IF ever there were any doubts about which direction football in Bermuda is heading, they will have been firmly quashed by the news this week that the Hogges are preparing to pull out of the USL-D2 and join the Professional Development League (PDL).

Nothing has been signed, but from all reports it's virtually a done deal.

And, that means, as Bermuda Football Association president Richard Calderon indicated when first elected, emphasis over the next few years, at least, will be placed on budding talent rather than the talent that already exists.

Already the senior national team has all but disbanded, with no matches planned for the near future, and all efforts are being channelled towards the Under-23 – a group to which the PDL specifically caters.

Should the Hogges switch alliance and work far more closely with the BFA in nurturing the Island's young players, there will, of course, be pros and cons.

They can't, of course, compete in both leagues because of the costs involved.

It's a move which won't suit everybody, particularly the over-23s.

With no chance of playing internationals at senior level, many of the Island's leading players will be denied an opportunity to play in a professional league.

Most are too old to seek trials with an overseas club and from now on will have to be content with the domestic game.

The PDL, also part of the United Soccer Leagues (USL) does allow over-age players – eight in any squad – but it is specifically aimed at the Under-23s and there's no doubt the make-up of the Hogges will change considerably if the move is confirmed.

With the Olympic and Pan-Am Games qualifiers set for next year – competitions designed for U-23s – the PDL would serve as an ideal platform in the build-up to those tournaments.

The League would also allow the many Bermudians currently studying overseas to play at a higher level. At present, college players are prevented from playing for the Hogges.

USD-D2 is regarded more competitive and of a higher standard than the PDL.

But, Hogges have struggled in the three seasons in which they have competed.

Given that Bermuda's international future lies in the hands of the U-23s it would seem to make perfect sense to change course.

What would become of Kyle Lightbourne and Shaun Goater who, along with Paul Scope, have been the driving force behind the Hogges, remains to be seen. Nobody can dispute the huge contribution they have made to local football in recent years.

However, should Bermuda enter the PDL, it's likely that BFA technical director Derek Broadley would be the man pulling the strings, with help from Goater, Lightbourne and Scope should they want to maintain some kind of role.

On the face of it, Bermuda football has little to lose.

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TIGER Woods has hit out of bounds before . . . but never this far!

No matter what has made the headlines this week, either on the news or the sports pages, nothing seems to have grabbed the public's attention more than the revelations surrounding the world's number one sportsman.

The jokes have been flowing freely:

What's the difference between a car and a golf ball? Tiger can drive a ball 400 yards.

What were Tiger Woods and his wife doing out at 2.30 in the morning? They went clubbing.

Tiger Woods crashed into a fire hydrant and a tree. He couldn't decide between a wood and an iron.

Of course, the saddest part of this whole episode is that Tiger, up until now, has been the perfect professional the role model who set the highest of standards, one that others struggled to follow.

If his 'transgressions' – the word Tiger described to the rest of world to explain his behaviour off the golf course – had been applied to any soccer, basketball, NFL or baseball player, nobody would have blinked.

In France, there would be no more than a shrug of the shoulder.

But, in most people's eyes, his private life has been as exemplary as his life on the links.

Now his reputation has been dented almost to the same extent as his battered Cadillac SUV.

Nobody can argue that he remains the best golfer in the world, by far, perhaps the best the game has ever seen.

However, it will be difficult to repair the damage inflicted on himself and his family.

The question remains, how his game will respond to the distasteful publicity which he has had to endure over the last week.

Already he's been forced to pull out of his own annual charity tournament this week.

After a career that has attracted plaudits since he first picked up a golf club as a small child, he's now facing a battle that he may never win – to convince his followers that he can still lead by example.

After events of the last week, it's not looking good.

But, what Tiger will draw on is his considerable mental strength – the same mental strength which has allowed him to climb over just about every obstacle put in front of him on the golf course.

He could come out of this entire episode as an even stronger person. And that's a daunting thought for any of his so-called rivals.

– ADRIAN ROBSON