The Rules Of Distraction

Keep your eye on the ball. Words to live by, and Tiger Woods lives by them better than most. So Australia's Nick O'Hern was planning his exit as Woods stood over a four-foot putt at the Accenture Match Play Championship last Friday. Woods would soon have a birdie and a win over O'Hern and be closer to his eighth straight PGA win. "Mate," the Aussie said to his caddie, "he doesn't miss these."

Then he did. Stuff happens. But in the what-will-end-Tiger's-winning-streak pool, who had "carelessness and a choke job"? After O'Hern eliminated Woods from the tournament on the next hole, Tiger's explanation was no less startling than the gaffe itself: A ball mark that he failed to repair kicked his putt off line. "I didn't pay attention," he said.

The lesson everywhere last week was stay focused—or pay up. Titans cornerback Pacman Jones may have thrown away more than the $81,000 in cash he tossed at strippers on Feb. 19. In a week when Scottie Pippen plotted a comeback at age 41 after a bad business deal left him owing millions, it seemed in poor taste. But it got worse. After someone filled a trash bag with Pacman's cash, a scuffle broke out, and a bar patron was shot and paralyzed from the waist down. Jones wasn't charged, but it was his eighth interview with cops since 2005, and he may be done in Tennessee. Others are fed up with those who can't keep their eyes on the prize. The NFL union just proposed a three-strikes-and-you're-out policy for players who run afoul of the law.

Worse, sometimes, is running afoul of the media. In Fort Myers, Fla., the mental focus of the Red Sox' $52 million man, pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka was under assault by cameras and microphones. Oddly, many of the questions concern the effect of so much attention on a person's concentration. "For me to see how far I have achieved in preparation for the games," Dice-K said, "is to see how batters are reacting to my pitches." There ought to be a three-strikes rule for translators.

Yankees righthander Carl Pavano is harder to understand. Since 2005 Pavano has barely pitched, and this spring Joe Torre and Mike Mussina have grumbled about his finally stepping up. Pavano promised he will—but probably not on the foot injured when he was struck by a line drive last Saturday. That was nothing compared with what happened to the Sabres' Chris Drury last Thursday. A violent hit by Ottawa's Chris Neil gave Drury a concussion and touched off a melee. Neil said that he hit Drury because his rival was not looking up, that he was staring too intently at the puck. Sports, like life, is full of mixed messages.

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