More Real-Life Drama

Hollywood fodder is coming fast these days:

Tiger Reigns in Pines

Marriage, fatherhood, knee surgery, retirement.
Such is one of the canonical career arcs, particularly that of the Good Father/Former Athlete. It's too rare these days, which makes me think the flood of second-generational pro stars of recent years may be transitory.

Tiger Woods does it best, but he does it fast. It may pass on, too, with one-year Samantha clearly seeking the limelight. We are nearing the endgame in Tiger's chase of Jack Nicklaus' all-time major win record (Woods now at 14 to Nicklaus' 18), but it is not a sure thing, despite Woods' pace being several years more advanced than Jack's.

This win today took a lot from Tiger, and we can only wait and see whether part of that price will be a shortened career (truly, we'll never know if it did, unless his career reaches Nicklausian length--only 15 years to the Seniors Tour!) I'm betting that he will make his 20 (the symmetrical goal being 5 of each, but the reality being a bit longer in Masters' wins, say 7-5-4-4) and call it a day, definitively, Borg-ianly (as in Bjorn), for the most part in about 3-4 years.

Today's was clearly the toughest of the 14 wins, both in terms of the competition he got from holes 55 on (today, to hole 91), and because of his sore knee. He clearly interrupted his normal recovery process, or sped it up unreasonably, for the too-tempting prospect of the U.S. Open on his "home championship course" at Torrey Pines. He hadn't played before this tourney, and he won't play for another couple of months now. His gamble worked, or at least it seems at present to have worked. The win, over his good friend, a young 45-year-oldster, Rocco Mediate (great casting opportunity--Ben Stiller?) had the kind of dramatic plot reversals that make for good movie (or at least good TV movie).

Tiger thus gains an edge--dramatic, numerical, and family-values-wise--over his only rival for Outstanding Male Athlete of the Era, Roger Federer. For his part, Federer will pass Sampras at a trot in the comparable challenge (middle 2009), and will not stop until he wins the French Open. That occurrence appeared very distant this year when he was trounced again by Nadal, worst score ever. My impression was that Federer wanted to go to net but was denied. My prediction for Roger's final total: 21 wins--8 Wimbledon, 7 U.S., 5 Aussie, 1 French (Sampras is at 16).

Fall of the Afghan Prison

The Taliban brought modern weapons to bear under everyone's nose and blasted down the mud walls, freeing hundreds of their "colleagues". This great photo-op for Al Qaeda could still be one-upped into a great Hollywood drama if we play(ed) our cards right.

Think instead of this concept: we wanted them to do it! It brings a corps of their best soldiers out into the open. Then, if we can contain them, we blast the rescuers and escapees without remorse. Saves a whole lot of trouble.

I expect the story to be told in this fashion, regardless of what actually happened/is happening/will happen.

The Great Afghan Counter-Escape: starring Chuck Norris, as the chief American ground officer, forced to work with hesitant NATO operatives.