Tiger Woods / Tony Parker: Sports superstars that don't play by the rules

What is it about a superstar that entitles him (or her) to step outside the rules of normal life and make a total mess of things? I'm speaking of the fresh new crash and burn between desperate housewife Eva Longoria and San Antonio Spurs' great Tony Parker.

Much like our wayward friend Tiger Woods who slipped from marital harmony, Tony seems to have sexted (sex texted) his way directly to divorce court.

For the record, I'm completely unconcerned with the messy details of the Parker/Longoria split. Nor do I care about Tiger's sorted extra-marital affairs.

What fascinates me is the inner guidance system that so often derails with these high profile celebrities.

Perhaps superstardom's exclusivity serves to somehow poison those who aren't prepared for it. Those lucky few who achieve the pinnacle of success often seem to lose their sense of grounding while awash in the glitz and glamour of their celebrity lifestyle.

I've always wondered what a regular off-tournament day would be like for Tiger. He dare not drive through Starbucks for a half cafe latte. And I can't imagine him dropping by the Home Depot for that pesky toilet repair. I mean... he's got people for all that mundane stuff. He's above all that!

And perhaps therein lies the problem.

For most of us, the simple and mundane rigors of everyday life keep us connected to those around us. And there are many of the rich and famous who marry and successfully raise families while performing at the highest level of their chosen profession. But somehow these seem like the exception as opposed to the rule.

So I call upon you, the smart and gifted readers to weigh in. Is there some identifiable mental malady that superstars possess that us regular folks don't?

What do you think? 

Is the Tiger Woods era of mental game dominance over?

He's got a lot on his mind. Now that's pretty much of an understatement. Tiger's mental game has been on the slip and slide for the better part of a year now. Simply put, he's in a world class psychological slump.

Tiger has this immense stress and he may not be appreciative that it's leaking into his game, according to Dr. Gregg Steinberg, a sports psychologist and consultant to college and professional athletes whose clients include PGA tour members.

Well... Duh!

Steinberg goes on to say that the longer Tiger doesn't win, the harder it will be for him to win. He's got one hell of an mental uphill battle in front of him.

But if anyone can pull it off, Tiger can. Here's a man who has been to the mountain top. It wasn't that long ago that the so-called golf experts placed Tiger Woods well above the rest of the PGA tour. He was the on the "Tiger Tour."

Sport psychology consultant Dr. Jack Llewellyn, who has counseled professional athletes whose performances suffered because of turbulence in their personal lives, says he believes Woods can return to the "Tiger Tour," if and when he admits there are flaws in his mental game armor.

Llewellyn believes if Tiger takes care of himself mentally and physically, he'll rediscover the quality energy he needs to play his very large game.

So, Let's hear your opinion. Is the "Tiger Tour" gone forever, or can he rediscover the lost mind game assets from his pre-disaster days?

Tiger Woods is back... Ho Hum

The long anticipated return of the great Tiger Woods came and went without much fanfare in my house. I made a point to watch some of Thursday's match and about a half hour on Friday ...and that's a bunch of TV golf for me these days.

I guess I just needed to see if he would be somehow different, better or stronger than before. When I rationalize through this thinking I understand how his return to competition would be sort of soft and gentle. Recovery from knee surgery should be slow, careful and methodical ...right?

But this is Tiger Woods we're talking about and I have to remind myself not to be carried off by his incredibly powerful, media focused alter-superego! You know... the superstar golfer that the media has made him into in order to rake in zillions of bucks in TV revenues and such. See William Wolfram's article  "...no other golfers matter again" at WorldGolf.com.

For me it was a bit of an anti-climax. And, I will freely admit, I've enjoyed watching some lesser known golf titans whacking away at each other. Don't be confused, I'm not anti-Tiger. He is, without question, the absolute best golfer on the planet. But I can't help thinking that beneath his Super Golfer veneer, he 's just a regular guy. What do you think?