I was sad this morning to fire up ESPN and see this:

Tiger Woods' father, Earl, succumbs to cancer

Earl Woods was an amazing man, both for the influence he had on Tiger as well as for how he helped to create opportunities for minorites in the sport of golf.  If you haven't ever seen the Tiger Woods DVD set I'd highly recommend that you check it out.  Even if you're not a big golf fan it's a really intimate portrait of greatness and what it takes to be the best at what you're doing.  The first DVD is particular is great because it chronicles Tiger's upbringing.  Here's one of my favorite parts which was quoted by the article above:

"I tried to break him down mentally, tried to intimidate him verbally, by saying, 'Water on the right, OB on the left,' just before his downswing," Woods once said in an AP interview. "He would look at me with the most evil look, but he wasn't permitted to say anything. That's the frustration. He couldn't say a word, but he always had an escape word. He never used it.

"One day I did all my tricks, and he looked at me and smiled," Woods said. "At the end of the round, I told him, 'Tiger, you've completed the training.' And I made him a promise. 'You'll never run into another person as mentally tough as you.' He hasn't. And he won't."

It will certainly be strange when Tiger wins his next Major and Earl isn't there to give him one of those huge bear hugs.  Indeed, Earl will be missed by many people in the world of golf and beyond.