(ArtSpander.com Exclusive) Giants win the game they needed

SAN FRANCISCO –- A day after giving up 11 runs, the Giants gave up none. A day after it seemed like it was time to forget the season, the season is there to be remembered.

“Here we are approaching September,’’ said Bruce Bochy, the manager, “and we are playing some very important ball games.’’

Like the one Friday night, the one in which Tim Lincecum went eight innings, Pablo Sandoval hit one into the seats and Giants beat the Colorado Rockies, 2-0.

This was like 2002 all over again at AT&T -- a game that mattered, a crowd that cared, a performance that scintillated. Unseasonable heat by the Bay, a temperature of 75 degrees at game time. Unsuspected brilliance from the home nine.

Lincecum hadn’t won a game in nearly a month. The guy nicknamed the Freak, because of his windup and follow-through, had been freaky. Or star-crossed. Either he gave up too many runs, as he did against the Reds a week and a half ago, or the Giants scored two few, as they did against the Rockies six days ago.

But the good times came flying back. Lincecum struck out eight, permitted only four hits. He had 39,047 people standing when he threw his 127th pitch of the game, the ball that had Seth Smith grounding out to end the eighth.

“Tim’s the guy you want on a the mound in a game like this,’’ said Bochy. “He had great stuff.’’

He pitched like the Cy Young Award winner he was in 2008, the way the Giants and crowd expected. And then he turned it over to Brian Wilson, who picked up another save, his 31st.

Monday night the Giants were wounded, blowing that 4-2 lead in the 14th to the Rockies in Denver. Thursday night the Giants were deflated, getting crushed by Arizona, 11-0, here at AT&T.

Nice run, guys. Nobody predicted you’d be in the race, so take a bow and step away.

That’s not the Giants. We see them collapse, give them their last rites and then watch in bewilderment and admiration as they prove to be as resilient as any team in baseball.

Sandoval, the Kung Fu Panda, the Bat, was back in the lineup after the flu and a right calf problem. He drove a ball into the left field bleachers in the fifth, his 20th home run. Eugenio Velez singled home Eli Whiteside in the sixth for the other run.

This on a night when the Giants left seven runners on base in the first two innings. When Lincecum twice failed to move a runner with a sacrifice bunt. When Whiteside’s attempt at a suicide squeeze in the eighth resulted in a double play, a pop up to the first baseman and Juan Uribe getting caught off third.

So many mistakes. But one victory, a win that moved the Giants to within two games of the Rockies in the National League wild card race, a win that made late-August baseball meaningful in San Francisco for the first time in years.

“This was a big game for us,’’ said Bochy, who can be excused for stating the obvious. “Every game is a big game for us from now on. But remember, there’s a lot of baseball left.’’

A lot of baseball that may not let us turn to football. This is the time we’re supposed to think about the 49ers and Raiders, but stubbornly the Giants won’t let us.

They don’t have hitting. In some games, they don’t have fielding. But they have staying power, persistence. It is not to be underestimated.

Lose 11-0 and then 24 hours later win 2-0. This is what you want in a team, the ability to rebound, the ability to struggle and stagger but succeed.

“This is what you play for,’’ agreed Bochy. “This is what you talk about in the early season, being here at this time.’’

The Giants are here. The Giants very much are here. Not for a long while could the postseason even be considered. They could fall quickly, could drop the next two to Colorado. But they also could win the next two and be tied with the Rockies.

The Giants lead the National League in shutouts with 17. It’s a sporting axiom that if the other team doesn’t score, you’re not going to lose.

“We’re the team behind,’’ reminded Bochy. “We have to catch them.’’

On Friday night, the Giants were the team ahead. On Friday night, baseball in San Francisco was thoroughly entertaining and completely satisfying.

RealClearSports.com: Sports No Longer Respite from Messy World

By Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com

Connect the dots if you can. The man who used to coach University of Kentucky basketball, Billy Gillispie, was arraigned on a charge of drunken driving.

The University of Wisconsin is tossing away $425,000 a year by terminating advertising agreements with MillerCoors and Anheuser-Busch in the "ongoing battle against alcohol abuse.''

No, it's not the people making the stuff who are entirely at fault, although they want us to believe you can't have a good time at a game without a brew or something stronger.

It's we folk of little self-control who cause the problem. But someone has to take a stand.

TCU and SMU did just that, but for an interesting reason. Anheuser has produced cans of Bud Light in school colors, as if the more you drink the more you're supposed to be backing the old alma mater.

According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, TCU's associate director of communications, Lisa Albert, said, " . . . we do not want TCU students, parents of TCU students and stakeholders of the university to think we support this program.''

This has been quite a week for sport, an activity once described in the famed 18th-century dictionary of the Englishman Samuel Johnson as "tumultuous merriment.''

How tumultuously merry would anyone consider Rick Pitino? Or the execs in the National Hockey League as they wrestle a maverick from Canada for ownership of the Phoenix Coyotes? Or the ballplayers who learn their drug tests were seized improperly by the government?

Or Mr. Gillispie -- who for loyalty's sake, we hope -- was sipping Kentucky bourbon, proving his heart was in the right place, if not his brain.

A former California governor and later U.S. Supreme Court chief justice named Earl Warren once said, "I always turn to the sports pages first. They record people's accomplishments. The front page has nothing but man's failures.''

Earl was around in the fantasy world of the 1940s and '50s, when an athlete's peccadilloes were not considered important. Jock journalists concentrated on touchdowns and runs batted in and winked at what could be judged criminal or antisocial behavior. If it didn't happen between the lines, then it didn't happen.

Sometimes -- sometimes -- you wish it were that head-in-the-sand way once more. Plaxico Burress shooting himself in the groin? The whole agonizing business with Michael Vick? These are people's accomplishments?

ESPN can get on your nerves with its self-indulgence, but the network is to be congratulated for the nightly 10 best plays of the day. For a few wonderful seconds of hand-eye coordination and dexterity, we are reminded that sport is fun and games.

Otherwise, we have Pitino acting like a would-be Clarence Darrow, defending himself and questioning the judgment of a Louisville TV station to break into a report on Ted Kennedy's death and show videotapes of the woman who claimed Pitino raped her.

Or the estranged wife of convicted NBA game-fixer ref Tim Donaghy saying he's been "treated unfairly.''

Pitino and Donaghy created their own problems. If you do things that either are stupid or illegal, or both, you pay the price.

Maybe half of what Pitino was preaching was true. "My wife and family don't deserves to suffer because of the lies,'' he said. But it's also true he had a liaison with the woman. That was no lie.

And whether Donaghy is guilty of a parole violation or just victim of a misunderstanding, well, if the man hadn't bet on games he was officiating, then he wouldn't have been sent to prison in the first place.

Sport, tumultuous merriment, has turned into a list of daily accusations and apologies. Patrick Kane, the hockey player, tried to use a cab driver as a puck, and now Kane is sorry.

Oakland Raiders head coach Tom Cable is going to be interviewed by police in Napa, Calif., about his alleged role in a confrontation that left an assistant with a battered jaw.

The world's a mess. Always has been. So we turned to sport for the presumed brief escape from that mess. For decades, we were successful because the unwritten rule was that if someone broke a rule, the possible story remained unwritten.

No longer. Earl Warren to the contrary, the failures listed on the sports pages run from Louisville to Lawrenceburg, the town where Gillispie was halted. The days of the All-American boy who was diligent and selfless are numbered.

It's been a great run for attorneys, if not so good for their clients. Someone's always making news, and except in rare cases, such as at the U. of Wisconsin, too the news is bad.

As a reporter since 1960, Art Spander is a living treasure of sports history. A recipient of the Dick McCann Memorial Award -- given for his long and distinguished career covering professional football -- he has earned himself a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was recently honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the PGA of America for 2009.

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http://www1.realclearsports.com/articles/2009/08/28/sports_no_longer_respite_from_messy_world.html
© RealClearSports 2009

RealClearSports.com: Quarterbacks, the Great and the Unknown

By Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com

So the $40 million man goes to the bench, and the guy who nobody wanted becomes the starter. Once again, you have to wonder what goes on with pro football. Does anyone in charge have a clue? And how did 198 players get chosen before Tom Brady?

Quarterbacks have been big and expensive the last few days. Eli Manning signed an extension for $106 million. Then Philip Rivers, whose draft rights back in 2004 were traded for Manning, received an extension worth $98 million. Somebody must think these guys are important.

Because they are. It's an unarguable fact that every play starts with the quarterback touching the ball, other than that wildcat formation and punts or place kicks. In the NFL, you don't win without at the least a good one. But how do you get a good one?

