The incentive? As ever, to break Jack Nicklaus’s record haul of 18 Major titles. Woods, with 14, but none since he claimed the US Open at Torrey Pines in 2008 on one good leg, remains the man most likely to catch and overtake the so-called ‘Golden Bear’. But only if he can rekindle that magic of old.
Yesterday, Woods – teeth gleaming and a smile more ready than it has been in a while to crease his face – faced us down, as if to tempt fate.
Was he aware of Ian Poulter’s comments? For the record, Poulter had observed: “I don’t think he’ll finish in the top-five . . . when he gets in position where he’s close, he generally holes putts at the right time. He hasn’t done that for a while. But I think if he starts to hole putts, then you will see the Tiger of old come out and that’s dangerous. But I don’t see it this week. If he does win, it would be a hell of an achievement. He hasn’t won for what? 18 months? Two years?”
Woods’s response to the question was to digest the information, to store it, and to break into a smile. “Well, Poulter is always right, isn’t he?”
For the first time since he devoured the field in 1997, and caused such consternation in the ranks of the green-jacketed members that a course of action which became known as Tiger-proofing came into being, Woods has arrived here in a position where he is not the favourite.
Even last year, on his return to competition for the first time since his scandalous off-course behaviour came to light, Woods’s aura was such that he was still installed as the favourite.
Did it matter to him that he wasn’t favourite? Would he use it as motivation? “It doesn’t matter. You still have to play the golf tournament, right? We all have an opportunity. Everyone has the same opportunity as I do and always has. So you’ve just got to go out there and play and see where it adds up.”
Later, he was asked if he was ready to win this week.
“Mm-hmm,” he replied, nodding his head.
Why? “Mm-hmm,” he continued, again nodding his head.
What part of his game was ready? No answer. Just a smile.
Later again, when asked if Nicklaus’s all-time record still meant as much to him, Woods didn’t back down. “No, I absolutely want to do it. That’s the benchmark and gold standard in this sport, is 18,” replied Woods.
Did he still believe he would catch Nicklaus? “Mm-hmm,” he again responded, the smile taking on the magnitude of a Colgate ad.
Had we already seen the best of Tiger Woods? “No.”
On his return here a year ago, following on from the fall-out of his late-night car crash outside the former marriage home in Orlando and his subsequent spell in rehabilitation, Woods somehow managed to rediscover enough of his game to get into contention before eventually finishing fourth behind Phil Mickelson.
Since then, more has changed. His then coach Hank Haney has been replaced by Sean Foley and he has undergone a number of swing changes. “It’s taken a while to build in new motor patterns. It takes a while for it to be laid down. It just takes time.
“It took a long time with Butch (Harmon) and it took a long time with Hank (Haney) and so far it has taken a long time with Sean. It’s taken a long time to develop the patterns and know what the fixes are. I’m finally starting to shape the ball both ways and being able to fix it if I don’t. It’s just a totally different philosophy than what I was employing before,” explained Woods.
Where better to test it than on the ultimate golfing examination that is Augusta National? He has conquered the course and field before for four of his Majors. This time, the quest for a 15th career Major will be kick off alongside US Open champion Graeme McDowell – his nemesis from the Chevron World Challenge last December – and Aussie Robert Allenby.
supra shoes on sale cheap supra shoes supra skytop supra societyWhen the high and mighty of world sport gather in London this week for the global convention Sport Accord, the talk of the town is certain to be the lack of accord between the warring lords of the Olympic rings, Coe and Moynihan, with their increasingly acrimonious dispute over the distribution of any 2012 profit now unlikely to be settled before the autumn.
The running battle has angered IOC president Jacques Rogge. He has ruled in favour of Locog chairman Coe, who says the situation is "spurious and depressing" but British Olympic Association chief Moynihan seems to have won the backing of senior Olympians in taking the matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
I may be in a media minority but I think he has a case in wanting to secure a future legacy for the BOA in preparing British competitors for the Games beyond 2012. But I concur with the sports minister Hugh Robertson who says: "I don't like watching two people I admire enormously fight it out like this."
The build-up to 2012 had seemed a walk in the Olympic Park until this aggro blew up, and allied to the ongoing stadium row featuring Spurs and Orient, there will be some embarrassment that Sport Accord's 1,500 delegates will be chewing the fat with such friction in the air. What a pity that these spats overshadow the admirable progress Coe and co have made with 481 days to go.
