5 Reasons You Can't Blame Vinnie for Red's Losing Streak

When Vince Olenik joined the Red team in 2001, it was widely expected that he would help Red recover from a four year losing streak.  Instead, during seven events since, the only time Red won was the year Vince did not attend due to the birth of his son.  In that time, he has never won a pairs match.  So as the pundits search each year to explain why Red loses, Olenik is often a scapegoat.  But even though he has never hoisted the cup to his lips, he has been responsible for creating fantastic meals.  Since joining the event, Olenik has made Saturday nights even better.  So let's look more closely, and realize that you can't blame Vinnie for Red's losing streak.  Here, in the spirit of ESPN Classic, we count down the reasons why:

5.Too many Red players can't hold a lead.  Through 2007, there have been 14 times when a player has come back from at least three holes down to win match.  An astounding ten of these have been by Blue players.  And Vinnie was the loser in only one of these comebacks.

4. In 2003, Vinnie had the greatest shot in the history of the Concord Cup.  He holed out from 110 yards at the tenth hole, helping his partner Steve Shoop to a key foursomes victory over Jeff Hackett and Ron George.  The anchor match victory helped Red gain an early Sunday lead, but they couldn't hang on.

3. Red players, the more loyal of the two teams, simply have too much fun to win on Sunday. In a classic example, Mark Williams was able to get Ed Smith to have a few too many which put Vinnie in this difficult position. When he tried an amazing shot, he just pounded the ball into the riverbank.  And clearly, a little too much fun on Saturday night has contributed to Red's abysmal Sunday record.

2.Blue has some very solid players.  Dennis Hackett Sr. and Jeff Hackett have dominant pairs records, "Jazzy" has never lost on Sunday.  And some on Red claim that the real team switch that has killed the was the change for Bob Walters.  After switching teams the first couple years, Bob was placed permanently on Blue starting in 2005, and has since gone 9-0, to extend an overall winning streak of 12 games.  With continued leadership by Mike Walters and David Best, Blue knows it will get a good chunk of points in every session.

and the most significant reason why you can't blame Vinnie for Red's losing streak...

1.Red's Captains have an abysmal 1-13 record on Sunday.  It's tough to win with that record.