So I've been thinking about this Lebron "decision" situation some more and it has occurred to me that there are some really interesting questions that we may never know the answers to. First and foremost who was pulling the puppet strings the ultimately led to Lebron choosing Miami? Does D-Wade have that much juice in the league right now? Have we underestimated him as the second-fiddle in this free agent class? Or was it Riley? Does the "Coolest White Man Alive" still wield the force it took to manage quite possibly the most ego-laden teams in NBA history in Los Angeles? Where does Worldwide Wes fit in? Call me naive but this move doesn't have his stamp on it to me. If LBJ had ended up in Chicago or New York I would buy it, but there are too many alphas in Dade county already for me to believe that Wes was able to throw whatever weight he has around.
Regardless of the answers to those questions (which, like I said, we'll probably never know) it seems clear to me that there is one winner here and that's Dwayne Wade if...
HE WOULD JUST SHUT THE F#!*% UP!
Seriously D-Wade, a World Trade Center reference? What's next calling the rest of the league a bunch of chrome-dome kids with leukemia? Is there a hotter button to push than 9/11? Oil spill jokes maybe? I don't care what he meant by it (and that fact that he's at least partially right doesn't matter). Just SHUT UP!
You won, you pulled off something that I and everyone else with an opinion thought was impossible. You took the biggest free agent in the history of sports and made him at worst your equal and at best your sidekick. Ride the wave, bask in the glory of your victory, buy another mansion or Lotus, but for the love of God stop talking about it.
It hasn't been discussed much but how could this have worked out any better for Wade? He gets to stay in South Beach where he is a king. He gets to play alongside what would have been the greatest player of all time and another one of his best friends who's no slouch. And the icing on the cake is that he will take none of the James-ian fallout from his former team or fans and comes out smelling like roses (especially in Miami) because he took a discount to stay home and try to win. AMAZING! Who hates Wade right now (assuming he SHUTS UP!)? Chicago maybe for not coming back to his roots? That's it, otherwise all he did was make himself a legend in Miami and probably to some degree change a lot of perceptions about him. Which brings me to...
If Miami rattles off three championships in a row is D-Wade the Jordan of this generation instead of Lebron? The conversation is over in Miami. After pulling this off James could reinvent the wheel and South Beach would still be Wade territory. But the credit and the legacy for any rings depends dramatically on how the championships are won. Say they split the workload 30,30,20,20 (Wade, Lebron, Bosh, supporting cast). Can we say those championships "belong" to Lebron when he joined Wade's team where he had already accomplished several things James couldn't? (Won a championship, attracted Bosh, leaned on the organization hard enough to get him help...) Unless LBJ goes for 40,17, and 11 through a playoff run the answer is no.
Let's go over it again. Wade, the alleged second prize in this free agent class managed to: 1. Attract a premier big man to his team; 2. Lead (not follow) the biggest free agent in sports history to his home team (where he will never be more than a 1A to Wade's 1); 3. Convince the organization to find a way to pay all three; 4. And keep his reputation relatively in tact or enhance it from some perspectives while the prince of basketball's image was going all "Mickelson at Wingfoot" for joining him. Unbelievable.
So maybe we underestimated you Mr. Wade... Maybe you are the big dog in the draft class of '03... Now please... PLEASE SHUT UP and make me believe it.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Sunday, July 18, 2010
The Lebron Conundrum
A little more than a week ago Lebron James announced, in horrifically dramatic fashion, his "DECISION" to join Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, and Pat Riley in Miami. Sports fans around the country were horrified, Cleveland broke off from the rest of the United States and floated out to rest somewhere near the lost city of Atlantis (no small feat for a landlocked Midwestern city), and a cloud of righteous indignation hung over the sports world like a pending thunderstorm. Pundits from all sides crucified Lebron and his image went into a quasi-Tiger nosedive.
