Never A Doubt

Watching Tiger Woods in person is an experience every true sports fan should have.

"The quality of golf you're going to see today is absolutely staggering," said David Feherty who has been covering the PGA Tour for CBS Sports for since 1997 yet he says he's still doesn't believe some of the things he witnesses when covering Tiger Woods.

Once again this week, I was assigned to assist CBS announcer David Feherty as he walked with today's final pairing of Padraig Harrington and Tiger Woods. It was fitting that these two were leading the World Golf Championship at Firestone Country Club because you could argue that over the last year these two have been the most dominant in the world. Harrington won the British Open and the PGA Championship in 2008 while Woods has won four tournaments in 2009.

At the beginning of the round today Harrington was -10 which was three shots ahead of his playing partner Woods. Even though Padraig was used to the pressure of a final round lead, he was playing with Woods on a course that he had won six times before.

Many times Tiger hurts himself with his driver but on the front nine he hit every fairway except for one. He got off to a hot start as he eagled the par 5 second and birdied No.4 and No.5 to pull ahead of Harrington at -11. Usually, when Tiger challenges an opposing player in the final round they submit pretty quickly but not Harrington. Even when Tiger birdied No.9 to take a two shot lead, Padraig never lost his focus.

Both players matched each other on the next three holes but then then Tiger began to lose command of his driver. As I watched his drive off the the 13th tee sail over my head, I could tell it was heading right which means big trouble.

Luckily, it got a fortunate bounce back in the fairway but ultimately put him too far away from the green to challenge the tucked away pin. Harrington put his second shot in the middle of the green while Tiger flew his shot over his target. Padraig parred and Tiger bogeyed.

On 14th tee, Tiger once again sprayed his drive out of the fairway while Padraig put his drive a fairway bunker. Tiger's second shot forced him to have a near impossible third just to the right of the green. Once again Padraig pars and Tiger bogeys. Before the previous two holes Woods hadn't had a bogey in 22 holes. So to bogey in this situation was very un-Tiger-like.

As they approached the Par 5 16th hole, Harrington was clinging to a one shot lead. Both teed off but yet again neither found the fairway. This historical hole that measures 667 yards downhill with a small pond guarding the green was a hole that Tiger had to birdie to out duel Padraig.

I stood with Feherty in the middle of the fairway a few yards from where Tiger was about to attempt his all important third shot. He had 181 yards to flag. I got the signal from my fellow spotter that Tiger had an 8 iron and I relayed that to Feherty so that he could use that on the air. His third shot was near perfect as he landed it just over the pond and spun it back within a foot for birdie.

Meanwhile, Harrington had a very tough lie for his third in the fairway rough. In short, he put it over the green which the wrong place to miss. He bladed his fourth into the water and had to walk back in the fairway to his his sixth. All the while Tiger is calmly standing by waiting to tap in his birdie put from inside the grip. Padraig would triple-bogey and Tiger would birdie the crucial 16th. Game over. Ten minutes before that Tiger was down a shot and now he was ahead by three.

As both players parred the 17th hole I walked with Tiger and Feherty off the green onto the 18th tee box. By this time, the entire gallery of thousands had gathered to watch Tiger finish off Padraig to win his seventh World Golf Championship.

Two perfect drives. As we stood in the middle of the fairway with the last group Tiger pulled out a 9 iron and put his approach four feet from the cup. I stayed back in the fairway to watch for the second week in a row Tiger tipping his cap to the cheering gallery that surrounded the 18th green. Harrington tapped in his par and Tiger finished off his round with his fifth birdie of the day. I made my way down the rope-line to where the players exit just as Tiger tipped his cap to the crowd one more time and walked past me to sign his scorecard to capture his 70th win of his career.

A Fitting Farewell

For the last 50 years, the Buick Open has been a staple on the PGA Tour. Held in Grand Blanc, Michigan

the Buick Open is considered one of the favorites by the players because of the rowdy atmosphere that surrounds Warwick Hills Country Club.

Sadly, the people here in Michigan have gotten the worst of our economic recession which has forced the PGA Tour to announce that this will be the final year of the Buick Open.

Nevertheless, the game's greatest player, Tiger Woods, decided to enter the field in search of his third Buick Open title. Without Tiger the field this week would have been a below average one, but with him everything changes.

Coming into today, Tiger was in the lead by one shot which usually means certain victory for him. In 36 tournaments in which he has the lead going into the final round, he's 35-1 in his career. So it wasn't a stretch to say Tiger would win his 69th career tournament today against a much weaker field.

