Yin and Yang, Bonnie and Clyde, pizza and beer, golf and betting. Since our most earliest recollections, some things just belong together. And the Leiweke Companies, who are renowned for staging world class high stakes golf events, have taken the latter and created an event so cool, so natural, and so off the charts awesome that while you can’t understand why no one else has done it before, you’ll sure as hell be glad that it’s time has finally come.

World High Stakes Golf is a television show coming this February on HD Net, where amateurs buy-in to play ($5,000) in a qualifying match, with the goal of reaching the championship round. And what’s at stake? MONEY and lots of it – $430,000 in cash and prizes to be exact. You see, this golf tournament is played like Texas Hold ‘Em, No Limit Poker where the golfers start out with an initial purse, then bet or fold on each hole until someone is finally left holding all the chips! Just like real poker, it comes down to having a winning strategy, killer instincts, nerves of steel, and a set of cojones bigger than your BVD’s can hold. Simply put, this is the ultimate game of bravado – light weights and wimps need not apply.

To make it all so extra special, the courses chosen for these events are simply spectacular in their layout and beauty. The Journey at Pechanga in Temecula CA, just outside of San Diego, Las Vegas Paiute Golf resort, and Bear’s Best in Las Vegas feature breathtaking views, and levels of challenge not for the faint of heart. I personally did a tour of Pechanga, an extraordinary resort casino and golf course complex, which has been a Four Diamond award winner for six years running and is the largest casino in the western United States. The hospitality, atmosphere, and swag that each of the players are treated to is at an unparalleled level of sophistication and class.

What really makes this tourney so great is that golfers of every handicap can enter – even YOU! There’s a list of qualifying events at the WHSG website, along with the rules and course descriptions. You can register NOW for the 2011 showdown to secure your spot in this one of a kind, world class event.

We’ll report back shortly as the event grows nearer, and hopefully hear from the commissioner, himself, Terry Leiweke, filling us in on some of the intense golf action and gambling prowess we can expect to see come this February.

CLICK HERE> World High Stakes Golf

- ZMAN

Some of you may think that Jason Vorhees of Friday the Thirteenth fame, was the orginator of the hockey mask. Well, puck breath, that ain’t quite right. You see, it was actually a French Canadian by the name of Jacques Plante, who first donned a goaltenders face mask on November 1, 1959. And this Sunday marks the 50th anniversary since Plante debuted his facial ware – and quite the coincidence, it was exactly one day after Halloween.

Goalies didn’t wear masks back in that time, but the man they referred to as Jake the Snake , was about to change NHL history. Just three minutes into a game against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden, Plante’s face was sliced open with an Andy Bathgate wristshot, delaying the game for 21 minutes as the Habs netminder lay on the ice in a pool of his own blood. After a trip to the locker room and a bunch of gnarly stitches, he returned to the ice, astonishing both fans and the players. And even more astonishing, the goaltender finished the game with a 3-1 victory over the Rangers.

It’s simply amazing that goalies of that era who faced beasts like Gordie Howe and Bobby Hull didn’t wear face and head protection. Plante and other names like Terry Sawchuck, Johnny Bower,  Glenn Hall, Eddie Johnston, and Gump Worsley may just have been the toughest and most fearless sons of bitches in all of sport.

Back in the 60’s, goalies started to slowly adopt the idea of a mask as a part of their equipment, even though they were crude fiberglass plates with eye holes and straps. Today’s masks are made of carbon fiber space-age material designed by engineers, with the sole purpose of stopping a cruise missile. And with guys Alex Ovetchkin on the ice, that just may be a really good idea.

Read some truly great stuff about the late Jacques Plante and this historic anniversary in sport at the NHL’s official website.

CLICK HERE>NHL.com/Jacques Plante

- ZMAN

By Izzy Jaecks

It’s a fact that All REAL guys love sports cars. Well, here’s some proof that a fast set of wheels can tune up the human engine…

I don’t need to be a plastic surgeon to appreciate a naked woman, and I don’t need to be a mechanic to appreciate the power of my car.

I love my car.  It’s not the newest, and right now it’s not at its shiniest, but at nearly 200,000 miles it’s still fast… really fast.  Brand new and stock, it clocked 0-60 in 6.7 seconds with a top speed of 143 mph.  I’ve not tested it 0-60, but I have taken it up to 110 mph… under controlled conditions of course… and I’m sticking to THAT story… I also like to amuse my mechanic by coming up to the service desk before being called, not because I can see that they are done with my car but because I can HEAR that they are done with my car because I recognize the sound instantaneously.

When price is not a factor, if given a choice between fast-and-shiny and moderate-and-modest, your average guy is going to go for the fast and shiny every time. And now, science agrees.

Researchers at Canada’s John Molson School of Business at Concordia University in Montreal tested testosterone levels in 39 men, first after they drove an old Toyota Camry and then after driving a Porsche 911, and shock of all shocks, every single one of them had a dramatic increase in testosterone while driving the Porsche.  To further prove it was the car and not just perceptions of the car, each driver and each car was tested after driving up and down an empty street and up and down a street filled with women. Studies didn’t say if the women were hot, but the testosterone levels were not affected by whether or not the men were being watched while driving.

