Caddy

So, I'm tooling along in my Cadillac. Well, not my Cadillac exactly. It's a rental.But it's still me behind the wheel. And I'm old enough to remember when driving a Caddy meant something more than just driving a car.What I didn't know then was that this seemingly innocent transaction would forever change my life.The plan had been to rent a minivan. I had to pick up my daughter from college, where she had accumulated enough stuff -- clothes, books, a specially designed computer that can double as a blender -- that my little Toyota certainly wasn't up to the job.But all the minivans were gone.

Caddy Da Don "Cut the Check" mixtape ( download it free here ) Monarch Entertainment Group Rating: *** (out of 4) Note: Videos linked in this review contain explicit language and imagery. When Baltimore rapper Caddy Da Don , born David Rice, was released from prison in 2009 after serving a 2 1/2-year sentence for money laundering, he didn't waste time re-establishing himself as one of the city's most promising MCs. Last year, his club-banger "Grindin' on Me" found a regular home on radio station 92Q. Now, a year later, he's releasing his anticipated new mixtape, "Cut the Check," hosted by Maybach Music Group's DJ Scream.

Pat Meyers and Dee Darden have warm spots in their hearts for Baltimore.Meyers, currently the head professional at Robin Dale Country Club in Brandywine, won her first LPGA tournament -- the Greater Baltimore Classic -- at Pine Ridge GC in 1979. It was the first win for caddy Darden, and came in the first week the two were together."We had a great time," Meyers said. "He was dependable, didn't try to tell me what to do, and was supportive."While that was Meyers' only LPGA victory -- she became a club professional in 1987 -- Darden went on to 25 more wins with Beth Daniel, Nancy Lopez, and Val Skinner, before an assortment of ailments forced him to the sidelines in 1989.

AKRON, Ohio — The job isn't exactly one that takes applications. Not that a few dreamers haven't tried. "There's been a few," Tiger Woods said. "We've gotten a lot of interesting ones. " But one just doesn't ask to caddie for Tiger Woods. When the time is right, Woods will pick up the phone and ask someone to caddie for him. Only time will determine whether the new guy can generate the kind of chemistry Woods had with Steve Williams. Maybe he doesn't need to. No question, though, they'll face an adjustment period.

Clyde Goodrum learned how to play golf 45 years ago in secret. Each night at dusk, Goodrum - then a teen-ager - would walk the fairways of the whites-only country club where he worked as a caddy, practicing shot after shot. Today, the 60-year-old golf pro makes his living teaching the game he loves most to adults at My Golf Pro, his new Randallstown business. He also has spent this summer supervising a new city recreation and parks golf program for children. Goodrum said he never held out much hope as a young black caddy that he would one day make a living teaching golf.

Caddy tees up hope for golfer (Matt Damon, Will Smith) in The Legend of Bagger Vance (10 p.m.-12:30 a.m., TNT).

I took a ride with Gus Kaplanges in his long, red Cadillac and got what writers call a slice of life. And a thick slice it was. During our outing Gus clued me in on some Baltimore-area restaurants that serve big portions; he offered his insights into the art of bartending, and he told interesting stories.At one point during our trip, for instance, Gus pointed out a bar on Harford Road that he and his friends call Dead Freddy's. A guy named Freddy used to own the place, Gus explained, and then he died.

LILLEHAMMER, Norway, currently is the center of sports on Earth. But Baltimoreans needn't feel envious or lonely. A number of championships have been held, and records set, right here in the Patapsco basin. For instance:JUMP ROPE: Laura Prella, a 12-year-old, became Baltimore City jump rope champion in the Great World Series of Jump Rope Sept. 5, 1960. In Patterson Park, she did a breathtaking 81 skips in 30 seconds! Virginia Baker, veteran of Baltimore playground activities, commented, "She probably could have done better, but we limited the time to only 30 seconds.

Name: Craig DayClub: Turf Valley CCAge: 52Born: HagerstownYears a professional: 34Years at present club: 28Career highlights: Being able to be a PGA professional and to be associated with such veteran club professionals as Bill Clarke, Bill Strausbaugh, Max Elbin and Tony Marlowe, who created one of the strongest sections in the country. Learned to love the game and course environment as a young caddy at Fountain Head CC and translated that into a career of customer service. With three courses used by members and outside play, it is likely Day is the most recognizable professional in the area.

Self-serving agencies for handicappedI am writing in regard to Wiley Hall 3rd's recent column about the young lady who, despite being intelligent and well-educated, has difficulty in securing a position because she has cerebral palsy.I would suggest that those so-called human service agencies that purport to serve the handicapped get their own houses in order as a first step in rectifying unemployment among the handicapped.Many of these agencies are run for the benefit and convenience of the directors and administrators.

