⛳ The One Thing "The Match" Needs

Tiger, Peyton, Lefty and Tom are set to hit the links this Sunday. And if they really want to entertain the masses, they’ll need to bring the trash talk. [View in browser]( In today’s FOX Sports Insider: Tiger, Peyton, Phil and Tom get ready to hit the links, and we hope they bring the trash talk ... we reflect on the loss of one of the NBA’s underrated legends, Jerry Sloan ... and as sports continue to return, we’re set for an action-packed weekend. Remember that time when the two most iconic golfers of recent years squared off in a pay-per-view spectacular that was the sedate sport’s answer to a heavyweight boxing title fight? The Match, as the, ahem, match between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson was oh-so-creatively billed, took place on Thanksgiving weekend in 2018. In truth, it was all a bit of a farce. Nine million dollars was on the line, life-changing money for you, me and virtually everybody — except that, due to their hard-earned and extraordinary wealth, it wasn’t life-changing for Woods and Mickelson. Sure, they wanted to win; they have been fierce rivals for a generation, after all. But the end product wasn’t quite what was hoped for. [STORY IMAGE 1] Now, they are doing it all again on Sunday, but with a couple of major, important tweaks. For starters, this time, it is for a charitable cause, set up in the wake of the eruption of the COVID-19 crisis. It is no longer on pay-per-view, with Turner to broadcast it across multiple channels. And finally, in the biggest alteration by far, it has morphed into a pairs match with quarterbacking greats Peyton Manning and Tom Brady along for the ride. Manning will play with Woods and Brady with Mickelson in a pro-am clash mixing fourball and modified alternate shot matchplay, at Medalist Golf Club in Hobe Sound, Fla. If you fancy a flutter, Woods and Manning are -200 favorites, with Brady and Mickelson going off at +170. It is sports at a time when there isn’t much of it. It is a chance to see great competitors duke it out with each other. It is an opportunity for a new twist on the Manning-Brady rivalry, which, admit it, you have missed in these years since Peyton sailed off into the sunset with a Super Bowl 50 win. It is not a tour event. It is a bunch of rich guys playing a round of golf and giving us an inside peek into the action. There is no proper title on the line and whichever team wins, it won’t rank anywhere on their list of career accomplishments. But I’m looking forward to it, with a couple of caveats. [STORY IMAGE 2] I must admit, I have a little bit of a soft spot for contrived matches. I didn’t hate the last one like some did. In some ways, it was a study in psychology of the athletic mind. You thought you got to see what made Tiger tick on those Sundays at Augusta. Yet during The Match, you saw it was more complex than that. He really, really wanted to win — but even $9 million wasn’t enough to dredge up the requisite stroke of brilliance as the Las Vegas skies darkened. The initial showdown went to the 22nd hole, which wasn’t even really a proper hole, with Tiger and Phil “teeing” off from just 93 yards away and aiming at a floodlit green. It wasn’t great that the PPV system crashed, although it meant a bunch of people got to see it for free. But it was interesting enough, if you looked at it through a certain lens. The fact is, the type of events we know as “made-for-TV” like The Match actually date back to long before the tube was even invented. In Victorian times, before sports were fully regulated and neatly organized into leagues and entities, this is how things were. A challenge would be issued, with a purse at stake, and if accepted, the contestants would go at it. It happened in golf, running, boxing, cricket and many more activities. [STORY IMAGE 3] Great competitors want to beat each other, for no other reason than that. Losing does not come naturally to them, because they have had a lifetime of turning toil into ability, ability into triumph and triumph into unshakeable self-confidence. They don’t expect to lose, ever. And why would they? So my only hope for this weekend’s fayre is that it feels real. Let’s see the spirit, guys. Reward the viewers for their time, for while everyone has a lot of it at present, it is somehow more valuable than