A better Tiger, a worse Tiger

There's a new Tiger on the PGA Tour this summer. He's a calmer, more affable, more serene Tiger. This is a good thing. But when it comes to his golf game, at least recently, he's less ferocious than your local country club's pro. For those who enjoyed watching golf greatness over the last 14 years, this is definitely a bad thing.

The question is, does a Tiger with a new and improved personality and demeanor necessarily lead to a Tiger with an inconsistent driver and a faulty putter? Can he be gentle but still determined to destroy the field? If he is tame, can he keep his opponents from taming him on the course?

There are many potential explanations for his struggles in 2010. He didn't golf for four months. His life is falling apart. He sees his kids less and less. The media and the galleries who watch him no doubt view him differently than ever before. He's not old, but he is getting older at age 34.

But there's the other reason, the one we'd rather not assign blame to (after all, who wants the nice guy to finish last, or wants to believe that Tiger needs that nasty edge in order to compete?) but is staring us right in the face, even talking to us in post-round press conferences.

"Only thing I did good today is I kept my patience out there," Tiger meowed after shooting a 4-over 74 at Firestone, where he has won seven times. You can file that under "Things you never thought you'd see"--Tiger Woods doing only one thing well through 18 holes of golf, and that thing consisted of remaining calm and patient no matter how out of control his swing became, no matter how crazy his score was.

And he was right. He did keep his patience. After he rolled in a 7-foot birdie on the 17th, he turned to the gallery and gave a little bow. We've seen the smile, the sense of humor when he's lapping the field and making golf look easy. But when his golf game is as chaotic as his personal life? Calm during the storm? That's a new Tiger.

Even after shooting a 77 on Sunday to finish the Bridgestone Invitational with the worst 72-hole score of his professional career and a 78th place finish (out of 80), Woods joked that he would have time to get in a practice round for this week's PGA Championship before the Bridgestone leaders even teed off. In the past, it's Tiger himself who would have been t'd off after such a performance. Granted, he wasn't ecstatic--who would be?--but there didn't seem to be an eruption boiling below the surface, either.

We were told back in the spring that we would no longer see the angry Tiger, the guy who yells at photographers and lectures the media. It seems this was no joke--if the new Tiger walked up to his ball on the 18th green and found a fly on it, he might just pick it up gently, whisper a kind word in its ear and make a wish as it flew away.

But what does it all mean for the man pursuing Jack Nicklaus? Forget majors, he hasn't won any of the nine tournaments he's played this year. He appears to have found an inner peace, but he's lost his swing and certainly his mojo. Does one have to be sacrificed for the other?

Michael Jordan always had that look in his eye, as if every game was his last. Nolan Ryan didn't apologize to hitters after plunking them in the numbers. You can practically see the smoke coming out of Ray Lewis's ears before every play. There are exceptions--Albert Pujols and Brett Favre among them--but it seems that for some athletes, the passion they bring to the game and, perhaps more importantly, the fire that burns in their eyes during game time is precisely what fuels their success.

It's early, I know, but with much of the scandal behind him, Tiger Woods appears to be a better man. Unfortunately, he also seems to be a worse golfer. I'm not prepared to write him off, not yet, and I doubt many people are. But it's worth asking: Can the old Tiger and the new Tiger co-exist? Or, if you'll allow: if you take away his growl, can Tiger still prowl?

Major surprises

This year's golf majors were all about who didn't win.

On Sunday, Tiger Woods lost a major for the first time in 15 attempts when atop the leaderboard after the third round. Y.E. Yang, ranked 110th in the world, took advantage of some shoddy putting by the best golfer in the world to win for just the second time on the tour. He is the first Asian-born player to win a major.

The stunning comeback also marked Woods' first major-less year since 2004. So apparently he is human, though he's still won five of the 13 tournaments he's entered this year, and finished in the top 10 in three of the four majors.

Viewers probably should have expected the unexpected on Sunday given the way the year's first three majors ended.

First, 48-year-old Kenny Perry was on the verge of making history by becoming the oldest Masters champion, but folded up his tent a couple holes too early and lost to Angel Cabrera in a playoff. Phil Mickelson, not long after his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer, was on the cusp of winning the U.S. Open until Lucas Glover came out of nowhere to win it. And then, at the British Open, 59-year-old Tom Watson had a putt on 18 that would have won it, but he missed it and then lost in a playoff to Stewart Cink.

