Wreck-It-Ralph borne out of a man with game

I grew up when video games were a brand-new form of entertainment. I remember seeing Pong for the first time and thinking it was the cheapest animated show I had ever seen. Once I realized that it was an interactive game and that I could control what was happening on the screen, I was captivated. A love affair was born.

As a teenager, I spent untold hours at my local arcade – Golf n’ Stuff, in Ventura, Calif. – pumping quarters into the machines. I am pretty sure I personally financed the Japanese game company Namco with years of Pac-Man and Dig Dug play. And my favorite game from those earlier years was probably Dragon’s Lair. Being someone who loved hand-drawn animation (and would eventually make it a career), I was blown away by the idea that my two favorite things – animation and video games – had been combined into one. My parents loved telling me that I was wasting my days on these games, but I like to think that it was research for a project that would come later in my life.

In 2008, John Lasseter, the chief creative officer for Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios, asked if I would be interested in joining Disney as a director. I had spent an amazing 20 years directing on shows including The Simpsons and Futurama, but this was an opportunity to work with someone I had admired since my days as a student at CalArts. John was a pioneer of computer-graphics animation, and I jumped at the chance. But what happened next I could never have imagined.

He suggested that I think about developing a story set in the world of video games. The idea of a video game movie had been floating around Disney Animation for at least 10 years, though no one had been able to crack a story. So here I was being offered the opportunity to combine my loves at the greatest animation studio in the world. I thought I had died and gone to heaven.

For four years I lived and breathed the world of video games. The team spent work hours playing games from Donkey Kong to Halo to Mario Kart, all of which would heavily influence what eventually became Wreck-It Ralph. And while I always believed in the film, I had days when I wondered if it would resonate with anyone outside the walls of Disney Animation.

Having spent the past eight weeks traveling the world – from Paris to Buenos Aires to Sydney, Australia – I can tell you that the amazing thing is how universal video games are. And while the movie has struck a chord with all ages, it has really hit home with people in their 30s, 40s and 50s, who reflect back on the untold hours they spent in arcades. I realize that I was not alone back then.

As for my favorite game of 2012, that’s a hard one – not because there are so many to choose from (there are), but because I had to give up video games to finish the film. The final year of production requires late nights and seven-day workweeks; I knew myself well enough to know that if I were to pick up a new game, I would be lost in it for hours, days and weeks.

The game I most wanted to play throughout the year (and it took unbelievable restraint not to purchase it) was The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. I look forward to disappearing into its clutches now that promoting Wreck-It Ralph is finished. See you in six months!

Source  http://www.therecord.com/whatson/artsentertainment/article/862672--wreck-it-ralph-borne-out-of-a-man-with-game

Phatboy Sports Sponsorship Colin Montgomerie's World Golf Hall of Fame induction an early Christmas gift

This being Christmas Eve, Colin Montgomerie has jumped the gun and already unwrapped a pretty sweet gift early, that being induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame instead of the lump of coal that many would give him.

Although I’ve never interviewed Monty one on one, I’ve fired questions to him during news conferences and found him to be engaging and witty, not the frumpy grump some have described from their own experiences.

Many fans also don’t like him, particularly those on this side of the Atlantic, where they came up with unflattering nicknames that needn’t be mentioned for reasons of good form.

That type of response to Montgomerie isn’t isolated to the new world. On a trip to Scotland a few years back, I visited a pub in Troon where the locals weren’t exactly kind to a lad who had spent so much time playing at the renowned and nearby Royal Troon.

Those are the ones who will protest Monty’s selection for the Hall of Fame, which belies the theory that hall of fame induction is a popularity contest, which came up when Fred Couples was selected earlier this year.

Freddie had the hair, the easy-going personality and the Boom Boom power to draw in fans of both genders and there’s something to be said for popularity in drawing eyes to the game.

On the golf course, Couples had 15 PGA Tour wins, including a major at the 1992 Masters and two Players Championships, and five international victories, not to mention eight wins on the Champions Tour, including this year’s Senior Open Championship.

