AP/David J. Phillip

I’m talking about the batons that were dropped by both the U.S. Men’s
and Women’s Relay Teams. What is wrong with these people??! This is
the history of U.S. relay teams in the Olympics - it’s been done before
and it surely will be done again.

Why? Attitude. Not just the ability to work together - they have the
ability. Hard work is a given. It’s the commitment to get the job
done as a team - this is what they lack. The rule is simple, don’t let
the baton go until it is taken from your hand. No matter what, no
matter how difficult, no matter what strange position the other hand is
in, no matter what - don’t let the baton go until it’s taken from you.

In the Men’s 4×100 meter relay, Tyson Gay dropped the baton which he
never had. Look, it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out that you
put the baton in your right hand to pass on the left side to an open
hand. Davis Patton came in fast on the wrong side and tried to reach
the baton to Tyson’s open hand. But Tyson’s hand was open and turned
away from Patton. Two mistakes and the baton is dropped.

The Women’s team in the same relay suffered the same fate. Incredible.
Lauryn Williams failed to get the baton, ran off and left it, then went back
and picked it up as she then ran to the finish line. She had
been involved in a baton drop in Athens and she said this time, no
matter what, she had to cross the line with the baton. My take, she
already had been badly burned by Jamaican Veronica Campbell and took
off a little early trying to get the edge. She ran away from the
exchange too soon, causing the baton to drop on the track.

The U.S. Women’s Team hadn’t failed to miss the finals since 1948 - and
the Men’s Team haven’t failed to miss the finals since 1988. Both
dropped batons happened on the third leg. What can you say? Nothing
except that for Olympic relay teams they both looked very sloppy.

It’s Tiger talk again. We just learned the complete story about
Tiger’s knee, and it’s not pretty. No, it’s serious - no faking, no
rumors. He needs a complete overhaul on his knee. It’s strange to see
that a golfer needs knee surgery since it’s not a contact sport. But,
according to Tiger’s management company, that’s exactly the case. They
put out a release that said Tiger hurt his knee while jogging near his
Orlando home. Dude, that’s a trip, no pun intended. That just goes to
show that you can do something as simple as stepping off a curb the
wrong way and next thing you know it could possibly end your career.

I’m sure Tiger has the best doctors, but I think he should see the
orthopedic surgeons who specialize in football injuries. They’ve seen
more of these types of injuries and really know which surgery will give
him the best result. This is a football-type injury, not an injury you
see in golf.

All the sports writers are talking about how badly Tiger’s star quality
will be missed on the tour and how much money the networks will lose.
Trust me, this is not on Tiger’s mind. First at the top of his list -
stop the pain - that’s tops on Tiger’s list. Next he’s asking, “Do I
have to change my swing to accommodate an injured knee? And, “if I have
to, I will”, is his answer. Tiger’s thinking only allows him to do
whatever it takes to play and win.

I’m sure he made some swing changes along the way during the Open
against Rocco. The pain was causing him to slice his drives when he
really went after it. Eventually he worked something out to take that
18th hole drive 304 yards down the middle to birdie the hole and win the
tournament. Golf is a game of adjustments. All golfers know this,
that’s why they are constantly working on their swing - including
Tiger. He changed coaches, clubs, and balls to try to find a swing
that consistently works.

Now, once again, the changes begin again. The goal? Big swing, no
pain. That’s what he’ll be looking for. Knowing Tiger, I’m sure he’ll
find it when the time comes.