. Mary’s of Lynn made it a school record 11 straight to start the season, and only 8-3 Beverly, hosting the Falcons next Tuesday at 7 p.m., stand between the defending Division 3 state champions and an 18-0 record heading into the four-team Comcast Tournament at Babson College February 17-18 that includes Boston Globe Top 20 teams Brighton (No. 13, 6-3), Boston College High (No. 7, 8-2) and Newton North (No. 16, 8-2)  three Division 1 teams. Those two games will be great tuenups for the Falcons for the post-season.

Speaking of ratings, today’s Boston Globe Top 20 shows a remarkable package at the summit. Following No. Lawrence Central Catholic at 10-1 stands No. 2 St. John’s Prep and No. 3 Danvers, both at 11-0, a first for the schools separated by two miles. In past springs, one might have found the Prep and Danvers baseball teams, still coached by a pair of legends, Danvers native Pat Yanchus at St. John’s and Ipswich native Roger Day at Danvers, in those lofty ranked slots. Now we see it in basketball.

Even more impressive, the ESPN Boston State of Massachusetts rankings have the Falcons third and the Prep fifth. It’s a shame we couldn’t enjoy a Danvers-Prep battle of unbeatens this weekend in a packed DHS fieldhouse or Memorial Gymnasium at the Prep. Ahhhh, but how would we have known??

Simply amazing, when one realizes Danvers boys basketball had not won a Northeastern Conference title since 1975, let alone been considered a state power. That is now in fact the case as we turn into the second half of the regular season and cautiously set our sights on what should be a terrific state title run for both the Eagles and Falcons.

Even without the departed George Merry, the 6-8 pivotman who is now playing at WPI, the Falcons are displaying a defensive intensity, offensive firepower and overall killer instinct that has never been seen before by this pair of eyes, and I’ve been following DHS baskets since 1960. Yes, I’m old.

Coach John Walsh has integrated sophomore Eric Clifford, who scored a team-record eight three-pointer at St. Mary’s, into a unit that loves playing defense — and pressing — as much as they love scoring at the other end.  Veterans Eric Martin, Nick Bates, Nick McKenna and Dan Connors are playing as hungry as a year ago at season’s start when they had no idea they were on the way to posting a 21-4 record and winning their first Division 3 and state titles. They look as formidable this time around without big man Merry. After 11 games the Falcons are beating their opponents by an average of 72-45. Utterly unbelievable — but true.  The Tom Brady Patriots Era has been amazing, but none moreso than what John Walsh and the Falcons have accomplished in less than two years.

Walsh and his staff deserve a great deal of credit for motivating a group that could have felt fat and content after last winter’s marvelous accomplishments. Clearly they have every intention to successfully defend their Division 3 championship. Their first NEC title in 38 years is a given. Yep, they finished second to Winthrop in NEC Small a year ago.

We kick off our 2013 rants and raves on a somber note, marking the passing of some very special people from here on Boston’s North Shore.

Bob Gillis, one of the golfing Gillis brothers from Beverly and the 37-year head golf professional at Bass Rocks Golf Club in Gloucester, died on Christmas Eve in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, where he and wife Pauline spent the past 20 years in retirement. He was 84.

Bob was one of 12 children, two others of whom also made their living in the golf industry. Brother Jim was a successful club professional as well, the bulk of his career spent serving as head golf pro at Portland (Maine) Country Club. John Gillis, meanwhile, enjoyed a productive career in golf product sales.

Bob as a youth was a pinsetter at the Beverly Bowl-O-Mat and United Shoe (now Beverly Golf and Tennis) Country Club and won the Beverly city bowling title five successive years in the 1950s. But golf was the game withn which his name would become synonymous.

After serving in World War II he worked briefly for Tom Mahan Sr. at “The Shoe,” then became an assistant professional at Oak Hill in Fitchburg before securing his first head pro post at Intervale in Manchester, N.H. That’s where he met Pauline, who was one of his students. He also was heda pro at Concord (N.H.) before landing what he called his dream job at Bass Rocks in 1957.

