“I know what works for me now,” Els said, “and that’s hard work.”

He had been practicing a great deal for the past several weeks, working on the basics and making them important again.

“I really wanted to prove it to myself and just play good golf,” he said. “I finally had to trust it at some stage, and there’s no better day to really test yourself than today, fourth round of the golf tournament, everything on the line.” 

After playing a pro-member tournament at Seminole on Monday morning, Els went to the Bear’s Club and practiced until dusk.  That’s when he found what he had been missing.  

One issue, he said, has been ball flight, and during the pro-member at Seminole, he.was in a group with Lee Westwood. Els felt that his ball striking was not in the same category.

“I didn’t ask him anything, but I was watching,” Els said. “I’ve got to get my ball flight perfect for Augusta.”

Schwartzel, this week’s Cinderella, already has two victories in 2010. And though he did not raise the trophy on Sunday, he demonstrated that he does have the right golf stuff.  He also earned his PGA Tour card with his second place finish.

“You guys can really see him in all his glory,” Els said about Schwartzel.  However, he did admit, “If he won today, he was definitely staying in the garden! There’s no question about it.”

None of the other top players presented a challenge, but Schwartzel and Els were as close as rides at NASCAR with Els posting a 32 and Schwartzel a 33 on the front nine. It was at the 17^th when the wheels came off for Schwartzel. He left a ball in the bunker, then missed a bogey putt completely ending his chances, but he was two back at the 17^th tee, and so it was unlikely that Els would lose.

The clutch hole for Els was the 14^th , where he drained a 24-foot putt for par after driving in the rough, hitting a second shot into the rough and a third onto the green. 

“I haven’t been making those putts, and you have to make putts like that to win golf tournaments,” Els admitted. “I felt a lot better after that. I felt like maybe this one is for me this week.”

Els said after the victory that he does not want to look ahead too far. 

“Two years ago when I won, I got all carried away and thought, you know I was going to win Augusta,” he said with a wry smile.  “This time I just want to take this in.  I’ve got to really get these things I’m working on, get really drilled out a bit more, and really be comfortable with it.”  

Next for Els is his  Pro-Am to benefit the Els for Autism Foundation, which will be played Monday at PGA National. Els' son, Ben, is autistic.

“Basically our plan is, with the money and help of investors, to build a really worthwhile center, a 30,000 square foot center in Palm Beach for 300 children, and have this center self contained,” he explained. “ In this economic environment, obviously things are a little difficult to raise money, but that’s Plan A, and Plan B, and Plan C. We are still aiming at Plan A.”

Read more Golf news on BleacherReport.com

I had a motorcycle spill a couple years ago, and the tear in my shoulder, and overall back pain has kept me off the course for quite a while.

I rolled down Highway 80 as Another One Bites The Dust blared out of the radio. Classic rock is like one big time warp trip. They just keep on playing those songs you grew up with over and over. Close your eyes and your 20. Not while your driving, ok?

The Glades is a nice little track, but difficult to score well, mainly because of not really great greens. Bumpy and inconsistent as far as the speed. Chip it, or hit it close, otherwise lag it close and try to avoid three-putts.

I grabbed a pull cart, paid the cute snack bar girl $11.00 and off I went. There was a twosome in a cart so I said hi, and could I tag along instead of walking alone behind two very old people, who looked to be a bit slow.

I explained I was a bit rusty, so I would try not to hold them up, but the lady was a raw beginner anyway, and asked if I could offer any advice, please do.

The first hole is a relatively easy par five, about 500 yards. I decided on hitting the low profile driver and see how that went to start I set my shoulders left and played a fade to the middle of the fairway.

Wow the lady said, that was pretty good. Her husband got off the tee pretty well, with a short choppy swing that seemed pretty safe. Lola was left-handed and had a weird looking driver, a seven-iron, and a putter.

She absolutely had no clue how to hold the club at all. After she whacked a grounder off the tee about 20 yards, I offered the first suggestion.

Hey, I said, would you like to see an easier way to hold the club, so it goes further. I asked. She easily agreed, and I tried to explain a quick overlap grip to her, making my self a lefty for a moment.

I had her shake hands with her right hand on the grip, and showed her how to cover up her thumb with the other hand, and showed her the v that the forefinger and thumb form, aiks at her left shoulder.

