Drive into the Woods
After blowing off authorities for two consecutive days, Tiger Woods again avoided speaking publicly on Sunday.
But the world’s No. 1-ranked golfer did release a statement on his Web site, claiming blame for his “accident.”
Woods allegedly backed his Cadillac SUV into a fire hydrant and then a tree. Then, his Swedish model wife supposedly bashed in the rear window with a golf club to rescue him. Sounds like an authentic fairy tale, right?
Until the truth comes out, if it ever does (or if it differs from what little information has been leaked thus far), rumors will continue to swirl, dragging down Woods’ seemingly untarnishable reputation.
Whether a cheating Woods was escaping the wrath of his wife or whether the worldly father was simply heading to Wal-Mart to pick up diapers at 2:30 a.m., damaging rumors will persist until Woods delivers an explanation.
Once again, Tiger’s driving gets him into trouble. This time, however, his public image is at stake.
A tale of two vastly different teams from Ohio
The Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals both represent Ohio, but lately, they have been in two completely different states.
The Bengals relied on newly inked running back Larry Johnson, who piled up 107 yards on the ground in Cincy’s 16-7 victory over the Browns Sunday.
At 8-3, Cincinnati is inching its way toward an AFC North crown, while the 1-10 Browns sit mired in ineptitude at the bottom of the division.
It’s quite a turnaround for the Bengals, who started the ’08 campaign with eight consecutive losses and just one win in their first 13 games.
Still, Cincy closed out 2008 with three victories, relying on running back Cedric Benson, who averaged 118 rushing yards in the trio of wins.
The Bengals carried that momentum into 2009.
A defense that allowed just 19 points total in those final three ’08 victories now ranks fourth in the NFL in scoring defense. And before he went down with a hip injury, Benson was on pace for a 1,500-yard season.
Clearly, the Bengals used the end of a lost season to build for the future.
Cleveland now finds itself in that same, precarious position.
The Browns own the league’s worst record, their lone victory a 6-3 joke against the Buffalo Bills amid swirling winds.
Cleveland must determine if Brady Quinn can handle quarterback responsibilities and which playmakers, if any, should be brought back in 2010.
The light at the end of 2009’s dark tunnel lies in the Browns’ late-season schedule. Cleveland closes out with games against lowly Kansas City and Oakland before hosting Jacksonville.
For the Browns to replicate Cincinnati’s blueprint for a turnaround (and the prospects of this team turning things around that quickly are laughable), Eric Mangini’s squad must use those final contests to steer toward improvement in 2010.
Enough with Charlie Weis
When one thinks of Notre Dame football, what comes to mind?
The years of proud tradition and the atmosphere of South Bend, or the incessant bantering about which soon-to-be-fired coach will get his pink slip next?
The Fighting Irish lost to Stanford in a 45-38 shootout Saturday, as Notre Dame fell to an inexcusable 6-6.
Charlie Weis’s five-year stay is inevitably over, whether the Irish ax him this week or wait until after Notre Dame’s bowl game to send him on his way.
Either way, the sooner Weis walks, the better. I think I speak for the 6 billion or so people who live outside of South Bend when I say that I’m sick of hearing about Weis’s potential canning.
This will be the third-consecutive Notre Dame marriage to end with an ugly divorce, with Weis following in the footsteps of Bob Davie and Tyrone Willingham.
If the Irish football program is so prestigious, then Notre Dame should annually land the top recruits. If it does that, then the coaching should be at least adequate enough to lead all the talent to a decent record.
The constant stream of disappointment in the eras of Davie, Willingham and Weis leaves two possible explanations. Either Notre Dame isn’t landing enough top-tier talent through recruiting, or the Irish have foolishly swept through a trio of incapable coaches.
The answer lies with one of the two solutions. Either recruit the talent that Irish Nation feels it can attract, or hire a high-caliber coach capable of extracting the most out of above-average talent.
