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Has the last of our gunslingers hung up his six guns and just become another face in the crowd? After the Masters this past weekend we as sports fans have to let out a sad sigh and realize that the once charging Tiger may have become a purring pussy cat.

Jack Nicklaus was asked before the Masters if he thought Tiger was going to break his record on major victories. Jack said that if Tiger were to have a chance, this would be the year he would have to prove it, with all the majors being set up on courses conducive to Tiger’s swing. He was also asked (this one is for Mr. Neyland) if all the greats could have played during any era. His answer was yes, because not only were they sound fundamentally but they were solid mentally and they had the desire to be the best. But he did reconfirm that he was only talking about the greats, not everyone: Palmer, Hogan, Jones, Player, Snead, and Watson. Interestingly, he did not mention any names on the current PGA. Of course, we do know that Jack would consider Tiger as one of the greats, as we all do, but like Jack we will all wait until the end of Tiger’s career to see where his greatest ranks amongst the others Jack named.

So what happened to our gun slinging golfer? If you go to therapy to have the demons exorcized from your inner being, to discover your true self, do you discover that part of the dark side is that inner strength to be a champion? When you purge yourself, do you lose that desire to win? Research has shown that to reach for success can have negative consequences. Remember though: “good guys finish last”.

I know Tiger said he came to win The Masters, but before he used to come to a tournament with the intention of not losing it, not just winning. Is there a difference? Yes… in trying to win you will give it your best shot and at the end of the day you will throw up your hands and say, “I tried my best”. But in trying not to lose, you will try to pull out the impossible, mentally and physically, which may be too overpowering for the opposition to deal with during competition. How many times have we, as a viewing audience, looked at a few of the truly great players in a given sport and asked ourselves how did they make that basket, catch, pass, goal, shot, recovery of an impending blunder?

Yet, when we as a group, audience, individuals, start talking about that group of elite athletes, we do find a common thread, a dark side. Is it a horrible dark side? Well, the media would like you to think that their mistakes will swallow up the human race and it will be the end of the world. It may not, but it could create more negative consequences, which could create severe chaos for their families as the desire for success grows.

Wait, before you start yelling at me and asking “me what about so and so?” and “look at you know who”, remember, we all saw the good in Tiger and thought he was the perfect image for professional golf. Does that mean that all greats cross over the line? I am sure that there are many great athletes that can control that consuming dark desire and that find non-destructive ways to redirect that desire to a positive plateau. But let us be realistic, that is why some athletes cannot retire, and when they do, their lives crumble right before our eyes because competitive sports is their only outlet for that uncontrollable hunger that helps them win.

So what of the Tiger, can he find that balance of what has made him the greatest of his generation? If he cannot, it will be golf’s loss.  For we, as golf fans, have loved those golfers who stride down a golf course with a swagger and a flare and look at their opponents and have boldly told them “I am not going to lose today.” It may be your golf tournament to win, but it is mine to lose or not.  Jack and Title IX you are so right, the greats could play and win during any era, let us just hope that the Tiger can control his dark side and rediscover his roar instead of a sleeping purr.

Ok, Tiger Woods is back and we, as true golf fans, have to ask is it for the betterment of golf, or is it the fact that at the end of the day he might be taken for half of everything he has made in all his years as a professional.  Some here at Sportsnetusa.net are going to claim that as a traditionalist, I am rooting for the Golden Bear’s record to stand until the end of time. They will even say they saw me gloat when Tiger stepped away from the game of golf for personal reasons.

So let us clear the air, I love the game of golf, it is a game that can be played from when you are a little child until you are a grown person who can barely walk. You can be competitive with your mother, father, sister, brother, grandparents and absolute strangers. You can be perfect or you can be so/so, and for the majority of those you play with, they think it is a heck of a game no matter what level they play at.

Unlike with other sports, golf historians, golf announcers and golf fans celebrate those who were great and those who are great by today’s standards.  Golf fans look at the best of all time and put them towards the head of the pack during conversations. They can talk of the greats at length, and do not look at a particular player from a particular time and try to claim that he is the greatest unless his accomplishments can be validated, with the proof in the pudding. 

