"The Woods & Federer show"

Let's all do this together. Every morning when we first climb grudgingly out of bed, we need to kneel down and thank two men for being the best they can possibly be at what they do for a living.

And for constantly amazing us, now, year after year.

We are all blessed to be witnessing the Woods & Federer Show.

Chew on this: We are quite possibly watching the peak performances of the greatest golfer and greatest tennis player... ever. At the same time! This past Sunday I was lucky enough to watch Federer win the Australian Open at 5 in the morning and then - after a soothing nap - wake up for Woods' inevitable comeback at the Buick Invitational.

Getting to watch two sports legends in one day? With church in between? We really are blessed, ain't we?

There's no use in comparing Federer and Woods. They are both that good.

Numbers don't even do them justice, but I'll throw some at you anyhow. Woods has now won the last seven PGA Tour tournaments he's competed in. That's just sick. We're talking about tournaments in which 150 talented golfers compete - all trying to take down Woods - and, yet, no one can break him. He's defeated 899 golfers in the seven tournaments. In the acute game of golf, all it would take on a Sunday afternoon would be a couple bad shots, maybe a loose 6-iron into the water, but Woods is unflappable. Only one other golfer, Byron Nelson, has won seven in a row – he actually took 11 straight tournaments in 1945 - and as good as Nelson was, the competition wasn't nearly as fierce 60 years ago.

Woods, however, makes the competition look tame. If not for Woods, the PGA Tour would have as much parity as the NFL.

It's only a matter of time before Woods, who has 12 majors, eclipses Jack Nicklaus' record of 18. Give him a few years and he'll be there. In the meantime, enjoy the ride.

Federer's numbers aren't bad either. He's now won 10 grand slam events, four shy of Pete Sampras' record. While I give Woods a 90 percent chance of winning each tournament he competes in, I give Federer a 98 percent chance. That's how dominant he is. Since the beginning of 2006, Federer is 99-5, winning 13 tournaments. He's now won three consecutive grand slams twice in his career, the only player in the Open era to accomplish this.

I'm not sure Federer even broke a sweat at the Australian Open. He didn't lose one set the entire tournament. That's 1, 2, 3... 21 consecutive sets. Impressive? Uh, yeah, dude.

The only obstacle Federer has yet to eclipse is winning the French Open, something Sampras never did. Since 2004, Federer has won nine of 13 grand slams, with three of those non-wins coming in Paris. Once he conquers the clay - and there is no doubt he will - he will be as indomitable as they come. A robot, almost.

And he's only 25, six years younger than Woods.

The numbers don't do this nearly impeccable pair justice, however. All you need to do is watch Woods one Sunday afternoon or Federer in one grand slam final to realize what makes them special.

They never flinch. They never show one sign that the pressure of constantly being the best and constantly being expected to be the best negatively affects them. Sure, Woods hits his poor shots. But they come on Thursday or Friday, when he can still overcome them. If Woods leads going into Sunday, the rest of the field would be better off hopping onto their private jets and flying to the next PGA Tour stop, with hopes that Woods will take the next week off. He is that deadly on Sundays.

What makes it all the more impressive is that Woods can't control his opponents. He can't wiggle Ernie's ear when he hits it, or bump Phil's back when he putts, or yell at Vijay when he chips. No, instead he shoots rounds that he knows will be good enough to salt away victories. And he beats the other top players in the world every week.

Federer is just as clutch. Early in a match he might let a couple points get away (he even had his serve broke in the first set of the Aussie Open championship match on Sunday by Fernando Gonazalez), but he always comes through when the points matter most. Later in the set he fended off two set points before breaking Gonzalez and eventually winning the set in a tiebreak.

When it matters most, there are five guys you can count on. Superman, Batman, Spiderman… and Woods & Federer.

And they do it time and time again. Consistency in sports is far from an easy task. Just look at all the golfers who won a major title never to be heard from again. All it takes is one fantastic four days. Well, Woods has FFD’s just about every time he takes the golf course. Although his driving accuracy has not always been great, there are other parts of his game you can ink in:
- He'll hit the ball very far
- He'll make incredible shots over forests, grandstands, etc...
- He'll make ridiculously difficult putts when they matter most

With Federer, there are even more consistencies in his game:
- His killer backhand
- His good (but not great) forehand
- His good (but not great) serve
- His ability to charge the net

Golf and tennis are two of the most difficult sports to maintain consistency in, day in and day out. A basketball player can shoot 1,000 shots a day, and chances are he's going to get better and his shot is going to look similar every time he releases the ball. But hitting a tiny white ball is as tough as it gets, even if you practice it every day. Woods makes it look easy. The same can be said for hitting a one-handed backhand to the far corner of the court. Federer does it countless times in each match.

I actually am surprised when Federer misses wide with a backhand. He’s trained me to expect perfect placement on each shot. But that doesn’t mean the shots he pulls of are less challenging or impressive.

Don't take Woods & Federer for granted because of how easy they make their sports look. Rather, enjoy the ride, because for all we know, we may be watching the two greatest athletes in their respective sports... ever.