Former Masters champion and John Deere Classic executive board member Zach Johnson continued his fine play this year at the Crowne Invitational at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth.

Johnson finished in a tie for ninth with four rounds in the 60s and an 11-under par total. It was his fifth top 10 finish in 14 events this season, including two victories.

He now leads this season’s PGA Tour money list with almost $3.3 million and leads the FedEx Cup points list. He is third in scoring average at 69.67 strokes per round. He is 124th in driving distance at 282.6 yards per measured drive.

Australia’s Jason Day, whose first U.S. tournament was the 2006 John Deere Classic, finished one stroke out of Sunday’s three-way playoff among Steve Stricker, Tim Clark, and Steven Marino (where Stricker prevailed) on the second playoff hole). Day was the youngest player in the John Deere Classic field at age 18 when he played TPC Deere Run on a sponsor exemption and made the cut. He played the Nationwide Tour in 2007, graduated to the regular Tour in 2008, and will compete in the Quad Cities this year.

• The Big Philly Cheese steak won the CA Championship. Phil Mickelson is now very close overtaking Tiger as the number one player in golf. The Aussies didn’t fare very well. Australian Masters Champion, Rod Pampling was the highlight finishing in the Top 10 while Robert Allenby is slowly finding some form.

• Aaron Baddeley was disqualified from the WGC tournament. On the 3rd hole during his third round, he asked a rules official if he could move a stone in the hazard near his ball. Most of us know the answer. No. He proceeded to play and six holes later realised that he had moved a stone in the same hazard the day before. As this occurred in a previous round he’d signed an incorrect score card and disqualified himself. It was very honest of him to do so and Aaron said he couldn’t live with himself if he had continued. What was he thinking for six holes between the 3rd and the 9th?
• Henrik Stenson has made world headlines by all but stripping naked to play a shot from a muddy lie during his first round on Friday. Wearing nothing but a glove and his jocks he took on the muddy lie and made bogey. He’s copped a lot from everyone including fellow professionals for this daring golf shot but I think it’s something can all learn from. [More pics of the near naked Swede]
• Jason Day almost pulled off a debut win on the PGA Tour at the Peurto Rico Open while the big cats were away at the CA Championship. He had a great week though and it’s only a matter of time for him. Greg Chalmers bagged a hole in one on his way to a Top 5 finish.

The New York Times posted an article about the recipe for Bacon Explosion, which has 5,000 calories and 500 grams of fat.  See above.

Since I’ve mentioned one ridiculous food, I might as well mention Doner Kebabs, which have disgusting amounts of fat, saturated fat and salt.  Also, according to the BBC article, 33% of doner kebabs are mismarked for the type of meat they contain.

- ninjagarden

Manana te Cuento (2005)
Written and Directed by Eduardo Mendoza
Starring Angie Jibaja, Melania Urbina, Milene Vasquez, Bruno Ascenzo, Oscar Beltran, Jason Day, Jose Manuel Pelaez

This movie needs a shrink more than I do, suffering a debilitating skitzophrenic episode halfway through the course of an evening which attempts to deconstruct male insecurities and gender roles after building up a sub-par teen sex-comedy foundation. What had promised to be cheap and easy hee-haw dumb entertainment stands you on your head trying to beat you like a pinata by means of the most incredulous bout of subterfuge possible. What’s more bizarre is that had Eduardo Mendoza decided from the start that he wanted to make a straight introspective drama without the pretense of a light-hearted Peruvian Porky’s he might have succeeded in creating a worthwhile exploration of male/female relationships but the jarring method he employs, despite whatever intentions, serves only to smack your face so silly you can’t help but sit slack-jawed and stare in bewilderment through his more serious pulpit pounding tirade while spittle and froth rain down on the congregation.

Our introduction to the heroes is a quick cut, rock video montage of Efrain (Oscar Beltran), Juan Diego (Jason Day) and El Gordo (Jose Manuel Pelaez) defiling their respective romantic interests while Manuel (Bruno Ascenzo) the virgin defiles himself in as awkward a position as possible, resulting in some falling, cheap laughs and the end of the opening credits. Juan Diego, rich brat extraordinaire, finds his family leaving town for the night and he calls his compatriots over to raise hell on Halloween. Meanwhile the girls have clustered together to talk shop and smear copious amounts of makeup on their face in between tequila shots and cell phone calls.

