Around The Horn

The NCAA Tournament is Awesome! Regular Basketball is good to watch. Playoff Basketball is even better, but if they are not careful they will alienate their fans and drive away viewers by trying to accommodate the TV networks. Ironic as it may be, it is funny that postponing the starts of series to fit the TV lineups better there are large gaps in the time between the end of one series and the beginning of another. Granted, when a team sweeps and the other series goes 7 there is going to be a long layoff, that can’t be helped. For instance Orlando is waiting for the winner of the Celtics and the Cavs (2-2) but the Lakers and Suns are both done and ready for the Conference Finals but that doesn’t begin until next Monday, a 6 day layoff. That is a lot of time for rust and a long time for fans to stay interested. Especially when the weather is starting to get nice. The NBA is playing with fire and does so every year.

3 teams have been down this round in the Stanley Cup Playoffs 3-0 or 3-1. 2 of the 3 series are still going on and in each one it is/ or was very conceivably the team that moves onuntil last night when the Canucks failed to show up and got blown out 5-1. The Canadiens, Canucks and Flyers have all been on the brink of elimination but now 2 of the 3 have a legitimate chance in making the improbable comeback. At the very least they are ensuring that we get to see some more games, but they are also adding to the excitement of an already great playoffs so far. The first round was good, and the second is holding serve and keeping the quality and entertainment level high.

Just when you think that they are starting to do things right the Bengals make a questionable move to bring in Pacman Jones. The team was bad on the field for a long time. Then they got better on the field, then a bunch of players started to get arrested. At one point it was like you couldn’t go a couple of days without hearing about a player in some hot water. Production began to drop on the field and now it is like they are just looking for players with checked pasts to fill out the lineup. The thinking in Cincinnati is anyone’s guess. If Michigan plays in the Big House I guess that the Cincinnati Bengals play in the Half Way House.

A New Zealander gave new meaning to the golfing term ‘hazard’ when he fell from a cliff while searching for his ball. The 66-year-old sustained serious injuries but was in a stable condition. The man fell 30 metres onto seaside boulders and was only discovered a good time later after his golf cart was noticed. The man was playing alone at the time. Between cliff’s in New Zealand and Gators in Florida nobody can say that golf is not a dangerous game.

Quick Hits

The Toronto Raptors season is hanging on by a thread as they are a mere .5 game above the Bulls for the 8th and final playoff position in the Eastern Conference. The other night, All Star and the teams best player Chris Bosh suffered a broken bone in his face. Isn’t it just fitting that a shattered grill could also could shatter Toronto’s playoffs dreams. To make matters worse for the Raps’ their version of the Ottawa Senators enigma Alexi Kovalev - Hedo Turkoglu- suffered a nasal contusion in a loss to Boston the next night. The season seems to be in the balance with only a handful of games remaining and a once sure playoff birth hanging precariously in the balance.

Tiger Woods will make his long awaited return to the ranks of professional golf in this weeks Major, The Masters. The way I am looking at it the only story here is how will he manage a difficult and newly changed course layout after being away from the game for so long. What rust will he have and will he be able to "flip the switch and jump right back to being the most dominant player of all time. There is sure to be rust in terms of playing with the pressure of a tournament but the advantage to golf is that unlike other sports you play head to head vs the course and not other players. You can only affect how you play not anyone else in the field. Sure there are psychological advantages just in terms of intimidation of how good he is and the gallery that will be following him but he has put a lot of time in on the range and practice rounds so he should be ready. He always seemed pretty focused when he was living a huge lie, just imagine how much better he could be when he can actually enjoy himself. As long as his transgressions and lies aren’t the source of his focus like it was Samson’s hair he should be fine. I just hope the weekend is about the golf and not an extended version of the Insider or TMZ.

Tail Of The Tiger

Like I said before, right after Tiger had that early morning accident and some of the tabloid stories that were floated just before that incident that it was something that was fine to mention in the news but that everyone should just let him be and deal with it internally. The only reason that this should even be brought up is when it affects him as a pro golfer. Unfortunately that happened late this week. This went from tabloid garbage and fodder for the night time talk shows to becoming a legitimate sports news story. With a number now up to a bakers dozen of woman that h has been linked to is now at a level that is irrelevant as 1 is too many, 13 shows a real either addiction or at least pattern of poor decisions as a married man.