The majors were anything but foregone conclusions this year, and a sport that sometimes lacks drama has had plenty of it in 2009. Congrats, Y.E. Yang, and Tiger--pull it together!

Adding injury to injury


Because the Mets just didn't have enough players on the DL, David Wright was hit in the head with a 94 mph fastball on Saturday and could be out for the year.

It's scary when we're reminded of the true danger professional athletes are in while at work. A fastball to the head, a tackle that bends the neck the wrong way, landing awkwardly after a contested layup--you hate to see injuries that require a hospital instead of just a trainer. In fact, two others players were hit in the head Saturday; both Texas' Ian Kinsler and the Dodgers' Hiroki Kuroda are doing okay after their respective beanings (Kuroda was hit with a batted ball while on the mound).

Zambrano has been "lazy"

Carlos Zambrano says he's been lazy about his ab workouts, which doctors say has contributed to his recurring back problems. It's great that he owned up to his dilatoriness, but now he needs to do what he said he will and commit to working out the way a $91 million investment should.

Orton hears a boo

After getting booed during training camp, Kyle Orton threw three interceptions in the Broncos' first preseason game. I'm pretty sure Orton shaved his beard, an act that I assumed would immediately turn him into a Pro Bowl-caliber quarterback. We'll see what happens when the real season starts.

Hit and no run; Cubs get 17 hits but find themselves on the wrong end of a blowout

Sunday: Rockies 11, Cubs 5


Have you ever seen a team get 17 hits and score only five runs?

Sunday's game was something of a microcosm of what's been wrong with the Cubs this year. They were unable to get the big hit (5-for-19 with runners in scoring position), struggled in the field (three errors, which they spread around among the catcher's position, the infield, and the outfield), and the bullpen couldn't get anyone out.

The problems, though, started with the starter, as Randy Wells had one of his worst outings of the year. In fact, the seven runs he allowed are the most he's ever allowed in the majors, and the four earned runs are tied for the most he's ever allowed. He just wasn't sharp, as he fell behind hitters all day and needed 100 pitches to get through 5.1 innings. His ERA rose to 3.01, and he came just 1.1 innings shy of qualifying for the ERA leaderboard. He will almost certainly qualify after his next start Friday against the Pirates.

The Cubs are entering a dangerous stretch. The Cardinals used a five-run 8th to sweep the Pirates, pushing the Cubs two games back in the Central, and they're also two games out in the Wild Card. After one more with the Rockies, the Cubs will battle the Phillies (though perhaps they're catching them at the right time--they were just swept by the Marlins) while the Cardinals come home to face the Reds and Padres, two of the four worst teams in the league.

The Cubs offense was locked in Sunday, except when it came to scoring runs. They had at least two hits in each of the first four innings, but tallied just two runs. Second base umpire Chris Guccione cost them one run with an absolutely awful call at second (after which Piniella was ejected for the second time this season), and Jake Fox should have had an RBI were it not for his gapper bouncing over the wall for a ground-rule double. The Cubs finished with a season-high 17 hits overall, but just couldn't figure out ways to plate enough of those baserunners. They stranded 13 in all.

The bottom of the order, which consisted of Jeff Baker and Koyie Hill, really had it going. Baker had a double and a triple against his former team, and Hill had three hits and an RBI.

A win tonight would give the Cubs a 5-5 road trip, which to me is perfectly acceptable. Tom Gorzelanny will try to follow up a very successful start against the Reds, going up against Jorge De La Rosa who has a 5.00 ERA and is coming off a very poor start against the Phillies.

By the way, if you're feeling down about the Cubs at all, just tell yourself, "At least we're not the Red Sox." Boston went into the Bronx down 2 1/2 games in the AL East, and proceeded to get swept in a four-game series. At one point, they went over 30 innings without scoring a run. They finally scored two in the 8th last night to take a 2-1 lead, and promptly allowed four runs in the bottom of the inning on their way to a loss. So the Red Sox suddenly find themselves 6 1/2 games out of first.

Kane it be true?

I sincerely hope the allegations about Patrick Kane aren't true. I don't care about hockey, but for any superstar athlete (or any person, for that matter) to beat up a cab driver over any amount of money, let alone 20 freakin' cents, is unconscionable. If it's true, this will be quite the scar on the face of the Blackhawks organization.

