Tiger, Ryan, the ACC & Steriods - All at Once

GOLF:
Tiger makes an excellent run and you are already to say Phil choked? Not so fast. Granted it looked like the days of old, but I don’t see Phil just fading to the “Best Player Only to Win One Major” status anytime soon.

I think 2005 might be an interesting golf year for another reason: Ryan Moore. Last year Moore busted Tiger’s amateur accomplishments: NCAA Champion; US Amateur; US Public Links; World Amateur and Western Amateur. All in one year. The best amateur year since Bobby Jones' Grand Slam in 1930. I have become pretty cynical about the young, new McGolfers coming from Leadbetter U, which seems to excel more at PR than golf nowadays. Moore is different. Here’s hoping he lives up to expectations.

NCAA HOOPS:
Since I am quick to point out my great predictions, allow me to say that I was wrong about the ACC this year. I was sucked in by ESPN in thinking that this was the year the league showed its strength. In my defense, In addition to UNC, Wake and Duke, GT was a Final Four lock in my mind with Maryland and NC State legitimate. Quite frankly, now they are a 4 bid league with a 5th (NC State) needing to depend on a couple of mid-major tournaments going as predicted to ensure an at-large is not taken. But they will add BC next year...

Overall, I am not that enamored at the major conferences this year (though I do not weep when the mid-majors do not get bids.) The Big East should get 6 bids (UConn, BC, Syracuse, ‘Nova, Pitt and WVU), but what the heck happened to ND at the end? Hell, what happened to BC? (They became an ACC team a little early.-Ed.)

Ouch, that was cold.

The Big 12 also looks for 6 bids, but Texas and Iowa State do not inspire me. I would much rather see Indiana in than NC State, ND, Texas or ISU. All in all, I hear alot of analyst "justification" to give the bids to the majors.

A TOTH (Tip of the Hat)
I saw Willie Randolph on the Hot Seat the other day. What a class act. Guys like Randolph were the precursors to the 1996-2000 Yankees. Good guys, class act, putting team first. He had plenty of opportunity to grandstand, but the guy just would not take the bait. Just shows that the Managers job came to him 3 years too late.

NFL:
A head coach scalping tickets. What can you say?

MLB & STEROIDS:
A politician using the headlines to score points and grandstand! UNHEARD OF! Of course, it is a witch hunt. Of course, nothing good can come from it. If it REALLY mattered, you would see Olympic athletes, football players, Ahnold and some bodybuilder friends.

But the only thing that really matters is that the cameras are running.