As a fan of an Eastern Conference team I hate that LBJ ended up in Miami forming a seemingly unbeatable triumvirate. The East is essentially theirs until someone takes it from them and my level of faith that the Celtics can do that is hovering around the mendoza line just a month after Boston was one game from banner 18.
That being said we as sports fans need to check our hypocrisy just a little bit when it comes to James' decision. In the past week I've heard numerous people lambasting Lebron as the archetype of all that is wrong with sports today. A typical athlete that has no loyalty to anything other than himself or his numerous bank accounts. A demon wresting the nobility and joy from sports and replacing it with a cold black heart to be found sitting in a corner booth at an ultra-exclusive South Beach club we as fans could never find nevermind enter. Truly the anti-Christ of basketball.
Some of those criticisms may very well be true, but unfortunately for those facing a precarious fall from the soap-box, they don't apply in this case. Was the self-promotion fest known as "The Decision" a truly skin crawling self aggrandizing nightmare to watch? Of course. (Sidenote: ESPN is far from blameless in this...) Has his callous departure from his hometown made the burning of his jersey and the removal of his likeness from anywhere in the city seem like an under-reaction? Sure.
But if you take the emotion out of it and look at what he actually decided to do it becomes clear that Lebron (along with Wade and Bosh) has taken the road less traveled. In reality he did something that we wish athletes would do more of, he chose winning over money. Cleveland could have paid him 30 million dollars more than any other team over the life of a maximum contract AND in Miami James will receive less than the max. Let me make sure that's clear. Lebron will get less money with the Heat than he would have with ANY OTHER TEAM. The Knicks could have paid him more, the Nets could have paid him more, the dreadful Clippers could have paid him more, everyone with the cap space for a max player could have paid him more. He turned that extra money down for a chance to play on what could be a historically good team. From what I've seen in sports that's pretty atypical. Do you think ARod would be a Yankee right now if they hadn't offered the biggest number? No chance.
Also, how many guys of Lebron's stature would be willing to go to another star's town and team? Miami belongs to Wade. He won them a championship in '06 and is still at the very least their co-top dog. Lebron didn't assemble this dynasty, he was added to it. That's a strange idea for perhaps the greatest basketball player (athlete?) in the world right now, but it's true. If he wins in Miami it won't be because he's the greatest of all time. It will be because they are a great team with three great (two great, one good?) players. He likely gave up his chance to be discussed in the same category as Russell and Jordan to chase championships and avoid being discussed in the Malone / Barkley category. Now whether he is aware of that probability is up for debate, but if he is (and I think he is) that's not a "typical athlete" decision.
Look, the way that Lebron delivered his decision was unacceptable. There is no question about that, especially given that he never told Cleveland that he was definitely leaving until just before the announcement. So he deserves to take heat from that and if I were him I'd avoid setting foot in Ohio for a while. But while we reserve the right to get on him for many aspects of his decision we can't call him the typical athlete and say he represents everything that's stereotypically wrong with sports. We can say he's taking the easy way out and leaving the chance to be Clevaland's Jordan on the table. We can say he's selfish and thoughtless for crushing his hometown in such a cold and deliberate way. We can even say he's making a bad decision, if it doesn't work his legacy won't be tarnished, it will be torched like his last number 23 jersey. But we can't say he represents all the things we hate about sports. We're still allowed to hate him, just not for that...
As a fan of an Eastern Conference team I hate that LBJ ended up in Miami forming a seemingly unbeatable triumvirate. The East is essentially theirs until someone takes it from them and my level of faith that the Celtics can do that is hovering around the mendoza line just a month after Boston was one game from banner 18.
That being said we as sports fans need to check our hypocrisy just a little bit when it comes to James' decision. In the past week I've heard numerous people lambasting Lebron as the archetype of all that is wrong with sports today. A typical athlete that has no loyalty to anything other than himself or his numerous bank accounts. A demon wresting the nobility and joy from sports and replacing it with a cold black heart to be found sitting in a corner booth at an ultra-exclusive South Beach club we as fans could never find nevermind enter. Truly the anti-Christ of basketball.
