Point of Information: Brexit

Editor’s Note: With this post, we start a new category of subject material: Point of Information. A Point of Information is a feature of a parliamentary debate that allows one party to bring up a fact (or facts) about a particular subject matter under debate. If you’re interested in the topic, click here for further details (or, for Points of Information on Point of Information). The concept/strategy with this type of post is simple: more information and facts, without opinion, to enable intelligent consideration or debate of an issue or subject. The first installment is on the economic decision of our time: BREXIT or Great Britain’s possible exit from the European Union. 
Point of Information: Wall Street Journal short video on the unknowns of Brexit

Where to watch the Final Round of the 2016 U.S. Open

The coverage is everywhere…but it’s not necessarily easy to find because Fox moves it around. Here’s where you can see the final round of the 2016 U.S. Open…plus…maybe the coolest way to watch on Father’s day is by using one of the U.S. Open apps (see the very last listing):
Television
FS1
7AM-9AM EDT
FOX
11AM-8PM EDT
FOX Desportes
4PM-8PM EDT
Live Streaming
usga.com
U.S. Open apps

Watching the 24 Hours of Le Mans

Paying Attention: One of the world’s great automobile races–and the world’s greatest endurance race–is the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The race takes place on Saturday, 18 June 2016-Sunday, 19 June 2016. Here’s the viewing schedule for those in the United States, courtesy of Fox Sports.
June 18-19 – 24 Hours of Le Mans (all times ET and subject to change):
– FS2: 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.
– FS1: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
– FS2: 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
– FS2: 6 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
– FS2: 7 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
– FS2: 10:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. (June 19)
– FS1: 2:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. (June 19)
*The entire race will be streamed live on FOX Sports GO

Playing by The Rules: Le Mans

Paying Attention: This Saturday, the 18th of June, the world’s most famous and longest running endurance race, The 24 Hours of Le Mans, takes place at Circuit Le Sarthe in Le Mans, France. The race has been run since 1923 and is considered one of the three “must-see” automobile races, the other two being the Monte Carlo Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500. Le Mans is a tough race and a tough ticket: only the very best sports car racing teams from around the world are invited to attend. The entry fee is $50,000 and is non-refundable.

 
If you want to know what it takes to run in the 24 Hours of Le Mans (besides the approximate $500,000-$1,500,000 budget required to run the car for the weeks long event), here’s the bottom line: the official rules of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. 
If you’re looking for a less technical interpretation of the rules, this excellent presentation by the FIA(Federation Internationale de L’Automobile, the international ruling body of sports car racing), will provide you with an entertaining overview of the race.
This is the first in a series of posts about the 24 Hours of Le Mans. There’s more to come (for at least the next 24 Hours).
 
The Fine Print: Image courtesy of Getty Images. We thank them for their generosity in sharing.
 
 

The 2016 U.S.Open at Oakmont: A Guide to the Most Difficult Golf Tournament of the Year

Press Clippings: Today, Thursday 16 June 2016, the U.S. Open golf tournament starts. This year, it will be played for the 9th time at OAKMONT Country Club. From the press reviews and from the player’s perspective, this U.S. Open will be the toughest, most difficult test of golfing skills the players will face all year. It’s always supposed to be that way at the Open–it’s a tradition to play the tournament (which rotates every year to a different course in the U.S.) on courses that test every facet of a player’s game. At Oakmont, players will not only be tested on the physical component of their game, but on the mental component as well. You can play well at Oakmont, but if you don’t think well, you’re probably still going to post a high score in a sport in which the low score wins.  Asked for a prediction on what the winning score will be, Jordan Spieth, who won the U.S. Open last year (played at Chambers Bay), said above par was a possibility–1 to 5 strokes over par. Here are 4 of the unique hazards players will face at Oakmont, which is a course unlike any other.
No trees.

Oakmont has razed all the trees. Approximately 14,000 of them in over a a decade. That means that the sight lines that players typically used to line up their tee shots and other approach shots are missing. There are no trees to hit but also no trees to assist in getting into the right position for the next shot. The landscape is very barren and the membership is proud of it. Better have a very good, very precise course book. The lack of trees will make this U.S. Open very tough.
Drainage ditches.

Oakmont has drainage ditches that parallel the fairways of 10 holes on the course. These are ditches first and drainage channels second.  They are deep and planted with fescue grass. At one point in time they served to channel water off and away from the course but they are more of competitive speed brake now.  If a player lands a ball in one of these ditches, he’s in for a high score and a bad day, especially if he opts to try and play the ball out of the ditch versus just taking the one stroke penalty and getting on it. The drainage ditches are going to ruin more than a few rounds. They are unique to Oakmont and, as one writer put it, form a very individualistic form of non-water water hazard.
Hard, fast greens.

Players like soft greens. Soft greens means that approach shots stick and the surface is slower, so putts don’t over-run on missed shots. Not so at Oakmont. The greens at Oakmont have all the softness of a billiard table. They are hard, fast, quick. Two putting is a viable strategy. Miss on a downhill putt and the come-back putt can be much longer and much more difficult. The greens are so fast that putting uphill at Oakmount can be more treacherous than putting downhill at other courses. So, think of it this way: you hit a solid drive, right down the center of the fairway. Knock your approach shot to within 10 feet of the hole. And then, awaiting you, is one of the fastest greens in all of golf. There is no relief (do not be surprised if you see players praying for rain during this weekend, in hopes the course will soften up) at Oakmont. Solve one problem and another one or two come into view. Challenging to say the least.
The Church Pew Bunker

 
Oakmont has one of the most unique bunkers in all of golf: the “Church Pew Bunker”, located between the 3rd and 4th fairways. This is a large sand bunker with “turf islands” positioned inside the bunker. There are 12 of these turf islands and they are hazardous in more ways than one. The turf islands (pews) are approximately 3 feet high, two -to three feet from the edge of the bunker with approximately 4 to 6 feet of sand between each turf island. Sounds like a handful? It is. A very, very, difficult bunker that’s easy to get into and extremely difficult to get out of. And totally unique to Oakmont.
The U.S. Open begins today. Watch the coverage via the channels listed below:
 

For Thursday, 16 June 2016 (Coverage varies by channel)

Television:

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET — FOX Sports 1

5 to 8 p.m. — FOX

Streaming (online)

USOpen.com

7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.

7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.

FOX Sports Go

10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.

You can listen to the U.S. open via PGA Tour Radio on Sirius-XM (Ch. 93/208), on air from noon to 8PM

And don’t forget the coverage provided by the Golf Channel (“Live from the U.S. Open”)…they’ve got some terrific commentators (Nobilo, Chamblee, and Duval are very, very good) and lots of perspective on the event.

And, finally, a Clickpak of best articles, resources, and posts about the U.S. Open.

U.S. Open Leaderboard

Interactive Course Map

TV Coverage from SB  Nation

How to Watch the First Round of the U.S. Open

Fox coverage of U.S. Open

U.S.G.A. Official Site

Oakmont Sets the Standards for U.S. Open

Building a Pro style Short Game
A short course in the Stimpmeter
 
The Fine Print: Special thanks to the folks at Getty Images, who provided every single photo for this article. Darn, those are nice people. I wish everyone was that nice. Please check them out.