Tiger's Troubles

Tiger Woods has always been one of my sporting idols. I started watching (and playing) golf in 1997, just after he had won his 1st Master's title in record-breaking fashion.

He is the Michael Jordan of golf. Some people even say MJ is the Tiger Woods of golf. At any rate, what's clear is Tiger is dominating the game of golf and he will eventually go down as the greatest of all time.

His recent scandal involving his personal life is semi-surprising. I always thought Tiger was one of the most well-managed and most private super celebrities. That's why he HAD that squeaky-clean image for so many years, thus translating to numerous sponsorships and millions of dollars along the way. On the other hand, Tiger had started playing golf seriously at about age 2. WTF!



He didn't have a normal childhood. That's why I'm starting to think he is somewhat similar to MJ - the King of Pop. Both were so serious in their fields at a very young age that they didn't really enjoyed their childhood. Before they knew it, they had grown into adults, and yet they didn't really get to do what normal kids (even teenagers) do. It's just a good thing that, unlike MJ, Tiger's into women -- not children! ;)

Don't get me wrong. Tiger's still my hero. I'm just pretty disappointed that he has taken an "indefinite break." In his own words:

I am deeply aware of the disappointment and hurt that my infidelity has caused to so many people, most of all my wife and children. I want to say again to everyone that I am profoundly sorry and that I ask forgiveness. It may not be possible to repair the damage I've done, but I want to do my best to try.

I would like to ask everyone, including my fans, the good people at my foundation, business partners, the PGA Tour, and my fellow competitors, for their understanding. What's most important now is that my family has the time, privacy, and safe haven we will need for personal healing.

After much soul searching, I have decided to take an indefinite break from professional golf. I need to focus my attention on being a better husband, father, and person.

Again, I ask for privacy for my family and I am especially grateful for all those who have offered compassion and concern during this difficult period.

What would golf be like during Tiger's break??? Fewer people in the gallery, fewer sponsors. In other words, less interest. And speaking of "break", check out this game by break.com - a bit inappropriate but nonetheless fun.

Decade of Dominance

This week marks Tiger Woods 10th year on the PGA Tour, and what a decade it has been. His latest (4th consecutive) victory was also the 10th year anniversary of the day he turned professional. I can't believe it has been ten years already. After all, in that span of time, he has accumulated an amazing 52 victories, 12 majors and $63 million in earnings. When he turned pro, he was the one who grabbed all the headlines. 10 years later, he continues to be THE golfer to watch.

A week earlier, Woods won the PGA Championship for his 12th major, only six behind Jack Nicklaus' 18, a feat that Tiger Woods had always dreamed of surpassing. And at this pace, it seems like it would be inevitable.

Woods tied for 60th at the Greater Milwaukee Open in his pro debut 10 years ago this week. His first paycheck was $2,544. This year, he is averaging $2,512 for every stroke.

As fellow golfer Davis Love III says, "He's had the best 10 years in the history of golf. You knew he was a guy you were going to have to beat the rest of your career." Love was Woods first victim, losing a playoff to him in the 1996 Las Vegas Invitational, and there have been 46 other players who have finished second to Woods on the PGA Tour.

So began a decade of dominance that is defined by any set of numbers -- 52 wins, 12 majors, 142 consecutive cuts, the No. 1 ranking for 406 weeks, official victories in 12 countries.

Woods holds the scoring record to par in all four majors, and he is the only player to win all four professional majors in a row. He went seven years without missing a cut (142 events), and he has won 26 percent of his PGA Tour starts.

What really impresses me is how Tiger Woods strives to become better. Considering that he already was the best, how could he get even better? Thus, he already changed his swing a couple of times in the past decade.

When Woods turned professional in 1996, his swing already was mature but undisciplined. His distance control was spotty, as was his accuracy, but he could generate otherworldly club-head speed with a wide arc and pure athleticism, most notably a rapid hip turn. His dominating ’97 Masters victory, when he won by 12 shots and set the tournament scoring record of 270, was mostly the product, he admits, of a serendipitous week of tempo and timing.

Hence, he seeked the help of swing guru Butch Harmon, the same coach who helped Greg Norman become No. 1 in the 1980s and early 1990s. Harmon’s refinements, which were incorporated fully in 1998 even though the two had commiserated since ’93, helped Woods achieve an efficiency that defied the difficulties inherent in the game. In 2000, Woods won nine times, including the final three majors, and he never shot over par in any of his 20 TOUR starts. He set or tied 27 TOUR records, including a 68.33 non-adjusted scoring average (67.79 adjusted) that broke Byron Nelson’s 1945 mark.

In spite of all these success, Woods departed the Harmon camp in favor of Hank Haney. The switch from Harmon to Haney didn’t appear to be all that good of an idea in 2004 when Woods won only one PGA TOUR event and saw Vijay Singh overtake him in the Official World Golf Ranking. But Tiger had his reasons for undertaking such a dramatic project in the prime of his career.

Woods thought that he could get even better. Haney was the longtime teacher of Mark O’Meara, Woods’ closest friend on the PGA. Haney believes that the best swingers of the golf club maintain symmetry from start to finish on one plane angle. The application of this theory to Woods’ swing made it more rounded and flat, and as Woods tried to incorporate this new method while fighting old habits, his accuracy and confidence waned, though he still continued to extend his record cuts streak through the alterations, a testament to his overall golf abilities and strength of will.

While the questions piled up in ’04, Woods maintained that he was satisfied with his decision. "Have I ever second-guessed it? No," he said in early ‘05. "I took some steps backward to go forward, to make some giant leaps forward."

