"Hard times" for Tiger and Phil? We don't think so ...

Average earnings for leading athletes - not just runners but golfers, tennis players, basketball players et al - in the United States have dropped for the first time in six years, according to Sports Illustrated magazine.
In a list of the 50 top-earning American athletes -- based on salary, winnings, endorsements and appearance fees -- the average take-home pay was down by $1.5 million to $23.6 million per athlete.
However, the drop was primarily affected by the leading two names in the standings, golfers Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, Sports Illustrated reported this week.
Both Americans failed to match their on-course income in 2008 from the previous season, especially world number one Woods who was sidelined for eight months while recovering from reconstructive knee surgery.
Woods earned $5.775 million on last year's US PGA Tour, compared to $10.867 million in 2007.
Second-ranked Mickelson had a less substantial drop-off, winning three times on the 2007 PGA Tour for earnings of $5.819 million before triumphing twice and taking in $5.188 million last year.
Of course, the Sports Illustrated article does not touch on Woods' income from Nike and other sponsors and also the multi-million dollar appearance fees he enjoys when he plays outwith the United States.
Multiply his US PGA Tour earnings by four or five and you get a true idea of what Tiger is making annually.
Next best on the Sports Illustrated list of top sportings earners was Cleveland Cavaliers basketball player LeBron James with New York Yankees baseball player Alex Rodriguez in fourth place.
Editor's Note: Never heard of them? Well, they're laughing all the way to the bank!