Double Drivel 8-24-10 issue

Mike’s Commentary: In my opinion, it’s official. Tiger Woods’ career has hit rock bottom. Woods has played in 9 tournaments this year and has only finished in the top 10 twice. He hasn’t had a top 10 finish since the US Open two months ago. The poor guy has only won $850,000 in prize money during the 2010 season. What’s he going to do? He has gone from being the most revered player on tour that was expected to win every time he took to the links, to just another golfer participating in a tournament.  This downturn in Tiger’s game has mostly been credited to his off-course troubles with his infidelities and impending divorce, but I would suggest there were signs of his demise even before that. Does anybody remember the 2010 PGA tournament? That was the first time in Tiger’s career that he lost a 54-hole lead in a major tournament as YE Yang outdueled him on that day. I think that exposed a chink in Tiger’s armor. Golf is about 90% mental and Tiger usually had the tournament won on the first tee when his opponents were hyperventilating and their palms were sweating because they had to play him. Now that air of invincibility is gone. Will Tiger recover? I would bet yes. After all, he is still the number one ranked player in the world. And he is one of only 12 players to make the cut in all four majors this year and he had the highest average finish in those majors at 14.75. Will Tiger be the dominant force that he has been for the past 15 years? I doubt it. But, I do expect him to win many more tournaments before he is done. 
—It appears that it will be another year that fan favorite, Dale Earnhardt Jr., does not make the Chase with a chance to compete for NASCAR’s title over the final 12 races.  I know that non-Junior fans love this because they think he gets special treatment from NASCAR and they think that he gained his legion of fans from being his daddy’s boy and they think he is way overrated as a racecar driver. I am as big a Dale Earnhardt Jr. fan as anybody, but Junior getting special treatment from NASCAR? I have never seen this. Did he gain his popularity for who he is and not for what he’s done. There is some truth in this. Many of the Dale Sr. fans became fans of Dale Jr. as he won two Busch championships and started into what is now the NEXTEL Cup Series. Many more of the Intimidator’s fans became Dale Jr. fans when Dale Sr. was killed in a last-lap wreck at the 2001 Daytona 500. Junior instantly became the torch carrier for one of the most famous names in motorsports. To gain these fans because of  their allegiance to his father is one thing. To keep these fans is another story. Junior has won little over the past handful of years and hasn’t ever seriously challenged for a Cup title, but yet he remains immensely popular. Because of his down-home and “aw shucks” nature and because he is just generally a nice guy, he is still NASCAR’s most popular driver. In no other sport would this happen. Even though the Yankees are the most popular baseball team in MLB, if they go as many years without winning as the Pirates have gone, this popularity would wane. If Tiger Woods goes a few more years without winning, he will no longer be the most popular player in golf.
Lastly, is Dale Earnhardt Jr. overrated as a driver? I don’t think this is true either. After all, he has won 18 races in Cup action, so obviously he has talent. I watched him last week at Michigan and I would venture a guess that not too many drivers would be able to drive the junk he had that day and keep the car off the wall for 400 miles. It is a shame that he is driving for the most successful organization in NASCAR and Rick Hendrick won’t put him in a better car than what he has been in. Oh well, the legions of us that are true Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans will continue to root for him and will gear up and look forward to better days in 2011.