"A New York Treasure" --Village Voice

The (Dirty Stinkin' Cheatin') Savior Returns

In case you missed it, Jonathan Mahler had a good, long profile in the Sunday Magazine on the return of Tiger Woods and what it means for the PGA:

As far as professional golf is concerned, Woods cannot come back fast enough. The PGA Tour is at a critical juncture. Next year it will begin negotiating new TV contracts with CBS and NBC. In the meantime, the tour is trying to secure sponsors for 10 events in 2011 while economic conditions are not exactly favorable. Two of the hardest-hit industries, financial services and car manufacturing, are responsible for underwriting a third of the PGA Tour’s sponsored events. More to the point, the entire economic model of a golf tournament is looking a bit suspect. At the moment, the value of a company’s flying clients and employees to a sunny locale to drink Grey Goose cocktails and get tips on their short games from professional golfers is most likely to be lost on many of its shareholders. In other words, drumming up new sponsors and increasing — or just maintaining, really — the worth of its TV deals would have been hard enough for the tour even if the world’s greatest golfer and most recognizable athlete had not become enmeshed in the biggest tabloid story in years.

“Maybe I shouldn’t say this, but in the last couple of years the tour has been aware of the fact that the negotiations of TV contracts and sponsorships are coming up, and in advising us on what to do, the one thing they’ve said is that we need the superstars to play more and no scandals, no controversies,” Harrison Frazar, a veteran of the PGA Tour, told me a couple months ago. “Well, it’s unfortunate that what’s happened right now is the ultimate scandal in the history of professional golf, and it’s happened to the absolute wrong person.”

I don’t play golf and I never watched it before Woods came along. If he’s in it come the final day at the Masters, or any of the Majors this year, and I’m around, yeah, I’ll tune in, and yeah, I’ll be pulling for him to win.

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34 comments

1 RagingTartabull   ~  Mar 30, 2010 12:44 pm

he wouldn't give me an autograph when I was 13, so he pretty much deserves every miserable thing that happens to him.

2 bp1   ~  Mar 30, 2010 12:56 pm

Compared to some of the creeps in the NFL, Tiger is a saint. But he's still a creep. Dude married a freakin Swedish Bikini Model - like every adolescent fantasy. Not enough? C'mon.

He's A-Rod to me. An unlikeable person, but a fascinating athlete. When he's in the mix, the excitement ratchets up big time. I hope he's on the leaderboard on the back nine of the Masters. It will make the tournament that much more enjoyable.

But I honestly don't care how much he messes up his personal life. If he thinks he's above it and untouchable - he should give Michael Vick a call. Damn lucky he ran into a tree instead of running over someone, or The Masters would be the least of his worries.

3 williamnyy23   ~  Mar 30, 2010 1:06 pm

[1] How about a public execution?

I’ve never cared about golf, or Tiger Woods, but I will also be rooting for him to win just to annoy those who deem his affairs worthy of front page headlines and constant analysis.

4 Diane Firstman   ~  Mar 30, 2010 1:18 pm

Yankees afternoon game is on MLB.TV. (mlb.com)

Brian Jordan (former NFLer/MLBer), while speaking about Cano, mentioned that there has been talk of moving him to SS once Jeter retires/moves off of SS.

Say what?

5 hiscross   ~  Mar 30, 2010 1:28 pm

Think about it, someone is going hungry and someone is going out to eat
Think about it, millions can't read and millions who can don't
Think about it, millions who can't exercise and millions who can, but expect free healthcare
Think about it, those who can't play any sports, and those who do and make millions
That's the way it is

6 Diane Firstman   ~  Mar 30, 2010 1:39 pm

This (related) cartoon made me fall on the floor with laughter.

http://tinyurl.com/yhwm6vq

7 thelarmis   ~  Mar 30, 2010 1:40 pm

[4] it's also on a local channel here in hotlanta! : )

i don't give a flying fuck about tiger woods or golf. i just think he's an asshole for cheating on his insanely gorgeous wife, who's waaaaay hotter than any of the bullshit he paid for, and provided him w/ beautiful kids. dumbass.

8 Diane Firstman   ~  Mar 30, 2010 1:44 pm

[7]

Does having a "hot" wife preclude a guy from seeking booty elsewhere?

I'm kind of offended that it infers that looks = fidelity.

9 thelarmis   ~  Mar 30, 2010 1:49 pm

[8] uh, i certainly didn't mean to offend! : )

let's just say, certain people would give anything in the world to have a wonderful wife and family, but don't have the chance. others have seemingly everything in the world and throw it away for trash.

meanwhile, in more benign news, kevin russo just made a nice play at...shortstop!

10 thelarmis   ~  Mar 30, 2010 2:07 pm

[8] ooh, i feel really terrible that i offended you! i was shocked to see your post and am still uneasy about it. i guess i can see how that can be inferred, but please know that was NOT in my thoughts, at all. i just woke up and wrote a quick post - you read waaaay more into it than i was thinking. please don't be offended by me!!! : )

wild pitch. tie game.

11 Diane Firstman   ~  Mar 30, 2010 2:17 pm

[10]

Well ... "offended" may be too strong a word ... how about "irked" ...

I just roll my eyes whenever I hear someone comment on how lucky some guy is to have such a beautiful wife.

The late Robert Palmer sang ... "a pretty face ... don't mean no pretty heart"

(and yes, I'm not a "babe" lookswise .... I'm more Peppermint Pattyish) :-)

12 Diane Firstman   ~  Mar 30, 2010 2:19 pm

Getting back to Tiger .... he's obviously got a problem ... a character fault ... a disconnect somewhere in his valuing of women as equals. Obviously, he should never have gotten married given his issues.

I feel bad for his wife ... but then again ... we don't know if she is a total saint, beyond her looks.