When Boris meets Blatter...
We are promised that the London mayor Boris Johnson will provide "a unique take on why sport matters" in his welcome address at Sport Accord. But will his welcome extend to glad-handing it with Sepp Blatter after putting the block on the Fifa president and his henchmen staying in £1,000-a-night suites at the Dorchester during the Olympics as a reprisal for England's World Cup bid defeat?
Bojo is unlikely to be as hospitable as new FA chairman David Bernstein, who is hosting slippery Sepp to lunch tomorrow.
Not quite the ticket
Amir Khan flies back from the Philippines this weekend to do some much-needed drum-beating for his scheduled WBA light-welterweight title defence against unbeaten Euro champion Paul McCloskey in Manchester on 16 April.
A decent scrap, but not the most auspicious date to sell tickets for the MEN Arena.
Fans of United and City are heading south for their Wembley FA Cup semi-final that day so Manchester will be a sporting ghost town. We also hear Sky, due to show the fight on Box Office, want a stronger undercard.
Payback time for BABA
A good week for the new British Amateur Boxing Association, nominated for sport's governing body of the year in next month's Sports Industry Awards.
They also reached a five-figure out-of-court settlement with ex-amateur star Ronnie Heffron for partial repayment of the public money they had invested in preparing him for potential Olympic selection, thus establishing the principle of seeking reimbursement should any of their 2012 squad turn pro, as Heffron has.
Not such a good week for international governing body AIBA, with prestigious management group IMG withdrawing as a major backer of the innovative World Series.
Buy kobe bryant shoes at kobebryantshoessale.com. the latest nike zoom kobe,What are you waiting for? Come here to have a view! low price,UP to 33% off+free Shipping! You can also visit Lebron James Shoes, best Nike Air Max Lebron Basketball shoes, help you play at your best Basketball technology."Forty-five years is a good start," said Arum, 79, who had just returned from the Philippines, where he checked in on Pacquiao during his training in preparation for his May 7 Showtime PPV fight against Shane Mosley. "It's been a lot of fun, and working with a great champion like Manny keeps me young."
Arum has showed no signs of slowing down as Top Rank continues to promote show after show on a multitude of platforms, including pay-per-view, HBO, Showtime, ESPN2 and Fox Sports Net/Fox Deportes.
I've covered countless Top Rank events, and one of the things Arum does incredibly well, which has allowed the company to flourish, is that he let's his top-notch staff -- executives (Todd duBoef and Carl Moretti), matchmakers (Bruce Trampler and Brad "Abdul" Goodman), public relations team (Lee Samuels and Ricardo Jimenez), and all the employees who make the engine go -- do their jobs without a lot of micromanaging.
According to Top Rank's records, the company has thus far promoted 1,759 fight cards (an average of 39 per year). The first show Arum ever promoted was on March 29, 1966. It was headlined by Ali's 15-round decision win against George Chuvalo to retain the heavyweight championship in Toronto. It was the first fight Arum had ever seen in person.
"We've done over 500 world title bouts and Top Rank has promoted in 40 states, 200 American cities and more than 60 cities outside the United States," Arum said. "Our company has ambitious plans for what we consider a very bright future in the sport of boxing." Happy anniversary.
• Whatever your opinion is of the Pacquiao-Mosley fight (and I have certainly voiced my displeasure), I give Top Rank credit for putting together one of the better pay-per-view undercards in a while. The Humberto Soto-Urbano Antillon lightweight title bout is a rematch of the 2010 ESPN.com fight of the year. I can't wait for the sequel. Wilfredo Vazquez Jr.'s junior featherweight title defense against Jorge Arce has all the makings of an action fight, for however long it lasts -- not to mention that it's a classic Puerto Rico-Mexico rivalry fight. And we will also see the return of former middleweight champ Kelly Pavlik after a year out of the ring. That's a really good show. By the way, I'm sure I speak for most boxing fans when I say I'm really glad to see Pavlik return to action after all of his well-documented problems outside the ring.
• I am looking forward to the start of Showtime's "Fight Camp 360°: Pacquiao vs. Mosley" on Saturday. The first episode of the four-part series of the build-up to their fight debuts on CBS (Showtime's sister network) at noon ET, just before CBS's coverage of the Final Four. I still don't love the fight, but I dig "Fight Camp" and I love that CBS is involved.
