ON THE MARK.

TIGER OR KOBE.  WHO HAD A BETTER WEEK?
When two of the biggest superstars in sports are on their respective games, it's a pleasure to watch.   It's what I love most about athletic competition.  Get the best in the game out there, playing at their peak, and see what transpires.   Both Tiger Woods and Kobe Bryant have something to prove.  Tiger is looking for that elusive "Major" that would bring him closer to Jack Nicklaus.   Kobe is looking to make good on his promise that the L.A. Lakers will "make the playoffs, I guarantee it."  
     When Kobe made that promise, the Lakers were still 3 games out of a playoff spot with nowhere to go but up.  Since the declaration, the Lakers have gone 7-2, and today own the 8th and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.  Meanwhile, Kobe is averaging 32.2 points per game, 7.1 assists and 6.3 rebounds, and is shooting a remarkable 55.5% over the past ten games, 8 of them victories.   L.A. has ripped off 16 wins in their past 22 games, and while they've made significant strides, they still haven't proven they can beat teams like San Antonio and Oklahoma City.   And the Nuggets.  And the Clippers.  Kobe is averaging some 38 minutes a game in playing time, and he's challenging veterans such as Dwight Howard and Metta World Peace to improve their play as the Lakers deal with a short bench, and no Pau Gasol.   The Lakers overtime win over the Raptors on Friday night was a terrific example of "gutting it out".  They'll need more of those if they hope to, not just make the playoffs, but advance in that tough Western Conference.
     Tiger Woods had an amazing week too.   He won his second tournament of the year, the WGC Cadillac Championship at Doral by absolutely destroying the field.   In 72 holes, Tiger needed just 100 putts, or an average of 1.388 putts per hole.  That's an incredibly low number, the lowest ever for Tiger over a 4-day tournament.   And the reason he was putting so well?  His good buddy Steve Stricker, who, after a practice round at Doral last Wednesday, called Tiger over and gave him a 45 minute putting lesson.  The result:  Tiger started putting like the Tiger of old, calmly knocking in putts with the same easy manner that Steve Nash employs when he's shooting free throws:  natural, easy and deadly accurate.  Like he was born to do it.
And now, without having won a major since the 2008 U.S. Open, Tiger will be the prohibitive favorite for the Masters in early April.   In fact, he's the odds on choice to win at Bay Hill in two weeks, a tournament he's already won 7 times. 
     Even though Tiger ignored questions about the Masters, you know he's thinking about it.  Augusta National may have changed it's configuration, but that shouldn't make a difference to a guy who has won five times in the last year, the most of anyone in the world.  He's not the number one golfer in the world, Rory McIlroy is right now, but he may as well be.  With the flatstick looking so good, Tiger can still miss a few fairways and post a good score.  He pedestrian one-under par 71 in yesterday's final round featured a couple of sloppy bogeys near the end of the round when the outcome had already been decided.   Even though he beat Stricker by two, nobody ever got close enough to make Tiger sweat.   The way he's playing, he might tie Nicklaus' record THIS year. 
     I've been enjoying the World Baseball Classic and even though Canada did not advance to the second round, I was impressed with their pluck.   To come back from a humiliating 14-4 loss to the Italians on Friday with a big win over Mexico just showed the desire and professionalism of this squad.   And the controversial play which led to the brawl should not have even happened.   I know that run differential in the WBC makes it a different game, but you can't expect a guy to bunt with a 7 run lead in the 9th and not suffer retribution.   The "code" in baseball says you don't embarrass your opponent by running up the score or otherwise show him up.   That's exactly what Canada did, and they should've expected that there would be retaliation by the Mexicans.   You can't just turn the "code" on and off, especially when once every four years the rules of engagement change.   Get rid of "run differential" and you won't have this problem anymore.
      I'm not convinced that Ricky Romero is the number five starter on the Bluejays ahead of JA Happ, but manager John Gibbons doesn't seem too concerned.   Gibby has been around long enough to know that it takes time for a guy to get his "groove" back, and even if Romero struggles in spring training (which he has) Gibbons will give him plenty of opportunities to right himself.  If that means Ricky can't get out of the second or third inning in April, that's OK.  Happ will be available on standby, and that alone should motivate Romero and hopefully get him back to his 2011 form, when he won 15 games and was an All-Star.   Still, it's got to be tough when you were the Opening Day starter for the Jays the past two years, and now you're struggling to keep a spot in the rotation.   It also goes to show how pitching-rich the Bluejays are. 
     You had to know the Chicago Blackhawks were going to lose eventually, but now that they've lost back to back games (to Colorado and Edmonton), will they be able to get their "mojo" back?   We've seen this before with teams that run off long winning streaks.  Once the streak is over, it's hard to get back to your winning ways.   The Hawks have enough depth to recover, though.  Both Cory Crawford and Ray Emery have been outstanding in goal, and with a defense featuring Keith, Seabrook, Hjalmarsson, Leddy and Oduya, the Hawks are loaded with talent.   Still, a long winning streak can take a lot out of a team, especially when the playoffs arrive.   Ask the 1979-80 Philly Flyers, who went 35 straight without a loss, but were defeated by the Islanders in the Stanley Cup final.   Maybe a 5 or 6 game losing streak is just what the Hawks need right now.