He Might Put a Full Nelson on the Records

Byron Nelson won a record 18 golf tournaments in 1945, with a streak of 11 in a row, but he says that was nothing compared to what Tiger Woods is doing now.

“I don’t know if there’s ever been another year, worldwide, like his,” Nelson told the Dallas Morning News. “I’d say the other things Tiger has done this year, under the conditions, would make his three [majors] better than [Ben] Hogan’s.

“He’s come a long way in 24 years. He’s a man who’s already extremely wealthy, but that doesn’t affect his golf playing, or desire, which is remarkable.”

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More Tiger: Nor is Nelson’s a minority opinion.

“The other players got no prayer,” Lee Trevino says. “You cannot beat a man who is stronger than you are, who has more talent than you and who works harder than you do. Tiger Woods is competing against records and golf courses. That’s what people don’t understand.

“It’s not a foot race. He’s racing against the clock.”

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Trivia time: Who holds the record for points scored in the NCAA basketball tournament?

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Dante’s view: Baseball insiders note Todd Helton’s pursuit of .400 is aided by his mile-high ballpark in Denver. However, former teammate Dante Bichette says the hard part of playing in Coors Field is that sometimes you have to leave.

“You get used to hitting breaking balls hard at Coors,” said Bichette, who was traded this week from Cincinnati to Boston. “Then, when you go on the road, that breaking ball is in the dirt and you’re missing it.

“It’s almost like going from double A to the big leagues when you go on the road.”

For the record, Helton is hitting better than .350 on the road.

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A vote for Hingis: Venus Williams hasn’t lost a match since the French Open, causing many to question Martina Hingis’ No. 1 ranking.

However, at least one person thinks it’s right: Hingis.

“Everybody expects me to do like in ’97 [when she won three major titles], which in a way I feel is unfair,” Hingis said. “I have five Grand Slams. Venus and Serena [Williams] each have one. Lindsay [Davenport] may have three, but she’s 24 years old. The Williamses, they’re [around] my age.

“I think so far I’ve been better than them. . . . It’s just the consistency. That’s what it counts to be number one--not who wins the most tournaments, who hits the ball the hardest or who hits the fastest serve.”

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One for Venus: USA Today’s Jon Saraceno, noting Hingis’ admission after losing a 6-0 set to Serena Williams--”I was so intimidated”--questions the rankings.

“I know this,” Saraceno writes. “When Venus or Serena takes the court, they make me want to watch tennis again.”

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Trivia answer: Michigan’s Glen Rice, who scored 184 points in six games in 1989.

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And finally: Nancy Lieberman-Cline, fired as coach of the WNBA’s Detroit Shock: “I wanted to stay, but the organization has to have the desire to want you. If the situation had been right, I would have come back. It’s a good time for both of us to pursue other directions.”

Apparently.