The San Francisco 49ers had the first selection in the 2005 draft, took quarterback Alex Smith, gave him $40 million and now -- because of injuries and other difficulties -- he's second string behind Shaun Hill, who in his first five years in the league, four of those with Minnesota, played maybe five minutes.

Meanwhile, Brady, who's won three Super Bowls, who's considered to be no worse than the fourth best quarterback in the game and by many no worse than the very best, was taken in the sixth round.

That's better than Kurt Warner, who as we well know was a virtual outcast, had to work in a grocery store and, disproving all theories except the one that a strong arm is never to be underestimated, has played in three Super Bowls, including the most recent.

You've heard this. Drafting is not an exact science. That's a justification for making mistakes. Not that the people in charge don't have a decent understanding of what they need in a quarterback.

Manning, the No. 1 pick in 2004, won a Super Bowl. Ben Roethlisberger, the No. 11 pick in 2004, has won two Super Bowls. Rivers, fourth that same year, has had the San Diego Chargers in the playoffs. On ESPN the other day, Mike Golic was debating which of the three he would take. Interestingly, it was Rivers.

John Elway was the very first selection in the 1983 draft. He quarterbacked the Denver Broncos to the Super Bowl five times and won two of those times. No one questioned the choice or later his performance.

Alex Smith, however, was a questionable No. 1. The 49ers had the first choice. The 49ers needed a quarterback. The presumption was they would take Aaron Rodgers, from Cal, just a few miles away from the Niners' headquarters. The second-guessing has gone on for four years.

Sometimes all a quarterback needs is a chance. Sometimes it's better when he never gets that chance. We're told the best job in the NFL is backup quarterback. You're anonymous, bullet-proof. Until you're forced to play.

Literally, Shaun Hill was forced to play. He had been in Europe with the Amsterdam Admirals, the same for which Warner spent a season, and in retrospect it was a season well spent, Kurt going to the St. Louis Rams and to unforeseen success.

Joining the Vikings in 2002, Hill -- as Warner, undrafted -- virtually never crossed the sideline. Oh, they let him in a couple of times to kneel down at the end of the game, a gesture that once you're beyond high school serves no purpose. What, someone wanted Shaun to earn his letter? Or to let his family know he still was around?

He came to the Niners in 2006, and with Smith in his second year taking every snap, Hill again was a non-entity, this time in a red jersey rather than a purple one. But in 2007, Smith separated his shoulder, Trent Dilfer, No. 2, also was hurt and finally in December, Shaun Hill was throwing and handing off. And winning.

Because Mike Martz, who interestingly enough was Warner's offensive coordinator with the Rams had the same role in 2008 with the Niners, Hill was deemed not capable of directing the Martz wild-air attack. But head coach Mike Nolan was canned, Mike Singletary took over and on came Hill, the methodical sort that Singletary prefers.

Now, as Manning and Rivers receive their raises, Shaun Hill becomes a starting quarterback for a season opener for the first time. And even he seems amazed.

"It's been quite a ride,'' Hill said. "I almost made it through a whole six seasons without taking a real snap in the league, and now here I am, with an opportunity to start for one of the most storied franchises in the league, a franchise that's had great quarterbacks through its history.''

Hill isn't Joe Montana or Steve Young. Hill isn't Eli Manning or Ben Roethlisberger. He's the man nobody wanted but now the man the San Francisco 49ers need.

As a reporter since 1960, Art Spander is a living treasure of sports history. A recipient of the Dick McCann Memorial Award -- given for his long and distinguished career covering professional football -- he has earned himself a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was recently honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the PGA of America for 2009.

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http://www1.realclearsports.com/articles/2009/08/26/quarterbacks_the_great_and_the_unknown_96462.html
© RealClearSports 2009

 

SF Examiner: Singletary’s choice of Hill far from shocking

By Art Spander
Special to The Examiner

SAN FRANCISCO — Shaun Hill gets what every quarterback wants, the starting position. Alex Smith gets platitudes, words. Kind ones, but nevertheless words. He’s with the 49ers, but he’s not of them.

Football coaches know what to say. They make a smack in the face seem like a pat on the back.

Mike Singletary is going with Hill, hardly a surprise, since Singletary tossed him in last season when the coach no longer could tolerate J.T. O’Sullivan and the Mike Martz chaos, and since Smith is coming off a year without football.

It’s Singletary’s team, and he can do what he chooses.

Other than deny Smith is a backup.

“I don’t see backups,” Singletary insisted. “One of the things I don’t want on this team are backups. I want starters, and I want No. 2s. They’re only No. 2 because they’re not as good as the starter.”

Which, semantics to the contrary, makes them a backup.

Poor Alex. Rich Alex. He got that $40 million contract, which has since been restructured. He was the No. 1 pick in the 2005 draft, going to restore the Niners to greatness, going to follow in the golden footprints of John Brodie, Joe Montana and Steve Young.

Except he came from Utah’s spread offense, and as we’ve learned from the failings of David Klinger and Andre Ware, that college system proves a restriction in the NFL.

Then Smith not only was injured but was berated for not playing hurt by his coach at the time, Mike Nolan, the man who took Smith No. 1.

Singletary gave Smith accolades “I’m very proud of what he’s had to overcome,” said the coach.

But Singletary still gave Hill the role Smith wants so desperately.

“It’s nothing you want to hear,” Smith said of being told Hill would be starting. “Nothing you get used to hearing.” 

Shaun Hill, a one-time free agent who conceded he didn’t take a snap his first six years in the NFL, is becoming the man in charge. Alex Smith, who was supposed to take the Niners to the playoffs, is becoming, OK, not the backup, the bench-warmer.

Singletary spoke of Hill’s presence, about intangibles. What he didn’t say was he believes Hill is better for the Chicago Bears-style offense the Niners will be utilizing, which will feature Frank Gore pounding out yardage and then Hill throwing a timely completion.

The coach wants a quarterback who doesn’t lose games even more than a quarterback who tries to win them.

The gap between Hill and Smith, Singletary explained, wasn’t large. The coach, however, likes Hill’s consistency, his leadership, his experience.

Smith hasn’t played a league game in two years. He had more to prove and still has more to prove.

“He has confidence,” Singletary reminded about Hill, “and probably was feeling in his mind he was the guy all along.”

They say the best job in sports is, sorry Mr. Singletary, backup quarterback. You’re never booed, never injured. Unless you’re elevated to No. 1.

“How many quarterbacks play all year?” Smith asked rhetorically. “I wish the best for Shaun, but my job is to be ready to go. I have to have perspective.”

Sounds good, even if it’s not as good as Shaun Hill’s job as starter.

Art Spander has been covering Bay Area sports since 1965 and also writes on www.artspander.com and www.realclearsports.com. E-mail him at typoes@aol.com.

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http://www.sfexaminer.com/sports/Spander-Singletarys-choice-of-Hill-far-from-shocking-54901302.html
Copyright 2009 SF Newspaper Company 

(ArtSpander Exclusive) Alex Smith shows he’s not afraid

SAN FRANCISCO -- He shows he’s not afraid. Mike Singletary was assessing one of his quarterbacks, was talking about the way Alex Smith took off after the guy who picked off one of his passes and picked him off, chased him down and then put him down with a tackle as tough as any defensive back ever could make.

It was a great play by Smith, tracking down the Oakland Raiders’ Ricky Brown, saving a touchdown. The interception, however, was not a great play. The pass wasn’t that bad, and maybe Josh Morgan who reached for the ball, deflected it, should have grabbed it. The pass wasn’t that good. It was high, the type of ball which often becomes an interception.

He was a starter again, Smith, if only briefly, if only in an exhibition game. He was trying to prove what because of bad luck and bad play he hadn’t proved in his previous four years in the NFL, that he deserved to be the first man selected in the 2005 draft, that he would be the player who would lead the San Francisco 49ers out their wilderness, out of the fog.

On Saturday night, all Alex Smith, the $35 million man proved, was he can lay a tough block, that he can run after the linebacker who intercepted pass. Otherwise, as Singletary, the Niners no-nonsense coach agreed, neither Smith nor the man whom Alex is competing against to be starter, distinguished himself.

Exhibition games, the NFL calls them preseason games so those full-fare tickets at $60 and $70 seem to have some value, don’t always prove a great deal. The Niners ended up beating the Raiders, 21-20, because after the Raiders scored late in the game they went for a two-point conversion, as a lot of journalists in attendance, wanting to avoid overtime.

So the Raiders and Niners were virtually equal, except Oakland knows its starting quarterback is JaMarcus Russell – who two years after Smith was the No. 1 pick – while the Niners are still in a quandary, if we are to believe Singletary.

