What Would Ari Fleischer Have Done?

It's a question I ask of myself every morning, and it's the question that keeps coming back to me after Tiger's whirlwind, out-of-the-blue, totally bizarre Sunday interview hits with ESPN and Golf Channel.

Remember that Fleischer client Mark McGuire sat down for a long, tough interview with Bob Costas along with several other Q&A's. The New York Times' Richard Sandomir called it a "how to" strategy that, while not perfect, allowed McGuire to return to baseball as Cardinal hitting coach:

In his repeated confessions Monday, he had no defiance or anger, just sadness and tears.

“I like the door-to-door strategy, in that he is telling his story in long form and in less confrontational settings,” said Kevin Sullivan, a former White House communications director who runs a strategic-communications company. “He needed to rip the Band-Aid off before heading to spring training.”

With that in mind, it's hard to fathom that Fleischer would have concocted today's first step, which was poorly timed on many levels. It took away from what little attention a regular tour event would have received, it arrived on the first weekend of the NCAA tournament and on the day of the health care bill vote.

Then there was an enormously strange arrangement (5 minutes?) that exerted too much control over the media agencies for the interviews to have any lasting credibility (except with the Golf Channel studio analysts).

It makes me wonder if Fleischer really did leave the Woods advisory team because he had become a distraction?

How's The Transitions Championship Coming Along?**

Just kidding, I saw that Furyk shank on 18 before he won. Then it was time to turn over to the interviews.

But how are the Transitions people feeling right now? They have a late Sunday finish, great leaderboard and Tiger decides to do promptu-impromptu interviews that take attention away. Even Golf Channel, which had an on-course set (doesn't Transitions pay for that?) virtually deserted post-game coverage to put the interview show on a loop.

Update on 2010-03-22 02:25 by Geoff

**SI's David Walberg captured the shank and lived to digitally transmit it back to SI headquarters.

The Dueling Interviews Are Now Posted Online

Golf Channel still has no Share capacity, so here's the link (hey Wally, congrats on the Titleist ad, hope you don't have to pay per unique visitor on that one!).

ESPN is here:

Update on 2010-03-22 01:05 by Geoff

Ryan Ballengee has posted video accompanied by a transcript of the ESPN interview.

Ari Fleisher "Withdrawing His Services" From Woods Spin Team

Kelly Tilghman reported this after her interview with Tiger, saying she had asked if he would be present for the interview. The reply was that he had withdrawing his services because he was becoming "too big a part of the story."

Interviews Set For 7:30; Golf Channel Makes It Official**

Steve DiMeglio Tweets that the ESPN interview is now set for 7:30 EST.

Here's Golf Channel's release:

***MEDIA ADVISORY**
 
GOLF CHANNEL TALKS TO TIGER WOODS 1-ON-1; FIRST PUBLIC INTERVIEW SINCE THANKSGIVING- NIGHT CAR CRASH
 
ORLANDO, Fla. (March 21, 2010, 6:30 p.m.ET) – The first televised interview with Tiger Woods since November will air tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET on a special, 30-minute edition of Golf Central on Golf Channel, and will be replayed by the network throughout the night and in its entirety on www.GolfChannel.com.  Kelly Tilghman sat down with Woods today at the world number-one golfer’s home course, Isleworth Country Club in Windermere, Fla., just outside Orlando.
 
During the emotional interview, Woods discussed what happened the night of his infamous car crash, and talks about how he has lost touch with his roots. “Today was a unique and special opportunity,” said Tilghman.  “I was able to ask the tough questions that have been on everyone’s mind for the past three months and Tiger’s answers were from the heart.”

In five minutes?

Woods will return to competitive golf at the Masters, April 8-11.  Golf Channel’s Live From the Masters will televise more than 34 hours of live news coverage during the week, beginning Tuesday, April 6.  The network’s team of reporters and analysts, as well as guest experts, will cover all the major storylines, break down tournament play and feature daily interviews with key players.
 
Golf Central Special – 1-on-1 with Tiger Woods
7:30 p.m. ET (replays throughout evening)

Update on 2010-03-21 22:46 by Geoff

An ESPN.com story previews the interview.

Woods hasn't been questioned by reporters since he was involved in a one-car crash outside his Florida home in the early-morning hours of Nov. 27. He declined to answer questions about the specifics of the accident ("You know it's all in the police report," he said. "Beyond that everything's between [wife] Elin and myself and that's private.") and specifics about his infidelity, though he did tell Rinaldi that "just one is enough ... and obviously that wasn't the case."

After his auto accident, Woods eventually admitted to infidelity and said Dec. 11 he would take an "indefinite break" from golf. Woods spoke publicly for the first time Feb. 19, when he confessed to cheating on his wife. But he didn't take any questions after his 13-plus minute statement.

"I hurt a lot of people, not just my wife," he told Rinaldi on Sunday. "My friends, my colleagues, the public, kids who looked up to me. There were a lot of people that thought I was a different person and my actions were not according to that. That's why I had to apologize. I was so sorry for what I had done."

New Details Of Tiger Sunday Interviews

A reliable source tells me:

- The ESPN and Golf Channel interviews were shot at Isleworth today.

- Golf Channel was given 5 minutes, with no restrictions on questions. The interview ran long and went 6 minutes. Topics include car crash details and Buddhism.

- The Golf Channel interview was set to air at 7:30 but was pushed back to not compete with the PGA Tour telecast of the Transitions Championship.