Monday Briefing: R.I.P., Bill Brill; One of the great Masters tournaments ever
WE BEGIN TODAY WITH SAD NEWS OUT OF NORTH CAROLINA, where longtime Roanoke Times sports editor Bill Brill died Sunday at the age of 79. Doug Doughty wrote an excellent obituary — with some help from Brill himself — here. Doug and Randy King have regaled me with many Brill stories over the years of traveling together, though I can’t say I knew him well. What I can tell you is that when I started writing columns for this paper — more than a decade after Brill left it — Brill remained a favorite topic of Virginia Tech fans I ran into all over our region. “You’re not going to try to be another Bill Brill, are you?” they’d say. No chance. He was one of a kind.
WITH ABOUT FIVE HOLES TO PLAY IN YESTERDAY’S THRILLING EDITION OF THE MASTERS, I texted Randy, our resident golf expert, with a simple question: “Best Masters ever?” Replied Randy, who covered the tournament for years: “Well, it’s up there…Never had so many who had a shot to win…Ratings should be highest ever…Riveting stuff.” He went on to say that Jack Nicklaus winning at age 46 remains his favorite Masters moment because of the pure shock value. What an incredible sports moment yesterday, though, as Charl Schwartzel birdied the final four holes to break atop a leaderboard logjam and win the tournament. Here’s the story. And, of course, the “Tiger’s back” stories are all over the Internet today after Woods’ rally fell four strokes short. I don’t know about that, but I do know that he and the rest of the leaders were a joy to watch yesterday.
AFTER TWO STRAIGHT DAYS OF RAIN, THE SALEM RED SOX FINALLY OPEN THEIR SEASON WITH A DOUBLEHEADER SPLIT AGAINST FREDERICK. Katrina Waugh has the story here. The Sox capture the nightcap with a walk-off single from Vladimir Frias. Frederick’s Steven Bumbry, a Virginia Tech alum, goes a combined 0-for-7 in his Carolina League debut. Salem is off tonight before opening a three-game home series against Lynchburg tomorrow.
MONDAY HEADLINES: UVa sees 12-game baseball winning streak snapped by Georgia Tech…Kenseth’s victory at Texas has him feeling like a contender again (story here)… Daytona 500 winner Bayne released from hospital after insect bite (story here)…Beckett shines as Red Sox take rubber game from Yankees…Heat routs Celtics in Miami…Lakers drop fifth in row.
April 11, 2011 - 7:54 AM
Aaron:
Truly a crazy tournament, but it was nice that the winner took charge with four birdies at the end, rather than just having everyone else fade back. McIlroy’s collapse was painful to watch–especially taking seven putts on 11 and 12 when he had a chance at two birdies.
The fan reaction to Tiger’s performance tells me that golf really NEEDS a dominant player to play off of–he is the Yankees or Cowboys of his sport. True parity breeds indifference, or at best confusion.
I’ll admit I was surprised that Tiger put himself in contention, but the +2 round on Saturday was something I figured would happen. THe Tiger of old would have fired a -5 or -6 round on Saturday and gone into the final day either in the lead, or within a stroke of the lead. He was simply too far behind going into Sunday to have a legit shot. ALso not surprised that a near total unknown won the thing, Schwartzel had a heck of a nice closing run with that streak of birdies.
I never knew Bill Brill or had a chance to read his writings, but still sad to hear about his passing.
After the first 3 series of the baseball season, I’m thinking I’ll have to downward revise my expectations for the Tigers a bit. They’re not consistent enough to win a lot of games, and their pitching is very suspect in too many areas. I’m thinking they top out at no more than 75 wins this season, and calls for Jim Leyland’s head intensify. They need 1-2 more solid starters, and 2 good middle relivers in their bullpen, and 1-2 more solid hitters in the line-up to really make it work. I like guys like Austin Jackson, but a sub-200 batting average to open the season isn’t going to cut it, even with guys like Ordonez, Cabrerra, and Martinez in the line-up.
