Tim Tebow Takes New York; Obama the Bench Coach
Today in sports: Tim Tebow greets the New York media, Tiger Woods is a winner once more, and President Obama talks Title IX and his youth basketball coaching acumen.
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In his first press conference as a member of the New York Jets, Tim Tebow was poised, diplomatic, and ferociously positive. This could describe the tenor of every Tebow press conference dating back to his time at the University of Florida, but it was still impressive to watch the most famous backup quarterback on the planet dispatch with loaded questions regarding his relationship with starting quarterback Mark Sanchez and address the comments from Joe Namath last week that his trade was nothing more than a "publicity stunt." When asked to predict the Jets record next season, Tebow declined to get specific, in the process putting everyone in the room on notice that he knows what an obvious trap question looks like. So on the whole, he did well. We would have liked it if someone asked where he planned on living and what he was excited about doing in the Tristate area, but those queries will probably be addressed at a later date. This was more of a 30 minute feeling out session. [The Fifth Down]
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This is good news: New York Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain has been released from a Tampa hospital after suffering a ghastly, potentially career-ending "open fracture" of his right ankle on Thursday, while horsing around with his son on a trampoline. Doctors are will continue to monitor Chamberlain's wound, but apparently are confident he's no longer at risk of suffering an infection in the bone. For his part, Yankees manager Joe Girardi now says he's "optimistic" that Chamberlain will pitch for the team this year. [The New York Times]
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President Obama didn't just fill out a bracket when ESPN college basketball reporter Andy Katz visited him in the White House earlier this month. He also took time to film a ponderous, suit jackets-off segment about the 40th anniversary of Title IX (which is happening in June) and women's sports in general. It's interesting, though a touch all-over-the-place. The highlight comes when the president describes taking over coaching duties of his daughters' weekend basketball team from the previous coach, who he says is "a wonderful young woman, but she has never played basketball and she works for the National Institute of Health." In the president's defense, he says the other team would be in a zone defense and "our girls wouldn't know where to go." [ESPN]
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Tiger Woods won his first PGA Tour event in 923 days yesterday at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando. Depending on your perspective, this is either a moment for Tiger Is Back! enthusiasm or Is Tiger Really Back? skepticism. Both responses are justified: he did win by five strokes, which is impressive, though runner-up Graeme McDowell, who entered the day Sunday trailing Woods by a single stroke, imploded on the very first hole, scoring a double-bogey 6. [The New York Times]
Meanwhile, the tournament's namesake was not on-hand to congratulate Woods after his win. Palmer, 82, was hospitalized Sunday afternoon due to high blood pressure and was kept overnight for observation. He's due to be released on Monday afternoon. According to his manager, the symptoms were the result of a new medication the seven-time major championship winner has been taking. [Los Angeles Times]
Boxing historian Bert Sugar died yesterday in Mount Kisco, New York after suffering a heart attack. He was 74. Sugar's trademark panama hat and unlit cigar made him Instantly recognizable to even casual fans of the Sweet Science, and he edited Boxing Illustrated from 1969 to 1973, and held the same job at The Ring from 1979 to 1983. Along the way, he contributed to ESPN and HBO's boxing coverage, and wrote 80 books about boxing and baseball, including the indispensable visual history, The Great Fights. He was elected to the Boxing Hall of Fame in 2005. [New York Daily News]
