Tiger Goes for the PGA Championship

If Tiger Woods wants to win a major title this season he's only got one chance left. It's this weekend's PGA Championship at Hazeltine in Minnesota.

Tiger is riding a two tournament win streak after his victory last week at the WGC Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone in Ohio, a course that he's dominated in recent years. Hazeltine, however, should be a whole other challenge with its PGA Championship-ready layout.

One thing I do know for sure is that Tiger really only cares about the majors. Not that he doesn't love winning every tournament he's won, but the majors are what everyone expects him to win and the only thing by which he is judged professionally.

For a guy like Tiger his season is judged by the majors and nothing else. It also should be exciting to see Woods playing alongside Paddy Harrington on Thursday, who is a guy that could very well take this tournament from Tiger.

Another reason that I want to see Tiger win the PGA is because golf is just more exciting when he is winning compared to a tournament that he's not in or one where is has fallen out of contention.

Don't get me wrong, I love to see guys like Mickelson, Anthony Kim or Paddy Harrington do well, but Tiger is the straw that stirs the drink on the PGA Tour. It's just cool to see Tiger when he's pumping his fist or to see the crowd go crazy after one of his shots. They don't do that for anyone else.

So come on Tiger, I want to see another great victory and perhaps something dramatic on the 72nd hole again like we've come to expect from you.

Team USA vs. Mexico

The United States soccer team goes for its first ever win at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City today, a place where the U.S. has never won a game. In fact, they've only come close once with an all time record of 0-22-1 in Mexico City.

This is a different team, though, that has gone into that stadium in the past. This is the team that beat the #1 ranked team in the world, Spain, just a few months ago and nearly beat another top team in Brazil to win the FIFA Confederations Cup.

Those two games gave Team USA a world of confidence that I believe will carry over to not only today's game, but to the 2010 World Cup as well. I look for the USA's big guns, Landon Donovan, Jozy Altidore, Clint Dempsey and Tim Howard to come through and simultaneously shut up 100,000 screaming Mexican fans.

I look for the U.S. to also avenge their most recent loss to Mexico on home soil where they were slaughtered 5-0. But that was a different USA team and only a few players will be in uniform from that team.

Can't wait to see the United States finally take it to the Mexican team and get another monkey off of their backs as they continue their run to the 2010 World Cup.

The ONLY Bad Part of Football

With the renewal of summer every year also comes the event that has become America's new national pasttime: NFL training camps and the new football season. Every summer fans fill training camps and stadiums to see their favorite teams and players break the seal on a new season of football.

Lately, however, what the fans have been seeing is their favorite players going down with an injury during training camp, which is the one thing every player in the league agrees that each player would be better off avoiding.

In the past week alone in NFL camps we have seen the Falcons' Harry Douglas (Knee) out for the season, the Buccaneers' Antonio Bryant (Torn Meniscus) will miss the rest of the preseason, and now the Panthers' Steve Smith was carted off the field yesterday with an apparent shoulder injury, though x-rays were negative.

So what do all of these players have in common? Well, a lot of things: they're all wide receivers in dynamic offenses, they're all in the NFC South and, most importantly, they were all hustling and giving their best during practice when they were injured.

My point? Every player would like to have an injury-free career, and I'm sure he wishes that same thought to every single other player in the league. But that's just the problem. How do you avoid an injury? The truth is that you can't and, if you try to, you won't be effective and won't last long in the game.

The players that are able to get over the fact that they could have their season, or careers, ended at any moment are the ones who make a difference. This is a violent game. It always has been and always will be. And with the players being bigger, stronger, and faster than ever before, we just have to get used to seeing more injuries.

You always hate to see when a guy gets hurt, but it's just part of the game and almost adds an aura of toughness and virility to the players who fight through the pain to reach their ultimate goal: the Lombardi Trophy. Once you've got that in your hands, nothing hurts on your body anymore. Besides, you've then got all offseason to heal up and do it again next season.

Forget Mike, I Wanna Be Like Tiger

Akron, Ohio: Tiger Woods won the WGC Bridgstone Invitational on Sunday over Paddy Harrington and the rest of the PGA field that he left in the dust during yesterday's round.

This time his signature shot was an 8-iron from 180 yards away on the par-5 16th hole, which he proceeded to put within a foot of the hole for a tap-in birdie. Harrington made triple bogey on the same hole allowing Woods to cruise home on the final two holes at Firestone Country Club.