So Tiger loses another Major to another one-hit wonder. Put Schwartzel right there with Yang and Oosterwhatever. You know that has to eat at him. I mean losing to Phil is one thing, but really whoever heard of these guys `till they won a major. He lost this one on the greens. That 5 inch space between the ears as Hogan said is his Achilles right now. Great Masters. Anybody but Nicklaus doing what he did in `86 and this one would have been better. One year I would like to hear the NBC golf crew do the Masters just for a change.
I generally only watch two golf tournaments a year, the Masters and the British Open. I watch the Masters because of Augusta National, it is just so neat, and the British because I like seeing them have to deal with the elements. Don’t get into the other majors at all.
That was a great finish to a golf tournament. Schwartzel won it like you are supposed to – going away. That has to be one of the greatest finishes ever, by a player and a group of players. It was so wild to see so many sitting there with a shot at the end.
Kudos to CBS for minimizing the coverage of the McIlroy train wreck. They had plenty of other stuff to show, for sure, but seemed to know when to get out of the kid’s face. I felt sorry for the kid – he looked like me out there on the two really bad holes that caused it to get away from him. I’ve played from between houses on a course before – and hit trees. I can aim at a tree and hit it, but can’t aim at open space between them and hit it to save my life.
On Bill Brill, I enjoyed reading the self-penned obit he did, not necessarily because he died, but I think it is kind of neat when someone has it in them to write it themselves, and has a chance to. I’ve got my whole visitation and funeral planned out – adult beverages are involved – I hate I’ll miss it.
I’m sure he was a fine person, but I can’t say he was much of a journalist or reporter, as I would define one. He was a Duke homer and it showed in how he covered Duke and others.
I would be more accepting of the pot shots he took at Tech (and even UVA) over the time I read his work, but the bias toward Duke, to me he had no credibility as a journalist, and no basis for some of the shots because of that bias.
Today, he would be equated to an “internet hack” as some traditional print writers like to describe them, those that have fan based websites for a particular school, which the average, seasoned traditional newspaper reporter/writer looks down upon, for that lack of objectivity.
I met BBrill once and asked him why he hated Tech and how he felt about all the Tech fans who hated him, his reply : well, it sells papers !!!
Yesterday’s golf was really good and pretty much everyone I know was watching. I have to say though I’m a little disappointed at the lack of any headline writers to mix in a schwartz or Lone Star reference.
What’s great to me about events like this is watching how quickly it transforms the casual sports fan into that golf guy who starts dropping every bit of knowledge he got from the Golf Digest he flipped through the last time at the doctor’s office. I like to mess with that guy by talking about how disappointed I am Arnold Babar didn’t make the cut. Really thought it was his year.
Travis, maybe it should have read: May the Schwartzel Be With You!
Awesome final day of the Masters. Very exciting and I think having Tiger in the mix only enhanced the anticipation level.
The Masters: I was really rooting for Rory. I wrote last week that Tiger and Phil would not win and I thought one of the Irish guys would. I really felt for him when he collapsed. Have to say that his tee shot (the one that led to the triple bogey) ended up where no pro has ever been to my knowledge (between two cabins). I thought pros were immune from “the kick of death” off trees. I would even bet that he wasn’t past the lady’s tees. Not at all funny to him but there is a certain joy when a pro melts like a saturday player with a $2 bet. I remember Nicklaus taking 10 (6 out of one bunker) at St. Andrews and flat missing the ball on a chip attempt (forget the event but Brent Mushmouth said “We’ve all done it. Now you’ve seen the best ever do it”).
I believe Rory will learn and recover.
It was a great Masters Tournament. I was riveted. Best ever? Who knows? Certainly a good argument for that.
About Bill Brill. I read his work when I was a Tech student in the 70′s. I grew up in the NYC area and was raised on those writers, some of whom are legends. I later lived in Europe and read the “Stars & Strips” when it published the great West Coast writers. I raised my kids on The Sporting News and Sports Illustrated.
Looking back, the only difference between Brill and those guys was exposure. Brill didn’t have daily access to Mantle, Mays, Drysdale, Seaver, et’al., as grist for his mill. Brill had huntin’, fishin, golfin’, and football. All that Southern stuff. I don’t recall who wrote it of him but I recall a comment that “If you don’t hit it, shoot it or kick it, it isn’t a sport to Bill Brill”.
We were lucky to have read him and that he chose to live out his career in “Rownoke”. I am sorry he is gone.