“We’ll look at the film (Sunday),’’ Singletary said in that infamous coaching remark, when s someone wondered if the interception was Smith’s fault. “It’s one of those, you just have to look at it again.’’

If you look at Smith’s passer rating, you’d prefer not to look at it again. He was 4.2. Anything below the 70s or 80s is considered poor. A 4.2 is considered impossible. Alex completed 3 of 9 for only 30 yards and had the pick. Shaun Hill, who started the end of last season, had a rating of 50, completing 3 of 7 with no interceptions.

“If you look at the film,’’ agreed Smith, anticipating Singletary’s post-viewing judgment, “I think the numbers would say not much. It was better. I felt much better this week (than in the opener). I think the numbers can be deceiving. I’ll look at the film. I had a couple of throw-aways and stuff. I’ll take a look at the pick and see what I could have done differently.’’

Quarterbacks were everywhere Saturday night. The Raiders went from Russell to Jeff Garcia – remember, he was a star with the Niners when they had winning seasons to Bruce Gradkowski to Charlie Frye. For the Niners, after Smith and Hill, it was Nate Davis, who threw a TD pass, led the winning drive (or tying drive, if you ignore the try for two points by the Raiders and had a Montana-like rating of 103.

But that’s why the exhibitions are misleading. Is it your first string against their second string? Is the coach intent on developing a running game? Is the other team trying to find out whether its rookies are any good? For sure, everyone is trying to find out whether Smith will be any good.

Alex is so pleasant, so talented an athlete. But is he an NFL quarterback. At Utah, Smith played in the spread, never getting under center to take a snap. With the Niners, early on – as any rookie – he was overmatched. Then he was smacked around, incurring two serious injuries, the second of which, in year three, 2007, to his throwing shoulder, kept him out all of 2008.

His courage was questioned by then coach Mike Nolan, in front of the team. Nolan should have been here Saturday night to watch Smith cream a defender with a block and then seconds later race after and tackle Ricky Brown. Oh, and did we mention Smith in 2009 is learning from his fifth offensive coordinator in five years? Instead of faulting the kid, maybe we should credit him just for being there.

“Coming into the game,’’ Singletary said of Smith, “he knew what he had to do, as well as Shaun. It’s a matter of the coaches and myself taking a step back and saying, ‘OK, what do you do?’ and look at the film . . .It’s a matter of coming down to a decision between now and next week.’’

When it comes time, Mike Singletary won’t be afraid to make that decision, the way Alex Smith wasn’t afraid to make a tackle.

RealClearSports: Why So Outraged? Favre's Entitled to Do What He Wants

By Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com

If we are to interpret this correctly, Brett Favre is to be condemned because he decided to get out of football and then, while a lot of people were ruminating about his career, decided to return to football. After a lot of vacillating and momentum shifts.

This business disturbed a lot of people, many of them sporting journalists, who thought Favre was being disingenuous and, even worse, using them to stay in a spotlight he not only hesitates to leave but in truth deserves a hell of a lot more than most other quarterbacks.

To which one must scream, who cares? What's with us? Brett Favre hasn't shot himself in the hip, hasn't been convicted of running down a pedestrian while intoxicated. But we're making a bigger issue of Favre's indecisiveness than of people guilty of felonies.

If it bothers you that Favre doesn't know how to exit gracefully, tough beans. Sure he's like the Packer who cried wolf, or cried literally if you remember those scenes from a couple of years back. Unless you've been there, you'll never understand.

Joe Montana, who knew a thing or two about quarterbacking, and about winning Super Bowls, having led the San Francisco 49ers to victories in four of them, kept trying to stay on when some thought he ought to depart.

Hey, the columnist said to Joe in more of a statement than a question, what do you have to prove? Go out play some golf.

"Easy for you to say,'' Montana responded. "You can retire and come back in two years. I can't. When I'm done, I'm done. So I want to stay as long as I can. I know someday I'll have to leave.''

Favre left. Then returned. Then left. Now is returning. He's 39, and one of these times, he won't be coming back. When a man has played football since the age of 8 or 10, or thereabouts, the end is traumatic. One day your life has changed forever. Favre is fighting against that change as long as possible.

A man who's been involved with the NFL for 40 years or so told me that Favre was being urged to play by those around him, especially the Minnesota Vikings. Come on, Brett, they said in so many words. This is where you belong. You're a football player, aren't you?

He's a football player and an actor, as we've seen in the Wrangler commercials, and a self-promoter. None of the above is an indictable offense. If Favre has troubles making a decision and sticking to it, that's a victimless crime. Why are we so outraged?

If you want to argue that, at age 39 and after a torn biceps, Favre no longer is either the competent leader or the presence he used to be in those glory days with the Packers, that's legitimate. But the Vikings obviously believe he's better than anyone else they have, and until proven differently, he is.

The critics complain Favre is selfish. As if that trait makes him different from any other athletic star. To be great, you have to think you're great, think you're special, have to ignore the skeptics or, in a quarterback's case, the defensive ends.

Brett Favre and Joe Montana and John Elway don't think the way we do. They just wanted the ball and enough time on the clock to get the job done. If it was the rush and self-gratification they needed, it was also the chance to do what was required of them.

It's always difficult for the fans when a longtime favorite ends up on another team, especially -- as the Vikings are for Favre's original club, the Packers -- a rival team. No, they're not overly pleased these days in Green Bay, and Brett is being referred to in terms as traitor and turncoat. Mercenary is more accurate.

All athletes in team sports are mercenaries. They get paid to play, but not without an affiliation. If the Packers don't want you, then maybe the Jets. And if not the Jets, then now the Vikes.

Too many headlines about sports figures allude to jail time and arrests. Plaxico Burress is off to the clink. Only Thursday, Tampa Bay cornerback Aqib Talib was jailed on charges of simple battery after he punched a cab driver.

All Brett Favre can be accused of is making statements that perhaps had no basis of fact. Politicians do that all the time and nobody seems to mind.

"The guys know I'm in it for the right reasons,'' Favre said on his return. Right or wrong, it isn't important. He doesn't know how to quit. The only issue is whether he still knows how to play football.

As a reporter since 1960, Art Spander is a living treasure of sports history. A recipient of the Dick McCann Memorial Award -- given for his long and distinguished career covering professional football -- he has earned himself a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was recently honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the PGA of America for 2009.

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http://www1.realclearsports.com/articles/2009/08/21/why_so_outraged_favres_entitled_to_do_what_he_wants.html
© RealClearSports 2009

RealClearSports: Raiders Controversy: Don't Ask, Don't Tell

By Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com

NAPA, Calif. -- So nothing happened. If you don't include a coach with a smashed-up jaw. And a story changing by the day.

But this is wine country, where the Oakland Raiders practice, and why sound like sour grapes? This stuff happens all the time, doesn't it?

It's always something with the Raiders, other than winning. They've had six straight losing seasons, hardly a reflection of that mantra, "Commitment to Excellence.''

Last year the man in charge, Al Davis, fired his coach, Lane Kiffin early on, in effect for insubordination, usually something to be dealt with in the military, not pro football. Then again, these are the Raiders.

Kiffin was replaced by a tough-guy offensive line coach named Tom Cable, who was said to have sent one of his assistants to the hospital two weeks ago with what on Monday night was reported to be a punch but now is described as a shove into a cabinet.

"I wonder,'' mused cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, as curious as anyone, "if we'll be able to get the full story or not.''

Nnamdi wasn't serious. You never get to the bottom of anything with the Raiders, other than the standings. They're the North Korea of sports.

Information is obtained from mysterious sources that hide in the mountains of Pakistan, or maybe Canton, Ohio, and must be interpreted by the State Department to determine the validity.

Secrecy always has been as important to the Raiders as throwing deep. As Cable pointed out about this he-hit-him-no-it-was-an-enraged-sparrow-flying-amok incident, "It's an internal matter.''

Except that a report filed with the Napa police describes an unnamed 41-year-old Raiders assistant being treated for a jaw injury August 5 at Queen of the Valley Hospital, maybe two miles from the team's summer headquarters. The assistant is Randy Hanson, and no, he hasn't been around for a few days.

Seemingly everybody else has. The Raiders on Tuesday and Wednesday scrimmaged their Bay Area rivals, the San Francisco 49ers, the Niners coming some 100 miles north from their training site in Santa Clara. Dozens of Northern California journalists were in attendance, drawn by the regional confrontation as well as the quest for truth.

When Cable stood up at a podium that had been placed along one sideline, he faced nine television cameras, as many microphones and notepads and tape recorders reaching practically halfway to the Golden Gate Bridge. Presidential press conferences should be as well covered.

