Opining on Tiger's trysts, Syracuse hoops and Yankee acquisitions

Playing a round has taken on a whole new meaning with golfer, sex addict Tiger Woods.

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Someone asked me if anyone in sports has plummeted as far and as fast as Tiger and the names O.J. Simpson and Pete Rose came immediately to mind.

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Some columnists have opined that Tiger can slowly play his way out of this sex mess and back into the good graces of fans and sponsors the way Kobe Bryant did after his affair and rape case, but I’m not so sure. Yes, I believe Mr. Eldrick Woods (yes, that's his real name) will find the focus needed to break Jack Nicklaus’ record for major victories, but the magnitude of his “transgressions’’ will forever taint him.

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Let this be a reminder that we may think we know our celebrity heroes, but we really don’t. Hey, O.J. was fabulous to me – he once even called me from a Hollywood movie set to do an interview. I and the rest of America thought he was the most gracious sports celebrity going. But we only knew O.J. the legend not O.J. the man.

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So, you ask yourself: Why the heck did Tiger bother getting married in the first place?

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Enough Tiger talk, let’s move onto more harmless subjects, such as Terrell Owens signing on with a modeling agency. I just hope T.O. negotiates the catwalk better than he has the gridiron. And let’s hope they don’t load him down with too many props given his propensity for drops. I guess this new gig underscores the fact that T.O. has, for the most part, been a model citizen with the Bills. (Sorry, couldn’t resist the bad pun.)

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Some people have accused me of jumping the gun with this year’s Syracuse University basketball team, but I don’t think so. I love their depth, their unselfishness on the offensive end and their tenacity on defense. And Wesley Johnson is something really special. Even if the Orange lose tonight on the road to Florida, I’m not going to change my mind. I have good vibes early about this team the way I had good vibes early about the national championship team in 2003.

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The one thing working against the Cuse and all Big East teams is the strength of the conference itself. The breath and depth of talent in the league has never been better. But you wonder if any of the Big East representatives will be able to win a national championship after beating up on one another for the two months leading up to the NCAAs.

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Speaking of the NCAAs, there’s talk again of expanding the tournament field from 64 to 96 or even - egads! - 124. Here’s hoping that doesn’t happen. In too many sports, the regular season has been rendered meaningless because virtually everyone makes the post-season. One of the appeals of March Madness is that it is darn tough to make – and that’s the way it should be.

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Whereas the NCAA has it just right regarding postseason hoops, it has it all wrong concerning football. I’ve been arguing for years that Division I football needs a playoff, and this year further underscores the need. Should Cincinnati, TCU or Boise State finish the season undefeated they have every much a right to claim they’re No. 1 as the winner of the alleged championship game between Texas and Alabama.

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If I’m the Bills, I might take a chance on Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen. Ferocious Nebraska tackle Ndamukong Suh (don’t ask me how to pronounce his name) also would look good in a Buffalo uniform.

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I was happy that Derek Jeter was named Sports Illustrated’s 2009 Sportsman of the Year. But you could have made as strong an argument - if not stronger - for his teammate, Mariano Rivera. It would have been kind of cool to have named them co-winners, considering they’ve been the two most important cogs in the Yankees five World Series titles in the past 13 years.

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I’ve been a fan of the Bronx Bombers since 1961, but I’m not nearly as much of a fan as I used to be. The trading for centerfielder Curtis Granderson and the possible acquisition of all-star pitcher Roy Halladay just underscores how the rich get richer, and how the current competitive balance structure of baseball is way out of whack.

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Finally, some good news for fans of the Pittsburgh Pirates: The team announced this week that for the eighth consecutive season it won’t be raising ticket prices. The bad news is that the Pirates haven’t fielded a winning team since the Eisenhower administration. (O.K., so I was being facetious. It’s only been 18 years, which would make it the Clinton administration - that's the Bill Clinton, not DeWitt Clinton administration.)

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I normally refrain from politics in this cyberspace because I’d rather deal with the less bizarre world of sports, but I couldn’t help but notice how once again the politicians have had our backs regarding health care. Congress spent more than a year wrangling over a new plan that allegedly would bring some relief to we working-class stiffs. And instead apparently have come up with a plan that permit health care costs to continue spiraling out of control. I don’t mean to sound greedy or hard to please. Heck, I’d happily settle for the medical and retirement plan that our congressmen and senators receive. There, I feel better, now that I've vented. I'll try not to injure my ankle climbing down from my soap box. Wouldn't want to drive up those health care expenses any more than they are.