Today, I was assigned to assist CBS announcer David Feherty on the course which is different than my usual duties of spotting a group. Basically, my job was to shadow Feherty around the course with a portable tv monitor so that he could announce from anywhere while watching the broadcast.

Walking with Feherty reminded me of how popular he is on the PGA Tour because of his unique comedic analysis of the golf he watches. At any given moment he'll stop to entertain the gallery by signing autographs or simply by making a smart comment of which is usually hilarious.

On this day, we were assigned the last group of Michael Letzig and Tiger Woods. We caught up to the group just as we went on the air at 3 p.m. and immediately made our way into the fairway to watch Tiger. If you've never been out to watch Tiger you need to realize that when he's in the lead on the course, every fan out there wants to follow him. So for me to get the chance to walk with David Feherty down the middle of the fairway and bypass the thousands of golf fans outside of the ropes was incredible.

When the group would finish a hole we walked through a rope-line of people screaming and reaching for Tiger- so I occasionally high-fived several of them on my way sit in front of the tee box to watch the drives. After the drives I would follow Feherty down the fairway as he would chat with Tiger or Letzig. Several times it would be just myself, Feherty and the players walking down the middle of the fairway... which was unbelievable in itself.

At the turn Tiger had the lead by a two strokes but it felt like he was ahead by ten. His driving was erratic today but he always made up for it with his short game. Meanwhile, Letzig was faltering slowly but surely.

The interesting thing that about walking with Feherty was listening to the gallery chant his name just as much as Tiger's. Every hole some random guy would blurt out something like "Ferehty, you're the man!" To which he replied"I'm actually a woman, thank you."Those kind of quick comments made the day a blast.

As we approached the 16th green, Tiger had an eagle left to seal the tournament, but Feherty decided to walk up to the next hole. As I watched Tiger make his birdie on the green to go -20, Feherty and I walked down to arguably the rowdiest hole on the PGA Tour. He wanted to get up in the stands to interview the raucous crowd that awaited. Thousands of screaming fans gathered to watch the final group play the Par 3 17th.

As the two some approached the tee, the stands were literally shaking due to the fans throwing themselves around and chanting "let's go Tiger"or "save the Buick!" It felt like a college football crowd.

Both players would hit the green and walk up to the loudest ovation I've ever heard on a golf course. As Tiger tapped in for his par, he tossed his ball into the stands and tipped his cap to the deafening mob of fans.

A lot of people bash Tiger for being an athlete that is too serious during his round but this week he definitely showed the fans that he appreciated their support.

As we walked down the 18th fairway the crowd broke the rope-line to follow him to the green. He tipped his cap as they applauded him and cheered as if to say "Thanks for coming Tiger!"

I was standing about 10 feet from the hole when he walked up and tapped in his par to secure the 69th PGA Tour victory of his career. After raising his hands in exaltation, he threw his ball 50 yards behind him into 18 fairway where a riot ensued as the ball landed in the crowd.

Not a bad way to bid farewell to the Buick...

Cowboys Fans: Stop Fooling Yourselves

I've been a fan of America's Team all my life. Especially growing up in Texas where football is king everything stops on Sundays when the Cowboys kick off. The Cowboys' dynasty of the 90's not only produced three Super Bowls but it created a fan base that has been blindly living off those victorious years ever since. Not to mention, the DFW media continues to bank on Tony Romo as the savior of this franchise when he leads them back to the promise land. Well, different than many Cowboys die-hards these days, I'm not living in the past anymore.

The New York Yankees, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Dallas Cowboys. What do these four teams have in common?

They are the handful of sports franchises in America that continue to be hyped and profitable no matter the outcome on their season.

The Yankees haven't won a World Series since 2000, Notre Dame went 15 years without a bowl victory, the Lakers until recently hadn't won a title since 2002 and the Cowboys haven't won a playoff game since 1996.

Yet all four of these teams every season are hyped to win by the media and their merchandise sells more than any other franchise in sports.

Much of this has to do with their enormous fan bases. It makes sense if you think about it. More fans=more demand. The higher demand results in heightened exposure by the media which in turn produces better ratings and more sales.

The problem with the media's infatuation with these caliber teams is that they don't always win. In fact, in the past seven seasons there has only been one title(2009 Lakers) out of these four teams combined. For the Cowboys, this constant attention over the last 20 years has been both a blessing and a curse. But for the last 10 years it has mainly been a curse.

