General: Random thoughts for the week

Thanks Vijay Singh for making me look like a genius -- and congratulations on your second PGA Championship and third major.

Despite trouble all day with the putter and a messy 76, the man from Fiji made the putt he needed most to win at not so terrifying Whistling Straits.

He showed the mettle in the playoff and defeated Justin Leonard (now 0-2 in major playoffs plus his Hazeltine fiasco two years ago) and Chris DiMarco who should have spent some time warming up for a possible playoff rather than just hanging around.

Now I suppose Ernie Els will be fitted for a straitjacket (no pun intended) after another major near miss.

The Big Easy three-putted 18 from the next county and finished one stroke out of the playoff.

We don't hear about it but his majorless streak is only one less than Tiger.

And what of Tiger Woods?

The man stiffed in another big one but he'll be back.

Hearing him say that the No. 1 ranking isn't the most important thing may have surprised some, but at least he has golf in perspective.

His career has mirrored Jack Nicklaus' in some ways.

Jack came out and won everything in sight and then went through a major drought in the late 1960s when distractions and apathy got the better of him.

After his 1970 British Open win he cranked it up again until the 1978 British Open.

It will be fascinating to see if something similar happens to Mr. Woods.

I've mentioned before how silly the world ranking system is with its complicated formulas that not even a NASA scientist could figure out.

Tiger is right. What is the big deal of being ranked No. 1?

It doesn't give you exclusivity into anything and only means something when players are seeded for a World Golf Championship event at match play.

With all the surprise major winners of recent years it has been proven once again that anyone can win in a given week.

Whistling Straits passed the major test and there is talk of another PGA, a Ryder Cup, and a U. S. Open down the road.

The course wasn't the monster everyone expected (37 players finished par or better) but it was still worthy of hosting a major.

The televised coverage was mediocre at best.

Before CBS picked up the broadcast, TNT was giving us the pictures and commentary.

As usual, it was Tiger, Tiger, and more Tiger.

Seldom has a player nine shots back garnered so much attention.

Around the same time Tiger was hacking around in 73 strokes, Stuart Cink, Brad Faxon, Tom Byrum, Adam Scott, and Aaron Oberholser were out there shooting better scores and ahead of Tiger but we didn't have a clue as to their whereabouts.

Does TNT stand for Tiger Network Television?

CBS was only marginally better.

Besides their usual fawning over Tiger, they didn't know when to shut up.

Tiger was in trouble -- as usual lately in a major--and needed a ruling by an official.

"Let's listen in," says the man in the booth.

Three seconds after saying that and while the microphone was picking up the official's and Tiger's discussion, the motor mouths began their own running commentary and we had four voices chattering at seemingly the same time.

To listen means to keep your mouth shut and your ears open.

You can explain the options afterwards when Tiger has made his drop and is setting up his shot.

The love affair with Phil Mickelson is also continuing.

We saw him slap it around for many of his 74 strokes and a six-under total, yet K.J Choi fired a solid 70 and Paul McGinley shot 69 to tie Lefty.

However, you'd think neither was playing Sunday since they got no camera time nor even a verbal mention.

Robert Allenby and Ben Crane (both five under) were also completely ignored.

Canadian hype, I mean hope, Mike Weir missed the cut after taking the previous three weeks off.

Nice preparation for a major Mike.

That's five missed cuts out of the last 11 events now, isn't it?

Hal Sutton picked Stewart Cink and Jay Haas for the Ryder Cup team.

Haas is fifty, is playing some fine golf, and is one of the nicest guys in the game, but it is a curious choice considering he hasn't won in eight years.

Maybe Sutton felt the veteran would also be a steadying influence on a team with five rookies.

I think America will win even though they have won only three of the last nine.

They have more depth but Europe will still give them fits.

I sure hope that we don't get the ridiculous jingoism we had in 1991 and 1999 when we had the "War by the Shore" and a green stampede.

It is a golf tournament, and its original purpose was to stage competitive, yet friendly, matches between America and Great Britain -- now all of Europe.

Let's keep the military verbiage out of it.

If anyone uses such expressions they should receive a one week trip to a strife torn part of the world to see what war really is.

On to other subjects...

My wife and I were watching part of the Olympics Saturday night.

Gymnastics (yawn) and synchronized diving (ugh) were being shown and since my better half had control of the universe (the remote control), I was stuck with it.

It looked odd seeing the arena more than half empty but perhaps the no-shows are onto something.

Maybe people are sick of the politics, scandals, and doped athletes and have found better things to do.

I respect their abilities as I watch the gymnasts seemingly defy gravity with their twists and turns but it was difficult for me not to wonder who was juiced and who wasn't -- a feeling that will continue for these games.

I laugh when people say the Olympics aren't about politics.

Oh yeah? Then why does each country come in behind a flag and then have their national anthem played after a gold medal?

Why have there been bidding scandals in recent years?

The late George Sheehan of Runner's World magazine fame said that everyone should be able to compete in their underwear if they wanted and forget the parade of nations.

In the Just Curious department: Why do those former East German Olympians that admitted they were part of a steroid program get to keep their medals and records, while sprinter Ben Johnson doesn't?

I don't know what to make of Big Ben.

On the one hand, he got caught with pharmaceuticals in his body three times and yet, so many others have been caught before and since him and haven't become the pariah that he is.

He once said that running is all he knows and that is why he continued with it for so long after his first banishment.

Well Ben, while you had more money why didn't you invest it properly or go back to school and learn something else once you got the boot?

Lots of people have lost their careers for various reasons and then dusted off old skills or learned new ones and are happier.

I'm one of them.

I don't feel sorry for any athlete that squanders his millions and then cries poverty.

When will these people realize that any sports career can disappear with one injury?

Even if someone has a long career the gravy train eventually stops.

However, somehow they forget that and don't learn the lesson from others before them.

Upon signing the big contract they buy the expensive homes, 23 cars, boats and private jet.

The parasites move in and rather than educating themselves on the fundamentals of investing they often go after even more quick bucks and pay the price.

I see that the new World Hockey Association is already in trouble -- again.

They hope to have five franchises up and running by the opening of the season, even though some teams still need an arena lease.

Haven't we seen this movie before?

According to their web site, they are positioning themselves as an alternative for hockey-starved fans if the NHL has a lockout this year.

If there isn't one then they are up against the establishment -- again.

How ironic that they had their draft in a casino.

They are also gambling that people will be starved for hockey.

People are learning that life goes on without sports and that saturation (30 NHL teams) is not a good thing.

The Atlanta Braves are on their way to wrapping up another division title.

They complain they get little respect, but despite winning at least their division every year since 1991, they own only one World Series.

Will Venus and Serena Williams show up to play tennis at the U.S. Open or will they hit 5th Avenue and the shops?