Some of those criticisms may very well be true, but unfortunately for those facing a precarious fall from the soap-box, they don't apply in this case. Was the self-promotion fest known as "The Decision" a truly skin crawling self aggrandizing nightmare to watch? Of course. (Sidenote: ESPN is far from blameless in this...) Has his callous departure from his hometown made the burning of his jersey and the removal of his likeness from anywhere in the city seem like an under-reaction? Sure.
But if you take the emotion out of it and look at what he actually decided to do it becomes clear that Lebron (along with Wade and Bosh) has taken the road less traveled. In reality he did something that we wish athletes would do more of, he chose winning over money. Cleveland could have paid him 30 million dollars more than any other team over the life of a maximum contract AND in Miami James will receive less than the max. Let me make sure that's clear. Lebron will get less money with the Heat than he would have with ANY OTHER TEAM. The Knicks could have paid him more, the Nets could have paid him more, the dreadful Clippers could have paid him more, everyone with the cap space for a max player could have paid him more. He turned that extra money down for a chance to play on what could be a historically good team. From what I've seen in sports that's pretty atypical. Do you think ARod would be a Yankee right now if they hadn't offered the biggest number? No chance.
Also, how many guys of Lebron's stature would be willing to go to another star's town and team? Miami belongs to Wade. He won them a championship in '06 and is still at the very least their co-top dog. Lebron didn't assemble this dynasty, he was added to it. That's a strange idea for perhaps the greatest basketball player (athlete?) in the world right now, but it's true. If he wins in Miami it won't be because he's the greatest of all time. It will be because they are a great team with three great (two great, one good?) players. He likely gave up his chance to be discussed in the same category as Russell and Jordan to chase championships and avoid being discussed in the Malone / Barkley category. Now whether he is aware of that probability is up for debate, but if he is (and I think he is) that's not a "typical athlete" decision.
Look, the way that Lebron delivered his decision was unacceptable. There is no question about that, especially given that he never told Cleveland that he was definitely leaving until just before the announcement. So he deserves to take heat from that and if I were him I'd avoid setting foot in Ohio for a while. But while we reserve the right to get on him for many aspects of his decision we can't call him the typical athlete and say he represents everything that's stereotypically wrong with sports. We can say he's taking the easy way out and leaving the chance to be Clevaland's Jordan on the table. We can say he's selfish and thoughtless for crushing his hometown in such a cold and deliberate way. We can even say he's making a bad decision, if it doesn't work his legacy won't be tarnished, it will be torched like his last number 23 jersey. But we can't say he represents all the things we hate about sports. We're still allowed to hate him, just not for that...
Wednesday, June 02, 2010
On The Eve of The Finals
We know the NBA wanted Kobe v. Lebron... Hell I kinda wanted Kobe v. Lebron, but I guess we can settle for two teams that have collectively won almost half of the NBA Championships ever awarded.
When the Celtics face the Lakers for a title it's like all the ghosts of our collective basketball pasts are reincarnated for two weeks. Everybody talks about Russel, Cousy, Bird, Parish, and McHale; West, Magic, and Kareem; DJ and Worthy; and even goggle faced, "Ohhh you got laid out!" Kurt Rambis.
But in this particular case I think talking about the old guys has special significance because both of these rosters are not very far away from being retired suits themselves. Everyone loves to talk about how old the Celtics are but the Lakers aren't an upstart cast of young pups either. Kobe has maybe two years left as the second best player in the world. (Stop sighing and rolling your eyes, just because Lebron couldn't carry a mediocre roster past a better Celtics team doesn't mean that Kobe is better. He just isn't, he used to be, but not anymore.) Gasol is only as "good" as he is because of Kobe and some of the other talent around him (and his game is so fucking ugly and uncoordinated that he's one half goony step away from a blown ACL at any time). Fisher is a dinosaur and Artest might not be human so who knows what his lifespan is.
