Cue Cards is a series designed to assist with the common small talk about high-profile recent sporting events that is so omnipresent in the workplace, the bar, and other social settings.
Sport: Golf
When: Thursday through Sunday, July 17-21
Context: The British Open
Result: Phil Mickelson won
Sports Fans will be Talking About:
- Tiger Woods — in golf, at least in the United States for the past decade or so, the story is almost always Tiger Woods. He was tied for second place after three of the four days in the tournament but had a bad last day. Once thought to have a good shot of becoming the golfer with the most major tournament wins, Tiger remains stuck at fourteen since his personal scandal in 2008.
- Phil Mickelson — the winner will get some press too. He was tied for ninth coming into Sunday and played an incredibly good last round of golf on Sunday. This is particularly remarkable considering he was winning the last big tournament before he messed it up in its last day.
What’s Next: The next major tournament is the PGA Championships on August 8-11.
Sport: Soccer
Teams: The United States and El Salvador
When: Sunday, July 21
Context: The quarterfinals of the Gold Cup, a regional tournament held every year to determine the champion of the North American, Central American, and Caribbean region
Result: The United States wins 5-1
Sports Fans will be Talking About:
- Streaking — The United States Men’s national team has now won nine games in a row, its longest streak ever.
- Landon Donovan — For years Donovan has been the consensus best American player and the leader of its national team through three World Cups. In the last few months the new coach Jurgen Klinsmann has decided not to use Donovan for important national team games. This tournament has been seen as a chance for Donovan to prove that he is still a valuable enough player to be included in the US lineup for next year’s World Cup in Brazil. Donovan played very well yesterday and headlines today suggest that Donovan “has his swagger back” and “proved he belongs.”
What’s Next: The United States will face Honduras in the semifinals on Wednesday, July 24 at 7 pm. The other semifinal game is Panama vs. Mexico at 10 pm that night.