The time-consuming introduction involved Cable's announcements of players out with injuries and comments on whether facing the Niners, who the Raiders play Saturday night in a preseason game, was more beneficial than working against teammates. Finally, the issue was raised.

And as quickly dismissed.

"Nothing happened,'' advised Cable. Something certainly was happening at the moment, a couple of dozen journalists looking at each other skeptically.

"Listen,'' said Cable, "If you want to talk about this football team and the players on this football team, I'll talk to you all day. Otherwise I'm not getting into it.''

The NFL is getting to it. League spokesman Greg Aiello said there will be an investigation to determine the facts.

Someone in the organization did concede, "Something happened, but it's being blown out of proportion. It didn't go down the way it's being reported.''

Former NFL scout Daniel Jeremiah told Chris Mortensen of ESPN that a "reliable source'' said Hanson broke a facial bone when his cheek hit a cabinet after Cable flipped him out of his chair after Hanson spoke profanely of another Raider assistant, defensive coordinator John Marshall.

Cable hasn't informed the players of anything, and in that don't ask, don't tell ideology of the Raiders, they are not about to pester him for details.

"That's for you guys to talk about,'' said guard Robert Gallery. "I have no idea what happened, if anything happened. I could (sic) care less. I worry about winning games.''

Which, when you lose them season after season, is understandable.

Six years ago, during camp, linebacker Bill Romanowski punched teammate Marcus Williams and shattered Williams' jawbone. After filing a civil suit, Williams was awarded $340,000 in damages. That same season, 2003, a year after the Raiders went to the Super Bowl, head coach Bill Callahan referred to his squad after a losing game as "the dumbest team in America.''

Dumb, smart or in between, the Raiders certainly are the most contentious team in America.

"It's just another day around here,'' said running back Justin Fargas when asked how he is dealing with the latest episode. "Things wouldn't be normal if there wasn't some controversy.''

These days for the Raiders, they are very normal.

As a reporter since 1960, Art Spander is a living treasure of sports history. A recipient of the Dick McCann Memorial Award -- given for his long and distinguished career covering professional football -- he has earned himself a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was recently honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the PGA of America for 2009.

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http://www.realclearsports.com/articles/2009/08/19/raiders_controversy_dont_ask_dont_tell_96455.html
© RealClearSports 2009

SF Examiner: Tiger shows he’s human at PGA

By Art Spander
Special to The Examiner

SAN FRANCISCO — Rocky Marciano was the exception. A heavyweight champ who never never lost a fight. Retired without a blemish. For a while there, we thought Tiger Woods was similarly perfect. We should have known better.

That’s the thing about sports, no matter what sort of competition. The favorites — the 49ers of the 1980s, the Yankees of the 1960s, the Lakers of the 2000s — usually win. But not always. And sometimes when they lose, we’re in disbelief.

As when Mike Tyson fell to Buster Douglas. Or when Dennis Eckersley gave up that home run in the bottom of the ninth in the first game of the ’88 World Series to a limping Kirk Gibson. Or when Ben Hogan was beaten by a driving range pro named Jack Fleck in the 1955 U.S. Open at San Francisco’s Olympic Club.

Or when Tiger Woods was stunned on Sunday by a Korean named Y.E. (for Yong-Eun) Yang in the PGA Championship back in Minnesota.

We love the underdog, except in golf and tennis. The world was right when Arnie and Jack were champions, when McEnroe and Connors were winners. Nor was it so bad around here when the Niners were picking up Super Bowl trophies.

But change is inevitable. Surprise is inevitable. No way 37-year-old Y.E. Yang could beat Tiger. Until he beat him. Then golf became just that much more intriguing.

There’s something called the Presidents Cup coming to Harding Park in October. It’s like the Ryder Cup, except instead of facing a European-British squad, the Americans meet an international team, players from Australia and South Africa and South America and, yes, Korea.

It isn’t the PGA or the Masters, it isn’t a major, but the Presidents Cup will give us Tiger-Yang, redux. We can only hope they play at least one match against each other, singles preferably.

You know this by now, Yang, who didn’t start playing golf until 19, just smacking balls on one of those multideck driving ranges in Seoul, is the first Asian male to win a major. Korea’s going mad, as well it should.

Now it has its own entry in the game’s pantheon. Hagen, Hogan, Y.E. Yang. Great play is not the exclusive possession of any nation.

A tough year for the Stanford guys. Tom Watson, at age 59, comes within a shot of winning the British Open. Tiger Woods, at age 33, holds or shares the lead for four days of the season’s last major and gets beat.

It was stunning. Yet it was overdue. If not this tournament, then some major. The gods of sport eventually make their presence known.

Nobody’s won three Super Bowls in succession, and yes in the mind’s eye we still cringe as Roger Craig fumbles Steve Young’s handoff in the 1990 NFC playoffs.

Something goes wrong. Or for the other side goes right. Favorites lose, underdogs win. Y.E. Yang was as big an underdog as we might imagine, which made the win all the more unbelievable. And captivating.

It may never happen again, but once was enough. We thought that like death and taxes, Tiger Woods with a lead in the final round of a major was a sure thing. We should have known better.

Art Spander has been covering Bay Area sports since 1965 and also writes on www.artspander.com and www.realclearsports.com. E-mail him at typoes@aol.com.

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RealClearSports: Tiger Leaves Us in Disbelief

By Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com

No, we didn't believe it. Even if we watched it unfold. It was fantasy strangling reality, the impossible becoming actuality. It was Tiger Woods losing a major golf tournament.

We wanted someone to step up and challenge Tiger, wanted somebody not to melt in his presence. We thought it might be Padraig Harrington, who had three majors of his own. Or in his fading glory, Ernie Els. Instead it turned out to be a Korean named Y.E. (for Yong-Eun) Yang.

Only the day before, Harrington was saying the fans wanted someone to challenge Tiger, "to make it a battle.'' Not to beat him, but to make it interesting. This 91st PGA Championship at Hazeltine National, on the prairieland west of Minneapolis, got very interesting.

Then it got out of hand. Then it got ridiculous. Then it got head-shockingly bizarre and unprecedented.

Fourteen times before, Tiger Woods had led a major golf championship into the final round, and 14 times Tiger had won. So why wouldn't it be 15 out of 15, especially since he had led from Thursday's first round? Especially since he was paired with Yang, which everyone believed meant Yang would fold. Isn't Tiger the great intimidator?

What he wasn't on Sunday was the great putter. Took 33 putts, did Mr. Woods. Shot 5-over par 75. Went from a two-shot lead to a three-shot deficit, as Yang had a 70 for a 72-hole score of 8-under 280. Went a year without a major victory for the first time in 2009.

But he didn't go without proving what a sportsman he is, what a gentleman he is.

You can tell more about a person by the way he acts after a defeat than after a victory. It's easy to be charming, responsive, when you're holding the trophy, when they're giving you the accolades. But an individual unveils himself when he or she doesn't win.

Tiger is painfully protective. His post-match remarks intentionally are bland, even boring. If you don't say anything in particular, he believes, than nobody can misquote you or misinterpret you. So keep it simple and uncontroversial.

But Woods pulled the mask away just a bit. He was disappointed. He had to be. We thought he would win. He thought he would win. Didn't he always win before?

"Today,'' conceded Woods, "was not very good at all. I had a few misreads on putts, and I hit some bad putts too. It was a bad day at the wrong time, and that's the way it goes.''

There's a saying about golf, that it's like a love affair. That if you don't take it seriously it's no fun, and if you do it can break your heart. If Tiger's heart isn't broken, his armor of vulnerability certainly is.

Nobody's perfect. Except Tiger Woods had been with a lead the final day of a major golf championship. Now the perfection is wiped away.

"All the other 14 major championships I've won I've putted well for the entire week,'' he said. "Today was a day that didn't happen. I didn't win. I hit the ball well enough. I didn't make any putts.''

When asked whether he lost this PGA or the 27-year-old Yang won it, Woods said, "It's both. I certainly was in control. And Y.E. played great all day.''

That's the beauty of sport. There's always the unexpected. There's always a Y.E. Yang or a soccer team from Cameroon or a rookie pitcher who steps up and makes us take notice.

No Asian ever had won a major golf championship. Until Yang. Tiger Woods never had lost a major golf championship when he led after 54 holes. Until Yang.

"I don't think anyone has gone 14 for 14 or 15 for 15,'' said Woods when asked if losing was inevitable. "So I've certainly . . . like today I played well enough to win.''

Strange things happen in sports. Outfielders drop easy fly balls. That's why athletes always stay wary. It isn't over, we -- and they -- have been told, until it's over. So don't get feeling too cocky.

