Is Tiger Back?

It has been over two years since Tiger Woods has been called a winner in the golf world. Seven hundred and forty nine days and twenty-six tournaments later, things have changed for the better.

The Chevron World Challenge took place this past weekend in Thousand Oaks, California. The tournament is hosted by Tiger Woods and is held at the Sherwood Country Club. It is a charity fundraiser tournament where all of the funds raised go to different charities Tiger is associated with.

With two holes left Tiger found himself one stroke behind previous tournament winner Zach Johnson. We had seen Tiger in a similar position about a year ago against Graeme McDowell who ended up winning after Tiger lost a four-shot lead. This time around we watched a very calm and collective Woods shot back-to-back birdies to win the tournament.

As the winner, Woods won $1.2 million, which he donated to his foundation. When Woods spoke about his victory he did not mention if this win felt different. In fact he stated, "They all feel good. They're not easy. People don't realize how hard it is to win golf tournaments... I don't think I've taken it for granted. And I know because of how hard it is."

His victory moved him from No. 52 to No. 21 in the world ranking, a ranking where he used to sit on the top at No. 1. Woods has not been ranked in the top 10 since his personal life got out of control. He was found cheating on his wife, crashed his Escalade, and even checked himself into a sex-rehab where he sought after therapy. Since that time Tiger has changed his swinging coach, his caddie, and endured injuries, which prevented him from entering in two tournaments.

The question now is will Woods continue on this upward path? Was this win a fluke? Is the old Tiger Back? For now we will just have to wait to see. He does not appear in another tournament until the end of January in Abu Dhabi.  

Let There Be BASKETBALL!

We now have more than just Christmas to look forward to this year on December 25^th. After a 148-day lockout, the NBA has finally reached a tentative agreement that means we will be watching basketball on Christmas day. No contracts have been signed but a handshake deal is enough to have everyone feeling very optimistic. Hallelujah!

The league has already had to cut ten games this season because of the lock out. The new revised schedule will have a 66 game season, which may seem short, but is better than no season at all. Networks such as ABC/ESPN, TNT/Turner, and any regional sports networks that hold television rights are finally able to let out sighs of relief. Without a season, the ad revenue hit these networks would have taken would be gargantuan.

To make the deal final a few things are needed. The NBA will need 15 of its 29 owners to vote for the deal. The union needs a “simple majority” of the more than 430 members. NBA commissioner, David Stern, stated once the deal is made it will take about 30 days before the season can begin. This has been a bit of a driving force behind getting the deal done for it’s hopeful start date of December 25^th.  

The season will open with three amazing matchups. The Boston Celtics will be playing against the New York Knicks in New York. This will be followed up by an NBA finals rematch between the Miami Heat and the Dallas Mavericks in Dallas. For dessert, MVP Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls will take on Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers in LA.

If this deal does not go through, more than just the sports world will be affected. There are thirty teams in the league that each employs hundreds of people. In an economy where jobs are so scarce, the NBA lockout could have been another huge slap in the face for thousands.

Just When We Thought They Were Over...Another Twilight Movie

This weekend is the domestic opening of Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 1. What does this mean for all of us guys who cannot stand another vampire love story? It means do not ask any girls on dates this weekend because you will be dragged into another two hours of countless love affairs and quarrels between humans, vampires, and werewolves (Sounds like high-school all over again, right?)

 Despite how any of us feel, we cannot argue with the numbers. According to Summit Entertainment the Twilight Saga is estimated to bring in  $110 to $125 million. Rival studios believe Summit is lowballing their numbers and Breaking Dawn could potentially make up to $142 million in its opening weekend alone.

Each of the previous three Twilight movies has been successful in the box office, especially the second movie, New Moon. The original Twilight brought in $69.6 million while New Moon made $142.8 million. This past year, the third Twilight movie, Eclipse, brought in $64.8 million. Breaking Dawn Part 1 will compete most closely with New Moon.

The final movie in the Twilight series has finished filming and will be released next year. There are already rumors that it will receive the highest box office gross of all of the four previous Twilight Movies.

What’s even more remarkable about these numbers is that all of the Twilight movies’ audience is predominantly female-driven and the movie itself is 2D. In a time where 3D action movies are taking over, Twilight is still staying strong and holding its own.

Two other movies that are set to release this week are Happy Feet Two and The Descendants staring George Clooney. While both movies are getting a lot of buzz, they will most certainly be pushed into the shadows with the same release of Breaking Dawn Part 1.

So how should we go about planning the weekend if we want to avoid seeing and hearing about Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 1 at all costs? My first piece of advice would be making it a “bro-weekend”. Go out with the boys, grab some beers, watch sports and do anything else that makes us feel like MEN.

If you accomplish that and are still feeling lonely by the end of the night… put some white make up on your face (To look extra pale) and go hang out outside of a movie theater. If you play your cards right, a woman might confuse you for a vampire and take you home.