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CHASKA, Minn. -- Jack Nicklaus and Tony Jacklin were a big part of the Ryder Cups opening ceremony on Thursday, each of them serving as a reminder that while this competition may be fierce, it should be conducted with both honor and integrity. There are some things, they pointed out, that are bigger than golf. Nicklaus conceding a 2-foot putt to Jacklin at Royal Birkdale in 1969 -- ending the match in a tie when a miss would have given the United States the Ryder Cup outright -- is now considered one of the most important moments in the history of the event.While this is a nice reminder, and perhaps an important lesson we should always keep in the back of our minds, let us now offer a few words in praise of Ryder Cup trash talk.Just because the two teams agree to be friends afterward does not mean they cant exchange some friendly barbs in the buildup to the event. It has become increasingly absurd when people try to shame the players into acting like boring robots. The Ryder Cup is one of the best events in sports specifically because it can get a little heated, specifically because its not just a clash of personalities but also a clash of cultures.Englands Danny Willett found himself on the business end of some of that shaming this week after his brother, Peter, penned an article for National Club Golfer that mocked American fans as fat, stupid, greedy, classless bastards. Willett and European captain Darren Clarke repeatedly mentioned how disappointed they were with the column and that it did not represent the views of Team Europe. They didnt want to give American fans the wrong idea and apologized repeatedly. The controversy, silly as it was, even appeared to play a role in Clarkes decision to sit Willett for the Friday morning session of foursomes.Frankly, I wish Willett hadnt apologized. I wish hed fully embraced the role of Ryder Cup villain. Ian Poulter wouldnt have apologized. Patrick Reed wouldnt have apologized. I dont think, for a second, that Seve Ballesteros would have apologized either. They would have soaked up the negative energy and produced some amazing golf. Willett certainly wasnt shy about taking a little dig at Jordan Spieth in April, retweeting a photo of Spieth looking shell-shocked during the green jacket ceremony in Butler Cabin after the Masters, so I wish hed just own it.Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson have learned to own it over the years. Mickelson got in a clever dig at McIlroy and Graham McDowell in 2014 when he mentioned before the start of competition that one of Team USAs strengths was we dont litigate against one another, an obvious reference to a legal dispute between McIlroy and McDowell after their management company dissolved. And McIlroy couldnt resist throwing a barb at Team USA this time around after he was asked about captain Davis Love IIIs comment this was the best American team ever assembled. Definitely assembled the best task force ever, thats for sure, he said.No one blinks an eye in football or basketball when teams goad one another or try to get under one anothers skin. It has become part of the buildup to every NBA Finals and every Super Bowl, but when it comes to golf, its often seen as an ungentlemanly act, an affront to the gracious spirit of the game.Thats nonsense. The Ryder Cup has always been at its best when the competition has gotten a little heated, the celebrations a little too rowdy, like when the United States went bonkers and ran on the green after Justin Leonards putt in 1999, or when the Europeans were dancing in a conga line around the 18th green after they won the Ryder Cup on U.S. soil for the first time in 1987 at Muirfield Village.Weve talked a lot this week about how gracious Arnold Palmer was, how he made everyone feel loved when in his presence, but there is another side to Palmer that was an important part of his legacy too: He was a relentless competitor who wasnt afraid of anyone in his prime. In 1963, Palmer was both the captain of the U.S. Ryder Cup team and a participant, and he was so confident in his squad, he told the press before the tournament: This team would beat the rest of the world combined. He was probably right. The United States went on and won 23-9.So bring on the trash talk. Dial up the intensity. 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CLEVELAND -- Hey, far be it for us to send waves of alarm rippling through Cubs Nation after one game of a World Series -- even if its a game they happened to lose 6-to-zilch Tuesday night to the fearsome Corey Kluber/Andrew Miller/Cody Allen division of those rampaging Cleveland Indians. But sorry. Theres stuff you need to know about this.So what do you say we get all the terrifying Cubs notes out of the way early on? It will be easier that way.? Over the past three decades, almost every team that lost Game 1 of the World Series found it had just dug itself a canyon it couldnt climb out of. Its tough to comprehend, but Game 1 losers have lost the past six World Series. And 12 of the past 13. And 17 of the past 19. Not to mention 19 of the past 22 and 24 of the past 28. Going all the way back to 1997, the only two teams to lose Game 1 and survive were the 2009 Yankees and the 2002 Angels. Hard to believe in a best-of-seven series, but 100 percent true.? Then theres the Cubs own not-so-beautiful history when they lose Game 1 of any postseason series. Tuesdays Game 1 loss in Cleveland marked the 14th time the Cubs had lost the opener of any type of series. They went 1-12 in the previous 13, coming back to win only in the 2015 NLDS against St. Louis.? If we confine this study just to best-of-seven series, it gets even more ominous. The Cubs now have lost Game 1 of a best-of-seven series 10 times. Theyre 0-9 in the previous nine. Then again, theyre the Cubs! So losing series in just about every way possible has been one of their areas of expertise.? Finally, the Cubs have now been shut out three times in this postseason. Of the seven previous teams to get blanked three times or more in the same postseason, just one -- the 1981 Dodgers -- went on to win the World Series. So are we saying theres a chance? Sure. Why