Return of the Masters Master
Tiger's finally back, and the sports world is better for it
Apr 14, 2019, 2:06 pm
Tiger Woods. Getty Images.
This is why we love sports.
A dominant athlete becomes a transcendental star and elevates his sport. Then he falls from grace, only to find redemption over a decade later.
The sports world has been begging for Tiger Woods to win another major golf tournament. Woods moves the needle like few athletes, and TV ratings, page views and newspaper sales benefit from it.
Sunday, however, it was all about Woods. It was a story of persistence, redemption and skill, and it brought us one of those sports moments that will be remembered for a long time.
Woods' long road back from a very public divorce, multiple injuries and ineffectiveness came on a magical Sunday afternoon where he made shot after big shot, while younger challengers made their moves and fell off, as Woods won the Masters by one stroke.
It is simply one of the greatest comebacks in sports. With 11 years between majors, Woods is finally all the way back.
Back on track
Woods finished at -13 over the four rounds, getting three birdies on the back nine to close out the win. He won his 15th major title, and his fifth Masters, one fewer than Jack Nicklaus for first all time. Now, the race to catch Nicklaus' 18 major titles is back on. Just 11 years ago, it looked like it would be a lock. Then it looked like it would never happen. Now, every major tournament takes on meaning again. Everyone will pay attention to see what Tiger does next. I am like a lot of people; if Tiger has a chance, I will watch. If not? Just not that interested. He made Sunday more than interesting.
A win for golf
Yes, golf needed this. Tiger made the sport relevant in ways it had never seen before and had not seen since. New golf courses cropped up everywhere. Young athletes chose golf over other sports. Tiger inspired a generation of new players.
And now, he can do it again. This was not the dominant Tiger of the past; this was a player who used his knowledge of the course and experience to pull off an amazing win.
It all turned on No. 12, when leader Francesco Molinari put his tee shot in water. Woods did the smart thing, putting his shot in the middle of the green and taking a two-putt par. From there, he was almost perfect, with only a hiccup on 18 that he had room for thanks to a two-shot lead. It was a clinic in smart golf.
Even he did not see it coming
Even Tiger thought he was done thanks to his back injury. Ten years ago I made a joking prediction that he would never win another major. As the injuries mounted, it looked like that would be the case. But he got healthy, and was close last year in two majors.
Sunday, he broke through in a big way. It was fun to watch, and I was happy to see that failed prediction come crashing down.
All about Tiger
It is an amazing story. Golf is now interesting again. The sports world got what it wanted; Tiger is back in a big way. But in the end, it was not about that. It was about Tiger himself, making history and doing what we have missed all these years - creating a major sports moment.
Welcome back, Tiger. Let's hope there is a lot more to come.
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What Houston Texans must do to steal a signature upset win over Lions
Nov 7, 2024, 4:02 pm
It's no secret that the Houston Texans are having some real issues with protection, which is causing CJ Stroud's numbers to dip and the team to lose games.
Stroud has only tossed one touchdown pass over his last three contests, which clearly isn't sustainable if the Texans want to compete with the top teams in the AFC.
After watching the Texans film from last Thursday's game against the Jets, NBC Sports' Chris Simms noticed some issues plaguing the Houston offense.
Simms was quick to point out that he believes Texans OC Bobby Slowik is “not doing enough” to help CJ Stroud. He sees Houston's offense as a very basic version of the Shanahan scheme, which opposing defenses have seemingly figured out when attacking Houston's protections.
He would also like for Stroud to take over the role of calling out the protections, instead of leaving it up to the center. In this case, it's Juice Scruggs making the calls. A second-year player that has less experience in the Texans' offense than Stroud. (Scruggs missed about half of last season due to injury, and spent time at guard).
Simms makes the case that since Stroud is not in charge of protection, he may not know where the pressure is coming from.
ESPN's DJ Bien-Aime recently confirmed that this is not the case. Scruggs does make the calls, but Stroud knows what the protection calls are. He referenced a story from September where guard Shaq Mason discussed this very topic.
Here’s right guard Shaq Mason confirming this from a story back on Sept 11. pic.twitter.com/maBNAAJzMM
— DJ Bien-Aime (@Djbienaime) November 7, 2024
So if Stroud is fully aware of the protection calls on each play, it would suggest that the poor left guard play, and the predictability of the Texans sliding protections when they get certain looks as the main problems Bobby Slowik has to get corrected.
Jarrett Patterson should start at left guard this week after returning from a concussion. That could immediately give the o-line a boost, even if he's just average. If Patterson does play a decent game, and Stroud is still running for his life, Slowik and his scheme will have nowhere to hide.
Be sure to watch the Simms video above as he shows some examples from the Jets game to illustrate his points.
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