Tiger Doesn’t Get to Be Simply Human for Long

Rick Morrissey of the Chicago Tribune on Tiger Woods: “A slump? Did somebody say something about a slump? The only noticeable slump is in the shoulders of his opponents. It’s the slump of surrender. . . .

“To PGA pros, there is nothing more terrifying than Woods with a lead, unless it is talk of a tax increase for the rich. He is playing a different game than everyone else and he’s kind enough to let us watch.

“His fellow touring pros should pay admission same as everybody else. . . . So now it’s on to Augusta for Woods, his confidence back, if it ever left in the first place. Golf once again has been reduced to a carnivore playing with its food.”

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More Woods: Golfer Hal Sutton will tell anyone who will listen that he won’t cower from Woods. “When I go to bed at night, I don’t pray to Tiger. He’s not a god.”

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Still more Woods: And this from John Hopkins of the Times of London, describing the 60-foot putt Woods made on the island-green 17th hole during the Players Championship: “Woods’ putt resembled a train traveling from London to Bristol via Birmingham and Bournemouth.”

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Trivia time: Can you match the following NCAA men’s tournament teams with their unofficial nicknames: “The Tall Firs,” “Phi Slamma Jamma,” and “The Fab Five?”

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Muscle man: Nashville goaltender Mike Durnham figures to be in the nets for Team USA at the Olympics, which means he will be subject to drug testing.

“I don’t know what they’re testing for,” he said. “If they look at my body, I don’t think they’ll have to worry about steroids.”

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Pack mentality: Tennessee basketball Coach Jerry Green was fired despite four consecutive NCAA tournament bids. Why would anybody want to coach the Volunteers after that firing? Vanderbilt Coach Kevin Stallings says there is no shortage of risk takers:

“If there is anything I’ve learned in this business, it’s that if a major-college coach fell off the 12th-floor balcony of a hotel there would be five guys applying for his job before he hit the ground.”

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By the numbers: 60,600--Contestants in ESPN.com’s Men’s Tournament Challenge who picked the correct Final Four this year.

One. Contestants in ESPN.com’s Men’s Tournament Challenge who picked the correct Final Four last year.

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Stick to coaching: Bob Knight got only one team correct in his Final Four predictions on Sandbox.com.

He picked Arizona, but struck out with Boston College (which lost to USC), Stanford and Florida. Knight had Stanford defeating Florida in the title game.

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Looking back: On this day in 1982, Michael Jordan’s jump shot with 16 seconds remaining gave North Carolina a 64-63 victory over Georgetown in the men’s NCAA championship game at the Superdome in New Orleans.

Looking back again: On this day in 1996, the Vancouver Grizzlies broke the NBA record for consecutive losses in a season with their 21st in a 105-91 loss to the Utah Jazz.

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Trivia answer: Oregon, 1939; Houston, 1983, and Michigan, 1992-93.

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And finally: Kentucky Athletic Director Larry Ivy, taking a dig at new Louisville Coach Rick Pitino, who referred to Kentucky as “Camelot” when coaching there:

“Now, as the No. 2 coach in the Bluegrass State, we wish him the best and look forward to the proper homecoming he deserves when the Cardinals visit Camelot next season.”