First a dynasty has to win, of course, but the polarizing thing usually follows closely behind. The Yankees, the Lakers -- you hate 'em or love 'em. In-between is for weasels and the indecisive. Pick a lane and stay there.

Tiger Woods is a one-man dynasty, but he's not polarizing the way we've come to expect. There's no anti-Tiger lobby out there protesting his dominance and demanding a more egalitarian tour. Even people who only occasionally follow golf want to see him win the Grand Slam, just because -- and this is highly unscientific -- it would be pretty cool to see it happen.

	Who doesn't love Tiger?

A lot of fans would love to see someone else win a major now and then, if only for the competition factor, but the feeling most often expressed for Tiger's opponents is sympathy, edging close to pity. Phil Mickelson, the best of the challengers, carries this torch. If he wins a major, great, but the prospect of it happening isn't propelling TV ratings.

The nature of golf has something to do with the unique sociological response to Tiger's dominance. Everything he wins is earned, and earned individually, not bought (Yankees) or based on the epic performance of two individuals (Lakers).

Besides, golf people are generally more disposed toward admiration and awe, mostly because they spend so much time trying to convince everyone within earshot that golf is so hard, and the courses so brutal, and the conditions so savage.

They love Tiger because he gives them the perfect basis for their arguments. There's only one guy who can play like this, they say. It keeps the game in its place, apparently. If eight or 10 guys were that good, it'd blow the whole premise.

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Two words that don't seem to be part of Tiger's vocab: Social conscience.

And to think, for Frank it seems like only a decade or so ago: In 2000, the MVP debate in the American League was Jason Giambi vs. Frank Thomas.

There are times when the planets align and something perfect happens: Torii Hunter, taking the time to give a little something back.

And, of course, let the chorus begin: How can you say that? What will we tell the children?

It could be cash flow, sure, but it could also be similar to someone having a little trouble paying off on a refrigerator that stopped working last year: The Devil Rays are said to have money problems because they were two weeks late making deferred payments of nearly $1 million to Steve Trachsel and Gerald Williams.

And so, if you're looking for a concise summary of the problems baseball owners are facing, start with this: Steve Trachsel and Gerald Williams.

Now, if he'd gone there without the cameras rolling … : Kobe, the kid from the Main Line, just keepin' it real at Rucker.

Just for the heck of it: Andy Etchebarren.

Those who forget the past are destined to have a divided locker room and a consistently underthrown 30-yard post: Marty Schottenheimer is vowing to give Doug Flutie a shot at the starting job in San Diego.

Which means they'll get really, really good, finish their apprenticeship and the Yankees will dominate from 2005-2010: The A's young pitchers are in the process of going from good to something beyond that.

Or maybe -- just maybe -- he won't: Bill O'Reilly, sticking his insufferable toe into the sports pool, said Thursday that "Allen Iverson just might show up at your door …"

And yes: "… insufferable toe into the sports pool."

It sounded good for a day or so, then everybody remembered the road was about to point to the sky: After a sub-par time trial, Lance Armstrong's Tour de France competitors made some noise about his supposed vulnerability.

If he wins this weekend, I give it till Thursday: A Reuters wire story on Duffy Waldorf said "he dreams of how long his 2,000-bottle wine collection will last."

One team that consistently manages to pick up ground in a hurry after the All-Star break, even when it doesn't always seem logical: Giants.

Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results: After never hitting a homer against Randy Johnson, Barry Bonds has done it in consecutive starts by Johnson against the Giants.

The heat! The humidity! The seven-man blocking sled!: It's time once again for that glorious rite of summer, the opening of NFL training camps.

So far, so good: Ted Lilly with the A's.

The Angels are jealous, because it sounds like the kind of "Return To Sender" deal they would have loved to engineer: Mo Vaughn, rumored to be returning to the Red Sox.

And finally, a related study determined that broccoli is better for you than fried cheese: A study in the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine concluded that curveballs and sliders lead to arm injuries in youth pitchers, and, "The authors conclude that a pitcher's safe and successful development requires the athlete to maintain a proper balance between appropriate use and overuse."

Tim Keown is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at tim.keown@espnmag.com.