Tiger led the PGA from the 15th hole the first round. On Saturday, the media kept trying to get him to admit the tournament was over, that he had it locked up. Woods kept evading the question, kept insisting that he had to play to the end.

He was right. We were wrong. We thought Tiger Woods would always come in first. He always did. Until at last he didn't. We didn't believe it could happen, but we believe it now.

As a reporter since 1960, Art Spander is a living treasure of sports history. A recipient of the Dick McCann Memorial Award -- given for his long and distinguished career covering professional football -- he has earned himself a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was recently honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the PGA of America for 2009.

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Newsday: Harrington blows up with quintuple bogey

By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

CHASKA, Minn. -- The luck of the Irish? Not for Padraig Harrington. Not in the cruel game of golf which for a second consecutive Sunday sent him careening, this time at the major in which he was defending champion.

Last weekend, feeling rushed after being put on the clock for slow play at the Bridgestone Invitational, Paddy the Dubliner plopped a shot into the water, took a triple bogey and blew the tournament to Tiger Woods.

Virtually the same thing happened to him this weekend, only this time it was in the PGA Championship and this time it was worse. This time it was a quintuple bogey.

At the eighth hole and a shot behind the leader Woods -- who later would incur his own agony, squandering a third-round lead in a major for the first time -- Harrington hit his tee shot into the pond on the 176-yard, par-3 hole.

"I hit a little knock-down 6-iron,'' Harrington explained, "and as I was about to hit it, the wind died, and I hit it a little too easy and it just didn't carry.''

After taking a penalty drop, he nearly skulled playing partner Henrik Stenson with his third shot. His fourth sailed back over the green again and into the same pond. Dropping another ball, and now lying five, Harrington couldn't advance out of the rough. Finally onto the green in seven, he made a 5-foot putt for an 8. From a cumulative 6 under par, he had fallen to 1 under.

After starting the day tied for second, Harrington shot a 6-over 78 and finished tied for 10th with an even-par 288.

"It was a difficult tee shot,'' Harrington said of his travail, "and it was obviously a difficult second shot after you hit it in the water and pulled it left. I had been changing my chipping action a little, and I probably was more into what I was doing rather than trying to get the ball up and down, and you know, I hit a bad shot. So these things happen.''

But two weeks in a row? A triple-bogey 8 on the 16th hole at Firestone CC and now a 5-over 8 on the eighth hole at Hazeltine National?

"It wasn't anybody else,'' said Harrington. "It's all me. But I still hit all my shots out there. I got out of position only on that one hole. Obviously, it was disappointing, but I had my chances all the way through the back nine and could have got it back to 6 under.

"In fairness, I didn't feel like I could afford to make bogey by hitting left like most people. I decided I had to hit the shot, and it didn't come off . . . such is life. Some days they don't come off, and some days they do.''

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Newsday: Yang wins PGA Championship after Tiger blows lead

By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

CHASKA, Minn. -- Niagara Falls didn't run uphill. The sun didn't set in the East. But Tiger Woods did lose a major golf championship, which may not be much different.

The virtually impossible became the very undeniable when Woods for the first time in his remarkable career gave away a third-round lead in a major and Sunday came in second at the 91st PGA to a deliriously excited Korean, Y.E. (Yong-Eun) Yang.

On this day of seismic shifts in golf, the 37-year-old Yang, who immediately after the final putt hoisted not a trophy but his entire golf bag like a man lifting barbells, became the first Asian to win a major.

And Tiger had perfection and dominance swept away as his record of winning all 14 times he had the lead after 54 holes in a major was gone with the wind that swept across Hazeltine National Golf Club.

Woods started the day with a two-shot lead over Yang, his playing partner, and Padraig Harrington, and everyone in the massive gallery just knew Tiger would do what he always does: win. But he didn't.

Yang took the lead by chipping in for an eagle 2 on the 301-yard 14th hole, and then embellished his round with a fist-pumping birdie at 18, moments before Tiger would close with a bogey.

Yang, going mano-a-mano with the man acclaimed by many as the greatest player of all time, shot 2-under-par 70 to Tiger's 3-over 75. Yang ended up at 8-under 280, Woods at 283.

Lee Westwood, who had the same spot in last month's British Open, tied for third with 20-year-old Rory McIlroy at 285, and Lucas Glover, who in June at Bethpage won the U.S. Open, came in fifth at 286. Harrington, who killed his chances with a quintuple-bogey 8 on the par-3 eighth, shot 78 for 288 and fell into a tie for 10th.

"I was certainly in control of the tournament for most of the day," Woods agreed. "But I just couldn't make anything today. I hit the ball great off the tee, hit my irons well. I did everything I needed to do except getting the ball in the hole."

His 33 putts were the most in any of the four rounds.

Only once previously in his career had he not won when leading by two shots or more, and that was nine years ago.

Asked if he thought he had lost or Yang had won, Woods responded: "It's both. I was playing well. I was making nothing, but still either tied for the lead or ahead. And Y.E. played great all day. I don't think he missed a shot. And it was a fun battle. Unfortunately, I just didn't make the putts when I needed them."

Thus for the first time since 2004, Woods has gone through a year without winning a major. The last time the PGA was held at Hazeltine, in the western suburbs of Minneapolis, 2002, Tiger also finished second, by a shot.

Someone wondered if this day was inevitable. The undefeated Patriots were upset in the Super Bowl. Mariano Rivera occasionally blows saves. The longer you win, the greater the odds you will lose.

"I don't think anyone has gone 14-for-14 or 15-for-15," Woods said. "I played well enough to win the championship. I did not putt well enough to win the championship."

Asked about an Asian breaking through in a major, Woods, who among others was beaten by Yang in the HSBC at Shanghai in November 2007, said, "You knew it was going to happen one day." His guess would have been K.J. Choi, another Korean, who like Yang plays the PGA Tour.

Woods' opponents on the final day of majors often are intimidated. Yang said he was. He didn't show it.

"He's always been a wonderful ball-striker," Woods said of Yang, who earlier this year won the Honda Classic. "The only thing that's held him back is the flat stick [putter]. Today, he went out there and executed his game plan. He was doing exactly what you have to do in these blustery conditions. I thought if I shot under par, I would win the tournament."

Which he would have. Except he shot over par. Woods didn't make any putts, but he did make history.

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Scotland Sunday Herald: Woods aside, a triumph for Europeans

GOLF: Harrington and Co proving strength of our Tour with displays in Minnesota, writes Art Spander in Hazeltine

The weather turned yesterday, making Minnesota seem more like Britain, a bit cooler, a bit darker. But even in the blast furnace heat of the first two rounds the US PGA Championship was a fine place to be for the numerous representatives of the European Tour.

The fourth Major of the year, the 91st PGA, out on the prairie west of Minneapolis at Hazeltine, was in effect two tournaments, one being played by Tiger Woods and another involving everybody else.

In the Tiger Tournament, Woods was playing in his usual grand style -- usual if you forget the missed cut in The Open at Turnberry, that is. By the end of Friday's second round, he had built up a four-shot lead and as defending champion Padraig Harrington put it: "If Tiger plays the golf he's capable of this weekend, he'll be a winner.'' In the other competition, there already were a great many winners, players such as Harrington, the Irishman, Ross Fisher and Ian Poulter of England, Soren Kjeldsen of Denmark, Lee Westwood of England, Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland and even Scotland's Alastair Forsyth.

All made the cut along with Miguel Angel Jimenez of Spain, Thomas Levet of France and Francesco Molinari of Italy, an indication that even if the Euro Tour doesn't have anyone quite like Tiger -- and nor does any other tour on the globe - it still boasts a wealth of talent. Harrington, playing with Woods for the first two rounds, as he did last Sunday in that controversial final round of the WGC Bridgestone when the two were put on the clock and Harrington self-destructed, was tied with Woods for a time on Friday. Then Harrington made four bogeys on the back nine.

But even though he stumbled to a 35-38, he hit the shot of the day, and maybe of the tournament, a 301-yard 3-wood from a bunker onto the green of the par-five 642-yard 15th hole.

Harrington said: "Tiger told me he would have paid to have seen it. So I asked him for 50 bucks.'' Poulter was on two-under 142 after 36 holes and would have been closer to the top of the leaderboard but for a double bogey at the first, his 10th."It's been great,'' he said. "The crowds are fantastic out there. This is as busy a Major as I've seen all year, so it's good fun.'' Fun is a word one rarely hears associated with championship golf but this has indeed been an enjoyable tournament, due in no small part to those who have packed the enormous galleries here in an area which rarely sees the top pros.

