NASSAU, Bahamas -- His situation was so dire a year ago that Tiger Woods admitted on Tuesday that he feared never playing competitive golf again.Woods spoke at a news conference at Albany Golf Club in advance of the Hero World Challenge, where the 14-time major champion is set to return after a 15-month absence because of two back surgeries and a lengthy rehabilitation and recovery process.Not being able to get out of bed, not being able to move, how can I expect to come out here and swing a golf club at 120 miles an hour and be ballistic when I cant even get out of bed? Woods said. So, yeah, there was a lot of trepidation and times where I thought ... was it realistic?When I had my knee redone and it was completely blown, I knew it was nine months, but I knew I could come back from it. Its not nerve damage. When youre dealing with a spine, when youre dealing with nerves, its a totally different deal.Woods was six weeks removed from the second of two back procedures in the fall of 2015. He was not allowed to swing a golf club and had yet to begin a serious rehabilitation program. His exercise was limited to walking, and Woods admitted that he could not see the light at the end of the tunnel.A year later, after an aborted return in early October at the Safeway Open, Woods, 40, says he is ready to compete in the annual tournament that benefits his foundation. And he has a much better outlook.Yeah, I can play, he said. I can play, I can compete and hopefully I can get out there and shoot something.Woods could not resist his usual mantra that he is here to win, but he acknowledged thats going to be a tall order. I havent played in a while. But hey, Im going to give it my best. Im going to be focused, Im going to do what I can do and put the ball in the correct spots, give myself looks and try to bury these putts and post scores, and get myself in the mix come Sunday afternoon.Woods is ranked 898th in the world and he is playing in a field that has no other player worse than 38th. Among those he is competing against are defending champion Bubba Watson, 2016 major winners Dustin Johnson, Henrik Stenson and Jimmy Walker, as well as Olympic gold medalist Justin Rose and U.S. Ryder Cup stars Rickie Fowler and Patrick Reed, who will be grouped with Woods on Thursday.He has won the event five times, but two years ago, in his last appearance in the tournament, Woods finished tied for last.The tournament is reserved for the defending champion, major winners and those ranked among the top 50 in the world, which prompted Woods to quip: The committee allowed one player from outside the top 50 to get into the event.Woods is actually afforded a spot because of his role as host of the event -- otherwise he would not be eligible. Because the event offers World Ranking points and has such a strong field, Woods is guaranteed to move up approximately 150 spots just for finishing four rounds.And even that would be a victory for Woods, which he grudgingly acknowledges.Im playing again, yeah, he said. After 15 months of not competing ... last year at this time I gave you a different answer because that was the reality of it. Im sitting here in front of you guys with a different reality because things have improved so much that Im able to come back here and do this again. It hasnt been easy.People around me who know me -- my physicians, my friends, family -- they know how hard its been to get to this point. Its taken a lot of work, but Im here.Woods touched on various other subjects, such as his new bag sponsorship with Monster Energy; previously reported facts about what will be in his bag this week; his desire to one day be a U.S. Ryder Cup captain but that he wants to make the next team; and how he set up the second phase of his career for beyond golf.But I want to do this as long as I can, as long as the body will allow me to, he said. Vapormax Cheap Online . -- In a span of seven Washington Redskins offensive plays, Justin Tuck sacked Robert Griffin III four times. Cheap Vapormax For Sale . Defencemen Drew Doughty, Shea Weber and forward Ryan Getzlaf also scored for the Canadians, who started their gold-medal defence 2-0. Goalie Roberto Luongo, getting the call in place of Game 1 starter Carey Price, was solid when needed in making 23 saves for the shutout. http://www.cheapvapormaxwholesale.com/ . That left plenty of energy for pitching books and swatting away free agency questions. Anthony had 24 points and nine rebounds, and the Knicks avenged an embarrassing home loss with a rout of their own, beating the Boston Celtics 114-88 on Wednesday night for their third straight victory. Nike Vapormax Wholesale China . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. Whisenhunt said he hit it off quickly with Ruston Webster when interviewing for the job Friday night. Cheap Vapormax China . Ferrer, trying to win his fourth title on Mexican soil, will next play South Africas Kevin Anderson, who eliminated American Sam Querrey,7-6 (2), 6-4. Also Wednesday, Gilles Simon (6) of France beat Donald Young of the United States 6-4, 6-3, Ukraines Alexandr Dolgopolov downed Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 6-4 and Croatias Ivo Karlovic defeated Dudi Sela of Israel 7-6 (4), 6-2. RICHMOND, Va. -- A University of Virginia football player was bullied and harassed by teammates because of his learning disability and seriously injured after being forced to fight another athlete in order to prove his manliness, according to a federal lawsuit filed against the school this month.Aidan Howard, who has since left the school, said in the complaint filed in a Pennsylvania federal court that his teammates called him slow and retarded in front of coaches when he couldnt quickly comprehend plays. Howard also suffered a broken eye socket when he was forced to fight another first-year player in August as part of his initiation onto the team, according to the complaint.A university spokesman said the school is investigating, but couldnt comment further on the lawsuit.The university is aware of Mr. Howards allegations and has made all of the required external notifications in accordance with state law, Anthony de Bruyn said in an email. The university has been actively investigating these reports consistent with its obligations under the law and University policy, he said.The complaint says the hazing was done primarily by two wide receivers: Doni Dowling and David Eldridge. In addition to making fun of Howard for his learning disability, it says the two would make him eat his lunch and dinner alone because he was not as tough and manly as others within the football program.dddddddddddd.De Bruyn did not immediately respond to an email seeking information about whether the players have obtained attorneys.The lawsuit states Dowling and Eldridge orchestrated a locker room fight between Howard and another player after a team practice that was witnessed by more than 100 people, including Famika Anae, a graduate assistant for the team. The lawsuit also says Dowling and Eldridge forced Howard and the other student to `enter the ring to flashing lights, loud music and announcements to simulate a prize fight.The lawsuit names Teresa Sullivan, president of the university; Craig Littlepage, director of athletics and Marques Hagans, wide receivers coach. It states that Hagans would participate in the bullying and that the university knew why Howard chose to leave the school, but did nothing about it.Howard transferred to Robert Morris University in Pennsylvania shortly after the incident and its unclear if he will ever be able to play football again, the complaint states. Howard is asking for unspecified monetary damages.---Online:More AP college football: http://collegfootball.ap.org ' ' '