The Tour Championship starts tomorrow, Thurs. Nov. 2, 2006, and Tiger Woods will not be participating. There are some other names that will be absent, most notably Phil Mickelson, but Tiger's reluctance to play is "The Story".  Mr. Woods has said that this has been a very emotional year, and he needs some extra time off to prepare for the upcoming season.  Lefty is also tired from the devastating loss in the recent Ryder Cup matches, and all that man-bra shopping he has been doing.

   The powers that be in the P.G.A. are worried that this will reflect negatively on next years "Fed-Ex Cup", the tour ending "Chase" that Pres. Tim Finchem basically borrowed from NASCAR. ( How about that irony) The cup chase was supposed to add drama / participation / and more importantly....... ratings, to the increasingly dull end of golf season. There had already been the Vantage Cup in place for the last 20 years, but it's importance has wained, once the novelty wore off, and tour officials seem to fear this will happen to the Fed-Ex as well.

   I'm not sure how most people feel, but the golf season starts with the beginning of the "majors". They start getting serious for the Masters, and then slow down right after the PGA. There are a few sentimental favorites, and player sponsored events in the middle, but for the most part that's it. The rest of the tournaments are for the lower tier players to make some money and keep their cards, and the stars use them for "tune-ups" for the biggie's. These guys are self employed / general contractors. While the PGA sanctions and has some control of the matches, the players can come and go as they choose. Mr. Finchem can install all the artificial suspence builders he want's to .... they'll be there when they feel like it. Period.

 I just wanted to see how you felt about this.....so... That's my story ... What's yours??

Anything in this piece that might be concieved of as a fact, was gleaned from a couple of articles on FoxSports.com .... If it looks like a stupid opinion ......it's mine...

   As I was gettin' ready for work this morning, I heard  a passing comment on Mike and Mike on ESPN. It would appear that Tiger Woods was at the U.S. Open this past weekend, and was....GASP!!.... rootin' for, and hanging out with, Roger Federer.

 It seems this Federer guy is "some kinda foreigner or something", and Tiger hates his country by cheering this guy on.

  Now Tiger's not an average mortal like you and I. He's a man who has spent countless hours practicing and honing his craft. I think he knows hard work and dedication when he see's it. I'll wager he never thought once about Roger's country of origin. He admires WINNERS!!

   We don't hear about Tiger going out much. Outside of his caddie Stevie, and maybe Mark O'Meara, he probably doesn't have a lot of guy friends. But here is a guy, a peer, who Tiger does not have to compete against. Roger knows about living your whole life in the "fishbowl". He know's the pressure of competing at that level. Maybe Tigger just wants some dude he can call, so he can #### about the new wife. Who knows, just don't turn the whole situation into some Geo-political satire with Tiger as Sadam!!

  I dont know Sheep #### from Duck butter when it comes to tennis..., but this Federer dude seems to know his stuff. This was his third Open championship, they tell me.

 So Come On............Let Tiger have a friend!!!!!!

**Afterthought....Tiger and Roger celebrated by "Popping" a couple of bottles of "Dom"

  They should know better.......that stuff ####!!