Michael Phelps at the Beijing Olympics

The 2008 games as a whole weren’t bigger than the hype surrounding Michael Phelps and his quest for eight gold medals in one Olympiad. He won eight total medals at the Athens games in 2004, but only six were gold. Two of the record eight gold medals Phelps won were in dramatic fashion. One took place in 4 x 100 relay where his teammate Jason Lezak came back to beat the French team by eight hundredths of a second. The other happened 100 meter butterfly where Phelps had just enough of a reach to touch the wall before Milorad Cavic. Phelps’ time 50.58. Cavic’s time 50.59. A damn good performance for the new record holder.

2008 & 2009 Wimbledon Finals

Roger Federer had it all in 2008. He was looking for his sixth consecutive Wimbledon title and had beaten Rafael Nadal the last two years. In fact, Nadal had never beaten Federer on the grass surface. Nadal had Federer early winning the first two sets. Federer would rally to even up the match to a fifth set. There were three rain delays that threatened to suspend play due to darkness. It all came to an end though with just under five hours played Nadal wins the fifth set 9-7 when Federer’s forehand hit the net. Federer was denied a sixth consecutive Wimbledon, but Nadal made it a moment for the ages.

As if the 2008 Wimbledon wasn’t exciting enough. The following year saw Federer return to reclaim Wimbledon and was going for a record 20th grand slam title. There was no Rafael Nadal this time due to injury, but Andy Roddick was looking for his first Wimbledon title and wasn’t going to give in to history that easily. Roddick got the first set. Federer won the next two sets on tiebreakers. Roddick would force a fifth set winning the fourth 6-3. Roddick and Federer wouldn’t give an inch to each other. The fifth set alone went on for more than 2 hours. In the end, Federer outlasted Roddick for his record 20th slam title. The greatest tennis player of all time had to earn it and Roddick solidified himself as a true gamer in tennis.

George Mason in the Final Four

The 2006 tournament had its Cinderella story. They stormed through as an eleven seed not being on most experts radars. When it came time for their game in the Elite 8 of the tournament, they had to face Connecticut who had a record of 30-3 entering the tourney. The Huskies have been a formidable team the past decade in college basketball. Both rosters were worlds apart when it came to size and talent, but George Mason didn’t care about those. They played hard the entire game going into overtime. Shocking the basketball world and Connecticut they advanced to the Final Four with a 86-84 victory. A mid major had done the unthinkable and earned a spot for the national title.

Red Sox win not one, but two titles

Who would’ve thought it would ever happen. Eighty six years since the last title. The Babe Ruth curse. Bucky bleepin Dent and all that great history makes for an even bigger event when they finally do win a title. 2004 was the first one in dramatic fashion just to get there. Down 3-0 to the hated Yankees in the ALCS, they came back to win the series 4-3 to advance. They swept the Cardinals in the World Series to clinch the first one. The second came in 2007 in relatively less dramatic fashion, but another sweep in the Series against the Colorado Rockies. The ALCS again that year was tougher than the Series. Down 3 games to 2 to the Cleveland Indians, they came back to win when the Indians were so close. Amazingly Boston became a powerhouse when they were a laughing stock for 86 years.

2003 Fiesta Bowl

A great game that tragically had a controversial pass interference call ruin some, but not all of it. It was the national title in College Football between Miami (Fla.) and Ohio State. Miami was looking for its second consecutive title and become only the third school to accomplish that in the last 35 years. Alas it didn’t happen as the Buckeyes thanks to the controversial call, tied the game at 24. It took double overtime for the Ohio State to score the winning touchdown winning the title 31-24. The only title game to go into overtime to decide the winner. It’s too bad most remember the call and not the game. Great from start to finish.

Lance Armstrong

It’s simple. Seven straight Tour De France titles, six in this decade. In half of them he had to make a comeback or avoid crashes that could have halted his chance of winning. We all know his story, but we do forget how grueling this race is not just for a cancer survivor, but for the average joe. Over 2,200 miles that spans through the country side, mountains and city streets that lasts almost a month. And you thought riding your bike back and forth to work was tough. Lance is a true hero and a legendary athlete. Not many get to have both of those titles.

