Just another quick post.
Tiger Woods made the following comments today:
Don’t count Tiger Woods among those glued to their TVs during the Stanley Cup finals.
The world’s top golfer appeared via teleconference on Monday, promoting August’s PGA Championship at Oakland Hills in suburban Detroit.
Woods was asked if he was rooting for Detroit or Pittsburgh.
Woods started to laugh, then landed a zinger.
“I don’t really care. Let’s talk about the Dodgers,” the California native said. “I don’t think anybody really watches hockey any more.”
Ouch.
But the improved television ratings for this year’s finals doesn’t seem to match Woods’ assessment.
The Penguins’ victory over the Red Wings on NBC drew the best overnight rating for a Game 3 of the Cup finals in six years. Pittsburgh’s 3-2 win on Wednesday night earned a 2.8 national rating and an 18.2 rating in Detroit, beating out the 15.9 rating for the Pistons’ matchup with the Boston Celtics in the NBA’s Eastern Conference finals. The combination of Games 1, 2 and 3 have made this the highest-rated and most-watched opening games of the Cup finals since Detroit faced Carolina in 2002.
“The National Hockey League has enormous respect for Tiger Woods, for all his accomplishments and for his work with the community,” NHL spokesman Frank Brown said. “We think he’s a great golfer.”
It’s impossible to discount what Tiger Woods has achieved, but give me a break. The irony here is that he plays a sport that some would argue isn’t even a “sport” and that if he didn’t play, “nobody” would care about it. Even less nobodies than the NHL.
