Forget what the calendar says, spring starts today.
For two reasons.
First, the Phillies open their Grapefruit League schedule this afternoon with a road game in Bradenton with the Pirates. First pitch by Jamie Moyer is set for 1 p.m. Joe Blanton also will take the hill. Both will pitch two innings.
Don’t look for Chase Utley. He’s still on rehabbing his hip. Jason Donald will start in his place at second.
But spring actually will start today at 2:02 p.m. That is when the most mesmerizing person in the sports universe returns.
Tiger will once again be on the prowl.
I refer, of course, to Tiger Woods. He is Babe Ruth, Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, Jim Brown and Joe Montana all wrapped into one.
Very simply, Woods is the No. 1 athlete on the planet. I know, he’s a golfer, you might snidely retort.
Woods is not a golfer; he is the golfer. He is the most compelling athlete of his generation, maybe of all time. He is fast threatening Muhammad Ali in claims to the title of “The Greatest.”
Woods has not hit a golf ball in competition since last June, when he won the U.S. Open in a playoff against Rocco Mediate on one leg. Woods then underwent surgery on his knee.
This is a question for those who are not die-hard golf nuts, like me. Can you tell me one thing that has happened on the PGA Tour since Woods’ exit? I thought so.
The pro golf tour, already battered by a reeling economy, has been double cursed because of Woods’ absence. That will change today.
Woods will make his return in the Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona. In this format, he is pitted against one player in match play, competing for one hole at a time, as opposed to most weekends when tour golfers go at it in stroke play, with the winner decided on the total number of strokes.
I will make this prediction right now: Woods will win this event. It is what he does. No other athlete rises to the spotlight – and the pressure – the way Woods does.
And here’s another prediction: The TV numbers on Sunday will be the highest since Woods won the Open last summer.
Last week another tour superstar, Phil Mickelson, won what used to be called the L.A. Open. It was a nice boost for the tour. Mickelson had been playing lousy so far this year. It was good; it was not Tiger.
No one – in any sport – commands attention the way Woods does. Even if you’re a channel flipper, you can admit it. If you’re channel surfing on a Sunday afternoon and see Woods’ steely visage, you stop. And you likely stick around for awhile. So do kids. So do women. Woods has that kind of charisma.
Last Sunday I watched Mickelson riding the lead in L.A., first trying to give the tournament away, then rallying with a couple of late birdies for the win. It was pretty dramatic. But it was not Tiger.
That changes today.
Tiger’s back. Watch him roar.
For two reasons.
First, the Phillies open their Grapefruit League schedule this afternoon with a road game in Bradenton with the Pirates. First pitch by Jamie Moyer is set for 1 p.m. Joe Blanton also will take the hill. Both will pitch two innings.
Don’t look for Chase Utley. He’s still on rehabbing his hip. Jason Donald will start in his place at second.
But spring actually will start today at 2:02 p.m. That is when the most mesmerizing person in the sports universe returns.
Tiger will once again be on the prowl.
I refer, of course, to Tiger Woods. He is Babe Ruth, Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, Jim Brown and Joe Montana all wrapped into one.
Very simply, Woods is the No. 1 athlete on the planet. I know, he’s a golfer, you might snidely retort.
Woods is not a golfer; he is the golfer. He is the most compelling athlete of his generation, maybe of all time. He is fast threatening Muhammad Ali in claims to the title of “The Greatest.”
Woods has not hit a golf ball in competition since last June, when he won the U.S. Open in a playoff against Rocco Mediate on one leg. Woods then underwent surgery on his knee.
This is a question for those who are not die-hard golf nuts, like me. Can you tell me one thing that has happened on the PGA Tour since Woods’ exit? I thought so.
The pro golf tour, already battered by a reeling economy, has been double cursed because of Woods’ absence. That will change today.
Woods will make his return in the Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona. In this format, he is pitted against one player in match play, competing for one hole at a time, as opposed to most weekends when tour golfers go at it in stroke play, with the winner decided on the total number of strokes.
I will make this prediction right now: Woods will win this event. It is what he does. No other athlete rises to the spotlight – and the pressure – the way Woods does.
And here’s another prediction: The TV numbers on Sunday will be the highest since Woods won the Open last summer.
Last week another tour superstar, Phil Mickelson, won what used to be called the L.A. Open. It was a nice boost for the tour. Mickelson had been playing lousy so far this year. It was good; it was not Tiger.
No one – in any sport – commands attention the way Woods does. Even if you’re a channel flipper, you can admit it. If you’re channel surfing on a Sunday afternoon and see Woods’ steely visage, you stop. And you likely stick around for awhile. So do kids. So do women. Woods has that kind of charisma.
Last Sunday I watched Mickelson riding the lead in L.A., first trying to give the tournament away, then rallying with a couple of late birdies for the win. It was pretty dramatic. But it was not Tiger.
That changes today.
Tiger’s back. Watch him roar.
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