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The Tiger Woods comeback tour looks to be getting underway in just over a week.

Woods has been MIA from the spotlight for the majority of the golf season as he continues to deal with an ACL injury he suffered during the Master's Championship.

After skipping two major tournaments, it looks like next week he will finally make his return to the links.The Gurdian has the story:

Tiger Woods, expected to announce this week that he is returning to action at the Bridgestone Invitational on Thursday week, is out of the world’s top 20 for the first time since January 1997.

The report comes on the heels of Woods dropping from eighth in the world rankings to 21st. He hasn't been this far back from No. 1 since 1997.

It's the latest sign that Woods is falling off the map in terms of the current golf landscape.

Yet the spotlight is always pointed in his direction and there is never a shortage of news surrounding the most popular golfer on the planet.

The latest controversy surrounds his decision to fire caddy Steve Williams. The public backlash hasn't been very favorable towards Woods and Williams as publicly commented on the injustice of it.

But the show must go on and Woods needs to find a new caddie quickly if he plans on competing in next week's tournament.

Regardless of who is carrying his clubs...the whole world is anticipating his comeback.

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The Brett Favre to the Philadelphia Eagles rumors have been put to bed...but is a comeback still in play?

Multiple reports have squashed the rumor that the Eagles were interested in bringing in Favre as a back-up to Michael Vick.

Yet the rumors of another possible comeback are still floating out there. Agent Bus Cook has told reporters he has no idea what Favre is currently thinking.

Cook is on the record as saying Favre "hasn't talked to anybody else about a comeback". So he has talked to you then Bus?

If Favre wasn't at least thinking of comeback...now he is. Favre isn't dumb, he sees all of the media attention surrounding the latest rumors and he knows the world is hinging on his every move (a very sad truth).

The rumor mill is spinning and it's exactly what Favre wants. If he was sick of all of the attention it would have taken a simple statement from him to squash it all.

Instead, not even his agent knows what the heck he's thinking. Cutting grass and taking care of the yard is a novel exercise, but it gets old fast for a guy that eats and breaths football.

So if the Philadelphia Eagles are out, they join the Green Bay Packers, New York Jets and Minnesota Vikings as teams that will not be looking to secure the 'ole gunslinger.

So who can potentially sign him?

The Miami Dolphins certainly need a QB, as does the San Francisco 49ers, Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks.

They all need starters...but is Favre only capable of being a backup at this point? Could he be a mentor for Cam Newton in Carolina? Or how about Jake Locker in Tennessee?

Or does Favre still want to start?

So many questions are still out there and the silence of Favre only engulfs the flame.

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The Dallas Cowboys have lots to hash out in the next two weeks in the post NFL lockout world.

They open up training camp on Thursday at the Valley Ranch in San Antonio with the bitter taste of last year's 6-10 campaign still fresh in their minds.

QB Tony Romo is 100 percent and comes into camp with a chip on his shoulder. The fans of the Cowboys demand Super Bowl's and Romo still hasn't come close. He needs help and it starts with the Cowboys re-signing a few key players. Offensive tackle Doug Free was incredible last season and is going to be very important to the success of the team moving forward. Getting him back is huge.

A big decision they have to make is if they need to re-sign Marion Barber. They need to decide if he is worth the price tag of over $4M. The Cowboys have to worry about cap issues and letting Barber go will save them some dough. With the way he has underachieved the past three seasons, it's time to say goodbye.

But the most important issue at hand is on defense. Calvin Watkins of ESPN Dallas talks about what the gameplan is going to be:

As soon as the players are allowed to come to Valley Ranch, make it mandatory for the defensive players to meet with Ryan. The defense allowed a franchise-worst 436 points last season, and there might be major changes coming. The team might lose a starting defensive end, two starting safeties and -- for cap reasons -- a cornerback. If that's the case, Ryan has plenty of work to do. The lockout prevented him from teaching his new players how to run his version of the 3-4 defense. Ryan is considered one of the best coordinators in the league, and he wants to become a head coach like his brother Rex, so success is important.

Ryan was able to get the most of a Cleveland Browns defense that featured few impact players. The lack of practice this offseason is going to sting, but the progression of the unit throughout the season will be the key to the Cowboys season.

Free agency to nab other players begins Friday—which is seemingly years away right now. Right now it's time to focus on the tasks at hand— sign your own guys (Free and all of the rookies) and say goodbye to Barber.

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The NFL lockout is finally over and now it's time to prepare for one of the craziest two weeks periods in the history of the sport.

Monday is the calm before the storm as teams prepare for the following schedule courtesy of profootballtalk.com:

At 10:00 a.m. ET on Tuesday, teams may sign drafted rookies, undrafted rookies, and negotiate with (but not sign) their own unrestricted free agents, restricted free agents, exclusive-rights players, and franchise players.

Also, beginning at 10:00 a.m. ET on Tuesday, teams may negotiate with, but not sign or give offer sheets to, other team’s unrestricted free agents, restricted free agents, and franchise players.

At 4:01 p.m. ET on Thursday, teams may waive or terminate player contracts.

At 6:00 p.m. ET on Friday, teams may renegotiate existing player contracts.

Also at 6:00 p.m. ET on Friday, teams sign their own unrestricted free agents, restricted free agents, exclusive-rights free agents, and franchise players.

Also at 6:00 p.m. ET on Friday, teams may sign unrestricted free agents from other teams, restricted free agents from other teams, and franchise players from other teams.

Did you get all of that?

Tuesday is the day where all of the discussions can begin to take place. It's when you see what teams have been doing their due diligence and are prepared to make offers to ensure they get rookies into camp on time.

This is also the time when free agent rumors really begin to surface. Teams are allowed to talk to any player they want to and can begin to get an idea of where some of these player's heads are at.

By the time free agency officially begins on Friday night—your team may have already re-signed key free agents and all of their rookies.

This will show us what teams were most prepared for the madness, the teams that will go into Training Camp without any players holding out. It will also give you a good idea of what teams will be able to get off to a fast start.

Regular season games may be won and lost based on the actions of each organization in the next week or two. Never before has GM's and owners had such a dramatic impact on the success of their team.

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