Postgame Thoughts
Tiger's Grade - B+
-His atmosphere was so much better here than any time we've seen him in public since this all went down. He was so relaxed it was shocking - but was he too relaxed? For me, the thing that stuck out was his comments about chasing Nicklaus' record. "If I win championships along the way, so be it." That was stunning. Of course, it could go either way - he relaxes and plays the best golf of his life, or he becomes too relaxed and turns into Pedro Cerrano of Major League II. Tiger's got a long way to go to repair his public image, but he seems committed to being a new person and making the most of his second chance.
The Media - C
-There were a couple softballs lobbed up, but overall the media did a solid job of asking the tough questions about rehab, PEDs, etc. However, I would have loved to see the media press Woods when he gave the typical "police report" or "it's personal" responses. They also seemed to happy to dance around the subject of sex rehab and fell into Tiger's hands. All in all, an average performance.
Barack Obama - D-
-He puts on a White Sox cap throwing out the first pitch in DC??? And his throw was terrible. Clark Kellogg would have probably put it in the dugout.
Sorry, had to comment on that. Anyways, we learned a lot from this press conference. Tiger's demeanor on the course will be the next thing to watch. Honestly, anybody trying to predict Tiger's performance this week at Augusta is guessing. All possibilities are in play. If he smiles his way to 75-74 and misses the cut I won't be surprised. If he contends like recent years without giving a scare I won't be surprised. If he breaks the course record it won't be a shock.
Thanks for joining us for another live blog. Check our Twitter feed at the upper right of the page for our National Title Game thoughts. Bye for now...
2:44 - Tirico and Rinaldi note that there wasn't a lot of anger in the room. Not great postgame coverage, I can't wait for Rick Reilly's glowing tribute. Looks like it's time to wrap up...
2:39 - It's fun to see ex-pro golfers try to play psychiatrists on TV. Only In America!!
2:37 - Andy North and Curtis Strange cite sincerity and relief for Tiger. The over/under on number of people crying is .5
2:36 - And it ends. We'll stick with the postgame coverage and analyze the analysis of a 30+ question press conference. Already we start with a double take from Tirico, lol.
2:35 - "It's all been stripped away and here I am... and it's fun again."
2:33 - It's weird to hear everyone just throw around rehab, and all of these terms that go along with it without addressing that it was sex rehab that Tiger was in. It's a giant bikini-dressed elephant in the room.
2:31 - Now we're into the hardcore golf questions. Did someone give the signal to stop the sex, drugs, and scandal questions? I would just love it if Martha Burke came out of nowhere and nailed Tiger in the back of the head with a steel chair. We need some more drama in this thing.
2:30 - The first chuckle from Tiger calling out an extremely long-winded question. Just slightly awkward.
2:27 - Great question about viewing Nicklaus' record differently, and for the first Time Tiger takes a slight pause. "It's not about the championships, it's about how you live your life... and I needed to change that." "Going forward, I need to be a better man." "If I win championships along the way, so be it." THAT is THE headline from the sporting world coming out of this. Is Tiger's drive to win still there? Who knows!
2:25 - That's followed by the Oprah how did you fool so many people question which allows a full mea culpa and right into a question about Tiger's legacy. You can almost sense the tide in the room to shift to a very sympathetic tone on the spot.
2:24 - I would have answered that ridiculous question this way - "Yes, I wanted to get caught, ruin my pristine reputation, and bring down my empire. Yes, I wanted to get caught." Dumb. D U M dumb.
2:23 - Wow. He talks openly about missing his son's first birthday in rehab. As most expected, Elin will not be at Augusta and talks about his return being a family decision. TMZ is crushed.
2:20 - Good question about Tiger's comeback date with regards to his statement in February. That man looked in no way shape or form ready for Augusta. Tiger cites working with Hank Haney as bringing back his zeal for the game. I'm sensing Season 3 of the Haney Project - Tiger & Hank Go To Sex Rehab!
2:18 - I don't think the constant affairs were the cause of his loss to YE Yang at the PGA Championship. If anything, they probably helped him on the course! Hello!
2:16 - Still very vague about exactly what type of rehab Tiger was in Mississippi for. There it is! I believe he answered that question with "That's personal" - so... he's not admitting to sex rehab. I guess he and Steve Phillips aren't going on tour together anytime soon, shucks.
2:14 - 1st prescription drug question - Tiger says he has taken them because of his knee injuries... and also was on medication when his dad died, no mention of addiction or treatment. No real surprises so far, except for how relaxed Tiger looks. I'm really stunned by how different he looks compared to when we last saw him in public.
2:12 - 1st softball question about how he feels being out there from Steve ____ (sorry couldn't get the last name)... CBS and Augusta are going to pull out all the stops to make this seem like Ben Hogan's comeback - make no mistake about it. We're going to see 100% positive coverage this week from most of the major media outlets and Augusta.
2:11 - 1st PED question... this is a big test... he flatly says that he never gave him any PEDs. Tiger's not getting caught in a giant sex scandal and a performance enhancing drug scandal within a year people... then again, we never thought we'd see Tiger in a giant sex scandal...
2:10 - "The fact that I've won golf tournaments is irrelevant" "I'm going to have to explain all this to them" "Winning golf tournaments is irrelevant to all the damage I've caused." Wow.
2:09 - "I'm going to try to not get as hot when I play" "I've made a conscious decision to try to tone down my negative outbursts" sounds like we'll have a neutered Tiger on the golf course. Sorry for all the people that expect Tiger to get booed off Augusta National. He might as well be Cal Ripken playing in Baltimore... 2 Cal Ripken references in 20 minutes... hey give me a break we're live!
2:05 - Here we go! 1st question... 5 stitches in his lip is a new detail... followed his lawyers advice... talking about finding strength and peace inside. Again going to the well trying to defend his family's privacy.
2:04 - Good opening statement to put his fellow players first. Tiger looks so much more relaxed in this setting than either the 5 minute interview or his public statement. Heck, he's even smiling!
2:02 - OK, forget that... Tiger is taking the podium at 2:02 sporting a scary new goatee... or goat as Jim Rome would say.
2:00 - And here we go to Mike Tirico. The ads said the news conference starts at 2. The over/under on the actual start time will be more like 2:24.
1:49 - Currently watching regular 30 min ESPNEWS. JW Stewart is like the Cal Ripken of ESPNEWS, always coming to play every day. What an inspiring figure.
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