Tiger Accident Clippings, Vol. 9
The hits just keep on coming as the New York Daily News reveals a sixth women linked to Tiger Woods. Sports By Brooks has photos of the latest and raises the question of whether we may be seeing some imposters now or in the near future, in part because of Tiger opening the door by not speaking publicly about what he meant by "transgressions."
That topic came up in the SI Confidential this week which also discusses the ratings impact, the marriage, possible heckling and other elements of the Tiger case.
Herre: The real eye-opener for me has been how TMZ.com and Radaronline.com have been cited as credible sources by AP and ESPN, even though the websites' sourcing is beyond flimsy. The fact is, we really don't know what's true and what's not.
Evans: There are no facts, really. All we know is that Tiger isn't in control of what's out there. We have some text messages and a voicemail, but we have no bulletproof evidence of Tiger "knowing" any of these women in the Biblical sense. At this point perception is much more powerful than whatever the reality is.
Shipnuck: Farrell, then what are the transgressions he's apologizing for? Missing that putt at the Barclays?
Tiger issued a written statement that was shown on NBC and posted on his site apologizing for his absence from Sunday's Chevron final round.
Bob Harig writes:
For what it's worth, attendance at the tournament, whose proceeds go to the foundation, was in the same ballpark as it was two years ago -- about 65,000 spectators for the week -- when Woods played and won (he missed last year's tournament due to injury). That could be due to the fact that many bought tickets expecting him to play.
They were offered a refund or a 20 percent discount next year -- one way or another that affects the bottom line -- and who knows how the events of the past week will impact the charitable efforts?
That is why you can't help but feel for some of the folks who work for Woods. More than 40 are employed by the Tiger Woods Foundation, which raises money through this tournament, the AT&T National and two other events called Tiger Jam and The Block Party.
The cloud that hovers over Woods spits rain on them, too.
At least he offered thanks to his "tireless, dedicated staff" in a statement Sunday on his Web site.
Perhaps he realizes, along with everything else, the predicament he's put them in.
David Feherty chimed in with comments to Connell Barrett and predictably blasted the coverage of Tiger's private life.
"I'm sick of it, all the coverage," Feherty fumed. "Lord knows, my private life is ghastly, so when I see someone's private business talked about night and day, over and over, it bothers me. It's a bad state of affairs [in the media]. You're talking about other people's misery, and this has been all over the tabloid shows," even Nancy Grace, the HLN program that sometimes covers missing-person cases. "I wouldn't mind a show on how she disappears. Everyone is so nosy. I can see it now. This is gonna be a movie. There will be books. You know, people have a right to work through problems on their own, without all the attention. Tiger plays golf, but he's a very private figure. The way the tabloids feast on private misery makes me sick and angry."
Scott Michaux addresses whether this will impact Tiger's quest to win majors.
For all of his gifts, Woods' greatest weapon in his arsenal of dominance has been his will.
This sordid situation has clearly caught Woods off stride. Unlike all of his previous challenges, this was something he seemed utterly unprepared for. You need only listen to him in that disturbing voicemail to his alleged mistress to tell just how out of sorts this ordeal has made his previously charmed life.
We've never heard that voice from him. It was desperate. It was stammering. It was confused. It was scared.
John Hopkins believes Woods will not return next year as his former self and suggests ways to rehab his image, including sacking his advisory team.
The public will not regard him as they once did and nor will the players. Indeed there is even a possibility that he may not play as well as he has done in the past because some of the previous certainties can no longer apply.
All we've heard from Woods in the 14 years he's lorded over the international scene is cocksure confidence. We've heard him angry. We've heard him disappointed. But we've never heard him anything less than unwavering.
PR guy Mark Borkowski on the public relations mishandling by Tiger lawyer Mark NeJame:
Little is known of him beyond the golf course. As a consequence, the hunt for a method to breach the PR stockade began at the first sign of weakness, mere hours after the kerfuffle in Florida. It's going to be impossible for Woods and NeJame to prepare fully for the actions of the women at the heart of the brouhaha, who are looking for ways to put themselves in the public spotlight.
An attempted media cover-up plot is far worse for the brand than any "transgression" Woods may have committed. Power and privilege – and the perception that a prosperous star is acting differently because of who he is – are only likely to whet the appetite of a prurient – and potentially resentful – press and public for months of revelations.
The New York Times featured a Noam Cohena-authored front page story on computer generated news reports, including the recreation of Elin slamming a golf club into the back window of Tiger's truck (thanks reader Tim).
Michael McCarthy reports on the race to land the first interview with Tiger. You'll be shocked to learn that calls are not being returned.
I doubt it'll be TMZ since they are not reporting that Tiger design business head and travel agent Bryon Bell is getting married next week. Tiger is the best man. TMZ is also reporting the name of a new attorney representing Tiger named Jay Lavely.
