I get it that Tiger's a terrible husband, maybe not so great a dad, this is all his fault, blah blah blah...
But, to hear the reaction from Tiger's withdrawal from TPC, you'd think he has a history of quitting on the golf course. This couldn't be further from the truth. He has always grinded it out, trying to make tough pars even when he didn't have his best game. The fact is, golf is hard, and no one, even Tiger, can master it.
Tiger didn't get to be the most dominant golfer of his generation by being a quitter. In fact, there aren't many quitters who are at the top of any field.
It's reasonable to believe that Tiger is distrustful of the media given his recent experiences in having his dirty laundry aired in front of the entire world. You can say it was his fault to begin with, but you can also understand why he's hesitant to share everything with them now. Not to mention there's also a culture of athletes not to disclose any injuries unless you have to. Besides, who's to say he really thought it wasn't that bad up until the last minute when it became unbearable.
For all Tiger has done wrong, he should have done enough to earn a reputation on the course that is beyond reproach.
Showing posts with label Tiger Woods. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tiger Woods. Show all posts
Monday, May 10, 2010
Friday, April 23, 2010
Who's running Tiger's life?
So, Tiger posted a new blog at his website just recently. In it, he congratulates Phil on winning the Masters, and apologizes for using profanity on the course.
Who is this guy? It's obvious his handlers are trying to remake his image. Thing is, I like Tiger for who he is and who he has always been. Family issues aside of course, I'm not married to him. Sure, he's a terrible husband, but he's cold-blooded on the course, and that's what I've always liked. If he turns into the image conscious golfer who congratulates his main rival on victories and apologizes for his intensity, that might be enough for me to fall off the Tiger bandwagon.
Just stick to your guns, Tiger. Play golf, win tournaments, and screw what everyone else thinks.
Who is this guy? It's obvious his handlers are trying to remake his image. Thing is, I like Tiger for who he is and who he has always been. Family issues aside of course, I'm not married to him. Sure, he's a terrible husband, but he's cold-blooded on the course, and that's what I've always liked. If he turns into the image conscious golfer who congratulates his main rival on victories and apologizes for his intensity, that might be enough for me to fall off the Tiger bandwagon.
Just stick to your guns, Tiger. Play golf, win tournaments, and screw what everyone else thinks.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Why did Tiger choose the Masters?
Interesting to me that Tiger is choosing to come back and play the Masters instead of playing a tournament before that as a "warmup." We all know that in the past, Tiger has always made it clear that whenever he plays any tournament, he's playing it to win. But, I believe it's also true that he believes his best chance to win a major tournament requires being able to come into that tournament competition tested. For this reason, I have to question why he's not playing another tournament before the Masters.
My thoughts all along were that he would play the Bay Hill tournament, or what is commonly referred to as Arnie's tournament. I can't help but think that perhaps Palmer himself made it clear to Tiger he shouldn't play at his tournament as his first one back. On one hand, sure, there are people who would have loved to have seen him there. NBC for one, advertisers just interested in getting more viewers and certain segments of the media.
Some may even say Arnie would want him to play there. I'm not so sure. Tiger and Arnie have always seemed to have a good relationship, evidenced by Arnie's warm congratulations each time Tiger walked off the 72nd green as winner at Bay Hill. However, I thought it was notable that at no time during Tiger's exile from golf did we hear from Palmer. At least I don't remember hearing his thoughts. This always made me wonder if his true, honest thoughts about the situation would have been less than flattering for Tiger, e.g. he was disappointed in his personal lifestyle choices. I also wonder if, when Tiger started making plans to play, he initially planned on playing Bay Hill like he always had, but then Arnie gently persuaded him not to play. His tournament will have plenty of attention anyway, and Arnie probably wanted to avoid all the extra media attention. If Tiger would have played, I imagine the tournament host would have had to answer a ton of questions about Tiger. Seems a pretty logical conclusion to me that behind the scenes, Arnold Palmer could very well have let Tiger know he'd prefer he didn't play his tournament just this one time.
My thoughts all along were that he would play the Bay Hill tournament, or what is commonly referred to as Arnie's tournament. I can't help but think that perhaps Palmer himself made it clear to Tiger he shouldn't play at his tournament as his first one back. On one hand, sure, there are people who would have loved to have seen him there. NBC for one, advertisers just interested in getting more viewers and certain segments of the media.
Some may even say Arnie would want him to play there. I'm not so sure. Tiger and Arnie have always seemed to have a good relationship, evidenced by Arnie's warm congratulations each time Tiger walked off the 72nd green as winner at Bay Hill. However, I thought it was notable that at no time during Tiger's exile from golf did we hear from Palmer. At least I don't remember hearing his thoughts. This always made me wonder if his true, honest thoughts about the situation would have been less than flattering for Tiger, e.g. he was disappointed in his personal lifestyle choices. I also wonder if, when Tiger started making plans to play, he initially planned on playing Bay Hill like he always had, but then Arnie gently persuaded him not to play. His tournament will have plenty of attention anyway, and Arnie probably wanted to avoid all the extra media attention. If Tiger would have played, I imagine the tournament host would have had to answer a ton of questions about Tiger. Seems a pretty logical conclusion to me that behind the scenes, Arnold Palmer could very well have let Tiger know he'd prefer he didn't play his tournament just this one time.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Media coverage for Tiger is overblown
I was originally going to post this as a comment on another blog but decided to just post it here. It is in response to this post about the coverage of the Tiger story.
