Bullpen

Post-PGA talk about that one golfer...

Associated Press national columnist Jim Litke's piece on Tiger Woods:

 

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. (AP) — Everyone who wanted their pound of flesh has it now, and more.

Nearly two years into his free fall, it seemed Tiger Woods couldn't go any lower. He just did.

Love Woods or hate him, the takeaway from his second round Friday at the PGA Championship — where he shot 73 for a 10-over 150 total and missed the cut by six strokes — should be sadness. Once the greatest golfer of his generation, and arguably the best of all time, the same golf swing that thrilled millions around the globe no longer scares anyone in the field.

It's premature to pronounce Woods "done," even for this calendar year. At the latest, he will be back on the golf course by November, in the Australian Open. Maybe sooner. And if he's desperate, Woods could still pick up a tournament round or two stateside or somewhere in Europe.

But his reign as king of the hill is over, maybe for good.

Every golfer suffers through lean stretches. Woods was never like any other golfer, but he's already mired in year two of the longest drought of his professional career. He walked off the course at the Atlanta Athletic Club with his head held high; more telling was the glazed-over look in his eyes. Once he opened his mouth, the words spilled out as if delivered by a punch-drunk heavyweight, certain there was more fight left in him.

"Now I'll have nothing to do but work on my game. That's going to be good," he began.

Asked if this was a step backward, Woods conceded it was, "in the sense that I didn't make the cut and I'm not contending in the tournament.

"But it's a giant leap forward," he added a moment later, "in the fact that I played two straight weeks healthy. That's great for our practice sessions coming up. We are going to now be able to work and get after it."

He went on to parrot all the optimism and plenty of the mumbo-jumbo that his latest swing coach, Sean Foley, packages as instruction. Woods says he's "hitting the ball further and that's something I have to adjust for. I have way more compression now than I ever have, so the ball is coming off cleaner, faster and I've got to get used to that.

"So again, today was another example ... a lot of my shots I missed were over the greens, over the flags," he added.

Several went into the woods and ponds, too, and another 22 into bunkers, but who's counting? Maybe Woods is in denial. What's abundantly clear in any case is how far his game has declined.

It hasn't been a steady fall, interrupted by the occasional top five finish and time off to rehab his increasingly injured left leg. Here, though, Woods came out of the starting gate on fire, making birdies on three of his first five holes, and then skidded all the way out of the tournament. He hit the same number of fairways and greens both days — just six of 14 and 10 of 18, respectively — was slightly better saving pars out of the sand and needed one fewer putt, 28 vs. 29 on Thursday. That explained the four strokes Woods managed to shave off his opening round.

But as we noted at the end of the first day, Woods' ranking in several crucial driving, short game and putting categories have all tumbled more than 100 places since his 2009 season. He still oozes talent. What he can't produce anymore are results.

Woods and Foley have been working together for a year. Asked whether even in that short time he's convinced the changes he's undertaken will succeed in the long run, Woods replied, "Absolutely."

"So it's just a matter of just doing the work. I need to go out there and spend hours getting it done," he said.

It seems a fair question to ask whether Woods couldn't have plowed some of that work back into his game before this. Deep as the hole looked even before he stepped back out on tour two just weeks ago, it suddenly looks a whole lot deeper now.

___

Jim Litke is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jlitke @ap.org. Follow him at http://twitter.com/JimLitke

Close to 100 percent, now is the time to assess Twins

It's hard to know what to make of this Twins season.

The team has been lousy much of the time, but it is easy to blame injuries for much of that. When you spend huge chunks of time without two former American League MVPs playing — Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau —your chances of competing at a high level go down drastically.

Finally, though, it looks as if the team will be close to 100 percent to close the year. Morneau is set to return today, giving the team the slugger they long for. And Mauer has been healthy the second half of the year.

So, this might be worth watching, as the franchise gets a better assessment of what it needs for next year. This year's pieces are now almost entirely in place. Now, let's find where the holes are, and hopefully be ready to plug them in 2012.

— Pat Ruff

Eagles sign another free agent

Here I thought there is a salary cap in the NFL.

Silly me.

Every day, it seems, they sign another free agent.

On Wednesday, the Eagles agreed to terms with former New York Giants wide receiver Steve Smith on a one-year deal.

The 26-year-old Smith had 220 catches for 2,386 yards and 11 touchdowns in four seasons with the Giants. In his 2009 Pro Bowl season, he caught a franchise-record 107 passes for 1,220 yards and seven touchdowns.

Not bad.

Previously, the Eagles landed the prize of the 2011 free-agent class (former Raiders cornerbackNnamdi Asomugha), and then signed the ex-Titans defensive end Jason Babin (12½ sacks in ’10) and the Packers star defensive lineman Cullen Jenkins. They also traded for the Cardinals rising star cornerbackDominique Rodgers-Cromartie.

That's not all. 

They  brought in  ex-Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown, ex-Broncos right tackle Ryan Harris, ex-Packers tight end Donald Lee,  and the  first-round-drafted guard Danny Watkins.

A dream team?