Bob and Pauly were the perfect fit as husband/wife and father/mother to six children, including son Dan, who followed in his dad’s footsteps and currently serves as head pro at Londonderry CC in New Hampshire.

Bob and Pauly ran the Bass Rocks golf operation like a fine-tuned machine. They made   thousands of friends along the way. Bob never claimed to be much of a competitive player, but could he teach — and sell. Thanks to his guidance, in some cases with one small tip, in other cases through a series of lessons that made a world of difference, Bob helped make champions out of a lot of good players among his members, chief examples being John Frithsen, Richie Burke, Norma Harris Tarr and Rollie Brooks. Son Dan, of course, was his favorite protege of all.

Bob also made his mark with the New England PGA, serving as the organization’s treasurer for seven years, being named NEPGA Professional of the Year in 1970 and getting elected to the NEPGA Hall of Fame in 2000.

Personally, Bob was as fine a local club professional as I dealt with in my 25 years covering golf for The Salem Evening News; always upbeat, cooperative, helpful in every way imaginable in making my job easier.

I learned a lot about the man when I caddied for him in a qualifying round at Indian Ridge for the Hospital Open back in the late 1960s. This was my first acquaintance with the man, and he could not have been nicer in making my looping experience enjoyable, no matter what he shot, which was in the low 80s. He did not qualify for the tournament proper, but that marked the beginning of a wonderful relationship we enjoyed spanning more than 30 years.

There won’t be another like him.

Our condolences also go out to a four other North Shore families; the Connellys of Danvers on the passing of Warren, a popular player at Ferncroft and Beverly; the Salem Willows Berrys on the death, at 86, of Eleanor “Bubbles” Berry; the McGees of Lynn after the death, at 88, of former Massachusetts House Speaker Thomas McGee; and the Barry Gallup family of Swampscott and Wellesley on the passing, at 26, of Lisa Ann Gallup.

A few words on Bubbles. That was the perfect name for one of the best known and most beloved members of the Berry clan of 7 Columbus Square. Wife of the equally popular George Berry, Bubbles loved her city, her family, the opportunity to serve as the hostess with the mostess, and gaming Las Vegas style. I got to know Bubbles and George through their neighbors and mutual dear friends George and Caudia Hennessey. Bubbles was bubbly — and fiery. She was a million laughs wherever she was and at the same time could take you to task, all with a hug. I was privileged to attend about ten of the Berrys’ renowned Super Bowl Sunday parties that always started promptly at high noon with bloody Mary’s. She delighted in putting on the shindig for hubby and his buddies such as the aforementioned Hennessey, Brad Sheridan, Bob McKenna, Mo Morency, John Moustakis and many others whose names escape me. I would often be the latest arrival, in late afternoon, after covering the traditional noontime Celtics-Lakers (or other big name opponent) nationally televised NBA game from the Garden. Bubbles would make me feel like the Prodigal Son when I staggered in the door, giving me hugs and beverages and food until she felt I had caught up with the rest of the guys. Bubbles and Supt. Larry McIntire made a terrific team at the Salem Rec department for many years. She now belongs to the ages. I imagine she’s in heaven right now with the late great George Hennessey, establishing a “V” Bar (One Barton Square Lounge) in the sky. The laughs we had there.

A few words on Tom McGee. Golf has been an incredible blessing in my life for a hundred different reasons, one of which has been meeting some amazing people from all walks of life. Tom McGee was one of those amazing people.  I met him for the first time when I caddied in an NEPGA Pro-Am at Merrimac Golf Club around 1968. Alvie Raymond, the tournament starter for the NEPGA, pointed out Paul Barkhouse, the top-playing assistant at Happy Valley, to me in the Merrimac parking lot and McGee, a life-long member at the Valley (now Larry Gannon GC) was his amateur partner.

