Tiger Woods: His Ex-Coach Hank Haney's New Book

The life of Tiger Woods is about to become an open book, literally. Hank Haney, his swing coach of six years (2004-2010), has written a tell-all about his experience coaching the former number one ranked golfer on the globe.

The Big Miss, which comes out in its entirety March 27^th, has some pretty pejorative excerpts describing Woods as distracted, scattered and even scared when it came to his pursuit of passing Jack Nicholas’ 18 Major Championships.

The passages detail that in 2007 when Woods reached 12 Majors, unabridged fear crept into his psyche like the boogeyman. Then there’s the claim that he went off the rational reservation and conducted four-mile runs in heavy combat boots when he should have been resting his surgically repaired knee. And, there’s the parachuting out of planes instead of practicing his putts. Now to be clear we don’t know if none, some or all of this will prove to be truth.

We do know that Woods lost his father Earl in 2006, a Special Forces Vietnam Veteran. Losing a father, and in his case a coach, mentor and friend can change a person psychologically no matter how zoned in they were before.

Just look at the ultimate competitor, Michael Jordan. If you said before his father passed in 1993 that he would give up his NBA crown to become a court jester in the Birmingham Barons, a Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox at the peak of his basketball career, people would think you were two flies over the cuckoos nest. But, the love of a son for his father can eclipse and consume even the fiercest sports gods.

Would it really be that far-fetched for Tiger Woods to honor his father by trading in his clubs for a bayonet?

Having said that, there’s only one way he can dispel this book, a singular finite solution of absolvency. It’s not his agent, Mark Steinberg mothering everything with lightweight public relations.

He has to win the 2012 Masters, which begins a week after the book is released. The old saying, “winning cures everything” will hold more water than the Hoover Damn.Haney’s book will go from plausible fact to the words of an unfounded gossiper guilty of shameless self-promotion.

In Haney’s account, the only thing golf’s most prolific closer wanted to close was his career. This book may at its core just be a cashing in of "Tiger Woods Bank International". But, that doesn’t make his accounts false.

Tiger can prove that what was printed were pages of blatant inaccuracies by once again dominating a golf course. Woods should visualize Haney signing copies of his book, trashing the golfer and collecting yacht-loads of dough. This alone should be enough to ignite a fire, scratch that (pun intended), to erupt a volcanic Tiger Woods at Augusta.

This is his golden chance, maybe his last to make right some of his professional wrongs over the past two-and-a-half years. This is the perfect product placement for him. People don’t always remember the truth; they remember the last thing they saw. That’s why magicians save the best trick for last.

Hey Tiger, when the Masters rolls around in April, write your own Bestseller with a fifth green jacket size 42 Long.

Semper Fi.

It’s Time to Get Tim Tebow Out of Town

 Blasphemous, egregious, call it the rhetoric of a traitor, but it’s time to trade Tim Tebow. It’s the only way the Denver Broncos and Tebow can move forward with their collective NFL fates. Tebow took the reigns of a hapless (1-4) team to (8-8), a division championship, followed by a 316 yard passing game in a playoff win against the NFL’s best defense, the Pittsburgh Steelers. He eclipsed numerous playoff passing records previously held by John Elway.

Remember that uncomfortable feeling after the Broncos had a miraculous comeback against the New York Jets, Tebow leading the charge with his feet on a late 20-yard touchdown run. Elway’s smile was authentic as a real housewife. Coach John Fox commented on the turnaround, carefully tightrope walking the line to avoid excessive praise for his young quarterback.

We know what happened in Tennessee when Head Coach Jeff Fisher never fully supported Vince Young who ironically has a skill set very similar to Tebow.

In Denver, the Coach that drafted him, Josh McDaniel’s is gone and back with the New England Patriots. Elway and Fox didn’t hand pick him and never would have. Winning, however changes things, but apparently not enough for Elway to definitively say Tim Tebow is their franchise quarterback. John Elway wants a quarterback in his image, a pass first guy who can scramble out of the pocket when the play breaks down, not one whose plays are designed for him to use his feet.

All season, we watched as Coach Fox restrained Tebow through three quarters, only letting him loose in a tight fourth quarter contest.

Now, fans are erratic emotional creatures and they should be, that’s what makes them fans, but Elway is the impartial judge and jury. He believes deep down this option-style is not sustainable long-term. The Broncos aren’t in the business of finishing (8-8) and squeaking into the playoffs in a turmoil-ridden AFC West.

They are in the business of winning Super Bowl championships.

After the Broncos were shellacked at the hands of the Patriots, Elway said Tebow would be the quarterback at the start of training camp, stressing the words ‘at the start’, his enthusiasm somewhere between librarian and study hall monitor.

For the sake of both parties, let the Tebow circus go to an organization that will use it as diesel fuel. How about the glitzy Miami Dolphins where owners include Jennifer Lopez, Fergie, and Serena Williams? Tebow will have an elite wide receiver in Brandon Marshall to bomb it down the sideline to and a resurgent Reggie Bush run game. 

See, the trouble with Tim Tebow as your quarterback is because of his playing style, you have to build the team around him; an organization has to be all in. The Broncos aren’t willing to even proclaim him their franchise quarterback for next season, let alone draft and sign player’s who will be an extension of his style.

Tebow has all of the intangibles, but Elway will never be satisfied with 46% completion percentages, an octopus delivery, and throwing at receiver’s ankles. He could start next season 6-0 and still be in the statistical dog house. Let Tebow go to a team that actually wants and believes in him.

