Let's face it. When it comes to sports, we don't agree on much.
We don't agree whether the Lakers are dead. We don't agree on Miami's future. We don't agree why New Jersey seems to have become the hotbed of great sports teams. We don't agree with the coach, the quarterback and certainly not the columnist.
Today, however, we can agree on this:
Vijay Singh: What a wiener.
There is a line in sports that says you don't talk the talk if you can't walk the walk. Evidently, Singh doesn't want much to do with either.
Singh spent most of last week running from the sound of his words, and now he's running from the sight of a golf course. Two more strides and the guy can endorse Oscar Mayer.
Now, this being America, we are all granted the inalienable right of deciding exactly why we believe Vijay to be a sausage product (I think it's the 12th Amendment), but I am fairly confident that a great many of us do. After all, the guy has gone out of his way to dress in a bun and dance around the relish bowl.
Perhaps you believe Singh to be a wienie because of his original comments, the ones in which he suggested it was "ridiculous" that Annika Sorenstam was in the Colonial field, and that if he were paired with her, he'd pull out. Perhaps those words struck you as sexist, as elitist, as boorish, and perhaps you were among the critics who lined up to shout him down.
Perhaps you believe Singh to be a wienie because of his subsequent comments, when after a verbal mulligan he said, oops, he was taken the wrong way and he didn't mean to say anything that would offend Sorenstam. Perhaps those words hit you as insincere, as a lack of conviction. Perhaps you were among those who supported him the previous day for speaking his mind, and yours, then found yourself abandoned.
Perhaps you believe Singh to be a wienie because of what happened Sunday, when he won the Nelson, accepted the prize, yawned and announced he wasn't going to be anywhere near the Colonial this week. Annika? Oh, yeah, her. Is this the tournament she's entered in?
Yep, Singh has covered all the angles. No matter what you think about Sorenstam playing in the Colonial, Singh has somehow managed to tick you off. Those who want her to play think he's sexist. Those who don't think he's a waffler. Those who just want to see what happens think he's in hiding.
Wow. I guess this is going to be worse than that 9 you took on No. 15 at Augusta last year, huh?
Bottom line: You don't talk smack, then not show up. You don't become part of the controversy, then hide from it. You don't talk about how the Colonial should be reserved for only those who belong there, then decide the entire tournament is an unplayable lie.
Alas, Singh says he's tired, because he has played four whole golf tournaments in a row. Well, eat your heart out, coalworkers of America. Not to mention Cal Ripken, for that matter.
What? Singh didn't count up how many tournaments he had played until he won Sunday night? And would he have felt more rested if he had finished, say, 14th?
Singh says his withdrawal has nothing to do with Sorenstam. Right. And wading through the creek has nothing to do with your spikes getting wet. Of course it has to do with Sorenstam, and the publicity circus that awaits. Does anyone believe anything else?
Come on. Since he made his comments, it got a little worse for Singh every day, and what he wants now is to be as far away from this circus as he can get. Right about now, a weekend spent underneath the coffee table probably sounds restful.
Frankly, it would have been better for Singh simply to state his opinion and be done with it. If he doesn't think Sorenstam should play in a PGA event, that's his opinion, and he's entitled. He certainly isn't alone. Sure, people would disagree with him (that's their right), but if people couldn't disagree, they wouldn't sell nearly as many marriage licenses.
Failing that, Singh could have stood behind his second group of quotes, the ones where he didn't wish ill will toward Sorenstam. He could have posed with her, yucked it up, and it all would have faded.
But for goodness' sake, Vijay, stand for something.
And while you're at it, stand over there, on the first tee.
If it's really ridiculous for Sorenstam to play, Singh should have been there to show everyone why. Why leave it up to the rest of the PGA athletes to show her her shortcomings? You think she doesn't belong? Show her why.
Again, I think it's great Sorenstam is competing. To me, it comes down to this: If sponsors had given an exemption to a male golfer who couldn't play a lick, no one would have said a word. But invite the finest female golfer in the world to play against the finest men, and everyone is in a huff?
Put it this way: Sorenstam is taking on a huge challenge this week. Singh is backing away from one. Which means that Sorenstam cannot finish last; she's beaten Singh already.
Hmmmm. I guess that leaves an opening in the field.
