Dr. Tiger & Mr. Woods... and the rest of the World Golf Championships

Jack Nicklaus can relax now.

When the golfing phenomenon that is Tiger Woods blitzed the entire field to win the Masters by 12 strokes in 1997, his first major, Jack had to have felt an ominous chill down his spine. For he was watching the man who would rip his record of 18 major championships away from him. And in the years following, Tiger didn't disappoint. Passing Jack was nothing but a forgone conclusion for golf's resurrecting force.

... Until now.

 Stuck on 14 majors, with the last being that triumphant 2008 U.S. Open victory, Tiger is stumbling into a free-fall many are not sure he can recover from. While I have never particularly rooted for Tiger, his ability has been undeniable, and I have constantly backed him to return stronger and more focused after his injury that cost him nearly a year in 2008-09 as well as the whirlwind sex scandal that emerged a little over a year ago.

Now I'm questioning whether he'll ever win again.

Not just a major. Anything.

The Tiger Woods that won 71 PGA tournaments is long gone. The Tiger Woods that could beat most of his competitors just by showing up is no more. The Tiger Woods that was the best this planet has ever seen is a distant memory.

Jack is laughing.

A first round exit to sixteenth-seeded Thomas Bjorn at this week's World Golf Championships Match Play event was further proof that the top-seeded Tiger is no longer worthy of being mentioned among golf's elite. In fact, the way he's played lately, he's not even worthy of being referred to as Tiger. Until he proves me wrong, he'll be called by his last name like the other 125 guys on Tour.

Since the sex scandal, Woods has lost everything that made him great.

 Tiger & Woods. Golf's Jekyll & Hyde. Only sadder.

#1. Tiger had a killer instinct unlike anything golf had ever seen... Woods can't beat anyone because it would hurt their feelings.

#2. Tiger had focus, when he won at Torrey Pines, he went 50-of-50 putting from inside 10 feet... So far this year, Woods is 184th on Tour in putting.

3#. Tiger was a jerk... Woods has to always worry about what people are thinking of him.

#3 might be the biggest of all because it affects everything that made Tiger, Tiger. The best are always jerks. That's what makes them good, a "ME" attitude. Tiger was good because frankly he didn't care about any of his competitors. He could bury each and every one of them without a blink on his way to winning. Killer instinct. At his best, you could put a 90-year-old woman in a wheel chair in front of Tiger on the way to the green and he would have trampled over her like a wildebeest fleeing from a hungry lion, without even feeling a bump. Focus.

Killer instinct + Focus = Jerk.

With everything going on in Woods' life, he's trying so hard to not be a jerk anymore, and it's killing his golf game. Jack is sleeping easy again. If Woods wants to wake him up, maybe he should let Tiger out. Minus the... uh... you know...

Additional notes from the WGC:

-How good did Rickie Fowler look today? The pink-clad 22-year-old made quick work of world #4 Phil Mickelson in 13 holes with five birdies and two eagles. Mickelson was caught on camera laughing several times as he knew he was getting pummeled by something special today.

-How awful did Rory McIlroy look today? A #2-seed, McIlroy caught the beating of a lifetime against Ben Crane, who has the hottest putter in the tournament. Regardless of how well Crane was putting, the seventh-ranked player in the world probably should have put up more of a fight than losing in 11 1/2 holes. Perhaps he should have worn pink. It worked for Rickie, Luke Donald, and...

-Bubba's tracking! I was worried after Bubba pulled out of last week's Northern Trust Open with an abdominal strain, but he's coasted through the first two rounds, beating the scorching Bill Haas (3&2) and easily disposing of Mark Wilson, who's won twice already in 2011, 6&5. Bubba has a stiff opponent and former WGC Champion in Geoff Ogilvy tomorrow in the round of 16, so hopefully he can continue his good run of form.

The fickleness of it all...

How quickly it all can change.