Getting rid of Tebow will require short-term patience from fans, the team will likely fall back to the bottom of the AFC West, but it’s a sacrifice for long-term solidity. With a full off-season and training camp, defenses will be able to study countless hours of film to exploit Tebow’s passing weaknesses, his ineptitude at the intermediate route, and inability to get rid of the ball quickly. The option-style that this year was successful guerrilla warfare will become exploited open-field combat, an undisguisable gimmick.  

Elway knows they snuck into the playoffs on a kicker’s foot, another team’s offensive miscue, and a defense playing over their mile-high altitude. Next season, when defenses have learned the secret’s of Tebow’s magic tricks what will happen?

Remember the preseason, when Tebow was reportedly demoted to fourth-string after a few lackluster practices. No matter how much he improves this offseason, he will never mirror Super Bowl winning MVP and boss, John Elway.

Colts: Is it time for Peyton Manning to Go?

Earlier this week, the Indianapolis Colts axed three-year lame duck coach Jim Caldwell, completing an upper management firing trifecta which included most of the Polian family tree.

The Colts are being dismantled swifter than the 2008 Lehman Brothers starting lineup. All of this shake-up is due to the now infamous neck of Peyton Manning. If his neck is healthy, he could have three more years at a Peyton-elite level at which time he will be 38 years old.

But, do the math; you could potentially have fifteen years of elite quarterbacking with Andrew Luck. He probably won’t ever have the regular reason success as Peyton, arguably the best regular reason quarterback of all time, (9-10 in the playoffs). According to College and NFL Scouts and Coaches, Andrew Luck is the most Pro-ready NFL prospect since John Elway.

No one can ever predict college success will equate to NFL dominance, but we can forecast with almost absolute certainty that with his pedigree, work ethic, and physical tools he will be far from a bust. If your Colts ownership, you must look towards the future.

Manning could come back and in a two to three year vacuum be remarkable, but that only makes us prisoners of a prism lens.

In a popularity contest, Peyton will always be the President Elect in Indianapolis, basically building the stadium with every audible at the line of scrimmage.

But, there’s a reason why fans don’t run NFL teams, it takes an impartial jury, a group of people out to make profits and profess winning above all else. We learned from the Colts this season that maybe they aren’t as rock-solid an organization as we thought. Without a franchise quarterback, they were huffed and puffed around the field like pigs in a straw house, a decline sharper than a diamond knife.

The Colts organization quickly assumed NFL cellar dweller status when number 18 went down. If Manning was the glue that held this team together for the last thirteen seasons, if he was the one thing standing between the Colts as an AFC powerhouse and the AFC’s punch-line, then it’s more of a reason to draft a “sure thing” at the quarterback position.

The actor Robe Lowe tweeted yesterday that Manning is done and Peyton’s father Archie laughed it off. This is one of those rare moments in history when a tweet has a thread of viable substance prompting a real discussion.

Colts Owner Jim Irsay has a choice to make, he got rid of the Polian’s and Caldwell, but is he willing to do what is necessary for his team’s future success? The answer still remains to be seen, but deciding not to pick Luck should have zero to do with the health of Peyton’s neck, that’s nothing more than speculation. His 35 year-old age, 28 million dollars owed next year, and a monster salary cap hit are the inescapable facts.

If you’re going to suck, which the Colts did this year, at least suck for Luck.

The Philadelphia 76ers: A Team Playing as One

The crack in the Liberty Bell seems just a tiny bit smaller. The NBA is relevant again in Philadelphia.

The Sixers (6-2) are off to a fast start, the best since they reeled off an effortless ten in a row to start the 2000-01 season.

All Sixer fans remember that year.

I was in High School watching Eric Snow running the point, Allen Iverson running the show, and Dikembe Mutombo growling in his deep octave with every block and finger wag.

That was the year they got to the Finals, the season they won the first game against the Lakers who were previously unbeaten in the playoffs.

Sadly, they went on to lose the next four in a row and the series. Shaquille O’neal dominated the paint, while Kobe etched his status in stone as Kobe, the Black Mamba, the Assassin, and the superstar.

The Sixers reached the Finals despite the supporting cast. The current team is starting hot because of it.

Five players are averaging over 12 points a contest. The teams leading scorer is Lou Williams at 16 points per game (not a typo). Iverson used to take double that many shot attempts in a single game. Their identity today is much more U2 than Bono.

The Sixers are more balanced than Jillian Michaels diet. The days of the superstar chucking it up 30 times a game are long gone. They win with “team” now, on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. If the 2000 Sixers are the 2012 version’s doppelganger, than the 2003 Detroit Pistons that won the NBA championship are this current team’s fraternal twins.

That squad won with defense, balanced scoring, and a team first mentality. There are no divas on this Sixers roster. The most recognizable member might be the ex-mascot Hip-Hop. They win with their bench, pine deeper than the Federal Reserve.

This team is young, but selfless beyond their years. Last season, the Sixers made the playoffs and won two games against the goliath Miami Heat playing them tough.

Is it just me or can Doug Collins coach?

He has something to prove. Collins carries that ultimate chip on his shoulder having coached Jordan and Pippen, while still being ring less. His player’s have bought in and all seem to be on the same page.

They follow the playbook of passing to the open man, stingy defense, contesting shots, and cleaning the glass like Windex.

The Sixers have more flavors than Dr. Pepper these days. In the playoffs, they are going to be the team no one wants to play. Who do you focus in on defensively; Williams, Iguodala, Young, Turner, Brand? I’ll take five corvettes over one Maserati and four PT cruisers. The Sixers are the cream that has risen, while eastern conference powers of the past are falling like the winter wheat.

I foresee big things for them this season. Like their brotherly love counterpart, Rocky, maybe this is the year they can go the distance or at least one more round.