“I am upset the way media treated him like he’s a criminal — he didn’t kill anybody, he didn’t do anything illegal. They’ve being carrying on from Thanksgiving until now, that’s not right!” she charged. “Tabloids and newspapers “just killed him,” she added.

She then made a statement that three months ago would have been easily considered one the most important quotes in the history of the First Church of Tiger Woods.

“He never claimed he was God. If anyone tells me to condemn him, I say look at yourself first… I would look in their eyes and tell them you’re not God!”

Technically Kultida is correct. Tiger never claimed to be God, but when I asked him directly if he was God in 2007 he did NOT deny his divinity, and even when I specifically asked him if he was “denying his divinity,” the best he could come up with is “I’m the furthest thing from that.”

Of course, Kultida is also conveniently forgetting the fact that her husband Earl was the one who made the many statements that created the notion that he was God-like.

I wish Tiger didn’t have a script with him and just spoke from the heart. The words were mostly right, but they can never have the same impact when they are read.

If he really thinks he is going to get through all of this without ever answering questions he is very mistaken, and if he really thinks the tabloids will lay off his wife and children he is simply delusional.

Given the circumstances and my low expectations, I thought Tiger did about as well as he could have (though the primary camera ironically malfunctioning had to really tick him off). If this was truly a “first step,” it was a good one, but if it was the whole thing, it will fail miserably.

I don’t understand why he keeps saying Elin never attacked him without given any legitimate explanation for the shattered windows of his SUV. Unless he doesn’t consider someone taking a golf club to your car while you are driving it, this makes no sense to me.

The whole thing felt like we were all being used as a step in Tiger’s therapy process.

I am still stunned that Tiger is in “therapy,” because the Mississippi reports never seemed valid or made any sense to me (how the heck did he get in and out there without being seen and how are all the people in that facility kept quiet?!), though it would still not shock me if the therapy is taking a different from than what has been reported.

It is clear Tiger is not playing in the Masters, though if I were him I might just show up at the Tavistock Cup because there is nothing to lose and it will take a little of the hype/pressure  away from whenever he returns to golf.

If Elin is still considering remaining married to him (it would seem that is the case) at this point I don’t know why she wouldn’t do so. After all, he is clearly doing his penance (the therapy thing and missing The Masters seems like mostly acts of contrition to me). After all, most of the world and the entire tabloid industry have been deputized as the adultry police so there is very little chance Tiger is going to stray again.

It seems to me that Tiger is taking the very long view of this comeback and that, if successful, he may end up, in the long term, in a much better place than he was before all of this came out. If he is able to save his marriage, turn a new leaf in his life, and return to golf greatness, then he could easily be “bigger” and more interesting/human than he ever was before.  

Tiger ended his statement with something very appropriate for members of the now defunct First Church of Tiger Woods. He asked for the chance to make us “believe in him again.” Go for it Tiger. We will be a tough audience and will not want to be duped again, but I think most of your fans are at least still listening.

While this still doesn’t explain the controlled nature of the event (and the two days noticed has clearly backfired from a PR stanpoint as the reaction in the media has been incredibly negative and even includes a boycott from the Golf Writers Asocaition), it could easily put everything in a very different light.

It would now be a legitimate surprise if Tiger did announce a return to golf and in fact may make it official that he will not be back for The Masters. Of course, as it has been since the start of this bizarre story, almost everything we hear is at least based partially in speculation and about the only thing we can be reasonably sure of is that we will be surprised by what happens next.

I had started to actually feel a little sorry for Tiger with the all of the inaccurate and overdone media coverage of this scandal, but if this event on Friday goes anything like expected, I am quite sure that I will go right back to hating Tiger Woods (one of the many reasons that this site is now under the new domain name, www.TigerWoodsWASGod.com ).

Here are my major problems with what appears to be happening:

– The timing, for no apparent reason, during a tournament sponsored by one of his former sponsors give the appearance of arrogance, revenge and anger.

– The location, the PGA Tour headquarters, seems designed to allow Tiger to show everyone who is boss (and boy has the Tour laid down on this one, they gave hm the keys to the palace without even asking what he was going to do with them!).

– The careful selection of a very few select media representatives to act as his props while not being allowed to ask questions shows a cowardice that is consistent with his three month hiding period (not to mention the gutlessness of media members to be willingly used like this).