Now that the Masters is over, bring on the NBA playoffs and Viva Los Spurs!
Golf was great, Mcllroy’s collapse brutal. Big coverage in our area though was Boo Williams BB 17 & under tournament. 61 teams of 17 & under kids from all over the country. Todays coverage was on a 7’4″ 338 pound young man from Canada playing in WVA. Two of his scholarship offers are from WF and GT. He has a younger brother that’s 7’2″ playing in FLA. Sure hope Seth had representatives at the tournament. Would pay for him to attend. All the kids in this tourny are the best of the best in the country in the 17,16,15 year old age brackets. Also had the PIT in Portsmouth with a lot of the committed college players backing out at the last minute. All the pro scouts at the tournament said the no shows were getting bad advice by not coming because this is the one place the scouts can truly evaluate talent. Read Bill Brill all my life till I left the area. Was the face of the RT’s sport page.
Somebody please explain to me how Pete Hughes was a “terrific” hire.
I am not seeing it.
I liked Schwartzel’s interview in the cabin when he said “I asked my old man about sticking your tongue to a flagpole in the winter, and he says that it’ll freeze right to the pole, just like I told ya.”
Oh wait, that was Schwartz..
@Other John, where’s Bill Pullman and John Candy to barge in and make a goofball mess of everything?
I’m sorry to hear of Brill’s passing, even though I’ve never heard of him before.
It seem like the Masters was an interesting event…just glad that Tiger “Oh So Close” Wood didn’t win it. Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports had an interesting article about Tiger. Seem that Tiger just can’t accept he has seen his days under the sun.
Oh well, there’s gonna be more golf to play, and I’m sure the media’s gonna continue tracking Tiger’s progress, or lack of.
Exactly OJ! But then again maybe fewer people than I think love stuff like that as much as me.
Travis, whenever you can combine the wit and humor of a comedic genious like Mel Brooks with sports, you simply cannot go wrong.
Another: Never Underestimate the Power of the Schwartzel!
Bill Brill was truly on of a kind. I first met him in 1965 just after
graduating from college . He was a neighbir and a friend. To help me out, he hired me to work as a special writer in the sports dept. covering high school and small college sports to supplement my income as a first year teacher. As his neighbor, I enjoyed his company at neighborhood poker games and parties and at occasional bridge games with him,his wonderful wife Jane, and my father in law. Bill was always funny, sometimes profane, and rarely seen without that ever present cigar.His big problem with Va. Tech was that Hokies fans expected the Roanoke Times to be a cheerleader for Hokie sports and that was not his nature. He could levy praise when praise was due but he was also a direct and truthful critic. And in the 60′s, 70′s and 80′s there was plenty to criticize in Tech athletics. His one weakness was his affinity for Duke
basketball which came to him naturally as a passionate Duke alumnus.
He was a consummate journalist, extremely well repsected by his peers
and an outstanding writer with a gift for turning a phrase. I have missed my contacts with him since he moved to Durham and am genuoinely sorry for his passing. He was a kind and caring man and the sports world has lost one of its true characters.
Only met B.Brill once and that was in passing sometime in the early 80′s. I’m sure he did a lot for the Rke Times sports dept. and the writers who worked there. I also enjoyed playing “I Beat Brill” just because everyone wanted to say they beat him. Due to the fact I was and am a Hokie fan, I can’t say I was a big fan of his writing. I could understand his not wanting to use the RT as, as dave put it, “a cheerleader for Hokie sports”. I don’t feel it should be used that way either. However, I found it somewhat hypocritical that he used the RT to praise Duke and the ACC and often trash anything to do with VT. Sorry, I know it’s only my opinion, but I didn’t see him as the consummate journalist. I will keep Mr. Brill and his family in my thoughts.
Trevor, I’d just like to see one of the golfers pull up in the Winnebago.
If they got winded walking the course, they could always whip out a can of Perri-Air.
Hey, Aaron, would you please link Bob H to some MLB draft results and articles from 2010, round o’bout June of last year. I’m getting tired of this crap.
RIP Bill Brill ….The Orrie still has a ” I beat Brill ” bumper sticker..
As long as DD is here , The Brill presence will live on ..