"Never give in -- never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty ..."

- Sir Winston Churchill

We were starting to think Tiger Woods was human.

We were starting to think Tom Brady wasn't.

If there's a lesson to be learned from Woods' stubborn comeback at the Dubai Desert Classic, and the New York Giants' stunning upset of Brady's New England Patriots in the Super Bowl Sunday, it's that you should never give up. On anything.

Even after Tiger had grabbed the early lead in Dubai, he seemed to be fading over the weekend -- trailing by four shots going into Sunday's final round. But he sank birdies on five of his last seven holes, including an amazing, winding 25-foot putt on the 18th, to win his second tournament in a row and sixth in his last seven. Amazing.

We were expecting perfection in the wrong desert, it appears.

The electric New York Giants took care of that, by denying the Patriots a perfect 19-0 season.

Even after winning three playoff games on the road, and giving the Patriots all they could handle in their last regular-season game, the Giants were nearly two-touchdown underdogs in Arizona. The Patriots just seemed unbeatable -- especially after they went up 14-10 on a late touchdown.

But quarterback Eli Manning and the Giants never gave in. Never, never, never. And on the final drive, on which they scored the winning touchdown, Manning squirted free from the clutches of a clawing Patriots defense and threw a pass that may be remembered as the most spectacular catch in Super Bowl history. Receiver David Tyree leaped high, stuck the ball against his helmet with one hand and, while falling backward with a Patriot draped on him, managed to secure the ball over his head.

More than anything, what Manning and Tyree and Woods displayed Sunday was determination. Sheer, unalloyed, no-fear, no-surrender determination.

That's the stuff of greatness.