Chris Baldwin: Tiger Woods takes in NBA as PGA starts

Tiger Woods spent his Wednesday night watching an Orlando Magic-New Jersey Nets game courtside in Mickey Mouse country. While the PGA Tour was preparing to kick off its 2008 season in Hawaii several time zones away.

What's wrong with this picture?

Nothing, except for maybe the fact it was a Nets game. Tiger's stooping to watching the Nets? It's never a bad thing to catch Magic big man Dwight Howard, the next dominant force in the NBA, in person. But against the Nets? What courtside ducats to the Bucks visits to the Amway Arena were too pricey for Tiger?

And oh yeah, there's also the little matter that this sure looks like Tiger is sticking it to powerless PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem again.

Tiger suddenly feels the urge to leave one of his Florida triple-mansion compounds and the yacht to catch an NBA game on the eve of the PGA Tour's season opener? Really? He didn't have any other time to get his hoops fix in and well, those Nets are in town, see you Elin and hello cameras ...

I'm a huge NBA fan (one of the dozen in the U.S.) who prefers the game over even king football and loves to go to games. But this still seems fishy to even me. It's awfully coincidental and convenient timing.

This isn't a public rebuke of course. Tiger doesn't operate that way. But it sure could be a nice little private jab at Finchem, who can turn on his TV and see the best golfer in history sitting at a basketball arena while the lesser lights give golf a kickoff tournament that will draw WNBA ratings. It doesn't matter if you noticed that Tiger was watching Dwight Howard. You can be guaranteed that Finchem did.

Tiger is completely behind the Tour's schedule though. He thinks it's a smart idea that golf opens up on the first weekend of the NFL Playoffs when nobody can hear Boo Weekley say boo. Sure, he does.

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