Case Blog

We learned last week that air travel could be disrupted by volcanoes, as the Eyjafjallajökull volcano erupted in Iceland and brought European air traffic to a halt. Thousands were stranded on both sides of the Atlantic. As we gradually work our way back to a normal schedule, we are learning that one of Iceland’s other volcanoes, Katla, is overdue for an eruption. “Every time Eyjafjallajökull has erupted in the past 1,000 years, Katla has followed soon after.” (Financial Times: April 23, 2010)

While Europe was grounded, we also learned that the Eurozone PIIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain) were running out of runway. Greece finally came to the conclusion that it could not sell bonds on its own and Prime Minister Papandreou turned to the European monetary union and the IMF for the bailout that was agreed to two weeks ago in Brussels.  This will remove short-term pressures on Greece and the Euro, but it remains to be seen if in the long term there will need to be a rescheduling of the debt. (New York Times: April 24, 2010) Pressure will remain on the other members of this august group to take control of their deficits. While Iceland is not a member of the European Union, it certainly qualifies as a third “I” in PIIGS based on its 2008 banking crisis, which left the economy in ruins and the country insolvent.  This small island nation of 320,000 residents has had a major impact on our lives over the past two years.

For the next two weeks the world’s attention will turn to the upcoming parliamentary elections in the United Kingdom on May 6th.  Will either the Labour Party or the Tories be able to form a government without an alliance with the smaller Liberal Democrats, lead by Nick Clegg? With American-style TV debates being used for the first time, Clegg clearly improved his party’s standing with his performance in the first debate. In the second debate, both Clegg and David Cameron performed well, according to polls taken immediately following the debate, with Gordon Brown trailing both of them. The final debate will take place on Thursday and will focus on the economy, and could make the difference in this hotly contested race. If the Tories hope to return to power they must get a solid lead and avoid a hung parliament that could result in a deal between Labour and the Liberal Democrats to keep the Tories out of power. (Financial Times: April 22, 2010)

Is anyone covering this election writing the British equivalent of  Game Change by Heilemann & Haperin?

Two years ago today I wrote in The Masters Tradition: “There is one weekend every spring that I clear my calendar from early afternoon until early evening, the weekend of the Masters. I find myself seduced by the beauty of the course, particularly Amen Corner, combined with the challenge it holds for the world’s best golfers and its unique traditions. There is something special at the end of this tournament when the prior year’s winner puts the Green Jacket on the new champion. It was fitting that Phil Mickelson won his first major here several years ago and that Zach Johnson, last year’s winner, will have the honor of putting the Green Jacket on this year’s winner. Both of them entered Sunday at -2 and too far off the pace of Trevor Immelman at -11 to catch him.

Tiger Woods did not disappoint us on Saturday and played himself back into contention at -5. Tiger has won the Masters 4 times and has a profound understanding of the importance of this tournament. If anyone could close the gap of 6 strokes on the final day at the Masters it was Tiger…”

As we fast-forward to this year’s Masters, we know that Tiger set a new record for consecutive days on the cover of the New York Post for “sexploits” off the course, but he chose to return to the Tour in Augusta. It proved to be the right venue for him. Tiger did not embarrass himself on the course and finished 4th, but he was in the hunt right through Sunday’s back 9. Phil Mickelson, the fan favorite, who in many ways represents the human side of every golfer, made a charge on Saturday with back-to-back eagles on 13 and 14 and had a near miss on 15. I believe 3 consecutive eagles in a major would have established a new record! He entered Sunday 1 stroke off the pace.

On Sunday, again on 13, Mickelson found himself with a second shot off the pine straw and a slight view of the flag from between two trees. He took his 6 iron, and with a gambling instinct that has often gotten him into trouble, put his 2nd shot on the green, leaving himself a short putt for another eagle. This time he missed the putt and had to settle for a birdie, but he was not going to be denied his third Green Jacket and ended up finishing 3 strokes ahead of Lee Westwood with a birdie on 18. He then had a memorable embrace with his wife, Amy, who has been fighting breast cancer over the past year. He clearly represented the American Eagle on this special weekend in Augusta.

On Saturday evening, my alma mater, the Boston College Eagles, played the Wisconsin Badgers in the Frozen Four Final at Ford Field in Detroit for the NCAA hockey championship.  Coach Jerry York, who has gotten his team into 9 of the last 13 Frozen Fours behind very fast front lines, coached the Eagles to this year’s national championship, their third during York’s tenure.  With a flourish of goals in the 3rd period, the Eagles coasted to a 5-0 victory over the much larger Badgers. (York also coached Bowling Green to a national championship prior to coming to Boston College.)  The trophy moved from one end of Commonwealth Avenue, home of Boston University, last year’s winning team, to the other end in Chestnut Hill.

Finally, after waiting more than a decade and eventually forgetting about my request to get on the mailing list for Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon, one of the most difficult cult wines from northern California to secure, I received notification that I could place my order for my three-bottle allocation. After much back and forth with myself, I placed my order for a wine that Robert Parker gave a 96-98+ score, but wrote: “The 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon may merit a three-digit score if it continues to evolve as it is currently.”

April has arrived with the sighting of many Eagles!