His decision to take an indefinite leave from the game of professional golf again legitimizes this as a true sports story. Granted he needs to deal with all this in a private way but there now needs to be some public statements. A post on his website is nice to get the info out but he needs to make an in person public statement if nothing else but to show that he is actually remorseful and sincere. Tiger stated "I need to focus my attention on being a better husband, father, and person," which is the right thing to say...but it needs to be said and not written.

Slowly some of his sponsors are now slightly distancing themselves from Woods and the story by ‘pulling back on marketing’. They are not dropping him right away just limiting some of the exposure that he gets. Some of his major sponsors include Nike, Gillette, AT&T, Gatorade and Tag Heuer. Of those 3 have already made some sort of modification regarding Woods.

It is interesting when you think of it. Maybe it is just poor decision making if you are a professional athlete to get married before you are 35. The likleyhood of there being ‘transgressions’ has got be be higher then that in regular society. sew your wild oats while young and rich...then settle down. That might lessen the sting of acting like a playboy.

It is a sad story all in all. Who would have thought that it would be a marriage and scandal that is going to derail one of the greatest careers of anything we have ever seen in sports. You would have thought that injury was the only thing that could stand in Tiger's way... Not even close, he won a Major title on a BROKEN LEG and this is what brings him down. It will be interesting to see what takes a bigger hit, Tiger's image or the PGA Tour without Tiger (bad economic times on tour is not going to be easy to overcome).

Tiger Jokes- Don't Want To, Have To

I apologise but before I can take the moral high ground this evolving issue I must go low brow on the Tiger jokes. I don't want to have to do it but, here we are. I can only hope that this will get it out of my system and we can move on to some actual sports related stories and comments.

Tiger's New Trophy

Gatorade and Tiger ask "IS IT IN YOU?"

Apparently, the only person who can beat Tiger Woods with a golf club is his wife

Ping just offered Elin Woods an endorsement contract pushing her own set of drivers. They said to named Elin Woods..."clubs you can beat Tiger with."

Tiger Woods is so rich that he owns lots of expensive cars. Now he has a hole in one.

What's the difference between a car and a golf ball? Tiger can drive a ball 400 yards.

What were Tiger Woods and his wife doing out at 2.30 in the morning? They went clubbing .

Tiger Woods crashed into a fire hydrant and a tree. He couldn't decide between a wood and an iron.

I always said golf was a dangerous game...all this happened because Tiger picked up another birdie.

What club did Elin use to 'rescue' her husband? A "bitching wedge".

(Politically incorrect): What do Tiger Woods and baby seals have in common ?? They're both clubbed by Norwegians !

Tiger Gate - The Saga Continues

Ok. So it is time to get out ahead of the Tiger Woods saga and then maybe we can move on. Sure this is not a good situation that he put himself into. Any difficulties that he is incurring or going to incur in the upcoming weeks and months are of his own doing and he must deal with that. First and for most this is a private matter that needs to be dealt with.. .In private. The only thing that people need to know is if any of the issues are going to affect his golf game. The rest should be irrelevant. Obviously that is not going to happen and people love sensationalism. The way society is now with its stars they will build you up and put you on a pedestal, but at a moments notice they will be more then happy to knock you down and tear you up.... Only to then be more then happy to build you back up as a reclamation project. Britney Spears I am looking in your direction.

Are we to believe that all of a sudden Tiger Woods has become the first celebrity or athlete who has ever had an affair or "transgression"? I am shocked that someone would do such a thing! agghhh maybe shocked may be a bit of an overstatement... Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, Shaq just to name a few internationally known superstars. I am sure in due time that this will pass and Tiger will be able to put this time behind him. How long that will be is anyone guess but we are only in the beginning of this story and who knows what other info is out there just ready to be leaked to the media but it will all come out in the wash. But again to be fair business on the fairways and greens should be fair game... business with the family should stay within the family, if nothing else but for the kids. It is too bad that the TMZ’s of the world won’t let that happen.

For those who have not seen his release here it is, it is a very tough read and clearly a tough thing to have to put out to the public. Especially for someone who has held his private life so quiet and closely shielded from the public for so many years...now I guess we know why.