Couples’ 15 overall wins is an admirable total, but not enough to warrant Hall of Fame selection in the minds of critics. The same goes for his one major, even if he did win a couple at Sawgrass.

In volume, Monty lowered the boom on Boom Boom, winning 31 European Tour titles, taking that circuit’s Order of Merit in seven consecutive years and eight overall, and 40 international events.

Montgomerie had an incredible Ryder Cup record that included eight consecutive events in which he went undefeated in singles. Continuing that success as a captain, he was at the helm for Europe’s 2010 victory at Celtic Manor.

Those are highlights from a magnificent career, but the points of contention about his induction for many are that he never won on the PGA Tour and never won a major. That last one, in particular, is a real sticking point for many.

Then again, do you deny Dan Marino a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame even though he never won the Super Bowl?

Argue the point all you want about team sport vs. an individual game such as golf, but should an otherwise outstanding career not be recognized? If Luke Donald or Lee Westwood finish their careers without a major, would you deny them solely for that reason?

Some people think so and Montgomerie got in on the International ballot with 51% of the votes in a weird system that usually requires 65% of the votes. If nobody gets 65%, a player with the most votes, as long as it’s more than 50%, is selected.

Couples also squeaked in at 51%, so neither received a ringing endorsement, which has left their selections open to criticism and will continue to do so for future inductees.

Couples’ nomination has opened the door for players with as many or more wins and majors, but majors may not even be an issue anymore now that Monty is going in.

That may stick in the craws of many, but these are precedents and the table has been set for the future. You can’t go back, once a new standard is set.

FESTIVE CHIP SHOTS

If it’s the World Golf Hall of Fame, is it really necessary to have an international ballot? Shouldn’t a player be inducted based on merit instead of where he or she is from, whether American or otherwise? The existence of this category gives the impression that those born outside the United States are outsiders. It seems strange with the global nature of the game these days ... Montgomerie isn’t the only Scot going into the hall of fame as former European Tour secretary and executive director Ken Schofield was named in the lifetime achievement category. Two-time British Open champion and course designer Willie Park Jr., and 1964 U.S. Open champ Ken Venturi, who went on to a successful broadcasting career, will also be inducted ... Toronto’s Albin Choi and Jennifer Kirby of Paris, Ont., have been named Golf Canada’s outstanding male and female amateur golfers, based on the 2012 National Order of Merit. Kevin Kwon of Pitt Meadows, B.C., and Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., finished atop the CN Future Links junior boys and junior girls Orders of Merit, respectively ... Former NCAA champion James Lepp of Abbotsford, B.C., says he feels invigorated about competitive golf after making it to the final of the Golf Channel’s Big Break Greenbrier, where he lost a close match to finish as runner-up. Lepp isn’t sure when he would return to competition. For one thing, he runs a golf business, Kikkor Golf, which he started when golf didn’t seem fun anymore ... Former Nationwide Tour player Brennan Webb of Bracebridge, Ont., has accepted an assistant coaching position with Georgia Tech.

Source  http://www.torontosun.com/2012/12/23/montgomeries-hall-of-fame-induction-an-early-christmas-gift

Golf roundup: Davis and Dru Love win Father-Son event

Davis Love III had a nice pitch shot on No. 18 and son Dru finished off the birdie to capture the Father-Son Challenge title Sunday in Orlando, Fla. 

With Larry and Josh Nelson already in at 22-under for the two-day scramble format, both Loves misfired in trying to reach the green in two at the par-5 finishing hole. Dru, an Alabama freshman who won five Georgia state titles in high school, went long and right near the grandstand at the Ritz-Carlton Grande Lakes. Davis watched his ball roll onto the bank of a greenside pond.

But the elder Love found the right touch on his pitch from Dru's position and his son made the winning putt.

The Loves teamed for an 11-under 61 in the final round.

Schwartzel romps to 12-shot win at Alfred Dunhill: In Malelane, South Africa, Charl Schwartzel was the runaway winner for the second straight weekend, coasting to a 12-shot victory at the Alfred Dunhill Championship on the European Tour.