Next thing you know Barkie plays three years on the PGA Tour, returns to New England and gets the head pro job at Ferncroft CC after founding pro Bill Ezinicki moves on to The International. McGee was a member at Ferncroft and by now I was writing sports for The News. Over the years McGee, golf chum Bill O’Donnell (the greyhound racing king) and Barkie gave me more scoops than I ever could have dreamed of, i.e. post-round interviews at Ferncroft with Joe DiMaggio, Willie Mays and Brent Musberger, among others.

Congrats to two local high school coaches who have climbed to extraordinary summits. To Jane Heil on capturing her 500th victory as Peabody High girls’ basketball coach, ably assisted for many of those wins by husband Bob, and to Roger Day, who will be inducted into the Massachusetts High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame January 29 in Westborough. Day, also an outstanding football quarterbacks coach /offensive coordinator, has taken the Danvers High baseball team to heights never before known, i.e. 12 Northeastern Conference titles in 14 years, a state championship and a 392-171 record.

Best to you all ’til next time.

Sadly, more to discuss on the “dislike” side than the “love” side today, but here goes:

• There are no words for what transpired in Newtown, Conn., last Friday, except why, why, why, why. It all stems from Adam Lanza, of course, and how responsible people, especially his family, did not recognize the danger he represented in his behavior prior to his heinous act. His mother paid the worst imaginable price to start, then 27 innocents. Lord have mercy on us all. From Columbine to Virginia Tech to Newtown, why, why, why, and how can we put an end to this madness of all madnesses????? Please keep praying for all people touched by this hideous episode.
• The Newton tragedy touched our family closer than we could have imagined. One of the children killed was the daughter of Jeff Previte and his wife. Jeff was a member of the wedding party when my god-daughter, Amanda Larrabee of Bishop Fenwick fame (Catholic Central League field hockey MVP as a senior), married her husband, Craig Stoddard, at St. Mary Star of the Sea Parish Church in Beverly.
• The Patriots defense, after last night, proved it does not measure up as a unit capable of taking the Patriots to the Super Bowl and victory. No pass rush til the end. Horrendous secondary play for most of the evening. Bill Belichik is no more a defensive genius than the incarnation of Tinkerbell. He has relied on Tom Brady and the offense to make it happen game after game, year after year. Well, if they’re Super Bowl worthy, they’ll have to win two road games, most likely at Denver and Houston, to make it to New Orleans. I hate the defense, the secondary in particular, but still love the offense, even after last night’s first half failures. Stephen Ridley may not be in the offensive backfield after his latest fumble. Hopefully Rob Gronkowski will make all the difference in making the Pats’ offense unstoppable for the post-season. Don’t expect to see him til then. Bottom line, though, as long as Brady is healthy the Patriots will have some kind of a chance.
• How much of a difference can Avery Bradley mean to the Celtics’ defense? We’ll hopefully find out sooner rather than later.
• Colleen Walker, one of the 11 champions of the Boston Five LPGA Classic, which ran at Ferncroft Country Club in Danvers/Middleton/Topsfield from 1980-1990, died recently, at 56, of cancer. She won the event in 1988 with a record-tying score of 274, 14 under par, and a record-winning margin of eight strokes. The Floridian won the Vare Trophy for low stroke average on tour that year as well. She also won one major, the 1997 du Maurier in Canada. The Boston Five was her second tour win in what evolved into an exceptional playing career. She won nine LPGA titles total. She had beaten breast cancer in 2003-2004 before the cancer resurfaced in 2011.
• Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and the best of all years in 2013 to all who read these musings.

A few things to get off my mind with Christmas a mere two weeks away:

• As we are blessed to grow older (I’m less than two years from the milestone 6-5), we also must deal with additional grief as special people in our lives, for brief or lengthy stints, pass from this life to the next. Among those most recently in this category are Ray Frost, father of nationally known golf teacher Jane Frost; Miles Herter and Dr. Arthur Kavanagh, long-time Salem Country Club member and a respected obstetrician and gynecologic surgeon. They will be missed.
• In the biggest of all athletic pictures, spanning three seasons nonetheless, the North Shore of Boston may have observed no more successful high school coach than Steve Sawyer of Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School. The amazing dominance of his cross country and winter/spring track teams defies belief. For the latest mastery by his harriers, check out the 12-12-12 edition of The Salem News and his latest recognition as, once again, as “Coach of the Year.”
• Once again Tom Brady has the Patriots — and their army of fans — thinking Super Bowl, and how can you blame them (us) after Tom Terrific and the bteam’s performance against Houston Monday night on national television.  Home field is important but not mandatory for the Patriots to become only the soixth franchise to win four Super Bowls. But if they pull it off — a huge if at this point — Brady would match Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana, his idol, as the only players to quarterback four Super Bowl champions. Currently he and Troy Aikman share the No. 3 slot with three titles each. If the Pats reach New Orleans for the February 3 showdown, Brady will become the first QB to lead his team to six Super Bowl games.  I’ll keep wearing my Brady game jersey and hope we don’t get crestfallen once again when prospects look so rosy. I shudder at the thought of Brady retiring, but it’s going to happen. Hopefully not until he wins two more Super Bowls. The Brady-Belichik reign continues. How could we get so fortunate?
• Tom Watson as the next U.S. Ryder Cup captain? Brilliant choice.
• UMass football moving its games to Foxboro was a dumb decision. The faster the school moves its games back on campus the better off they’ll be.
• It doesn’t get any better than the 2012 venues, Salem and Kernwood, but the New England PGA Championship gets another pair of gems in 2013 when Wannamoisett and Ledgemont host the 93rd event August 19-21.
• My prediction for the regular season record of the defending Division 3 state champion Danvers High boys basketball team: 2 losses, no more.

Some thoughts golf, sports and otherwise as we get into the joyful Christmas/Holiday  season here on Boston’s famed North Shore.

• Weird goings on in the National Football League, just the way we like ’em as we move into make-or-break month.
• SI’s Peter King goes overboard this week in again posting the Patriots as No. 1 in his NFL rankings. Does he see something we cynical, “when’s something really bad gonna happen” Pats fans don’t? Hope he’s right, though.
• Every game Wes Welker plays should convince Bill Belichik and Bob Kraft to re-sign him, last year’s Super Bowl slip notwithstanding.
• Marvel at Tom Brady even on his off days, folks, for when he retires to his southern California estate with Gisele and the kids, we’ll never see his likes again.
• No matter what you read or hear about Jovan Belcher, remember, he was a coward first and foremost, and a double murderer second.
• Georgia football coach Mark Richt should be tarred and feathered in Athens for mismanaging the clock in the final minute Saturday against Alabama. Manage the clock properly and the Bulldogs are going to Miami to take on St. John’s Prep grad Brian Kelly and his Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Instead we must put up with the insufferable Nick Saban, a close buddy of Belichik.
• Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III are something special.
• Kobe Bryant has his issues, but he is one superb quote machine and candid superstar. Loved the way he called out teammate Pau Gasol.
• Lebron James as Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year? Horrible selection.
• A lost weekend for our Greater Boston hopefuls trying to make it through the PGA and LPGA Qualifying schools. North Quincy’s Mike Welch (429) and Andover’s Rob Oppenheim (435) both missed the exalted top 25 (415) by a mile.  Rob is back on the Web.com Tour in 2013; not sure about Welch, who won the 2003 New England Amateur at Salem. North Andover’s Brianna Vega missed by two miles in the LPGA qualifier. It took a score of 357. She shot 303 and missed the 72-hole cut in the 90-hole test. My favorite named player, Brooke Pancake, made the grade. Former U.S. Open winner Birdie Kim missed. Stunning to see Patrick Cantlay finish T95 at the PGA qualifying with a minus-8 score for 108 holes. He need -17 to get into a playoff for the final slots.
• Congrats to Andover CC’s Colin Brennan for winning the 2012 Richard D. Haskell MGA Player of the Year. A senior at Johnson & Wales University in Florida, Colin was co-medalist with three others, all at even-par 140, at the Massachusetts Amateur at Tedesco and advanced to the quarterfinals before falling to Ben Spitz, 1 up. He won the North Shore Amateur at Far Corner with a course record closing 65 for a 137 total and a four-shot victory. He also won the Tarlow Invitational at Thorny Lea with a tournament-record 68-64-132 total, eight under par and placed fifth at the New England Amateur. Nine-time Player of the Year Frank Vana of North Andover finished third this time around with 538 points; Brennan’s aggregate was 689.
• The NHL players? Stupid. NHL owners? Stupider.
• The Celtics look like a marginal playoff team currently at best. Same for the Lakers. Not what the NBA wants to see from the two winningest franchises in league history. This could be Paul Pierce’s swan song, no matter where the Celts finish.
• Thirty nine million for three years for Mike Napoli?  Is he a lock for the Hall of Fame?? Crazy. I am not a Ben Cherington fan. His free agent signings so far have been horrific.
• Defending Division 3 state champion Danvers looks to be one of those meat grinder teams this year with a suffocating pressing defense that should minimize the impacy of the loss of graduated all-scholastic center George Merry. Look for the Falcons to make a strong run at another state title and, before that, a Northeastern Conference championship.
• Happy December 7 birthday, Larry Bird.
• More later.

