Is Tiger Woods the New Barry Bonds?

I just read an article about Jack Nicklaus's presser at Augusta yesterday. According to the article, the press conference moderator tried to cut off questions three times only to have Jack tell his Augusta handler that he would continue to answer queries from reporters and fans.

Afterwards, he rode around course on a cart and talked with adoring fans along the way. No handlers, no bodyguards. Jack doesn't shy away from the fans and they are thrilled to be in his presence.

Pretty good for a man who isn't even playing in the tournament and is only in Georgia to act as an official starter at the behest of his friend Arnold Palmer. 

Compare that to golf's No. 1 player, Tiger Woods. 

The supposedly new and improved Woods is being accompanied by his own bodyguards and six, count them, six Georgia State Troopers. Mark Richt wouldn't need that much protection after an 0-11 season between the hedges.

It made think about what will happen when Tiger inevitably tracks down Nicklaus and breaks his once formidable record of 18 majors.

Will we be angry or elated? Will sports fans embrace Tiger and root for him or hope he somehow loses his skills prematurely and fails in his quest to knock Jack from the top spot?

The whole fiasco makes me think of the sad days of Barry Bonds hunting down Hank Aaron's career home run mark. We all knew Bonds was going to do it. We knew that short of an act of god, Barry would pass Hammering Hank and become the all-time leader in home runs. 

Instead of being one of the most memorable sporting moments of our lives, it was a sad forgettable affair. An event that most sports fans tried to ignore. And many fans did.

I was a little kid when Hank Aaron passed Babe Ruth, but I still remember seeing Aaron's record-breaking homer go over the wall. I still remember that Al Downing of the LA Dodgers threw the pitch.

Bonds passed Aaron this past decade, and I can't even remember who the Giants were playing that day. Let alone who threw the pitch.

Is it going to the same with Tiger? Will his star be so tarnished that, like Bonds, we'll be rooting for him to do the right thing and just retire before he passes Jack? 

A lot will depend on if there are any more revelations from his Canadian doctor. 

Being a cad and a sex freak is one thing, being a PED cheater quite another. 

I know a lot of people will argue that Tiger answered this question during his Masters press conference. But let's face it, most people thought Roger Clemens was clean until he got caught in a similar drug imbroglio. 

It used to be when sports fans thought of Roger Clemens it was rising fastballs and world series rings. Now the Rocket's name conjures up images of dirty used needles and a cheating husband.  

Why any sports agent would hook up his client with such a questionable character unless something was going on is a head scratcher to me. Almost more so than why the doctor in question had illegal drugs in his carry on bags while going through customs in this security climate. 

It wasn't supposed to be like this.

We were supposed to watch Tiger hunt down the Golden Bear. We were supposed to watch one of the greatest performers hunt down one of the greatest legends in sport.

That was the game plan from the first time young Eldrick showed up with his doting father on the Mike Douglas Show. From when he showed up on the pro tour and almost immediately lived up to what many people thought were unreasonable expectations.

It's still possible Tiger will right this ship. He doesn't have to be the Titanic. 

If he does right the ship, it might be a better story that the one that was being written before he fell off his pedestal.

I'm rooting for him to do it. If not for the sake of Tiger, for the sake of the sport.