TIGER AVAILABLE, PACQUIAO HURT, NBA PLAYOFFS HEAT UP AND MORE

Tiger and Lindsey Part Ways: Maybe the best thing for the fallen golf superstar will be to focus on just golf and his kids for a while. Tiger Woods and Lindsey Vonn mutually announced, or as close as we come these days, with virtually simultaneous Twitter, Facebook and other social media releases that they had decided to go their separate ways. They cited the hectic schedules of top tier individual athletes as the primary reason for the split. That's certainly understandable, especially if they really did care about being there for each other. I know many people still haven't forgiven Tiger for his prior admitted indiscretions, but I've always maintained that was between him and his wife. What's more important for the former top golfer, perhaps the most dominant in history, is whether he can battle his way back to the upper echelon of the game. He finished seventeenth at the Masters Tournament after over completing just three rounds in 2015 prior to the season's first major. I happen to think it might help him refocus his efforts on what appears to be a busy summer schedule, beginning with this week's always challenging Players Championship. He's currently 125th in the world golf rankings and 196th in FedEx Cup points. That's quite a hill to climb, but as he showed in 2013, Tiger's capable of coming back from injury and personal turmoil to be a force in the game.

Boxing Manipulation: If fans felt cheated by the boring fight they paid between $90 and $100 to watch on pay-per-view Saturday night, just wait until injured loser Manny Pacquiao recovers from shoulder surgery to return for the rematch with undefeated Floyd Mayweather. Is the unified champion an opportunistic, capitalistic, woman- beating scumbag? Absolutely. Does he know how to maximize his pay days and make the most of money making opportunities? No question. Is he fully aware of how gullible the boxing public is? You bet. As I correctly predicted in this blog last week, Mayweather won the fight in boring fashion, which has pretty much been his style for, oh, just the last 15 years or so. Now that Manny has an excuse for his poor performance, both fighters can hype next spring's rematch as the "REAL Fight of the Century", suckering fans and the media alike into another combined $300 million payday. You gotta love it, don't you? Or not.

No Love in Cleveland: Just in case anyone is questioning Kevin Love's value to the Cleveland Cavaliers, they need to look no farther than their 99 - 92 loss at home to the resurgent Chicago Bulls Monday night. Of course, the absence of suspended J.R. Smith didn't help either, but for a team that appeared to be a shoe-in for a spot in the Finals, things looked a bit rough. The Cavs now face an almost must-win in game two, needing to find someone other than Mike Miller to start in Love's spot in the lineup. Most supposed experts believe that Lebron James can somehow put the team on his shoulders and head to Chicago with the series tied at a game apiece. But the Bulls lineup is full of great and solid role players, from former MVP Derrick Rose, former champion Pau Gasol, surprising Jimmy Butler and always dependable Joakim Noah.

Wizards of Washington: Did anyone give the Washington Wizards, behind John Wall, any chance to contend in the NBA East? The only person that mentioned them so far was Charles Barkley. Sir Charles, on ESPN's Dan Lebatard show, told us not to "sleep on the Wizards". They stole one from the Atlanta Hawks on the road and are in position to take a commanding 2 - 0 lead back to the nation's capital for game three. Me? I'm with Charles, awake all the way.

Spurs Done? After as good a game seven as you could ask for, but coming up just short against the Clippers, is it possible we've seen the last of this aging collection of Spurs? When Chris Paul banked in his floater from the lane with a second left in the game, it was inevitable that the questions would start. Center Tim Duncan will turn forty before the second round of the playoffs next year, Tony Parker is having trouble staying healthy and Manu Ginobili is looking like all of his 37 years have taken their toll. They still have other pieces to the puzzle, but at some point age becomes a factor.

Capitals Stayin' Alive: Here's a brief shout out to the other Washington team that is still alive in the playoffs. It's been a long time since the Caps and Wizards/Bullets have both been playing in April, so this Virginia guy is pretty pleased, not to mention busy!

Don't forget to check out my new book, "Roughing the Passer - A PK Frazier Novel" and my first, "Illegal Procedure - A PK Frazier Novel", available in print and e-formats at Amazon.com, iBooks and Smashwords.