I quickly explained to her, try to hit down on the ball sharply to get in airborne a bit, and then prayed this would somehow work, or it was going to be a very long day.

I wonder why her husband has not told her any of this stuff?

Anyway, to my amazement, she pretty much did what I suggested and lo and behold the ball she hits goes about 70 yards right up the middle. Off the ground, even.

My low profile three wood was another nice fade up the middle. with pretty good distance into the wind, and I am thinking, what's up here. Just like I never stopped playing. Nice tempo and everything.

Then I realized it was just my good old ego kicking in, because If I'm going to explain to people how to swing the club, my brain does not let me be an idiot, for some reason. I concentrate on fundamentals, and keep the ball in play.

Lola pretty much played with a bit more enthusiasm, because all her seven iron shots were now going 60-70 yards  and her weird driver made a nice metal sound when she connected, and hit a few balls over 100 yards.

She didn't hit the ball in the air, very high, but I could not overload her information channel, with swing plane stuff, and her takeaway, so I had her aim away from the water, as much as possible.

I hit a wedge 80 yards up on the green and had a birdie putt. Weird, I thought. Par and off to the next hole.

So it went all day, as I scored normally like I do on a decent day, and shot 42 on bumpy greens. I'll get a round at Heron's Glen next, which is a course I've won a tournament on, with a nice island green on number 10.

In Fantasy Golf, I left you at Mayacoba Classic in Mexico, while the Accenture Match play was going on, these golfers left were hard to figure out who would do well.

Briny Baird managed me a nice fourth place, with Heath Slocum 13th, and Charles Howell III in 20th.

I am currently in the 80th percentile with 1,539 points, only ahead of one of the Yahoo experts. Earlier in the season I was down to 13,000 in positions ahead of three of the four experts, but have not picked a winner a three weeks now.

I will take Tiger at every opportunity because a ten is almost a no brainer. Imagine Tiger, with a little chip on his shoulder. Shudder!

Next, was the Phoenix Open, which I chose Mickelson in the desert as my A player.

He managed a paltry 24th, while my other players kept me happy with Y.E. Yang grabbing third, plus Brandt Snedecker 43rd and Geoff Ogilvy at 62nd.

Onward to the Honda Classic with Ernie Els on my team scoring 67th. I should have taken him this week,as he just made a putt to take a one-shot lead over his fellow South African Schwartzel, who really looks great.

I have Stricker and Villegas at 16th right now at Doral, so no winners picked again this week. Drat, drat, and double drat.

Oh, and I did hit a nice putt in from about 15 feet, bumpily!

Have a nice week.

Thomas [NFL Mikee] Moreland

Read more Golf news on BleacherReport.com

It has long been said that we should not believe everything we read in the papers, and there may be some truth to that.

But much of the general public still relies upon mainstream journalists to provide them with accurate information.

Journalists employed by mainstream newspapers and websites are not only required to, but have an ethical duty to report nothing less than the facts.

An unfortunate side effect of the whole Tiger Woods fiasco is that the integrity of mainstream journalism is now being called into question.  

Furman Bisher, still sharp as a tack at the age of 91, is one of the most experienced and respected sports journalists in all of America.

In late December, Bisher wrote a column which began by stating “The following is a legitimate message I received from a trustworthy journalist...It’s the Tiger-Elin incident finally put into reliable form.”

Bisher went on to discuss how on Thanksgiving night Woods’s wife Elin hit him across the face with a nine-iron, knocking out his front teeth and fracturing his cheekbone.  

According to Bisher’s “sources”, Woods was briefly treated in an Orlando hospital before immediately flying to Arizona where he underwent extensive plastic surgery on his face.  This, Bisher states, was the reason why Woods did not meet with police in the days following his accident and why he had not been seen in public. 

As far-fetched as the story sounded, we had no reason not to believe one of the most well-respected sports journalists in the country.  

Not even five hours after Bisher published his article, the Florida Highway Patrol released a statement saying that they did indeed meet personally with Woods three days after the accident, and aside from a slightly swollen lip, Woods face appeared to be fine.

Unless $1 billion can buy you one of James Cameron’s avatars, Bisher’s story was less than accurate at best.

Then we come to last Thursday’s journalistic debacle in South Florida.