Major momentum

Tiger Woods won for the second straight week, conquering the Bridgestone Invitational for the seventh time. It was the 70th win of his career, bringing him within 12 of Sam Snead's all-time record. Tiger's surely glad to have some momentum heading into this week's PGA Championship, the year's final major.

Thinking green

Woo hoo! The Bulls made the playoffs!

If you sense a little sarcasm there, that's because the Bulls finished the season exactly .500, 41-41, and there's a pretty good chance the Celtics are about the put the "bull" in bulldoze as they show Chicago what a real playoff team looks like. Doc Rivers vs. Vinny del Negro? That just ain't fair.

The Bulls had a great chance to lock up the #6 seed in the East, but they had a rare slip-up at home in the final game of the regular season, losing to a bad Raptors team with nothing to play for. So instead of playing the struggling, 3-pointer dependent Magic, the Bulls will take on the defending champion Celtics.

Now despite what I said above, there is at least a bit of intrigue in this matchup. It sounds like Kevin Garnett is going to be out for the whole series, if not the entire playoffs. Also, the Bulls are 9-3 in their last 12 and 14-2 in their last 16 home games, including a victory over Boston. Winning one in Bahstin will be a challenge, but the Bulls may be able to make some noise at the United Center. But for anyone holding out hope for a miraculous NBA championship? The highest seed ever to win it all was a #6 seed--the #6 seed the Bulls threw away against Toronto.

One good thing is that even if the Bulls get trounced, Derrick Rose will get playoff experience in his rookie season. The Bulls hope D Rose can be the one to lead them back to the promised land, and spending some time on the big stage is a solid way to begin his career.

Series prediction: Celtics, 4-2

From green uniforms to a green jacket


What a great Masters.

First, Tiger and Phil were paired together for the final round, and lived up to expectations with a combined score of -9.

But they couldn't quite catch the leaders, who ended up in a three-way playoff when Kenny Perry posted back-t0-back bogeys on 17 and 18. It ultimately took 20 holes to crown Angel Cabrera the winner, and I must say that I'm getting used to these Major tournament playoffs. Did Tiger institute a new PGA rule? Did he demand that any Major he plays in must end in a playoff? Bravo, Tiger.

Though Tiger didn't win it, it was good to see him back on his game--he finished eight under par and tied for 6th. But we all know who's way happier than me about Tiger's comeback--the PGA. After a solid 12-year marriage, TV ratings slapped the PGA around a bit and then abruptly left, but now they've come crawling back with their (Tiger) tail between their legs. Tiger was just one back through 16, and finished in the top 10. Add it all up, and you get:

Golf is back.

Taking a spin around the world of sports

It would not be surprising to see three or four Big East teams in the Elite Eight, and even two or three in the Final Four. Of course, anyone can get hot in March, but the Big East teams have the advantage of having faced the heat all season.

-Brandon Christol, Feb. 23, 2009, from the blog "Wait 'til this Year"


I know, I shouldn't toot my own horn, but it's my blog and I needed to make myself feel good about something after a weekend filled with tragedy and despair.

Louisville had a chance to make it three Big East teams in the Final Four, but the Cardinals--normally a second half team--absolutely folded up their tent in the second half against Michigan State on Sunday. They were outscored 34-25 in the latter half, and shot 10-18 from the free throw line for the game. They shot just 38% from the field and were outrebounded by eight. Not a strong performance by the top overall seed in the tournament. So only two Big East teams will head to Detroit, but still an incredible tournament for the conference.

On the other side of the bracket, I cannot wait to see Villanova's defense go up against UNC's offense. North Carolina has averaged 89 points in their four tourney victories, but Villanova shut down a good Duke team in the regional semifinal and has allowed just 66 points per game in the tourney. They play great team defense, but UNC has numerous weapons. Should be fun.

One reason I'm left with zero (that's right: zip, zilch, nada) Final Four teams in my bracket is because of those all-important free throws. Here are the free throw numbers for my Final Four teams in the games in which they were eliminated:

Memphis: 18-32 (56%)
Pitt: 21-29 (72%)
Louisville: 10-18 (55%)
Oklahoma: 10-16 (62%)

That's 62% overall. My teams just kept shooting themselves in the foot when they stepped up to the charity stripe. Oh well, you live and you learn. I learned that a bracket can go downhill faster than Bode Miller: I had 14 of 16 Sweet Sixteen teams, yet none of my Final Four picks are booking hotels in Motown.

