Hey Guess What? Tiger's Back!

I'm not sure if you knew this but Tiger Woods is making his long awaited return to the golf course tomorrow to compete in a little tournament called The Masters. As if he needed any more attention, Nike made sure he got it by putting out this commercial/viral video of Tiger, take a look:





As Nike hoped, this video has gotten a lot of attention, some like it and some not so much, but put me down for the crowd that loves it. But I love it more for Tiger than for Nike and here's why. Tiger clearly had to approve of this ad before it was shot and he willingly allowed Nike to address his infidelity. This ad also goes a long way in showing the public that he knows he messed up and he is trying to correct his problem. 

Nike is one of the few companies to stand by Woods through this mess and showed their continue support by running this ad. They aren't trying to sell anything in this ad, they're simply showing Woods standing there with an audio clip from his father. If they are selling anything, it's Tiger as human being who is trying to come right his wrongs.

The big buzz though comes from Tiger playing golf again starting tomorrow.  I for one believe he has a shot at winning this weekend or else he would not have come back. Unfortunately for Woods, every move he makes is going to be scrutinized by the media (It's already started) but hopefully he blocks it out and goes out there and plays golf the way so many people remember and the way that has dominated the game since he started playing.

If Woods does win this weekend you should start to see Tiger gaining sponsorships again, simply because winning sells. Golf has a very sophisticated audience and companies who sell products intended for the golf demographic will need someone to sell their product. Let's be honest, would you rather have Woods or someone like Steve Stricker as your spokesmen? Clearly Woods is the choice, he's the reason so many people tuned into golf tournaments on the weekends before his transgressions and he's also the reason people will watch golf now. If Woods is winning the other winners are going to be the competitors to the companies that dropped Tiger as their spokesman over the winter. 

When it comes down to it, a lot of people have said some incredibly awful things about Woods and if Karma does exist, we'll see it in full force on Sunday when Tiger dons the Green Jacket.

Things I'm looking forward to this Baseball season

The Red Sox and Yankees just finished up the first game of the 2010 season and while I usually dislike watching this rivalry, it was the first baseball game of the year. Watching this game got me thinking of the national storylines that I'm looking forward to the most.

The very first storyline I'm looking forward to is the debuts of Stephen Strasburg and Aroldis Chapman. Both of these guys look to be future studs in this game and I'm excited to see what they have against top notch MLB talent. Strasburg is carrying the future of the Nationals on his back, but he looks to be unhittable at times and I know I'll be watching Nationals games when he is starting this season. Chapman had a good Spring and made him an intriguing player to watch this season, as long as Dusty Baker doesn't destroy his arm.

Jason Heyward, simply because he is getting so much hype. I really want to see how good this kid is. I've heard all the hype of him being compared to Albert Pujols and hitting moon shots that land in parking lots, but I really want to see him with my own eyes. I'm really excited to see what he has and I hope I'm not disappointed.

Target Field. The Twins are opening up a new stadium this year and I want to see how they handle the move. The HHH Dome was always good for a few extra wins whether it was piped in crowd noise, the bounces the Twins got off the turf, or even opposing outfielders losing fly balls in the ceiling. The offense definitely has the power and speed to be successful wherever they play, but I'm interested to see if the Twins lose some of their edge when they lose the certain home dome advantage that the Metrodome brought them.

The Rays. I talked about this in the AL East preview, but the Rays are in an interesting situation this season. They could possibly (probably will) lose Carl Crawford and Carlos Peña in the offseason so if the Rays struggle out of the gate, will the Rays front office try to trade Crawford and/or Peña to try to get something for them before they bolt for big pay days? It's definitely something to keep an eye on if the Rays struggle early in the difficult AL East.

My last storyline has to deal with the Texas Rangers. They have had the offense of a contender for some time now, they just lacked the pitching. Well it seems as if they may have the pitching to compete and the talent to surprise some people who are convinced the Mariners are going to win the AL West. Some are saying Ron Washington is on the hot seat in Texas, but his players seem to genuinely enjoy playing for him and I'm looking for them to rally around their skipper and win the AL West this season.

The one thing I don't want to see this year is a player get busted for taking some sort of PEDs. Not because it's bad for the game, but because the media runs with it and makes a huge deal out of it and I'm just burnt out on steroid talk. Here's to a great 2010 baseball season full of exciting moments that can be enjoyed by all baseball fans.

2010 MLB Predictions

Since I've finished the AL Previews for the season, it's time to make my predictions for the NL as well as the playoffs and some awards.

To recap my AL Division winners, I have: Texas Rangers (AL West), Chicago White Sox (AL Central), and New York Yankees (AL East). My AL Wild Card is going to be the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays are going to play inspired baseball I think, mostly because they're going to likely lose Carl Crawford and Carlos Peña in the off-season.

NL West: Colorado Rockies.  It's going to be a tight race between Colorado, LA, and San Francisco but I like the Rockies. I think the Rockies are the most balanced team out of the three with solid pitching and a good mix offensively with speed and power.

NL Central: St. Louis Cardinals. Having Wainwright and Carpenter at the top of the rotation is certainly a reason why they'll contend in '10 but it also doesn't hurt to pair Matt Holliday with Albert Pujols.

NL East: Philadelphia Phillies. They have one of the top lineups in baseball and couple that with a rotation that includes Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels, they're the favorites to win the pennant for a reason.

NL Wild Card: San Francisco Giants. One of the best, if not the best rotation in baseball finally has some offense behind it. But this will be the more intriguing Wild Card race this year, I could see any of the following teams winning the Wild Card: Giants, Dodgers, Braves, Brewers, Cubs, or Reds.

Playoff Predictions
ALDS
Yankees over Rangers
White Sox over Rays

NLDS
Giants over Phillies
Cardinals over Rockies

ALCS
Yankees over White Sox

NLCS
Cardinals over Giants

World Series
Cardinals over Yankees

MVP and Cy Young Predictions

AL MVP: Mark Teixeira (Yankees)
NL MVP: Albert Pujols (Cardinals)

AL Cy Young: Jake Peavy (White Sox)
NL Cy Young: Adam Wainwright (Cardinals)