He's Back

The Boston Celtics made some of the biggest moves in the off season picking up Rasheed Wallace and Marquis Daniels. The defending east champions picked up the modern day human highlight Vince Carter. King James's Cavs added the future hall of fame over the hill Shaq. But the biggest pick up of the off season was the physical therapy of Agent Zero Gilbert Arenas.

The season has started off very slowly for Arenas as he has played very tentatively turning the ball over far more often than Flip Saunders would like. While Arenas has shot a paltry 40% from the field and 72% from the free throw line on the new knee he seemed to be lacking the swagger that had him in the same category as Lebron James, Kobe Bryant and Dwayne Wade before the injury. Had Arenas not been injured in 2007 he was a lock to be part of the most recent dream team in Bejing. The past two seasons have been injury marred for Gil but now and throughout most of the season he has looked like a shell of his old self until Friday night. 45 points and 13 assists while shooting 60% from the field might have been just the medicine Gil needed to remember who he is. The kid that couldn't get a scholarship offer from his hometown UCLA Bruins or USC Trojans. The kid that could barely play in the NCAA championship game due to a shoulder injury in the semis. The kid that was ignored until the 2nd round of the NBA draft. He is Agent Zero. He is one of the premiere talents in the NBA. He has come back from plenty of adversity in his life and now it's just one of those times when Gil will get his game back.

In the past Gil was always answering his critics with anger in his game that told them they had no idea what they were thinking when they didn't recruit him, when they failed to draft him. Now he is answering the biggest critic of all himself. Friday night with the 45 and 13 he has answered the critc as he can dominate again in the NBA. He is only 27.

In Washington Antoine Jamison is playing some of his best basketball of his career. Caron Butler is one of the best third options in the NBA. Brendon Haywood is playing the best basketball of his life averaging a double double while being the defensive anchor. The depth is quality with Mike Miller, a rising star in Nick Young, and role players Andray Blatche and DeShawn Stevenson combined with Flip Saunder defensive preachings this could be the year for the Wizards. Not only could they knock off one of the beasts of the east but making a run for the Eastern Conference Championship could be a reality if this game has awoken Ageny Zero.

Athlete of the Decade

Jim Thorpe must be rolling around in his graving laughing at the most recent popularity poll by sports writers. Tiger Woods, a golfer is the athlete of the decade. Tiger Woods no doubt is one of the greatest golfers to ever grace the links but to put him on a pedestal with real athletes such as Roger Federer, Lance Armstrong, Michael Phelps and Tom Brady is ridiculous. It's a sham to even think Tiger Woods is a greater athlete than Peyton Manning, Albert Pujols, or Kobe Bryant.

Golf is one man with state of the art equipment against the elements. It's a very tough sport no doubt but pales in comparison to a Tom Brady or Peyton Manning who for 60 minutes once a week must look into the eyes of 300 lb lineman and 250 lb muscle bound linebackers that are trying to knock them out of the game while trying to complete 10 yard outs where they must throw the ball on a line 30 yards to avoid having speeding defensive backs from intercepting the ball. By the way the athlete of the half century former professional baseball player, football player and Olympian Jim Thorpe was a defensive back so you know those guys are great athletes. All this while having 70,000 screaming fans heckling, jeering, and taunting them. If you scream or heckle in golf your kicked off the course or at the very least you have Tiger's kiwi goon Steve Williams threatening to kick your ass for taking a picture. If it snows during a football game, you play, if it rains, you play in golf those conditions stop play until the sun comes back out. Well not that extreme but you get the point.

So for all of the mental toughness needed by a golfer an NFL quarterback goes through calling plays, making snap decisions, all under the threat of bodily injury on every play. Tiger Woods is mentally tough but not even comparable to an NFL quarterback and then there is the physical aspect of football compared to golf. Walk 18 holes taking 65 - 80 breaks per round, forget about it! Lance Armstrong is pedaling his bike up and down mountains at high speeds trying not to go over a cliff, Roger Federer is doing wind sprints for 2-4 hours per match while having to hit and place a tennis ball in a defined area, Kobe Bryant is running up and down the court for two hours trying to stick a ball in the hoop with a 6'5" guy that can leap small buildings and chase down cheetahs than he has to turn around on every possession and defend that great athlete 80-100 nights per year.

The goofiest thing about naming Tiger Woods the athlete of the decade is there was no mention of one single hockey player. Hockey players actually make superb golfers as guys like Jeremy Roenick, Grant Fuhr and Brett Hull are regulars on the leader boards at celebrity golf matches. While not playing golf hockey players have to skate around on slippery ice at high speeds while controlling a puck and having to deal with 220lb guys on skates slamming into them for three hours a night. Not nearly as dramatic as football but they do have to listen to 20,000 jacked up fans yelling and screaming their lungs out while trying to concentrate.

Tiger Woods has elevated the game of golf probably more than any other individual in the decade has done for their respective sport. The problem is this is athlete of the decade and golfers are barely making the argument that they are athletes. There is never an argument about basketball, football, tennis or hockey players. They have to do what athletes do push themselves physically for hours every time they compete while the golfer walks 350 yards sometimes than takes a break. The game of golf is great as just about anyone can play the sport. Let's just try to remember what type of physical and mental specimen that makes up an athlete.

Last but not least think of the competition for the athletes. Tom Brady squares off with 6'7" 310 lb Mario Williams who can run 40 yards in just over 4 and a half seconds. Tiger is competing with a guy that can eat 4 bags of skittles in 4 and a half seconds and finish that off with a pack of camels. If all sports competitors are athletes than maybe Ernie McCracken should have received some votes because no one gets a bowling crowd riled up like the entertainer himself "Big Ern".

Tiger Shoes

So Tiger Woods has an extramarital affair, big deal! Serious the last time the public was so outraged over an extra marital affair President Clinton, the last president to erase the national debt and leave the country in better shape when he left than when he came into office. The country was so outraged the voting public put the executive mistake into office.

Now the world has gone mad berating Tiger Woods. Well think for one moment about how it would be to walk a day in Tiger Woods shoes. He's 33 years of age, he filthy rich, he's all over television and probably the only professional golfer that is mistaken as an athlete. He also has women throwing themselves at him day in and day out. How long would it take most men to break down. Tiger is not immortal he is human and with the beauties he has offering their pleasures his way non-stop how long can a guy say "no". Politicians have proven they cannot say "no" to the Jezebels of the world and most professional athletes have had their fair share of extramarital affairs. The women who marry these men in exchange for all the money, fame, and high life should expect this behavior. It's not ideal behavior but it is human.

It's unrealistic for most regular fellas to ever fanthom walking in Tiger's shoes so here is the test. Try walking through a Thai brothel with a pocketful of $5 bills. You have women giving you constant attention with as they show off their below the belt grips and request your manly attention in exchange for a meager Lincoln. You might be able to say no to a the first few beauties but eventually that five-spot just doesn't seem as important to you and can really help out the young Thai girl's lifestyle so you generously give out of the good of your heart and certainly do not want to hurt the girl's feelings so you appease her with your manly company.

So go visit a fine Thai, Caribbean, or other third world brothel where your dollar has a lot of power and see how long you can say "no". Remember Tiger has to go out in public so he has no choice but to run into the Jezebels of the world who aren't trying to get five spot from the King of Golf just a little fame.

So here's to Tiger Woods may he enjoy his time away from golf and may the rest of the PGA players learn to appreciate what Tiger has brought them in the form of their paychecks over the years.