the heck not?But the words of wisdom emanating from the clubhouse of the National League champions sounded remarkably similar to the words welling up from that same group a week or so ago, after theyd been held to two hits and no runs by Clayton Kershaw in Game 2 of the NLCS, and then held to two hits and no runs again, by Rich Hill, in Game 3 of that series.This time, the Cubs were talking about another ace, Kluber. Who held them to four hits and no runs, while striking out nine, in six-plus innings.That, Cubs catcher David Ross?said, is what Cy Youngs do. Thats what aces do.Of course, what Kluber did to the Cubs in this game wasnt quite what Kershaw and Hill did to them in the last round, if only because hes right-handed and the two Dodgers aces are left-handed. But were starting to see signs that this team can be shut down by great pitching this time of year -- when guys like Kluber and Miller show up on the mound with a lot greater frequency than they do from April through September.During the season, this Cubs lineup finished second to Colorado in runs scored. But it has now been shut out more times in 11 games in this postseason (three) than it was shut out in the 102 games it played from June 1 on in the regular season (two).The question is: What does that tell us about where this World Series is headed from here?This is not going to put all the pressure on us, just because we didnt win one ballgame, said the Cubs DH du jour, Kyle Schwarber, who somehow found a way to jet in from the Arizona Fall League, become the first position player ever to get a hit in a World Series after getting zero hits in the season and then rise up to be a voice of reason afterward.Were a good baseball team, Schwarber promised. Well be fine.But will they? They struck out 15 times Tuesday -- something they hadnt done in any nine-inning game in more than four months (since a June 13 meeting with Max Scherzer). They also set a franchise record for most whiffs in a postseason game.So what was the common thread between this game and those two shutouts against the Dodgers? According to ESPN Stats & Information, it was the unusually high percentage of fastballs the Cubs took for strikes against the starters they faced in all three of those games.ddddddddddddWhen Kluber threw his fastball Tuesday, he had a 58 percent called-strike rate. It was 55 percent in that game against Hill and 54 percent in Kershaws Game 2 start. Those are the three highest rates against them by any starting pitchers they faced all year.And while the Cubs had some complaints about plate ump Larry Vanovers strike zone, those gripes mostly concerned the pitches on the corners that Jon Lester didnt get, not the pitches that Kluber did get. Their biggest issue was the number of Klubers exploding two-seam fastballs they appeared to give up on, only to see them veer back into the strike zone.Then, when Kluber went to his off-speed stuff, the Cubs didnt fare much better. They had more swings and misses against his slider and curve (eight) than balls in play (seven). So the nicest thing that happened, Ross said, gratefully, was getting Kluber out of there.But if that was the good news, the bad news was it meant they had to spend the next two innings dealing with Miller, a man who had faced 41 hitters in this postseason before this game -- and struck out 21 of them.Unlike the Red Sox and Blue Jays, the Cubs at least made Miller sweat, running four three-ball counts, drawing as many walks against him in two innings (two) as hed issued in the entire postseason before this and forcing him to throw 46 pitches -- the most hed thrown in relief in more than five years.But they also learned all about what makes Miller maybe the most feared reliever in baseball -- when they loaded the bases with no outs in the seventh and got zero runs out of it. The last two outs came on sliders he threw past Addison Russell and Ross. And the movement on both of those pitches was so severe, they were unhittable even for hitters who were pretty sure what was coming. At 3-and-1, Ross said, he threw me a strike slider that kind of backed up a little bit. So what I was seeing [on the next pitch] was, Was that slider going to start in the same place? Im trying to protect against the nasty one and the one that kind of backed up. So as Im trying to look for that, the pitch I struck out on looked like it started from the same spot, but it ended up wrapping around my back leg and pretty much disappeared.Then, an inning later, with two on and two outs, it was Schwarber who got swallowed up by another of Millers most ferocious sliders, swinging over it for the innings final out, then screaming at himself in frustration.Thats his pitch, man, Schwarber said later. Its a plus-plus pitch for a reason.Kluber and Miller were so good, it was easy for the team they beat to fire out the obligatory tip your cap quotes about them and mean every word. But the Cubs will be seeing both of them again. So if theyre going to roar back to win this World Series, theyre going to have to do to those two guys what they did to Kershaw in the NLCS -- make a radical adjustment in the game plan the next time around.The common thread I see, Ross said, is we have a young group that usually gets better the more they see guys and how theyre going to pitch them. Im holding out hope that thats whats going to help us moving forward. But I dont want to take anything away from Corey Klubers performance. It was as dominant as it gets.Well, if they enjoyed his dominance on this night, stay tuned, because there is every indication the Indians plan to run Kluber out there again in Games 4 and 7. And if they grab the lead again, it will be Miller and Allen to follow. Its a formula the Indians already have used to smother two great lineups. And now its the Cubs turn. Lucky them.Asked if he was ready for more of the same fun in Games 4 and 7, Ross laughed and said, Well see. But right now, were going to worry about whoever theyve got on the mound tomorrow. Id rather forget about Corey Kluber for a little while.And after a Game 1 loss that history tells us normally means big trouble -- even for teams this good -- who the heck could blame him? ' ' '