happy gilmore

The season of perpetual politics in Virginia has finished the briefest of vacations and is about to gear up in earnest for U.S. Senate and presidential contests, which are just around the corner.

Republican contests for the presidential nomination are wide open in Virginia as the GOP approaches its Feb. 12 primary and an interesting Dec. 1 straw poll, while the party's springtime nomination for the U.S. Senate is shaping up as a two-man showdown between favored conservative Jim Gilmore of Henrico County and Staunton's own Del. Chris B. Saxman.

And for U.S. Senate ...

The winner of the likely Gilmore-Saxman nomination contest, which is to be decided at a Richmond GOP convention on May 31, gets to face overfunded Democrat Mark R. Warner of Alexandria in a Novem-ber election that Warner is heavily favored to win.

Saxman, 42, finds himself encouraged to make the bid by fellow Republicans in the House of Delegates, where he is a well-liked conservative who has been widely believed to be a likely 2009 candidate for lieutenant governor.

Those encouraging him to join the U.S. Senate nomination contest with Gil-more say it will not hurt his potential bid for state-wide office the following year.

'Happy,' he's not

One reason Saxman might not be hurt by talking on Gilmore is that the Staunton delegate, who runs the family's bottled water business, is relentlessly positive. Gilmore would continue to ignore Saxman while throwing stink bombs at Warner.

Gilmore, whose relentless pursuit of elective office from president to Senate has not yet earned him the nickname "Happy" Gilmore, is a serious fellow who relishes running as an underdog, more convinced than most that he is the man of the hour for any high office.

That Saxman is seriously exploring the option of running means he is finding Republicans of moderate and conservative stripes who favor an up-and-coming star without a contentious past to a contentious contender whose ability to unite the party is, at least, questioned.

The straw poll that Republicans plan to hold will be Dec. 1 at the party's annual "advance," as the GOP never signals retreat, in Arlington.

Saxman said Nov. 23 that he is attending the advance and will work for U.S. Sen. John McCain's GOP presidential bid.

"I had planned on attending the Advance prior to the possibility of the Senate race," he said in an e-mail. "I will advocate for Sen. McCain and listen to what is on the mind of Republican activists."

As for the outline of a possible bid for the Senate nomination, Saxman said, "The people to whom I have been listening are telling

See ELECTIONS on B7

me that they want to run on conservative Republican ideas, not negative, partisan attacks."

Saxman and Gilmore both plan to hold hospitality suites at the event.

Gilmore political consultant Dick Leggitt said his candidate is "focused on Mark Warner."

As for Saxman, Leggitt said, "He's been pushed along by a lot of consultants looking to make a dollar or two. He is not a serious candidate."

Gilmore is still planning to retire the last $100,000 of his presidential campaign debt by January or February, Leggitt said.

Gilmore also is not about to endorse a presidential hopeful. "We like all these guys," Leggitt said.

Right now the biggest rock star in Virginia's Republican Party, the figure who ignites the most emotional reactions and shows of support, is former George Allen, a former senator and former governor, who is national co-chair of former Sen. Fred Thompson's presidential bid.

Thompson's wife, Jeri, is attending the advance in Arlington for her husband, as is Allen, said Shaun Kenney, communications director for the Republican Party of Virginia. The only GOP candidate signed up to attend is Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif.

Allen appears more and more serious about running for governor again in 2009 and is attracting more cheers than any other statewide GOP figure among party activists, several GOP state legislators said.

On the Democratic side, Warner is on cruise control and attracting money for his 2008 campaign at an impressive rate. No one expects him to have serious opposition for the party nomination.

Warner explored a Democratic presidential bid but backed away early while Gilmore was trying to out-conservative the GOP presidential pack led by the three-headed GOP candidate he famously dubbed "Rudy McRomney."

The Rudy Giuliani, McCain, Mitt Romney faces at the top of the Republican presidential pack headed to a Virginia primary Feb. 12 have been joined by a surging Mike Huckabee and a somewhat flagging Thompson.

Huckabee, whose support in Iowa places him second in that lead-off state, behind Romney and ahead of Thompson and Giuliani, is the only candidate in the presidential race endorsed by both movie star Chuck Norris, who cut a cute YouTube ad endorsing him, and House Speaker Bill Howell as his Virginia campaign chairman.