Tiger wins on one leg

Torrey Pines was the sight of the 2008 US Open Golf Tournament. Tiger Woods was to many peoples surprise not himself. He had returned sooner than expected from reconstructive knee surgery, but in the process suffered a double stress fracture of his left tibia. He winced through every tee shot, chip and putt to force a playoff with Rocco Mediate. They had to play 18 more holes to decide the winner. How you can play through such pain is unknown to most. Jack Youngblood comes to mind. A defensive lineman who played through a broken leg in the conference championship game and the Super Bowl for Rams back in the 1980s. Tiger showed determination and grit when others would’ve called it a day.

Annika Sorenstam 2003 Colonial

She was on her way to becoming the greatest golfer on the LPGA. She was given the invitation to participate in the Bank of America Colonial golf tournament. A tournament on the PGA tour. Annika become the first women since Babe Zaharias in 1945 to participate in a PGA tournament. Some on the PGA tour wrongly criticized her participation, but she played her best and was a crowd favorite. She finished short of the cut, placing 96th out 111. Her best accomplishments are her 10 major championships in the LPGA. Eight were won in this decade alone. Her retirement was a sad time for not just the LPGA, but the entire golf world.

Super Bowl XXXIV

The Rams and Titans were two relative nobodies in the NFL. The Rams had recently moved from LA to St. Louis. The Titans moved from Houston as the Oilers to Tennessee to become the Titans. Tennessee went through the AFC with ease. St. Louis had to win with their defense, not their offense to beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Championship. They both met in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia with a lot of uncertainty as to what kind of game would you be seeing. Alas it was a defensive game until the Rams blew the game wide open with a quick 70 yard plus touchdown pass by Kurt Warner to Isaac Bruce putting the Rams up 23-16 with two minutes to play. The Titans Steve McNair would not give in as he led them on a perfect two minute drill to set up wide receiver Kevin Dyson who was unfortunately just one yard short of tying the game. The decade of great Super Bowls started with this one and it should be noted.

Kobe Bryant 2nd to Chamberlain

The only reason I can say why I missed this game is that the Super Bowl was on. I know, a lame excuse, but it was during Super Bowl XXXVI. Anyway Kobe was his usual self scoring at will. He had 26 points at halftime losing 63-49 to the Toronto Raptors. No one had thought the fury of Bryant would be unleashed in the second half as he single handily brought the Lakers back in the game and in the process was going for history. A total of 55 points was scored by Kobe in the second half. If you do the math, he scored 81 of the Lakers 122 points. He outscored every Raptors player in the second half. Kobe adds to his soon to be Hall of Fame resume with a stunning performance on perhaps the best night in sports this decade.

Normally when you are great at the job you do. You make a lot of money doing it. Everybody idolizes you and respects you no matter what. You have a family and are set for the rest of your lives after you retire from your job. You wouldn’t throw that all away, right. Well, some have and will continue to do that. Tiger Woods is the latest to get caught in the web of cheating and temptation that has and will always plague athletes til the end of time. The circumstances of his though are truly rare. Rarely do they get caught by their own wife instead of having been outed by the media.

The day after Thanksgiving around 2:30 in the morning. He crashes his Cadillac just outside of his property in Florida. The concern is of course whether or not Tiger is okay. However, within 24 hours though, the paparazzi and TMZ’s of the world convened on the scene and immediately began speculation that more was at play here. The story originally was that Tiger’s SUV sped out of control hit the fire hydrant near his property and stopped after hitting a nearby tree. He was laying on the pavement with his wife hovering over him when police and paramedics arrived. His wife had used a golf club to smash one of the back windows to get him out of the car. The only injuries to Tiger were minor cuts to his mouth. The police wanted to talk to Tiger and his wife Elin to discuss the details of how the crash came about. Understandably they declined to talk to them Friday because Tiger had just gotten out of the hospital. But they also declined to talk to them on Saturday and Sunday.