• The representatives for heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko and titleholder David Haye were in New York last week to talk to HBO and Showtime executives about a deal for their summer fight. Although Klitschko manager Bernd Boente has expressed a desire for the bout to go to Showtime because of the way HBO dissed the Klitschko brothers not long ago, I have a feeling the fight will wind up on HBO.
• Top Rank says it did more than 200,000 buys on Showtime PPV for Miguel Cotto's junior middleweight title defense against Ricardo Mayorga on March 12. That's a darn good number and shows just how popular Cotto is, no matter who he fights.
• If (when?) the Juan Manuel Lopez-Yuriorkis Gamboa fight happens, is there any possible way it won't be explosive?
• Who's faster? Gamboa or the Road Runner?
• Denis Lebedev versus Roy Jones Jr. One question: Why?
• Will one of the networks please put Tavoris Cloud on? The guy puts on a great show in an all-action fight against Glen Johnson on HBO last summer, wins the fight and now he can't seem to get arrested. What gives?
• So Mayweather likes to tweet photos of his winning tickets from basketball bets at Las Vegas sports books. Gee, I wonder why he never tweets photos of all his losing tickets?
• Erislandy Lara's performance in a draw last week against Carlos Molina on "Friday Night Fights" was beyond disappointing. If ever a guy lost by getting a draw, it was Lara. And if ever a guy won for drawing, it was Molina.
• Even before they went at it during this week's press tour, I was looking forward to the Jean Pascal-Bernard Hopkins rematch.
• I like the idea of the proposed Lucian Bute-Mikkel Kessler fight that Showtime is pursuing. It's the best fight that can be made at 168 pounds outside of the Super Six.
• I'll be at the Andre Berto-Victor Ortiz fight on April 16, which I'm looking forward to. Part of the reason is because I'm pumped to see welterweight prospect Thomas Dulorme, who fights on the undercard, live for the second time.
• Paging Elio Rojas.
• Saul "Canelo" Alvarez's mandatory challenger is Ryan Rhodes. If it happens, that's a real fight.
• Just doesn't seem like the whole Juan Manuel Marquez-Golden Boy Promotions relationship is going to end well.
• Gotta give big props to Alex "Yanksalex" Dombroff, promoter Lou DiBella's right-hand man, for the 4 a.m. ride in Connecticut a couple of weeks ago and for his impeccable New York restaurant selection the following week.
• DVD pick of the week: Nothing like a big upset to shake things up, right? Well that's what happened in this shocker 11 years ago Friday -- April 1, 2000 -- in Berlin. That's where Chris Byrd (filling in on two weeks' notice after Razor Ruddock dropped out) went to challenge Vitali Klitschko for his heavyweight belt. Klitschko, with a massive size advantage, was an enormous favorite and was well on his way to victory. But Byrd -- small, quick and tenacious -- began to come on in the middle rounds before Klitschko suddenly quit on his stool after the 10th round in an all-time shocker. We came to find out later that Klitschko had suffered a torn rotator cuff and was in severe pain. It turned out to be the biggest win of Byrd's career and a loss that Klitschko was vilified for because of the perception that he had no heart -- until he disproved that notion in dramatic fashion in his loss to Lennox Lewis three years later.
basketball jerseys nfl caps Cheap NFL Football Jerseys Cheap basketball jerseys Capitals Jerseys Washington Capitals JerseysBoth lines of thinking seemed reasonable, except for one thing: Anthony is not a franchise player. That’s why Anthony’s arrival hasn’t helped the Knicks as they envisioned. It’s part of the reason his departure apparently hasn’t weakened the Nuggets.
To this point in his pro career, Anthony hasn’t taken the lead in making average teams good or good ones great. He hasn’t displayed the right temperament to shoulder the load during difficult times or set a positive example while others look to him for assurance. He’s just not “The Guy,” but the reality is few are in professional team sports.
Talented athletes are too often labeled as franchise players. The term is so misapplied that it seems many are elevated to top-rung status if they’re simply featured frequently in television highlight tapes.
Don’t get me wrong. Anthony is among the NBA’s most skilled players. He’s capable of outstanding performances, such as his 39-point, 10-rebound outing Monday in leading the Knicks to a victory in overtime against Orlando that ended their losing streak at six games. To be sure, Anthony is a major talent.
But talent is only a baseline trait of true franchise players, which Elgin Baylor reminded me. Baylor, 76, knows because he embodied what it means to be one.
