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The Official Tiger Woods Thread

ripper said:
I think the media should ask Tiger intelligent questions.. He seems to get more annoyed with weak questions... Kinda like Phil Jackson..
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I agree with that BUT you still have to be able to handle the stupid questions too. Look at Rory, they basically asked how it felt to have his heart ripped out and stomped on and he handled it like a class act. Stupid people exist and therefore stupid questions will too, no need to make yourself look like an a** over it though like Tiger tends to do.
 
Jman215 said:
I agree with that BUT you still have to be able to handle the stupid questions too. Look at Rory, they basically asked how it felt to have his heart ripped out and stomped on and he handled it like a class act. Stupid people exist and therefore stupid questions will too, no need to make yourself look like an a** over it though like Tiger tends to do.
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I understand your point, and I agree. I just feel that people should criticize the media and ask them to step up their game instead of just focusing on the athletes.
 
ripper said:
I understand your point, and I agree. I just feel that people should criticize the media and ask them to step up their game instead of just focusing on the athletes.
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I agree wholeheartedly with that too Rip, we are on the same page I think. It's about both parties, not just one or the other.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Nice little piece on the Espn today by Bill Simmons.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/110411


My son watched a few holes of the Masters with me yesterday. He's nearly three and a half and hasn't figured out how to crap in the toilet yet. He spends most of his time naked or partially naked, barking out orders like "Put on Wow Wow Wubbzy!" and "I want graham crackers!" Every night, he promises us that he won't climb into our bed in the middle of the night, and yet, I always wake up around 4 a.m. because some snoring wildebeast is kicking me in the kidneys. Last week, the stubborn (expletive deleted) sat still for a haircut for the first time only because we allowed him to play "Angry Birds" on an iPad. He's a man of many quirks. I'm not gonna lie.



Before yesterday, only two sports captured his attention for more than a few minutes: boxing and professional wrestling. You can imagine my surprise when he curled up next to me during the final round, asked what I was watching, then proceeded to applaud with the gallery every time someone hit a good shot.



He thought the goal was to hit the pin with every shot -- and by the way, he wasn't totally wrong -- and never totally figured out the putting thing. When Tiger eagled the eighth hole, everything clicked. There was Tiger striking that putt as the gallery jumped up, everyone wanting it so badly -- and that's the one thing that stood out yesterday, how badly fans wanted Tiger to succeed -- then the putt going down as everyone exploded, and to cap it off, Tiger dusting off his old-school fist pump and yelping towards his fans. The last two years washed away, just like that. We spent the first few months picking the man apart, making all of our jokes, batting around conspiracy theories, beating him down, beating him down some more ... and when he folded from the weight, we switched gears and wondered if he would ever come back. Now he was destroying Augusta again.



"Again!" my son screamed.



In other words, "Rewind that, I'd like to watch that again."



That's what my kids scream when they like something and want it to happen again. My daughter started it a few years ago when we'd throw her into sofa pillows like a human grenade. She loved it. AGAIN! My son reveres her, so as soon as he could speak, he started yelling it, too. Now they yell it for everything. My son wanted to see Tiger make that putt again. So did I, actually. AGAIN! We watched it a second time. When Tiger pumped his fist, my son turned to me and laughed.



He lasted two more holes. Once the electricity faded and Tiger morphed into a human being again, my son had better things to do. You know, like play Angry Birds. He never returned. And really, neither did Tiger. He made the fatal mistake of peaking too early at Augusta. We made the fatal mistake of thinking he was back. When he missed a seemingly easy eagle putt on 15, the gallery made a noise that you just never hear in sports anymore: the "Ahhhhhhhhhh-ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh" sound that happens with a missed three, a warning track flyball, or a bomb that misses a receiver's hands by two feet, only with a hint of "NOOOOOOOOOOO!" As in, "NOOOOOOOOOO! That was SUPPOSED TO GO IN!"



He never recovered. I love so many things about the Masters, but ultimately, what makes that tournament special is that we know the course so freaking well. There are laws with the Masters. You can't peak too early on Sunday. You can't miss momentum-swinging putts at Amen Corner. You can't lay up on 13; for whatever reason, it pisses off the Golf Gods. Your second shot on 18 has to land dead-even with the hole; it can't be too short or too long. It's the only course that feels like a leaving, breathing organism. When Jack brought it to life in 1986, something mystical happened: the course helped him out. It wiped out everyone trying to beat him, almost like a haunted house dropping chanderliers on people's heads.