In short, Virginia Republicans are a somewhat divided lot who haven't figured out which candidates they want to lead them in 2008. Either Gilmore or Saxman would face a tall order trying to unite a party that still has not decided whether moderate is a dirty word, a pup tent to be tolerated off to the side of the main tent or a type of voter to be wooed and won.

As long as GOP activists consider
AUSTRALIAN golfer Mark Bylsma is preparing himself for a tilt at the world record for the longest drive in history.

Bylsma is Australia's answer to Happy Gilmore. A monster of a man with a monster of a drive, he stands at 196 centimetres, weighs 160 kilograms and can bench press 180kg. And when he hits a golf ball, it stays hit.

Such as the time he teed off at Duntryleague, in Orange, two years ago. He stepped up to the first tee, wound up and hit the green - on a par five, 415 metres away. The strike, an Australian record of 401m, is considered the greatest shot in this nation's golf history. But the former chef isn't satisfied. He's hungry for a crack at the world's longest drive, a 658m effort by Briton Paul Slater on the tarmac at Heathrow Airport.

"If I set the stage and get the right conditions I can definitely crack it, hold the world record," Bylsma told The Sun-Herald.

"It's about hiring the airport, getting the right conditions and then getting the job done.

"Stuart Appleby and Robert Allenby tried to break it a couple of years ago. Appleby came pretty close and I can definitely hit the ball a lot longer than those guys."

Indeed, the man known as "Boomer" can hit the ball harder than pretty much anyone. Tiger Woods is one of the longest hitters off the tee in professional golf, courtesy of a swing speed of up to 204kmh - about 39kmh behind Bylsma.

"Tiger hits it about 300m - he's about a football field behind me," Bylsma said.

That's why the Aussie's confident he'll have his name alongside the all-time record when he attempts it in the new year. He was hoping to have a crack at it earlier, but work commitments - he runs Penrith's Pioneer Tavern - and the impending arrival of a baby forced him to put his ambition on hold. Getting in some practice could be an issue, however.

The biggest king of swing since Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra, Bylsma has been banned from most driving ranges because they aren't long enough.

"I tend to hit them over the back net on to freeways," he said. "I lose a lot of golf balls. I normally leave about 350m before I tee off [on course]. I don't want to hit anyone. That would definitely make a mess."

So what's the secret to belting the ball so damn far?

"It's a combination of strength and technique," he said. "Physics definitely plays a part in the game. There's no point being built like Arnold Schwarzenegger if you can't turn your shoulders or hip flexors. I try to hold a rhythm, be strong and explosive through the ball but hold a rhythm, let the club do the work.

I try to be super aggressive."

Byslma's driver alone is enough to intimidate a golf ball into another postcode: 3x stiff and 12 grams heavier than standard. And a menacing head with a six-degree loft.

He plans to take it to the World Long Drive Championship in the US next year. The last time he was there, in 2005, he finished 28th out of 140.

As well as the lure of setting a new world record, $US125,000 ($139,000) prizemoney is in the offing.

Source: The Sun-Herald Happy Gilmore
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Happy Gilmore

original movie poster
Directed by Dennis Dugan
Produced by Robert Simonds
Written by Tim Herlihy
Adam Sandler
Starring Adam Sandler
Carl Weathers
Julie Bowen
Allen Covert
Frances Bay
Christopher McDonald
Distributed by Universal Studios
Release date(s) February 16, 1996
Running time 92 minutes
Language English
Budget $10 million
IMDb profile
Happy Gilmore is a 1996 sports comedy film starring Adam Sandler, Carl Weathers, Julie Bowen, Allen Covert, Frances Bay and Christopher McDonald. Bob Barker, Robert Smigel, Kevin Nealon, Joe Flaherty, Lee Trevino, Richard Kiel, Mark Lye and Ben Stiller have cameos.