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Finally, I'd like to ask you all to keep Mark Muench in your thoughts and prayers. Mark, a dedicated volunteer with the Fairport Challenger Little League Baseball program for nearly two decades, underwent surgery last month to remove a tumor from his brain and will begin radiation treatment next week. He's a fabulous, caring guy who has done a tremendous job helping mentally and physically challenged young people experience the joys of playing baseball. I saw him yesterday at the Rochester Press-Radio Club children's charity luncheon and he looked and sounded great. You can follow his progress at his website: www.markmuench.blogspot.com.

Tiger, Federer - two of a kind

Fitting, wasn't it, that Tiger Woods and Roger Federer won on the same day? They are the best there's ever been at what they do, and we would do well to take a moment to appreciate and savor their greatness on the golf course and tennis court while we can. They are the Babe Ruth and Michael Jordan of their respective sports, and we shall not see their likes again. So drink in what you are witnessing. It's truly something historic.

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Woods and Federer have become friends and fans of one another. One of the reasons they are members of each other's mutual admiration society is that they are among the scant few people on the planet who can truly understand the genius and focus required to achieve what they have.

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It was very classy of Woods to allow scores of children 12-and-under to attend his tournament for free. (Wouldn't it be great if the NFL, Major League Baseball, the NBA and NHL followed suit at least occasionally?)

I also liked the way he honored veterans of the Armed Forces. The most memorable moment for me wasn't one of Woods' classic swings, but rather the scene of a veteran in a wheel chair motoring up the fairway with Tiger.

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The winner of that hot-dog fest on the Fourth downed 68 franks in 10 minutes. That's more dogs than I probably will consume in the next 20 years.

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I'd like to thank my friend and loyal reader, Blaise Lamphier, for keeping me on my toes. Like most of the media, I erroneously reported that Lou Gehrig's No. 4 was the first jersey ever retired by a professional sports team when the Yankees put it into mothballs in 1939. As Blaise correctly points out, two years early the Montreal Canadiens retired Howie Morenz's jersey (or as they used to refer to them in hockey - his 'sweater') after the player's untimely death.

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Concerning my assertion that the Williams sisters had further distanced themselves from the Manning brothers as the greatest athletic siblings of all-time, reader and friend Gary Larder of the Rochester Red Wings advised me not to forget about baseball's Waner brothers.

I did some research and the Pittsburgh Pirates dynamic duo definitely belongs in the discussion. Known as "Big Poison'' and "Little Poison,'' the Waner Bros. combined for 5,611 hits while playing in the 1920s and '30s. Paul finished with a career batting average of .333, 17 points better than Lloyd's career mark. They are the only set of brothers enshrined in Cooperstown.

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My Father's Day column evoked considerable response from readers. And it also elicited a few memorable stories of other dads out there. Here is one from Scott Kindberg, a long-time newspaper reporter and editor in Jamestown, who I got to know during my formative years as a Bills beat reporter in the mid- to late-1980s:

"Thanks so much for sharing your memory of your trip to Yankee Stadium with your dad. In a word, it was awesome.

"My only trip to the Bronx was with a friend and our sons, so I was never able to experience that thrill with my father, something I truly regret. Happily, I have plenty of other Yankees memories that I shared with him.

"Knowing your interest in all things in pinstripes, here's a story from May 1970. The Yanks were playing the Tribe at Cleveland Stadium. It was a doubleheader (back in the days when they had such things) and my father and I arrived early and headed straight to will-call to get our tickets.

"Because the will-call window hadn't yet opened, I struck up a conversation with a woman who was an avid Indians' fan. Keep in mind I was all of 9 years old. The lady was trying to convince me that Duke Sims — the Tribe's catcher — was going to have a better season than the Yanks' rookie catcher, a young man named Thurman Munson.

"Our debate lasted about 15 minutes and, apparently, I was doing a pretty good job of making a case for Thurm, but it was cut short when the will-call window opened. My dad got the tickets, handed me one and I headed for the turnstiles.

"Just as I was about to push my way through, a woman in front of me, turned in my direction and stuck out her hand to shake mine. As I looked up at her, she said (according to my dad), "Thank you for your kind comments about my husband. I'm Mrs. Thurman Munson." I don't think I uttered a word. I was too stunned.

"It's been nearly 40 years since that encounter and I remember it like it was yesterday. Is there any wonder why I've loved the Yanks my whole life? The best part, though, is that's a story my dad and I shared over and over again. The best part for me is that my father was there to witness it.

"There's not a game that goes by that I don't want to pick up the phone and talk to him about it. I take comfort by being able to watch games from his leather recliner that I inherited after his passing. One thing's for sure: I sound just like him as I alternately yell and cheer at every hit, run and error. Thanks again for making the Yanks a regular topic on your blogs. I hope all is well, and keep up the great work.

"All the best,"

Scott Kindberg, Jamestown