Happy Thursday everyone, here's my Top 5 for February 4, 2010 from Len Berman at www.ThatsSports.com.
1. Quick Hits
* An Australian newspaper claims that Tiger Woods will make a surprise return to golf in two weeks at the Accenture Match Play Championships in Arizona. Accenture was one of the sponsors that dumped Woods for his infidelity.
* Knicks Hall of Famer Dick McGuire has died at the age of 84. He's been in the Knicks organization for 53 years. He's the older brother of the late Al McGuire.
* Phil Jackson, already the winningest coach in Chicago Bulls history, surpasses Pat Riley to become #1 in L.A. Lakers history.
* No piling on. The NFL won't further penalize Jets coach Rex Ryan for his flipping the bird at Dolphin fans. The Jets fined him $50-thousand.
2. Fore!
There's no shortage of golf headlines.
* I always thought Tiger Woods would return for the Masters. Maybe this Australian report is correct, but a February return seems awfully premature.
*Tom Watson is again taking swings at Woods. He continues to bash his swearing and club throwing and Watson says Woods needs to show the public some humility. All well and good. But how come nobody took shots at Woods until he fell from grace?
*Phil Mickelson says it's not cheating to use a certain wedge, but he won't use it anyway. There. I'm glad that's cleared up.
3. Market Indicator
Ever wonder what they do on Wall Street between making deals? They're figuring out how the stock market will do in 2010 based on who wins the Super Bowl. If an original NFL team wins the game, the market goes up. And these titans of business are bullish on 2010 since both teams, the Colts and the Saints, trace their roots to the NFL. Neither started in the AFL. So an old NFL team has to win, and the market has to go up. Of course two years ago, the Giants won and the market tanked. On the Street, they were too busy counting their bonuses to notice.
3. The Straw Man
Nobody had a sweeter stroke than Darryl Strawberry. And he blew it on drugs. The other night at the Thurman Munson Awards dinner, he was introduced by former Mets teammate Bob Ojeda. Ojeda said let's not focus on what he could have been on the field, but what he's doing now. (His charity work with kids.) Darryl thanked God for his overcoming cancer, a lost kidney, and his drug demons.
If they ever hand out "Comeback Person of the Year," Darryl has to be in the discussion.
5. No Bull
Hats off to Don Bull Productions. They will be staging bloodless bullfights in Las Vegas. The idea is to show the skill involved in the sport, without the gore. Instead of weapons, the bulls will be "tagged" with special Velcro pads.
Now if only hunters would follow suit.
Happy Birthday: LT. I actually co-hosted a TV show with him, former Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor. 51.
Bonus Birthday: Former Vice President Dan Quayle, remember him? 63.
Today in Sports: The first Winter Olympics held in the U.S. gets underway in Lake Placid, New York. A Jewish double gold medal winning speed skater named Irving Jaffe once told me he remembered signs in Lake Placid reading, "No Jews or dogs allowed." That's the Olympic spirit. 1932.
Bonus Event: How's this for a threesome. FDR, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin meet in Yalta. They were trying to figure out what to do with Germany after the war was over. (Ain't the Top 5 educational?) 1945.