NY Post journalist Mark Cannizzaro wrote an article stating that two separate sources from inside the golf community told him that Woods has hired former presidential adviser, Ari Fleisher to help him plot his return, which Cannizzaro said will be at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Less than six hours later, Doug Ferguson of the Associated Press published a story stating that according to his sources Woods will not be returning to golf before the Masters.

Larry Dorman of the New York Times also reported on Friday that Woods “will not return to competition before the Masters tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club in mid-April, according to two people with knowledge of his comeback plans.”

Needless to say, at least one writer is dead wrong on this issue.

Woods obviously cannot make his much anticipated return to golf at two separate events.

Although the NY Post can have a gossipy tinge to it, the paper is still one of the three major newspapers in the New York area, and Cannizzaro is a very well-respected writer.  The Associated Press and the New York Times are of course two of the world’s most well-respected news outlets.

It’s understandable why all journalists—mainstream and tabloid alike—are desperate to break a story on when and where Woods will return to professional golf.

They are more than likely facing pressure from their superiors because any news about Tiger Woods is huge news, and as a result, sells newspapers, creates website traffic, etc.

Sports journalists are competitive by nature. Each journalist wants to be the one to break the big story, and in the case of a subject that is garnering worldwide attention, such as Tiger Woods, it can truly make a journalist’s career.

But that line in the sand that used to separate mainstream and tabloid journalism is now being approached and in some cases even crossed by mainstream journalists.

And when that line is crossed, it’s extremely difficult to go back.

When a mainstream journalist publishes blatantly wrong information, whether his sources gave him the incorrect information or not, it is very difficult to believe "breaking news" stories coming from that journalist in the future.  

How believable would an article about Woods’ return date published by Furman Bisher be right now?

How believable would Doug Ferguson and Larry Dorman be down the road if Woods were to return in two weeks at Bay Hill?

How believable would Mark Cannizzaro be in the future if the Arnold Palmer Invitational comes and goes with no Tiger Woods?

This is not tmz.com or radaronline.com we’re talking about here.  These are journalists from extremely well-respected news outlets.

Trust is something that can be built over time, but it can also disappear at the drop of a hat.

The American public has always been quick to forgive.  But regaining the public’s trust is another matter all together.

Woods and his transgressions have obviously caused severe damage to his family, his sponsors and the PGA Tour. 

But a side effect of this scandal seems to be a complete elimination of that line that used to clearly seperate mainstream and tabloid journalism

Read more Golf news on BleacherReport.com

I must say that was one of the dullest Grand Prix that I have watched in a very long time. There were hardly any manoeuvres and the new rules added absolutely nothing. Vettel was miles ahead until his car conked out and although I was pleased to see the Ferrari of Alonso in front, his overtake was simple and he quickly got up to 12 seconds in front.

I guess the race started with some excitement. I truly didn’t know what to expect and I can tell you that I certainly felt goose bumps before the lights went out.

Unfortunately, the race began as it would continue with a clean start and very little change. Vettel broke away very well and Alonso did a very smart and professional job taking Massa into turn one. Further back, Button, Schumacher, and Rosberg gained a place and Webber let out a plume of smoke before falling behind.

The Force Indias got in each others way, ruining Sutil’s race but before long the teams had found their positions and they weren’t changing.

We got our first retirement on lap two when poor old Chandhok collided with a barrier ending his debut race. He was soon joined by di Grassi who simply pulled off the track and stopped with hydraulic failure.

The top 10 positions on lap two were as follows:

Vettel, Alonso, Massa, Rosberg, Hamilton, Schumacher, Button, Webber, Liuzi, Barrichello.

I was yawning by lap four when after an early mistake Hulkenberg made the first stop of the 2010 season. Sure there was the odd overtake here and there but it was mainly faster cars out of position.

By lap nine it was clearly a three horse race and the top 10 drivers hadn’t changed at all. Desperately searching for something to say, all the commentators could do was go on and on about fastest lap times.

On lap 12 we got our first scheduled pit stop from Senna. There was really nothing to write about at this stage. Vettel was powering away but the Ferraris were keeping themselves in the fight. I suppose the only other thing worth a mention was Button’s slowness.

On lap 15 we got retirement number three in the form of Petrov and also our first two pit stops from top 10 drivers.

Hamilton and Schumacher entered the pits, changed tyres and rejoined P9 (Hamilton) and P10 (Schumacher). Wow exciting stuff eh?

