In the post marital shenanigans era, Tiger Woods has been nothing like his former self on the golf course. Sure, he's regained the number one spot in the PGA, and he's still the highest earning golfer around. But without a major since 2008, there is increasing doubt that he will ever break Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 wins. His oeuvre is arrested at 14 wins. Moreover, he has suffered assorted injuries in this span, including a serious back injury, for which he had surgery in March and which recurred when he returned to play over the summer, clearly too soon for his own good.
In terms of physics, John Brenkus gives us the lowdown on the amount of stress Woods has subjected his body to, simply by playing the dominant game he's played over several years. Like many athletes, he is evidently reluctant to acknowledge the impact of this stress and to do what he needs to do to recover from his injury: namely, take more time to rest and heal, ease back into the game, and probably most difficult of all adjust his game accordingly.
In a related vein, Chicago Bulls Derrick Rose has had two season-ending injuries to one knee, then the other knee, and really hasn't play much basketball over the last three seasons. The season before he tore his ACL, in particular, he suffered various injuries and missed about a third of the games. There is every indication, then, that at such a young age, just in his mid-20s, his body is wearing down. Talk from him, his teammates, the Bulls front office, the media and fans is to see if he can recover the old Derrick Rose.
But as a Google+ friend said of Woods, I think Rose also harbors a suspect psyche. There is no athlete who is invincible or omnipotent. They're stronger, more agile, and more flexible than the average person, but they are still very much human. If they don't adapt their game to their aging bodies, then Father Time will inevitably win over their bodies sooner than later. Woods and his handlers may or may not have seen this Brenkus episode of Sports Science, but if I were he, I'd take serious note and work diligently at adjusting the force and mechanics of his swing.
As for Rose, let's see how he weathers a new NBA season and what adjustments (if any) he makes to his game.
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