Sports hope springs eternal with Tiger back on the prowl

Before breaking down Andre Smith's missteps, Jarron Gilbert's amazing jump and the Maryland Terrapins potential leap into the NCAA Tournament...

My apology to Brendan Jones, but somebody has to be the martyr. Frankly, I had never heard of the Australian golfer prior to scanning the bracket for this week’s Accenture Match Play Championship, but then again I don’t claim to follow the weekly results over in Japan, where the 64th ranked player in the world has won eight times. Frankly, my interest in Jones now is purely tangential to a much greater cause and he is almost assuredly to slip out of my sports conscience by this time tomorrow. So why bring him up at all? Because Jones is set to become the first golfer sacrificed at the altar of one Tiger Woods, the most important presence in all of sports.

Does anyone dispute that claim? Don’t call it a comeback, but the timing could not be more perfect for the debut of the most competitive and compelling athlete around. Upon conclusion of the NFL season, the sports nation lets out a collective, almost instinctive whine because its members do not know what to do with themselves after months of being in a three-point stance. The football diehards will focus on non-events like the draft and more recently, the combine, while the rest of the herd will impatiently wait for the calendar to hurry up so we can get to the next gripping moment.

The NBA playoffs are still a ways off, though they will be worth the wait when Kobe and LeBron square off in the finals. Spring training is upon us, but the only baseball news for now seems to focus on A-Roids and his farce of an excuse. College hoops is less than a week away from infecting the nation with March Madness (though some parts of the country, like College Park, MD and Austin, TX, are reporting early signs of euphoria), but the "dance" is still a few weeks out.

The PGA Tour has muscled its way onto the sports scene over the years, getting its fair share of above the fold coverage on major newspapers and websites, but almost entirely on the broad shoulders of a certain 14-time major championship winner. So far this season – and yes, for all you non-weekend hackers, the PGA Tour is in full swing already – golf has been rather MIA in the collective sports conscience, failing to help pick up the slack in the post-NFL portion of the calendar as it has over the last decade plus. Starting this Wednesday, that all changes. Instead of focusing on fields and courts, we turn to fairways and greens because Tiger is back on the prowl.

Sidelined for eight months following knee surgery, Tiger Woods is set to make his 2009 debut and defend his match play title, an event he has won three times. Perhaps not since Michael Jordan returned from his unwise sojourn to the diamond has the anticipated return of a star competitor been so important to the entire sports landscape. Like his Air-ness with the Bulls, Tiger has so dominated his sport that when he is not in the field, the buzz around the rest of remaining competitors is akin to the sound of one-hand clapping.

Jones will likely be the first competitor that Tiger vanquishes, but the remainder of Tiger’s draw promises to be anything but a walk in the park. Two-time U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen looms as a potential second round opponent while Mike Weir and Geoff Ogilvy, both with major titles on the resumes, are would-be obstacles before Woods even reaches the semi-finals. Vijay Singh, Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson, who was smart enough last week to get a win under his belt last week before Tiger returned, are in the same half of the draw while Padraig Harrington and Sergio Garcia are the top seeds on the other side.

Whether Tiger wins it all this week or not – and I am calling for Tiger to dispatch of Jones, Goosen, Weir, Ogilvy and Stewart Cink before he runs out of the gas and falls to Jim Furyk in the finals – his mere presence amongst a cadre of mortals is enough. Eventually his drives will overpower the fairways, his irons will have the right distance and his seemingly divined putts will drop at the biggest moments. With this sports lull upon us, fans will root, hope and pray for all celestial type competitive moments we can get...

- Alabama OT Andre Smith, who not that long ago was viewed as the potential #1 overall pick, likely cost himself some big time money following a dismal NFL combine experience, one that SI’s Peter King thinks could move him totally out of the first round. I am not buying that type of freefall just yet as the reigning Outland Trophy winner still has time to wow the scouts and remind them why he was so highly thought of in the first place. There are several top tackle prospects to choose from, but few have the in-game highlights that Smith possesses. Of course, they don’t have the red flags either…

- San Jose State DL Jarron Gilbert entered the combine more famous for his pool jumping You Tube video than his gridiron exploits, but that might not be the case for long. His combination of power (see the video), speed (he ran a 4.81 40 at the combine) and production (nine sacks and 21.5 tackles for loss this past season) has moved Gilbert from a second day selection to a seemingly lock for the second round with an outside shot at being selected in the top-32...

- Here is a look at how the top defensive lineman and linebackers performed at the combine on Monday. Clay Matthews Jr. is rising in the eyes of scouts, while a tweaked hamstring slowed fellow USC LB Rey Maualuga...

- On ESPN this weekend, bracketologist Joe Lunardi, the Punxsatawney Phil of the sports scene, said the Maryland Terrapins entered last week 17 teams removed from a slot in the field of 65. Now, following their shocking come-from-behind win over North Carolina, Lunardi has the Terps as the last team in the field. Gary Williams and company can give themselves a little wiggle room with a win over Duke on Wednesday...