The muff on 15 mortally wounded Woods. He staggered through the last three holes dripping blood all over the course, finally finishing at -10, knowing it wasn't good enough. He gritted his teeth, shook his head, snapped at the poor interviewer after his round, disappeared into the clubhouse ... and the tournament kept going without him. Some toothy South African ended up winning. The crowd pretended to be happy for him. Twenty years from now, we might not remember his name. But we'll remember Tiger's 31. And the eagle putt on the eighth. And the feeling that anything was possible.



Allow me to be the ten millionth person to write that it didn't matter that Tiger Woods won or lost, just that he mattered again. The Thanksgiving car crash seems like it happened twenty years ago. It ruined his family, destroyed his reputation and submarined his golf game. After he prevailed in the 2008 U.S. Open while playing on a bum knee, I remember thinking that he had the highest approval rate of any athlete in my lifetime. There wasn't a single person who liked sports and didn't like having Tiger Woods in his or her life. He was better at golf than we were at anything.



When Michael Jordan retired the first time, in 1993, Phil Jackson gently tried to change his mind by pointing out that Michael had been given a unique gift that transcended sports and veered into artistry -- no different than a singer, writer or painter -- and that, by walking away from that gift, he would deprive people from enjoying it. Jackson didn't even care about losing his best player as much as losing that gift. He wasn't thinking as a basketball coach, more as a fan. It remains the most brilliant thing Jackson ever did. Jordan still walked away, but his coach had connected to him on a different level. When he returned to the Bulls less than two years later, he did so partly because of the way Jackson approached that specific conversation. He knew Jackson cared about his gift, not the hole Jordan left behind.



Two decades later, Tiger left a similar crater that we haven't filled. We hated The Decision because we talked ourselves into LeBron maybe possessing that same gift; by choosing South Beach and Dwyane Wade, he was telling us, "You were wrong." That made us angry. That hurt our feelings. We looked around, searched for someone else, couldn't find him. We bided our time. And suddenly, there was Tiger on Sunday, making another run at Augusta, pulling us back in yet again. The moralizing is over. The jokes are done. (Most of them, anyway.) We chopped him down to size, made him human, made him bleed. He never caved.



I am supposed to think that he's a poor role model -- that he's an adulterer, that he's selfish, that he's a phony, that he behaves badly on golf courses, that he's someone I wouldn't want my son to emulate some day. That's horses---. I want my son to know that people screw up, that nobody is perfect, that you can learn from your foibles. I want my son to watch "The Natural" some day, hear Roy Hobbs say, "Some mistakes you never stop paying for" and know that it's not just words in a movie. I want my son to know that you haven't lived until you fought back, that you haven't won until you've lost, that you can't understand what it's like to relish something until you suffered, too. I want him to understand that it's the 21st century, that we sit around picking our heroes apart all day, that we expect them to be superhuman at all times, that we get pissed off when they aren't, that it's hypocritical if you really think about it.



I want my son to know that great athletes are meant to be appreciated, not emulated. He can steal Tiger's fist pump without wanting to become him. He can play Tiger's video game without feeling like Tiger is his best friend. He can imitate Tiger's swing without getting the urge to bed every cocktail waitress and model he meets. We should have learned by now that athletes aren't role models in the traditional sense -- they exist to entertain us and inspire us, and that's really it.



If my son needs a role model, and he will, that person should be me. I don't need Tiger to teach my child how to behave. I need him to teach my son that it's fun to watch golf. Yesterday was the first lesson. There was a putt, and a roar, and a fist pump, and then my son screaming "Again!" Only Tiger Woods could have made it happen. It's a gift.
 
cj3ap2 said:
The latest post round interview and fall out is an indication to me that Tiger and the media should just avoid each other from now on. Tiger should stop doing post round interviews, just do the formal press conferences and everybody go their seperate ways. The relationship is just too dysfunctional to ever be fixed between the two parties.
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You cant be serious.

ripper said:
I think the media should ask Tiger intelligent questions.. He seems to get more annoyed with weak questions... Kinda like Phil Jackson..
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I dont see a problem with the original question. Who should judge if it was an intelligent question? The truth is, he didnt want to talk. If that was the case, dont talk, but dont do the yes and no song and dance. Would it have been better if the interviewer asked a question such as "Your putter gave you some fits coming down the stretch, are you considering another change?"? He would have gotten the same one word answer. This was a classic example of TW being TW.

ripper said:
I understand your point, and I agree. I just feel that people should criticize the media and ask them to step up their game instead of just focusing on the athletes.
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They get criticized all the time for asking poor questions. All the time. Seen Jim Gray recently?
 