News item: Tiger Woods announced this week that he has parted company with longtime caddie and gallery henchman Steve Williams, who was last seen on the bag of Australian star Adam Scott. My take: Don't know what Tiger is trying to prove here. He has fired everyone except the one guy who made all his bad decisions over the past few years. Related news item: Williams said he was blind-sided by the news and clearly felt betrayed after standing by Woods during his long and tawdry adultery scandal.

Woods loses his bully Teddy Greenstein Chicago Tribune Lucky guy, that Steve Williams. Now that he no longer has to carry Tiger Woods' bag, we can find out if he's actually a decent guy. For the last 12 years, he played the role of PGA Tour goon. He put a photographer's camera in a pond at the 2002 Skins Game and snatched a camera from a fan at the 2004 U.S. Open. That fan turned out to be an off-duty policeman. But that's what Woods needed.

Dynasties eventually crumble. The Romans left some spectacular ruins, but ruins nonetheless. Ottomans are relegated to the furniture gallery. The Mings, the Greeks, the Mayans … the Celtics, the Yankees, the Fighting Irish. The framework crumbles. Key personnel depart. Success gets taken for granted. It happens in history, it happens in business, it happens in sports. It even happens to Tiger Woods. With the departure of caddie Steve Williams, another piece fell off the infrastructure that helped build a dynasty unseen in golf.

One of the things Franklin senior attackman Ben Kaestner enjoys most is helping others. He has bagged food for the Reisterstown Crisis Center, participated in the Crop Walk for Hunger and was a volunteer cleanup worker for Historic Glyndon Inc. As a team captain, Kaestner's final lacrosse season has been ideal because the Indians have a roster filled with underclassmen who have followed his lead. After losing their first three games, the Indians have won three straight to even their record at 5-5. Kaestner, who leads the team with 21 goals and 13 assists, is expecting the team to continue the positive surge with the playoffs fast approaching.

LPGA officials are making follow-up calls into cheating allegations that burned up the Internet from last week's Canadian Women's Open, though the eventual resolution may never be fully known. Shi Hyun Ahn and Il Mi Chung were disqualified for signing incorrect scorecards after the opening round, having inadvertently played each other's ball from the 18th fairway. Just when that mistake was discovered is the question. Playing the wrong ball brings a two-stroke penalty and requires the player to go back and replay from the correct spot.

The guy from the Windy City just happens to work for a guy who loves the wind. It was blowing strong Tuesday at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., site of the Honda Classic and the site of Y.E. Yang's 2009 breakthrough on the PGA Tour. "Mr. Yang loves it," said his Chicago area-born caddie, A.J. Montecinos. "It was windy where he grew up. And he's an awesome ball striker." So good that five months after the Korean-born Yang survived "The Bear Trap" - a three-hole stretch at the Jack Nicklaus redesign - he tamed a Tiger at the PGA Championship at Hazeltine.

The gift registry forever revolutionized gift-giving. While, unfortunately, it took out the surprise factor, it also meant not having to deliver insincere thank-yous, not receiving four toaster ovens and not having to make multiple returns to stores. New to the gift registry business is the Home Depot. The home improvement retailer has just launched its online gift registry in time for the summer wedding season. The registry offers more than 9,000 items, including barbecue grills, ceiling fans, miter saws and pressure washers.

IMPERIAL CADDY: THE RISE OF DAN QUAYLE IN AMERICA AND THE DECLINE AND FALL OF PRACTICALLY EVERYTHING ELSE.Joe Queenan.Hyperion.232 pages. $22.95.Joe Queenan is a political satirist in the P.J. O'Rourke mode -- cynical, ironic, irreverent and occasionally offensive. In his first book, Mr. Queenan takes aim at every humorist's dream target, the much-ridiculed Dan Quayle, as well as his position: "What is the meaning of this unfathomably strange public office he holds, and what does Quayle's occupation of it say about the society that put him there, yet keeps acting as if it didn't?"

The words you are reading right now were typed by a man whose leg muscles feel like lumpy mashed potatoes. His shoulders ache like someone gave him a deep tissue massage with a jackhammer and a bowling ball. He fell asleep at his desk twice while trying to finish this paragraph. That man, sadly, is me. With the McDonald's LPGA Championship taking place at Bulle Rock this week, I had the bright idea to see if one of the professionals might be foolish enough to let me be her caddie during the Monday pro-am.