Woods’ Spin Move Not Fooling Anyone

Tiger Woods has taken his share of hits lately. Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe was the latest to take Woods to task on the eve of the Ryder Cup.

“He is the master of Tigerspin, the most recent example being the explanation of his well publicized remarks last week about how ‘There are a million reasons’ why he would prefer winning the American Express tournament to being on the winning side of the Ryder Cup,” Ryan wrote.

“Tiger needs an additional million dollars about as much as Tom Hanks needs another Oscar. He had $60 million guaranteed in endorsements before he even teed it up once on the Tour.”

More Woods: “Tiger can have it his way, but not many people are buying it,” Ryan continued. “A more likely explanation is that Tiger was hit cold with a question he wasn’t expecting and answered it the way he did because he was already trying to downplay the Ryder Cup, which is not something he enjoys.

“What we heard last week was a gut reaction. What we heard this week was Tigerspin.

“Mr. Tiger Woods may already be the greatest golfer of all time, but there is a significant stain on his resume, and that is his spotty play in his first two Ryder Cups. He is 1-1 in singles play and 2-5-1 in duos.

“He has not brought much more to the table than reputation.”

Trivia time: Who was the MVP of the 1986 American League playoff series between the Angels and Boston Red Sox? Hint: It wasn’t Dave Henderson.

Mr. Mean: Tom Nissalke coached Bison Dele, missing and presumed dead in the South Pacific this summer, and former Seattle SuperSonic John Brisker, missing and presumed dead in Uganda in the 1980s.

“Bison could be a little standoffish at times,” Nissalke told the Seattle Times. “There were times when it was difficult to reach him. But with John you saw a lot of meanness. Sometimes he could be friendly, nice to see you, like that. And other times he was very hostile looking. He had a mean streak you never saw in Bison.”

Royalty meets royalty: Queen Elizabeth II will be escorted by Wayne Gretzky when she drops the puck for a ceremonial faceoff Oct. 6 at Vancouver’s General Motors Place. According to the Toronto Sun, “The Canucks invited the Queen to take part in the opening faceoff.

“Being unfamiliar with hockey, she did not immediately agree. But upon learning that the act was purely ceremonial, she accepted the invitation.”

The next night, Gretzky’s King jersey will be retired in a ceremony at Staples Center. The queen is skipping that.

Trivia answer: Marty Barrett, Boston second baseman, who batted .367 with five RBIs and four runs.

And finally: Bernie Lincicome of the Rocky Mountain News has some advice for Denver Bronco quarterback Brian Griese, who sprained his ankle after tripping over his dog while at home Wednesday night.

“Get a cat,” Lincicome wrote. “That’s his story, and he is sticking to it. Or to quote tight end Shannon Sharpe when he heard, ‘Are you jivin’?’ The dog did what? Ate his homework? Really, if we were making this up we would do a better job than Brian Griese, so he must be believed.”