The boys decide to “borrow” the family car and roll through the costume thick streets, pursuing traditional activities like whacking golf balls off hills into the city, donning wolf masks to startle people having sex in cars and trying to cop beer. After a couple toughs wearing Bart Simpson masks rip off the hooch and after the cops pull them over twice the boys return broke and defeated to Casa Juan Diego deflated and resentful. Much shit-talking of Peru carries scenes, while Manuel flips through his Guinness book finding locals who have performed award winning feats of brilliance.

If this was a teen sex-comedy you would assume that the tipsy and heavily made-up girls would end up coming over and hilarity and a little T&A would ensue but Juan Diego left-fields everyone by using daddy’s credit card to hire three VIP escorts to come to his house and stay, for some reason, until five in the morning. So much head-scratching takes place, like how his father would never notice the charge, how the obviously shy and sensitive Manuel is so easily coerced and how the testosterone-drooling El Gordo abstains from the activities to be true to his shaky relationship.

Enter the prostitutes, three glamour girls wearing clubbing gear sitting uncomfortably in the living room while El Gordo, self-proclaimed MC, mixes drinks paid for with the magical credit card. The boys, giddy and hyperactive, draw straws outside while giggling and the escorts sit on the couch rolling their eyes and talk shit about their clients. About here the fun, whatever you’ve been able to squeeze from this brick, ends.

What ensues is a mix of intense character study, character assassination and erotica. The self-assured Juan Diego finds his prostitute, Carla (Milene Vasquez), confronting his sexual prowess so brashly that he finds himself calling his girlfriend in between bouts of sex. Efrain’s macho fantasies get flipped on their back by the more macho Gabriela (Angie Jibaja) while the timid and unsure Manuel makes a real connection with his girl Viviana (Melania Urbina) by spending most of the evening talking and sharing deeply suppressed secrets. Meanwhile El Gordo wanders through the house rummaging through Juan Diego’s mom’s underwear and finding a pistol (!) in a drawer. Where does this all lead? People are introduced to unpleasant realities about themselves and no one seems to have gotten what they signed up for, but maybe they got what they needed.

The most obvious problem is the story, particularly after the credit card is magically produced and the VIP escorts show up. Nothing makes sense anymore, nothing is even remotely within the realm of plausible. Kids whacking golf balls into the city? Sure, been there… Getting fucked with by the cops? Yep. Back and forth petty calls to the group of girls? Of course. Making deep connections with a prostitute or having one suddenly decide, for no reason whatsoever, to smack your pretensions aside and gut you doesn’t make sense. The escorts could have walked in, did their thing, put up with what is probably the most harmless variety of bullshit they endure nightly, and gone home at dawn. I suspect that Mendoza was trying to show the prostitutes as strong women, not whores, but by senselessly pitting them against a collection of feckless zits nothing is really gained. Latin men have the reputation of misogyny and boorishness which I’m all for seeing attacked but this flick seems way off the mark for any profound statement.

Early sequences of the movie are shot in a hyperactive digital video style mimicking MTV and modern American teen comedies. While the use of DV may be a budgetary constraint there’s no financial excuse for the style. As the evening descends into hogwash the cameras slow down and began to roam more voyeuristically which is appropriate for the strangely placed softcore and the emotional sparring taking place in each of the rooms. An argument can be made that the beginning is shot and edited in a way to accentuate the youthful enthusiasm but, really, is Peru so culturally devoid they can’t show geeky fun without annoying the fuck out of the audience?

Another indication that Peru remains a cultural backwater is the horrible music which flits in and out of the movie. The car squeals through the streets of Lima(?) with the worst Spanish pop-punk blaring and the original music provokes thoughts of long, shaggy hair and bandanas, head shaking slightly side to side as that high note gets bent through flange hell. Fortunately the war of the sexes requires less audio rape and you can at least sit bewildered and annoyed without having to endure another cock rock explosion.