Contents
1 Plot
2 Trivia
3 Goofs
4 External links



[edit] Plot
Happy (Adam Sandler) is an aspiring ice hockey player who masters a powerful slapshot that his father taught him as a child. However, his aggression and poor skating ability render it impossible for him to make any hockey team. His grandmother (Frances Bay), with whom he's lived almost all his life due to an unfortunate hockey related incident which killed his father, has not paid taxes on her home for several years. As such, she owes $270,000 to the IRS and the house that Happy's grandfather "built with his bare hands" is about to be repossessed. Due to a series of events that lead Happy to believe in his own ability to use his powerful slapshot in the game of golf, he joins the PGA Tournament in order to win enough money to buy back his grandmother's house from the government. Aspiring PGA Tournament winner Shooter McGavin (Christopher McDonald) sees Gilmore as a threat, and tries to thwart any attempt of his to steal his thunder. Although his golf game and his manners on the green aren't rounded, Happy is guided by one-handed golf coach Chubbs Peterson (Carl Weathers) and the tournament PR head (Julie Bowen), who help him in finding his own way to win tournaments with a cooler head. After signing an endorsement deal with Subway, Happy earns the $250,000 he needs to buy back his grandmother's house. At the auction, he is outbid by Shooter McGavin, who offers Happy the house under the terms that he in exchange quits the tournament. Happy is persuaded to continue with the tournament by the notion that his grandmother would rather see him succeed than have the house. Shooter agrees to give Happy the house if he beats him in the tour championship. Happy wins the championship, becomes a pro golfer and in turn gets his grandmother's house back.


[edit] Trivia
Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

The golfer who continuously shakes his head in dismay during the film is Lee Trevino. His only spoken line is: "Grizzly Adams did have a beard."
The Final Scene is a parody on the ending of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.
Verne Lundquist, who plays the Golf Channel commentator in the film, is a hole announcer for the The Masters Tournament, one of the major PGA tournaments, on CBS.
PGA Golfer Mark Lye makes a cameo appearance during a cocktail party scene talking to Shooter McGavin and Happy Gilmore about The Tour Championship.
Bob Barker credits his appearance in this movie for revitalizing interest (especially among college students) in his game show The Price Is Right (with perhaps, the oft repeated saying "The price is wrong, bitch"). He thinks a younger generation (college students in particular) of viewers saw his performance in the movie, in which he is paired up with Gilmore in a celebrity tournament and ends up winning a fist-fight against the exuberant player after finishing in last place. His use of the phrases "I think you've had enough" and "No? Now you've had enough...Bitch." are oft-repeated in his game show, in a differing context, of course. Barker accepted the role after he found out he was going to win the fight. [citation needed]
During a 2007 CBS prime-time special honoring Barker's 50th anniversary in television, the clip of the fight from the movie was played. Afterward, Sandler made a surprise appearance to thank Barker and read a poem in his honor.
NHL stars Joe Sakic and Vincent Lecavalier make cameo appearances as players at the hockey tryouts.
Richard Kiel has trouble standing (due to his acromegaly and also due to his sense of balance being affected by a head injury sustained in a car accident in 1992), so he had to use a cane in most scenes. However, in two scenes, he could not use the cane because of the "tough-guy" circumstances. In one scene, he simply leaned upon an extra as he was being shot. In the other, the scene calls for him to run after Christopher McDonald. However, since he could not, he was placed upon a cart and wheeled. He was then shot only from the waist-up and moved his arms in a running-like fashion.[citation needed]
The love interest of Happy Gilmore in this film has the same initials of the love interest of Billy Madison (Billy Madison), Bobby Boucher (The Waterboy) and Nicky (Little Nicky). Virginia Venit is the love interest in this film whilst Veronica Vaughn is the love interest in Billy Madison, Vicki Vallencourt is Bobby Boucher's love interest in The Waterboy and Valerie Veran is Nicky's girlfriend in Little Nicky.
The line "Nice Shooting Soldier!", spoken by the annoying fan (played by Joe Flaherty), is a line spoken in Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb by Sterling Hayden's character General Jack Ripper.
In many broadcast versions of the film, the "Subway" logo appearing on Sandler's shirt during the closing scenes is edited out. The commercial shoot, however, remains in the film. Some of the other corporate logos in these versions have also been edited out or censored -- one example includes a logo for AT&T on Happy's caddie's apron during an AT&T-sponsored tournament, which was covered with a blue dot on a USA Network telecast of the film. These logo removals or censorship are due to various broadcasters' policies against unpaid advertising plugs on television programming.

[edit] Goofs
In the scene where the television tower falls onto the green on the 18th hole, a few people can already be seen sprawled on the grass just before the tower falls.
The VW Bug is shown already crashed into the TV tower in a scene before the actual crash scene.
At the hockey try-outs, the coaches are shown standing behind the glass right after Happy shatters it with his slap shot.
At the hockey try-outs,before Happy hits the shatters the glass with the puck the window is already cracked when he goes to hit it.
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Happy Gilmore
[edit] External links