Welcome back, Eldrick

In the interest of full disclosure, I have to confess that golf doesn't rank particularly high on my sports viewing list.

I admit to watching the major championships, and I absolutely love both the Ryder and President's Cup tournaments.

I also admit to being a big fan of Tiger Woods. The action figure of him on my desk should back up that claim. If he's playing in a tournament, chances are I'll switch it on over the course of the weekend and check on his progress. Otherwise, I'll give the event a pass and find out the results later.

But back to the focus of this piece...Tiger's back, and I couldn't be happier.
For my money, Tiger means more to his sport than any other athlete on this earth.
Take Sid the Kid out of hockey, you still have Ovechkin; remove Lebron from the NBA, we still have Kobe.

Yes, there are a lot of fantastic golfers on the PGA Tour these days, but none can match the charisma and marketability of Tiger.Can anyone say they'd buy Steve Stricker 2010 at their local video game store?

Tiger equals ratings, and that's been true since he made his debut in the late 1990s.

This weekend's Masters will be the most watched golf tournament in history, and I know that a good number of people will be watching for the train wreck factor. How will Tiger handle the crowd? Will he be heckled? Will not having his wife around be a good thing or a bad thing for him? How will he handle the pressure of playing his first competitive round for the first time since November?

I know a lot of media outlets will be focusing their coverage on his off-the-course transgressions, but not me. He's apologized to Elin and that's good enough for me.

I'm still undecided as to how I think he'll fare this weekend.
Part of me thinks he'll struggle...after all, Augusta National isn't your average golf course...but part of me thinks he'll excel and be in contention for his fifth green jacket come Sunday.

I hope it's the latter, because the sport needs him back on top.