They're favored to win the Super Bowl and why not?  And if they do, whoever is doing the "books'' should be the "Most Valuable Player.''

— Paul Christian

 

Gophers offensive line headed in right direction

For years, the University of Minnesota football team’s offense was built around big, strong and home-grown offensive lines. They allowed running backs such as Marion Barber III and Laurence Maroney to run wild.

That trend disappeared with the arrival of Tim Brewster, who never had a line that could run block.

Well, Brewster is gone now, with serious and respected football coach Jerry Kill having replaced him. Also gone is the feeling that Minnesota can’t get it done up front. The offensive line actually could be a strength for the Gophers this year, and one that thanks to some crucial signings by Kill, will only get better in years to come.

Minnesota has a true freshman (admittedly a Brewster recruit) who has a chance to start this season, Tommy Becker of Mahtomedi. Becker is a four-star recruit (five is the most stars a player can get), so he’s considered a stud. Another starter this year figures to be 6-foot-7, 305-pound redshirt freshman Jimmy Gjere of Irondale. He’s another four-star guy.

Coming next year will be two more instate studs, guys who said yes to Kill’s recruiting pitch. One is four-star monster Jonah Pirsig of Blue Earth. He goes 6-9, 300. The other is 6-3, 270-pound Isaac Hayes of Mendota Heights. Hayes is also considered formidable.

Combine talented big kids with coaches who actually know how to coach them (Kill and his longtime staff appear to have a system that works), and expect that the Gophers offensive line is getting ready to make large strides this year and beyond.

— Pat Ruff

Wait, wait and wait some more for a championship

 

How often should your team win a championship? How long have some fans had to wait between titles? SBnation.com's Jon Bois has an interesting post on that subject.

 

The weekend in state sports

The PGA Champions Tour stop in Minnesota, the 3M Championship, has quietly arrived as of Friday. Fred Couples is the favorite and will have a strong fan following, but Minnesota product Tom Lehman is another one to watch.

Canterbury Park's annual "extreme racing day" was postponed during the state government shutdown but has been rescheduled for Saturday. Camels and ostriches are among those you'll see.

Which Nick Blackburn will Twins fans see Friday night when the homestand opens against the rival White Sox? The one who is 3-0 with a 2.75 ERA against the White Sox this season, or the one who has a 1-4 record and a 7.55 ERA over his last eight starts?

The WNBA-leading Minnesota Lynx -- it still seems funny to say that -- try to keep their winning ways going on the road Sunday night against Los Angeles.

(By the way, here's a video of Thursday's final-seconds game-winning shot by 40-year-old Taj McWilliams-Franklin.)

 

Adelman or Mitchell would be good

The Minnesota Timberwolves are still without a coach, though they will have interviewed seven of them by the time this week is over.

There are some relatively big names in the group, at least if you want to live in the past. Those past-their-prime guys are Don Nelson and Larry Brown. I'd hate to see either of them get this job. Not only are they old and not likely to relate well to the youngest team in the league, but one is a free-wheeling offensive guy (Nelson) who never seemed to preach much defense, while the other is a controlling fella whose teams never seemed to score much (Brown).

There are two coaches in that list of seven who I'd be happy with the Wolves choosing. My first choice is Rick Adelman, my second Sam Mitchell.

Adelman isn't exactly a youngster, either, at 65. But he has won, doing it in a big way in Portland and in Sacramento. His offenses are relatively free-flowing (minus the zaniness of Nelson), which seems to be a prerequisite of Wolves GM David Kahn. And his teams have played enough defense to advance far in the playoffs.

One more thing to like about Adelman is that he is close to Kevin Love. Adelman's son and Love played on the same Oregon high school team. If Love likes the new coach, he figures to be more inclined to sign for the long term with Minnesota, something this franchise aches to have happen with its only All-Star.

The downside of Adelman is that so far he doesn't sound terribly interested in this job, or possibly any NBA coaching job right now. But we'll see about that, if the money is just right.

Then there's Mitchell. He coached for four-plus years in Toronto, and in 2006-07 was the NBA Coach of the Year. Directing a franchise that was never long in talent, Mitchell finished with a 156-189 record in his stint in Toronto.

There are a number of things to like about Mitchell. One is he's young, having played alongside Kevin Garnett when the Wolves were actually respectable. He is also considered hard-nosed. On a team with a bunch of young players, especially the talented but often unfocused Michael Beasley, a kick in the backside would work from a guy who has recently played in the league. Mitchell wouldn't back down from anybody on this roster.

Finally, Mitchell is someone Wolves fans could relate to and respect, as a guy they watched play for this franchise, and who did it in a workmanlike way.

Adelman or Mitchell. Either would be good. But the rest of the list — Terry Porter, Mike Woodson, Bernie Bickerstaff, Nelson and Brown — no thanks.

— Pat Ruff

NBA not looking so good

The NBA is plunging into the dog days of summer with amazingly nothing happening.

Well, unless you enjoy barristers debating the finer points of labor law as much as you do Blake Griffin throwing down another outrageous dunk. In that case, this could be the season for you, basketball's version of "Stern & Order."