So, should it bother us that Tiger is coming back to the game of golf at The Masters?  The Augusta National course was the idea of all-time great Bobby Jones.  Jack Nicklaus won his first green jacket in 1963, and in 1986 became the oldest winner (46 years, 2 months, 23 days) when he picked up his final one in 1986.  In between Nicklaus won in 1965, successfully defended his title in 1966, and picked up victories in 1972 and 1975.  “The Big Three”, Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player won The Masters 11 times from 1960 to 1978.

To think of the history associated with the golf course, to think of the greatness of Tiger Woods and to watch the immortal Golden Bears record withstand a charge from a Tiger of any generation, why wouldn’t we want Tiger to start his comeback at The Masters?

There are so many events that I never think I will see.  I did not think I would ever see Tiger Woods looking so ordinary like he did last Friday.  I know this story has been covered from about a billion different ways.  People saw his apology from about the same number of viewpoints.  I figured it was time to add mine.  I am not a golf fan but I am a Tiger Woods fan.  If Tiger was in a final I found myself tuning in for a while and sometimes for hours.  I do not play golf and what I am about to write is just my opinion.  This is not about facts but just my opinion and questions I have now more than ever.

It is fun for some to gossip about what women Tiger had affairs with.  It may not be right but sex always and I say always sells.  It has been that way forever and ever.  I do not care who he slept or sleeps with.  It is not my business and it is not your business.  I was amused by all of the fuss about what type of conference he had and who was or was not there.  The guy did not owe fans nor any media people an apology.  So why all of the grousing about not being allowed to ask questions?  Get over it.  Some were upset that he read it.  You’re kidding me right?  People write and read speeches all of the time.  Have you ever been to a funeral?  Should a minister not be allowed to read from his script?  How many great political speeches have been written and then read.  Does that really make them less sincere?  I think not.  All of this stuff is just plain silly to me.  Most is not my concern nor do I care.

My concerns have to do with another question that may get larger down the road.  I cannot shake it yet.  Has Tiger Woods ever used any PEDS?  I know that he said no in his speech.  All athletes deny they have ever used steroids or peds.  Marion Jones denied over and over and then admitted so and went to prison.  I was a Marion Jones fan as well.  For me that is the real question and concern.  I think Tiger will come back and he may once again dominate golf.  People have and will forgive him.  He now looks more mortal and like one of us (not really but you get what I mean right).

This is not an accusation; just a concern and his apology brought it up more for me.  When the story of Tiger’s infidelity came up his agent Mark Steinberg did not deny and said little.  When there was mention that one of Tiger’s doctors was known for using HGH.  There was a strong denial from Steinberg that Woods had ever used steroids.  So keep the name Tony Galea in your memory bank.  He treated Tiger for his knee injury and has worked with numerous athletes.  He has also taken HGH personally.  He does unique treatments like the platelet-rich plasma injections he used on Tiger’s knee.  This is not against PGA rules.  The FBI and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are investigating him.  His employee, Mary Anne Catalano is said to be co-operating with the FBI.  This is similar to how BALCO came about.

Now let’s go back in history.  One day I turned on my TV and saw Woods strolling down the course and I thought I was looking at an NFL defensive back not a golfer.  I could not believe how big he was.  The announcer said that Tiger puts so much torque on his swing with his upper body that it put much stress on his knees.  We all know by now that peds build a person up and then eventually they tear a person down.  Everyone has talked about Tiger and his competitiveness, his super desire to be the best ever.  There is that and then his own words at his apology announcement.  Woods said, “I stopped living by the core values that I was taught to believe in.  I knew my actions were wrong but I convinced myself that normal rules didn’t apply.  I never thought about who I was hurting.  Instead I thought only about myself.  I ran straight through the boundaries that a married couple should live by.  I thought I could get away with whatever I wanted to.  I felt that I had worked hard my entire life and deserved to enjoy all the temptations around me.  I felt I was entitled.  Thanks to money and fame I didn’t have to go far to find them.  I was wrong.”