You would need a significantly larger and more diverse test group than a mere 39 college-aged men to be considered “truly” scientific, but when a test this size is unanimous, it’s a damned good start towards being considered “fact”. I don’t know if it matters that the school shares its name with a mainstream Canadian beer though… would it be less scientific if it were conducted by an American school named “Bud”?  Hard to say… but whether or not science like this will win Nobel prizes, the results are not even remotely surprising.

Psychology would probably say that this has something to do with looking good and impressing the women-folk, but I think this has more to do with satisfying the latent, primeval hunter in all guys.  Looking good might attract the chicks, but speed and strength brings home the steaks… and I don’t care how much you like sex, but you can live a lot longer without sex than you can without food (no matter how hard that is to believe…)

So, now you can argue that it is good for the both of you for you to own a fast car… it’s Viagra on wheels!  And science backs it up…

Now, if only science could find—and eliminate – the gene that makes women want to buy shoes…

- IZZY

VIDEO: You don’t even have to be a hockey fan to freak at this athletisism…

By Izzy Jaecks

Cheeseheads everywhere are burning their copies of Something About Mary at a rampant pace this evening, all because one Bret Fav – ra has flip flopped more than a flap jack cook at a Waffle House. The immortal number four has turned into the ultimate attention whore and Wisconsin native and PlanetZman contributing writer, Izzy Jaecks has had enough of his insipid blather.

Here in Wisconsin, you can’t go even one day without hearing a Favre update… and today, that update is: He’s signed with the Minnesota Vikings, the “sworn enemy” of the Green Bay Packers, the team that made Favre great in the first place.

The Packers made Favre great?  Well, DUH… Sure he’s statistically one of the best QB’s of ALL TIME, but ya don’t achieve greatness in a vacuum.  And not only was he a GREAT player, the Packers were—and are– a GREAT team.  The Packers are the oldest team in the NFL still under the same name and still in the same city… they’ve been around SINCE 1919!  They are owned by the RESIDENTS of Green Bay… always have been and probably always will be… and gained iconic status by winning the first TWO Super Bowls.  Sure we were lucky to have had Favre as our QB for 16 seasons, but HE was really the lucky one to have been a part of that kind of blue-collar history.

Sure, he retired from Green Bay when he might have had a good season or two left in him, but sixteen years is a sweet run for any professional football player.  Better to retire before your run goes sour and you become a washed-up has been still trying to compete with the young blood.  His departure was touching and tear-filled… aww.   But WAIT!  He’s changed his mind!  “I miss football!” he says.  Well “yay” we Wisconsinites said, until we find out he’s decided that he doesn’t think the Packers have a shot at the Super Bowl… He instead signs with… the New York Jets.

OK fine.  Many in Wisconsin tentatively support his decision and try to not harbor too many feelings of betrayal.  The 2008 season comes and goes, neither the Packers nor the Jets go all the way, and Favre hangs up jersey again, promising, “this time I’m REALLY retired.  Until today…

Rumors have been flying around for months, but today the rumors become true when Brett put on his newest Number Four: the purple and gold of the Minnesota Vikings.  Guess what, Brett.  Wisconsin simply doesn’t like you anymore.  We’re done here.

Have fun and don’t hurt yourself out there, old man…

Exclusive Stadium Photos by Darren Proctor

Tiger Stadium, one of the most revered and nostalgic parks in all of professional sport has finally seen it’s sad demise. For nearly a century, the ballpark at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull was home to the American League’s Tigers, and on September 27, 1999, held it’s final nine-inning match.

My “Buddy” and PlanetZman fan extraordinaire, Darren Proctor lives in the Detroit area and recalls going to games with his dad as far back as he can remember. As James Earl Jones said in the movie, Field of Dreams, “The memories are so thick that they’ll have to brush them away from their faces.” A couple of days ago, Darren, his brother and sister drove past the site as it is going through the final stages of demolition and found it to be an eerie and almost tearful experience. “I just took out my camera and started to shoot,” says Darren. “I didn’t realize how incredible the shots would turn out. It was so surreal where words can’t even describe it.”

While we all love the new modern stadiums with the comfort, amenities, and site lines that we have never had the likes of before, it’s the stadiums of old that tear at our heartstrings and bring us back to our youth within the blink of an eye. Growing up in the New York metro area, I had the pleasure to experience New York Rangers games at the “old” Madison Square Garden. Also saw many a ball game at Yankee Stadium, Shea, and Jersey City’s onetime gem, Roosevelt Stadium, home to minor league’s baeball’s Jersey Giants. My dad has great stories of watching the likes of Monte Irvin and Jackie Robinson take to the field.

So hats off to Darren for capturing a rare moment of history. The photos are incredible, indeed. He set a sepia tone filter to get that amazing nostalgic look, and his sister shot the one at the bottom in color.

Tiger Stadium, the onetime home to Hank Greenberg, Denny McLain, Mickey Lolich, Kirk Gibson, Al Kaline and Alan Trammel, will live in the hearts of Detroit fans forever, and this is one amazing farewell to an old friend of the motor city, and baseball fans everywhere.

-Zman

Video: Forget EVER trying to outrun the cops in Italy. This baby is high tech with all the state of the art safety gadgets, and does 0 to 100 in 4 seconds! Mama mia, that’s a one spicy meat-a-ball!

Video: Commercial banned from mainstream tv… Looks like you’ll need a CUP with your Rolling Rock… Stripey, Nooooooooo!…

This Rooskie is just friggin’ amazing…

Planet Zman celebrates the NHL playoffs with perhaps the most insane hockey fight I have ever seen.