JB said:
You cant be serious.
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Yes I am. Tiger can attend the formal pre-tournament press conferences, where he's usually a lot less dbag, as well as give information out through his website and twitter account. To me there's no good reason why he should be interacting with reporters if neither side is handling it well (granted it's more on him than them). To me no good is coming for either side from Tiger giving terrible post round interviews with macatee or sitting down and having an ackward sunday conversation on sportscenter with rinaldi. What of any substance are we learning from these interviews? nothing. Who's benefiting from these interviews? Not tiger, not the media, not the people watching.

Yes Tiger gets asked a lot of ridiculously dumb questions (and i've been vocal about being annoyed by a dumb question that gets asked), but so does EVERYBODY in every sport; I haven't heard a single halftime interview with a coach during a football or basketball game that was anything other than a waste of 30 seconds, but those coaches in the heat of battle still handle it well. Tiger clearly hates doing these things, and the media hates interacting with someone who treats them like crap. With twitter and the internet I see no benefit for continuing these uncomfortable charades. Nobody is benefiting
 
cj3ap2 said:
Yes I am. Tiger can attend the formal pre-tournament press conferences, where he's usually a lot less dbag, as well as give information out through his website and twitter account. To me there's no good reason why he should be interacting with reporters if neither side is handling it well (granted it's more on him than them). To me no good is coming for either side from Tiger giving terrible post round interviews with macatee or sitting down and having an ackward sunday conversation on sportscenter with rinaldi. What of any substance are we learning from these interviews? nothing. Who's benefiting from these interviews? Not tiger, not the media, not the people watching.
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You are missing the biggest factor of them all though. RATINGS!

TW has NEVER been a good interview. EVER! He does not want to be there and always gives nothing. Yet they bring ratings, so to say that he should do his pressers and then the media shouldnt bother is ridiculous. He brings ratings and because of that its an important interview. He has always been a complete "non-interview" in terms of material and it sucks that it is just getting worse and worse, but the interview still has to be done.
 
Ah yes, the dirty little answer to all of life's question's. money. Unfortunately you got me there, while i think his post-round interviews and uncomfortable sit down's might only raise minimal extra interest, it does raise that interest.
 
JB said:
You are missing the biggest factor of them all though. RATINGS!

TW has NEVER been a good interview. EVER! He does not want to be there and always gives nothing. Yet they bring ratings, so to say that he should do his pressers and then the media shouldnt bother is ridiculous. He brings ratings and because of that its an important interview. He has always been a complete "non-interview" in terms of material and it sucks that it is just getting worse and worse, but the interview still has to be done.
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Mad Dog radio had the CBS Producer on that did the Masters this past weekend and he was asked about Tiger. He said that sometimes he gives you something and sometimes he gives you nothing, but at least most of the time he will stop for the interview. He was kind of comparing him to other big time athletes in other sports saying that in those types of situations, they won't stop for the interviews.

JB you are 100% right, he has always been a "non-interview"
 
The Bill Simmons article strikes me as a big cliche. The role model thing is so old. I'm glad he can be inspired by a bad guy like Tiger. I can't. I prefer to be inspired by those I believe are decent people. Are some that inspire me bad people and I don't know it? Most likely, but if it comes out they are, I can change my opinion quite quickly.

It was apparent by the cheers on Friday and Sunday I'm in the minority. I'm fine with that. It's a shame Phil didn't play better to balance the Tiger worship.

Kevin
 
Esox said:
The Bill Simmons article strikes me as a big cliche. The role model thing is so old. I'm glad he can be inspired by a bad guy like Tiger. I can't. I prefer to be inspired by those I believe are decent people. Are some that inspire me bad people and I don't know it? Most likely, but if it comes out they are, I can change my opinion quite quickly.

It was apparent by the cheers on Friday and Sunday I'm in the minority. I'm fine with that. It's a shame Phil didn't play better to balance the Tiger worship.

