RealClearSports
Advertisement

RCS Sidelines


December 3, 2009 9:10 AM

All Things Tiger Woods

Tiger with weird face.jpg

There's been a lot reported and written about Tiger. We could've filled the entire front page with this stuff, but, despite evidence from every major news site, there's more going on in the sports world. But it's clearly a huge story in which many are very interested, so here's a summary of the different angles the media has taken, more salacious information (for those into that sort of thing) and some of the most ridiculous quotes from the wide range of news outlets.


What They're Saying

Woods Owes Us Nothing - Tim Cowlishaw of the Dallas Morning News says Woods Owes Us Nothing.

Should've Remained Silent - Gwen Knapp of the San Francisco Chronicle agrees that he owes us nothing but further argues he should've continued with the silent treatment and not even released a statement.

Tiger Needs to Take the Blame - Christine Brennan of USA Today is upset with Tiger's statement. She feels he blamed everyone else for this mess -- despite the fact that he does blame himself in the first paragraph.
-Mike Lupica has a very similar take on the situation.

Tiger Owes Us an Explanation
- Jay Mariotti still wants to know what happened on Thanksgiving night and thinks Tiger owes us that information.

Tiger Has No Right to Privacy - Jenice Armstrong of the Philadelphia Daily News thinks Tiger waived his right to privacy when he cashed in on all those endorsements and stepped into the limelight.
-Rick Morrissey feels the same way.

His Image Is Tarnished Now - Gary Van Sickle of Golf.com believes people will never look at Tiger quite the same after this.

We Want the Tiger with Integrity Back -Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel is upset that his image of Tiger is now tainted. He sounds like the wife of a professional athlete who thought her husband would be the exception to cheating athletes.

Could Cost Him His Privacy and His Career - Jemele Hill of ESPN wonders if Woods will be able to handle the storm that is just beginning for him.

Blame the Media - Jason Whitlock of Fox Sports thinks the mainstream media is being hypocritical by capitalizing on the scandal yet scorning Woods for his actions.

Blame the Public - Michael Wilbon of the Washington Post thinks the current state of the media and public are to blame. Outlets like TMZ and National Enquirer are supplying the details people are craving.

More Likeable Now - Mark Kriegel of Fox Sports actually likes him better now that he's not so perfect.

Tiger's Acts Are Understandable But Still Think Less of Him - One of the more interesting takes is that of Patrick Reusse of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. He basically says most guys are just jealous and they would cheat too if they were in his position. The reasons Reusse thinks less of Tiger is because he's not going to show up to his tournament in California and he "lost standing in the macho department with his pleading voicemail to mistress Jaimee Grubbs to remove the personal greeting from her cell phone."

Who the Media Thinks He Should Take Advice From

Michael Jordan
Derek Jeter
Kobe Bryant

A Sample of the Most Entertaining/Ridiculous Writing

Dan Le Batard - A young woman betraying a betraying Tiger Woods by keeping and sharing a voice message with US Weekly that is the technological equivalent of that dress Monica Lewinsky kept because it had Bill Clinton's presidential stamp of approval. ... the result is that too many of us somehow feel entitled to know where he was going at 2:30 a.m. on the night his image crashed, even though it is as absurd an entitlement as if Tiger were to walk into your bedroom and ask why you enjoy clucking like a chicken during sex.

Monte Poole - It's a candy shop, open 24/7, and it's certainly not the life for a spouse. ... He might have more money than we owe China. He might have a Swedish bikini model for a wife and two lovely young children. He can hit just about any golf shot you can name better than anyone else on the planet. But what first appeared to be a harmless one-car accident eventually turned his world upside down.

Rosie DiManno - If I'd been doing the horizontal lambada with Woods, no way could I have resisted the temptation to boast.

Michael Wilbon - Comedian Chris Rock undoubtedly put it best when he said, "A man is only as faithful as his options." And few men have the sexual options of the most famous athletes in the world.

Mark Reason - He has come clean only now that he has been caught with his pants down.

Mark Whicker - Jaimee "Money" Grubbs, a 24-year-old cocktail artist who has done something Phil Mickelson and Jim Furyk hardly ever could: stop Tiger in his tracks.

Bruce Arthur - If we could just assign TMZ to cover government and Wall Street, democracy might yet be saved.

Greg Couch - this is all starting to look a little O.J.-esque. I keep waiting for Tiger to drive away in a white Bronco, followed by the Florida Highway Patrol.

Clay Travis - the guy who made the 911 call sounds like he's just seen fornicating aliens on his front lawn.

Mike Lupica - Here's how Tiger Woods ended up having his privacy invaded, and the privacy of his family: By acting like a constantly horny, single rock star ... the parade of former girlfriends started to look bigger than one of his galleries.

Jason Whitlock - They're journalistic strippers shaking their moneymakers. I'll gladly tuck a dollar in Us Weekly's g-string and the National Enquirer can join me in the champagne room for the next song ... Tiger, like all men and women, needs to be judged by his peers, not angry, 60-year-old virgins ... If you saw me at a strip club with Ronald McDonald, would you be shocked to see me at a drive-thru ordering a Big Mac at 3 a.m? Hell, no.


For More Scandalous Information

Pictures of Alleged Mistresses - New York Daily News

This Wasn't Unexpected - Esquire

Wife Reportedly Being Paid to Stay with Tiger - Chicago Sun-Times

TMZ

National Enquirer

A Member Of