The one Laker I left out? Lamar Odom. Why? Because I wanted to write this. Someone this week, if it hasn't happened already, is going to write an article or say something about how he is the key player for the Lakers in this series i.e., "You know Rick, I really think that Odom is going to be a key for the Lakers in this series. If he plays his best, with that effort that seems to come and go, the Celtics have no chance. I think he'll do it. Lakers in five." How do people still believe this? The guy has had the chance to be Pippen for a decade now and has been out to lunch for 97% of that time. He hardly ever tries, plays almost no defense, takes possessions off like he's playing for the Longhorns, and still people see one good game and say, "Woweee! That Lamar Odom, if he could play like that every night he'd be a superstar." Yeah? Well he can't. And he won't.
So what is going to be the key?
First for the Lakers... Wait who gives a fuck what the Lakers should do? This is a Boston blog...
Okay, for the Celtics there are a few things.
1. Rondo has to absolutely shred Fisher if they are ever stupid enough to match them up. Fisher got roasted by Russell Westbrook in round one and Westbrook is no Rondo. I'm not saying that Rondo has to score like he has through most of this run, he just has to create inside and cause havoc in the lane.
2. Pierce has to dig deeper into that fountain of youth he discovered before the Orlando series... Even if Kobe covers him. We saw in the Cleveland series that Pierce can't handle bigger, stronger, more athletic defenders. Well, Kobe isn't much bigger and Pierce is probably stronger but Bryant is a much better defender than anyone the Magic ran at him. Plus he has the superstar factor so Pierce won't get many calls on those pump fake and dive into the defender's chest moves that he seems to rely on far too much.
3. Ray Allen has to hit. The problem with having one of the best outside shooters of all time on your roster is that when he goes cold he has to keep shooting to get out of it, essentially throwing possessions away. (See the first few rounds in '08 CLANG!) If Allen can keep it rolling the Celtics have an excellent chance to win this series. If he doesn't he has to keep shooting and we'll have to keep praying because that's the only chance Boston will have. Obviously Rondo's playmaking ability makes his teammates better but I think Allen's shooting has the same effect. If he is making shots is does three things. First it spreads the floor even more for other players. Two, it allows him to get to the basket himself if the defense over pursues to his shot. And finally, it always gives the Celtics a chance late in close games.
4. Old Man River... I mean Kevin Garnett. I don't even know what to say about him. He's been bad in playoffs. I know, I know, they're in the Finals how bad could he have been? I'm telling you, BAD. He has NO elevation anymore and he gets pushed off the spot by every offensive player that weighs more than 180 pounds. He's become all flash and no substance. I love his energy and maybe (hopefully?) he can dig down into that psychotic part of his makeup that made him such a great player and pull out 4-7 great games... But I'm not convinced. He has to pound on Gasol and abuse him like he did two years ago for the Celtics to have a chance. That was the decisive matchup between these two teams in '08; if it flips with the rest of the rosters essentially the same (Wallace and Artest are a diva-wash) how can Boston overcome that?
PREDICTION:
Ummm.... I don't know. Obviously I'm rooting for Boston, I really am but there are a few things working against them.
Did you see Kobe in the last five minutes of game six in Phoenix? Unstoppable, and you just know he wants redemption for being humiliated in Boston two years ago. Bad.
Also, the setup of the finals is different than the first three rounds. It's played 2 in LA, 3 in Boston, and 2 in LA. That doesn't set up very well for the visiting team. Boston basically has to win one in LA and then sweep at home to avoid trying to clinch on the road in game six or seven. A very daunting task to say the least.
I'm going to say Celtics in six, with my heart, not my head. They are the old(er) dogs that know this is their last shot. There is no way this roster looks the same next year and even if it does who knows what the rest of the East or the NBA for that matter will look like? If it doesn't get done now it will be a while before we see banner 18, so I'm saying they dig just deep enough and steal one in LA, then take two out of three at home, and then stun the NBA world by lighting up LA in game six to break Kobe's heart. Here's hoping.
