The revelations of Tiger’s twelve thirteen mistresses seems to have freed sports writers to go where they previously had dared not. Orlando Sentinel Columnist Mike Bianchi pulls no punches:
The PGA Tour, for once in its life, should be proactive on an issue involving performance-enhancing drugs. Commissioner Tim Finchem should immediately announce a full-scale investigation into Tiger’s relationship with this controversial doctor. And if it’s found that Tiger has been using illegal PEDs, all of golf’s governing bodies should strip him of his major titles. Nicklaus, like Aaron, should not have his monumental milestone (18 major victories) surpassed by a cheater.
Remember the before-and-after pictures of lanky Bonds as a young baseball player and then the bulked-up, hulked-up Bonds after he began using that BALCO-manufactured “flaxseed oil”? Well, look at pictures of Tiger as the skinny young golfer and compare them to the thicker, bigger, sculpted, chiseled Tiger of today.
LA Times Columnist Bill Plaschke also seems to think it’s possible:
Two years ago, after following Tiger Woods down the fairway for a couple of days at the U.S Open at Oakmont, I confided to friends an observation that seemed too absurd for public consumption.
From the back, the dude looked like Barry Bonds.
His neck was oddly wide. His shoulders were absurdly broad. His biceps were busting out of a tight shirt.
For the first time, he wasn’t just better than everyone else, he was also bigger. He looked not like a technician lining up a tee shot, but a slugger getting loose for batting practice.
He looked weird. He looked stuffed. He looked dirty.
I confided it, but never wrote it, because who would believe it?
Tiger Woods in the same sentence as the most infamous (alleged) steroid user? He was too smart, too scripted, too careful.
Thought so, anyway.
Now I wonder.
I’ve thought for a long time that the virtually overnight transformation was suspicious, but dismissed it. I could never figure out how all that muscle made him a better player (and you could argue that it hasn’t—regardless of how he acquired it). But I’ve been so wrong on so many things in this saga.
No one should ever be guilty by association, but Woody’s relationship with that Canadian doctor arrested for trafficking in performance enhancing drugs was reckless at best. If I had a billion dollars, and was considering using a doctor with, say, unusual methods, I’d have the man vetted by serious investigators. My career and image would be too important to risk.
But then, carrying on with a Baker’s Dozen Bimbos also would be too risky.
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Excellent post.
One more thing to add—which is something that other blogs and articles have just started to touch on—is the fact that there are some steriods that act to reduce muscle recovery time, and not simply build mass.
That’s a new concept to me, but think of the implications: that means hitting 1000 balls in a day, then playing for 5-6 days straight would be that much easier. You would recover faster, and be able to practice more and more. That can only improve your golf game.
I just hope these allegations aren’t true. Otherwise, how much are some of his major titles really worth?
As the accusations continue to mount and with Tiger out of sight and silent, these type of speculations are going to dog him. A month ago I would have given this latest episode little thought. However, as Tiger has dribbled out increasingly damning confessions, I have to admit that a seed of doubt has been planted in my mind.
It appears that some of his personal decisions have been extremely poor. He seems to have been hanging out with some pretty “fast” company. It is not impossible to imagine him making another bad choice in his chase to surpass Jack’s record.
Considering all of the dating he was doing with all of his women, it isn’t like he had a lot of time to work out. So, maybe there’s something to the suggestion that performance enhancing drugs were involved. I would be interested to know if he was ever selected for drug testing on the PGA Tour since the new policy went into effect. That might either put an end to the speculation or fuel it further.
Sorry to stray a bit, but…
Why is it that we tell young people not to be judgmental when they consider the mistakes of their icons..real and imagined?
Yet, we never tell our youth to not be judgmental when they consider the successes of those same icons..real and imagined?
And the golf media and Tim Finchem tell us it is ok to be judgmental when considering the successes of their products, but lecture us to NOT be judgmental when they F@&! up. Like on Golf Central tonight.
No wonder kids have a hard time understanding the maturing process. And we have a hard time helping them.
Miranda—I think he *was* getting a workout.
Wayne—You’re right on target. People only accuse you of being judgmental when they dislike the judgments you came to.