A Good-news Story About Tiger Woods

What? Is it possible? At a moment when his name has become almost synonymous with scandal and tabloid headlines, Tiger Woods making good press is a bit of a surprise.

But when you remember that all the craziness only started a few weeks ago, things come back into perspective a bit. Oh yeah, for the rest of this year and for many years before, the man has performed as a world-class athlete. He may just be the best individual athlete ever to have lived. Does that count for nothing now that we know he's a philanderer?

So, without further ado, here's the good news: the members of the Associated Press have voted Woods the "Athlete of the Decade," referencing his victory in 12 majors and the fact that he "hoisted a trophy on every continent golf is played." Out of 142 votes AP member editors cast last month, the golfer received 56, even though over half of the ballots were collected after the car accident that started all the drama.

"Despite the tsunami of negative publicity that will likely tarnish his image, there's no denying that Woods' on-the-course accomplishments set a new standard of dominance within his sport while making golf more accessible to the masses," wrote Stu Whitney, sports editor of the Sioux Falls (SD) Argus Leader, according to the AP.

Bicyclist Lance Armstrong came in second with 33 votes, and third was sewn up with 25 votes for tennis great Roger Federer, my personal favorite, who has taken more Grand Slam singles titles than any other man.

Photo courtesy of cliff1066™, via Flickr