When the Celtics face the Lakers for a title it's like all the ghosts of our collective basketball pasts are reincarnated for two weeks. Everybody talks about Russel, Cousy, Bird, Parish, and McHale; West, Magic, and Kareem; DJ and Worthy; and even goggle faced, "Ohhh you got laid out!" Kurt Rambis.
But in this particular case I think talking about the old guys has special significance because both of these rosters are not very far away from being retired suits themselves. Everyone loves to talk about how old the Celtics are but the Lakers aren't an upstart cast of young pups either. Kobe has maybe two years left as the second best player in the world. (Stop sighing and rolling your eyes, just because Lebron couldn't carry a mediocre roster past a better Celtics team doesn't mean that Kobe is better. He just isn't, he used to be, but not anymore.) Gasol is only as "good" as he is because of Kobe and some of the other talent around him (and his game is so fucking ugly and uncoordinated that he's one half goony step away from a blown ACL at any time). Fisher is a dinosaur and Artest might not be human so who knows what his lifespan is.
The one Laker I left out? Lamar Odom. Why? Because I wanted to write this. Someone this week, if it hasn't happened already, is going to write an article or say something about how he is the key player for the Lakers in this series i.e., "You know Rick, I really think that Odom is going to be a key for the Lakers in this series. If he plays his best, with that effort that seems to come and go, the Celtics have no chance. I think he'll do it. Lakers in five." How do people still believe this? The guy has had the chance to be Pippen for a decade now and has been out to lunch for 97% of that time. He hardly ever tries, plays almost no defense, takes possessions off like he's playing for the Longhorns, and still people see one good game and say, "Woweee! That Lamar Odom, if he could play like that every night he'd be a superstar." Yeah? Well he can't. And he won't.
So what is going to be the key?
First for the Lakers... Wait who gives a fuck what the Lakers should do? This is a Boston blog...
Okay, for the Celtics there are a few things.
1. Rondo has to absolutely shred Fisher if they are ever stupid enough to match them up. Fisher got roasted by Russell Westbrook in round one and Westbrook is no Rondo. I'm not saying that Rondo has to score like he has through most of this run, he just has to create inside and cause havoc in the lane.
2. Pierce has to dig deeper into that fountain of youth he discovered before the Orlando series... Even if Kobe covers him. We saw in the Cleveland series that Pierce can't handle bigger, stronger, more athletic defenders. Well, Kobe isn't much bigger and Pierce is probably stronger but Bryant is a much better defender than anyone the Magic ran at him. Plus he has the superstar factor so Pierce won't get many calls on those pump fake and dive into the defender's chest moves that he seems to rely on far too much.
3. Ray Allen has to hit. The problem with having one of the best outside shooters of all time on your roster is that when he goes cold he has to keep shooting to get out of it, essentially throwing possessions away. (See the first few rounds in '08 CLANG!) If Allen can keep it rolling the Celtics have an excellent chance to win this series. If he doesn't he has to keep shooting and we'll have to keep praying because that's the only chance Boston will have. Obviously Rondo's playmaking ability makes his teammates better but I think Allen's shooting has the same effect. If he is making shots is does three things. First it spreads the floor even more for other players. Two, it allows him to get to the basket himself if the defense over pursues to his shot. And finally, it always gives the Celtics a chance late in close games.
4. Old Man River... I mean Kevin Garnett. I don't even know what to say about him. He's been bad in playoffs. I know, I know, they're in the Finals how bad could he have been? I'm telling you, BAD. He has NO elevation anymore and he gets pushed off the spot by every offensive player that weighs more than 180 pounds. He's become all flash and no substance. I love his energy and maybe (hopefully?) he can dig down into that psychotic part of his makeup that made him such a great player and pull out 4-7 great games... But I'm not convinced. He has to pound on Gasol and abuse him like he did two years ago for the Celtics to have a chance. That was the decisive matchup between these two teams in '08; if it flips with the rest of the rosters essentially the same (Wallace and Artest are a diva-wash) how can Boston overcome that?