Five wins and two majors last year vindicated the decision, and Woods has six more victories and two more Open and PGA titles to hang on his mantel in 2006, a year in which he missed his first cut as a pro in a major, at the U.S. Open, due almost entirely to the emotional trauma still tugging at him after his father’s death.

It’s the control, not his famed power game, that makes Woods so indomitable. And it’s control that drives Woods to continue to tinker with his swing, with Haney now his guiding influence.

In other words, Tiger Woods is still a work in progress. Scary...

a wicked week for sports

It has been a bad week for sports - nope, I'm not a part of any of it (although I'd like to think I am - in spirit), but as a die-hard sports fanatic, the past week sucked!

NBA FINALS

First and foremost, the team I have been rooting for the past 4 years lost in the NBA Finals. Yup, I'm a big-time Mavs fan! An amazing 2-0 start in the best-of-seven series for the championship ended up with an equally and heartbreaking game six victory on the road by the Miami Heat. Although the Mavs had homecourt advantage, many made them the underdogs. Even 6 out of 10 Dallas journalists predicted a Heat victory (talk about loyalty!). But I was confident the Mavs would win it all, even at the start of the season last November. I predicted the NBA champs (I give out my prediction after each All-Star break) for the past three seasons (2003-Spurs, 2004-Pistons, 2005-Spurs) but that streak failed this year. By the way, I may root for a team, but it doesn't necessarily follow that I predict them to win. This may sound weird but I'm just being realistic. (There are just times when you want a team to win but know that they don't stand a chance) Interestingly, it was only in 2004 wherein the team I rooted for was also the team I predicted to win. It would have been the second time this year. Here's a simple table to illustrate what I mean:

year --- predicted champs --- my team --- eventual champs
2003 -------Spurs---------------- Mavs------- Spurs
2004 -------Pistons --------------Pistons ----- Pistons
2005 -------Spurs --------------- Mavs ------- Spurs
2006 -------Mavs ----------------Mavs ------- Heat

As you can clearly see, the only time I did not root for the Mavs was in 2004. That was the time they had that crazy incompatible lineup (with Walker and Jamison). Then compare the second and fourth columns, as I said, it's only this year that my prediction was incorrect. Blame it on D. Wade.

The Mavs were 2-up in the series and led by 13 points midway through the 4th quarter of game 3. It looked like it would be 3-0 and ready for a sweep, but the Flash just started to "heat" up. No offense to Shaq (who showed glimpses of Superman in the Pistons series - nearly coinciding with the release of the movie "Superman Returns"), Dwyane (that's a "w" before the "y") Wade carried the entire Miami team. Fall 7 times, stand up 8. He is definitely the MVP worthy of MJ comparisons. He was just amazing. Unstoppable. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big Wade fan, I just don't like the Heat as a team, mainly because of the old veterans (aka has-beens) who signed for a minimum contract just to have a chance to win a ring.

That come-from-behind Heat victory in game 3 was the turning point of the series. At that time, I already felt the Mavs were in trouble. A disheartening loss like that easily shifted the series' momentum in favor of the veteran Heat squad. And for that, I was correct. The Heat's vast experience (led by Shaq, Payton, and Zo) proved to be the difference.

As for the Mavs, it's not the end of the world. The experience they gained will be valuable as they make another run next year. I'm just a bit worried though because I feel like this WAS their chance. It just got away.

NOTE: That's an old photo of the Mavs. Michael Finley isn't a part of them anymore. Ironically, he's with the team the Mavs defeated in the West Semis - the Spurs.

US OPEN

Next was the U.S. Open Golf Championship. I idolize Tiger Woods (who else?) but unfortunately for him it was his first tournament back after the passing away of his dad, who was a big part of him not only as a father, but a teacher. The world's number 1 golfer just struggled at the extremely tough Winged Foot Course in New York. It was the first time I could recall him missing a cut in a major championship.

Even worse was the fact that sentimental choice Colin Montgomerie (perhaps the best golfer not able to win a major championship) choked at the last hole to ruin his chances (shades of Jean Van De Velde's meltdown at the British Open several years ago). But then again, at least it wasn't Phil Mickelson who won.

WORLD CUP

Third on the list is the still on-going FIFA World Cup at Germany, although this is not totally a disaster. Brazil, without any doubt the favorites to repeat, was unimpressive in their first two games - a 1-0 win over Croatia and a 2-0 win over Australia. The Samba boys didn't show the finesse and flair they are known for, and the intimidating attacking quartet of superstars Ronaldinho, Kaka, Adriano, and Ronaldo never clicked. They clearly were underperforming, even prompting a Brazilian journalist to call Ronaldo a "wobbling heavyweight".

The good thing was that the Brazilians improved in their 3rd outing against Japan, 4-1, but not after conceding the first goal. Proving everyone wrong, Ronaldo, on his 4th World Cup, showed flashes of his 2002 Golden-boot-winning form as he scored 2 goals, tying the record for most goals in the World Cup with 14. One more goal and he would be the leading goal-scorer in the tournament's history.

In the end, at least the Brazilians are still in, through to the last 16. And I believe we have yet to see the "real" dominant Brazil team. It may not be that wicked after all. Lookout everyone!

and one last shot... The New York Knicks just fired celebrated coach Larry Brown (in the process losing millions). Another episode in the Knicks' never-ending moves. If there's an award for the most unstable team, they'd surely win. And who would replace the former coach of the year? Isiah Thomas, who had stepped down from an executive position. Maybe he's just trying to "pull out a Riley." Get this: the Knicks are nowhere close to the Heat.