RATING THE NBA by Tannen

Okay, we've chatted for the past few years about the NBA and if it's possible the league is moving up the charts in the hearts of fans. I'm back on board because I think while it's not back to the heyday of the late 60's/early 70's or Magic/Larry/Michael era, we're headed in the right direction. Post Jordan(1998) it seemed the focus was on the punks like Spreewell, Sheed, the Jailblazers, the brawl between the Pistons & Pacers and other negatives. I think the groundwork was laid in the latter part of the 80's with the Detroit Bad Boys and some of those thug & mug Knicks & Heat teams who won games 82-79 and were torture to watch. In a league filled with top flight athletes, fans want to see them cut loose and feature their amazing skills. Finally we got an infusion of young, talented guys who also seemed to be quality people like Dwayne Wade, Chris Paul, Lebron, and Dwight Howard. They fit in well with the veteran class acts like Tim Duncan or Kevin Garnett. I know this, the playoffs have been highly entertaining the past 3-4 years and with 8 different teams in the West alone right now at least 11 games above .500, this spring will be no different.
Did you see the crowds following Tiger Woods around for his practice round in anticipation of tomorrow's start of the Match Play tournament in Marana, Arizona? It was staggering as fans are just thirsting to catch his act after the 8 month layoff following knee surgery in the wake of his memorable US Open win. I love the people asking if he could win. What part of Tiger Woods is playing don't you understand? Does anyone really believe he's going to return with no shot? Please!
I watched him wrap it a few times off the tee and it doesn't appear there are ill effects from the operation. The scary part is he hit 8 of 9 fairways during the front side of Tuesday's practice round. As the defending champ and #1 player in the world he'll square off with the #64, Brendan Jones of Australia. I love the idea of returning under this format because one bad hole can't do you in because it's just one hole. I'm thinking if he gets past round one, watch the heck out!