PREDICTION:
Ummm.... I don't know. Obviously I'm rooting for Boston, I really am but there are a few things working against them.
Did you see Kobe in the last five minutes of game six in Phoenix? Unstoppable, and you just know he wants redemption for being humiliated in Boston two years ago. Bad.
Also, the setup of the finals is different than the first three rounds. It's played 2 in LA, 3 in Boston, and 2 in LA. That doesn't set up very well for the visiting team. Boston basically has to win one in LA and then sweep at home to avoid trying to clinch on the road in game six or seven. A very daunting task to say the least.
I'm going to say Celtics in six, with my heart, not my head. They are the old(er) dogs that know this is their last shot. There is no way this roster looks the same next year and even if it does who knows what the rest of the East or the NBA for that matter will look like? If it doesn't get done now it will be a while before we see banner 18, so I'm saying they dig just deep enough and steal one in LA, then take two out of three at home, and then stun the NBA world by lighting up LA in game six to break Kobe's heart. Here's hoping.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Tiger v. Phil
I'm going to preface this by saying I have always hated Phil Mickelson...
Okay, now that all the women have clicked away let's continue. He's whiny, he chokes, he doesn't look like an athlete, and he seems like an incredibly pompous jerk. In short (excuse the last part) he's not Tiger Woods.
I love Tiger. I love that he swears, slams clubs, and pumps his fist when he wins. I love that nine times out of ten you know that his big putts are going in because the ball and putter collectively are too scared to do otherwise. I love that he spends ridiculous amounts of money on houses, boats, and cars. And to be honest I love that he doesn't sign every autograph or pat every kid on the head as he's walking the course. Nobody comes to your cubicle to ask you to sign something or be nice to their little rug-rat everyday, why should he have to?
Do I love all the tabloid nonsense about his affairs? No, he never should have gotten married. If you're a professional athlete worth one billion dollars DO NOT GET MARRIED. I don't care how hot, how Sweedish, how blonde, or how flexible she is just don't do it. Stay single and bang everything that breathes between Orlando and Vegas and nobody cares. Do it with pretty wife and two kids - instant pariah with a phony trip to "sex addiction" rehab for dessert.
(Two things on the rehab story. 1. How pissed is Tiger going to be when Elin still divorces him after he went though all that shit pretending to actually want to stop banging porn stars and cocktail waitresses? 2. Sex addiction = access and opportunity. It's not a fucking disease, it's called being rich, famous, and young enough to still have functioning plumbing. Find me a guy who says he wouldn't take that affliction and I'll show you a liar.)
All that being said, after everything that's happened in the last six months could there have been anything worse for Tiger than Phil winning the Master's?
Stop thinking. Short of a long list of 11 year old boys coming out Michael Jackson style and saying that Tiger has a "treasure" room, the answer is a resounding NO.
Not only did Tiger's biggest "rival" (I use the term loosely, it's like a dolphin being the rival of a great-white) win another green jacket, he also dumped a whole canister of gasoline on the, "We Hate Tiger Woods Because He Did What Rich Famous Guys Do" Club's inaugural bonfire of Woods related paraphernalia.
With one long hug with his cancer stricken wife on the backside of the 18th green Mickelson turned what was a moderately successful week for Woods (all things considered) into a disaster. Every woman watching thought one of two things:
1. (Sniffle, sniffle...)
2. Tiger Woods is an asshole. Why can't he be like that?
(It's one thing for every woman to think that, but what do the sponsors think? That's a huge question for him going forward).
The reality is Tiger Woods is not like that, and that's what makes him the greatest golfer in the world. It's not a good guy contest, it's not a nice husband / father contest, it's a golf tournament. Not being like Phil is what made Tiger the best, trying to be like Phil will be his undoing. Phil plays with the kids, takes vacations, gets fat, and seems like he genuinely puts his family first. Tiger hits balls until is hands bleed, everything else comes second. (Insert balls joke here...)
