A streak too Favre and Lee Westwood

For the first time since June 12, 2005, there’s a new number one in the world golf rankings. Tiger Woods was ranked first in the PGA standings for 281 consecutive weeks. His season from hell is officially complete.

And Lee Westwood, only the fourth European to be ranked number one, takes over and despite not having won a major tournament. He is also the fourth golfer to achieve the feat following Ian Woosnam, Fred Couples, and David Duval. How long he can keep that position is anyone’s guess when Phil Mickelson and Martin Kaymer (not to mention Woods) have something to say about it.

Tiger’s streak is done for and next week will provide the answer to another one.

Minnesota Vikings Quarterback Brett Favre has started 292 straight times but that looks shaky right now after he got the crap beaten out of him in a 28-18 loss to the New England Patriots who took over the AFC East lead after the New York Jets lost. Favre got hammered and required eight stitches on his chin after a hit by the Patriots’ Marvin Pryor. He’s been battling tendonitis and a bad ankle as the Vikings have fallen to 2-5 in their division.

He’s not the only one whose game life is on the line. Well, Randy Moss got cut. Say that again? Randy Moss got cut. Who would have thought that it would have come to that? One of their all time best receivers is now gone from the Vikings (and this after his second stint with the team).

Some have wondered about Favre being stubborn and that it’s all vanity for him at this point. That all he cares about is the streak.

I wouldn’t think so because for all of Favre’s flaws, he is a competitor. I’m sure at one point or another if you keep getting hammered, you wonder if it’s all worth it because your body cannot take all that punishment.

At this point, I’d say that any decision to keep him at the Vikes’ starting QB depends on whether he is getting the job done. He’s thrown for seven touchdowns while committing 15 turnovers.

I used to wonder how former New York Yankee Hideki Matsui would play day in and out (1,768 consecutive games with the Yomiuri Giants and the Yankees) despite various ailments and injuries but once he really got knocked out, he didn’t play as much as he used when he got back. After all, in many sports, once you get lost in the rotation, sometimes you never make it back. Wally Pipp would know that.