Plus, you know he’d just make Phil his caddy

September 19th, 2006 | Posted by PostmanE

As the Ryder Cup approaches and the U.S. squad (literally) sings its current captain, Tom Lehman’s, praises, an important question arises.

When - not if, but when - will Tiger Woods be the U.S. Ryder Cup team captain?

Straightforward, but complex. Tiger seems to have all of the qualities inherent in any sort of quality sporting captain. He’s far and away the best player in the world, allowing him to assert a certain moral authority over poorer players; he’s renowned for his mental and physical preparation, a quality that could trickle down to his teammmates; and he’s the one player that could, by sheer force of will alone, carry a losing side even in the most finite of ways. Not only that, but he’s been on a tear lately, a streak of play that reminded everyone he is the best there is and perhaps ever was.

That’s nice. But it doesn’t change the fact that Tiger Woods would be a terrible Ryder Cup captain.

SI.com’s Mike McAllister covered this topic brilliantly yesterday, but it bears further examination. Though McAllister treats such a coronation as though it’s simply a matter of time (and it might well be), making Tiger Woods captain is a bad, bad idea, one that will not benefit the U.S. as much as it will hurt them.

Captains, in any sport, have to be transcendent past the “best player” designation. That approach only works in rec-league soccer. In professional sports, a captain must be both ancillary to the team and embedded in it, functioning both as “one of the guys” and a coach on the field.

Tiger is capable of the latter, but would fail miserably at the former. He is not one of the guys, nor could he ever be. He’s Tiger fucking Woods. He’s the guy that dominates you every week, that (supposedly) just about every player on tour seriously dislikes. He’s not your buddy, no matter how much he sings and lets down his guard and has a beer here and there. He is Tiger fucking Woods, born to squash puny mortals.

Add to that the fact that Woods has never performed well in the Ryder Cup, that his rivalry with team heavy Mickleson is well-documented, that his own desire to succeed sometimes drives him to disgust with himself, disgust that would probably not be best received by team members and, well, you can see where this is going.

Is Tom Lehman the answer? So far, no. But Tiger Woods isn’t either, and ambitious and exciting as the prospect of him leading the American charges into quiet, serene golf-battle is, it’s hard to envision that story with a happy ending.

Woods hints at pulling a Seinfeld

September 13th, 2006 | Posted by PostmanR

So, yeah, you’re Tiger Woods. You’re the best golfer in the world. You’re chilling over in the UK, awaiting this weekend HSBC World Matchplay Championship and you drop this bomb on the Telegraph.

In essence, you say, “Once I win my nineteenth major and take over Jack Nicklaus for most major wins all-time, I’m peace-ing out of the Pro Tour.”

The quote the Telegraph has from Tiger isn’t all that telling, but their lead certainly indicates he could be leaning this way.

Which I think might not be what fans want, but what’s probably best for him. Go out on top, with the most major wins ever, call it a day and go play some tennis and hang out with the wifey.

But for a guy as uber-competitive as T. Woods, is he going to get to 19 and think he can go for 20? 23? 25? Would he really just stop at one better that Nicklaus. Maybe. Maybe not.

Either way, I think going out on top, with your dignity intact is probably the best choice. Brett Favre are you listening?

Weekend Fun: Floyd takes us all for a ride

July 21st, 2006 | Posted by PostmanE

When I was little, my Dad - still limber before three back surgeries - used to pack my brother and I into a little Schwinn tent-on-wheels sort of thing, which he would use to drag us about our suburban neighborhood.

For some reason, I just thought of that as I considered writing about Floyd Landis and his amazing last two days, which he began relatively forgotten in the Tour de France. Now, Landis is back in third place and has a chance to challenge for the Tour title tomorrow. Imagine if one of the Tour de France guys could compartmentalize someone into those Schwinn things my Dad used to use and take them whipping around the Pyrenees. That would certainly be a ride. Instead, we’ll have to settle for enjoying Landis’ story as the U.S.’ post-Lance cyclist. Good enough for me.

Besides cycling, there’s a good bit else going on this weekend. If the repitition of riders repeatedly pedaling is too boring for you, you might find some solace in the non-stop, fast-paced thrills of … golf. That’s right, the British Open is engaging the masses again (as we’ve chronicled a good bit just down the page there), and Tiger is back in business. Like I said earlier, those Tiger fist pumps are always entertaining. And you never know - maybe Phil will be around on Sunday too, preparing to answer the question posed by his nickname (FIGJAM).

That should be plenty to hold you over. Of course, we finally (only about three days late) got the copy of NCAA we were talking about, so we’re going to go ahead and pop that in and review the bejeesus out of it. In fact, we might live-blog the experience, or at least the day-job co-workers’ experience with it. Stay tuned for that.

And, reader, in case you forgot - I love you. See you Monday.

And so it begins…

July 21st, 2006 | Posted by PostmanE

Do you hear that whoosing sound, British Open field? That’s Tiger Woods, eagling his way past all of you into first. Try to hold on to your Titleist hats as he rushes past.

So that was quick. Woods eagled from 204 yards out at Hoylake’s 14th hole and, in combination with an all-around solid round, Tiger has put himself on top of the field.

This means two things: First - that Tiger is at least going to be in contention this weekend, and that’s always fun, and second - this puts the weekend Over/Under of Tiger-fist pumps at around +/- 2,000. And that, if not “fun”, is at least entertaining.