Training camp starts this week and so will the intense media buzz surrounding the Cowboys from now until January. Every time I've turned on the radio this past week, someone here in DFW is breaking down the Cowboys' chances or examining what impact Demarcus Ware will have or if Wade Phillips is going to be fired regardless of the outcome after the season. It's actually very exhausting to listen to. Come find me when when the first meaningful snap happens in September.

It doesn't help that two former Cowboys players, Michael Irvin and Nate Newton have their own radio show. The hype and attention that they direct toward the Cowboys on a daily basis illustrates how much our fans and the media live in the past.

Well, here's the reality Cowboys fans-you can talk about winning with this team all you want this season but it ain't gonna happen. If you'd open your eyes you'd see that your Dallas Cowboys haven't won anything since I was in the 6th grade and this year isn't going to be any different.

So now that I've so boldly blasted the Cowboys, I'll offer up five reasons why this is NOT the year to bet on them to be successful.

5) The Secondary

Last season, the Boys' secondary ranked among the worst in the NFC because of their susceptibility to the deep ball. With the departure of SS Roy Williams and Defensive Coordinator Brian Stewart, the Cowboys' secondary will be tested early and often. Ken Hamlin will have to be the leader of this secondary which is kind of scary. Basically, it could be a field day for a strong offense such as the Giants or Eagles.

4) Wade Phillips

The Cowboys head coach is moving himself to defensive coordinator this season which will leave less time for him to oversee other parts of the team. I've never agreed that Wade is the fit for this team because he lets Jerry Jones run the entire organization. Not to mention that his laid back attitude has at times frustrated players and fans alike who want to win. Whether the Cowboys go 19-0 and win the Super Bowl this year or lose every game on the schedule, Phillips is more than likely going to be let go because his contract is up at the end of the season. Lame duck coaches aren't passionate leaders; which is exactly what this team needs this year.

3) The New Texas Stadium

Jerry Jones' billion dollar project is certainly going to generate a lot of attention this year, but one thing it doesn't guarantee is Cowboys victories. Take or leave this argument but the pressure that will be put on the team this season to succeed on the field will be too much at times. Not only will this season have expectations at home but with the Super Bowl being held here next year success will be nothing short of a Cowboys' victory in the big game.

2) The Rest of the NFC EAST

Bottom-line, the Eagles, Redskins and Giants all added key players to their teams this offseason that undoubtedly make them stronger than they were last season. The Cowboys did nothing. The Giants signed former Cowboy Chris Canty and Rocky Bernard. The Eagles who ended the Cowboys season last year with a 44-6 win in Philly added several key players including rookie wideout Jeremy Maclin. The Redskins may have improved the most by signing free-agent DT Albert Hanynesworth and drafting University of Texas standout Brain Orakpo. Although the Cowboys did sign back-up QB Jon Kitna and ILB Keith Brooking, neither will make a lasting impact this season. Not to mention we had no first-round pick because we traded it for WR Roy Williams last year. Even without these offseason moves by the other NFC East teams, it's still the toughest division in the NFL.

1) The Offense

Last year the Cowboys' high octane offense started off the season as the best in the NFL as they averaged 32 points a game to go 3-0. The rest of the way they would average just over 20 points a game which ranked them 13th in overall scoring at the end of the season. How does a team that had seven returning pro bowlers from the year before tank like that? This season could be even worse.

Even though the Cowboys have three stellar running backs in Tashard Choice, Felix Jones and Marion Barber, their passing game is very suspicious.

The loss of Terrell Owens will hurt the Cowboys tremendously this season. You can't tell me that Roy Williams is going to be the No.1 receiver of this team when he's never led his team in receiving in the past. And how many times can Romo throw to Jason Witten when he's double covered on third downs? We couldn't live with T.O. and now we won't be able to live without him on offense.

Finally, I 'd like to say I'm not a Tony Romo believer. I think he is the most overrated QB in the NFL and always will be. He lives and dies off busted plays which is never good. He may win you a few games here and there with that lucky stuff but when it comes down to winning the big game those plays don't work. In the offseason, he seems more interested in a chance to qualify for the U.S. Open than working with his receivers.He's not a leader in the least bit. He may try and lead by example but at the end of the day he just doesn't have that passion that a starting quarterback needs to have. I believe that if Romo doesn't perform well this year, it may be his last as the Cowboys' quarterback. As he goes, so do the Cowboys.

My 2009 Cowboys Prediction: 7-9