Weekend at Augusta National: Just What the PGA Ordered

As the month of March loomed on the horizon, the Professional Golfers Association was in desperate condition. Up to that point, the golfing world's most famous competitor, Tiger Woods, had been MIA for the entire year, and it's backup favorite, Phil Mickelson, had not been heard of much either for that matter.

As a result, it seemed for the longest time that the PGA was destined to fade away. The only time that many sports fans had heard much of anything about it came about when Mickelson, who most of the time is affectionately refered to as "Lefty," found himself forced to speak out against another golfer after he was lightly accused of cheating.

Just when things looked their worst, however, golf began to shine with a glimmer of hope.

Sports medias around the world began buzzing with excitement when rumors began to spread about Tiger's return in early March, and speculation began as to how much longer the golf world would go without its perennial son.

Then the news came. Tiger announced to the world that he would be back in less than a month, and according to him, there would be no better time than to come back during golf's most prestigious event; The Masters.

Nothing is bigger in sports than the personal triumph of an athlete. Regardless of whether these triumphs are over tragedy or embarrassing personal circumstances, sports fans eat them up like hot dogs on a sunny spring day at the ballpark.

Love him or hate him, Tiger was coming back, and with the news of his return destination out in the open, all eyes became fixated on Augusta National, home of the Masters.

Tickets began selling out within days of the news, and fans around the world began to play out Tiger's perseverance in their minds. Nothing would be better for golf than to have Tiger return with a bang.

Or so the golfing public thought.

As the grand tournament began on April 8, everyone with half an interest in the sport had one thing on their mind; how was Tiger doing?

Although he started with bang, shooting four under for his best first round ever at the masters, Woods began to slip on Saturday, leaving many to sit back and say that what would be best for the game of golf just wasn't to be.

As Saturday turned to Sunday, things did not improve for Woods. Having become a dark and mysterious enigma to fans and fellow golfers alike, his play began to echo his new image, making unbelievable shots one minute while making painful mistakes the next. It was now certain that Woods would no be able to deliver what golf so desperately need.

Then it happened. Whispers began spreading. Heads and TVs began turn from the darkness of Wood's persona and focus on a not so strange ray of hope.

The ray of hope's name was Lefty, and he had just taken the lead.

Having been through a recent version of hell in which both his mother and wife had been diagnosed with cancer, not to mention that his game had suffered as well, many people had forgotten about Lefty. That is, until now.

As the sun set on Sunday, there was Lefty, shinning in the spotlight and putting on the green champions jacket.

Suddenly fans began to realize what should have been playing out in their heads all along. What the sport really needed was not Tiger Woods, but an inspirational story that would not only capture their attention, but their hearts as well.

With golfs biggest weekend now behind us, sports fans can now look back and see just how simple it is. After months of negative side stories, rumors and accusation concerning its main attraction, golf finally has a story and a face worth showing the world once again.

As the remainder of the year approaches, and with Woods now fully back with the tour, it seems as though golf is back, and with Lefty at the helm, at least for the next few weeks, it may be possible to say that golf is not only back, but shinning and gleaming with a healthy new image for all of those who wish to see it. And it's all thanks to the man that golf had forgotten that it had.

Hail Sir Lefty, golf's latest and most needed knight in shinning armour.

Big Ben's Big Mistake

Just when the sports fans were getting used to Tiger Woods, Steve Phillips and all the other figures in their world involved in sexual controversies, along comes another icon who find himself in the midst of another good old-fashioned sex scandal: Big Ben Roethlisberger.

For those of us who are either not too interested in sports to begin with or have been hiding under a rock for the past few weeks, Roethlisberger was thrust into the negative spotlight once again in early March when he was accused of sexual assault by a young woman who was present at a night club in Georgia that Roethlisburger made an appearance at.

While most people would probably say that this a case of someone trying to make a little money off of someone who has quit a bit of it, the fact is that Big Ben has already seen his share of trouble in this sector, having been accused of rape in 2009.

Now to top it all off, police in Milledgeville, Georgia, are saying that, although they are preparing to rap up their investigation into the incident, Roehtlisburger is apparently refusing to meet with police again.

Don't get me wrong, I completely understand why some would rather stay a whole month with their in-laws than meet with the police for just one minute. With information aside, however, if I were someone who was being accused of something I didn't do, especially something as down-right pathetic as this, I might just try to suck up my anxieties and do the best I could to meet with police personnel and clear my name.

With that being said, this ploy put on by Big Ben is making it look more and more like he is guilty and afraid to talk anymore for fear of the truth coming out.

But the true fact is that Roethlisberger's first mistake occurred long before this most recent fopah.

Many athletic and entertainment celebrities today forget the fact that celebrities have never been under such a close watch, by both the fans and the media. Everyone is under the bullseye, and one small slip can ultimately lead to big trouble these days.

An appropriate summary for the current public situation can be described with a quick joke: "If a celebrity makes a mistake, and no one is around to see it, does a video camera owned by TMZ still make a sound?"

Big Ben, and all the other celebrities out there for that matter, have to realize that the best way to get yourself in trouble is to place yourself where trouble's bound to happen. With that thought in mind, most people can, and already have, come to the conclusion that Roethlisberger is nothing more than a victim of his own lifestyle.

Perhaps the best way for our athletes to behave themselves is to hammer the first rule of a good public image into their brains.

Rule number 1: Always act like someone is watching, even if there's no one there at all.

Until athletes get that point, shops like TMZ and Extra will surely have no shortage of work on their hands, because it always seems that the next case of a lack of good judgement is just around the corner.