Tiger comments on current events
I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart. I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves. I am not without faults and I am far short of perfect. I am dealing with my behavior and personal failings behind closed doors with my family. Those feelings should be shared by us alone.
Although I am a well-known person and have made my career as a professional athlete, I have been dismayed to realize the full extent of what tabloid scrutiny really means. For the last week, my family and I have been hounded to expose intimate details of our personal lives. The stories in particular that physical violence played any role in the car accident were utterly false and malicious. Elin has always done more to support our family and shown more grace than anyone could possibly expect.
But no matter how intense curiosity about public figures can be, there is an important and deep principle at stake which is the right to some simple, human measure of privacy. I realize there are some who don’t share my view on that. But for me, the virtue of privacy is one that must be protected in matters that are intimate and within one’s own family. Personal sins should not require press releases and problems within a family shouldn’t have to mean public confessions.
Whatever regrets I have about letting my family down have been shared with and felt by us alone. I have given this a lot of reflection and thought and I believe that there is a point at which I must stick to that principle even though it’s difficult.
I will strive to be a better person and the husband and father that my family deserves. For all of those who have supported me over the years, I offer my profound apology.

It doesn’t help that fellow golfer Jesper Parnevik (who first introduced Tiger to Elin) had this to say about the situation: "I’m kind of filled with sorrow for Elin since me and my wife are at fault for hooking her up with him, and we probably thought he was a better guy than he is.
"I would probably have to apologize to her and hope she uses a driver next time instead of a three-iron."

So with that said lets get it all out of our system now and then we can start fresh. Yes, more people on the course will be yelling "Get in the hole!" after each of his shots. Yes, all of his clubs and balls are well polished. Yes, his equipment is top of the line. Yes, his favorite shot is the knock down shot. No he did not shank it and ask for a mulligan. No he was not following company orders from NIKE to Just Do IT when he was approached with the option of engaging in any of the alleged "Transgressions". I am sure that there are many other jokes to be had but I think that the main ones are covered and now it is time to move on.

If Tiger is really guilty of anything other then "transgressions" it is that of being greedy. He has a Swedish model wife with a twin sister already. Now he is out with other women...that is just overkill dude...share the wealth.

Tiger In Trouble?

Tiger Woods appears to be in a bit of hot water right now. After it took nearly 12 hours before his accident to be reported (especially in a world of Twitter and such) lends itself to many questions. At this point all there is is questions and really no answers. The say that alcohol was not a factor, and that may well be true but in the absence of information from either Woods or the police who knows. Maybe there was a domestic situation that led to him leaving after 2am, hitting a fire hydrant and then a neighbours tree.

When it was first reported it said he was seriously injured which made you wonder how this would affect his run at Jack Nicklaus and his records. As probably the best golfer ever it has been widely assumed that the only thing that could de-rail him is injury. I am sure there was a collective gasp when the news was first reported.

They say that his wife, Elin Nordegren aided him out of the automobile by using a golf club to break out the back window...possible, or maybe she broke it out during a fight. We don't know, no one is talking. How bad is he injured? We don't know he is held up in his gated community home. he is usually known for being a man of few words but now it is making him look a lot worse.

I do feel a little bad about the exposure that this is getting but I guess that is the price of being a celebrity. This is also coming at an interesting time as the usually squeaky clean woods has had some bad press in the Tabloids regarding his involvement with another woman (Rachel Uchitel) . Does this have anything to do with the situation...maybe, maybe not. Again we won't know until someone talks.

It is expected that Woods will talk to State Patrol today (Sunday) and the 911 call will likely be released Sunday as well. Maybe that will shed some light. This will be interesting to follow as information trickles out. I am just glad that everyone involved is still alive. Sometimes, not only in sports but society in general it is a much more tragic story.

Around The Horn

GOLF - If there is anything that is more confusing then the Fed Ex Cup in golf I would be afraid to see it. The announcers and hi light people keep talking about it but to actually find out the standings is not easy. If this is your "Playoff" would you not want to put it out in the public eye a little more. I guess that if you have a scoring system that is near impossible to understand then I guess I would hide it too. The whole playoff thing is so trumped up to try and make tournaments seem more relevant and try and add some better ratings and to force more players to actually play in these tournaments. If not for the money Tiger would have shut it down for the season 3 weeks ago otherwise.. The NASCAR style playoff system just doesn’t work in golf...heck it barely works in NASCAR. It is so bad that Tiger Woods won the thing and was in the final pairing on a Sunday and was surpassed by Phil Mickleson who won the tournament and still it couldn’t draw people in. Mickleson won the tournament, Tiger hung on to win the overall championship and took home the $10M winnings. Mickleson at least had a good line saying, tongue in cheek - I win the tournament and Tiger is the one going home with $10 Million? -