The Tiger and the O'Hair

Tiger's back, baby. He trailed by five strokes entering the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, but he stormed back to tie it and nailed a 15-footer for birdie on the 72nd hole to win by one. You gotta love it. Tiger's been solid but not quite Tigerish since returning from injury, and then he puts it all together in his final tournament prior to the Masters, which starts April 9. Tiger is now in 12th place in the 2009 FedEx Cup standings despite playing just three tournaments while everyone else in the top 30 has played at least twice that many.

Gregg to close for Cubs

In one of the few decisions that remained for Lou Piniella this spring, Kevin Gregg was named the Cubs closer Sunday, while Carlos Marmol will be the primary set-up man. Gregg has more experience closing (29 saves last year, 32 in 2007) and has not allowed a run in 8.1 innings this spring. I've always thought the closer position is overrated (since the game is often decided in the 7th or 8th inning rather than the 9th), so I'm not too worked up about this decision. It will be nice to have someone with Marmol's stuff to bring on in the late innings, as was the case last year when Marmol put out many a fire. And if Gregg struggles or gets hurt, Marmol should be able to fill in nicely.

Yes, there was snow on the ground today in Chicago, but have no fear--baseball season is just a week away.

Back to earn more stripes

Tiger's back on the prowl. He didn't have quite the same growl in his first tournament, as he threw in the towel in the second round of the Accenture Match Play Championship, losing 4-and-2 to Tim Clark.

But the golf world (or the whole world, really) is back on notice. In his Wednesday return to golf, the Golf Channel drew its highest ratings for any round of a tournament it has covered. And this was the first round of a 64-player match play tournament, sort of like the first round of March Madness.

It was, after all, the return of the greatest athlete in the world after an eight-month layoff due to knee surgery. Tiger is not just the best golfer out there, he IS golf. Despite not playing since last June (when he won the U.S. Open despite a double stress fracture of his left tibia and a torn ACL), Tiger ranks 1st in the World Golf Rankings by 1.74 points over Sergio Garcia. 1.74 doesn't sound like much, until you realize that it's greater than the gap between the 65th player in the world and the 550th.

Even more amazing is that back in January, in the midst of a seven-month layoff, his World Golf Ranking was actually 1.14 points HIGHER. So before his return and ensuing second round defeat, as talented columnist Mike Nadel points out, the gap between Tiger and 6th ranked golfer Geoff Ogilvy was greater than that between Ogilvy and the 1,382nd ranked golfer, good ol' Pablo Abumohor. But check this out: after his U.S. Open victory, Tiger had 21.54 ranking points, twice as many as 2nd-place Phil Mickelson. Despite spending the last eight months rehabbing, he still sits atop the world leader board, but has dropped all the way down to 9.61 points.

Tiger is a joy to watch. Some take issue with his periodically brash demeanor; others shun his dominance for the same reason that many of us are sick of the Yankees' non-stop success since the mid-90s. I agree that he should try to restrain himself from yelling at photographers (though in fairness, he's the only golfer that has to deal with this constant distraction), but with regard to his personality and antics, it's not like we're talking about T.O. or Michael Vick here. He generally seems to be a pretty nice guy and a solid role model.

In terms of his dominance, Tiger Woods is not funded by the Steinbrenners. He's not buying success by spending as much as the bottom 13% of players on the tour. No, Woods is just a man more skilled at his sport than anyone else, a guy with the focus and intensity of a tiger; a golf prodigy who shot 48 over nine holes at the age of three, won the Junior World Championships six times, was the youngest ever Junior Amateur Champion, and has exhibited the staying power to parlay his early success into an extended stranglehold on the game of golf.

I'm typically a fan of parity, but in this case I side with rarity. Tiger is MJ. Tiger is Ali. Tiger is Babe Ruth. I can't help but hope for him to continue to add to his list of accomplishments so that I can say I grew up watching the man with the most major titles (2nd place, four more to match Nicklaus) and the most PGA tour wins (3rd place, 17 more to tie Sam Snead).

He has been ranked 1st in the world since June 12, 2005. That string of 194 weeks is not even the longest of his career--he controlled the leader board for an absurd 264 weeks from 1999-2004 (that's a record). Whether he attains the above distinctions or not, I've gained a great deal of enjoyment watching this freak of nature, and even his detractors must admit that he is special to watch.

I'm just glad Tiger's back. Oh, and by the way: The Masters is April 9-12.