Tiger's play resembles off course journey

Tiger Woods finished 1-over-par at the Bridgestone Invitational is his first PGA appearance in three months. His recently fired caddie Steve Williams carried tournament winner Adam Scott's bag. Scott finished four strokes ahead of Luke Donald and Rickie Fowler at 17-under-par.

Despite being part of 14 major championships with Woods, Williams told the media this was one of the best weeks of his life.

"It's the most satisfying weeks of my life, there's no two ways about it," Williams said.

Tiger Woods continued his struggles on the course, finishing tied for 37th. He returned after a three-month recovery to help heal his left knee and Achilles heel.

Tiger's play on the course resembles his personal life off the course. His career and private life is a parallel line to his golf play. And he said as much after his round Sunday.

"I had it in spurts this week.Today was a good example of that. I hit it well starting out, then completely lost it there, then tried to piece it back together at the end."

Tiger was at the top, then everything completely fell apart on him for about two years, now he's trying to piece it back together at the end. Just like his play right now.

There are flashes, then it crumbles. And the frustration within Tiger builds.

The current private issues Tiger is dealing with haven't manifested themselves in razor focus on the golf course like it was in the past. Tiger used the juice of being the world's No. 1 golfer while living his secret, under-the-surface life to practice and work harder than anyone else. By being No. 1 in the world justified every other action. And it worked for him.

Now Tiger hasn't won a tournament since 2008 and Stevie Williams is shouting from the rooftops how great things are for him now that he's not with Tiger. Things need to change, or maybe there's been too much change. Tiger needs to clean the entire slate, which may be done. Stevie on the bag was one of the last connections to the former Tiger Woods.

While there's a clean slate, that doesn't mean "new Tiger" needs to change completely. He can't, nor could anyone at 35. 'We are who we are' is a saying that holds true quite often. That's the direction Tiger needs to go. Get back to the basics, personally and professionally. Instincts and natural actions only.

There's still time for Tiger. He's still got time to achieve the goals many have set. But the clock is ticking and it never stops. Eventually the wins stop coming.

If Tiger is finally back healthy, as he appears to be, he will eventually bust out of this slump.

Go back to doing what made you the 'greatest ever', Tiger, what ever that was. You're running out of time.

Bad Signs, especially for the Dolphins

Sometimes you it's so obvious you have to trust the simplicity of it. You don't need to give it any more thought. It's clear. Trust the glaring signs.

Signs your NFL team is up against it this season.

Picking up where he left off last season. 

• You're answering questions about Brett Favre. Tony Sparano "isn't ruling anything out. Ok?" I'm sure he's not, and the media is dying to talk about Favre again, but why are they asking only Sparano? Miami is also the only team who really needed a QB that didn't land one. (I guess San Fran as well.) And Henne is already hearing the boos. 
• You're reportedly working out Tiki Barber. A double play for the Dolphins. They lose Ronnie Brown to the Eagles. Ricky Williams is finally at the end of the line and can finally walk away from the NFL, a day he no doubt cannot wait for. They clearly are desperate for a running back, which they desperately need to run the offense best suited for Sparano and Henne. 
• Your head coach is already on the hot seat. Hello again, Dolphins. Sparano was surprisingly retained by Miami after a rough 2010 season, where the Dolphins went 1-7 at home and ranked 29th in scoring. To go along with the Favre and Barber questions, Miami just signed 37-year-old Jason Taylor. They need help bad. Here's Sparano on all of this (courtesy of ESPN): "I can't rule anything out. OK? So, I mean, we don't rule anything out. I don't know how you want me to answer that. That'll be all over the news now too." ... "You know Tiki's age. We signed Jason Taylor. So we're going to flip over whatever rocks we think are necessary in this process. I don't want to say something that my feet are to the fire on."

The Dolphins are shooting distress flares all over Miami very early in the 2011 season. The Dolphins will be hard-pressed all year, and Sparano may be fired before the end of the season.

• BONUS SIGN: You signed Tarvaris Jackson to start at QB. This is an immediate red flag. You wonder if Pete Carroll has bothered to watch all the film of Tarvaris. Of course Dick Bevell has shown him all the good footage, not that it was extensive. The Seahawks will be better than some but not by much. Trying to find hope in Minnesota castaways is not a good sign. Sidney Rice will not live up to the expectations of his contract. At least they brought in The Cable Guy in case somebody needs their jaw broke.

(Photo credit: miamidolphins.com)