NASCAR- Jimmie Johnson ran his typical Dover race and led the most laps in taking the checkered flag. The win now puts him into second place in the Sprint Cup Standings. Johnson is looking to go for a record 4th straight Cup Championship. As of right now he is in a great position going forward as he is a mere 10 points back. The only trouble with the win is that the driver that has won in Dover has never won the Championship, so he has that working against him. There is also the solid performances from Juan Pablo Montoya and veteran Mark Martin amongst others that are looking to de-throne the reigning Champion.


NFL- The worst possible thing happened in the Vikings game yesterday. Brett Favre threw a last second "gun-slinger" type ball that was grabbed in the end zone for a phenomenal catch by receiver Greg Lewis. After the game Favre said he didn’t even know who caught ball nor did he even know that the guy was even in the huddle but he knew it was a great catch. If people keep encouraging him and giving him praise he will never leave. What is even worse is that the Vikings will be playing the Packers this coming week and this is going to do nothing but bring more attention to Favre and that will just be an ordeal.

There were some just terrible throwback uniforms in play this weekend. Sure it is nice to honour anniversaries with these alternate jerseys but just because you call something vintage doesn’t make them nice or even appealing. The Seattle bright lime green jerseys looked like they were vests from a laser tag game that was just hit and the Houston Texans red "Onesie" was just awful. If you bring these alternate jerseys every week, at what point does it just become a regular uniform?

NCAA- Tim Tebow was sacked in the Florida game and his head violently hit the ground. He was taken to the hospital with a concussion. It is believed that the medical personnel for the Gators were by his side before he even hit the ground. When the chosen one goes down everyone goes triple speed.

Michigan is now 4-0! Trust me I am shocked but know that this is more of a fluke then the turning around of a bad team. Any win is a good win but I am not going to go crazy and overvalue the early record.

#6 California got blown out of the water by the un-ranked Oregon Ducks 42-3. How this happens is beyond me. What makes this loss even worse is that it was one of my "sure thing" Proline picks, you know the game you just throw in so you don’t have to worry about it...so yeah.... between that and Chelsea from some soccer league had a rough couple of tickets on Saturday.

Y.E. (S) - Yang Hold Off Tiger In An Upset

When the weekend started it looked like it was just going to shape up like any other August weekend a bit of baseball, some NASCAR, a smattering of tennis with a sprinkle of golf. What it turned out to be was all that and the traditional bag-of-chips.

I don’t think that anyone would have thought that Tiger Woods who was the leader in the 4th and final Major on the PGA tour from nearly wire to wire would succumb to an unknown South Korean named Y.E. Yang on the final day...while entering with a 2 shot lead. 2 Shots on a Sunday to Tiger is like money in the bank. Up until yesterday that has never happened when he was either leading or had a share of the lead. That is just part of what makes this such a huge deal. In the US it is a Tiger gave it away which is somewhat true but then there is also the other side where in South Korea Yang is now a hero in the country and instantly became a household name. In probably one of the most unlikely situations Tiger couldn’t rise to the occasion and get his putter working to fight off Yang. He shot well enough to win but just couldn’t close out the way that he needed. The amount of puts that he missed by 1/4s of an inch...he should have breezed to another major. But hey that is golf and it is a game of fractions of an inch.

To Yangs' credit he hung in like a champ and didn’t get rattled by Tigers imposing shadow. Maybe not knowing the language, not knowing what he was doing was so monumental was the key. Yang was playful down the stretch throwing a ball into the crowd, waving to the CBS cameraman, it was almost like he was too relaxed, maybe that was his strategy to keep his mind off the impending pressure. At the end he grabbed his golf bag and lifted it over his head like it was a championship belt or the Stanley Cup. Either way he got it done. It was one of the largest upsets ever in golf and will probably go down as one of the bigger ones in sports. Being the stage it was on and the fact it was the first time that someone was able to stand up to Tiger and live to tell about it...through an interpreter.