Fisher, who briefly led the final round of The Open at Turnberry before taking that horrendous triple-bogey eight at the fifth, was tied with Tiger on Friday until bogeys at 17 and 18.

"In some ways I'm disappointed but overall I'm delighted,'' said Fisher. "I was hitting fairways, I was hitting greens but finishing bogey, bogey always leaves a little bit of sour taste. But you know, I'm still in there with a good shout.'' Fisher has made some tremendous progress - a run at The Open, a run at the PGA a month later.

"Every golfer wants to be at the Major championships,'' said the 28-year-old. "This is what we all dream of, right from when we were kids. I want to go out there and perform, not only for myself but at the same time to give the fans something to shout about.'' Fisher and Harrington were paired yesterday in an interesting twosome, the kid with potential alongside the only player not to back down where matched up against the Tiger. Harrington may have fallen apart last weekend, but that was the result on one errant shot into a pond, not being intimidated by Woods.

"It's irrelevant,'' Harrington responded when someone ask if he was unhappy that he wasn't playing a fourth straight round with Woods, who yesterday was with Vijay Singh two groups ahead.

"It's not bad to have a day off. Hopefully I'll see him again on Sunday," Harrington added.

McIlroy, widely expected to be the next great thing, was on level-par 144 after 36 holes and picked up a shot through the first seven yesterday.

"If I can iron it all out,'' said the 19-year-old, "I can get myself back where I was in the middle of the second round. I'm definitely a lot happier about my game than I was on Monday or Tuesday, so there are a few positives to take from it all.'' There are more than a few positives to take from the way the European Tour members have played this week in America. The only negative is they continue to chase that guy Tiger Woods. Then again, so does everyone from every corner of the world.

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Newsday: Harrington pushes but Woods still leads PGA

By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

CHASKA, Minn. -- The lead still is his, if reduced, and presumably the tournament still is his. A name nobody expected and one everybody did expect are challenging Tiger Woods, but there is a big difference in being challenged and being beaten.

Woods played conservatively Saturday in the third round of the 91st PGA Championship, which made sense when he began the day with a four-shot lead. By the end of the day, the lead was two.

"Only mistake I made,'' Woods said, "was three-putting there at 4. But other than that, the card was pretty clean. I didn't give myself a lot of looks at putts. I was lag putting a lot. Given the conditions and my position in the tournament, I didn't mind.''

Woods, with a 71, is still in first at 8-under-par 208 for 54 holes at Hazeltine National. The spread is two strokes over Y.E. Yang, a Korean who despite a win on the PGA Tour is little recognized, and over defending champion Padraig Harrington, who was supposed to battle Woods. They are tied at 210 after Yang's 5-under 67 and Harrington's 69.

"I think everybody wants to see a battle in the hope the underdog catches up,'' Harrington said. "But when he catches up, they want the hero to win, as usual.''

The hero, of course, being Mr. Woods, who is a perfect 14-for-14 when leading a major after three rounds and 47-for-50 when leading any tournament after three.

"I had tremendous support,'' Harrington said. "I get the impression people want me to push him along but want him to win.''

Behind the top three at 4-under 212 are Henrik Stenson and the man who won the U.S. Open at Bethpage, Lucas Glover, meaning three of the top five are major champions, and Stenson has won The Players and Yang beat the whole lot at the 2007 HSBC in Shanghai.

Woods, trying for his fifth PGA title that would equal Jack Nicklaus and Walter Hagen (and 15th major overall), said it does make a difference who is on the leader board.

"You get guys who understand how to win major championships,'' Woods said, "and guys that know how to deal with the situation. They believe in themselves, and they know how to get it done.''

Because Harrington bogeyed the 18th hole, Woods will play with Yang Sunday in the final pairing. Had Harrington parred 18, he would have been second alone and matched with Woods for a fourth time in five rounds.

"I think I would rather,'' Harrington said of playing with Woods. "I think it would suit me better to have that sort of match-play style. I think I [would] get into it and hopefully raise my game. But I don't think I have a choice.''

Through an interpreter, the 27-year-old Yang said, "It's a privilege to be listed on the top with those great names, great players what I admire and respect.''

Sounds like a setup from a guy who Saturday made six birdies and only one bogey. Or four more birdies than Woods.

But the second of Woods' birdies was on the 318-yard 14th when he drove over the green, chipped long and then using a wedge as a putter, knocked the ball into the cup. That regained the lead from Harrington, who briefly had tied him.

"It's a rush,'' Woods said of the competition. "It's fun to go out and test what you have.''

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Newsday: Mickelson just can't find a groove

By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

CHASKA, Minn. -- Phil Mickelson is caught between the sublime and the ridiculous, real life and real golf, dealing with missed putts and dealing with a wife and mother both battling breast cancer.

The good news is both women -- Amy, Phil's wife, and Mary, his mom -- appear to have made enough progress where Mickelson can say, "We're past the toughest part now, so I feel better.''

But he points out that flaws in his game cannot be easily dismissed and that though perspective is important, so is the golf he plays.

Mickelson's traumatic summer is not yet done. He shot 4-over-par 76 Saturday in the PGA Championship at Hazeltine National, his third straight over-par round, and is far back of the leaders with a 54-hole score of 8-over 224. He has one more round to play before a week off.

He did so well at Bethpage in the U.S. Open two months ago, better than anyone might have guessed while Amy was preparing for treatment back in California. Mickelson tied for second, two shots behind Lucas Glover. His courage was deemed the equal of his play, and his appearance at Bethpage was hugely popular.

He skipped the British Open, then believing his wife and mother were in good enough condition, returned to his golf. Mickelson played the Bridgestone last week and came to the PGA with hopes, if not direction.

"My expectations,'' Mickelson insisted, "are high. I'm disappointed with my performance this week. Regardless of what's going on, or off, the course, I still have high expectations.''

Surely the agony of the past couple of months has affected him. In a sport that requires the utmost concentration, at times his thoughts must wander.

Even Tiger Woods missed the U.S. Open cut in 2006 when he took a nine-week break because of the illness and subsequent death of his father.

"I think I practiced and prepared,'' Mickelson said when asked if it was difficult to compete. "But I just haven't performed well.''

It was putting that bedeviled Mickelson the first two days of the PGA. Saturday, his ball striking became a problem. He said he'll have a week to work on both phases of his game before the Barclays at Liberty National in New Jersey. "It's frustrating for me not to be in contention on the weekends of a major,'' Mickelson said. "That's the toughest thing. But also good motivation for me to work harder.''

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Newsday: Woods controls shots, takes control of the PGA

By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

CHASKA, Minn. -- The wind came up, dry and hot, rattling flagsticks in the cups, sending golf balls flying off their desired lines. But in this 91st PGA Championship out on the prairie land west of Minneapolis, they were hardly the winds of change.

The tournament still was in the possession of Tiger Woods, more than ever. What started as a one-shot lead with others still holding the thought they had a chance, ended up as a four-shot lead, and is there anyone extant who doesn't believe anyone but Tiger has a chance in this tournament?

Of the top dozen or so players on the leader board at the start of round two Friday, Woods was the only one to break par, shooting a 2-under-par 70 at Hazeltine National. His 36-hole total was 7-under 137, with Vijay Singh, U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover, Ross Fisher and defending champion Padraig Harrington all at 3-under 141.

"His game looked solid again today,'' Harrington said of Woods, one of his playing partners. "I think he's in good position because of the fact he's a good front-runner. He can pick and choose his shots, and he's not rushed into shots he doesn't have to hit. He's very good at that.''

He's more than very good. He's fantastic. When Tiger has the halfway lead, he has been unbeatable in majors, winning 8 of 8, and virtually unbeatable in tournaments overall, winning 32 of 38.

A victory in this would be Tiger's 15th major championship, his fifth PGA, although he refuses to think beyond Saturday's third round.

"I've got a long way to go,'' said Woods, who didn't finish first in any of the year's three previous majors. "But I'm pleased. The wind was up. It was pretty blustery. It was changing directions. It was affecting putts. All in all, it was a very difficult day, and you had to stay patient.''

While Tiger did just that, others stayed close. And then, wham. Harrington shot 38 on the back nine, with four bogeys, including one at 18. Fisher, briefly tied with Woods after 16, bogeyed the final two holes. Woods took control with birdies on 14, 15 and 16, so even a bogey at 18 didn't hurt very much.

"Today,'' Woods said of conditions, "was a day when if you looked at it -- I don't know how to explain it -- could have been worse than it is. Could have been better. I could have shot a couple over par, but I turned it into an under-par round.''

