106 Miles to Chicago

Don't forget Jack

As great as Phil Michelson's win at The Masters on Sunday was, to me, it doesn't compare to the '86 win by the Golden Bear. It's cool to see the Sports Guy feeling the same way.

Here's the best way I can describe it. Imagine Dad winning the Masters. And since that can't happen, imagine the next-best thing. Like Ali and McEnroe, Jack belonged to another era, a time when individual athletes resonated with people.

Heroes emerge only from team sports today -- sometimes too soon, as Griffey Jr. and Kobe proved -- with boxers and tennis players unable to inspire any sense of collective attachment. Among current golfers, only Tiger matters, and he's always been more machine than man, as if he emerged from the womb wearing a Nike hat and drilling five-woods. Nobody can identify with him, and nobody seems interested in trying.