Now we then entered a period that promised much…but delivered nothing. These first two stops had started a chain reaction. Alonso pulled into the pits on lap 17 followed by Rosberg, Button, and Webber. All four rejoined the track and very little changed.

The only gain was that Hamilton had managed to leapfrog Rosberg with his stop. Erm…wasn’t the point of these changes to stop all this pit stop overtaking?

Vettel and Massa both stoped on lap 18 and rejoined…Vettel P1 and Massa P3…wow! hang on where did they start? DULL!!

Do you want to know what these exciting pit stops did F1 fans? They opened up larger gaps between the drivers! I can give you a manoeuvre report though…brace yourselves.. on lap 19 a slow Barrichello with dodgy tyres was passed by a faster Hamilton.

The race then really dropped off as all the drivers began to look after their engines and tyres. By lap 30 Alonso had begun to close right up to Vettel, but the Ferrari was wrecking it’s tyres in the Red Bull dirty air! What a mess! So Alonso couldn’t overtake Vettel because his tyres would have been ruined…genius F1…genius!

At this stage we lost both Saubers to technical failures which was a shame.

Around lap 34 everyone suddenly perked up as Vettel slowed right down. The Red Bull was clearly sick and had no chance against the superior Ferraris.

Alonso quickly dispatched the young German on the final corner of lap 34 and then Massa got through into turn one. Sure I was ecstatic to see Alonso take P1…but he only got it through Red Bull troubles.

Next came Hamilton, who breezed past the struggling Vettel re writing the positions as follows:

Alonso, Massa, Hamilton, Vettel, Rosberg, Schumacher, Button, Webber, Luizi, Barrichello.

That is how it stayed for the rest of the race. It looked as if Rosberg might just take Vettel right at the end but the Red Bull driver did a great job keeping the Mercedes at bay. The only other thing I can add is that Buemi retired on lap 48 (poor guy!).

So that was it…

Great to see Alonso win and three nice guys on the podium. No animosity between any of them and smiles all around. If this is how the season is going to continue then I’ll be pleased as an Alonso fan, disappointed as a Button fan, but most importantly of all, depressed as an F1 fan!

Roll on Australia.. prove me wrong!

1 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 49 Winner 3 25

2 Felipe Massa Ferrari 49 +16.0 secs 2 18

3 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 49 +23.1 secs 4 15

4 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault 49 +38.7 secs 1 12

5 Nico Rosberg Mercedes Benz GP Ltd 49 +40.2 secs 5 10

6 Michael Schumacher Mercedes Benz GP Ltd 49 +44.1 secs 7 8

7 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 49 +45.2 secs 8 6

8 Mark Webber RBR-Renault 49 +46.3 secs 6 4

9 Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 49 +53.0 secs 12 2

10 Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 49 +62.4 secs 11 1

11 Robert Kubica Renault 49 +69.0 secs 9

12 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 49 +82.9 secs 10

13 Jaime Alguersuari STR-Ferrari 49 +92.6 secs 18

14 Nico Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 48 +1 Lap 13

15 Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 47 +2 Laps 21

16 Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari 46 +3 Laps 15

17 Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 46 +3 Laps 20

Ret Pedro de la Rosa BMW Sauber-Ferrari 28 +21 Laps 14

Ret Bruno Senna HRT-Cosworth 17 +32 Laps 23

Ret Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 16 +33 Laps 19

Ret Vitaly Petrov Renault 13 +36 Laps 17

Ret Kamui Kobayashi BMW Sauber-Ferrari 11 +38 Laps 16

Ret Lucas di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 2 +47 Laps 22

Ret Karun Chandhok HRT-Cosworth 1 +48 Laps 24

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This match was the tennis equivalent of the NBA's Dream Team in 1992, who would have ever fathomed that Sampras, Federer, Agassi, and Nadal would share the same court together? The tennis world (and Haiti) is forever thankful to Larry Ellison and Roger Federer for making this event happen. The event raised over $1 million dollars for the Red Cross and Haiti.

While no one in the crowd expected it to be a competitive match, we all knew we would be thoroughly entertained by four of the greatest men's tennis players of the last 20 years.

Having watched these charity matches on T.V. before, I knew we would be in for some surprises since the players had mics attached to their head, especially with Agassi who is always "Open" about his thoughts.

