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Conquered all Tiger's dominance leaves many in his wake
Send the search party out. Quick. We need some new superlatives -- and fast ! Tiger Woods has used up all those known to mankind after his major surge towards sporting immortality. Runaway triumphs at the U.S. and British Opens were spectacular. This time, in successfully defending his PGA title and becoming the first man ever to win four out of five consecutive majors, it was an occasion for breath-holding, breathtaking drama. Victory in a gripping playoff made him just the second man after Ben Hogan to win three majors in one year. It's a feat for the ages. This was grind time for Woods. An occasion for a display of guts as well as guile. He asked questions of his game and character and found the right answers over and again in fighting off the pluckiest of unknowns in Bob May. The May Day call was sent out early by Tiger in Sunday's final round at Valhalla. He came to his own rescue with a magnificent display of resilience. It's a show Davis Love III, Phil Mickelson, David Duval, Lee Westwood and Colin Montgomerie would do well to watch on some kind of continuous video loop. Then they might truly get what it takes to win a major.
Who will hoist the trophy in New York?Has there ever been a more wide open U.S. Open in men's tennis ? Casting one's eye down the list of seeds for the last Grand Slam of the year is to peruse an enticing batch of potential winners. Andre Agassi is the defending champion and top seed, who found at last week's Legg Mason Classic that his troublesome back can indeed stand the rigours of a week full of tennis. Now perhaps two? No early withdrawals this time for Agassi, as he reached the final in singles and, in a desperate scramble for sharpness, in doubles. A rarity for him indeed. Before his work in Washington, a successful U.S. Open defence seemed a distant dream. Agassi looked out of sorts. Even a run to the Wimbledon semis couldn't disguise this was a player who'd lost his way since the European clay court season.
Now there's more than a flicker of hope, especially if he can play through week one in New York and hone his considerable talent for a title charge in week two. Alex Corretja beat him in straight sets in the final of the Legg Mason and has been collecting titles with alarming regularity, making him a danger for the Open. But then Gustavo Kuerten has just broken his hardcourt title drought, Marat Safin has been a revelation almost regardless of the surface and one has to believe Lleyton Hewitt is due a Grand Slam break-out. Then there's the small matter of Pete Sampras. Seeded fourth, with the all-time Grand Slam men's singles record in the bag along with a couple of weeks rest , he enters the Open with a free-swinging swagger. With Tim Henman starting to live up to expectations on the hardcourts, big-serving Mark Philippoussis striving for a second US Open final appearance and two-time champion Patrick Rafter and Wimbledon quarter finalist Jan Michael Gambill among the dangerous unseeded floaters, we're set for a feast of unpredictably delicious tennis.
English hooliganism not going awayA hard man in the middle of the park is a supposed necessity if championship succeess is to be achieved in English soccer. But the start of the Premier League season has also shown they can be a liability if they're not suitably reined in. Manchester United's Roy Keane was sent off in the Charity Shield defeat by Chelsea for a reckless challenge on Gustavo Poyet. Day one of the Premiership campaign saw Arsenal's fiery French midfielder Patrick Vieira shown the red card for elbowing. Then on Monday, it was the turn of Gary McAllister. Brought into Liverpool's team to add some "steel", he went in two-footed on Vieira and was duly dismissed. But Vieira is clearly a bit slow on the uptake. No lessons learned by this otherwise gifted World Cup winner. He lost his cool yet again in the second half against Liverpool -- and was sent off yet again in a match of three dismissals. The great irony of all this is that directives have gone out to all Premier League clubs this season to clean up their acts and set an example for youngsters following the ever-burgeoning game in England. Just so you know Messrs. Keane, Vieira and McAllister, small, young and previously innocent midfield generals up and down the land hacking down their tiny opponents isn't quite what the Football Association had in mind.
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