Tiger Woods celebrates after sinking an impossible 66 foot eagle putt at #13 during the US Open at Torrey Pines.

He’s 32 now and not a kid anymore. The boyish face is still there, unlined but revealing a heaviness that comes with age and experience. His still lithe frame now features a suit of armor – rock hard, sinewy muscle that is fully in evidence only when he swings the club. Not muscle bound but hugely muscled up -both strength and flexibility giving him an advantage over almost all of his competitors.

The frightening intensity has, if anything, become even more a dominant factor in his game. His ability to tune out all the myriad distractions – the huge, raucous galleries, the hordes of photographers, the unbelievable pressure to perform up to expectations bespeak a discipline and mental toughness unheard of in golf or any other sport.

And then there is the final edge, the one part of him that above all others, separates him from other golfers and indeed, other athletes; his fierce, unbending will to win. Only one other athlete in my lifetime came close to possessing such a high level of competitiveness; Michael Jordan’s “refuse to lose” mindset was an astonishing thing to watch when the game was on the line and the ball was in his hands.

For Tiger Woods, it is this competitiveness that drives him to excel, to practice the game more than most, to constantly prepare his body and mind for the rigors of the tour while taking extra time to consciously elevate the level of his game for each of golf’s 4 major tests; The Masters, the US Open, the Open Championship (British Open), and the PGA Championship.

This week at the US Open Championship held at Torrey Pines golf club in San Diego, Tiger Woods is demonstrating once again – as if we ever need reminding – that he is not only the best golfer who ever lived but also the most remarkable figure in sports who ever competed. And he is doing while playing on one leg – barely 8 short weeks removed from knee surgery and without a competitive round of golf since the Masters in April.

The rust was evident that first round on Thursday as Woods struggled with a wayward driver and finicky putter to finish 1 over par. The second round didn’t start out much better as Woods bogeyed 2 of the first 4 holes and ballooned to +3. It seemed as if the rust and the sore knee would be just too much to overcome for Tiger.

But then, lightening struck on Tiger’s seventh hole as he sank a 25 footer for eagle. But once again, Torrey Pines reached up and bit him as Woods bogeyed his 8 and 9 holes putting him right back at +3 and 5 shots off the pace at that point. It seemed that Tiger’s driver accuracy had deserted him. His errant shots were finding the Torrey Pines super rough, making it nearly impossible to get a good approach shot into the green.

But all that changed starting on #1 (Woods began his day playing #10). Tiger ran off a strong of 3’s that gave him 4 birdies on the first 5 holes and finished his scintillating back nine on Friday shooting an eye-popping 5 under par 30 giving him an aggregate score of -2, just one shot off the lead.

Such a round would be enough for any superstar’s resume. Tiger, however, isn’t just “any superstar.” He is a phenomenon. At times he is nearly a force of nature – terrifyingly unstoppable. And like any storm or disturbance in nature, the only thing you can do is get out of his way.

It is Tiger’s Saturday round that will etch itself forever in the memory of the sport and those who witnessed it. You know you have seen something special when sportscasters simply give up trying to explain what was just seen and drop all efforts to describe it, to cover it in cliches or superlatives. Woods’ back nine on Saturday will simply stand on its own with no hyperbole possible or necessary – a testament to talent and courage that will live as long as sport itself.

Once again Woods started off a round poorly, finding himself 3 over par after 4 holes and dropping back in the pack to +1. He got back to even par with a nice birdie on #7 but fell back a stroke once again on 12. Woods was beginning to grimace after some swings. Obviously his surgically repaired knee was giving him some trouble.

On the par 5 13th, Woods drive went way to the right ending up near a concession tent. Given relief because of a TV tower that was in the way, Woods made the most of his break, smacking a 5-iron 240 yards on to the green. It appeared that with a two putt, Woods would get a stroke back with the birdie. Tiger had other ideas.

Standing over his putt 66 feet away from the hole, Tiger gently stroked the treacherous triple breaking downhill putt and watched as it snaked one way, came back another way, and finally broke again heading right toward the center of the hole, disappearing into the cup with a satisfying rattle for an eagle. The crowd went wild and Tiger fist-pumped his way to the next tee.

Unfortunately, the next hole saw Tiger give a stroke back to the field as his knee, now obviously hindering his swing, caused two wayward shots. The look on Woods face every time he prepared to shoot was not dissimilar to a man preparing to walk on hot coals. At that point, it was a question whether Woods would be able to make it through the last three holes.