Everyone in the crowd loved the barbs traded between players, with Agassi teasing each of the players, Federer mimicking Nadal's grunts and whipping western forehand, and Sampras's imitation of Agassi's infamous waddle.

It was all fine and dandy until Andre "got personal" with Pete about his $1 tip to a valet driver 15 years ago. The crowd immediately knew it bothered Pete and there was an awkward silence in the stadium for the next few minutes until Pete served a bullet towards Andre's head.

Did Agassi go too far and too personal with Sampras? Yes, Sampras didn't deserve that.

But does it really matter or did it take anything away from the Charity match? No.

Andre Agassi did what he has always done best the past 25 years for tennis: create controversy and excitement. From the rebel in the commercials with the hair and dating Brooke Shields, to the inspirational comeback player who eventually won slams on all surfaces, and finally to the retired legend who writes an autobiography which admits using illegal drugs.

While Federer and Sampras may be the "Greatest of All time," it is Agassi, along with McEnroe, who have been the best spokesmen and promoters the tennis world has ever known.

For those disappointed in Agassi for his remarks, let's not forget that he is one of the most charitable athletes out there, alongside Lance Armstrong and David Robinson.

In closing, to set the record straight Pete Sampras has also been able to donate and raise millions of dollars towards brain cancer, AIDS, and charities for children.

Read more Tennis news on BleacherReport.com

The squad heads off to Adelaide, Australia for the first tournament (March 19-21), and will then compete in the world famous Hong Kong Sevens (March 26-28).

Head Coach Al Caravelli has whittled down a group of nineteen players into twelve. The most important factor being that the team is reaching new heights in terms of consistency in their lineup. After playing years with a seemingly revolving lineup at each leg of the IRB Series, Caravelli and USA fans are excited about the prospects.

“I’m extremely pleased that we have nine of the players who were in Las Vegas on this tour, and that Mark Bokhoven joins the squad back from injury,” Caravelli said. “That gives us ten players who have played in the series thus far this season. That is huge for us. That experience is invaluable, and doesn’t come our way too often.”

Squad consistency has been a key factor in the team’s resurgence after a rough start to the IRB Series season. In the last two legs of the series, the USA won the Shield title in Wellington, New Zealand and collected the Bowl title on home soil in Las Vegas. The Bowl title in Las Vegas also came with the USA’s first IRB Series points of the season.

Now that the ice has been broken, the USA looks to seal their status as a ”core” member of the IRB Series. Picking up points in Adelaide and/or Hong Kong will go a long way towards reaching that goal.
 
“The preparation has been outstanding this week in all aspects of the game. The players are chomping at the bit to play England next Friday night,” Caravelli added in reference to the USA’s opening match in Australia. 
 
The nine returning players to the squad are Captain Kevin Swiryn, Vice-Captain Matt Hawkins, Nese Malifa, Nick Edwards, Zach Test, Paul Emerick, Marco Barnard, Shalom Suniula, and Leonard Peters—all of whom played vital roles in the USA's recent surge.

Mark Bokhoven also makes his return to the team after battling injuries early in the series. One of the most gifted athletes in the squad, Bokhoven is a welcome, powerful, and experienced addition to the team.

New to the team is former Missouri football star Tommy Saunders, who proved to be the fittest player at camp. Saunders registered an impressive fourteen on the beep test.

For those of you out there that have been through a beep test, you know what it takes. For everyone else, trust me…it is beyond difficult.
 
“We have never had a football player without rugby experience crush the beep test the way he did,” Caravelli said. “He is still learning the game, but he makes up for his lack of experience with his athleticism.”
 
Also new to the team is Zach Pangelinan, who played in four IRB Sevens tournaments last season, but until now had yet to make this season’s tour squad. 
 
“He (Pangelinan) has also come back with renewed energy and seriousness. You can tell he has matured and that he wants to represent the USA more than ever,” Caravelli added.
 
“I am thrilled with the level of focus every athlete brought to every field training, weight room and video sessions,” Caravelli finished. “They were switched on 100 percent every aspect of the way. It was a pleasure to see their professional attitude and how each of them continued to push each other. This has to be our best camp in those regards. The players really took to heart the phrase of ‘raising the bar’! They did it everyday, and continue to really push each other to higher levels.”