What I hate was hearing form some people that Tiger choked and has not had a good year because he has no Majors and lost yesterday. The only way the you can come to this conclusion is if you put Tiger vs Vintage Tiger. 5 wins in a year coming off a "MAJOR" (pun intended) injury to his knee and going out with 2 wins and a 2nd place finish. All in all that isn’t bad. Is being the Player of the Year the sign of having a bad year, since he is probably going to win that again? I am going to say only maybe to Tiger.

The Fairytale That Almost Was

There was no fairy tale ending. But what a buildup. It was a close to a made for TV movie as anything in recent memory.. It was on par to be one of the best stories that sports has seen in quite some time, and probably in the top 3 of greatest in golf. A 59 year old making a run at one of golfs biggest tournaments and not just a run but 2 shots from being crowned the champion. Tom Watson, an 8 time Major Champion carried a 1 shot lead into the final hole at The Open Championship. All Watson needed was a par on the last hole and he could have done what no one could have ever imagined that he or anyone else of that age could do. He hit a perfect shot into the center of the fairway and was in a perfect position to make his par and get his name engraved onto the Claret Jug . His second shot went threw the green and into the first cut of ruff. He needed to get up and down in 2 and the tournament was his. What happened next was just gut wrenching for not only Watson but everyone on the course and millions watching on TV. The tone of all the announcers was that it was a forgone conclusion that Watson was going to win. A marketable put was wide and short and never had a chance to drop. That bogey dropped Watson to a tie with eventual winner Stewart Cink at -2. The tournament wrapped up without much drama as Cink took control of the 4 shot playoff early and Watson could never really recover.

In a tournament that was in need of a great story for the weekend got just that. Tiger Woods missed the cut for only the 2nd time in 49 Majors (the only other one was after the passing of his father). Without the #1 player in the world there was some worry that ratings would be low without his star power and also no Mickleson in the field, Watson more then made up for it.
I find it kind of funny that the 2 biggest stories of the tourney were 2 let downs - Watson and Tiger, not the winner who played some good golf, I mean he must have he won.

It is a weird situation right now, and I feel almost as bad for Cink as I do for Watson. Cink, who has never one a major before yesterday is now a Champion (which no one can take away from him, but how he and it will be remembered will be interesting. Will he be the guy that took the Open from Watson. It will be the tournament that Watson almost won not the tournament that Cink did win. They always say that you never remember who comes second...this might be the one very rare exception that that is not true.

Truly a Final Round Unlike Any Other

In a round that left 2 of the competitors 3 and 4 shots back, it was those 2 that made The Masters Tournament worth watching. It was exactly what the PGA and CBS were looking for. Phil Mickleson and Tiger Woods put on a show all day as Mickleson came out early firing on all cylinders and Tiger Woods started slow but then hit his stride. The beauty was that these 2 players were matched up together on Sunday and in pursuit of the Championship. Unfortunately they began fairly far back on the leader board making it very difficult to make up that kind of ground. These to greats did do their best to erase the deficit and put some serious heat on the leaders Kenny Perry, Chad Campbell and Angel Cabrera. Watching Tiger and Lefty end the front 9 and thru the back nine it was like they were the only 2 players on the course, despite the fact tat they never did even get a chance to tie for the lead. It was some of the most compelling golf with great shots and devastating misses . It had everything except the actual tournament on the line. Strange that 1 super pairing that just didn’t have a shot to win was the best storyline of the final day. Mickleson ended -9 and Tiger ended -8.

Crazy thing about it is the Masters eventually came down to a 3 way playoff between Perry, Campbell and Cabrera. Even with that exciting finish it didn’t have the same buzz that followed Phil and Tiger all day. One could compare it to winning an MVP while being on the loosing team. Each player did all they could to make a poor shot and do their best to give the tournament away in a sudden death playoff starting on 18 then eventually followed it up with a huge save. Campbell was the one exception as he missed a makeable putt that eliminated him from the playoff. Perry and Cabrera moved on to the 2 playoff hole where Perry missed a relatively easy 2nd shot into the green and opened the door wide open for Cabrera, who put his 2nd shot pin high and put all the pressure on Perry to get up and down from just off the green. He was not able and Cabrera held on for the victory. It is too bad, Perry would have been a good story with the chance to be the oldest to ever win a Major. Instead, Cabrera who is, for lack of a better team and interesting character and golfer at best, is victorious and earns the right to go to Butler Cabin and put on that Green Jacket.