Tiger Woods: Golf Phenom...Mixed-Race Golf Phenom

Skysports Link:"Tiger Woods: U.S. Open"

Tiger Woods has pretty much rewritten the record books when it comes to golf. His first Masters win garnered him the titles of being the youngest winner, the first African - American, and/or Asian-American, to have ever won the Masters tournament. That significance of his win stems from his ethnic background being African/Asian American, to have won a tournament in a club steeped in southern traditions. The black man standing on the green is no longer just a caddy, but the world's youngest and eventually best golf player. History aside, Tiger has now amassed a massive trophy cabinet with 13 major tournament wins, multi-million dollar endorsement deals, and he essentially functions as the global image for the sport of golf. With this sort of high profile, certainly Tiger must have to contend with having to deal with certain pressures. Having recently had knee surgery and a major tournament looming in the next few weeks, is Tiger rushing into the next major tournament with the sole focus of adding another trophy to his cabinet or is there some other pressing issue at hand? The other pressing issue being Tiger as a mixed-race athlete who now serves as the man to beat in the world of golf, a sport that has traditionally been labeled as a "white" sport. Has the world become comfortable with Tiger being the "main man" in the world of golf, or is Tiger still the multi-racial, super talented golf player, whose skin color still supersedes his abilities and achievements?

Flipping the Script

The Roots - Rising Down

The Roots, a popular rap group from Philadelphia are primarily known for being the only rap live band. The group has always been known to lend its voice in providing social commentary through song lyrics. As a fan of the roots, I was very much surprised to see that on the cover of their new album the image of what appears to be a vampire or a ghost, in the likeness of a "Sambo" appears. However, it also seems that this sambo-like figure is engaging in the act of rounding up people. After listening to this album, I've come to realize that this image is not trying to rekindle the negativity that its is associated with, but is in fact trying to spin the racial connotation associated with the "Sambo." Check it out.