Harrington had a sense of humor. He hit a magnificent 3-wood shot from a bunker 301 yards onto the green of the 642-yard 15th for a birdie 4 but lost too many strokes en route.

Woods called it one of the best shots he had ever seen, "worth the price of admission."

"He did say to me actually he would have paid to have seen it," Harrington said. "So I asked him for 50 bucks."

Phil Mickelson shot a second 74 but made the cut on the number at 148, as did Fred Couples. Among those missing the cut was Sergio Garcia, still without his first major, who shot a choppy 78. Ernie Els made a strong move with a 68, tied for best round of the day with Fisher and Tim Clark

"I mean, yes, Tiger is the greatest golfer I think we've ever seen," said Fisher, who contended in the U.S. and British Opens. "But at the end of the day, he's just like me and you. He's just a human being. He just happens to be damn good at golf. So we've got to work really, really hard to try and compete with him and catch him."

But Woods has not lost a 36-hole lead on the PGA Tour in five years.

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RealClearSports.com: Tiger Has Us Believing for Him, Anything Is Possible

By Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com

CHASKA, Minn. -- This is what greatness is, a young man with a swoosh on his shirt and purpose in his thoughts. A young man who has us believing that on a golf course anything is possible, because truth tell for him, anything is possible.

He's not even allowing for suspense this time. Not even needing to produce a comeback.

Tiger Woods went out Thursday and snatched the first-round lead in the PGA Championship, and in effect ended the competition after 18 holes, although there remain 54 left to play.

Woods, who usually starts slowly in a major, this time started quicker than anyone else. Woods, who usually is chasing -- and more often than not, overtaking -- this time is being chased.

He's gone through '09 without a victory in a major, even missing the cut in the British Open, but he's not going past Sunday, the PGA's final round, without one. Not the way he's performing.

You can rewrite the axiom. There is something else definite besides death and taxes: Tiger Woods with a lead in a major.

"I feel pretty comfortable if I'm playing well," said Woods. He's playing well, believe me. He's playing spectacularly. He's playing like Tiger Woods.

Tiger has five victories already this year. And he didn't even enter a tournament until February, inactive for eight months while recovering from the ACL surgery on his left knee in June 2008.

Not long ago, May, even June, impatient with his lack of progress, we were wondering what was wrong with Tiger, wondering if he'd make it back to where he was, towering over golf. We have our answers. Tiger again has his game.

He won two weeks ago at the Buick. He won last weekend, if in a controversial ending, at the Bridgestone Invitational. And almost certainly he'll win this weekend, adding a 15th major to a total, which at age 33 will put him only three behind the career-record 18 of Jack Nicklaus.

Bad weather is coming. That was the forecast. A big wind, a sweep across the prairie, across the rolling country that used to be farmland. Could it be any more forceful than Tiger Woods crushing a golf ball, crushing the opposition?

When Woods and the other two in his threesome, Padraig Harrington, the defending champ and a shot behind Tiger, and Rich Beem, were on the green of the par-five 606-yard second hole, a ball came bouncing toward their feet. It was hit by the Spaniard Alvaro Quiros, his second shot.

"He apologized," said Tiger. "Nothing to apologize for...to hit it that far is phenomenal. I used to be able to move the ball (like that). Not anymore. I just plod my way around, shoot 67."

Tiger, the guy who walks with his head down, who almost never acknowledges a congratulatory yell or a friendly wave, was having fun. The confidence is nearly palpable. He can toy with the opposition. He can jest with the media.

Whatever happens -- and the thought is something good will happen, as it usually does when Tiger is in full flight -- Woods has a new perspective. A year ago, he still was recovering.

"I was just trying to walk without a brace," he recalled. "I wasn't very good at it but trying to get a bit of flexion at the time. And walking in a pool and all those things. But I couldn't do much of anything."

He can do virtually anything he wants now. On Thursday he got around a course listed at a ridiculous 7,674 yards but in actuality probably set up 150 to 200 yards shorter, without a bogey.

"Yeah," he conceded, "I played really well. I hit a bunch of good shots, and this round could really have been low. I missed a bunch of putts."

No sympathy will be extended. Golfers always talk about what might have been. But for us there's no need. We reflect on what was. For Tiger that would be excellence, if not quite perfection.

He's not the only player on Tour, although sometimes the television ratings contradict that idea. There are other superb players: Harrington, who has three wins in majors; Phil Mickelson, although he struggled Thursday to a 2-over 74; Vijay Singh; Angel Cabrera; British Open champion Stewart Cink.

It's just that Tiger is in a league of his own. Years ago, when Jack Nicklaus set a ridiculously low scoring record at the Masters, the late Bobby Jones said of Jack, "He plays a game I'm not familiar with."

We're familiar with Tiger Woods' game. It's remarkable and dominant. But it's not good enough for Tiger. He may be the best, but he keeps trying to be better.

As a reporter since 1960, Art Spander is a living treasure of sports history. A recipient of the Dick McCann Memorial Award -- given for his long and distinguished career covering professional football -- he has earned himself a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was recently honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the PGA of America for 2009.

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http://www1.realclearsports.com/articles/2009/08/14/tiger_has_us_believing_for_him_anything_is_possible_96449.html
© RealClearSports 2009

Newsday: Tiger eyes gold after golf gets Olympic boost

By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

Tiger Woods has plenty of gold already. But he now might be in line for a gold medal.

The International Olympic Committee executive board, meeting in Berlin Thursday, recommended golf and rugby be added to the sports for the 2016 Games. The full IOC will vote on the final decision Oct. 9 at Copenhagen.

"I would love to play for the rugby team,'' joked Tiger, after shooting a 5-under par 67 for the first-day lead of the 91st PGA Championship. "No, I think it's great for golf. We're long overdue to have it in the Olympics. Our sport is a global sport.''

Woods would be 40 at the time of the 2016 Games but said unless he retires, he likely would play. His support was credited with giving golf the boost it needed to make the cut over sports such as baseball and softball.

"I can't overstate the importance of that,'' said Ty Votaw, a PGA Tour official and executive director of the International Golf Federation's Olympic bid committee.

"Tiger being involved . . . is very important,'' said Votaw, "as is the support of the top players.''

Padraig Harrington, the defending PGA champion who played with Tiger and finished a shot behind him Thursday, said if golf is included it should be stroke play, 72 holes, like a major.

"I think,'' contended Harrington, the Irishman who also has won two British Opens, "in 100 years time the Olympics could be the fifth major . . . It's only once every four years, So in time it could become the premier event in golf.

"I believe the best players will turn up. It's not too many players, even a dominant one, who are going to get to play more than once or twice because of the time frame. So 72-hole stroke would bring out a true winner.''

If golf is accepted, adjustments would have to be made to the global schedule, possibly revising dates for either the Ryder Cup or PGA Championship.

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http://www.newsday.com/sports/golf/tiger-eyes-gold-after-golf-gets-olympic-boost-1.1368873
Copyright © 2009 Newsday. All rights reserved.

Newsday: Tiger stays in the groove and leads PGA by one

By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

The questions are different now for Tiger Woods. Nobody asks what's wrong. They only wonder if he's playing better than he ever has and the man -- The Man -- appears to be doing exactly that.

A winner the last two weeks, Tiger hasn't lost any momentum. He'll never lose his fixation for success.

"If you don't think you can win,'' Woods has said again and again, "then why enter?''

At the 91st PGA Championship at Hazeltine National in the suburbs ofMinneapolis, Woods has once again entered the zone.

Woods didn't win any of the three previous majors this year, and missed the cut in last month's British Open, but that problem should be corrected shortly.

Tiger on Day 1 shot a 5-under par 67 and is a shot in front of one of his playing partners and the defending champion,Padraig Harrington, whom he overtook Sunday in the controversial ending of the Bridgestone Invitational.

Six golfers are tied for third at 3-under 69 -- Robert Allenby, Mathew Goggin, Hunter Mahan, Alvaro Quiros and two who like Woods and Harrington have won PGA Championships, Vijay Singh and David Toms.

U.S. Open winner Lucas Glover is at 71, British Open winner Stewart Cink 73, Phil Mickelson 74 and Masters winner Angel Cabrera 76.

The day belonged to Woods, and there's no reason to think the tournament also won't belong to Woods.

"It's always nice to get off to a quick start,'' understated Tiger, who hasn't done that of late, averaging 71.8 in the opening rounds of his last five majors, and winning only one, the 2008 U.S. Open.

"I feel pretty comfortable if I'm playing well,'' Woods said. "There are times I've put it together and had some pretty good margins of victory.''

His game Thursday -- five birdies, no bogeys, only 29 putts -- is evidence this may be one of those times.

