Tiger tries to let the legend grow…

For those who have followed golf regularly for the last 15 years, there’s one rule to go by: Never, ever, pick against Tiger.

But for those who picked Tiger Woods this week (including this fine site) it was more a practice of following that important rule, rather than a true, unshakable belief that Tiger could win.

He hasn’t played competitively in two months. He’s limping, noticeably, and grimacing his way around the South Course at Torrey Pines. The guy hadn’t even walked a full 18-hole round in two months before this week.

And yet, here he is, about about to begin his third round of the U.S. Open only one stroke behind perennial major championship choker Stuart Appleby, who is at 3-under-par. (Seriously, if Appleby is under par by the time he reaches the 10th tee today, it will be a minor miracle.)

Yes, there’s a lot of golf left to be played. But as he warms up for his third round this afternoon, he is in absolutely perfect position. And with the weekend pressure machine firing up today — and with Tiger being the only major champion near the top of the leaderboard — do not be surprised if he turns this into a complete rout by the end of the day. If he can get off to a fast start — drop a few loud Tiger Roars on the front nine just to let the contenders know he’s there — his walk on Father’s Day could be a runaway.

It must be incredibly demoralizing for the rest of the field already that he’s even in contention, despite the layoff. And if he wins this thing, the Tiger intimidation factor could return to the heights that we saw in 2000 and 2001. And the legendary status will only grow.

And speaking of demoralizing … there’s Phil Mickelson, out of contention after two days.

Pinging

(Courtesy Bill Feig/AP)

Not that I think LSU has a chance to take it all in Omaha or anything; I just thought this was a hilarious picture and better than anything I can find of the prohibitive favorite to win the 2008 College World Series, Miami (FL). 

The eight teams still alive in Division I-A baseball are in the heart of the country for the next week or so battling it out in two four-team brackets. Unlike any of its big-money counterparts, NCAA Baseball decides it’s champion in a double-elimination tournament, a fact that makes for some interesting scenarios when you get down to business in the mid-week elimination games.

Because a team could conceivably play just 3 games in 6 days, winning the first game is imperative. I know, that’s obvious, but if you’re a team like North Carolina with 2 great starters and 2 great relievers, that might be all you need to win the prize. 

The Tar Heels are the best bet to knock off the Hurricanes, but they’ll have to start their run by knocking off an unbelievably hot LSU squad, which overcame being one inning away from elimination in the Super Regional against UC Irvine to get to Omaha. Winners of 25 of their last 26 games, LSU is probably just a Ryan Verdugo outdueling of UNC ace Alex White (a very real possibility) away from carving an easy path to the Hurricanes in the championship. 

In other words, the winner of tonight’s game between the Heels and the Tigers is going to come out of Bracket 2. 

But, just to waffle a little more, Rice has a chance IF they get LSU Monday after a presumed win over Fresno State. Chris Kelley, the presumed starter in Rice’s 2nd game, has a chance if he’s going against LSU No. 2 Jared Bradford. I can’t say the same if Kelley has to go head to head with UNC No. 2 Alex Warren.

My final prediction is UNC against the Canes, with Miami taking it in 2. Not going out on much of a limb, and it’s against my original pick of Miami over Rice, but the bottom line is still the same…Canes win.