Now my first thought when I heard the original story was that Tiger must have been really tired or really plastered. Alcohol was ruled out soon thereafter. Then with the matter of his wife smashing not just one, but both back windows to get him out. Have you ever heard of the spare key. Click the unlock button, you can get him out much easier that way. If alcohol wasn’t involved, they don’t want to talk to the cops and both back windows were smashed out with a golf club. What was so important that you had to go driving at 2:30 in the morning? All Tiger needed to do was explain what happened not to the public, but to the police if he had nothing to hide. Unfortunately he did.

Reports came out that he was seeing a club promoter from New York, who she denies having an affair with Tiger Woods. Another person from Los Angeles handed over a voice message that she claims is Tiger telling her to take her name off her number when she calls him. Now that all this has come out, Tiger then goes on his website and says this:

“I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart. I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves. I am not without faults and I am far short of perfect. I am dealing with my behavior and personal failings behind closed doors with my family. Those feelings should be shared by us alone.”

He does not mention what he is apologizing, but does continue with this gem:

“But no matter how intense curiosity about public figures can be, there is an important and deep principle at stake which is the right to some simple, human measure of privacy. I realize there are some who don’t share my view on that. But for me, the virtue of privacy is one that must be protected in matters that are intimate and within one’s own family. Personal sins should not require press releases and problems within a family shouldn’t have to mean public confessions.”

I agree we all deserve our privacy, but don’t try to think that you can brush your troubles on the media. The media didn’t have an affair (allegedly). That’s rich that he or the people giving him advice are suggesting that there is absolutely nothing bad going on here by apologizing for his “transgressions” and that this is being blown out of proportion by the media looking to ruin him. You have managed to stay one step ahead of the tabloids, but they were always two steps behind you looking for you to trip and fall. For the record, Dictionary.com defines “transgression” as a violation of a law, command, or duty. Interesting choice of words there.

This whole incident has changed Tiger. He declined to play in his own tournament in Thousand Oaks, California that benefits his own foundation. The guy actually is avoiding the one thing that would be considered his sanctuary. Fellow golfer Jesper Parnevik (he wears the colorful outfits) today got off this gem about Tiger Woods. He had introduced Elin Nordegren to Tiger.

“I would be especially sad about it since I’m kind of — I really feel sorry for Elin — since me and my wife were at fault for hooking her up with him,” Parnevik said. “We probably thought he was a better guy than he is. I would probably need to apologize to her and hope she uses a driver next time instead of the 3-iron.”

He added this zinger:

“It’s a private thing of course,” he said. “But when you are the guy he is, the world’s best athlete, you should think more before you do stuff … And maybe not just do it, like Nike says.”

Oh no he didn’t. Jesper doing his best stand up. That will make things interesting at the clubhouse of the next tournament they both play in. Now I’m just speculating. This is not what actually happened. It’s just a theory of mine. Elin finds out about the affair(s) during or after Thanksgiving dinner. She later confronts him. He denies and she flips. Things are said, things are thrown. It continues outside where she has a driver, Tiger gets into the car. Elin smashes both back windows. Tiger freaks out, proceeds down the driveway hitting the hydrant and tree. Realizing what was going to be perceived as a domestic disturbance, they both go with the original story explained above and try to brush it under the rug. Again this is just speculation.

Now what would make a man have an affair when he is married with two children. Ask Steve McNair or Rick Pitino. When it comes to others trying to bring you down, take Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps. A frat boy releases a photo of him smoking some hippie lettuce in a dorm. The photo released just after setting Olympic records in Beijing. Phelps right away owned it and didn’t try to down play it or cover it up. Tiger should have taken a page out of that playbook and owned it first with his wife. Then tell the story to the public before others tell it for him. I could be a public relations person, but I would never have come up with a bit that included “transgressions.” That was a new one.

If you’ve seen my other columns, you can tell that I don’t like steroid users. Especially those that lie or try to cover it up in some way. Well, thanks to Floyd Mayweather Jr., who beat the urine drinker Juan Manuel Marquez (yes he does) this past Saturday. I can no longer hide my disdain for those who bring race into the discussion of why they’re disliked so much. It’s difficult enough to talk about racism in a civilized way now a days. For those, like Mayweather, who go out of their way to use racism as the reason why they are not liked as much as other athletes of a different skin color sickens me. My reason for this column comes directly from Mayweather’s mouth a few days before his fight against Marquez Saturday. He calmly told reporters what he thinks has been unfair treatment from the media and the public, based on his race.