The 2011 Masters champion finished with a total score of 24-under 264 - the lowest at Leopard Creek Country Club. He won by 11 strokes in Thailand last weekend. The South African won for the eighth time on the European Tour.

Schwartzel shot a 69 in the final round. The runner-up was Sweden's Kristoffer Broberg, who finished at 12 under.

Garcia wins in Malaysia: In Johor, Malaysia, Sergio Garcia won the rain-shortened Johor Open, closing with an 11-under 61 for a three-stroke victory in the Asian Tour's season-ending event.

The 32-year-old Spanish star finished at 18-under 198 at Horizon Hills for his second victory of the year and 24th international title. He also won the PGA Tour's Wyndham Championship in August.

Garcia had the lowest final round by a winner in Asian Tour history. He birdied seven of the first nine holes to make the turn in 7-under 29, added birdies on 13 and 14 before a long rain delay, then returned to make it four in a row with birdies on 15 and 16.

American Jonathan Moore also shot a 61 to finish second.

Thailand's Thaworn Wiratchant finished fifth and won the Asian Tour money title.

John Daly finished with a 65 to tie for 15th at 8 under. South Africa's Ernie Els closed with a 72 to tie for 48th at 3 under.

Rookie takes Australian PGA: In Coolum, Australia, Australasian Tour rookie Daniel Popovic completed an improbable wire-to-wire victory in the Australian PGA, shooting a 3-under 69 for a four-stroke victory.

The Australian finished at 16-under 272.

Geoff Ogilvy failed to finish in the top three to ensure a top-50 finish in the year-end world ranking and a spot in the Masters. He tied for fourth.

Source  http://www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra/article.aspx?subjectid=224&articleid=20121217_224_B2_DavisL136745

Gut-putt ban a benefit for the world of golf

The golf industry ought to look at the big picture on this "anchoring" ban by the sport's world governing bodies.

In the short term, of course, it hurts the manufacturers who sunk a lot of R&D money and raw materials into designing and building long putters for terminal yips sufferers, head cases and venal young Tour players bereft of consciences.

And it hurts the retailers and club pros who have stocked their displays with the life-changing implements, and won't be able to give them away now because only the foolhardy would try to learn a method that's going to be illegal in 2016.

Long-term, though, the benefits of a mass return to the shorter, more treacherous, thoroughly unreliable instruments of mental torture are certain to be seen in the worldwide sales of new putters to replace those thrown into the pumpkin patch off the 17th green at Richmond Country Club, dragged behind cars, rusted after being placed in toilet bowls overnight to learn their lesson, broken in a dignified manner over a thigh or otherwise rendered hors de combat.

As long as broomstick and belly putters threatened to take all the mystery out of what happened on the greens, the potential for a single putter to last its contented owner several years - even a lifetime - could have led to a crisis in the golf equipment industry.

But Wednesday, the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews (R&A) and the United States Golf Association fixed that, indirectly, by ruling that beginning on Jan. 1, 2016, it will be illegal to anchor the putter on the chest, chin, belly or in a hand held against any of the above. Golfers will be free to continue to use the longer putters, but what they'd do with them is beyond me.

Attempts at humour aside, this one small rebellion against game-changing elements in golf represents a fairly big step for the R&A and USGA, because it signals the possibility that they may yet rise up for the real battle ahead - against golf ball and driver technology that begets ever-longer courses requiring ever more water and land and time to play.

It still seems far-fetched to imagine either body, or both, standing up to Titleist and insisting it make balls that don't go as far, but for now, there is this ruling, and - though the R&A/USGA axis of purity has allowed for three months of public submissions in case there's an angle they haven't thought of - no amount of complaining is apt to change their minds.

Golf, in this case, is nearly unique. Maybe unique, period. I can think of no other professional sport where the technique by which the ball/puck/object is struck, thrown, kicked or propelled is restricted by the rules, other than in basic definitions of the sports - like soccer must be played with the feet or head or chest but never the hands, or the hockey puck may not be thrown, or the basketball may not be kicked.

