In Defense Of Steiny...

Words I never thought I'd type. But a reader who is also a litigation attorney has seen some of the discussion about Team Tiger never having secured a non-disclosure agreement with instructor and author Hank Haney, and offered this in an email explanation:

In light of Hank Haney’s recent comments regarding the absence of a non-disclosure agreement, it is my insight that any purported non-disclosure agreement that attempted to cover this book would be overbroad and unenforceable.  As such, the absence of a non-disclosure agreement is really a straw man argument.
 
As a litigation attorney, I come across many NDA’s and confidentiality agreements in my practice.  Generally, NDA’s cover “confidential information,” which covers data or information proprietary to the non-disclosing party.  “Proprietary” is simply another term for ownership.  As Haney claims that these are his memories, he would have a factual basis to argue these stories were not proprietary to Tiger and he is free to write about it.  So even if an NDA was in place, Haney could find a way around it.
 
To come up with an agreement that forbade Haney to ever talk about anything said between him and Tiger would be truly overbroad.  I would never recommend a client to sign such documents, unless it is within the context of litigation and the agreement is to resolve a lawsuit.  Additionally, no golf instructor like that would ever sign such agreement, as it would hinder their abilities to market themselves.

The Donald Does Bohemian Rhapsody!

Niamh Anderson of the Daily Mail reveals the overnight UK sensation (1000 YouTube views!!) though I must say, I'll never look at Donald Trump's comb-over quite the same again. And that's saying a lot. (Thanks reader David for this.)

The woman behind the video, freelance writer Hazel Cameron, 52, said she was delighted with how it turned out. She said: ‘It took nearly two years to complete but we are thrilled with it.’

She came up with the idea in 2010, when she and her friends were talking about Trump’s plans. Miss Cameron said she ‘had to do something’ to raise awareness about the links course.

She said: ‘His actions are appalling. I’ve spent almost my whole life working in business and I know how difficult planning and environmental laws can be.

'So why was he able to come in and sweep them all away? We have hundreds of golf courses in Scotland and we don’t need another one – especially if it means that people will lose their homes.’

She emailed May asking for  permission to use the song and was surprised to receive a reply within four hours. May told her: ‘I hope you will be able to stop this nasty project.’

CBS Head: Conservative Ratings Projections On Latest TV Deal

Daily Variety's Stuart Levine talked to CBS's Sean McManus about a variety of deals, including the latest PGA Tour deal through 2021.

"In the most recent PGA tour deal we did, we did not assume that Tiger was going to be as dominant as he has been in the past," McManus said. "We did a very conservative projection on ratings. If Tiger finds his groove and plays a number of PGA tour events, that's all upside for us, but when you look at Rory McIlroy or Luke Donald, and put Phil Mickelson in that group, there is still an awful lot of really appealing golfers on the PGA tour."

The Economy Greening: Check Out This Auction Action

Green Jacket Auctions has some stellar stuff posted right now, including Art Wall's green jacket Green Jacket and a mint program from the inaugural Masters Augusta National Invitational.

Check out the bids (already) with several days to go...

"I wouldn't like to pass a golf ball."

Thanks to Mike Johnson for Tweeting Colin Gilmore's story about Callaway, the golf ball swallowing python who confused the balls for eggs but was saved by doctors at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary in Australia.

Dr Pyne said snakes had an incredible ability to swallow objects as they could dislocate their jaws, but they could not necessarily digest everything they eat.

"I wouldn't like to pass a golf ball," he said.

Steiny Might Want To Think Twice About Calling Hank A Liar

Agent Mark Steinberg has long established himself as one of the least PR-savvy public ten-percenters on the planet, so I was not surprised to see that in the aftermath of his client's impressive Bay Hill win he  would acknowledge Hank Haney's new book and do his best to get the conversation back on The Big Miss. If Steiny is one thing, he's consistent!

Steve Elling has the agent's latest missive regarding claims that Tiger injured himself partaking in the adult fantasy camp version of Navy SEAL training.

“(Hank) Haney admits he never had in-depth, personal discussions with Tiger. This self-serving book is full of guesses and false assumptions,” Steinberg said in an emailed statement.

“Most don't merit a response, but his stories about Tiger's injuries are simply not true. Tiger's injuries, and how they occurred, were exactly as described at the time they happened. Despite repeated claims that this is a golf book, it’s not.”

So just to recap, Haney claims Tiger injured himself pursuing his passion for SEAL training. Not the diversion I would choose for a pro-athlete, but the great ones are all a little bit different. I can safely say from what I've read so far, this is not the worst revelation in the book. Unless of course you're Steiny trying to negotiate a new endorsement deal and companies keep asking for SEAL-related injury clauses.

That said, it's not as if Haney is out suggesting Tiger's body was somehow damaged by Dr. Anthony Galea's, uh, cutting edge therapy methods. Nor is Haney even bringing up the sheer stupidity of associating with Dr. Spaceman. So in that sense Steiny, it could be a lot, lot worse.