“If you’re rich, you’re a rich n—–,” he said. “If you’re poor, you’re a poor n—-. If you’re smart, you’re a smart n—–. At the end of the day, they still look at me as a n—–.”

He compares race to his last fight against Ricky Hatton in England.

“This country needs to be more positive,” he said. “We’re already at war. We’re in a recession, we’re at war and we continue to be negative. The fans in the UK showed me more love than in my own country. That’s crazy … Sometimes I’ll sit back, I’ll be in my theater sometimes, and I’ll think: ‘Imagine if I was the same fighter that I am, and I was the same person that I am, and I was from another country. Can you just imagine how big I’d be?’

“But I wouldn’t change my life for nothing in the world. There’s nothing like being young, black and rich. But there are certain things you think about. If Floyd Mayweather was white, I’d be the biggest athlete in America. The biggest, the biggest. I know that for a fact.”

He went on further by saying Oscar De La Hoya never gets criticized by the media.

“One thing you never hear. You never hear anything negative about Oscar De La Hoya,” he said. “Anything he do negative, it gets swept under the rug.”

He also managed to jab (pardon the pun) HBO Boxing analyst Larry Merchant, “he don’t know nothing about boxing,” and the worst was to Emmanuel Steward, “He’s an Uncle Tom.”

Now the most beautiful, and I’m being sarcastic when I say “beautiful,” thing about this tirade is the fact that Mayweather just doesn’t get it. He never will. When you talk about “I’ll be in my theater sometimes, and I’ll think.” And this gem, “There’s nothing like being young, black and rich.” What is a person supposed to think when you say things like that and you try to include race into your argument? People don’t like you because you come off as arrogant, asinine and selfish. Mayweather did a correspondent piece for Jim Rome and his TV show a few years ago. Here is a quote that will always be played in the back of mind, “You know I keeps a private jet.” Yeah, I’m sure you do with a theater in it to.

There are legitimate reasons why they dislike you. The ones I mentioned above plus you play in a dying if not a dead sport. Boxing is gone in my mind. It ended when I saw Mike Tyson bite both of Evander Holyfield’s ears off. That was it. It has become too flashy with the weigh-ins and the pre-fight pressers. It’s all drama and when the fight actually starts, it bores you to death with the stupid chess game. Guys, it seems to me, go out and try not to ruin their pretty faces. I’m not accusing anyone of throwing a fight, but that’s the impression I get watching most fights now a days. If your going to throw racism into the discussion irresponsibly, you will and should get called on it.

Yes, there are those that still live in the Pre-Civil Rights era. It’s true, but to put everyone into the same group is just dumb in my opinion. Those that want to blame their trials and tribulations on a different race, look no further than to the President of the United States Barack Obama. He is of color and he is in that position only forty years after the Civil Rights Movement. Some thought it would never happen in this country, but it did. Tiger Woods is probably the greatest golfer ever. He is also of color and is in a predominately white sport. Jackie Robinson changed Baseball and really the entire culture by his play and the way he conducted himself on and off the field. You want an example of minorities making it to the top without race getting in their way. I give you three. I could give you many more.

Mayweather, Milton Bradley who was suspended by the Cubs for his comments about the organization and fans. Saying, “you understand why they haven’t won in 100 years here.” Bradley has really complained everywhere he has been in the MLB. Most of the time it doesn’t include him playing the race card, but he needs to get his act together and realize that’s how it works in this culture. You don’t perform, you don’t get the love. It’s not because of your color. If that’s what you want to believe that’s your problem. Kanye West is another one with his act at the VMA’s. I could say that his act was racist because the person he upstaged (Taylor Swift) was white. But I won’t. It wasn’t racist, just stupid. Would it be brought down on a white person if they upstaged someone of color like that. Absolutely. Legitimately or not. Enough with the branding and blaming. Just perform, keep low and do plenty of good things outside of sports that will outweigh the bad. Example: Serena Williams and her scathing of a line judge at the US Open.