"Tiger looks like he's playing well,'' agreed Harrington after his second straight round with Woods in two different tournaments. "If he's moving away, I want to make sure I'm moving with him.''

On Sunday, in the Bridgestone in Akron, Ohio, Harrington, going head-to-head with Woods, got flustered when the two were put on the clock because of slow play. He took a triple-bogey 8 on the 16th hole, and surrendered the lead and the tournament to Tiger.

That was Woods' 70th PGA Tour victory, third all-time to Sam Snead's 82 and Jack Nicklaus' 73. That was Woods' affirmation that somehow, some way he will win.

Unless, of course, he misses the cut as at Turnberry, which he has turned into an asset.

"I had that nice little rest there after the British,'' he quipped, "I have plenty of energy.''

Seven years ago Tiger finished second in the last PGA held at Hazeltine, a shot behind Rich Beem who yesterday, in the threesome with Woods and Harrington, had a 1-under 71. It was presumed Tiger would play well this time, if not as well as he played.

"It's something I've always believed in,'' Woods said. "The first round, just keep yourself around. You don't have to be eight under. Just got to keep plodding along.''

His plodding looks more like sprinting.

When Woods, Harrington and Beem were on the green of the 606-yard, par-5 11th hole, a ball bounced up. It was hit by Quiros, the Spaniard. His second shot, a driver off the deck.

"He apologized,'' Woods said. "Nothing to apologize for. I mean that's stupid long, isn't it? It's just absolutely phenomenal. I used to be able to move the ball like that. Not anymore. Just plod my way around and shoot 67.''

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http://www.newsday.com/sports/golf/tiger-stays-in-the-groove-and-leads-pga-by-one-1.1368897
Copyright © 2009 Newsday. All rights reserved.

SF Examiner: Untainted Tiger truly a positive sports hero

By Art Spander
Special to The Examiner

You want a positive force in sports? Someone who makes headlines for reasons other than being accused? Someone who keeps himself at the front and keeps the rest of us in his thrall?

That man is The Man, arguably the most successful athlete on the planet at the moment and unquestionably the best golfer in history, Tiger Woods.

Tiger has his flaws, mostly a potty mouth. He can swear a blue streak, and it’s not in private. “Unfortunately, I do make mistakes,” he agreed, “and I hit bad shots and I say bad things at times. I don’t mean to. It just comes out.”

But that’s it. No shooting himself in the leg. No torturing animals. No performance enhancing drugs. Just a temper which at times is not under control. As we know, there’s a lot worse.

This is the final chance for Tiger in ’09, the PGA Championship. He’s 0-for-3 in the Masters, U.S. Open at British Open. He’s had a spectacular year, five wins, two of those the last two weeks. But without a major, can it be a spectacular year for Tiger Woods?

“It’s been a great year either way,” Woods said Tuesday. “For me to come back and play as well as I’ve done and actually win golf events, to say at the beginning of the year, when I was feeling the way I was, I don’t think any of us would have thought I could have won this many events this year.”

He was in the media tent at Hazeltine National Golf Club, some 20 miles southwest of Minneapolis, where the 91st PGA starts Thursday. He was in a good mood. And why not?

A year ago, Woods was on crutches, recovering from that ACL surgery on his left knee. A year ago, his career if not in doubt was full of questions.

Now it’s full of anticipation. Whatever he’s done, 70 wins overall, third most in PGA Tour history behind Sam Snead’s 82 and Jack Nicklaus’ 73; whatever he’s accomplished, victories in 14 majors; Tiger is not satisfied. He wants more.

The way Joe Montana wanted more Super Bowl victories. The way Michael Jordan wanted more NBA titles. Which is understandable.

Greed not only is acceptable in sports, it is demanded. An athlete must be driven, as is Tiger Woods.

In 2000, Woods won nine tournaments, three of them majors. A few years later he was reworking his swing, making changes which he believed would make improvements. Yesterday didn’t mean as much as tomorrow.

If the Tiger of nine years ago played a hypothetical match against the Tiger of the present, someone asked, who would come out on top?

“I would win now,” meaning the Tiger of ’09. “I know how to manage my game a hell of a lot better than I did then.”

It will be interesting to see how he manages at Hazeltine where in the 2002 PGA he finished second by a shot.

“Oh, man,” said Woods, “the course is in phenomenal shape.”

So, it appears, is Tiger Woods, the untainted sporting hero.

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http://www.sfexaminer.com/sports/Spander-Untainted-Tiger-truly-a-positive-sports-hero-53006307.html
Copyright 2009 SF Newspaper Company

RealClearSports: Tiger Controversy Is What Golf Needs

By Art Spander
For RealClearSports.com

CHASKA, Minn. --This is what golf needs, a good controversy that involves the unquestioned best player in the game.

Maybe the people who dote on scandal and debate will decide indeed there is more to the sport than handshakes and kind words.

These are times of action, and about the only action in golf is bending over to pick a ball from the cup. Golf then must do it with reaction.

Like the reaction of Tiger Woods to being charged, along with playing partner Padraig Harrington, with slow play in Sunday's final round of the Bridgestone Invitational over at Akron.

Tiger's in a bigger event this week, the 91st PGA Championship, which starts Thursday at Hazeltine National some 20 miles southwest of Minneapolis. He's trying to win his first major of the year. He's also still trying to defend his criticism of a rules official at the Bridgestone.

Tiger's the big dog. When Tiger barks, everybody hears. Tiger barked loudly after winning the Bridgestone.

He and Harrington, coming down the stretch, separated by a shot, were put on the clock by John Paramor, a European official working the tournament because it was a World Golf Association event. In a timeless game, Tiger and Padraig were being timed, threatened by a fine and a penalty stroke.

Harrington apparently rushed his chip shot from behind the green on 16 and the ball bounced into a pond. He ended with a triple-bogey 8, losing four shots to Woods, the lead and finally the tournament. Padraig stayed silent. Woods did not.

"The way I understood it,'' Woods said Tuesday, "we were the only two in contention. We had separated ourselves. The winner was not going to come from the groups ahead. It was going to come from our group, and we were having a great battle.''

Forty-eight hours earlier, Woods stated, "I'm sorry John (Paramor) got in the way of a great battle, but that happened.''

In his defense, Paramor said the twosome was 17 minutes behind the preceding group on the 16th tee, and the warning was deserved.

On Monday, a day later, there was a story that the PGA Tour, in its speak-no-evil ways, had fined Woods for his remarks. But Tuesday Tiger said he was not fined. Neither was he fine.

"I thought they could have used better judgment,'' Woods said of being put on the clock. "It certainly influenced us in how we played and influenced the outcome of the tournament, and that's not how you want to have a tournament come to an end.''

Harrington, the defending PGA champion, was less critical than Tiger but hardly less displeased.

"As regards to what he said,'' explained Harrington, "I think it's easier for having won the tournament to take the moral high ground and say what he wants. Having lost the tournament, I'm going to take it on the chin and say it was my mistake.''

Which, literally, it was. Hassled or not, flustered or not, a player as good as Harrington, who has two British Open wins along with his PGA, is not supposed to lose control.

The people in charge of golf shudder at this stuff. They deem golf a gentleman's game and attempt to cover up any misfortune or disagreement.

At the Masters, there's a booklet with a quote from the late Bobby Jones warning fans not to cheer a player's errors. The Tour last winter refused to confirm that John Daly had been suspended, even though he had been.

But golf is better off with controversy. Baseball, football, basketball, and even tennis thrive on it. All of a sudden, you have Tiger Woods talking like a low-key Ozzie Guillen -- standing up for what he thinks is right and getting as much attention as for his marvelous play.

Woods has won five tournaments in '09, a year that begin with him still rehabilitating the June 2008 anterior cruciate ligament surgery on his left knee. Two of those victories have come in the last two weeks. However, none of those victories has been in a major.

"For me to come back and play as well as I have,'' said Woods when asked if this still would be a top year without a major win, "and actually win golf events, to say at the very beginning of the year, I don't think any of us could have thought I would win this many events.''

Told that previously he wouldn't have thought it was a good year without a win in a major, something that hasn't happened since 2004, Woods answered, "I've said that in the past, but I didn't have ACL reconstruction either.''

He had it. He's back. And he's letting golf know, with his game and his comments.

As a reporter since 1960, Art Spander is a living treasure of sports history. A recipient of the Dick McCann Memorial Award -- given for his long and distinguished career covering professional football -- he has earned himself a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was recently honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the PGA of America for 2009.

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http://www1.realclearsports.com/articles/2009/08/11/tiger_controversy_is_what_golf_needs_96447.html
© RealClearSports 2009