The DVD is in Spanish with optional English subtitles that are literate and visible. The digital video doesn’t suffer any notable pixelization and the scenes are all well lit and balanced. There’s nothing worth noting about the sound (I suspect this is only available as a straight 2.0 stereo track) except for the soundtrack. Available via Netflix and your favorite torrent site. A sequel has recently come out which you can track down on your own if this blows you away. Kudos to Posthegemony, the only place I could find a real review of this movie, although I can’t be as compassionate. Couldn’t find a real trailer so here’s a clip from early on in the movie.

Kendall “Da Spyder” Grove will be returning to the octagon at UFC 96 against Jason “Dooms” Day.  Grove was the winner of the Ultimate Fighter 3 and is coming off of a win against Evan Tanner.  Jason Day won his UFC debut against Alan Belcher, but then fell to Michael Bisping.   Day is coming off of an injury that forced him to withdraw from his fight against Jason Lambert at UFC 88. 

This should be a good fight on what looks to be a solid card, which will feautre Chuck Liddell.  Also on the card will be Keith Jardine, but an opponent is not yet set.  In addition we can look to see Brandon Vera return against Mike Patt and the possibility of Roger Huerta vs. Spencer FIsher on this card.

The City of Royse City is facing a one million dollar cash shortfall and perhaps as much as $1.3 million, it was revealed last week by one of the city’s new interim co-managers Larry Lott, who is also the director of the Royse City Economic Development Corporation.

He and City attorney Jason Day were appointed co-city managers by the Council last Tuesday after they suspended City Manager Karen Philippi from her position as City Manager.

In a hastily-called City Council meeting Aug. 16 to discuss the unexpected financial crisis which is suddenly facing the City, Lott outlined the shortfall facing the City.

“I think that $1.3 million is the greatest shortfall we will see,” he said, noting that the city currently has enough funds available to make payroll for the next two week period. Most of the current shortfall is vendor-related debt, he explined.

The amount is even larger than the City Council suspected at the Aug. 12 meeting , according to Royse City Mayor Jim Mellody,

“All I can tell you is that it was never reported to the city council the way it is,” Mellody said.

“As far as my personal feelings, I can tell you I’ve never been more embarrassed in my whole life. I feel like I’ve really let my citizens down, but this is not something we can’t overcome.”

At the Saturday meeting, Mayor Mellody told the Council that he, Lott and city staff have been working overtime since last Tuesday to learn how severe of a financial crisis the city is facing. He added that the research was ongoing and that the full documentation on the issue would be presented as soon as possible.

“The recovery from this is not going to be easy and we’re continuing to work on this,” he said.

According to Lott, the city faced default on two bonds if payments totaling $810,385 were not made by Friday. He explained that the city was able to utilize three non-encumbered bonds to make the payment in the emergency situation.

He added that the City will attempt to arrange a special emergency bond option through the Texas attorney general’s office. If accepted, the bond would cover the $1.3 million discrepancy, but would be issued at a higher rate of interest, would be tax exempt and would have to be repaid within 365 days.

The City is going to have to take a two-part approach to solving the current dilemma, he concluded.

“We’ve simply got to cut our budget as thin as we can and then we’ve got to have a tax increase,” Lott said. “We’re basically going to have to set an amount for these different department heads and they’re going to have to work within that budget. It’s not going to be easy, and it’s not going to be very popular but our options are very limited.”

The council also voted unanimously Saturday to hold investigative hearings to learn whether Philippi broke her contract.

Royse City City Manager Karen Philippi was suspended from her duties at the Royse City City Council meeting Aug. 12 after a potential shortfall in funds was discovered that had not been reported.

“It was due to concerns raised in executive session that are not for public record yet,” said Royse City Mayor Jim Mellody, when asked about her suspension.

The council also voted unanimously at the meeting to hold investigative hearings into whether or not Philippi broke her contract in her capacity as city manager. During the interim, the City appointed a two-man team of Larry Lott and Jason Day to act as city manager. Lott is the director of the Royse City Economic Development Corporation and Day is the city’s full-time attorney.

At Tuesday night’s meeting, Lott briefed the council on a serious shortfall in funds for the running of the city.

More details are forthcoming.

