Tiger Woods: In Good Condition Despite Early Reports

Tiger Woods was not seriously injured despite initial reports about the top golfer's car accident outside his Orlando home. Woods only sustained facial lacerations and other minor injuries which is a complete relief from earlier news about the wreck. The latest reports say early this morning, Woods was backing out his driveway in his 2009 cadillac escalade and hit a fire hydrant. His wife reportedly heard the car crash and ran outside and helped him out of the vehicle by smashing the car window with a golf club. He was admitted to the hospital and soonafter he was released according to his publicist.

So why were earlier reports so wrong? How did minor injuries turn into serious injuries? Wow! It just goes to show how important fact checking is in major stories. Watching coverage of the accident all day, I noticed a high level of panic about Woods' future and whether he'll ever play again. Well the answer is yes; He'll play and win a lot more majors. Woods is the most famous athlete today and he'll bounce back despite the facial lacerations. Woods basically had a minor mishap which was obvious considering the initial details of the story. I'm glad he's okay and I think the story should go away because I'm sure Woods wants to put this incident behind him.

Tiger Woods' Car Accident: Seriously Injured

I'm always taken aback when I hear celebrities or sports stars getting into the typical misfortunes of regular Joes. Today for instance, the world's best golfer Tiger Woods is in serious condition after a car accident right outside his home in Orlando. Initial reports say charges are pending in the case and Woods may have been the only one involved in the accident which may have involved him hitting a fire hydrant and then running into a neighbors tree. He was reportedly driving a 2009 cadillac escalade and his airbags did not deploy which indicates everything went wrong for Woods in this accident. It all seems really minor considering his car was the only one involved and couldn't have been going more than 35mph coming out of his driveway but multiple reports say he is in serious condition.

Not much more has been revealed about the accident which comes a day after Thanksgiving; and surely during holidays you hate to hear bad news. I'm confident no matter how serious the injuries are that Tiger Woods will recover and bounce back. I was relieved to hear that alcohol was not a factor and I knew it immediately because Tiger is a smart guy and I doubt he would risk his career by driving drunk.

Woods is a 33 year old golf phenom currently ranked the number 1 golfer in the world. He joined the PGA tour in 1996 and has won 14 major championships and is a two time Fed Ex Cup champion. In 2008, he earned a reported $110 million in earnings and this year in 09' hit the one billion dollar mark. His accomplishments elevated because he achieved so much so quickly. He has 71 PGA tour wins third on the all time list. I reiterate, I'm confident no matter how serious the injuries, Tiger Woods will be back and I'm glad alcohol was not a factor. The Orlando Sentinel, ESPN and CNN are the sources of this report.

Allen Iverson's Retirement: The Result of a Bad Reputation

Let's not be coy about Allen Iverson's decision to retire. Although he is a future hall of famer who led the Sixers to the 2001 NBA finals and has the choice to call it quits whenever he wants, Iverson's retirement is the result of the negative image he's built over the years; and he is being forced out of the league. Iverson always had swagger from his playing days at Georgetown. He presented an attitude of confidence but more arrogance. But why not? He had exceptional abilities considering his small six foot 180 pound small frame.

The 10 time NBA All-Star has undoubtedly stamped an image of his excellence in the minds of basketball fans. He's tallied over 24 thousand points and nearly two-thouand steals in his career and his name comes up when considering the best players of the last decade. But the other image Iverson stamped in the minds of many was that of a troublesome player who couldn't win it all because he didn't exhibit the team player mindset. While he was a franchise player for the Sixers, his critics would say he was never a leader. This poisonous image stemmed from his battles with Larry Brown about practicing. With the sixers, Iverson made public statements about not wanting to practice with his team because he felt he didn't need to do so in order to gain success. I'm not quite sure his college coach, John Thompson, agreed with him. But of course hearing Iverson pick and choose when he wanted to practice didn't sway public favor towards him for obvious reasons. He then moved on to play with Denver in 2006 followed by Detroit in 08' and a three game career with Memphis this season. He was unhappy playing with the Pistons and the Grizzlies because he was coming off the bench.

He parted ways the Grizzlies this season wanting and expecting to get picked up by another team. While the New York Knicks showed strong interest in Iverson they were the only ones. The Knicks eventually decided against picking up Iverson claiming he would take playing time away from the younger players who need to develop. But his critics say it's because he's a drama filled athlete who would be a negative influence on the players in the locker room. The Knicks have had their fair share of drama filled players. Most recently Stephon Marbury who is currently a free agent, caused a lot of infighting with the dysfunctional Knicks feuding with both Larry Brown and Isiah Thomas. Not to say Iverson and Marbury's situations are equally comparable but if Iverson's critics are correct, the Knicks may have wanted to avoid issues that would arise from a very "opinionated" player like Iverson on the squad.

