Saints!!

Yes, we lost to the hated Cowgirls, but we will be OK. We have had more than our share of injuries but we should have some guys back for the playoffs. Going 16-0 is not important - just ask the '07 Patriots. This season has been a blessing for New Orleans and we are a team of destiny.

This Week's Sign Of The Apocolypse*

*To borrow a phrase from Sports Illustrated - and it won't surprise me if this shows up in those pages under the same heading. The kicker for the New Orleans Saints, Garrett Hartley, has been suspended by the NFL for four games for violation of the league substance abuse policy; specifically, he tested positive for the stimulant Adderall. Give me a break - the KICKER??? We already had our two best defensive linemen serving suspensions the first four games for testing positive for a diuretic that evidently is used to mask steroid use. But the kicker? What next - the punter? Maybe the ball boy? Evidently the Saints need to do a better job of educating their team on what is and isn't acceptable.

More golf...

The world may be spinning off it's axis; Tiger Woods is actually playing three weeks in a row. (One for one so far... this week at Firestone, where he has dominated; next week at the PGA at Hazletine, where he has won in the past.) I can't help it, I love seeing this guy dominate, even if he has struggled in the majors this year. Of course, top tens at Augusta and Bethpage would be good for most tour players, but Tiger guages his success by his performance at the majors, so his wins at the AT&T, Memorial, Buick, and Arnold's Bay Hill are probably a little more hollow than one would expect. Wins this week and especially next week would fulfill his season, although he might be Player of the Year and FedEx points leader without either of them.

Major Disappointment

I am, as I am sure many others are, disappointed that Tom Watson fell short in a playoff to Stewart Cink at the British Open. Actually not so much that he lost the playoff, which was somewhat of a forgone conclusion, but that he bogeyed 18 to set up the playoff in the first place. I wonder if Watson can find solace in making the playoff at a major at age 59 when he had a very real chance to win.

Golf is a fickle game; Cink, playing two groups ahead of Watson, made a great putt to birdie the difficult 18th to get to -2; shortly thereafter Watson missed a tentative 9-footer that would have won it outright. As with any such outcome, Watson can look back at missed opportunities; primarily his adrenaline-fueled approach at 18 that rolled through the green and set up his bogey.

This is not to take anything away from Cink - anyone who makes four birdies on the back 9 on Sunday at a major deserves to win, and he played the 4-hole playoff in 2 under, including another birdie at 18. Cink has always had the skill and talent to win a major and if anything it is surprising that it took this long - my hat goes off to him for a great round and a great win. Still, though, it would have been absolutely amazing to see Watson capture his 6th British Open and 9th Major at the site of 1977's Duel In The Sun, one of the greatest, if not the greatest, majors ever.

The Open Championship has not always produced the great theater and great champions in recent years that it is renowned for, but this one was truly one for the ages.

Witnessing Greatness

I watched in amazement as Tiger Woods shot a stellar 65 to win Jack Nicklaus' Memorial Tournament today. For you non-golf fans, this is arguably the most important non-major tournament other than the TPC and is played on a course that is arguably the best venue the pros visit on a yearly basis. Although Tiger charged on Sunday to win at Arnold Palmer's Bay Hill earlier this season, and has been a fixture in the Top 10 of the tournys he has entered, many questioned whether he was all the way back from his knee injury; whether his most recent swing changes made with coach Hank Haney had hurt his game; whether marriage and fatherhood had distracted him; or some combination of the above. Indeed, watching Tiger spray errant drives and fail to close rounds strongly at Augusta, the TPC, and Quail Hollow was enough to make one wonder. It was a testament to his brilliance that he overcame poor driving to finish as high as he did in those tournaments. This week's performance, however, should be enough to dispell any doubts in even the most skeptical minds. Tiger hit a stellar 49 of 56 fairways; if he drives the ball like that at the U.S. Open in two weeks he might win it by 10. After what could have been a disastrous bogie at 16, bringing him back into a short-lived 4-way tie at the top, he made textbook birdies at 17 and the difficult 18th, capping the tournament with a 6-iron from about 186 yards that resulted in an 14-inch tap-in and evoked memories of the incredible feats of Tiger circa 1997 - 2000 (anyone else remember the bunker shot, also a 6-iron, at the Canadian Open about 10 years back? Or the one-swing demolition of Tom Lehman in 1998?)

The point is that we are witnessing greatness and that Tiger is making history before our eyes. When asked today at what age he felt he peaked, Jack said "probably 32 to 35, or about the age Tiger is now" - he is 33. Barring a catastrophe, he will demolish every important record in the sport. I remember folks saying how much they hated Michael Jordan in his heyday, and as a Pistons fan I obviously had no love for the Bulls, but when he came back and won the last three of his six NBA titles you had to appreciate his greatness; that is how I feel watching Tiger now. Personally, I have always been a huge fan of his, and I don't mind watching him dominate precisely because he is so great; this kind of otherworldly greatness is a privilege to be witness to.