Woods, Mickelson still steal Masters from Cabrera

With all due respect to Peter King, there are a few things that I think I think, too.’

1…. With all due respect to Peter King, there are a few things that I think I think, too.’

1. I think that everyone who tuned into the Masters last Sunday cared a lot more about the Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson pairing than front-runners Angel Cabrera, Kenny Perry and Chad Campbell.

It’s true, Woods and Mickelson went on a rampage during the final round, including a course-record 30 on the front nine by Lefty. And while the two are the sport’s most famous, that fame should not have trumped the three-man playoff that ensued by Cabrera (eventual winner), Perry and Campbell. But man, Mickelson must have dropped at least 25 pounds — watch out Woods.

2. I think Woods could play free safety and out-bench press 25 percent of the NFL.

3. I think Plaxico Burress should be suspended for a year from the NFL. And I think he’s one of the guys who Woods can out-bench.

4. I think Dwayne Wade should get votes for the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award. He is a 6-foot-4 shooting guard who is averaging 1.3 blocks a game. Not only that, but Wade has a permanent spot on SportsCenter for his recent highlight rejections. So maybe he isn’t anchoring a defense in the paint, but he is providing energy and pumping adrenaline into his teammates with his theatrics and amazing-ness. Something should be said for that. Oh, and he is second in the league in steals, too.

5. I think it’s a bad idea for the NFL to consider expanding its regular season to 18 games. Granted, the league has experienced success every time it has lengthened the schedule in the past — from 12 to 14 to 16. But by cutting the preseason schedule and adding games that count, you just assure more injuries and less player development. And for a league with no real professional feeder system and completely obsessed with protecting its players, this just doesn’t make sense. Regular season games in August? Really?

6. I think I’m sick of all the racially and corporeally founded comparisons of basketball players. Like Hasheem Thabeet will be the next Dikembe Mutumbo. Or Blake Griffin reminds you of Carlos Boozer. Some similarities exist, to be sure. But there’s no doubt its knee-jerk. Remember when Adam Morrison was the next Larry Bird? During Bird’s pro career he averaged 24 points, 10 boards and 6 assists per game. Since Morrison’s NBA career is negligible at this point, we’ll look at his 19 points and two assists per game college averages at Gonzaga.

Morrison was a great scorer, but his game revolved around an array of runners, floaters and off-balance shots. He could get off tough shots and liked putting the ball on the floor a little bit. He should have been compared to Reggie Miller. Bird made a living in the high post. Sure, he was a great shooter, but he did a lot of his work in the 16-18 foot range. Based on Bird’s career numbers, we should’ve been calling Lebron the next Larry Legend. But we saved that comparison for Magic Johnson, because, you know, they were both 6-foot-8 black guys.

I could go on for days, but the point is we in sports make way too many comparisons based on physical aesthetics. Just because Morrison and Bird had scraggly mustaches, are white and have funny jump shots doesn’t mean they are anything alike. And don’t think the next batch of college prospects will be either.

7. I think that when Alex Rodriguez gets back from injury, he is going to hit 40 home runs and drive in 110 runs. How is anybody going to justify ripping into him then?

8. I think the San Jose Sharks will play the Boston Bruins for the Cup.

9. I think James Harrison’s new contract is well earned. NFL players put their bodies on the line more than any other athletes. It’s like they wake up every day and run into a wall over and over. All that $51 million is going to come in handy when Harrison can’t walk when he’s 45 and needs live-in nurses.

10. I think Harry Kalas is the owner of the greatest home run call in the history of baseball. ‘It’s outta heeeere!’ He will be missed far and wide.

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