As for what TIger will actually say, it would seem that the most likely scenario is that he will announce that he will be playing in the unofficial Tavistock Cup and then The Masters.

If this is indeed  the case, it would seem to me that this means that Elin is leaving him. It makes no sense that Tiger would come back so soon unless he had nothing else to lose. It has also been widely noted that Tiger was not wearing a wedding ring while on his staged “photo shoot jog” yesterday.

I would certainly hope that the pretend news conference that is planned for tomorrow is truly a “first step” and that Tiger may yet still redeem himself, but the initial evidence is not at all promising and Tiger has clearly lost all right to any benefit of the doubt.

But in case you doubt his credibility alone, he himself is citing an “unnamed source” as having tipped him off to this piece of bombshell information. Of course, we all know that anthing coming from “unnamed source” is inherently newsworthy.

Well, I can report here exclusively that, despite the excellent sourcing, this bit of “news” is inaccurate. I know this because numerous sources (who shall remain nameless) have told me so. I know the information is credible because it came in the form of an actual e-mail which was addressed to me specifically.

These sources told me that Tiger is NOT in Mississippi and is NOT in therapy for sex addiction. My unnamed sources tell me that Tiger is actually in North Dakota where he has become a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Indian tribe.

Apparently, in a nod to his Native American ancestry (he is part “Indian” through his Father), is attempting to regain control of his life by “giving himself completely to the earth,” and, according to one of my sources, has denied himself all pleasures of the flesh. He is reportedly living on little more than wheat, corn, water and the occasional bison his is able to bring in on his own. My sources tell me that he has not picked up a golf club since his now infamous car accident, but has apparently quickly become one of the best archers in the tribe. While they could not confirm this information, one of my sources told me exclusively that Tiger’s new Indian name  is Lootah Chunta, which means “One who wears red and cheats.” I am told that his only indulgence is an occasional visit, in disguise, to the Standing Rock tribe’s casino.

My sources do not expect him to return to golf this year and, unless he leaves the tribe, is probably finished with the game for good.

Developing…

The reason that this development is so important is that the PGA tour announced that Tiger will NOT be the host of this year’s AT&T National on July 4th weekend.

This is shocking news because there are only two rational interpretations of this event. Either Tiger has no intention of returning to golf by July, or the PGA Tour has decided to strip Tiger of his title as a punishment of sorts.

Quite simply, no other scenario  makes sense. If he were to come back before July there is no chance he would agree to play in a tournament that would so publicly humiliate him and yet he couldn’t blow off the tournament that still benefits his foundation. Since it would seem suicidal for the PGA Tour to piss Tiger off with this type of action against his will, the most likely explanation is that Tiger has made it known that he will not be playing golf in July, which, in itself, should be MAJOR news.

It should also be noted that if he already knows that he will not be playing in July, then it seems to me that it quite possible that he will not play at all in 2010.

Regardless, it is hard to imagine how the AT&T National remains “Tiger’s Tournament” in the long run after this kind of slight, especially when the home course (Congressional Country Club) had very l;ittel interest in hosting it even before the Tiger scandal broke.

This development is is extremely significant and marks the first essentially permenant stain on Tiger’s long term legacy and viability.

Happy New Year.

When I was still Pastor of the now defunct “First Church of Tiger Woods” I always feared that Tiger, like many other great talents, would die far too early. I was most concerned about the year he was 33, which has taken several important historical figures. I always assumed that if Tiger died it would be in a car accident. I just never figured that it would be his reputation which would be killed off because of a car accident while he was 33, but that is indeed what has ended up happening.

While real news surrounding the Tiger scandal has pretty much stopped for now, it is interesting to note that for the first time in memory The Golf Channel is NOT officially doing “Tiger Week” to celebrate his birthday, though they are running a lot of Tiger-related programing. Gee, I wonder why. Just one of the hundreds of things that have happened in the last month that I never thought were possible.

Meanwhile, I understand Osama bin Laden has been trying to get in touch with Tiger to get tips on how not to be found.

 Forgetting the marriage for a moment, from a golf and PR perspective, I think Tiger needs to take enough time off where people are publicly begging him to come back. This way the expectations for when he returns will be much lower (because of the long, unprecedented, self-imposed layoff) and it will likely make the inevitable circus surrounding his return at least somewhat manageable because the story will no longer be fresh and the tabloids will have mostly moved on by then.