The Hall of Famer and District native is arguably one of the top five players in NBA history. He was an acrobatic superstar, the predecessor of high-flying players such as Julius “Dr. J” Erving and Michael Jordan.
More importantly, though, Baylor’s performance and leadership helped stabilize the Los Angeles Lakers at a critical juncture in their history.
Baylor’s immense talent provided his foundation. “And it really all does start with the ability, the talent,” Baylor, not commenting specifically about Anthony, said in a phone interview Tuesday. “You have to have that if you want to be the guy.”
But, he continued, “there’s a lot more to it than just that. Do you want to lead? Do you want to take on all the responsibility that comes with it? Because if you want to be the guy, then it’s not just about the talent. A lot of guys have talent.”
Beyond his eye-opening statistical achievements, Baylor had the desire to lead. He understood the importance of the best player setting the right tone. He accepted being held accountable because that was part of being out front.
The Knicks are eager for Anthony to become their lead dog. Anthony, however, has not seized the opening, complaining about things in general and pouting on the bench at times while the Knicks lost nine of 10 since the trade.
“You have to have the right frame of mind, the right attitude,” Baylor said, again only commenting generally about the mental makeup of franchise players. “It was a subconscious thing for me. No one ever told me, ‘Go lead us.’ That was never said.
“But most really talented people, the people you’re talking about, they want to be the guy. I don’t how you put it in words, but I think it’s just a natural thing.
“Some guys don’t want to be. Some guys are very talented, but they just don’t want that responsibility. But then you’re not going to be” the guy.
Leading teams to sustained success is the most important attribute of franchise players. As a rookie during the 1958-59 season, Baylor led the Lakers, then still in Minneapolis, to the NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics, and he helped them reach the championship series seven more times before retiring during 1971-72 season, primarily because of lingering knee problems, without a title (the Lakers won their first championship in Los Angeles that season).
The Lakers-Celtics rivalry was forged during those years, and Baylor’s Lakers always fell short against the Celtics, who were led by Hall of Famer Bill Russell — the greatest franchise player ever in any sport.
“I’m from the old school, so I don’t know how people would think today, but I would think if you want to pick one player to win, and to win championships, you would have to pick Bill Russell,” Baylor said. “I would say Jordan . . . Jordan has got to be in the equation. Michael . . . he was special.
NFL Jerseys Tennessee Titans 5 Kerry Collins White Tennessee Titans NFL Jerseys NHL Jerseys Pittsbugh Penguins 87 Sidney Crosby blueThe Commons’ culture, media and sport select committee says the combination of cuts by central and local government will have a significant impact on cultural institutions, forcing several to close.
The report says the council spent “far too much on itself” and played a “major role in a gross waste of public money” in supporting The Public, a multimedia gallery in West Bromwich that has been plagued by financial troubles.
“Mistakes have been made throughout and we were concerned by the inability of the chief executive to provide answers to our questions and the lack of a serious attempt to learn lessons or prevent a repetition,” says the report.
“We consider this to be a failure of leadership.” The report urges the council to set up an independent review of its “role in the failure of the project”.
Neither Alan Davey, chief executive of ACE, nor Dame Liz Forgan, its chairman, were in post during the period in question, although both were interviewed by the committee.
The report also urges the council to consider selling part of its £97m art collection, which includes works by Francis Bacon and David Hockney, to ease its financial troubles.
“At a time when the Arts Council is under serious financial pressures, strategic de-accessioning could make the collection more dynamic and financially sustainable,” it says.
It says at least half of the collection’s 7,500 works should be on display at any one time. At present, up to 75 per cent is not on show.
The report says it is “not convinced” of the need for the number of subsidised orchestras. At present, ACE funds seven chamber and eight symphony orchestras, while the BBC funds seven orchestral or choral bodies. The report urges the two funding bodies to identify areas of duplication.
The council, which has had its government funding cut by 29.6 per cent, is to announce its grant allocation on Wednesday. More than 100 bodies are expected to lose funding.
The report welcomes the national portfolio programme which has replaced the old allocation system, but is “concerned at the speed with which the ... council is undertaking the massive programme”.
“There will inevitably be complaints that the process has been flawed and insufficiently rigorous,” it says.
The ACE said the report was “out of date in places”. “The Public is old news, and is not representative of the Arts Council’s investments in capital projects. Selling off works of art from the Arts Council collection is also not a sensible solution to the current budget cuts,” it added.
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