After Red Wings Stanley Cup win, Detroit doesn't need hockey-hater Tiger Woods at PGA

Tiger Woods can rip hockey and follow the L.A. Dodgers and his boy Roger Federer all he wants, when he comes to metro Detroit later this year for the PGA Championship, he’ll be playing in Hockeytown, thanks to the Red Wings’ Stanley Cup victory Wednesday.

Oakland Hills north of Detroit was supposed to be the venue where Tiger Woods went after the grand slam.

After faltering at Augusta and undergoing knee surgery, it’s looking more likely he’ll come to the Detroit looking for his first major of the year.

Few places in the world are as fanatical about golf and hockey as Michigan. Hockey players are superior golfers compared to other athletes, especially baseball and football players. Hockey players have incredible hand eye coordination, not to mention flexibility and upper body strength which gives them plenty of distance.

They can also hold their beer better than other athletes, making them formidable weekend scramble opponents.

Now since the lockout a few years ago, hockey has been a punching bag for mainstream sports fans. And that’s okay.

As far as measuring a sport by its TV ratings, consider what Americans watch these days: American Idol, shoving talentless drones down our throats over and over again as we applaud them like zombies - or America’s drug-riddled pastime baseball. Or how about the NBA, which has been destroyed by poor officiating and whining players who think they get fouled roughly 44 times a game. Now we’re subject to wall-to-wall finals coverage on ESPN forcing the importance of a Lakers-Celtics series - as if these two teams, who got lucky with last-minute trades this year, hold a candle to the dynasties of the 80s.

It’s practically a compliment to be a niche sport not enjoyed by the masses in the U.S. these days.

After suffering through this season’s NBA playoffs, where the Pistons complained to the refs for six games while playing a little basketball when they could squeeze it in, I’m starting to actually reconsider my stance on soccer.

The City of Detroit needed a championship, that’s for sure. It’s sleazy mayor has become a national punchline and everyone likes to take their shots at the auto industry. The Tigers, after splurging on expensive talent, are in the basement of their division.

So it’s good to see the Red Wings are the toast of the town again. Despite not seeing eye-to-eye with most Michiganders about hockey, Tiger will be treated just fine in Detroit. In fact, the city has the best sports fans in America. They aren’t pessimistic whiners like in Philly, or gossip queens like in New York. Only Chicago an Boston are in the same league as The D. In Detroit, athletes who play hard are treated like kings, and Tiger plays harder than any other golfer, so he’ll be the fan favorite as usual.

As for hockey, it can have its haters like Tiger, along with my colleagues William Wolfrum (who lives near the equator and reportedly has an ice phobia) and Chris Baldwin, whom you have to wonder if he told Mario Lemieux of his thoughts on his sport’s fans when he caught up to him at a recent buffet line. But know that when you pass through the D this summer, the pride and joy will be of the Stanley Cup. The city just feels different, full of pride when they know the Stanley Cup is theirs.

If any of you are on a golf course in the area this summer, you’ll definitely see a little twinkle in the locals’ eyes. This summer belongs to the Red Wings - not Tiger in Detroit.