After a disappointing finish to his 2012 Web.com Tour season, North Shore native Rob Oppenheim regained top form last week at the Second Stage of PGA Tour Qualifying School, capturing medalist honors at The Plantation Reserve in Florida by four strokes.

Rob, Salem-born and Andover (Indian Ridge CC)-bred, blew away an impressive field with scores of 63-67-66-67 for 263, 21 under par.

He had had a strong first-half season on the Web.com and had placed himself comfortably among the top 25 money winners. If he had maintained that pace for the remainder of the season he would havde earned a spot on the 2013 PGA Tour. But he stumbled the second half and finished 42nd with $132,000 in earnings, when it took $182,000 to finish No. 25.

Rob now moves on to the 108-hole final Q-School event starting next Monday (Nov. 26) and finishing December 1. More than 200 hopefuls will be vying for the coveted 25 qualifying slots.

Mike Welch of Quincy, former winner of the New England Amateur at Salem CC, also advanced by placing sixth at the Brooksville, Fla., qualifier, shooting 275 and placing sixth. Lakeville’s Jim Renner missed with a 288 aggregate. Kevin Johnson, son of the late Ken (of Peabody) and Anne (of Salem) Johnson, placed 45th at the same qualifier, shooting 287.

Former Salem CC golf director Kirk Hanefeld was not as fortunate at the Champion’s Q-School final tournament at TPC Eagle Trace in Coral Springs, Fla. Hanefeld, 56, the current director of the Golf Academy at Renaissance in Haverhill, shot 291, three over par, good for a tie for 44th place. The medalist was Gene Jones at 275, 13 under. There was a 4-for-2 playoff for the last two qualifying slots for the 2013 Champions Tour (Nos. 4 and 5) at 282, six under.

Eddie Kirby of Alpine in Rhode Island, winner of the 2012 NEPGA at Kernwood and Salem in August, shot 300.

Hanefeld was hoping for one more run at the over-50 tour after experiencing some outstanding tournaments the last six years. He has won $736,765 in career earnings and had several top 10 finishes. He played in three events in 2011 and won $17,000 and change, one event in 2012 and won $1120.

Tim Lynch, a fixture on the North Shore (of Boston) country club scene for 16 years, has moved on from his most recent assignment at Kernwood, spanning 14 years, to assume the position of general manager at the Country Club of Naples in southwest Florida.

“It’s been a grand experience the last 14 years at Kernwood — wonderful people, wonderful staff, a great golf course and clubhouse,” said Lynch, who got his start at the Doral Resort in Miami. He has also worked at premier clubs on Long Island and Cape Cod.

A Navy veteran and a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Lynch upgraded every aspect of country club life during his tenure at Kernwood, one of Greater Boston’s most prestigious clubs. He is prticularly proud of the work he did in upgrading the food programs with executive chef Jake Sztrykler.

