"Since last summer Phil has been feuding with the blue coats over a groove developed by Callaway that was called the multiangle wall (MAW) design."

Alan Shipnuck offers this background on Phil's decision to play the PING wedges and what motivated the stunt:

Since last summer Phil has been feuding with the blue coats over a groove developed by Callaway that was called the multiangle wall (MAW) design. The MAW adhered to all of the USGA specs governing the new grooves but still imparted spin comparable to the old square grooves. In profile the MAW looks a bit like a martini glass, with sharp edges where the groove wall meets the plane of the clubface. "The language in the USGA rule allowed edges to become sharper as the groove sidewall becomes less steep," Roger Cleveland, Callaway's design guru, told SI in an e-mail. "Despite the fact our MAW groove design fit within the USGA's original specifications, we clearly invented something that they didn't anticipate. It performed so well that they decided to reject it, claiming the MAW groove violated the spirit of the rule."

Contrary to reports, the face of the MAW wedge did not look like this.

Meanwhile Lawrence Donegan agreed with me that this little PR firestorm is a good thing for the game, taking issue with Tim Rosaforte's assertion that this was the last thing Tim Finchem needed to be dealing with.

Excuse me but how can 464,000 Google hits on a golf-related story be a bad thing? And what is so awful about a golf story being featured on Sportscenter (which is the nightly sports news show broadcast on ESPN)?

As for PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem having to deal with a great, big, fat controversy not long after his most famous PGA Tour member was revealed to have been leading a double life - isn't that why he gets paid the ridiculous sum of $5 million (or so)? To handle, or rather capitalise on, these things?

And because golf is a gentlemen's game where the players police themselves and therefore don't need drug testing, E. Michael Johnson reports that players are bugging their tour reps for a dealer who can supply them with some old PING wedges. They can also just go on ebay, as Ryan Ballengee explains.

But Padraig Harrington reportedly has some in his bag though he hasn't decided whether to engage in cheating (which is different than being a cheater!).

"God forbid the PGA Tour to step on the USGA's shoes"

There was also this from Tour policy board member Joe Ogilvie. Start with the bottom Tweet:

I think it's safe to say a Commissioner Ogilvie would have invoked a local rule.

The question is, why didn't Commissioner Finchem do the same?

Tiger's Indefinite Leave Clippings, "Jesus Christ offers Tiger Woods something that that Tiger Woods badly needs" Edition

I've been astounded by a lot of things over the last month. But the ability of Vanity Fair to generate so much buzz over some photos locked in a drawer and accompanied by a revelation-free story in a magazine usually so rich with detail?  Check out these headlines procured from a Google search for the article about nothing:

"Tiger Woods shown shirtless, pumping iron"

"Tiger Woods gets the Annie Leibovitz treatment for Vanity Fair"

"Tiger Woods strips for Vanity Fair photo shoot"

Vanity Fair' on Tiger Woods: 'A sex addict who could not get enough'

Vanity Fair: Tiger Woods Paid Big Money For Sex, Goes Topless for Cover

As for the date of that cover photo, Annie Leibovitz herself isn't saying (yet) but she chimes in with this reminder why she should to stick to taking photos: “Tiger is an intensely competitive athlete—and quite serious about his sport. I wanted to reveal that in these photos. And to show his incredible focus and dedication.”

Steve Elling is having trouble understanding how Conde Nast's Vanity Fair is sensationalizing Tiger as Conde Nast's Golf Digest puts him on a sabbatical:

Then there's the completely reverse philosophy espoused by Vanity Fair, which, rather unbelievably, is also a Conde Nast publication. The latter features Woods on the cover of its latest edition, sans shirt and doing biceps curls, and includes a feature story that seemingly was written in 15 minutes by a guy with no apparent knowledge of the PGA Tour. So while one Conde Nast mag was skirting the Woods situation entirely -- he has a seven-figure contract to pen the tutorial pieces for Digest -- another was exploiting his situation to sell magazines. How consistent, huh? Maybe Woods can pen an instructional piece when he gets back called, "The left hand should know what the right hand is doing." Good picture, though.

Elling also touches on the tour's decision to remove Tiger as host of the AT&T National event and notes this discrepancy.