After a par on the 16th, Tiger’s tee shot on 17 went wildly to the right. The pain in his knee almost caused Woods to collapse on the tee and he walked gingerly down the fairway. His second shot from 220 yards found the rough on the downslope of the green on the left side with a tricky downhill pitch to come.

By his own admission, Woods hit the ball too hard. It came out of the rough “hot” but took one bounce, hit the flag stick, and dove into the hole as if a magnet pulled it there. The improbable birdie had Woods smiling in embarrassment. He was fully aware that if the ball had not hit the flag, it would have been 10 feet past the cup.

That miracle shot gave him an aggregate score for the tournament of -1, just one shot off the lead. But his second shot from the 17th had proved costly. The knee was a constant source of discomfort due to the tremendous torque Woods initiated on his lower body when swinging.

So Woods adapted to the pain. On the 18th tee, he slightly altered his stance, opening his hips so that they now were at a 45 degree angle to the target rather than 90 degrees. This allowed his upper body to do most of the heavy lifting on his swing but also caused the ball to “cut” or veer hard to the right when struck. Woods compensated his aim perfectly, driving a ball 300 yards to the perfect spot on the fairway. His knee still bothered him but evidently, the pain was bearable if he swung the club this way.

His second shot was an absolute thing of beauty. Using the same technique, he powered a 5-wood 260 yards – a real moon shot that went over the water hazard and landed on the green about 40 feet from the cup leaving another treacherous, multi-breaking downhill putt for eagle.

Woods started his putt about 6 feet to the left of the hole, barely striking the ball because the garage floor-like greens at Torrey Pines make it impossible to hit the putt aggressively. The ball took nearly 8 seconds to curl right, veer left, and then straighten out, once again disappearing into the hole for an eagle which not only gave Tiger the lead in the tournament but gave sports fans everywhere a day to remember for all time.

Those days are special. Aaron’s 715th. Jack’s last Masters win at age 45. Mac’s last US Open run. Petty at Daytona. Gibbie’s homer on a gimpy leg. We remember these days because they featured athletes who inspired us and demonstrated an almost otherworldly talent, courage, and grace under the most trying of competitive circumstances. Tiger’s back nine at Torrey Pines is there now, safely put away in memory to be pulled out and admired again and again when we wish to be reminded of the meaning of greatness.

Thanks for the memories, Tiger…

Did Michael really fly? Or did he have some help from the zebras?

Back in the 1990’s when we were innocent enough to believe that the government didn’t keep aliens on ice at Area 51 or that the military did not create the AIDS virus to kill black people, there were whispers of dark conspiracies surrounding the most popular professional game on the planet – the National Basketball Association. There were intimations from crazed fans and journalists hungry for controversy that referees, in cahoots with the league office, were fixing the outcomes of games in the playoffs so that the NBA could realize the best matchups that would guarantee the most revenue.

There were also charges that the zebras would routinely work to extend playoff series so that the most revenue could be wrung from the match-ups.

It was also alleged back then that star players got special treatment from the refs regarding a lack of technical fouls ( allowing them to get away with thuggery) and, in order to keep them in the games, not calling personal fouls on them.

This was the decade that saw the end of the Magic Johnson-Larry Bird era and the beginning of the Chicago Bulls dynastic run of 6 NBA championships in 8 years. Led by arguably the greatest basketball player in history, Michael Jordan, the Bulls slugged it out early in the decade with first the Detroit Pistons and then, their arch nemesis the New York Knicks.

Those Bulls-Knicks series’ were bloody, take no prisoners affairs that have now retreated into legend. But at the time, it seemed that each game witnessed some of the strangest foul calls in the history of the NBA.

Rebounding was the key for both teams and the battle under the boards was incredible; pushing, shoving, elbows to the face, holding uniforms – anything to gain an advantage in positioning in order to grab the rebound. This, in and of itself was not unusual. In playoff refereeing, it was generally recognized that the players would be allowed a little more leeway than was vouchsafed during the regular season.

But the scrum under the boards wasn’t the problem. It was the phantom fouls being called by referees on defenders guarding shooters that raised eyebrows. Little or no contact with the shooter would draw a whistle and send the player to the free throw line. I can recall several games in this series where players and coaches were beside themselves as a result of a foul called for some ticky tacky contact or worse, no contact at all.

Sports talk radio (just coming into its own back then) was hot with callers claiming conspiracy. The league wanted the series to go on, was the charge. The refs were in the bag, whispered the paranoid.

Or were they?

NBA referees, influenced by cozy relationships with league officials, rigged a 2002 playoff series to force it to a revenue-boosting seven games, a former referee at the center of a gambling scandal alleged Tuesday.