Assuming Tiger takes this approach, Elin stays with him, and his golf game returns (all very big ifs) I am beginning to think that Tiger may emerge from this different, but in some ways stronger and better than ever. He will never be worth of the same sort of worship again (those the pending end of this web site) but he could still end up being, in some ways, “bigger” than he has ever been. In fact, if he were a stock, I would buy Tiger Woods right now. Since he has fallen so low his upside is much larger than his downside.

As ticked off and disappointed as I still am with Tiger, there are others in this story that also deserve to be castigated. Many of them are members of the news media who were mostly either absolutely irresponsible or completely gutless. Almost no one got it exactly right, though, to my shock, The Golf Channel, after a very slow start, actually has done a pretty good job of covering what could end up being their own funeral.

A special place in hell (if there is such a place) should be reserved for all of those black commentators who tried to make Tiger’s choice of mistresses into a race issue all so they could increase their own profile by inserting themselves into the circus. Tiger is NOT “Black.” He is more Asian than Black and almost as Caucasian as Black. He has always called himself “Cablainasian.” To think he has any obligation to take up “Black” causes is almost as absurd as blaming a man for race of woman he finds attractive. If Tiger can be criticized for anything in this particular area it should be the relative ugliness and scankiness of his mistresses, not their race.

Speaking of the media, when did TMZ and Radar Online become reputable news sources for allegedly legitimate organizations? While I am sure they have gotten some things in this story first and correct, I am equally sure that a lot of what they have reported is completely made up. For instance, TMZ reported that Tiger told a friend that he had to go get Elin a “Kobe Special” because she had gone “ghetto” on him. This was ridiculous on many levels and obviously fraudulent. Not only would Tiger never use that type of language in this situation, but no one that close to the inner circle would ever tell that to TMZ because they would be immediately excommunicated. Will TMZ ever retract such nonsense? Of course not.

I am particularly suspicious of TMZ because it seems very clear that they have some sort of arrangement (official or unofficial) with Gloria Allred to help facilitate a pay off by Tiger to her client. Some of their reports appear to have been written by Allred herself. And yet many members of the “lamestream” media still pick up their reports as if they are inherently credible.

The worst offender from the group of media who used to have actual journalistic standards has been NBC. On both the Today Show (in a live nine minute interview) and Dateline NBC they interviewed a woman who claimed to be one of Tiger’s mistresses. This act violated journalistic ethics in numerous ways.     

First, while NBC claimed on the Today Show that they did not pay for the interview, what they reported on Dateline indicates that this may only be technically accurate. Secondly, the only evidence that she ever had an affair with Tiger was a couple of innocuous photos of what she claims were the inside of his house. Thirdly, since when is it remotely “news” when a woman claims to have sex with a married sports star who has already admitted “transgressions” in his marriage and who isn’t even accused of any crimes?

The answer is clearly: never. In this case the ratings were just too good to resist. Journalism died with the 2008 Presidential election, but the Tiger Woods story has buried the casket.     

The media intensity of this story has exceeded (largely because of the emergence of the Internet) that of the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal and that involved the President of the United States and numerous felonies.

Perhaps an even better analogy (one that was used in the latest SNL), is that of John Edwards who had a love child with a woman on his campaign payroll while he was running for President and his wife was dying of cancer. Even though Edwards’ “transgressions” were far worse than Tiger’s and were also first reported in National Enquirer, they were never repeated by the mainstream until his campaign was long over.

So golf is much bigger news than a Presidential election? Actually, Tiger’s story was just much sexier and didn’t involve bringing down a liberal politician. 

But John Edwards isn’t the only one who has to be looking at this madness and thinking, “Damn, I had it easy.”

Arnold Palmer, who was a notorious womanizer, Phil Mickelson, who has long had some freaky stories in his closet, Nick Faldo who once (for sure) had a girlfriend take an iron to his automobile in anger, and Greg Norman, whose much romanticized marriage with the wife of his former friend’s wife, Chris Evert, lasted only fifteen months, all have to be at least a little thankful they never reached Tiger’s level of stardom.

I am still angry at Tiger, but the level to which he is being treated differently than anyone else ever has already started to create a bit of a backlash in his direction.

