Sizzle
1. Tiger soon to emerge from his lair » Fans — and advertisers — couldn’t be more excited about Tiger Woods’ return. Caddie Steve Williams told Television New Zealand that Woods was waiting for the birth of his second child (check) and wants to play before the Masters, so his return date could be announced “any day now.”
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2. Gentry’s upbeat, uptempo debut » In Alvin Gentry’s first game as head coach, Phoenix blows up for 140 points vs. the Clippers. The Suns led 81-49 at halftime — matching a U.S. Airways Center record for points in a half.
3. Blair the beast » DeJuan Blair’s 22 points and 23 rebounds in Pittsburgh’s win over top-ranked UConn Monday were impressive. But the fact that he nearly broke Hasheem Thabeet’s arm by sheer force in a battle for a rebound was ferocious.
Fizzle
1. WBC looking like AAA » The upcoming World Baseball Classic continues to suffer, with Tampa not allowing pitcher Scott Kazmir to play because of fears of hurting his elbow and Albert Pujols expected to back out due to insurance reasons.
2. McGrady + micro = major layoff » Houston, we have a problem. Rockets superstar Tracy McGrady will have microfracture surgery and miss the rest of the season. He already missed 18 games due to a sore knee.
3. Is Vick worth the risk? » The San Francisco 49ers became the fifth NFL team to officially say no thanks to potentially acquiring Michael Vick after head coach Mike Singletary and team president Jed York initially both left the door open. Oops.