Last year, Iverson averaged 17 points per game for the Pistons and his former coach George Karl said he's surprised no one is giving him a chance. But if you consider the fact more and more sports teams in and out of the league are opting to avoid troubled players despite their talent, this isn't much of a surprise. Iverson is 34 years old and even though he would make an immediate contribution to any team on or off the bench for most teams he simply isn't worth the risk.

According to the report about the retirement from NBA analyst Stephen A. Smith, Iverson still believes he has a lot of skill left in the tank. His statement to Smith indicates he wants to play but since no team has interest, it's better to save face and just retire rather than stay a free agent with diminished hopes that a team will take him. I'm almost certain this isn't the way Iverson envisioned leaving the league but it's the reality. Perhaps this isn't the end for Iverson; who still has talent; and of course it wouldn't be the first time a player returned from retirement. But by the way everything transpired it really just seems like it's over.

Congratulations New York Yankees!!!!!!!

The New York Yankees won their 27th World Series last night in a 7-3 win over the Defending Champions Philadelphia Phillies. It was a fitting win for a team which hadn't won the title in nearly a decade. Hideki Matsui was named the series MVP and if you watched the game at any point in the first four innings you would've seen why. His performance last night combined with what he had accomplished throughout the series without question made him the most deserving player on the NYY squad. Matsui tied the WS record with six RBIs, the most significant of them hit off Pedro Martinez. You can literally say Hideki Matsui owned Pedro Martinez.

They did it at the new Yankee stadium, under manager Joe Girardi, who also won the world series three times as a player. It was a memorable night for Yankee fans who were perhaps ultimately glad that the Phillies forced a game six so their team could return to the Bronx and win it in front of all the fans. Celebrities and Political powers in attendance included Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Regis Philbin, Donald Trump, and many more.

But getting back to the baseball side of things, WOW!!! They did it again. And finally Alex Rodriguez gets the playoff monkey off his back with his great performance during the post-season. Amidst all the steroid chatter and admissions which preceded the season, it seems like everything is all behind him and the world is right.

Another side story is the declining health of Yankees owner George Steinnbrenner. He was unable to make the trip from his home in Tampa but it is his efforts and money which brought this team together and made it the unbeatable contender. The amount of talent the Yankees brought in this year alone guaranteed them a championship and Steinbrenner was probably celebrating big time back in Florida.

I'm glad to see the Yankees win; unlike many others who immediately began talking about how New York's $200 million payroll gave them the automatic edge over any team. It may be true to an extent but then you have to look at the Florida Marlins, the team able to do it twice with the lowest payroll in MLB. The Marlins are my favorite team by far and despite the fact that they have the lowest payroll, I have no angst against the Yanks for being well managed, having an owner who wants his team and the community taken care of, and having players who have a sheer passion to win. So congratulations to the 2009 World Series Champion New York Yankees for winning their 27th title.

Brandon Spikes' Eye Gouging: A Half Game is Not Enough

I was literally stunned when I saw Florida Linebacker Brandon Spikes attempting to gouge the eyes of Georgia runningback Washaun Ealy in the Gators win over the Bulldogs on Saturday. I don't know Spikes personally, but from interviewing him and hearing all the positive comments he receives from his coaches and teammates, seeing the video of him sticking his fingers into the helmet of Ealy was very disturbing. Although I feel a half game suspension is not enough, I'm not going to go as far to say that he should be suspended for more than one game. I think a one game suspension would have sufficed considering what he did, his apology, and the fact that Ealy himself said he doesn't think Spikes should have been suspended at all. The Florida program actually handed down the half suspension and the Southeastern conference agreed with the decision.

I've heard and seen a lot from the media about Spikes' suspension being too light considering Oregon running back LaGarrett Blount's season long suspension for sucker punching a Boise State Defensive end after the Ducks' lost early this season. I think the two situations differ and shouldn't be compared because one incident occurred during the game where the emotion was high and the other occurred after the game where tensions were also high but there was also premeditation on the part of Blount. Quite honestly, I think Blount's suspension was too harsh anyway but it was the Oregon program which handed down the ruling.

In no way am I defending Spikes. In fact he could have caused serious damage had he actually punctured the eyes of Ealy. But I can't be sure his actions were premeditated which is a very important argument when evaluating this situation. Also, I don't agree with the comments about there being a double standard just because Florida is the number one team in the nation. Who cares? If the NCAA felt the suspension was too light, they could have stretched it out to a full game or more but they didn't. So all the whining about there being a double standard is absurd. The fact of the matter is, Spikes apologized, Ealy is fine, and a ruling was handed down which was fine with the SEC. So my final word is Spikes learned from this situation, it'll probably never happen again, and all the innuendo about the suspension being unfair should end.