Would I let Tiger watch my kids (if I had any)? No chance. Would I want to learn how to win from Phil? Nope.
Tiger and Phil are completely different people, but on that April Sunday as Phil emerged from the veil that Tiger had cast around the entire week at Augusta to claim his third green jacket and embrace his wife like he never wanted to let go they were drawn into stark comparison both on the course and off. And for once Phil came out on top.
Enjoy it lefty, as a fan I hope that you stay a great dad and husband off the course and that Tiger goes back to crushing you on the back nine.
Okay, now that all the women have clicked away let's continue. He's whiny, he chokes, he doesn't look like an athlete, and he seems like an incredibly pompous jerk. In short (excuse the last part) he's not Tiger Woods.
I love Tiger. I love that he swears, slams clubs, and pumps his fist when he wins. I love that nine times out of ten you know that his big putts are going in because the ball and putter collectively are too scared to do otherwise. I love that he spends ridiculous amounts of money on houses, boats, and cars. And to be honest I love that he doesn't sign every autograph or pat every kid on the head as he's walking the course. Nobody comes to your cubicle to ask you to sign something or be nice to their little rug-rat everyday, why should he have to?
Do I love all the tabloid nonsense about his affairs? No, he never should have gotten married. If you're a professional athlete worth one billion dollars DO NOT GET MARRIED. I don't care how hot, how Sweedish, how blonde, or how flexible she is just don't do it. Stay single and bang everything that breathes between Orlando and Vegas and nobody cares. Do it with pretty wife and two kids - instant pariah with a phony trip to "sex addiction" rehab for dessert.
(Two things on the rehab story. 1. How pissed is Tiger going to be when Elin still divorces him after he went though all that shit pretending to actually want to stop banging porn stars and cocktail waitresses? 2. Sex addiction = access and opportunity. It's not a fucking disease, it's called being rich, famous, and young enough to still have functioning plumbing. Find me a guy who says he wouldn't take that affliction and I'll show you a liar.)
All that being said, after everything that's happened in the last six months could there have been anything worse for Tiger than Phil winning the Master's?
Stop thinking. Short of a long list of 11 year old boys coming out Michael Jackson style and saying that Tiger has a "treasure" room, the answer is a resounding NO.
Not only did Tiger's biggest "rival" (I use the term loosely, it's like a dolphin being the rival of a great-white) win another green jacket, he also dumped a whole canister of gasoline on the, "We Hate Tiger Woods Because He Did What Rich Famous Guys Do" Club's inaugural bonfire of Woods related paraphernalia.
With one long hug with his cancer stricken wife on the backside of the 18th green Mickelson turned what was a moderately successful week for Woods (all things considered) into a disaster. Every woman watching thought one of two things:
1. (Sniffle, sniffle...)
2. Tiger Woods is an asshole. Why can't he be like that?
(It's one thing for every woman to think that, but what do the sponsors think? That's a huge question for him going forward).
The reality is Tiger Woods is not like that, and that's what makes him the greatest golfer in the world. It's not a good guy contest, it's not a nice husband / father contest, it's a golf tournament. Not being like Phil is what made Tiger the best, trying to be like Phil will be his undoing. Phil plays with the kids, takes vacations, gets fat, and seems like he genuinely puts his family first. Tiger hits balls until is hands bleed, everything else comes second. (Insert balls joke here...)
Would I let Tiger watch my kids (if I had any)? No chance. Would I want to learn how to win from Phil? Nope.
Tiger and Phil are completely different people, but on that April Sunday as Phil emerged from the veil that Tiger had cast around the entire week at Augusta to claim his third green jacket and embrace his wife like he never wanted to let go they were drawn into stark comparison both on the course and off. And for once Phil came out on top.
Enjoy it lefty, as a fan I hope that you stay a great dad and husband off the course and that Tiger goes back to crushing you on the back nine.
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