11 days ago, in a fit of rage and passion, I was the nearest I have ever been to throwing in the proverbial towel on my all-time favorite team, my obsession, Arsenal Football Club. The Arsenal had just thrown away a 4-0 halftime lead en route to the greatest collapse in English Premier League (and probably all of soccer) history. In my 13 years of religiously following the club, never had I been so embarrassed to call myself an Arsenal fan. I had experienced bad beats before, and to be fair, Arsenal is one of the more frustrating teams the footballing world has to offer, but this had a sting unlike anything I had ever seen before.

Directly after the final whistle of that glorious yet miserable draw, I had to get in my car and drive to work. In the rain. For 12 minutes I sat in silence (I punched the radio off immediately) stewing in anger and disbelief over what had just happened. The guy who had supported Arsenal long before anyone in his town had heard of Manchester United was suddenly, legitimately, considering tossing all seven of his Arsenal jerseys in favor of a new team (... Fulham. Because they have a knack for signing American players. Not the best idea for trying to win in England, but admirable enough for me!).

As gutted as I was with the complete and utter choke job my team put forth on that Saturday, and as much as I wanted to discard them, Arsenal is my team.

And today, they repaid me and every one of their fans like me by coming from behind to upset probably the best football machine the world has ever seen in Barcelona, 2-1.

I cheered. I laughed. I yelped. I nearly cried from joy as my team completed a historic turnaround in less than 20 minutes. My team. The same team I nearly swore off less than two weeks prior.

11 days ago, there's no way I would have admitted an Arsenal fan. Today, you'd have to gag me to prevent me from telling you I am one.

It made me realize sports are like life. Sometimes it's awesome. Sometimes it awful. But stick with it and your Arsenal will come.

Why sports?

For as long as I can remember, people have been asking me "Why do you love sports so much?" And after a long college career of successfully convincing every professor I ever had that sports somehow had a valuable connection to whatever term paper they deemed necessary for me to write, I have gotten no closer to discovering a legitimate purpose to my obsession that labeled me as a slacker in the university world. Until now.

Luckily (and unfortunately), ESPN radio personality Mike Greenberg put words in my mouth long before I ever could (meaning, he's quicker and smarter than I am. But I have no problem quoting him on this). In his book "Why My Wife Thinks I'm an Idiot: The Life and Times of a Sportscaster Dad," Greenberg explains why he (we) love sports so much, and should never be ashamed of it.

"Sports are like war without all the dying. Imagine how intriguing war would be as a spectator sport if, when it was over, everyone shook hands and showered together. The strategy, the passion, the courage, the stakes; war is magnificent theater until you start counting bodies. That's where you lose me.

"In sports, you never lose me. You plan your attack, prepare physically and emotionally, attempt to execute your game plan - often in hostile environments - and then it ends and you all have a beer together.

"... I often read about people whose lives are filled with tragedy, civil war, poverty, hunger, and I think about how much better off the world would be if everyone could spend all that energy worrying about football. Maybe I'm on to something with that. Maybe the solution to all our problems can be found in irrelevance. Try it. The next time the mortgage is due and the baby is crying and you're late for work and the car in front of you is taking up both lanes - that is the best time to fret over someone dropping a ball you care too much about. It may not make your troubles disappear but it might make them blurry, distort the focus, at least a little."

Thanks to Mike Greenberg, I think I finally know why I have dedicated everything I do the phenomenon that is sports... They are the most important, unimportant thing we have left.

In the midst of everything going on in the world today, sports mean nothing. And that's why they mean everything.

Look at how the Southeast rallied around the New Orleans Saints after Hurricane Katrina, or how the entire nation pulled for the Yankees (the only time we'll ever do so) after 9-11. Sports unite us. They give us hope for something great. They are an escape from everything that is awful in this world.
  
That's why I love them, You can't take sports too seriously, even though they seem like the most serious thing in the world. Just like you can't take yourself too seriously. Sports are supposed to be fun. And what is life if you can't make it fun? That's what it's all about.