I agree with the SI editor in his criticism of TMZ and their tabloid journalism.
One of the most interesting things to recall about the story is that when TMZ published their report about the most outlandish and dramatic version of events, that's the story that everyone chose to believe. Some bigger publications even gave credit to TMZ in reporting on what actually happened.
However, if you'll go back and look, when Gloria Allred canceled her scheduled news conference, TMZ reported the reason was nothing more than Rachel Uchitel deciding not to spread her story b/c she knew it would possibly have negative consequences for those involved. Then, a report came from somewhere else that Allred's daughter said that based on her experience working with her mother in the past, she believed that her client got paid and that's why they dropped the news conference. Yet, the story that was repeated by other websites was the one stating Uchitel was paid by Tiger to not tell her story. That is an example of how this story has been skewed toward the most sensationalized version of events that could have possibly have happened, without regard to whether the reports are true or not. I recall specifically seeing the story on golf.com leading one to believe that it was fact that Uchitel was paid. Meanwhile, TMZ, who previously had everyone believing their incredible version of events,was still reporting she wasn't paid and dropped it merely b/c she wanted to avoid the publicity.
This is Exhibit #A as to why the reporting on this story is nothing more than tabloid exploitation at its worst. Thankfully Tiger, so far as we know, wasn't photographed on a yacht with four nude women, while his wife was at home in the hospital. No, that was just a highly revered former president. I bet Tiger wishes he was just a superstar in basketball like Shaq, who can be at the top of his sport, a highly paid endorser, get caught with other women and have his story ignored.
I agree with the SI editor in his criticism of TMZ and their tabloid journalism.
One of the most interesting things to recall about the story is that when TMZ published their report about the most outlandish and dramatic version of events, that's the story that everyone chose to believe. Some bigger publications even gave credit to TMZ in reporting on what actually happened.
However, if you'll go back and look, when Gloria Allred canceled her scheduled news conference, TMZ reported the reason was nothing more than Rachel Uchitel deciding not to spread her story b/c she knew it would possibly have negative consequences for those involved. Then, a report came from somewhere else that Allred's daughter said that based on her experience working with her mother in the past, she believed that her client got paid and that's why they dropped the news conference. Yet, the story that was repeated by other websites was the one stating Uchitel was paid by Tiger to not tell her story. That is an example of how this story has been skewed toward the most sensationalized version of events that could have possibly have happened, without regard to whether the reports are true or not. I recall specifically seeing the story on golf.com leading one to believe that it was fact that Uchitel was paid. Meanwhile, TMZ, who previously had everyone believing their incredible version of events,was still reporting she wasn't paid and dropped it merely b/c she wanted to avoid the publicity.
This is Exhibit #A as to why the reporting on this story is nothing more than tabloid exploitation at its worst. Thankfully Tiger, so far as we know, wasn't photographed on a yacht with four nude women, while his wife was at home in the hospital. No, that was just a highly revered former president. I bet Tiger wishes he was just a superstar in basketball like Shaq, who can be at the top of his sport, a highly paid endorser, get caught with other women and have his story ignored.
Friday, June 13, 2008
light servings
Just a few notes I wanted to get down before I forgot...
1. Okay, after that last Braves post, things have gotten even worse. The series against the Cubs was very discouraging. But, to read other blogs, especially on AJC, it appears many fans are blaming Bobby Cox. Have these people forgotten about the 14 division titles in a row? Did Cox have nothing to do with those. Has he all of a sudden forgot how to manage. Of course he hasn't, so lay off of the team for now and give them time to figure it out. Or go be a Mets fan and whine about every single bad break your team gets. This is why they play the games people, wins aren't automatic, as much as we've been spoiled into believing they are. I'm going to try and remain patient for the time being and not call for drastic changes on the team yet. Besides, I wasn't too optimistic going into the season anyway.
2. I'm going out on a limb and predicting Stuart Appleby will win the U.S. Open. I think he's due to win a big tournament and he's proven in the past he can get on a hot streak and play out of his mind. This is the perfect week to do it. Tiger's injured, and Phil, well let's just say Phil can never play by the book. Yeah, the book says Phil is due this week but things with him just never make sense.
