"OOB" Reaches The "Terrible Two's"

Tiger Wins Masters, And Golf Needed It

Tell me, was golf really better off while Tiger Woods hibernated?In the late 1990s and early 2000s, when Tiger gobbled up majors like Pac-Man, folks squirmed and moaned that one man's dominance was somehow damaging to the game. How much more fun it would be, they said, if others won once in awhile. So as Woods slumped in the last two-plus years, nobody, predictably, came close to matching his exploits. Nobody emerged, front and center. Nobody was, truthfully, the player to beat. Everyone was in the same boat, it seemed, without Tiger at the rudder. Well, you know what? Golf got a tad more boring, folks, in the meanwhile.

And so it went on April 12, 2005. That's how the first post of "Out of Bounds" began, two years ago today.

Now, 651 posts later, here I am, celebrating two years as a contributor to the blogosphere. Well, maybe "contributor" is a hot button word. Perhaps "aider and abettor" might be more appropriate.

Anyhow, it's time for the usual thanks: the readers, my fellow bloggers (and I will NOT start listing them for fear of leaving someone out, but you know who you are), and my wife -- who encouraged me to start writing again back in 2003. Without the above mentioned, I'm not writing, and I'm not having any fun.

But I do want to single out one person. Kevin Antcliff, who two years ago today e-mailed me and told me of this cool thing called blogging, and that I should get into it. Minutes later, I had started "Out of Bounds," and if you have anyone to blame for this, it's Antcliff. He was my aider and abettor.

It's kind of appropriate in a way that the two-year anniversary coincides with my new side gig at Michigan In Play! Magazine. For two years ago I was tentatively sticking my toes into the cyber waters, and today I'm pumping my exclusive interview for M.I.P. with Red Wings and Tigers owner Mike Ilitch. Not bad, I guess. You can see it on their website's home page, scrolling down to the blogs section.

So, thanks again and keep on visiting -- who else is gonna read this stuff?