This time last year, the USA Sevens teamz—anchored by the likes of Todd Clever, Chris Wyles, and Takuzdwa Ngwenya—began to disband, leaving the team to limp through the final two legs of the IRB Series while their stars returned to their professional rugby clubs.

The poor finish left many wondering how long it would take for the USA to rebuild. After all, that particular group of players took almost three years to develop.

The slow start to the season reinforced many of those worries, but Caravelli forged ahead, putting together a tight knit group of players capable of competing with the best in the world. 

Now comes the really hard part. The promise and potential of a young squad has begun to turn the corner towards success far earlier than most expected.

The team will now deal with the pressure of going from underdog to darkhorse.

USA Sevens Squad for Australia & Hong Kong

Barnard, Marco (Kutztown)
Bokhoven, Mark (Denver Barbarians)
Edwards, Nick (New York Athletic Club)
Emerick, Paul (Parma, Italy)
Hawkins, Matt (Belmont Shore) [Vice Captain]
Malifa, Valenese (Belmont Shore)
Pangelinan, Zach (Old Mission Bay Athletic Club)
Peters, Leonard (Aspen)
Saunders, Tommy (Kansas City Blues)
Suniula, Shalom (Pearl City)
Swiryn, Kevin (Old Puget Sound Beach) [Captain]
Test, Zach (Loughborough University)

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Never the best of pals, Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras traded barbs with each other as Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and the 17,000 people in attendance chuckled along awkwardly.

Midway through the match, Agassi noted that Sampras was playing with a little more effort and quipped, "You always have to get serious, huh Pete?"

Sampras, who isn't blessed with the quick wit of some of the game's other stars such as Federer or Andy Roddick, has always been uncomfortable in front of the camera, and preferred to let his game do the talking.

In response to Agassi's remark, a clearly irritated Sampras began to imitate Agassi's infamous pigeon-toed walk, which seemed to lighten the mood of arena, despite the on-court soap opera brewing.

Instead of keeping the jabs tennis related, Agassi countered by pulling out his pockets and said, "I don't have any money. I just...I..." in obvious reference to his autobiography, Open, which mentions Sampras as a bad tipper.

Sampras did not take kindly to this and replied, "That's how you want to play, huh?" as the camera panned to Federer laughing nervously while the two players he idolized growing up were having a personal hissing fit during a charity event.

The first "Hit for Haiti" event, which took place during the Australian Open, offered a direct contrast to the hostility the two former champions displayed, as the players in Melborne kept the atmosphere light-hearted and fun (with even the feuding Lleyton Hewitt and Bernard Tomic keeping things civil).

Tempers cooled down after Sampras served directly into Agassi, as the crowd roared in laughter.

And, as Sampras noted that "things got personal", Agassi replied that "it's nothing personal Pete."

Pete and Andre, with their polar opposite personalities, may never patch things up, but here's hoping that they can learn from this immature spat and choose to work it out man-to-man, instead of airing their dirty laundry out for the public to see.

It's a shame that two of the greatest tennis players ever to play the game displayed such ugliness at such a beautiful event.

Read more Tennis news on BleacherReport.com

Speaking in a recent interview Redknapp stated that he feared for the future of the game in Britain and that direct foreign investment was having a negative influence on the progress of the game in the home nations as every team vies for quick fixes.

He said, "Good, young British footballers are a dying breed.

"We’re seeing more and more foreign players and foreign owners. Soon it will come to the point where every Premiership club has foreign players and owners.

"They come from a background where they are all winners but the only problem is that there can only be one winner.

"The standard of kids is not as strong as in the past as there are so many different things for them to do. In my day we only played football."

When asked on how he would improve the situation, Redknapp urged a redevelopment of the scouting system at home.

"We need to improve recruitment," he added.

"There’s not a massive amount of talent around in this country but it’s still out there. Nothing gives you more pleasure than seeing them come right through the youth policy. They have real feelings for the club."

Redknapp famously oversaw youth development at West Ham in the early '90s before he took over as manager of the club following Billy Bonds' resignation. During his time in the youth ranks 'Arry helped develop some of England's stars of the future as Joe Cole, Frank Lampard, Rio Ferdinand, Jermaine Defoe, and Michael Carrick all graduated from the famed West Ham "Academy" to play first team football under Redknapp.