1. Okay, after that last Braves post, things have gotten even worse. The series against the Cubs was very discouraging. But, to read other blogs, especially on AJC, it appears many fans are blaming Bobby Cox. Have these people forgotten about the 14 division titles in a row? Did Cox have nothing to do with those. Has he all of a sudden forgot how to manage. Of course he hasn't, so lay off of the team for now and give them time to figure it out. Or go be a Mets fan and whine about every single bad break your team gets. This is why they play the games people, wins aren't automatic, as much as we've been spoiled into believing they are. I'm going to try and remain patient for the time being and not call for drastic changes on the team yet. Besides, I wasn't too optimistic going into the season anyway.
2. I'm going out on a limb and predicting Stuart Appleby will win the U.S. Open. I think he's due to win a big tournament and he's proven in the past he can get on a hot streak and play out of his mind. This is the perfect week to do it. Tiger's injured, and Phil, well let's just say Phil can never play by the book. Yeah, the book says Phil is due this week but things with him just never make sense.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Jim Nantz owes Tiger an apology.
If you were watching the Masters this past Sunday, you may have heard Jim Nantz and others in the CBS crew comment on how frustrated Tiger appeared to be during his final round. Well, I noticed it anyway, and it sounded to me that Nantz was out of line and a bit too harsh. While I wouldn't normally take it upon myself to stick up for an athlete, I did in this case. The following is the email I sent to Augusta National and copied to CBS sports:
As you may have heard, Tiger just revealed yesterday that he had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee two days after the tournament. While he did not in any way blame his performance on an injury, it is apparent that he was dealing with pain during the tournament. Of course, this would explain why he was moving slowly around the course and did not appear to be on top of his game.
As I felt during the tournament, I feel even stronger now that Jim Nantz owes Tiger Woods an apology for his negative comments during the final round. Yes, Tiger was moving slower than usual, and did appear to be laboring more than usual, but now we all know why that was. One would think that Tiger's record, establishing him as the greatest golfer in history, would be enough to earn the respect of those in the media, but apparently Mr. Nantz isn't buying it.
So, Jim, are you sticking by your comments that all players were dealing with the same set of circumstances during the Masters? Do you still believe he had no cause to show frustration on the course during Sunday's round? Or was your commentary in poor taste and presumptuous?
I am writing to express my opinion regarding certain
comments made by Jim Nantz in regards to Tiger Woods
during the Sunday Masters telecast. Mr. Nantz has,
thus far, on two occasions unnecessarily criticized
Tiger for his performance and disposition.
Although I can't recall the exact words used, I
believe Mr. Nantz initially made a comment when Tiger
was around #4, stating that he wasn't handling his
frustration very well. Then, David Feherty made the
astute observation that Brandt Snedeker caught a break
when he got a great result, from a less than great
putt on #2, which fell in the hole with a rather quick
pace. Mr. Feherty's point was that other player's
were catching breaks and Tiger simply was not. Thus,
the cause for frustration by Tiger.
The second unnecessary comment by Mr. Nantz was more
direct. If I recall correctly, Tiger hit a shot on #7
which was perhaps two yards too short, and spun off
the front of the green. Peter Kostis made a comment
that frustration was the best description for his
week. Then, Jim Nantz remarked that all players deal
with the same frustrations. As Tiger played his chip
shot, Mr. Kostis again reiterated his remarks about
Tiger's frustration level. At this point, Jim Nantz
derided Tiger by saying (paraphrasing) "but wouldn't
you think with his seasoning and experience he would
handle it better." Mr. Kostis responded to the effect
that he certainly had in the past. Mr. Nantz
apparently fails to realize that Tiger's record over
the years shows that he is able to properly to handle
his emotions while performing at a higher level than
anyone else in the game.
I feel that these comments by Mr. Nantz were
mean-spirited and displayed an obvious bias against
Tiger Woods. I am aware, from an article in USA
today, that Mr. Nantz may have a history of personal
animosity with Tiger. Whether true or not, these
comments certainly add validity to that possibility.
Frankly, while I have always enjoyed watching the
Masters, these comments by Mr. Nantz have made it a
less enjoyable experience. With the Masters history
of great attention to detail and respect for the game,
I am hoping that you will take this opinion seriously
and ensure that Mr. Nantz refrains from offering such
negative commentary in the future.
As you may have heard, Tiger just revealed yesterday that he had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee two days after the tournament. While he did not in any way blame his performance on an injury, it is apparent that he was dealing with pain during the tournament. Of course, this would explain why he was moving slowly around the course and did not appear to be on top of his game.
As I felt during the tournament, I feel even stronger now that Jim Nantz owes Tiger Woods an apology for his negative comments during the final round. Yes, Tiger was moving slower than usual, and did appear to be laboring more than usual, but now we all know why that was. One would think that Tiger's record, establishing him as the greatest golfer in history, would be enough to earn the respect of those in the media, but apparently Mr. Nantz isn't buying it.
So, Jim, are you sticking by your comments that all players were dealing with the same set of circumstances during the Masters? Do you still believe he had no cause to show frustration on the course during Sunday's round? Or was your commentary in poor taste and presumptuous?
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