Sunday, December 20, 2009

WHERE HAS THE PUNDIT GONE???

I know. I have not posted since December 2. Tiger Woods. The story has gotten a lot better since then. 14 alleged mistresses. Soon he will have played a whole round of 18.

And it's not as if things have not happened in that interval. The Copenhagen fiasco, the U.S. health care circus, the slumping in the polls President, the emergence of Alberta's new political "party" - the "Wildrose Alliance", amongst others. So I cannot blame this silence on the lack of things to "pundificate" on. Maybe it has been exam setting, exam marking, brutally cold weather, endless snow shovelling, a a trip here and there which has just frozen my "pundicasity".

In a couple of days, we head out to Phoenix and then to India on a 6 month sabbatical leave. When we are settled down, I will be back with the "punditry". First from Phoenix, and then hopefully from our travels in India.

I apologize to those who have frustratingly checked the ITP daily only to find a absence of any "pundifications". Soo.. here's the plan. I will be absent from my world of "pundalatry" for at least a week more. Trying to "pundulate" in a Motel 6 in Twin Falls, Sweetgrass, or even Salt Lake, is too stressful for this ITP. But I promise.. by the first week in January, you will be grateful for my past silence because I will be back in full throttle. For one thing, I will have FOX NEWS to watch, and that always gets my pundit juices flowing.

So.. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and all that. You can stop looking for a week or so.

Now.. back to marking.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

TIGER SHOULD SHOW UP

When I first heard that Tiger Woods was "seriously injured" in a car accident, I was pretty shocked. That would have been a big story. Tiger is the greatest golfer of his time, and probably the greatest ever. A serious injury could have ended his career, and that would have been big and bad news, not only for Tiger but for the golf world.

When it became clear that Woods was not seriously injured, and the story changed into a gossipy, speculative one about Tiger,his wife and other women, I began to lose interest. After all, rumours that a very rich, celebrity athlete might have engaged in extra marital affairs, leading to domestic turmoil is not shocking. We read about it every day.

What interests me more now is Tiger Woods' behaviour since the accident. Playing a cat and mouse game with the police who were simply trying to do their jobs was chicken poop behaviour. The police have better things to do than to be jerked around by Woods. If Tiger Woods did not want to be interviewed, which is apparently his legal right, he should have had the decency to come out and say it in the first place. Having the police come back three times over phoney baloney excuses is beneath a person of character.

And what is this with his refusal to show up at his own charity tournament, which he is hosting? Granted, he probably is in no mental condition to play 4 rounds of golf, although with Woods, his victory at the U.S. Open with a bum leg shows that he probably could have played and won this tournament, even with his sore ribs, scratched face, and shattered pride. But not to show up at all?

The Chevron World Challenge is a major fund raising event to support the Tiger Woods Foundation. Woods' physical presence at the tournament even if he is not playing would demonstrate its importance to him and give it a big boost. Not showing up because he is embarrassed by his private conduct shows a lack of character and courage. Woods cannot hide forever. He will have to face the music soon enough. Get it over with, Tiger! Come out and support your own tournament. Be a man.

I hope Tiger comes out to the Chevron World Challenge. Let's see if he does.