The rules don't say you can only kick the soccer ball with the instep, or you can't tuck your elbow against your body while shooting the puck. They don't say a bunt isn't a real swing.

There are, of course, a million rules governing equipment, but the anchoring ban is emphatically not about equipment. It's about what constitutes a golf stroke. The R&A and USGA say that freely swinging the hands - emphasis on freely; i.e. unaided by a fulcrum - is the crux of it.

They say the new rule has nothing to do with the fact that three majors in the space of 12 months period were won by players with anchored putters: Keegan Bradley, Webb Simpson and Ernie Els. But the professional level is where the fire started.

The growing number of PGA Tour pros adopting the longer instruments, up to 15 per cent this season, higher than 20 per cent at some Tour stops, was alarming. But not nearly as alarming as the 14-year-old Chinese boy, Guan Tianlang, who won the Asian-Pacific amateur title and an invitation to next year's Masters ... using a belly putter.

It meant the governing bodies could no longer shrug off its use as a fad, but had to take it seriously as a coaching tool, for which they had the testimony of noted guru Butch Harmon in Score Magazine a few months back:

"Belly putting is like stealing," Harmon said. "If I was going to start somebody out who never played before I'd start them with a belly putter, no question about it. It takes the hands right out of the stroke."

And therein lies the argument that always made the most sense, when the anchoring ban was floated: that golf is a game which is meant to be influenced, in part, by nerves. And an attack of nerves, in golf, is most apt to rear its ugly head on or near the putting surface.

If modern instructors are saying that anchoring the club reduces or, with enough practice, virtually eliminates the hands factor in putting, is that not circumventing a body part that ought to be involved in the golf swing?
But to me, as a viewer offended when I see a young professional using one of the long putters, it's a rule meant to be applied to elite players - the high-level amateurs playing golf for serious acclaim, or touring pros whose livelihoods are affected by what the other guy, or guys, are doing.

The aspect of the rule that strikes me as wrong-headed is that there seems no good reason to make the 50-60-70-yearold recreational player go back to suffering the agonies that caused him to abandon the conventional putter in the first place, whether it's back pain or poor eyesight or simply lousy putting.

Source  http://www.thestarphoenix.com/sports/Gutputt+benefit+world+golf/7631424/story.html

Rory McIlroy: 5 Improvements Needed to Dominate the Golf World for Next 20 Years

Rory McIlroy has a sensational swing and the overall game to dominate the world of golf for many years.

However, it's one thing to look good for a couple of years and it's quite another to become an all-time great player like Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer or Tiger Woods.

Physical talent is a given for the 23-year-old McIlroy. He's got bucket loads of ability.

Mental strength, tenacity and desire are not easily measured. If McIlroy has enough of those factors, he will be able to remain on top for years—possibly 20—as the rest of the golf world tries to catch him.

It's not just a matter of maintaining what he has now. He will have to improve if he is going to be the king of his sport.

Source  http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1413437-rory-mcilroy-5-improvements-needed-to-dominate-the-golf-world-for-next-20-years/page/2

PGA teaching legend Flick was always one of golf’s unforgettable servants

Jim Flick never had a problem locating a lesson tee, even those that required a good climb.

When challenged in 1996 in New Orleans during the PGA Teaching & Coaching Summit to host the “world’s highest golf lesson” on the roof of the Superdome, Flick shrugged his shoulders and asked, “When do you need me?”

One of the most insightful and magnanimous instructors in PGA of America history, Flick achieved many summits before losing a battle with pancreatic cancer Nov. 5. He was 82.

“Aside from what he accomplished in developing golf schools,” said 2008 PGA Teacher of the Year Martin Hall of Palm City, Fla., “perhaps the most amazing thing was how Jim could make a 36-handicap player feel just as important as teaching Jack Nicklaus.”