And finally, during a timeout at Sunday's Houston Texans/Jacksonville Jaguars football game, SI's Bill Frakes captured this image of a blond woman chasing a Tiger mascot clad in red shirt and Nike hat. Worse for Tiger, everyone in the photo--including the police officer--is laughing.
Sunday, December 6, 2009 at 07:52 PM
Reader Comments (51)
I am shocked -- SHOCKED -- that Feherty continues to sniff the throne.
John Hopkins's article makes some good, if rather obvious, points.
What's interesting is how much better the articles coming out of the UK are. Probably because they haven't built their careers polishing Tiger's bidet like the lackeys on this side of the pond have.
But....as irritating as Nancy Grace might be for some, wishing for a show about her disappearing is sort of, well, is rather mean spirited in a public persona sense.
CBS, Please fire the guy like he wants so we can end the suspense to see who is waiting to hire him to a large contract. Please....
Mr. Wood's world will never be the same again. This serial shagger has damaged his reputation very badly. He may still win and be a great player, but that endorser role will shrink ...association with him will be toxic for quite a while.
You can be sure the spin doctors are hard at work....extensive re-hab will be next...sex and painkiller addiction, excessive alcohol use...
But what if it was Tiger that broke the glass? (Why, I don't know. But can anyone explain why two windows were broken? Why break the passenger-side rear glass? And tell us why Tiger would have been found in the street, on the passenger side of the vehicle? Who is more likely to go busting things with a golf club, Tiger or Elin?)
I agree; as the world's popular press pushes forward with the factually casual (to say the least) story that Elin hit Tiger with a golf club, why wouldn't Elin do, say, a book telling her side of "My Life With Tiger"? ! ? Add a $5 million advance, and a lifetime of better understanding with the world at large, to whatever her pre-nup says...
Second, I see the same facts as you, and come away with the opposite conclusion. That Fherty is positioning himself as the premier Tiger loyalist in the media. Feherty is looking ahead to the Masters, and considering who it is that Tiger will talk to. Feherty wants desperately to be that guy.
If Feherty saw that, I think maybe his head asplode with rage...
Tiger Jam, for instance. This is Tiger's annual Las Vegas fundraiser for the Tiger Woods Foundation. As a cultural/entertainment event, this always seemed strictly C-List. Seems now (obvious) that it was among Tiger's connivances for tapping into Vegas: clubs, party girls, etc.
Also, here's some free advice for Tiger Inc. Hire Gloria Allred! When OJ's defense team found itself getting clobbered nightly (on TV) by Alan Dershowitz, they simply got smart and retained Dershowitz. End of problem. Who better to hardball negotiate down the second and third wave of bimbos than Allred. I'm assuming she's not already part of Elin's team.
Who said they liked the number $24 million in hush money. I think it's a good number, not including Elin, who's in her own stratosphere.
I've seen some huge numbers if Eliin walks, so shouldn't she get more if she stays? Just askin'
On another note: TMZ is reporting Tiger actually told Rachel he loved her and it was much more than just a fling. And I'm sure the inquiring minds here at shackelford.com have already read that Tiger reportedly told one of his bitches that his marriage was just for image purposes and it really was a sham.
This fall from grace is really getting to epic proportions.
"So despite advice from some people in his camp who didn't want to give in to Allred or pay Uchitel anything, Tiger took control and made the final decision to pay her."
If that's the way it's going to go, I would say it would be much sooner. First we'll hear that "they are separating during this difficult period, in an effort at reconciliation." That will quell the rumors that have them headed for divorce...but then, voila, they'll announce a divorce.
I'm with press agent on the pre-nup. In the hands of a skillful divorce lawyer, it'll mean nothing because Tiger almost certainly DID NOT negotiate the right to multiple affairs that would embarrass his wife and family. In essence, the pre-nup was done in bad faith since he was fooling around allegedly from the start.
I'm embarrassed to be sucked into this thing, guess that proves how shallow I am.
John
Sorry that your crush is a bum David- I'm sure your fantasy diary took a big hit.
That is the totality of the scene as reported by the EMT's and police, who arrived a few minutes after the neighbors called 911.
Listen to the neighbor's taped auido interview, and then compare to the incident report. That much just might be the only consistent part of the whole story.
Very little of the Tiger/Elin story(ies), such as they are, add up.
http://www.aolcdn.com/tmz_documents/1207_tiger_woods_wm.pdf
Unless this is some sort of hoax/forgery, I can only conclude it's an absolute travesty of justice and shows just the opposite of what the FHP claim - that Tiger's case was handled "like that of any other citizen." A witness claims that Tiger had been drinking...and produces bottles of prescription drugs which cause alteration of consciousness...said Tiger crashes his vehicle...in his own driveway...at 0-dark-30 in the morning...and is incoherent and semi-conscious at the scene...and the request for results of blood tests is denied? Because of insufficient information to justify a subpoena? Help all you lawyers out there. Please tell me there is an explanation ofther than one of Tiger's lawyers "working" the DA's office. Maybe somebody got some tickets or a trip to Dubai.