Tiger is the one athlete that may be bigger than the game.  In his fourteen years, the PGA purses have gone from 65.9 million to 277.3 million.  Is CBS going to do an investigation?  How about the PGA commissioner?  Take a look at the previous paragraph. “I knew my actions were wrong but I convinced myself that normal rules didn’t apply.”  I hope Tiger finds peace and I hope my concerns are unfounded.  Whom Tiger cheated with is none of my business but if he cheated in golf, that is a question that is fair game.

I just love when someone uses that word.  It is so harsh.  They cheated on their taxes, they cheated on their spouses and they cheated on their tests. YIKES !!!!! Can you imagine anyone cheating in football, baseball, ice hockey, basketball, sorry there are no enforceable rules in basketball ….

A cheater is defined as: one who acts dishonest, to elude by trickery or deception, lying.  So once again the world of technology has set golfers against each other in one of the last of the gentlemen sports; yes, Phil has been called a cheater. That’s right, Phil Mickelson has been branded a cheater by other pros because he is using a club that is within the rules, but which skirts the boundaries of acceptability according to technology rules.

That’s right, MR. TITLE IX, that aspect of sports that you keep protecting on FNM is now slithering its ugly bite into one of the last bastions of fair play. What is wrong with you technological geeks who keep thinking that the changing of the accessories is beneficial to the game? Please do not answer with the traditional: “well maybe they should still be playing with …….” Advancement is fine, but just as we have advanced with our automobiles, none of thinks that we should have cars that do a thousand miles an hour with roads that are filled with stop, stop, stop and go traffic.

So why do you and your cohorts feel that the constant change of the accessories will improve the sport? Why not just try to improve the athlete in a non-controversial way?  Or maybe you think it is fine that an athlete is called a; rogue, confidence man, quack, charlatan, conniver, fraud, beguiler, deceiver, trickster, inveigler, a wolf in sheep’s clothing, four-flusher, a shill, fake, pretender, hypocrite, con man, shark ….can’t use shark.

Gentlemen, awake from your world of metal clubs, belly putters, softer covered golf balls and GPS yardage finders, and realize that there are certain games that should be left alone. So what if you are not as strong and accurate as the next guy. So what if you cannot putt as well as everyone on the course. So what if your game is just a little south of John Daly’s.  THEN QUIT… or you could just enjoy the game you have when you head out to the golf course. And please, do not try to walk around the hazard if the rule of the game is bad for the spirit of the game, because then the rule should be changed not just bypassed. So please geeks, understand that your world of technology is ruining this game and other games as well.

I’ll tell you what; let’s give the best players of today’s game of golf some semi-antiquated equipment, persimmon woods, standard putters and golf balls that are under wound, and let us watch them play the game and see if the quality of the sport degenerates. If it doesn’t, then let us look at non-domed stadiums and allowing the sports to be played in the elements they were dealt. If we do that, then maybe when we try to discuss the greats of the generations we all seem able to relate to, there might be a sense of equality because they all played a very similar game. Then, the only ones who can be pointed at and called CHEATERS are the ones that broke the clear-cut rules of the game.

Amazing one of my counter parts at SportsNetUSA.net made a statement in a blog that rules are not fair. He also stated that life isn’t fair and then proceeded to tell those individuals who are mistreated by collegiate rules to suck it up.

So my big question would be, “would he tell Tiger and Paddy to suck it up, rules and life aren’t fair and just play on …?”, most likely not. Then again, why would he? We don’t always play by the rules when we are on the golf course.

So what do rules really mean today? Well by dictionary standards the word rule is just stated as jurisdiction, regulation, edict, order, not pick and choose what fits your needs during a competition.

You see I am quite confused listening to sporting fans all over the country. If it is okay to cheat, to break the rules, then this means Ken Lay and Bernie Madoff shouldn’t be vilified. They were simply taking every advantage so they could to get ahead.