13 thelarmis   ~  Mar 30, 2010 2:21 pm

[11] oh, i know what you mean. i've actually been there - stylish girl, no substance. it wears thin.

melkman w/ an infield single off CC. bad call on the DP.

is Pat pitching in this game, or tonight? i've seen both. should i tape this game, so i don't miss it?!

14 thelarmis   ~  Mar 30, 2010 2:27 pm

glaus to deep center. 6-2 bravos. curtis took a rather odd route trying to track out.

wait, what's this - blue huddle? looks like it might be a double! cox about to get ejected! ; )

15 Diane Firstman   ~  Mar 30, 2010 2:28 pm

I've never seen a ball bounce THAT high off the top of a wall ... weird!

CC getting lit up ... getting the hook now.

16 thelarmis   ~  Mar 30, 2010 2:29 pm

yup, double. new pitcher. is it venditte? i hope so! find out after the break...

17 thelarmis   ~  Mar 30, 2010 2:30 pm

it's pat venditte! ooh, i wish they showed his warmup. that hook had a lot of movement.

18 Diane Firstman   ~  Mar 30, 2010 2:30 pm

Venditte now in!

19 thelarmis   ~  Mar 30, 2010 2:31 pm

and that's it. 2 pitches. will he come back out?

i didn't know it was pronounced ven-deet. i thought it was venditte, like "pettitte"...

20 Yankster   ~  Mar 30, 2010 2:42 pm

[8] Not to defend thealarmis, but this touching of the third rail thing seems stimulating.

The way I read it is that
1) cheating on your wife is 100% immoral behavior.
2) Cheating on your hot wife is behavior that strikes third parties as both 100% immoral and 100% perverse.

That does not mean that appearance is in any way related to the degree of immorality of cheating, but it does mean that 3rd party notice increases as attractiveness increases - perverseness is newsworthy.

As a Swede, let me point out that Elin might be attractive, but far more significant is the highly respected intellectual family she comes from. Her mother was the national immigration minister, and her father is a major news radio personality. She's not just from the bikini ski team.

21 Diane Firstman   ~  Mar 30, 2010 2:48 pm

Unbelievably ... the Braves announcers have not said one word about Venditte's ambidexterity ... as he switches back and forth!!!!

22 Diane Firstman   ~  Mar 30, 2010 2:51 pm

Finally .... 5 batters in ... they mention it!

23 Diane Firstman   ~  Mar 30, 2010 2:55 pm

Joe Torre's voodoo doll, Scott Proctor, now pitching for the Braves.

24 thelarmis   ~  Mar 30, 2010 2:58 pm

[21] i know. and they were barely showing anything either. finally, they showed him switch his glove, like it was nothing. i've been posting about pat on the tasters cherce page, so ms. o & ri and the gang can know what's going on.

i'm guessing after 1.1 innings. he's done. chad at lohud hasn't mentioned. EDSP walked gardner. he best steal...

25 bp1   ~  Mar 30, 2010 3:00 pm

[20] Of course - but the popular cliche has been forever the "Swedish Bikini Model" as the ultimate fantasy of ever male adolescent. That's been part of countless dumb movies and beer commercials, even country songs.

It was almost a joke - the richest and most famous athlete marries the Swedish Bikini Model. Like Dumb and Dumber come to life. Of course that's shallow, but it was part of the rolling of the eyes and thinking "this guy gets everything he wants". We have no way of knowing anything beyond what's on the surface, so we judge accordingly.

The guy had the world wrapped around his finger, but like so many other men of power and influence (and it seems like the list grows every week), he just pissed it away for seemingly cheap thrills.

Whatever. He has put himself firmly in the "just another dumb jock" category. Good luck to him shedding that label.

26 rbj   ~  Mar 30, 2010 3:02 pm

[15] Good thing I'm missing the game, otherwise I'd be panicking. This is what, CC's last start of ST, and he's getting lit up?!

27 Diane Firstman   ~  Mar 30, 2010 3:03 pm

Hip Hip ... Jorge! ... takes Proctor deep.

28 thelarmis   ~  Mar 30, 2010 3:05 pm

[20] yes, that is more like it. thank you! : )

btw, Posada just tied the game w/ a 2-run job of EDSP (not that it really matters... but it will in less than a week!)

29 Diane Firstman   ~  Mar 30, 2010 3:07 pm

Venditte done ....

30 thelarmis   ~  Mar 30, 2010 3:07 pm

[26] i don't think CC had a good spring last year, either. hopefully, he'll be fine. it was fun watching him pitch to Leche! : )

zack segovia now in to pitch. my interest in the game has now waned!

31 RagingTartabull   ~  Mar 30, 2010 4:04 pm

[3] I was 13, he was in an elevator, there was no one else there to bother him...it wouldn't have killed him to throw a signature down. And he wasn't exactly polite about it either, not to mention that there isn't really any reason to think that his prickishness was some kind of isolated incident.

Don't get me wrong, I could care less what he does on the road. I didn't marry him. I just get sick enjoyment out of his ritual humiliation. I need something to keep me busy during the offseason after all.

32 Laurence Smith   ~  Mar 30, 2010 4:23 pm

we live in a day and age where 'moving forward' is the answer to everything from corporate collapse to personal achievement. Tiger is done. So lets move forward by getting behind and cheering for the second greatest golfer....and that is.....and that is...? help me here.

33 joejoejoe   ~  Mar 30, 2010 8:53 pm

Golf is an antiquated game that requires far too much space. Maybe 100 people can play at once on a 75 acre course. There is almost no community in America that wouldn't get more usage for less cost by coverting their public golf courses to public parks.

34 Laurence Smith   ~  Mar 31, 2010 11:55 am

right on to joejoejoe....I like it! ....team sports rule!!

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