The Associated Press has named Tiger Woods the athlete of the decade, and athlete-wise, it’s hard to argue

SCOTT JACOBS

The timing feels off, just about everything that the man receives now feels undeserved and decorated with a pointy asterisk, but one thing goes without denying– Tiger Woods didn’t just win from 2000-2009, he owned his sport.  Today the AP recognized his golfing brilliance– not who he is as a person, or how many advertisers have run for the hills since his life started falling apart– by recognizing the most recognizable athlete in the world, with the most impressive of accolades.

The honor comes during a firestorm of unbelievably bad press.  Tiger’s fall from grace started out as a series of bad mistakes, but now it just looks like a downward fall that doesn’t have any sign of getting better.  This week we learned Woods may have used performance enhancing drugs (that directly has to do with sports).  Today People reported his wife Ellin is ready to move on– without Woods– in a divorce that is as tragic as it seemed inevitable.

So the award in one sense is a breath of fresh air for a man who hasn’t been seen since this nightmare started.  But no one seems to be cheering today.  It’s not that he doesn’t deserve it– trust the numbers, he’s the best there is at his sport by far and away.  It’s that this feels more like a Romeo and Juliet story than a happy, uplifting Remember the Titans type finale.

But this award is neither here nor there.

Woods won the award because he is a great golfer, not because he’s a great human being.  Recognize that tonight.

Because it’s the only positive thing that has been thrown his way lately.

Popularity: 3% [?]