Another aspect that Redknapp feels should be improved is the technical side of the game. "It doesn’t matter how much money you’ve got. We’ve all got one thing in common: we love football. Players today work hard, train hard and look after themselves like never before.

"But I’ve told our fitness coach that it doesn’t matter if they eat white bread because if you can’t pass the ball then you’ve got no chance."

Fourth place is very much the target to finish for Spurs this season, but Redknapp feels the club should be targeting their North London rivals, Arsenal, who he also feels the club should try to emulate too.

"We’re trying to turn it around but it’s not easy. They have an excellent youth set-up, a conveyor belt of young players coming through.

"The gap is closing. There’s not a million miles between the teams. I don’t think that there will be much of a gap at the end of the season.

"Arsenal can win the title. They are a very well run club and the manager has done a good job."

As for his recipe for success over his 25-year managerial career, Redknapp said: "If you’ve got good players and good character, you’ve got a chance.

"People respond more to being encouraged and told what they can do rather than what they can’t do."

"I’m sure my chairman Daniel Levy will tell me that I’m doing a good job one day," he added with a smile.

Read more International Football news on BleacherReport.com

Not only was Collins' close proximity an added bonus in the commentary department, but the stands were packed, and four of the greatest players in the history of the game were sharing the same court. 

With a well-deserved standing ovation for the four great players, Andre Agassi would steal the show right from the get go.

I'm not sure if Agassi felt the need to engage in his charismatic persona to ease the recent tension that he created with his recent autobiography Open.

Agassi took shots at Pete Sampras in his book stating that his American rival was "a cheap tipper," while the other two combatants of the night, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, were not in support of Agassi's crystal meth claim. 

Again, whatever the case, or whatever Agassi did in the past did not really matter last night due to the overwhelming and refreshing response to helping the victims of the Haiti tragedy.

Raising a whopping $1 million by night's end, Agassi gave a glimpse into what the funds would be used for. 

"Let's not forget that rain season, and hurricane season are shortly arriving in Haiti," said Agassi. "Things could get even worse for the people of Haiti."

The American Red Cross also did a tremendous job of collecting extra donations for Haiti, walking around the grounds with donation buckets, and providing spectators with a commemorative pin. All in all, it was a great night for all to behold. 

But before I get ready to head on over for another day of action at the first Masters 1000 event of the season, let's spend a moment on reflecting on the tension between Agassi and Sampras midway between the contest.

Remaining quiet for a majority of the affair, Sampras decided to finally make his voice heard by imitating Agassi's famed "pigeon-toed walk."

Not taking Sampras' antics in the best way possible, Agassi told Sampras that "he should try and tip more than a dollar next time he's out."

Being the classy champion that he's always been, Sampras decided to brush aside Agassi's comment, but the look on Pete's face, and lull in the stadium was ever present.

The remainder of the match would not be anywhere as exciting as its commencing theatrics. I couldn't help but ask myself why would Agassi go there?

Was it really necessary to bring the energy of match to a standstill with his smug comment?

I'm not sure that Agassi completely reflected on his choice of words before sharing them with the 17,000 in attendance, but I'd love to know if the eight-time Slam champion could go back and retract his statement, would he?

Did I mention that Federer and Nadal were a part of this event? I know right, two pretty good players playing with two pretty players. But it's a shame, really, that Federer and Nadal didn't give more of their personalities to the contest.

Nadal was pretty much absent, albeit the language barrier and his shy demeanor. Federer, on the other hand, tried his hand at being charming and humorous, but let's be honest, it wasn't funny in the least. 

It was also evident throughout the 45-minute affair that Agassi was truly one of the most engaging characters in the history of the game.

The fans and players for that matter were connected to his every word, hanging in the bounds until his next dramatic sentence would spill out. 

It's just a shame, to me anyway, that Agassi simply crossed the line with his remarks to Sampras. Telling his rival to shave his head, or that he's too old to play was cool, but calling him a cheapskate and the worst tipper ever was a tad too much. 

Nevertheless, it was a once in a lifetime event, and one which raised a tremendous amount of money for a great cause. 

Let's hope for more charity events of this nature in the future; events which will aid with the recent string of natural disasters. 

We love your charm and charisma, Andre, but next time, keep your shots and your words over the belt. 

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