Cha-chung!

Coming off perhaps its most intriguing, thrilling, satisfying year since Michael Jordan was getting ready to retire a second time, the NBA seems perfectly willing to throw it all away.

Fortunately for owners and players, few people seem to be noticing at the moment. All anyone cares about is their precious NFL solved its labor impasse in time for a slightly delayed start to training camp, salvaging every game except for one measly exhibition.

Throw in the baseball pennant races and start of college football, and it's no knock on the NBA to say that it would be a mere afterthought at this point even if the players and owners were being all warm and fuzzy with each other. They're not, of course, but it's nothing more than background noise in the current sporting environment.

Well, they're on the clock.

Christmas is the key.

John Q. Public will start to awaken from his football stupor on Dec. 25, when the NBA season really begins for most folks. Now, the schedule optimistically put out by the league a while back shows LeBron James' Miami Heat are supposed to meet Dirk Nowitzki and the champion Dallas Mavericks that day in a rematch of the NBA Finals, with the Kobe Bryant-led Lakers vs. Derrick Rose's Bulls on the undercard.

Everyone better make sure the league is up and running at full speed by that day, as if nothing happened. They can only hope most people aren't noticing all the ugliness that's going on now.

But, if the NBA is still mired in shutdown mode and all its big stars are collecting a check overseas — which the international governing body FIBA has ruled they can do as long as the lockout lasts — the fans are gonna get mad.

Really, really mad.

The kind of mad that won't be washed away if the two sides are gushing over a settlement in, say, mid-January, then rushing to play an abbreviated regular season that might not be much longer than the real cash cow, the playoffs. Or, heaven forbid, this thing drags on so long that an entire season is lost.

What a shame that would be, given the headlines of this most recent season. Miami assembling its Big Three. The playoffs turning into an exhilarating ride filled with upsets. A heavily watched finals that resulted in a satisfying result for everyone outside of South Beach.

"It seems like every year we're breaking new records for ratings," Atlanta Hawks forward Josh Smith said shortly after the playoffs ended for his team. "When you look back on the success we've had this season, it really wouldn't make any sense."

No sense, indeed.

Yet here we are. In one corner, there's Commissioner David Stern and an obstinate band of billionaires crying poverty. In the other, a bunch of sheltered, pampered athletes who make more in a week that most Americans do in a year, drawing a line in the sand for the status quo.

They've come out swinging, but all they're headed for is a trainwreck of massive proportions.

And make no mistake: This could be a knockout the NBA won't fully recover from for a decade or more.

Hey guys, in case you didn't notice, there's no "F'' or "L'' in your logo. About the only thing you've got in common with the NFL is the "N." So, if you think the fans will be ready to kiss and make up as quickly as they did following pro football's lockout, puh-leeeze, get real.

Sadly, there's little reason for optimism. The owners locked out the players when the collective bargaining agreement expired on July 1, claiming they need major changes (can you say hard salary cap?) after supposedly losing hundreds of millions of dollars last season. The players like the system the way it is and believe the owners have cooked the books to make their losses look a lot worse than they really are.

The most recent negotiating session was Monday, which turned out to be of little benefit to anyone except those who passed the bar. The owners accused the players of planning a sham decertification of their union (a la the NFL players) so they could file an antitrust lawsuit. The owners got the drop in court, filing two legal claims against the players on Tuesday.

"For the parties to reach agreement on a new CBA, the union must commit to the collective bargaining process fully and in good faith," said Adam Silver, the NBA's deputy commissioner and chief operating officer, in his best legalese.

Countered Billy Hunter, executive director of the players union, sounding very much like Silver: "We urge the NBA to engage with us at the bargaining table and to use more productively the short time we have left before the 2011-12 season is seriously jeopardized."

Of course, most of this is just legal mumbo-jumbo, of little interest to the average fan.

So, a word of warning to the hoops crowd:

You're not the NFL.

Get this thing settled before Santa delivers a nasty lump of coal.

— Paul Newberry

— Associated Press

NFL should adopt weight limit

A study a few years ago recognized something alarming about the NFL and its players.

It's their life expectancies. It's ridiculously short — 56 for NFL players as a whole, 52 for linemen. That's in stark contrast to the general population, which lives to the ripe old age of 78.

There is a primary reason for the short life span of NFL players. It's that so many of them — linemen especially — are massive and massive on purpose. They gorge themselves and bulk up by lifting weights until they reach the average size of today's linemen, which is in the 300-pound range.

Three-hundred pounds, no matter how tall and broad you are, is way too taxing on a person's heart. It can also lead to other health problems, such as diabetes.

There seems a simple way to solve a problem that has not just touched the NFL, but college and high school football as well. It's to put a mandatory weight limit on all players, something like 285 pounds. If you tip the scale at more than that, you're not eligible to play.

The weight limit would do nothing to detract from today's game. In fact, linemen would look and play with even more speed than they do now, minus those extra pounds. And it would go a long way toward allowing players to live longer, healthier lives once their playing days are done.

— Pat Ruff