Flick, a 2011 inductee into the PGA Golf Professional Hall of Fame, taught the game in 23 nations while elevating the business of golf instruction. Elected to PGA membership in 1959, he served as director instruction for Golf Digest Schools, guiding more than 1,000 multi-day programs -- and teaching that memporable lesson atop the Superdome.

PGA Life Member William Earl Morgan, a former Gulf States PGA Section president, recalled that memorable golf lesson with Flick on top of the Superdome nearly 16 years ago.

“People look at the photo of us and think we posed.” said Morgan. “But I quickly correct them and let them know it was a real lesson and that Jim spent 15 minutes with me and I was surprised how much he covered in that time. I later told my wife that halfway up to the roof I was thinking, ‘You idiot, what have you done now?’ I told the maintenance workers that they wouldn’t have to sand the rails that day!

“Jim was such a good teacher, and not the type that didn’t know how to communicate to players who were not Tour or PGA Professionals. I have that photo framed of us on top of the Superdome. It was a day I’ll never forget.”

To reach the next “summit” in his teaching career, Flick had never intended to make a business agreement with Nicklaus. It all happened by accident, and Flick had prepared himself by watching Nicklaus’ famed teacher, Jack Grout, teach the Golden Bear at Frenchman’s Creek in Jupiter, Fla.

“I knew he was a very nice guy, but I didn’t really have much involvement with Jim through the years until he began to come over to Frenchman’s Creek in Jupiter (Florida) and watch Jack Grout and me work,” said Nicklaus. “He would sit behind Jack Grout and me, while Mr. Grout was teaching. He would sit back there for hours, day after day. So, there isn’t anybody who watched more of Mr. Grout teaching me than Jim Flick.

“So, when Jack passed away in 1989, I was looking for somebody to help me. I had gone to a couple of guys and I was sort of struggling to find the right person. I had just turned 50 years old and I was out at The Tradition – my first tournament and major as a senior.

“Jim just happened to be walking around. I think we were walking down the 18th fairway, and he had watched most of the last nine holes, so I turned to him and said, “Well, Jim what do you see? You’ve seen me enough. You’ve seen Jack Grout and how he taught me.’  Jim said, ‘Well, I don’t see Jack Nicklaus.’ I said, ‘What do you mean?’

“So, we went to the practice tee and he showed me what he meant. At the time, I was real active with my hips and not using my legs and not using the club. Through a variety of things Jim did and worked on, I won that golf tournament. I had not played very well up to that point, but did that week, thanks to Jim. Every year at The Tradition since then, Jim would come out and we worked together. I’d have to say that he has been my teacher of note ever since.”

Nicklaus said that Flick understood “what was important to me and were instrumental to my success throughout the years. Jim knew and understood those things. Sure, I have asked other fellas different things over the years, but Jim has always been the guy I went back to over the last 15 years of my competitive career.

When he approached Nicklaus in 1990 about his legacy in golf, Flick asked if the Golden Bear was willing to “document and use” that legacy. Nicklaus agreed, and the Nicklaus/Flick Schools became a standard-bearer in the industry.

“Jim and I were together for many years after that,” said Nicklaus. “More important, for decades Jim has been a good friend to me, on and off the golf course. He has not only touched my life and career, but he has influenced hundreds, if not thousands, of people over the years.”

Flick operated the Nicklaus-Flick Golf Schools (1991-2003); operated his own Jim Flick Premier School in 2002; and served as a lead instructor for the ESPN Golf Schools (2003-05). Since 2006, he has served as the ambassador for TaylorMade Golf.

The third recipient of the PGA Teacher of the Year award in 1988, Flick was the ninth instructor inducted into the World Golf Teachers Hall of Fame in 2002, the same year that he was inducted into the Southern Ohio PGA Hall of Fame. Flick also was a 1995 inductee into the Wake Forest University Athletic Hall of Fame; and in 1999, Golf World selected him one of the Top 10 Teachers of the 20th Century.

Of the more than 200 Tour professionals among countless amateurs and premier junior players, the list also included 1996 Open Champion Tom Lehman.

