http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3298669/

 

A basic rule of life is that you should never complain about how someone else does his or her job. Doing your own job well should take up all of your attention.

 

This holds true even when the other person’s job involves critiquing yours. We understand that it can be aggravating to have someone looking over your shoulder, eager to point out your shortcomings. On the other hand, if you’re important enough to merit such microscopic scrutiny, you should count your blessings and consider it a compliment that someone should care so much.

 

Anyway, if you don’t like what your critics are saying, the best response isn’t to whine about what it, but to go out and put on such a stunning performance that the only thing the critics can do is stand up and join the applause.

 

And if you can’t do that, you have to accept the cold truth, which is that the reason you’re being criticized is because you’re not getting the job done.

 

Which brings us to Tiger Woods, who makes his first 2004 appearance at the top of our leader board after finishing in the Top Ten in the 2003 Whiner of the Year competition.

 

Tiger, as even casual fans of golf know, has been in a bit of a slump over the past two years. Ever since he fired his coach, Butch Harmon, his swing has had all the reliability of a ten-day weather forecast.

 

After winning seven of 11 majors, Tiger is now oh-for-eight over the past two years and is in danger of losing his stranglehold on the number one ranking.

 

Live Vote

What is your opinion of Tiger Woods now?

 

 

Great golfer, lousy personality

 

Both great golfer and great person

 

I care about his golf, not his personality

 

 

Vote to see results

 

 

Live Vote

What is your opinion of Tiger Woods now? * 10837 responses

 

 

Great golfer, lousy personality

54%

 

Both great golfer and great person

20%

 

I care about his golf, not his personality

25%

 

Not a scientifically valid survey. Click to learn more.

 

 

 

When great performers become ordinary, people notice. In Tiger’s case, the folks who are paid to look at his swing and tell audiences what’s going on with it have offered their observations. Last week, Harmon himself, who is a paid analyst for British television, said that Tiger is in denial when he says there’s nothing wrong with his swing that he can’t cure himself.

 

Woods is still a great golfer, but he’s not what he was. He’s not even close. He has to recognize that, just as he has to recognize that people are going to ask what’s gone wrong with what was the best swing in the business.

 

Instead, he’s whined about Harmon and acted like a spoiled brat about everything else around him. His caddie, Steve Williams, now goes around ripping cameras out of photographer’s hands, batting them out of the way, or simply blocking their view of the broken swing that Tiger keeps insisting doesn’t need fixing.

 

He then compounded his sins by whining after his round Sunday that the course was unfair because it was too hard. Funny that Phil Mickelson and Retief Goosen didn’t feel that way, but, then, they were playing for the title instead of a top twenty finish.

 

You want to end the criticism, Tiger? Win a big tournament. In the meantime, act like a grown-up.

Ever since Tiger hooked up with Ella Norstrom? his swedish girlfriend, he's been playing like he left his clubs at home.

Yea... he's left his club at home. Oh, you said clubS.

I think golf is a stupid game anyway so I really dont care what Tiger Woods is up to or how he's doing.

Tiger is a stroke when everything does not go his way, when it goes his way he wants to talk and let everyone know i am Tiger. :puke

I think golf is a stupid game anyway so I really dont care what Tiger Woods is up to or how he's doing.

Couldnt agree more