Mike Check Monday 4

Good morning everybody and "Happy Monday." As usual, it was an exciting and dramatic weekend in the world of sports: NBA playoff implications, arrests and Tiger nearly making a triumphant return in the Masters. I don't know what was more surprising -- Tiger nearly winning the Masters, Rory Mc Ilroy "choking" it away, or Charl Scwartzel winning it! Here's my take…Is my "Mike" on? Tiger Even during the pinnacle of Tiger Woods' accomplishments, I was never feverishly compelled to engulf myself in the game of golf. Over the years I suppose the effect of Tiger reached me in the form of up and coming black golfers (inspired and intrigued by Tiger) teaching me the proper etiquette (dress code, conduct) and basic rules of the game. That was circa 2004 and those lessons were only attained for future business settings in my quasi- "Wall Street/ Gordon Geiko" visions. Fast forward six years and I watched my first golf tournament at length (2010 Masters). It was cool that I actually knew what was going on and could follow the score, but the only reason I tuned in was to follow Tiger closely and observe how he would respond to his "transgressions" controversy -- a space unfamiliar and foreign to him at the time. Though he didn't win the tournament, he made a promising debut in his return to the PGA Tournament after taking a considerable amount of time off. Woods' advocates said it would only be a matter of time, a short time, until Tiger was back to winning tournaments and majors on A regular basis. As evidenced this past weekend in the 2011 Master's, we're still waiting. To his credit, Tigers seems way more patient than his constituency. While that may be a sign of confidence, with the uprising of a new generation of talented golfers ( Angel Cabrera, Rory McIlroy), it seemed be a changing of the guard at the start of the 2011 Masters. As soon as that seemed to be a possibility, the golf nation witnessed McIlroy melt down under the sun in a colossal implosion despite leading the tournament heading into Sunday's final round. Tiger furiously roared back and had the momentum. He was on the brink of doing something he had never done, even in his prime, and that was win a Major after trailing entering the final round. That story still has yet to write itself. If anything, McIlroy's "blowup" proved to be a testament of Tiger's brilliance of yesteryear. There's no way Woods would have squandered a palpable opportunity at victory. Right now, while Tiger is in a funk, no one has clearly supplanted him as the best golfer. We're just witnessing a random game of musical chairs with the last man standing symbolizing the arbitrary winner until Woods regains form. Luckily for Tiger, he can take solace in the fact that he's still roughly three years ahead of Jack Nicklaus' Majors record of 18 (if that's any consolation). Until then, he's technically not a bum. NBA Ok, give me a few moments while I wipe the egg off my face, or at least my MacBook. Last week I was making a last minute, if not moot, argument for Kobe Bryant being this year's MVP. Essentially I argued that Kobe should get it based off "career achievement" merits, especially if the Lakers pulled off Home Court Advantage throughout the playoffs. No sooner than I finished that claim, the Lakers "conveniently" fell into a four game losing streak that cost them HCA, metaphorically highlighted by Kobe letting the ball slip out of his hands in the last seconds of the Lakers' loss to Utah. Thanks Kob (This is why we must reward Kobe now; it's only a matter of time before Bryant throws on that figurative "Wizards" jersey). Now before I get my pass and license on the South Side revoked, I want to reiterate that Rose is resoundingly the MVP this year for reasons we all know, with none being more important then Doc Rivers' sentiment: "He should get it this year based off all the fourth quarter comebacks." I know my Chicagoan's who love Kobe because of Mike know where I'm coming from. It's just a shame that the most dominant and skilled players since Jordan only have 1 MVP each (Kobe and Shaq). There's no NBA player in the last 20 years who led his team to at least 3 championships that has failed to acquire at least 2 MVP awards except for Kobe and Shaq. At the end of the day, you must reward Superstar players for winning multiple championships. In most Christian traditions, Sunday is regarded as the holy day, and the subject of Sunday's sermon was the examination of morals. The Orlando Magic got a moral victory yesterday afternoon in the form of a Jameer Nelson, "couldn't get the shot off in time" loss to the Bulls. Without their big man and possible Def POY Dwight Howard, they came within .01 seconds of sending the game into overtime. That type of collective effort from the team should give the Magic role players confidence, and pay dividends in clutch situations later in the playoffs. Conversely, the Celtics took a moral loss on top of a real one. Instead of sweeping the season series, cementing the 2 seed, HCA , and mental edge over the Heat with their new makeover team, they got blown out by Miami. The loss of Perkins has put Boston in such a deep psychological (and physical) moat, that climbing out of that ditch may seem improbable. Jeff Green may be a fundamentally sound and overall skilled player, but the toughness, attitude, intensity and intangibles that Perk brought to the table are irreplaceable. Besides smothering defense, the Celtics calling card and strength was their chemistry. Their collective effort of All-Starts equaled that one mega superstar player they don't have. When they consolidated their talent and effort, they formed that one mega-star a la "Voltron." But I never saw "Voltron" form as one or was effective without his left leg, the Blue Lion. Perk was the Blue Lion. This from a team WHICH never lost a playoffs series with the starting lineup that won the 2008 title. Bonus tracks: Kyrie Irving: So Duke point guard Kyrie Irving is forgoing his collegiate eligibility and is headed to the NBA. By all accounts, it was the right decision as most experts project him as a Top 3 pick. I wonder if Coach K knew he wouldn't be a four year player when he recruited him. Manny Ramirez: The "Manny being Manny Show" unceremoniously came to an end on Friday. The former World Series MVP was caught with an illegal substance for the second time, and instead of serving a 100 game suspension, he abruptly decided to retire. While his actions may suggest guilt, I believe it was partially that, and Ramirez plainly being "over it." "Over" all the speculation, accu- sations and demonizations. Ramirez may not get into the Hall of Fame until years down the road, but if you juxtapose his numbers with the peers of his generation, and he's one of the best to have done it. They say when in Rome, do what Romans do. With that said, his numbers (as tainted as they may be) are killing his colleagues numbers that were equally tainted. In a sense, I guess he got the last word and performed the last scene in his ever unpredictable show. Gloria James: Say what you want about the distractions Lebron's mom has caused (I still attribute a certain scandal that happened last year during the playoffs as the reason Lebron lost his focus and matchup to Boston), but there are a couple of good things that came out of the latest "hotel" controversy. Number one, Lebron came right out to take questions, address the media and diffused most of the situation. Secondly, it showed Lebron's compassion and loyalty for his Mom. We all have siblings that embarrass us from time to time, but the act of exhibiting unconditional love speaks even louder!