Laugh. Play sports. Cheer on your team. Forget about your troubles. Have Fun!

Time to get fitted for a belt...

For once in his life, Aaron Rodgers wasn't patient... and he couldn't have picked a better time.

As previously mentioned, I have long admired the Packers' star quarterback's patience, but in the biggest game of his career, a guy who has spent far too much time hidden under a larger than life shadow played with an urgency reserved only for the All-Time greats.

Rodgers gracefully waited to be drafted. He respectfully waited for Brett Favre to move on. But he would not wait to get his hands on the Lombardi trophy in his first try.

Forget experience, forget biding his time. In one game, Rodgers turned from a zen master to an overprivileged toddler screaming for a cookie before dinner. He wanted it. He got it.

And finally, Aaron Rodgers got the hardware he deserves. Not only the Lombardi Trophy and SuperBowl MVP award, but as Clay (Caveman) Matthews draped the novelty item over his shoulder, Rodgers got his title belt.

 24-of-39 (with 5 drops). 304 yards. 3 touchdowns. 0 interceptions, 0 fumbles. Not one of his passes was even close to getting picked off, and he was hit 16 times. To top it off, the Packers ran the football only 10 times. Pittsburgh knew what was coming, yet they couldn't stop the now "Heavyweight Champion of the World!"

His 300-yard, 3 TD, 0 INT puts him in an elite group of SuperBowl quarterbacks. 49ers quarterbacks Joe Montana and Steve Young were the first two to accomplish the feat (now, kind of funny how the 49ers completely screwed the pooch on passing up Rodgers). The third was then Carolina Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme (and while I will always admit to my fellow Panther fans who bash Delhomme that he was no where near an elite quarterback, he got us to a SuperBowl, and he put in a performance deserving of a ring. Let's not forget it.)

Rodgers' fire lit at the perfect time as the NFC's sixth-seeded Packers only earned their spot in the playoffs by winning their final two games against the Giants and the Bears, admittedly strong opposition. From week 16 on, the guy turned it into another gear.

But it wasn't just Rodgers who won this. The Packer defense throughout the playoffs was nothing short of stunning. Defensive play-making was ultimately what won this SuperBowl. The Packer defense made plays, the Steeler defense didn't. Guess who came out on top.

But this day is about Aaron Rodgers.

And once again, I am more than impressed with his patience and ability to deflect adversity.

Green Bay receiver Jordy Nelson dropped three passes in the SuperBowl. Three. Crucial. Passes. Did we see Rodgers blowing up in the face of his young receiver in the huddle or on the sideline? Nope.

In perfect form, Rodgers continued throwing Nelson's way, believing in his guy without the panic of many-a-quarterback today. Nelson grabbed nine balls for a game-high 140 yards and a touchdown. Patience pays off.

Aaron Rodgers is patient. I've said that before. But he is just 27 years old. And as a whole, the Green Bay Packers are the NFL's second youngest team. Don't expect him to be patient when it comes to winning himself another ring.

People are taking notice...

Apparently I know what I'm talking about.

... when it comes to Bubba Watson.

 Already this week, there have been several articles written about how Bubba is finally growing into his potential and should be considered as a serious threat in the golfing world. PGATour.com even cut together this highlight video of Bubba's top three shots from the past year (yet they somehow left out his 289-yard hole-out for a 2 on a par 5 in December!). Enjoy!



-Article from PGATour.com about Bubba transforming from just a goofball into one of the game's elite.
http://www.pgatour.com/2011/tournaments/r004/01/30/bubba-farmers-ross/index.html

-ESPN's take: Expect to see Bubba lifting many more trophies in the future.
http://espn.go.com/golf/notebook/_/page/weekly18110131/jason-sobel-weekly-18

-And Golf.com confirming what I already knew. "Dude can flat out play."
http://www.golf.com/golf/tours_news/article/0,28136,2045492,00.html

A little late guys. I will soon have all your jobs.