Scott Ostler

Condoleezza Rice changing the face of golf

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Condoleezza Rice’s first name comes from the Italian musical term con dolcezza -- “with sweetness.” That was how Rice played her round Thursday at Pebble Beach on the first day of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. She was all smiles and nods to the galleries, backslaps and friendly chatter with her group.

And that’s how Rice, intentionally or not, is quietly helping change the face of golf for women and people of color. She keeps popping up at golf clubs and in tournaments that were once fortresses of the white, male ruling elite.

Super Bowl XLVII: Defeat doesn’t dim 49ers’ bright future

NEW ORLEANS — The San Francisco 49ers careened off Bourbon Street on Sunday, took a wrong turn and wound up at Heartbreak Hotel.

The Big Easy came down hard on the boys from the bay.

Ravens 34, 49ers 31.

National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

Baseball’s Hall of Fame - and its rules - need a makeover

With all the debating and soul-searching over the Baseball Hall of Fame voting, there’s one thing everyone agrees on: We’re sick of all the debating and soul-searching.

It’s so unnecessary.

This year’s HOF vote will be announced Wednesday, and it looks like nobody’s getting in, except three special-committee honorees already announced. Suspected drug cheats Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa got juice-balled.

Swimming with stars scarier than dancing for Coughlin

SAN FRANCISCO -- What's it like to walk into the spotlight on the Olympic stage?

Natalie Coughlin has gone through this twice, and escaped with 11 medals. So it must be easy for her by now?

Ask Petrino: Lying in sports can be a vicious cycle

Skidding and fibbing don't mix.

When will we ever learn?

Two words of advice for Bobby Petrino: training wheels.

Ostler: Not the Tiger Woods everyone expected to see

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- Tiger Woods' body language after clunky shots, as he staggered down the backstretch Sunday behind a beaming and visor-tipping Phil Mickelson, was that of a kindergartner whose parents just told him his fingerpainting lacks originality.

Woods, once the king of Sunday, got Sunday-punched. He went into the final day of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am four shots off the lead and two strokes ahead of archnemesis Mickelson.

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Ostler: What the end of the NBA lockout really means

The NBA lockout has ended, just in time to avoid losing any games at the start of the season.

What? The lockout wiped out the first two months of the season? My bad!

Tebow or not Tebow? The plot thickens

It was the worst of quarterbacks, it was the best of quarterbacks.

It was the Tim Tebow Experience.

Ostler: Giants-Dodgers back to being a rivalry

SAN FRANCISCO -- The San Francisco Giants are the most exciting .500 team in sports. Even a reg-season game like Wednesday night's 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers demands a bit of rehashing.

Ostler: Is Artest the Lakers' bully or just playing ball?

Ron Artest seemed puzzled when I asked him about his recent takedown foul on the Knicks' Amare Stoudemire.

"Takedown? I don't remember that," the Lakers' eccentric forward said. "I remember a foul, a flagrant foul, but I don't remember a takedown."

Ostler: Time to knock off the grinding in sports

Memo to professional athletes: Please stop grinding.

You golfers and baseball players are the worst offenders. You have fallen in love with the word "grind," used as a verb.

We don't want to watch athletes grind. Grinding is boring. Grinding is what we do, which is why we watch you, to escape from our daily grind. If you must grind, grind inwardly.

Golf, PGA, Sports     Read more     Comments

Ostler: Open happenings sure to hit Pebble Beach

Guaranteed to happen during the U.S. Open this week at Pebble Beach:

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Ostler: Byrnes turns the page, takes up softball

Eric Byrnes is back in the lineup as an everyday player. Every Wednesday, anyway. Byrnes is the starting left fielder for the Dutch Goose, a slow-pitch softball team sponsored by a Menlo Park, Calif. burger barn.

Ostler: Before Braden got perfectk, grandma got the save

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Some guys are stumped for gift ideas on Mother's Day. Not Oakland A's lefty Dallas Braden. He gave his grandma a perfect game Sunday, then a long hug that had media guys in the press box sniffling and complaining about all that damn pollen in the air.

Ostler: Still hard as ever to pin Bonds down

SAN FRANCISCO -- Barry Bonds remains in a state of -- what would you call it? Suspended animation?

He's kind of like Ted Williams, except Bonds is about 200 degrees warmer and his head is connected to his torso.

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