The 7 silliest complaints about The Match between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson


The Match between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson certainly had its flaws,from a lack of promised side bets to a mini-golf finish, but a lot of the complaints were over things that were either, A.) out of anyone's control, or B.) not worth complaining about. Here's a rundown of the seven silliest complaints we keep seeing.
1. "They didn't play well!"
It's true, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson didn't have their A (or even B) games, but they're not machines. You can't just flip a switch — especially during the off-season — and expect them to play their best. There's a reason "That's why they play the game" is a saying. You never know how things are going to turn out in a sporting event, let alone a round of golf. Remember that NCAA men's basketball final between UConn and Butler a few years ago? That was absolutely brutal to watch, but hey, it happens. Move on.
2. "It took away from the World Cup of Golf!"
If you are a golf purist and enjoyed watching the World Cup more because of the Metropolitan Club's fantastic bunkering, that's totally understandable (seriously, that bunkering looks glorious). However, complaining that The Match took away from that event is absurd. The World Cup was played in a different hemisphere so even with The Match going long, it didn't overlap with Golf Channel's coverage. And Tiger or Phil haven't played in it in nearly two decades, meaning they wouldn't have been in Australia even if they weren't in Vegas. So pipe down from Down Under.

Arthur pleased with Pakistan's clinical comeback to level series



Curtains finally fell on the Dubai Test on Tuesday (November 27) when Yasir Shah's legbreak accounted for the last New Zealand wicket in the evening session of the fourth day. The fate of the match had already been decided yesterday. But, it remained to be seen for how long New Zealand would keep Pakistan waiting.
It was befitting that Yasir staged the final act. This had been his match. With almost every wicket that he took, records tumbled. Over the course of the third day's play, Yasir became the only Pakistani to bag 10 wickets in a day and the only bowler to record a century of wickets in the UAE. When he removed the last New Zealand batsmen on Day four, he equalled a Pakistan record as he became the only second bowler, after his country's current prime minister - Imran Khan, to take 14 wickets in a Test.
"It was fantastic to watch," said Pakistan head coach Mickey Arthur. "He [Yasir] had a big performance in him. In the first innings there was a spell of about half an hour which was some of the best leg-spin bowling you will ever see. The drift, the pace, the spin. It was phenomenal, it was incredible bowling. Fourteen wickets in a Test match is superb."
The key for Pakistan was to leave behind the upsetting four-run defeat in Abu Dhabi. Some of the talks included the need for players to have sessions with sports psychologists after they faltered in a low-score chase for the third time in 18 months. But, in the end, it turned out that all they had to do was to resort to their old methods.