Kevin
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I don't dislike your comment one bit. You're entitled to your thoughts on TW and I actually don't disagree with many of those thoughts to be honest. But there is no doubt about it that he is a one in a million athlete, like Jordan and Ali and Babe and well there aren't all that many really. Jordan was no great guy or great role model either, I can about imagine the reason his wife divorced him. This is by no means me making excuses or trying to justify any single thing that Tiger does or has done. All I'm saying is from an athlete perspective there is not much denying the gift that Tiger has and the excitement he brings to the sport. That's it.
 
JB said:
I dont see a problem with the original question. Who should judge if it was an intelligent question? The truth is, he didnt want to talk. If that was the case, dont talk, but dont do the yes and no song and dance. Would it have been better if the interviewer asked a question such as "Your putter gave you some fits coming down the stretch, are you considering another change?"? He would have gotten the same one word answer. This was a classic example of TW being TW.
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Where was the intelligence in the question? Are you back? He cant say no. I just feel the media asks a lot of lame questions and should step up their game. I give you Jim Gray, but that is one compared to how many athletes who get criticized for not being media friendly?
 
Tiger's interviews remind me so much of the Hoody a.k.a Bill Belichick. Some of the answers they give are just laughable. With that said some of the questions they get asked are just laughable but both of those guys keep things so close to the vest like they don't want to give away any trade secrets. But as JB says as soon as someone goes Mickelson, IJP or Rory then they get hammered by the press so it really is a no win situation for these guys. Just my thoughts.
 
ripper said:
Where was the intelligence in the question? Are you back? He cant say no. I just feel the media asks a lot of lame questions and should step up their game. I give you Jim Gray, but that is one compared to how many athletes who get criticized for not being media friendly?
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What would you have liked them to ask? It is the one question that gets asked on this forum by what I consider some pretty intelligent people each week. But its not about this question, they could have asked him anything and we all know that. He is a non-interview and you would have hoped after that freaking round that he would have given something. Anything. But instead we got typical one word answers that were borderline laughable, right after the guy actually made a run for the first time in 500 days. Its shocking to me how little his fans ask for as a human being. Play great golf and we dont care how you treat anybody. Answer questions? Nope, not needed. Sign an autograph for a kid? Nope, not needed. Do something, anything likeable? Nope, not needed. Just play great golf and the love is there.

He is a one in a million athlete as was pointed out by someone above. Apparently that gives him a pass. THe old excuse that "all I want to see is great golf" is such a crock and we all know it. That may be the case, as long as the great golf is played by him.
 
I read someplace that Tiger did not attend the post round presser. Seems to me if Rory can face the press it should'nt kill Tiger to show up. I'm no Tiger fan, but his charge on Sunday was fun to see. His chopping on the back nine, priceless.
 
fish dude said:
I read someplace that Tiger did not attend the post round presser. Seems to me if Rory can face the press it should'nt kill Tiger to show up.
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I didn't see this, but if true, it's not surprising. Looks like you don't automatically earn class and maturity.
 
the_paulo said:
I didn't see this, but if true, it's not surprising. Looks like you don't automatically earn class and maturity.
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He has neither, but who cares, right? He makes it so gosh darn exciting.

Kevin
 
I find myself at times questioning my own integrity cheering for guys like Tiger. I guess it's the hope he changes (not talking golf). I don't know. Lol.
 
I must be missing something. Tiger did not totally dis the guy. I believe his response was "well I am one back, we will see". Since it was a nonsensical question, if Tiger had even tried to answer it directly it would have been a nonsensical answer.

I am not trying to put words in the guy's mouth but it seems to me that Tiger's response was the equivalent of saying that a weekend at Augusta does not prove anything one way or the other. If you guys want to offer your journalistic views as to whether I am back and where I am back from and how long I have been gone, go right ahead since it appears that you think it is part of your job. However it is not my job.

The question is in the same vain as EJP offering his opinion about whether or not a fellow competitor would finish in the top 5. It did not matter what EJP thought?

I do think a sensible question that might have gotten the interviewer where he wanted to go and a question I believe Tiger would have answered directly would have been "Do you think there is anything you can take from this week at the Masters that will help you the remainder of this year?" That to me would have been a good question and I would have liked to have heard the answer.

