Endangered hope.

Tiger Woods had a rather slow start on Thursday, but roared back on Friday shooting 66 to get back into contention.  With leader Rory McIlroy having sputtering a little on Saturday, Tiger couldn't quite close the gap; despite multiple chances to do so.

The good news is that he's not completely out of the race for another green jacket; he currently sits 7 strokes behind McIlroy.  The bad news is that Tiger has never come from behind to win a tournament.  For him to make history (Tigerwise at least), he would have to get into "Tigermode" and recapture Friday's form, and hope that McIlroy and the rest of the guys ahead of him slip up.

There was once a time when Tiger Woods walked into a tournament, everyone else was left playing for second best.  Sometimes, he might not even win, but by season's end, he had earned more than everyone else on the circuit courtesy of a high finish.  This led to debates as to whether his dominance was bad for the game, and many courses began adding yardage to their tees; a practice that has since come to be known as "Tiger Proofing".

The 2009 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational was Wood's last tournament win on American soil.  In the PGA championship later in the year, Woods lost to Y.E. Yang; marking the first time that Woods lost a tournament in which he held a lead going into the final round.  This was also the first time that Woods finished the season without a Major win, since 2004.

Tiger's epic celebration at the 18th hole in the 2008 U.S. Open

For Woods last Major, we'd have to go back to the 2008 U.S. Open when he came from behind to force a playoff with Rocco Mediate, then proceeded to win thereafter.  What made this tournament more remarkable was that Tiger was playing on a bum knee, and who could forget that celebration when he sank the putt at the 18th hole?

The mud hit the fan when his marriage infidelities came to light; and he's beeng to slowly but surely working to not only rehabilitate his image, but his game as well.  His game has been completely off and he looks more like a shell of his former self.

Even through his struggles, he was still ranked as the World's #1 golfer, until last October when he was passed by Lee Westwood.  Last I checked, he was ranked #3.  A lot of the pundits still believe that he's got some gas in the tank.  Tiger Woods, struggling or not, remains the major draw.

There's still one round left for Tiger to make a run.  Safe bet of course might be to put your money on the hot shooting McIlroy to close the deal.  Even if Tiger doesn't win today, there's still a few 3 Majors left in the calendar; however, today's final round might just be a preview of what's to come later on.

The Lon Ranger

He's been a Wildcat (and remains one at heart).  He's been a Gator, a Fightin' Illini, a Runnin' Rebel and now, he's a Sooner.  On Monday, Lon Kruger was formally introduced as the head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball team.

Whether or not he was Oklahoma's first option doesn't really matter.  What matters is that Oklahoma has a proven coach who's been known to revive or turn programs around.  No other coach has ever taken Kansas State to 4 straight NCAA tournament appearances.  Frank Martin, the current coach at K-State, might just do it; but he's rumoured to be headed to Miami.

Lon Kruger also helped put Florida basketball on the map when he led the program to a 1994 Final Four appearance.  Florida might have the athletes, but since we're being honest, they really didn't have much of a basketball history prior to that.  Not only is Florida a football school, but the state of Florida is all about football.  Don't believe me?  3 NFL teams compared to 2 NBA teams?  10 national titles in college football as compared to 2 in college basketball?  3 Super Bowls compared to 1 NBA title?  More players in the the NFL Hall of Fame as opposed to the NBA Hall of Fame?  I think you get my point.

Why Kruger's hire is being considered as a good move nationwide, is that he's won just about everywhere he's been; feel free to discount his time with the Atlanta Hawks.  It's very hard to win in the pro ranks, and there aren't that many college coaches who've had any success there.  Other than that, he's a proven winner.

While basketball takes a backseat to football, Oklahoma actually has a decent basketball history.  26 NCAA tournament bids that include 4 Final Four appearances and 2 national title game appearances.  The Sooners at one time held the nation's longest streak for appearances in post-season play (25 seasons); a streak that ended in 2006-07 season, Jeff Capel's first season.  Also, it's been more than 40 years since the school endured back-to-back losing seasons.  With that much history, you can see why Kruger had to re-think the offer before eventually taking the job.