Without identifying anyone or naming teams, Tim Donaghy also claimed the NBA routinely encouraged refs to ring up bogus fouls to manipulate results but discouraged them from calling technical fouls on star players to keep them in games and protect ticket sales and television ratings.

Donaghy is a former ref convicted of manipulating games on which he bet. He also took money from gamblers to try and fix the point spread on games, receiving $5,000 for every game in which he was successful. At the time the scandal broke, I wondered if he was the only ref involved:

The NBA is in deep trouble. Donaghy, who will turn himself in this week, is said to have agreed to cooperate with the FBI in their investigation. If it is revealed that there are indeed other officials involved in this scandal, it could very well destroy the league. As it is now, fans will be watching NBA games with extra care next year and wondering.

Always wondering.

And now, in the midst of the most watched NBA Finals in years, Donaghy apparently confirms all the nasty rumors and conspiracies that have been swirling around the league for more than a decade.

Or is his story just too perfect, too pat?

In one of several allegations of corrupt refereeing, Donaghy said he learned in May 2002 that two referees known as “company men” were working a best-of-seven series in which “Team 5” was leading 3-2. In the sixth game, he alleged the referees purposely ignored personal fouls and called “made-up fouls on Team 5 in order to give additional free throw opportunities for Team 6.”

“Team 6” won the game and came back to win the series, the letter said.

Only the Los Angeles Lakers-Sacramento Kings series went to seven games during the 2002 playoffs. And the Lakers went on to win the championship.

At the time, consumer advocate Ralph Nader and the League of Fans, a sports industry watchdog group, sent a letter to Stern complaining about the officiating in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals.

The Lakers, who beat Sacramento 106-102 in that game in Los Angeles, shot 27 free throws in the final quarter and scored 16 of their last 18 points at the line.

The letter also alleged manipulation during a 2005 playoff series.

“Team 3 lost the first two games in the series and Team 3’s owner complained to NBA officials,” the letter said. “Team 3’s owner alleged that referees were letting a Team 4 player get away with illegal screens. NBA Executive Y told Referee Supervisor Z that the referees for that game were to enforce the screening rules strictly against that Team 4 player. ... The referees followed the league’s instructions and Team 3 came back from behind to win the series. The NBA benefited from this because it prolonged the series, resulting in more tickets sold and more televised games.”

In that same series, the letter says “Team 3” lost the first two games of the series and that team owner complained to NBA officials. The letter also alleges that the opposing team’s coach later was fined $100,000 after revealing an NBA official informed him of the behind-the-scenes instructions.

That would correspond with the 2005 first-round playoff series between the Houston Rockets and the Dallas Mavericks, in which Mark Cuban complained to officials and Jeff Van Gundy was fined.

This “evidence” is not as compelling as one might think. It could very well be that Donaghy was simply “confirming” what was believed by some observers in two very high profile incidents where such referee malfeasance was suspected. He has no physical proof that the league ordered the refs to rig the games. Only the word, as the league points out, of a man desperate to have his sentence reduced:

He’s a singing, cooperating witness who is trying to get as light a sentence as he can,” Stern said. “He turned on basically all of his colleagues in an attempt to demonstrate that he is not the only one who engaged in criminal activity. The U.S. attorney’s office, the FBI, have fully investigated it, and Mr. Donaghy is the only one who is guilty of a crime. And he will be sentenced for that crime regardless of the desperate attempts to implicate as many people as he can.”

All true, except…

Except the US attorney and the FBI may not have been informed of this additional information about NBA refs in a conspiracy with the league office to rig games because the letter containing the damning charges wasn’t filed until last Monday. The feds have investigated Donaghy and determined that no other refs or league officials were involved in his gambling schemes. But have they investigated these other charges?

Stern’s statement is unclear on this matter. However, nothing changes the fact that Donaghy’s letter was self-serving and totally void of proof. All we have is the word of a convicted gambler that conspiracy theories that have been the staple of sports talk radio for more than a decade may actually be true – not a lot to hang your hat on for most observers although I’m sure the lines will be hot with “I told you so’s” from the conspiracy promoters at the big sports talk radio stations today.

If the charges have not been investigated, it is paramount that the prosecutor and FBI do so. If the specific allegations have been looked at and found to be baseless, the league should make that plain to the public. As it stands now, David Stern’s statement is ambiguous about these additional charges.

Donaghy put the pro game under a cloud with his gambling. His shocking allegations could bring the NBA crashing down – if they were true. But even if they haven’t been investigated, Donaghy’s lack of proof in making these spectacular charges only reinforces the idea that he is just another con looking for a break from prosecutors.