Tiger finished the final round with a 65 as he became the first player in PGA Tour history to win seven times on the same course.

The win was also his fifth this year and career PGA Tour victory number 70 for Tiger putting him in third all-time behind only Jack Nicklaus (73) and Sam Snead (82).

The win also marked back-to-back wins for Woods going into the PGA Championship at Hazeltine beginning on Thursday, which will be the last chance for Tiger to win a major championship this year.

Tiger and Padraig Harrington will also be paired together in the first two rounds of the PGA Championship on Thursday, which will no doubt be exciting for the fans to see two of the best in the world going head to head in one of the biggest tournaments of the year. Can't wait.

Georgia Tech Football '09 Preview

The Yellow Jackets are coming off of one of their best seasons in recent memory. Many believe that coach Paul Johnson and his option offense snuck up on a lot of teams last year, which is something that they won't be able to do this year.

However, Paul Johnson's teams in the past have traditionally gotten better and been more efficeint at running the option in his second year as head coach. This will tough to duplicate this season, though, because the ACC is a solid conference and every team he plays will be ready for the option.

Coach Johnson has said that he plans on using more passes from the option this year, which should open up some holes for the Yellow Jackets. This could be difficult because the whole team practices running all the time so the first time they go to drop back and pass out of the option, there could be trouble. Then again, it could work beautifully.

With the way quarterbacks in his option system take poundings, coach Paul Johnson expects both Josh Nesbitt and Jaybo Shaw to get plenty of snaps under center this season. Some critics may say, 'If you think you have two quarterbacks, then you don't have one.' This, however, isn't the case with Tech as Nesbitt and Shaw both know their roles and seem to be very comfortable with sharing time with one another.

While I expect Tech to have another pretty good season, I don't expect them to win more games than they did last season simply because they have a tough schedule to go up against.

The Yellow Jackets usually always have a tough schedule, but this season will be brutal because of all the up and coming ACC teams like North Carolina and Virginia they'll have to play. Add to that Clemson, Miami, FSU, Va. Tech, Miss. State, Wake Forest and Georgia, and the Yellow Jackets could have a tough year.

Either way I expect that the Yellow Jackets will win a few games that they should lose and lose a few that they should win, ending up with a respectable season. I feel that 8-4 or maybe 9-3 if they're lucky is a good season for Georgia Tech.

But, no one expected the option to work for them last year, so they could win ten or eleven games if they're firing on all cylinders. Perhaps a return to the Chik-Fil-A Bowl and possibly another 10-win season is in their future.

2009 NCAA Football Pre-Season Top 10

Well it's August, which means it's time for football. And that means that it's time for preseason polls and predictions. So without further ado, I give you my 2009 college football preseason top ten:

1.Florida Gators-Two championships in three years. Why not make it three in four years to cap off Tim Tebow's Florida career as the greatest quarterback to ever lace 'em up in college football. Hell, throw in another Heisman too. Even though they lose Percy Harvin to the NFL the Gators will be even more explosive this year and linebacker Brandon Spikes leads a defense that may be the best in the country. The defense, which held the so-called "great" Oklahoma offense to 14 points in the championship game last year, returns just about everyone and will cover any holes the offense may have from the departure of Harvin. You may not like it, but we'll all have to watch again this season as the Gators win their third national title in four years under coach Urban Meyer.

2.Texas Longhorns-Many Longhorns believe that it should have been them in the title game last season. They have a chance to prove it this year led by Colt McCoy and Jordan Shipley who return to take care of unfinished business. Though they lose a player that can't be replaced in defensive end Brian Orakpo, Mack Brown always has his teams prepared and the Longhorns should have a great season. Possibly even a championship season.

3.Oklahoma Sooners-You know the Sooners have a bitter taste in their mouths after the disappointment of last season, which may be one reason why Sam Bradford has returned for another year and another shot at a championship. The usual culprits await OU, including the always big Red River Shootout against Texas. The winner of that game should put itself in the drivers seat for the Big 12 and a national championship game berth.

4.USC Trojans-The Trojans' defense, ranked #1 in the country last season, will only return three starters on that side of the ball. However, USC will have no problem reloading like always, even after losing starting quarterback Mark Sanchez as well. Mitch Mustain could be the answer for the Trojans who may very well return to the national title game in '09.