Last weekend, Lehman had Flick on his mind in the final round of the Charles Schwab Cup Championship at Desert Mountain, where he closed with a 65 for a six-shot win to become the first player to win the Schwab Cup in consecutive years.

Lehman had always kept in contact with Flick, and had his teacher on Friday and again Sunday morning before his final round. Flick said softly to his longtime student, “Be Tom Lehman.”

As Lehman two-putted for birdie on the final hole Sunday, he paused and bent down and buried his face into his cap.

“The last hole, I know that he was probably watching today,” said Lehman. “I felt quite certain that that was probably the last driver he was ever going to see me hit and I wanted to make it a good one. And the last 7-iron he will ever see me hit, and I wanted to make that a good one. And the last putt, I wanted to make that putt. I didn't want to make it simply because I want to win by six. I wanted to make it for him.”

A native of Bedford, Ind., Flick began playing golf at age 10 through the influence of his father, Coleman Flick, a Bedford City Champion. Flick attended Wake Forest University on a basketball scholarship and roomed six months of his sophomore year with Arnold Palmer, then a junior. Flick turned professional following graduation in 1952 and attempted to play tournament golf before determining that his future was in the club professional ranks.

“Jim Flick and I became good friends during our college days at Wake Forest.  In fact, we were roommates for a short period of time after Bud Worsham died,” said Palmer. “I followed Jim’s activities and fine career as a golf instructor and we communicated through the years quite a lot.  I’m very sorry that this has happened, and extend my sincere sympathy to the Flick family.”

Flick served in the U.S. Army from 1953-54, and at the conclusion of the Korean War turned professional in 1955 to become an assistant professional at Evansville (Ind.) Country Club. He followed by being named PGA head professional (1956-60) at Connersville, Ind., and from 1961-74 at Losantiville Country Club in Cincinnati. Flick was treasurer of the Southern Ohio PGA Section as the Section played host to the 1964 PGA Championship at Columbus Country Club, and was Section president (1967-69) when NCR Country Club in Dayton hosted the 1969 PGA Championship.

Flick’s advertisement to invite students to his golf schools underscored his commitment to learning a game that was a constant exercise in learning.

“Although golf is a game of infinite subtlety and possibility, always remember that the door that leads to its inner secrets and rewards is marked fun,” said Flick.

“From the first time I met him, I found him to be a very remarkable man,” said Hall, who first met Flick in 1982 at Turnberry, Scotland. “His commitment to improvement was very much alive throughout his life. The number of players he helped was countless. We traveled around the world together, and he always showed up with a smile on his face and anxious to help others feel better about themselves in golf. I think that Jim continuously tried to elevate his work in his 60s, 70s, and his 80s.

“He was the model of what a teaching professional might be, and he will go down along with a Harvey Penick as one of the most gifted teaching professionals ever.”

From 1986 through 2005, Flick was PGA director of instruction at Desert Mountain in Scottsdale, Ariz. A frequent contributor to national golf publications for decades, Flick was involved or authored five books: “Square to Square Golf” (1974), “Square to Square in Pictures” (1974), “How to Become a Complete Golfer” (1980), “Jim Flick on Golf” (1997), and “Swing Analysis by Jim Flick – Jack Nicklaus, Simply the Best” (2007).

Funeral arrangements for Flick are pending. He is survived by his wife, Geri, of Carlsbad, Calif.; four daughters: Jan, Suzanne, Kimberly and Vicki; and a son, Stephen.

Source  http://www.pga.com/pga-america/pga-feature/pga-teaching-legend-jim-flick-always-one-golfs-unforgettable-servants

Health tips: Create life lessons in everyday activities

Parents often feel frustrated when attempting to get important messages and concepts across to their kiddos, no matter what the age of the children.

 Parents many times resort to “lecture mode” when dispensing thoughts we believe our youngsters need to hear from us in order to survive, or develop into the best people we see them capable of becoming. Parents may want to reconsider changing the method of delivery to a style more appropriately matching the way kids learn best.

Read the full story in our digital edition.