When asked how that differs from two years ago, when Woods was on the shelf after having knee surgery and skipped attending the event entirely, the tour declined to elaborate further. ... Add it all up and the impression is clear: AT&T, a huge player in the tour's sponsorship pantheon, wanted to sever its ties to Woods across the board.

And don't miss his final "Up and Down" item on Tiger mistress Ashley Samson talking to the New York Daily News.

Gawker features this follow-up video of Brit Hume appearing on The O'Reilly Factor to clarify his remarks and not really doing a very good job convincing the Buddhists of the world that he thinks very highly of their philosophy. From the interview:

He needs something that Christianity especially provides and gives and offers, and that is redemption and forgiveness. I was really meaning to say in those comments yesterday more about Christianity than anything else…I think that Jesus Christ offers Tiger Woods something that Tiger Woods badly needs.

You mean a blood platelet spinning doctor south of the Canadian border?

The New York Daily News' Nancy Dillon reports that Buddhists were not happy with Hume's homily.

"Could Hume get away with saying something like this about Jewish people or black people or the Muslim Faith?" asks Kyle Lovett on TheReformedBuddhist.com.

"You betcha he couldn't," Lovett continues. "Why should he be able to skate away scott free when speaking about Buddhists? Because we are only 3 or 4% of the population of the US? Hell No! Sometimes we have to speak up."

Adam Satariano says that EA Sports is sticking with Tiger and keeping his name on their games.

“Regardless of what’s happening in his personal life, and regardless of his decision to take a personal leave from the sport, Tiger Woods is still one of the greatest athletes in history,” Peter Moore, president of EA Sports, said in a statement today.

Titles featuring Woods have generated $675 million in U.S. sales since 1998 for Electronic Arts, the second-largest video game company, according to researcher NPD Group Inc. “Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online,” to be released this month, is the first in the series that can be played through a Web browser. The game is part of Chief Executive Officer John Riccitiello’s strategy to expand sales of non-console titles.

Dave Shedloski reports on the reduced PGA Tour Media Guide (no more photos of all VP's, no wonder it's 100 pages shorter). He also says a certain somebody is still on the cover.

Jon Show looks at the PGA Tour's "inventory" issues and notes this from a consultant close to a couple of key sponsors:

Despite the developments surrounding the sport’s biggest star, agency executives do not expect the controversy to have a short-term effect on sponsorship sales.

“You should pay what you’re going to pay for your title sponsorship regardless of Tiger,” said Sarah Hirshland, senior vice president of consulting at Wasserman Media Group, which works with tour title sponsors Northern Trust and Travelers. “You can’t make a decision based on one guy that you can’t control where he’s going to play.”

They're saying Tiger's visit to Australia generated $31 million in revenues and tourist dollars. Boy, those National Enquirer expense accounts must be generous.

And finally, add Africa and South Africa to the list of places Tiger may be hiding.

"The long-term effect on the tour from Woods’s loss of sponsorships, if any, will probably not become evident for years."

Larry Dorman makes that point in reviewing the year and decade. And it's a good point to remember since now every time the PGA Tour loses a sponsor Tiger will be blamed. In this economy, that's pretty ridiculous even though his potentially diminished appeal will surely sway some companies.

So Much For The Friday Afternoon News Dump: AT&T Drops Tiger**

Though I do think New Year's Eve is kind of your basic Friday afternoon no matter what day it falls on.

Some good news in the announcement: they are not dropping their sponsorship of Tiger's PGA Tour stop. Oh, and they wish Tiger well.

Update on 2009-12-31 18:16 by Geoff

**CNBC's Darren Rovell, who is often agent Mark Steinberg's first stop for revealing Tiger business news, paints a bleak future for the Tiger Woods Foundation's future now that AT&T is not renewing its deal to sponsor "Tiger Jam." He also suggests that while Nike is likely to pick up Tiger's bag sponsorship, Chevron could be the next corporation to pull out of its Woods related deals.

If there's a natural next sponsor to go, it's likely Chevron, which is in a similar situation in terms of having a less visible role with Woods, but a more active role with the foundation. It's clear that the foundation, which has done a tremendous job in raising money over the last decade, won't do as well in the near future.