Woods and his iron

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Tiger Woods has apparently joined the ranks of other rich and famous guys who are married but can’t keep their pants zipped.

Yawn. Every news organization in the country seems to be obsessing over his recent accident and the state of his marriage, as if it were truly news. But whether Woods has been putting on the wrong green really ought to be a matter of concern between him and his wife.

Ultimately, what Woods does with his wood is none of our business. The world has bigger problems to address than one millionaire’s marital issues. After all, a man with his assets can hit any hole he wants.

Facebook the new MySpace?

Remember when social media used to be pure, clean fun? Neither do we, but we do remember when all the creepiness that came along with MySpace was limited to MySpace.

Apparently, the creeps have discovered Facebook.

In Detroit, a 19-year-old man was arrested after an online flirtation led to a sexual relationship with a 13-year-old girl, according to the girl. The Detroit Free Press reported that the man was discovered by the girl’s mother hiding in a closet in her house. Found on Sunday night, the girl said he’d been there since Saturday.

The mother said she’d first found out about her daughter’s relationship with the man last year, but thought he was 15 years old. Still, she canceled her daughter’s Internet and cell phone services, and even had her transfer schools.

The man, Donald Hunter, faces two felony counts of criminal sexual misconduct, which could get him up to 15 years in prison.

Look, we get the appeal of Facebook and other forms of social media, but this is the inherent danger of letting children use these types of services. There are more parents out there than we care to count who don’t know — or worse, don’t care — what their children are doing on a daily basis on their computers.

Creeps are out there, and the Internet is only helping them. Please monitor your children’s Internet use. They may hate you for it, but you’ll hate yourself even more if you find a pedophile lurking in your child’s closet.

Hawkins gets another year

WTF? Or is it WTG? Last Thursday, CU announced that Dan Hawkins would get another year at the helm of the Buffaloes’ football team. Aside from the ironic timing — think Hawkins had something to be thankful for? — the announcement made waves.

After going 16-33 in the coach’s four seasons, things aren’t exactly looking up. This past offseason was nothing short of an exodus of talent, including the electrifying Josh Smith, who bolted to UCLA. There was also that whole Cody “My Dad is the coach, so I’m going to start at quarterback” Hawkins deal.

And it’s not just that the losses are losses — it’s that they’re terrible losses, like a 54-38 whooping at the hands of MAC “power” Toledo (on national television, no less).

Yet Hawkins will remain, at least for one more season. See, there was this pesky problem of a $3 million price tag that CU would’ve had to pay Hawkins should he be fired after the season.

But we’re split on this. In today’s “win now, or else” culture that has become college sports, often times we see coaches cut loose before they get a chance to build anything. Honestly, it’s not like the Buffs have a huge tradition in the sport, especially of late. (Don’t give us the “Four Big XII championship game appearances from 2001-2005!!!!”

argument; the Big XII North is arguably the worst division of any BCS conference, and, oh, by the way, Colorado won exactly one of those games — 2001 — before going on to get crushed in the Fiesta Bowl by Oregon.)

Despite what former coach Gary Barnett wants to say, when Hawkins walked into this gig, the cupboards were anything but full.

So, yes, part of us finds it refreshing that Hawkins will get another year to turn things around. Don’t believe us? It’s worked before.

The Blessed Bill McCartney — He who won the 1990 National Championship — began his career 7-25-1. It wasn’t until his seventh year that he won eight games.

But perhaps the best argument in favor of Hawkins keeping his job is Mike Stoops, who inherited a similarly destroyed program at Arizona in 2004.

He went 21-29 in his first four seasons, and was this close to getting the axe. After a reprieve, his Wildcats won eight games last year, and, up until a double-overtime loss to Oregon two weeks ago, were in the hunt for a Rose Bowl.

WTF, you say? WTG, we argue.

Respond: letters@boulderweekly.com