If you watched Rory McIlroy's back 9 yesterday you won't be able to argue that the pressures of Master's Sunday as well as Tiger's resurgence completely shattered and shook the 21 year old, 3 day leader, of the event. I mean it was simply amazing to see McIlroy's meltdown, in fact it was epic. You have to sympathize with the guy, he hits one horrific drive, and he completely collapses. 3 days of great play, and one drive destroyed this kid's confidence. People have been ripping Rory's mental fortitude all over the place, and I agree with them; he's gotta be able to refocus and align his thoughts enough not to go +7 on the most important 9 holes of his life. But rather than rip this guy I think we all need to wonder at the amazing factor that the mind plays in athletics. It was truly astounding, Rory hits one drive 700 yards left into a dude's front porch, and next thing you know he's hitting trees right in front of him, hooking drives, and missing 3 foot double bogey putts. Dude's mind must have been spinning faster than the those weird training things NASA uses on the chimps and whatever. When you see something like that it humanizes the athlete for you, makes you realize that they feel the same emotions we all feel. Makes guys like MJ, Tom Brady, and yesterday Charl Schwartzel seem even that more amazing. Talking about guys that can block out the crowds and the pressures and focus in extreme situations, harnessing the mental aspect of the sports the play. Mental Toughness: Definitely the most underrated skill.
Posted by Mucc.
I didn't want to ruin an otherwise glorious sports day yesterday with this bad news, but the Celtics are in trouble. I know, I know, last year they played .500 ball for the last couple months and came within a quarter of winning the NBA title. But since trading Perk the Cs are a very average, 9-10 and just look a little bit lost. Problem is, they're soft in the middle. With no Perk as the backbone if guys get into the lane, much of the Celtics playoff success is going to rely on the return of a HEALTHY Shaq. It's very possible Shaq comes back, Rondo and the Big 3 get their shit together again and we're hanging banner #18, but that's a very big if. The Celts got manhandled yesterday. Aside from Jermaine O'Neil laying the lumber on Lebron (which I loved and was completely surprised to see out of him) the Heat controlled the paint. 42-26 rebounding edge and 44-26 edge in points in the paint. I'm not saying it's time to quit watching the Celtics and that they don't have a shot in hell. We've seen this before where they play terribly down the stretch and then flip the switch and turn it on for the playoffs. Banner #18 isn't out of reach, but I'm certainly starting to get a little nervous. 