As for additional questions that I would have preferred, I would have preferred that the guy ask Tiger if he had tweaked his wrist or some other part of the anatomy after that shot where he appeared to grimace in pain. I would have preferred that the guy ask about any of several putts that went awry during the round. Was it a misread Tiger.....did you pull it.....what happened? At least from what I have seen Tiger has no problem answering questions about his round including questions about specific shots regardless of how embarrassing the answer might be. If he blew it, Tiger will say " I blew it".
 
I agree the questions are poor, i think Macatee is a dolt and i usually find myself at least once an interview wondering "how did this guy get that job and how does he keep that job", but here's the rub, i think that every interview which means he's asking everybody dumb questions. Tiger is the only who high hands him.

I used to get seriously annoyed at bad questions (still do to an extent) but the thing I needed to understand, something that is understood in those post-round interactions, is that the question's don't matter. The idea is the reporter says something and then the golfer is just supposed to talk. the question is more of a transition point than a question. The other guys on tour and in other sports seem to have little issue understanding or at least dealing with it; Tiger doesn't.
 
jnug said:
I must be missing something. Tiger did not totally dis the guy. I believe his response was "well I am one back, we will see". Since it was a nonsensical question, if Tiger had even tried to answer it directly it would have been a nonsensical answer.

I am not trying to put words in the guy's mouth but it seems to me that Tiger's response was the equivalent of saying that a weekend at Augusta does not prove anything one way or the other. If you guys want to offer your journalistic views as to whether I am back and where I am back from and how long I have been gone, go right ahead since it appears that you think it is part of your job. However it is not my job.

The question is in the same vain as EJP offering his opinion about whether or not a fellow competitor would finish in the top 5. It did not matter what EJP thought?

I do think a sensible question that might have gotten the interviewer where he wanted to go and a question I believe Tiger would have answered directly would have been "Do you think there is anything you can take from this week at the Masters that will help you the remainder of this year?" That to me would have been a good question and I would have liked to have heard the answer.

As for additional questions that I would have preferred, I would have preferred that the guy ask Tiger if he had tweaked his wrist or some other part of the anatomy after that shot where he appeared to grimace in pain. I would have preferred that the guy ask about any of several putts that went awry during the round. Was it a misread Tiger.....did you pull it.....what happened? At least from what I have seen Tiger has no problem answering questions about his round including questions about specific shots regardless of how embarrassing the answer might be. If he blew it, Tiger will say " I blew it".
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If the interview is the one minute snippet on the 18th apron I don't understand what guys are complaining about either. It is like a bunch of old hens clucking on incessantly about this guy. It is weird because for the longest time it was TW is soooo great and that was just as bad.
 
This probably doesn't belong here, but I didn't want uno-T mad at me for starting a silly thread :beat-up:

http://www.suntimes.com/6576829-417...-new-man-slept-with-tiger-woods-mistress.html

After happily being out of the media glare for many months, Elin Nordegren is furious that she’s back in the spotlight — thanks to new boyfriend Jamie Dingman.

It’s all because word got out that the wealthy financier earlier had a fling with Rachel Uchitel — perhaps overlapping with her romp with Tiger Woods when he was Nordegren’s husband.

Even though Dingman’s dalliance with Uchitel predated his relationship with Nordegren, she is devastated she was blindsided by all this — especially since Dingman didn’t tell her about the creepy connection until after the news broke.

“I think she’s worried she’s stumbled on another ‘Tiger,’ ” said a close Nordegren friend Monday.

† Meanwhile, as TMZ first reported, Uchitel is considering suing her former attorney, the ever-present Gloria Allred. Apparently, Uchitel believes Allred was in cahoots with Woods’ legal team — who were claiming Uchitel’s contacts with TMZ and her appearances on “Celebrity Rehab” violated the terms of her confidentiality agreement with Woods. That’s the deal signed when Woods paid Uchitel a reported $10 million settlement to keep quiet about their affair.

Uchitel denies she violated the agreement but reportedly was persuaded by Allred to pay back most of that settlement — believing she’d risk it all if Woods’ team sued and she lost.

Now TMZ is claiming Uchitel believes Allred cut a deal with Woods’ lawyers, in order to keep her fees for representing Uchitel in all this.

Allred issued a statement denying TMZ’s story and stressing she has not represented Uchitel in some time and has “not had a conversation with [Woods’ attorney] in more than a year. . . . I was not involved in any way in the allegations set forth in the TMZ story.”
 
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