The posters of Tiger Woods are everywhere. Why wouldn’t they be? This is his tournament, isn’t it, the Chevron World Challenge, the one which benefits his foundation? But as we know, Tiger is not here. He’s “unable to play.” Also, he’s unwilling to speak. Tuesday was the day he normally gives his annual State-of-the-Tiger address. Not this Tuesday. Not with the world of gossip battering him at every turn, if not quite the literal way he was battered in that car crash. Read More

His phrase was “the enemy within,” an apt description of the opponent the 49ers, as any team where losing has been the norm, must learn to defeat before consistently defeating other teams. We had a whiff of the idea from Mike Nolan, who perhaps went about it a little too vociferously. Losers think like losers. Winners, to the contrary, believe they will win. Now we find Mike Singletary, all motivation and emotion, pounding even harder on the theme established by the man he replaced 13 months ago: The culture must change before the record will change. Read More

Al Davis is watching. That should be understood. He may be 80 and hurting physically, but nothing gets past him. Including this embarrassing business with his coach, Tom Cable. We know Al’s philosophy of sport, the idea of just winning. Not that he’s any different from the rest of us. As Red Smith wrote decades ago, you’re not going to field a team of choirboys. Not if you want to be successful. You use who you can, when you can. Get them out of bed sick, get them out of jail, get them on the field. Read More

It began with more sound than fury, a rumbling as if every fan at Candlestick Park was stomping their feet. Up in the second deck, where tables had been knocked together to serve as an auxiliary press box, the man alongside choked out a question. “What’s that?” asked Rob Matwick, now an executive with the Texas Rangers. Twenty years ago, he was the public relations director for the Houston Astros. He had never experienced what he was about to experience. Neither had anyone. “An earthquake,” I answered flippantly. Read More

And so the golfing gods depart, the marquees come down and Harding Park, the little muni that could, goes from Tiger and Phil to a lot of neighborhood Joes, which is as it should be on a public golf course. The weather wasn’t quite what was expected — brrr! — the competition was less than hoped, but The Presidents Cup was four days of memories and birdies. That ain’t bad. Read More

Enjoy it, Tiger, and Y.E., and Geoff. This is your week in the city that knows how, the city that takes on recessions and earthquakes and never quits, a city which thinks like a golfer two-down at the 17th tee: How are we going to hang in there? This is your week and our week, a week to appreciate talent and celebrate sportsmanship. What a brilliant blending, an “only in San Francisco” mix, millionaire athletes playing their game on a public course, Harding Park, a facility open to all in a city which is never closed to any. Read More

All that nonsense about Phil Mickelson, the rumors, the criticism, is somewhere in the past. This has been his year, even though he didn’t win as many times as that Tiger guy, even though, like Tiger, he didn’t win a major. But Phil won many hearts and respect that may have been lacking. We call 39-year-old Phil Mickelson “Lefty,” because he hits the ball left-handed, even though he is right-handed, which goes against the old golfing concepts. Read More