A comment was made in the office today, and it went something like this: "They (the PGA) have the 'Jordan' problem - when one guy gets bigger than the sport."

Of course, this was in reference to Tiger Woods and how his play in tournaments (such as this week's match-play tournament) has a direct impact on the revenue for the sport. If Tiger makes a tournament's weekend, it means an extra tens of millions of dollars for the port through TV viewers, fans making the trek to the course to watch and other factors. When Tiger is not around, even somewhat loyal golf viewers don't make the extra effort to tune in.

With Tiger's layoff since last June, how many tournament winners can you name? How many did you watch? I can count on one hand how many minutes I watched golf after Tiger was done, much less watching more than one event.

Now the comparison to Michael Jordan and the state of basketball when Jordan left might be stretching it a little. Yes, Jordan was clearly the best player in the league, but the NBA get a little more attention than golf, and there are other players who can capture an audience on a given night. I say that, but does the average person remember the other big names on the court when Jordan retired? Think about it.

Tennis might have been close to this situation when Andre Agassi was flashing his Nikes and long hair around, but he was never the undisputed top player in the world – he just played rock 'n roll tennis, if there is such a thing.

Of course, if you're talking hobby lore with Woods, it's no question he carries the sport and will for a long, long time. Jordan pretty much reigns the basketball hobby, though there are some worthy contenders.

And tennis? Well, they have a bit of catching up to do in the collecting world.