Idle thoughts from an idle mind, while saluting my late father, an Army officer who served in Europe during WWII, on the day made for remembering:

Those of us in northwest Ohio respect the longevity of the Jamie Farr Toledo Classic and know well what it has meant both for civic pride and for the 100-plus local children’s charities that have benefited from the $7.5 million raised through the years by the LPGA Tour event.

Now, someone else has noticed. The Metropolitan Golf Writers Association will honor the Farr Classic and its sponsors — Kroger, Owens Corning, and O-I — next month with its Bing Crosby Tournament Sponsor Award.

Tournament director Judd Silverman and other Farr officials will be on hand June 19 at the Hilton West-chester in Rye Brook, N.Y., for what is annually the largest awards dinner in the golf industry with upwards of 1,000 people in attendance at $225 a head.

“The Jamie Farr Toledo Classic has endured as one of the LPGA Tour’s most popular and beloved tournaments in spite of challenges during the course of its distinguished history,” said Pat Norton, a past president and board member of the Met Golf Writers. “Our board wanted to recognize the tremendous contributions the Farr Classic has made to the community, the quality, and can-do spirit of its tournament organization, and the dedication of its legion of volunteers.”

The Farr Classic is just the second LPGA event to capture the Crosby Award and the first event from Ohio to get the nod since Jack Nicklaus and his Memorial Tournament were honored in 1987.

“To be recognized by the New York golf media is a wonderful tribute to our generous sponsors, dedicated volunteers, loyal golf fans, and our amazing tournament host, Jamie Farr,” Silverman said. “Together, they have made it possible for the tournament to stand the test of time. We’re grateful to the MGWA for this special recognition.”

The 27th edition of the Farr Classic, returning from a one-year hiatus because of last summer’s U.S. Senior Open at Inverness Club, will be staged Aug. 6-12 at Highland Meadows Golf Club in Sylvania.

“The Farr Classic is a most worthy recipient of our award named for Bing Crosby, a passionate golfer and entertainer who loved the game and who contributed much to charity,” Norton said.

It sounds a lot like Farr, who has a scheduling conflict and will not be able to attend the New York function.

Silverman said the Toledo native would be taping a video to be played at the dinner.

• No disrespect to the San Antonio Spurs, but aren’t we all hoping to see Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook of Oklahoma City against LeBron and D-Wade of Miami in the NBA finals? The Western Conference series, which started Sunday night, should be a dandy. The Spurs are red hot and favored to win, but the Thunder got this far by crushing the Mavericks and the Lakers, the last two NBA champs.

• I tend to lose interest when a sport finds its way into the courthouse, but the collusion lawsuit filed by the players’ association against the NFL is rather intriguing. The league might just have outsmarted itself this time.

The NFL recently penalized the Redskins and Cowboys for manipulating 2010 contracts to benefit salary cap space in future seasons. You may recall, though, that because there was no collective bargaining agreement in place the 2010 season was played without a cap.

Despite that, only four of 32 teams exceeded $123 million in payroll that season and only the two that were penalized went crazy in taking advantage of the no-holds-barred salary structure.

The players believe the recent punishment dealt to Washington and Dallas proves there was a secret salary cap in place and that they may have lost as much as $1 billion in compensation because of it. It could be awfully expensive if the owners lose this one.

• The Lions must be concerned that their 2011 first-round draft pick is bust material.

After making just 11 tackles in an injury-plagued rookie season that saw him play in 10 games, defensive tackle Nick Fairley has been arrested for the second time during this off-season.

A charge for marijuana possession in April and being cited for multiple driving violations, including being under the influence, early Sunday morning in Alabama are certainly not indicative of a bright future in Detroit.

Contact Blade sports columnist Dave Hackenberg at: dhack@theblade.com or 419-724-6398.

First Published May 28, 2012, 4:30 a.m.