 Those in the media who were delusionally holding on to the now absurd notion that Tiger could have ever come back and played on the tour in January, are now laughably claiming that by the Masters everything will be back to “normal.” Baloney. It might not be permanent, but this is not a John McCain suspends his campaign indefinitely moment. Tiger Woods is essentially retired (in the modern sports definition of the word) from golf.  This is not a “break,” this is a “break up.”  

 Why am I so sure? Let me count the ways.

 First, what is the remotely logical scenario where he comes back by March/April? For that to happen, his effective “time with the family” would be all of two months (because he would never come back without his golf game being in top shape, especially now, and there will no ability for him to keep even a semblance of game while fixing his life/marriage, especially if, as reported, he will be in Sweden). Two months would obviously not be enough time to heal the wounds in his family and it certainly wouldn’t be effective as a PR stunt (which, btw, I don’t believe this is).

 Coming back at the Masters is a total non starter from both a golf as well as a logistical perspective. You can’t possibly take over four months off, have your life turned upside down and compete at the Masters. It’s impossible. Plus, the membership at Augusta National would not appreciate the absolute circus that will surely ensue if and when Tiger ever does return to action.

 So, once he misses the Masters (which I am 90% certain he will) and sets the precedent that he has missed a major (something he didn’t do even after his father died), when would he come back?

Well, at that point all bets are off because, as imbecilic as it sounds, the longer it takes him to return, the longer it will take him to return. What I mean by that is that for him to be ready after a month layoff it might take him a week of heavy practice, two months/two weeks, three months/three weeks, etc.

 One of the many things non golfers don’t seem to understand is that there is a massive difference between practice golf and playing golf in a major tournament, especially since in this case he would be dealing with massive psychological trauma.

 This means that he can’t return at a major, or even the Players Championship in May, or else he will embarrass himself and allow the wolves to begin circling around his career.  Which tournament before the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach could possibly endure what would still be an exercise in media madness? Jack’s tournament? I doubt he would do that to Nicklaus. So now it becomes hard to see how he plays in the U.S. Open.

 The only tournament I see as a possible return for next year would be his own in D.C. in July. But one of the many potential problems there are that AT&T is the sponsor and they have already put out a statement saying they are “reevaluating” the relationship. Not only that, but the membership at Congressional Country Club wasn’t thrilled with hosting the tournament before the scandal broke.   

 If he goes into July, obviously St. Andrews would not be the place to go to reenter the golf world from either the golf or the tabloid perspective.

 Here is the bottom line. I think Tiger is being mostly sincere here. I think he is doing this honestly not having any idea when or even if he is returning. If there is a “strategy” here (other than saving his marriage, which may not even be possible at this point) it may be to take so much time off that the story eventually does die down a bit and maybe even reach the point where people are begging him to return. Once that happens, expectations and logistics would be far more manageable. In my view that won’t be until at least his own 2010 December tournament (assuming it still exists), which he just blew off.

 One of the most difficult parts of predicting any of this is that there is a great potential for the environment to change dramatically and instantly. If the marriage fails, if all his sponsors drop him, if the PGA ratings drop off the cliff and they start to lose tournaments, if his foundation tournaments collapse, all bets are off. But right now, I will be far more shocked if he plays in the 2010 Masters than if he doesn’t play at all in 2010 or even beyond.

 http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jqbabxyIfltGK6F9al-eICNRA5ag

http://www.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6267041/18682894

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=4708179&name=sobel_jason

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/lawrence-donegan-golf-blog/2009/dec/03/golf-tigerwoods1

http://www.nationalpost.com/related/topics/story.html?id=2302834

Here is one of a couple of television interviews that the Pastor has done to explain his decision:

http://tvnz.co.nz/close-up/tiger-woods-off-fairway-3225663/video

Here is a Los Angeles radio feature on the Pastor’s reaction:

http://www.knx1070.com/topic/play_window.php?audioType=Episode&audioId=4206967

Here is a column written by an apparent non golfer that seems to nail the situation pretty well:

http://www.startribune.com/sports/78739607.html?page=1&c=y

Here is an interesting analysis of the famous (infamous?) Sports Illustrated article which inspired the First Church. It correctly cocludes that “the machine won.”

http://deadspin.com/5422770/the-machine-won-10-preposterous-moments-from-sis-1996-tiger-woods-profile/gallery/