As a long-time Tiger fan and a happily married father of three (not to mention an golf fanatic), I guess it's my time to weigh in on the Tiger Woods situation.

I bought into the Tiger phenomenon years ago, and am one of the missing TV viewers whenever Tiger's missing from the field. I've always contended that while many pros, most notably Phil Mickleson, tend to wither under pressure and the spotlight, Tiger almost always shines. Until recently I believed that Tiger was a shoe-in to surpass Jack on the all-time majors win list. I loved watching Tiger pitch a ball onto the green at Augusta and watching roll through impossible undulations and drop perfectly into the cup, Nike logo and all, or or seeing him roll and bounce a 12 footer home to break Rocco's heart. Ironically, I recently told my wife that I'd love a TW logo cap for a holiday gift. I'm a 52-year-old man who should be long past the sports hero phase, but still considered Tiger a hero. I think that Tiger is what sports should be and is all about.

However, in watching the latest chapter of the Tiger legend I've come to realize what we all know: there are some things more important than sports. It's as plain and simple as that. When a man makes a commitment to a woman to marry and raise a family, there should be no confusion or gray areas in that commitment.

I've not earned a billion dollars in my career as a photographer and have no idea how I would handle the temptations and dark opportunities that might come with that, but I'd like to believe that I'd have the integrity and self-honesty that would enable me to realize that what I have waiting for me at home is infinitely more valuable that anything I might briefly encounter in any hotel room on the road.

I'm probably naive, and I obviously have no idea what goes on behind closed doors at the Tiger Woods home, but I also know that today's sports world is full of young athletes who have taken a good look inside themselves and realized that with the temptations dangling in front of them, they'd prefer to remain single for the time being and live out the fantasy of many young American males. I have to believe that that is a more honorable route to take than Tiger opted for.

Anyway, I'd love to be a Tiger fan again and thrill to his magnificence on the golf course, but for now I'll root for Phil.