Nobody is asking Kruger to beat Kansas every year; even though winning the conference title would be wonderful.  He's not being asked to get the school to the Final Four every year, or win the national championship every other year.  All he has been tasked with is to make the school relevant again.  Get the program back on the map.  Win games, get the fans back in the seats.  Above all else, keep the program out of the NCAA's radar.

A Kansas native, born in Silver Lake, Kruger starred for the Kansas State Wildcats in the early 1970's.  He was named Big 8 player of the year in both 1973 & '74.  He played in an era when the Wildcats were actually winning more than the Jayhawks.  Based on his time as a player and coach in Manhattan, KS, Kruger is no stranger to these parts of town.

Which brings me to my next point, recruiting.  There was a time when the best high school basketball players in the state played college ball in-state (Wayman Tisdale, Stacey King).  Since then, we've seen some good players, McDonald's All-American players, head north to Lawrence, KS (J.R. Giddens, Xavier Henry) or far east to Durham, NC (Shelden Williams).  Blake Griffin was just one of those "once in a lifetime" moments, where the player opted to stay home rather than take his talents elsewhere.

The good thing about having being in the NBA, albeit a short stint, is that Kruger knows what it takes to compete at that level, both physically and mentally.  He's not that bad of a recruiter either.  So it may not be long before some big names start heading toward Norman.

While searching for a new coach, Oklahoma made it clear that their intention is to "win now!!"  Hiring Lon Kruger is definitely a huge step forward toward achieving that goal.

Another 1, and another 1 bite the dust.

In what was most certainly one of the most entertaining Final Four matchups in recent times, Connecticut and Stanford (both #1 seeds) were both upset by #2 seeds Notre Dame and Texas  A&M respectively.

When Stanford beat UConn last December, ending the Lady Huskies’ 90 game win streak, it was widely expected that would end up facing off in the national title game.  They seemed destined for that rematch after getting through their respective regions without much struggle.  It turns out that the Fighting Irish and Aggies had other ideas.  The key to both these upsets could be summed up in one word; defense.

Texas A&M had the size and grit to match Stanford’s pedigree.  When Stanford took a 54-44 lead with a little over 5 minutes remaining, the Aggies may have been down but not out.  Stanford got outscored 19-8 while committing 3 turnovers the rest of the way (the Aggies had no turnovers).

Despite another big game from Nneka Ogumwike, the rest of the Cardinal players were pretty much held in check.  Jeanette Pohlen was the only other player in double figures (11 points).  It also didn’t help much that Melanie Murphy spent most of the game in foul trouble, eventually fouling out.  Jeanette Pohlen, Kayla Pedersen and Melanie Murphy have been part of some great Stanford teams, but going home empty after 4 straight Final Fours isn’t exactly an easy pill to swallow.

Not to be outdone, Notre Dame who was playing a virtual “home game” saved the best for last.  In front of a partisan crowd in Indianapolis, the Irish were looking to make amends for their three previous losses against UConn.  The Irish had got through the tournament with some tough defense and good perimeter shooting.

Maya Moore and Jeanette Pohlen: fallen legends

They carried that mode into this match against a young and shorthanded UConn team.  The Huskies were using a 7-player rotation and Coach Geno Auriemma hinted that they would be vulnerable especially in encounters as tough as this one.  With Stefanie Dolson sitting out for most of the game after getting into early foul trouble, UConn had to rely on a much smaller lineup for most of the game and Notre Dame made them pay dearly.

While Maya Moore carried the team on her back in this game like she had done all season, Notre Dame was able to answer behind the sensational play of Skylar Diggins, Brittany Mallory and Natalie Novosel.  Mallory and Novosel hit key three pointers, while Diggins would simply not let this team lose.

Diggins made what was arguably the play of the game, with a minute and change left to play.  With the Irish leading by 5 points, Diggins came up with a steal and drove all the way to the basket for a layup that pushed the lead to 7 points, effectively ending the game.  The Huskies wouldn’t get any closer than 4 points.  Notre Dame advanced to their first final since 2001 when, in a cruel twist of irony, they beat UConn in the national semis.

Both games were truly exciting and an excellent showcase for the women’s game.  Texas A&M and Notre Dame may not have been the best teams in the country, but were hands down the best teams in the tournament.