MMAjunkie is reporting that a fight between jason Day and Jason Lambert will take place at UFC 88.  Lambert previously fought at light heavyweight and is coming off of a loss to Luis Cane at UFC 85.  Lambert will drop down to 185.  He is a heavy guy, but perhaps those flabby boobies of his will not look so bad at 185.  Jason Day looked impressive in his debut against Alan Belcher.  However, Day got destroyed at UFC 85 by Micahel Bisping.  This fight should help the undercard look a little better.

Best Knockout

Honorable Mention: Luis Arthur Cane KO Jason Lambert, Shane Carwin KO Christian Wellish, Murilio Rua TKO Tony Bonello, Matt Wiman KO Thiago Tavares

5. Anthony Johnson KO Tommy Speer

4. Wilson Gouveia KO Jason Lambert

3. Brian Stann KO Doug Marshall

2. James Irvin KO Houston Alexander

1. Wanderlei Silva KO Keith Jardine

Best Submission

Honorable Mention: Antonio Nogueira submits Tim Sylvia by Guillotine, Yoshiyuki Yoshida submits Jon Koppenhaver by Anaconda choke, Nate Diaz submits Kurt Pellegrino, Cole Miller Submits Jorge Gurgel by Triangle Choke

5. Demian Mia Submits Ed Herman by Triangle Choke

4. Frank Mir Submits Brock Lesnar by Kneebar

3. Rousimar Palhares Submits Ivan Salaverry by Armbar

2. Dustin Hazelett Submits Josh Burkman by Armbar

1. Shinya Aoki Submits Katsuhiko Nagata by Aokiplata

Best Fight

Honorable Mention: Shinya Aoki vs. Gesias Calvancante, Cung Le vs. Frank Shamrock

5. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Tim Sylvia

4. Urijah Faber vs. Jens Pulver

3. Robbie Lawler vs. Scott Smith

2. Quinton Jackson vs. Forrest Griffin

1. Miguel Torres vs. Yoshiro Maeda

Best Fight Card

5. WEC 34: Faber vs. Pulver

4. UFC 80: Rapid Fire

3. UFC 81: Breaking Point

2. DREAM 4

1. UFC 84: Ill Will

Upset of The Year:

Honorable Mention: Jason Day over Alan Belcher,

5. Thiago Alves over Karo Parisyan

4. Kevin Burns over Roan Carneiro

3. Fabricio Werdum over Gabriel Gonzaga

2. Josh Thomson over Gilbert Melendez

1. Forrest Griffin over Quinton Jackson

Fighter Of The Year:

Honorable Mention: Anderson Silva, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Michael Bisping, Georges St. Pierre, Diego Sanchez

5. Miguel Torres

4. Forrest Griffin

3. Thiago Alves

2. Shinya Aoki

1. B.J. Penn (2 Impressive wins over Sean Sherk and Joe Stevenson)

Best UFC Newcomer:

Honorable Mention: Shane Carwin, Brock Lesnar

5. Rousimar Palhares

4. Dong Hyun Kim

3. Yoshiyuki Yoshida

2. Goran Reljic

1. Cain Velasquez

Worst Calls By A Ref. or Judges

5. Forrest Griffin over Quinton Jackson -  Not just that Forrest got the win, but that it was unanimous.  Many, including me scored the fight either a draw or to Jackson

4. Brandon Vera vs. Fabricio Werdum- Dan Miragliotta stopped the fight in round 1 when Werdum was mounted on Vera throwing down punches.  There was just 10 seconds remaining and Vera seemed to be defending himself well. 

3. Nate Marquardt vs. Thales Leites — Leites got the win, but lost the fight.  He lost the fight due to two points taken away from Marquardt.  One point was justified, but the other was due to elbow to the back of the ehad that wasn’t to the back of the head.  I will confess, that another point could have fairly been deducted for an illegal slam, but I hated to see Marquardt get a loss on his record that I feel he won

2. Phantom split decisions — How was Evan Tanner vs. Kendall Grove a split deicsion?  How was Heath Herring vs Cheick Kongo a split decision?  The right person got the decision, but how was it split?

1. Kimbo Slice vs. James Thompson – Dan Miragliotta stopped the fight in the 3rd round while Thompson was still standing and failed to stop it when Thompson was mounted on Kimbo raining down elbows