5.Alabama Crimson Tide-'Bama was a young team last season and not supposed to do so well until at least this year. Instead they were the only SEC team to finish the regular season undefeated. Young receiever Julio Jones is ready to explode, but their main problem will be at

quarterback. If they can figure that out early, then the Tide may make another BCS run again in 2009.

6.Ohio State Buckeyes-With Terrelle Pryor no longer a true freshman look for a marked improvement in the Buckeyes' offensive attack. We saw the flashes of brilliance from Pryor, but also many mistakes. As he goes so, too, does Ohio State. That's a lot to put on a sophomore, but the Buckeyes should have a say when it's all said and done at least in the Big Ten.

7.Oklahoma State Cowboys-A win in the season opener against Georgia could go a long way to help out the Cowboys this season, who have tough games against other Top Ten, Big Ten opponents Texas and Oklahoma. This could be the year for coach Mike Gundy (He's 40!!!) and the potent Cowboys offensive attack led by quarterback Zac Robinson and wide receiver Dez White. The Cowboys could finally put it all together this year and take the Big 12.

8.L.S.U. Tigers-Being in the SEC it's always difficult to predict the future of the Tigers, but being in the West gives them an added advantage. LSU lost 3 of their last 4 games down the stretch last year, so don't expect that to happen again. They should win the SEC West, but may have to settle for the Peach Bowl again. The "Mad Hatter" Les Miles always is fun to watch, though, so I hope they do well so we can hear lots from him.

9.Penn State Nittany Lions-With quarterback Daryll Clark and running back Evan Royster returning the Nittany Lions will have a very good offense. And with their weak Big Ten schedule they should make a run at a BCS, if not the national title game. After all, they were only one win away from it last season. They do lose a lot on defense including first round pick Aaron Maybin, though.

10.Utah Utes-The Utes will be looking for respect this season after capping last year's undefeatd run with a win over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. They could easily wind up undefeated again this year with their only real tough games coming at the end of the year at TCU Nov. 14 and at BYU Nov. 28. Look for the Utes to crash the BCS party once again this season.

Why Is The SEC So Good?

The Southeastern Conference is so good, and has been for so long, that for the last three straight seasons the national champion has come from the SEC and not been undefeated. Think about all those teams that go undefeated and automatically think they deserve to be in the title game.

Like Hawaii a few seasons ago. They were trying to lobby all over the place to get into the title game when no voter in his or her right mind was actually going to put them ranked either number one or two.

And what happened when they did eventually make an at large BCS game? They got stomped by Georgia and a great SEC defense. And that probably cost Colt Brennan a few million bucks. I'm sure he would have preferred to go to the Holiday Bowl and rack up 500 yards and been drafted in the second round or maybe even the first.

Then there was the curious case of Utah last season who actually did go undefeated and beat Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. This was a very good 'Bama team, don't get me wrong, but not a great team.

I think the Tide overachieved all season long except in the SEC Championship game and the BCS game, where they were exposed. But Utah was a very good team. However, if they were in the SEC they wouldn't have been undefeated and therefore would not have been in the BCS game to begin with.

And I believe that you can use this formula for pretty much any team in Division I, or FBS (Myanmar!?...It'll always be Burma to me), whatever they call it these days. USC would not have won two straight national titles and gone undefeated for that long streak, and been in a third straight title game, if they were in the SEC.

The Big10, PAC10, and Big12 are all great conferences, but each one has all teams with either a good offense or a good defense. None of these conferences has several teams, like the SEC, with both. Look at Ohio State and Oklahoma the last three seasons in the title game against SEC powerhouses. They were both beaten soundly, Ohio State twice.

Most colleges have some history and tradition, but nearly every shcool in the SEC has a long tradition of winning and success that keeps the fan bases' expectations high, which in turn keeps the AD's and coaches on a short leash. If you don't produce early and often in the SEC, you won't make it long.

The SEC has so many great coaches, too, that no team ever has a week off or a game that they can say, 'we know we will win this one.' Every game is thought out in practice by some of the finest minds in the college game, many against each other week after week.

Then, there's the out of conference scheduling with teams like UGA playing Georgia Tech and Oklahoma State this year, and Florida squaring off versus Florida State every year. South Carolina plays Clemson every year and the list goes on and on.

Few teams in the SEC take more than one weak game every year and that is a big difference in level of competition, which is a major contributor to the conference dominating the way it has for so long.

So once again this season I expect the SEC to dominate not only out of conference play, but also the entire season and bowl games as well.