McDowell, Kobe, Jimenez, and random observations on the wonderful world of sports

In the words of the great San Francisco Chronicle sports columnist Scott Ostler, here are my deep thoughts, cheap shots, and bon mots:

---Congratulations to your 2010 U.S. Open Champion, Graeme McDowell. The Irishman became the first European in 40 years to win the U.S. Open. And as he himself referenced, Ireland celebrated by collectively downing pint after pint.

---On a day in which virtually nobody played well, McDowell exhibited remarkable poise and composure, remaining unflappable even in the face of his own struggles. The same cannot be said of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, and Dustin Johnson.

---After playing stellar golf on the back nine on Saturday to put himself in contention, Tiger was a disaster at Pebble Beach on Sunday. If Tiger doesn't win or come damn close to winning the British Open next month, the doubts will only grow louder as to whether Tiger has what it takes to surpass Jack Nicklaus' record. Phil Mickelson, meanwhile, faltered in yet another U.S. Open final round, and he is still searching for his first U.S. Open championship. And then there was Dustin Johnson. Oh Dustin.

---I don't want to beat up on Dustin too much, because he really did play outstanding golf in the first three rounds. But his collapse on Sunday was historically, epically awful. Somewhere, Jean Van De Velde was squirming.

---Back to Tiger for a moment, though. One positive aspect of Tiger's performance is that he seems to have adopted a more cordial, gracious attitude toward the fans, and that is a beautiful thing to see.

---On to basketball now, where the Los Angeles Lakers are your 2010 NBA Champions after beating the Boston Celtics in a thrilling, 7-game series. Loyal readers know that I hate the Lakers. But let me put my personal biases aside for a moment, and try to properly assess the historical significance of the Lakers' win.

---With his fifth championship, Kobe Bryant is undeniably one of the five greatest players in NBA history. With this championship, Kobe has surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabaar and Shaquille O'Neal on the all-time Lakers list. However, he still does not possess the title of Greatest Laker Ever. Nobody will ever surpass the great Magic Johnson in that regard.

---I will be vacationing in Los Angeles next week, and while I love visiting L.A., the site of the Lakers championship banners is going to sickening. Ugh.

---Shameless personal plug: The NBA Draft is on Thursday night, and TJB's Sports Universe is the place to be. I will be live-blogging the draft, so please stop by to see what I have to say!

---On to baseball now, where the year of the pitcher continues. Amidst the sea of superb pitchers, one stands out: Ubaldo Jiminez. Jimenez is off to a historically great start, and the NL Cy Young race is essentially over already.

---We keep waiting for them to pick up the pace, but as of now, the Philadelphia Phillies are a mediocre baseball team. With the Braves showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon, and the Mets playing solid baseball, Philly could be in major trouble, especially if Roy Halladay continues to lose.

---Shameless personal plug alert number 2: Wimbledon starts today, and I am so stoked. Tune in to this blog over the course of the next two weeks for coverage of one of sports' most elegant events.

---And finally, I will end with a comment on the Tim Donaghy of the World Cup, Koman Coulibaly. It's one thing for a ref to make an egregious call. Bad calls happen. But when that ref refuses to offer even the slightest semblance of an explanation as to why he made that call, a call that altered the outcome of an important World Cup game, then that is a major problem. Team U.S.A. got screwed.