ever, too. Let’s make it spicy. Let’s see the relief after a nerve-jangling putt. Let’s see a few hostile verbal jabs fly back and forward. Several years ago, there was a charity doubles tennis match which pitted 1990s greats Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi against each other, while paired with modern legends Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. It was all played in fine spirit, until Sampras and Agassi — mic’d up — started jawing at each other, bringing up old baggage and turning the taunting from good-natured to personal. [STORY IMAGE 4] The spectacle was roundly criticized as being juvenile and awkward, but I thought it was kind of great. Even deep into retirement, Sampras and Agassi were desperate to not only beat each other on the court, but in the trash talk stakes as well. I would be more than happy to see the same this weekend. The four competitors have had so much glory and have lives spectacular enough that we don’t need to feel sorry for them. Let Tiger and Phil get fired up and hurl a few barbs each other’s way. Let Manning taunt Brady about whether he will ever be able to win without Bill Belichick. Let Brady fire back at Peyton over all those times he bested him. In reality, they’re not likely to try to inflict deep personal wounds. Over recent years, Woods and Mickelson learned to get along. Manning and Brady are friends. They’ve taken a couple of little shots at each other on social media, though, so that’s something — even if it is only a sprinkle — to indicate that neither side is planning on losing. This sounds uncharitable, but I’m hoping to see one pair of crestfallen faces on Sunday evening. Winning means nothing if it doesn’t hurt to get beat. These guys hate losing as much as anyone. Let’s see it. [STORY IMAGE 5]( Here's what others have said... Bob Harig, ESPN: “Tiger and Phil. Ryder Cup task force supporters. Business partners. Friends. And now ... coronavirus pandemic relief trailblazers. Hal Sutton must be shaking his head. The long-ago U.S. Ryder Cup captain once, in 2004, tried to make Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson partners, with disastrous results that lingered for years. But as Woods' injury woes mounted, his own mood and temperament softened. And after taking on a role alongside Mickelson in 2014 as part of the U.S. Ryder Cup effort, he later became a vice captain in 2016 when he missed the entire year because of back problems. ‘Our relationship turned around 2016 when we were working together for the Ryder Cup,’ Mickelson said recently on the Dan Patrick radio show. ‘He was an assistant captain. We spent a lot of time on the phone. When we worked together for a common goal, it brought us closer.’” Chad Finn, Boston Globe: “Trash-talk is encouraged. And Manning, who shows a self-deprecating sense of humor in his assorted commercials and television appearances, is being counted on as an instigator. ‘Peyton is aw-shucks and a nice guy, but those who have played with him talk about how ruthless he is, but in a good way, with a sense of humor,’ said broadcaster Brian Anderson. ‘He has played so much golf with Tiger, a lot of social golf, in pro-ams, and they really know each other well and know each other’s game. Tiger is a different person around Peyton Manning. He’s lighter. Tiger becomes a much better trash-talker around Peyton. That’s the dynamic I’m interested to see. And Tom is going to be sneaky-funny, and Phil is nonstop anyway. So I really like the dynamic.’” Megan Schuster, The Ringer: “Tiger and Phil’s trash talk in the first go-around was … underwhelming, to say the least. And Phil himself has promised to up the level of gab: ‘Tiger and I clamped up the first time,’ Phil said this week. ‘That won’t happen again. I think having Peyton there will be a big part of it because he gives me and Tom somebody to rough up. Peyton, when he comes back at you, he does it in a funny way that elicits laughter from you as opposed to a defensive response. And I think that’s why he’s so funny, because even the person he is cutting up finds it funny and doesn’t take it personal. And that will allow us to free it up and do it a little bit more.’ Peyton should certainly be the odds-on favorite to increase tension. He successfully did so in the group’s Zoom call where he referenced Brady’s accidental trespassing incident in Tampa Bay and said he wished they could have had the event in New England where, for once, Peyton might be the better-liked of the two.” [IN OTHER WORDS] - The NBA world lost one of its underrated legends on Friday, as former Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan died at 78. [The Salt Lake Tribune]( Gordon Monson reflects]( on a man who was simultaneously a lion and a lamb — and who had just one losing season in 23 years as a head coach. - Looking to fall in love with racing now that NASCAR is back, but unsure of where to begin? You’re in luck! [Our Charlotte Wilder explains]( everything a beginner fan needs to know. - Sunisa Lee, 17, had stellar showings at the national and world championships, and her sights on making the U.S. women’s Olympic team. [And as The New York Times’ Juliet Macur writes]( the gymnast hasn’t turned off her Olympic countdown. [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED] [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED]( Open for a surprise! The rivalry between Paul Pierce and LeBron James took a weird turn this week, as The Truth left The King off his list of the NBA’s top 5 greatest players of all time. Of course, basically everyone in the basketball universe disagrees with Pierce — [even if his reasoning, flawed as it might be, is kind of understandable]( — which meant that he got dunked on a lot for his opinion. And LeBron’s former teammate, Mike Miller, took that dunking rather literally with his trolling of Pierce. You’ll see what we mean when you click on the tweet. [VIEWER'S GUIDE] WWE Friday Night SmackDown (FOX, 8 p.m. ET) Charlotte Flair and Bayley meet in a battle of champions, the Intercontinental Championship Tournament continues, and Otis & Mandy Rose team up against the persistent Dolph Ziggler & Sonya Deville. Bundesliga: Wolfsburg vs. Dortmund (Saturday, FS1, 9:20 a.m. ET) It’s a full weekend of German soccer action, kicking off with matches on both FS1 and FS2 Saturday morning, followed by Bayern Munich vs. Eintracht Frankfurt at 12:20 p.m. ET, then another slate of games Sunday morning. The Match: Champions for Charity (Sunday, TNT, 3 p.m. ET) Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning partner to take on Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady on the links for charity, with the former grouping the heavy favorites heading into the match. 2020 Coca-Cola 600 (Sunday, FOX, 6 p.m. ET) NASCAR makes its triumphant return to Charlotte, with qualifying set for 2 p.m. ET on FS1 before we take the track for the Cup Series’ “longest night.” [BET OF THE DAY] [BET OF THE DAY] Odds provided by FOX Bet The Match: Either team to win 3 consecutive holes: +500 Our Jason McIntyre is an avid sports wagerer, but by his own admission, golf is a new venture. Headed into this weekend, he’s looking at three pieces of action for The Match. In his view, the public will be all over Tiger and Peyton, so he sees value in Phil and Tom at +170. Along those lines, he’s also taking Phil and Tom to be the first side to go 1-up, at +120. And for a little bit more of a long shot, J-Mac likes the idea that one side or the other will get hot at some point, which might be a nice way to hedge if you’re riding with the underdogs. A new FOX Sports app and website is coming. [Click here]( to be notified when the reimagined app is available. [WHAT THEY SAID] “I'm not the greatest, I'm the double greatest. Not only do I knock 'em out, I pick the round.” — Muhammad Ali [FOLLOW FOX SPORTS] [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [YouTube]( [Instagram]( Download FOX Sports App: [Fire TV]( [Roku]( [Google Play]( [App Store]( [Fire TV]( [Roku]( [App Store]( [Google Play]( Also available on these devices: [fireTV | AppleTV | ROKU | Google Chromecast | XBOX ONE | SAMSUNG Smart TV] [fireTV | AppleTV | ROKU | Google Chromecast | XBOX ONE | SAMSUNG Smart TV] Trademark & Copyright Notice: ™ and © 2020 FOX Media LLC and Fox Sports Interactive Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Please do not reply to this message. If you do not wish to receive emails like this in the future, please [unsubscribe](. FOX Sports respects your privacy. Click [here]( to view our Privacy Policy. Fox.com Business & Legal Affairs - Manager Digital Media P.O. Box 900 Beverly Hills, California 90213-0900