I Crushed Arnold Palmer

As a kid, I spent sick days watching crappy daytime television. My go-to fare were shows like Love American Style, Bewitched, Gilligan's Island, Courtship of Eddie's Father, My Favorite Martian, and several other shows. The lineup changed over the years, but you get the idea. I was a pretty sickly kid, so I had lots of opportunities to watch all this great junk on TV through the years.

As a young, single adult, my rare sick days were all about Ricki Lake and Jerry Springer. I am so high brow!

When I was sick last week, I discovered a new way to veg out: Tiger Woods 2006 for PlayStation2. For a while, all I ever did with TW06 was play against My Boy. The nice thing about PS2 is that he and I can compete on a level playing field. I can't take advantage of being taller and he can't take advantage of being younger and smarter. But when I was sick last week, I played on my own against great golfers through the ages such as Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, and Justin Leonard. It was lots of low-key fun and now my player kicks some pretty major butt.

With cable and video on demand, I could probably cobble together a sick day like the ones of my youth, but this new sort of day works for me. Now, when I watch pro golfers on TV, I can say "I played that guy and he's really not very good. My putting is way better than his."

The Day

• Workout: crunches and push-ups
  
• Music: Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins, Sonny Stitt