He also was gratified with the appreciation shown him by the membership during times of crisis at Kernwood. “The routine stuff you handled with your best effort anyway,” Lynch said. “But when we were thrust into crisis mode and the entire Kernwood family came together to deal with those issues in the most appropriate and considerate ways, well, that made me proudest.”

As of the posting of this item, Kernwood was continuing the process of finding a successor to Lynch, the longest serving clubhouse/general manager in the club’s 98-year history.

Observations and opinions as Hurricane Sandy (my favorite cousin’s name, God rest her soul) whips up a nasty gale outside my home office in Wenham, Massachusetts, 01984:

• Never give up — at anything. Just look at what the San Francisco Giants pulled off. World Series  No. 2 in three years.
• The other Giants, the New York footballers, can definitely now lay claim as the luckiest team in the NFL, witness their ridiculously lucky win over the Cowboys yesterday in Texas. Exhibit A — on the way to scoring the winning touchdown, Coach Jason Garrett calls three straight pass plays on 2nd and 1 deep in Giants territory, though the ‘Boys have plenty of time left and all three timeouts. Idiocy. Exhibit 2 — Phenomenal catch by Dez Bryant in the end zone with only seconds left — on a heave from the unpredictable Tony Romo — but is ruled incomplete after the play is reviewed upstairs, because Bryant’s finger was on the backline as he came down on the ground. The NY Giants are truly charmed, as if we Patriots fans can forget how they won the 2007 and 2012 Super Bowls.
• Tough finish for our local favorite Rob Oppenheim in the final Web,com Tour event yesterday in Texas. His 283 aggregate left him in 41st place on the money list, forcing him back to PGA Tour Q school in November if he wants to improve upon his Web.com Tour standing for 2013. After a terrific first half of the season, Rob struggled badly the second half and finished 50 grand out of the coveted 25th and final slot, which would have earned him an automatic place on the ’13 PGA Tour.
• Hurricane Sandy is a nice break for President Obama; gives him a wonderful chance to show him in “Presidential Mode” one week from the election. No way Mitt Romney can compete with that.
• Fantastic victory by St. John’s Prep graduate Brian Kelley and his Notre Dame Fighting Irish Saturday in Norman, Oklahoma. Now No. 3 in the BCS standings. Not too shabby for the former Assumption College player.
• Solid choice by the Red Sox front office in tabbing John Farrell as the new manager. Who else should they have named?? Casey Stengal? Let’s hope this is a better move than some of the player personnel decisions GM Ben Cherington made after Theo Epstein left for the Chicago Cubs.
• They don’t get much dumber than the NHL owners, players and commissioner.
• Celtics are ranked just about where they deserve to be heading into the new NBA season. If all they’re players perform up to their promise, don’t be surrprised to see them in the Eastern Conference finals next May.
• The Patriots restored a small portion of our faith in them after their London wipe out of the St. Louis Rams. Bottom line: if they stay healthy and Tom Brady plays more like he did in London than the previous few weeks, a trip to New Orleans is not such a stretch.
• Amazing how incumbents prefer attacking their challengers than telling the populace what they have accomplished while in office. That sort of behavior tells me they haven’t got much to be proud of as our lawmakers.
• Happy Halloween. See you at Haunted Happenings in Salem on the 31st.

Golf season winding down in these parts around Greater Boston, but still some beautiful days to be had, like today.  Enjoy them while you can. But, more to the point, a few observations:

• The Patriots rank as one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL after seven games — no offense in the fourth quarters, putrid secondary. Need I say more? I’m convinced head coach Bill Belichick has lost his touch. Horrendous draft choices in recent years in the secondary and his sidekick, Josh McDaniels, can’t figure out how to make the offense properly productive when the heat is on. It appears Tom Brady is on the downside of his career, which is no surprise at the age of 35.
• Golf Digest magazine’s Jerry Tarde was right on the mark with his list of the “top 10 candidates for having the best year in golf,” 2012, led by Condi Rice, who was accepted as a member at Cypress and Augusta National. Locally, hopefully we can add Salem Country Club’s membership to the list if the USGA accepts their invitation to host the 2017 U.S. Senior Open before New Year’s Day.
• Visited Highland Links in Truro, Mass., for the first time recently. A wonderfully quirky nine-hole course (opened in 1892) hard by the Atlantic Ocean that’s a “must play” when I return to Harwichport in 2013.
• Poignantl tributes held recently to mark the passing of Red Sox legend Johnny Pesky. The Boston Globe ran a photo of Roger Clemens and Pedro Martinez attending one of those farewells, but the caption left out the other chap pictured — none other than local (Peabody, Mass.) hero John Tudor, who pitched well for the Hose but took his game to another level firing away for the Cardinals and the Dodgers.
• Congrats to old boss Bill Kipouras, who will be inducted into the Massachusetts Hockey Hall of Fame on November 14. No sportswriter of our time loves the game, at all levels, more than “Kipper,” another Peabody product.
• The game of golf will thrive with remarkable destinations like Bandon Dunes, Hawaii and the British Isles/Ireland, but it may continue losing players if it does not bring its prices down on equipment. Four hundred bucks for a driver?? Two hundred and change for a putter? Heaven help us.
• Brandel Chamblee continues his rise as a prominent voice in the game both in print and on television. He wrote a terrific article in the October issue of Golf magazine comparing Tiger Woods’s achievements to Jack Nicklaus’s. Interesting… both last names end in “s.” Anyway, Chamblee makes several valid points while making the case that Jack’s playing record is superior to Tiger’s, including the argument that Jack faced far better competition in his competitive years. Amen to that.
• National Hockey League players are dumb, but the owners are dumber. Haven’t we been down this “lock-out” road  recently? How can both sides be so dumb? Bottoml ine: the owners can’t be saved from themselves. Idiots.
• Congrats to David Lane for winning the NEPGA Massachusetts Chapter championship at Vesper with an even par 72; and to Renaissance’s Kirk Hanefeld for finishing T-8 at the 24th Southworth Senior PGA Professional National Championship in Virginia, the same event the former Salem CC golf director won a year ago. His T-8 shopwing earns him a berth in next year;s Senior PGA Championship at Bellerive outside St. Louis.
• Andover-bred Rob Oppenheim needs to win this weeks Web.com Championsip, or finish in the top five, to finish in the top 25 money list and earn his PGA Tour card for 2013. After a terrific first half of the year, the Indian Ridge favorite has stumbled the second half and stands with $124,000. The player in 25th place has $168,000. So newly-wed Rob needs a great week to avoid dealing with Q-School the next couple months.
• Lost a special man recently with the passing of former Boston Bruin and long-time club professional Bill Ezinicki. “Ezzie” lived in Danvers, on Lindall Hill, next to the former Hunt Memorial Hospital, for a few years while serving as the first professional at Topsfield/Ferncroft Country Club, starting in 1969. Peter Dalton, later a golf equipment/apparel salesman par excellence, was his assistant. Bill moved to The International in Bolton in 1974 and served as head pro through 1996. He was a terrific competitor on the ice and the fairways. He won two NEPGA titles and three NEPGA Senior championships. He played deliberately, spoke in a slow cadence that you never forgot, dressed like his idol, Ben Hogan, and made every acquaintance feel like a new friend. He will be missed.
• It came as no surprise to me, nor to any of the millions of others who have been a patient at Massachusetts General Hospital over the last quarter century, when “The General” earned the No. 1 ranking, slightly ahead of Johns Hopkins Hospital, in U.S. News and World Report’s  annual “Best Hospitals” issue for 2012. You only need to have one complete patient experience at MGH to understand why it has been among the highest rated hospital in America — and the world — for many years. Bravo to all at MGH, epsecially to my docs: Richard Bringhurst, David Rattner, Patrick Ellinor, Erica Riley and Denna Nguyen. We are blessed beyond words to have such remarkable medical institutions in Greater Boston, including Brigham and Women’s (No. 8 on the magazine list this year) and Beth Israel Deaconness. IF MGH could only improve upon its unedible food.