Mark Spector

Mark Spector is a columnist for sportsnet.ca

The Tiger Woods scandal could be a ratings bonanza for Oprah Winfrey.

If the playoffs started today, only two of six Canadian teams would not be packing their locker rooms up.

It’s a good thing we have the Olympics this February. It’s starting to look like it could be a mighty lean spring.

CARCILLO A PUNK

There are two ways to look at the Daniel Carcillo suspension.

Take 1: We’ve always liked guys who live on the edge — Jarkko Ruutu, Darcy Tucker, Steve Ott, Chris Neil — and never begrudged them a suspension or two. A visit to Colin Campbell’s office once in a while is part of the gig.

But Carcillo is a punk. He takes far, far too many bad penalties — many of the selfish variety — and he doesn’t match the job description of most pot-stirrers because he’s such a me-first guy.

Matt Bradley gave him an innocent body check, wasn’t interested in a fight, and Carcillo suckered him.

Cheap play. Cheap shot. Cheap guy.

Take 2: Matt Bradley has been around a while. He’s had, according to hockeyfights.com, 20 fights since the start of the ’07-08 season.

He knows Carcillo is a rat who will make sure he gets in the first punch whether your gloves are off or not. Bradley also takes home $1 million each season as 15-point guy. He knows the drill: It’s a sport where fights happen, and guys like him are expected to take part in one now and again.

He paid dearly for not protecting himself against Carcillo, who took a four-game suspension on Sunday.

In the end, I suppose you could say both guys earned what they got.

TIGER HUNT

Tiger Woods is sunk now. The British papers have taken over the hunt, unearthing Mistress No. 4 on Sunday.

"Sex addict golfer had 18-month affair with golf fan's girlfriend and trawled Las Vegas clubs picking up blondes," the headline reads.

"The predatory golfer had been married just nine months when he seduced 26-year-old model Jamie, above, at a Las Vegas party," the story reads. "Over the next 18 months they met for sex in his California pad surrounded by wedding pictures of shameless Woods and his new bride."

Back in North America, No. 5 emerges as Mindy Lawton, a 34-year-old Orlando, Fla. waitress. No. 6 is Cori Rist, a Manhattan club-goer.

And what about that surprising Tiger Woods cover story in Men’s Fitness magazine a couple of years ago? (It was surprising, because Tiger was thought to have an exclusivity deal with Golf Digest.)

Ya – a sister publication of Men’s Fitness is reported to have snapped pictures of Tiger and a woman not named Elin fooling around in a car. The editors sat on the photos, it is being reported, in return for the cover story.

Word is that Oprah is all over Tiger handlers to get him and Elin on her couch, in front of the cameras. Tiger’s P.R. people reportedly like the idea, but it’s hard to think Tiger would be very interested.

If it happened though, the broadcast would be a historic moment in daytime TV — the first time men across Canada and the U.S. grabbed the clicker from their wives and said, "Let’s watch Oprah."

DUCK, RANDY

Randy Carlyle is on of my favourite people in the game. And the Anaheim Ducks are going to fire him very soon.

John Stevens in Philly is a prime example of how it works when a team with very good personnel isn’t clicking. The coach always goes.

Stevens was in his fourth season. Carlyle is in his fifth, taking the Ducks to the Conference Final in his rookie season, and winning it all in Year 2.

Success has its price though. The bar is high in Anaheim, and the Ducks — 28th in the league and last in the West this morning —have not had significant injury problems.

It can’t go on this way. It never does.