This means you shouldn’t be angry at Wall Street fat cats. And when your loans come due on your home don’t even try to be upset about mortgage lenders. No whining about republicans, democrats or independents taking money from lobbyists. Stop complaining about all the CEO’s and numerous types of fraud. Get comfortable with colleagues sleeping their way to the top.

These people are all just trying to gain an extra advantage, so what if they bent this rule or that rule. They were all just doing for the great mighty dollar.

If you accept cheating in sports, you accept it everywhere. You abdicate your outrage and muddy your ethical discernment. So spare me the ‘hypocritical’ tripe.

In retrospect, most in-game cheating is viewed with a tip of the hat, a nod — even a chuckle. TitleIX and The Franchise can laugh about espionage in their beloved sports. Spitball pitchers and steroid users are considered a colorful part of the game. Same with floppers in basketball, stick benders in hockey, divers in soccer and football players who specialize in holding.

Yes you fans have always talked a good game about wanting our athletes to be fair and honorable. You grew up believing in the world of sports, and in the premise of trying to compete the right way. Winners never cheat, and cheaters never win. But somewhere you, the preachers of the rules, got lost in your own convoluted game; “rules should be for everyone but not necessarily for the team I root for, at least not today.”

So sports fans please do me a favor and pick a side, watch the game with a rulebook sitting next to you and choose which rules apply to that game you are watching that day and stick by them for both teams. If you are that fan that is looking at the real world and how all the outside influences effects all athletes, high school, college, pro, take a hard look at yourself. Ask yourself if you were put in the same positions as some of your favorite athletes, not so favorite athletes, young, old or indifferent, what would you do? Would you live and die by the rules, or would you break the rules for your own benefit or the benefit of your team? Make a choice, and when you do, realize it should be a choice that would be acceptable to everyone ….be it cheating, then it’s cheating, if not, then it’s not, but what is fair for one is fair for all. Rules are rules.

WHO ARE YOUR FAVORITES CHEATERS ESPECIALLY THOSE YOU TURNED A BLIND EYES TO, these might start your mind thinking:

1. Danny Almonte: Anyone who watched the 2001 Little League World Series will recall the way Almonte dominated the international competition, whiffing guys over and over with unprecedented heat. We overlooked the fact that he pretty much had a mustache and instead focused on that rocket arm…until about a week after the Series when SI let us all know that Almonte was actually 14 years old.

2. The 2000 Spanish Paralympics Team: This story never got much attention, but it’s pretty outrageous. At the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney, the team from Spain cleaned up, winning several gold medals including a blow-out of Russia in the gold medal basketball game. Unfortunately, it turned out many of the team members weren’t actually disabled at all. Perhaps having Johnny Knoxville starting at shooting guard should have tipped us off.

3. Rosie Ruiz: Just 23 years old at the time, Ruiz won the women’s division of the 1980 Boston Marathon in a scorching time of just over two and half hours. This was surprising to pretty much everyone involved with the Boston Marathon, as nobody had seen her running until the final mile. As it turned out, this was because she only ran the final half-mile.

4. Joe Niekro: This was probably my favorite cheating scandal of all time, just because it happened so publicly. After being a dominant pitcher in the late ’70s — he finished second in the 1979 Cy Young voting — Niekro’s career was on the downside in 1987. While pitching for the Minnesota Twins, Niekro was accused of doctoring the baseball. The umps came to the mound, checked his glove and then asked him to empty his pockets.

5. Ben Johnson: During the 1988 Summer Olympics, I was caught up in the hysteria, cheering hard for the American athletes to do their best. I was a particularly big fan of Carl Lewis, who seemed to be able to run and jump past everyone else involved. Then, in the 100 meter finals, a buff Canadian named Ben Johnson sprinted past everyone to win the title and set a world record. Then he peed in a cup and everything changed. He now has a clothing line with the motto “Catch Me.” They already did, Ben.