So golf reprter Jim Gray told Ryder Cup captain Corey Pavin, "You're going down." The two got into a spat about whether it's true that Pavin has a spot on America's Ryder Cup team reserved for Tiger Woods whether he qualifies automatically or not. Gray reported the story and Pavin immediately dismissed it.

Meanwhile, Tiger Woods is nowhere to be found as he is merely a player in this melodrama. However, his career is on the line as we speak, and he has to hope that he makes the USA Ryder Cup team any way that he can.

The great thing about golf is how easy it is to separate the greats from everyone else. You have to play well in the majors. No other tournaments really matter. Tiger Woods embraced this idea since the beginning of his pro career. Everything he did was geared to concentrate on 16 big rounds every year. With that in mind, it's easy to say that this year hasn't been as bad as everyone says it's been for Tiger. Look at the simple stats: At the Masters and US Open, he finished tied for 4th. At the British, he struggled a bit, but still finished tied for 23rd. In contention at two majors and under par at St. Andrews in tough conditions? Doesn't sound like a bad year.

The problem is, we're not just talking about anybody. This is Tiger Woods. Looking at the bigger picture, if he doesn't win the PGA Championship this week, it'll be a 10-major drought since his last win. It will tie for the longest such streak since he won his first major. And with the struggles he's had lately, he's setting himself up to fall and fall hard at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin.

Even if he does contend, it's still possible for him to lose his Number 1 ranking to Phil Mickelson if Lefty can play well enough. And if that happens, that would knock him down pretty low.

Another thing that's great about golf is how much rests on the shoulders of the individuals playing. The greats in every other sport have to rely heavily on teammates, coaches, and even the crowd in game situations. In golf, it's just you and your caddy against the course. Tiger is one of those intense golfers where it seems like there's no one else around when he addresses the ball.

The Ryder Cup stands out because the competition is in stark contrast to that very idea. You can't win it alone. American players get to play on a team, follow each other around, be there for support, and rely on coaches on every hole. Competition only taking place every two years, bragging rights on the line and representing your country takes the event to a whole other level that isn't matched in the sport.

And that's exactly what Tiger Woods needs right now.

In previous years, the last thing that Tiger needed was the Ryder Cup and, quite frankly, Team USA was better off without him. Remember what it was like two years ago? Team USA wasn't given much of a chance without Tiger. But on home soil, they played the role of underdog to perfection and fed off it on the way to a memorable win. It's doubtful that the atmosphere would've been the same if Tiger had played. But now, Tiger needs to be there.

With the way things have gone for Tiger, he needs as much support as he can muster. Everyone has turned against him and couldn't be happier about his demise opening up every tournament in a way that only happens when he's injured. And with Tiger becoming such a negative symbol because of his off-the-course transgressions, he could sure use some teammates.

It would certainly be a good chance to show us that he's changed since his world blew up last Thanksgiving. Remember how we were going to see a new Tiger, that was more open and better off the course than the old Tiger?

Yeah, we haven't seen it yet.

The Ryder Cup gives him a chance to show us something new. In previous Ryder Cups, Tiger has been as stoic with a teammate as he is when he's playing solo, only showing emotion when disappointed with a shot hit by either him or his teammate. But what if we saw Tiger smiling and high-fiving someone other than his caddy? Wouldn't it be great to see Tiger at his captain's side cheering on his teammates and talking them up during their matches?

That kind of change in attitude, some team support, and an emotional lift would likely be exactly what Tiger needs to get his mojo back and start winning majors again in 2011. Not only that, we'd get to see a brand new, likeable Tiger that we've always wanted to root for.

Of course, if he wins the 2010 PGA Championship, all of this goes out the window... and you can forget I said anything.

Over the weekend, Dez Bryant dazzled at Cowboys camp, not only making incredible catches that wowed the fans and players watching but showing an incredible work ethic.

That should've been the story on Monday for America's Team. That alone should have been the talking point on SportsCenter, talk radio, and among NFL fans:

"Wow. Did you see Dez Bryant? Let's talk about the Cowboys in 2010. Do they have a chance to get to the Super Bowl and possibly win the big game in their own house this season?"

Instead, you had everyone picking sides between two wide receivers on the same team.


Dez Bryant refused to do what most, if not all, rookies have to do when they first join a team. He refused to carry Roy Williams' pads Monday morning. By the afternoon, everyone was talking about it and in the evening, Williams had to talk to the press and dissolve the issue. But just by saying that it was "no big deal," doesn't mean it goes away.

Now, there have a been a lot of people that have come out on both sides of the issue. There are those that think that Roy Williams has been such a monumental dissapointment that, even as a veteran, he shouldn't be asking ANYONE to carry his pads and maybe should be carrying other people's pads himself since it seems like the whole team has carried him to success since he moved to Dallas. On the other hand, there are some that feel that Bryant has yet to accomplish anything in the NFL and should show some humility and help team chemistry by just doing what so many other rookies are expected to do.

Instead, he came out defiant, saying, "I was drafted to play football, not carry another player's pads."

The problem isn't that he refused to carry the pads. The problem is that he let it become a story.

One of the reasons that I accurately picked the Cowboys to play well in the regular season, make the playoffs, and end their playoff win drought last year is that the dynamic of the team changed.

When Pacman Jones and Terrell Owens were with the team, there was as much attentioned paid to the Cowboys off the field as on the field, so Jerry Jones stopped buying top-dollar veteran free agents and started building from the ground-up. Veterans were brought in for leadership to guide the draft picks that have carried the team. Last year was the first year the formula succeeded and this year it should work again and maybe take them all the way.

The only thing that could throw that off is if there's inner turmoil among the guys that are supposed to grow and gel together and that's what we had on Monday with Roy Williams and Dez Bryant.

Dez Bryant appears to be more mature than he was in college, but now he's got some more exposure to the national media and should know that when you pull a stunt like this in practice with the Dallas Cowboys, it's not the same as doing it with the Oklahoma State Cowboys.

Honesty isn't always the best policy. Everybody lies in sports, and this would have been the perfect time for a little white lie. Much like the Dave Chappelle Show skit, this was one of those times when keeping it real goes wrong.

Dez, we aboslutely can't argue with anything you said when you defended yourself about not carrying another player's pads. But instead of keeping it real, you could've avoided all kinds of attention with just about any other answer.

"Oh, that was just a misunderstanding in the locker room. I was on my way out and didn't realize what was going on. I'll probably have to pay for that later. haha!"

With that, you're a non-story. But now, everyone is talking about how they feel about rookie "hazing" and if it's outdated or if what you're doing is a sign of disrespect. You also open the door for a ton of comments harking back to this incident if you have a bad game or if Roy Williams has a (highly unlikely) breakout season.

So learn from this, Mr. Bryant. In the coming weeks, we'll be hearing a lot about who could win it all this year. There are a lot of talented teams out there, but one of the things that separates pretenders from contenders is team chemistry and the ability to work through adversity. And when stories like this get out, the scrutiny on the team increases and rifts can be exposed off the field.

And that's not what this team can be about if you want to win a championship.