Tiger Woods in hospital in serious condition

[Bruce Nunnally]

Apparently around 2:30 am this morning while on the way home golfer Tiger Woods backed his Cadillac Escalade into a fire hybrant, then drove into a tree.

He is in the hospital in serious condition.

http://www.wesh.com/news/21740162/detail.h..._01210111272009

[Bruce Nunnally]

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/11/27/tiger.woods/index.html

A statement from Woods' publicist and Health Central Hospital called the accident "minor" and said Woods was "admitted, treated and released today in good condition."

Woods, 33, had just pulled out of his driveway in his 2009 Cadillac SUV and had begun to drive down a street when he struck a fire hydrant, the Florida Highway Patrol said. The front of his vehicle then struck a tree.

Windermere Mayor Gary Bruhn told CNN that local police arrived within two minutes of being notified. The golfer was taken to Health Central Hospital, where he was treated for facial lacerations and released, Bruhn said.

[Bruce Nunnally]

Statement from Tiger Woods http://web.tigerwoods.com/news/article/200911297726222/news/

As you all know, I had a single-car accident earlier this week, and sustained some injuries. I have some cuts, bruising and right now I'm pretty sore.

This situation is my fault, and it's obviously embarrassing to my family and me. I'm human and I'm not perfect. I will certainly make sure this doesn't happen again.

This is a private matter and I want to keep it that way. Although I understand there is curiosity, the many false, unfounded and malicious rumors that are currently circulating about my family and me are irresponsible.

The only person responsible for the accident is me. My wife, Elin, acted courageously when she saw I was hurt and in trouble. She was the first person to help me. Any other assertion is absolutely false.

This incident has been stressful and very difficult for Elin, our family and me. I appreciate all the concern and well wishes that we have received. But, I would also ask for some understanding that my family and I deserve some privacy no matter how intrusive some people can be.

[MrEldo97]

I think she whacked him with that golf club...

[Bruce Nunnally]

I'm willing to give him a pass on this one, but I think he would be better off explaining a bit more. But I am not a publicist.

[MrEldo97]

That's why he hasn't said anything...they had a go at domestic fisticuffs and she slapped him up side the head with that golf club...

[PAUL T]

I'm willing to give him a pass on this one, but I think he would be better off explaining a bit more. But I am not a publicist.

I am curious why she just happened to be carrying a golf club when she got to the Escalade and broke the rear window to get him out.

[Cadillac Jim]

Well, for one I would think that Tiger's house is fairly cluttered with golf clubs, there is a golf course across the street, there are two or three golfing organizations within his fairly small gated community, etc.

My wife pointed out to me that the rumor out there right now, that she attacked him in the house and bloodied his face, then chased him with a golf club and he ran to the car and had the accident trying to escape, well, people don't just up and attack someone that way without a history of violence. That whole story sounds like a Road Runner - Wiley Coyote joke. It does neatly tie everything known about the incident together in one neat package. Too neat. The real world is never neat.

When I wake up in the morning, I don't think "Well, I guess I better ge a copy of the National Enquirer or the Star and find out what's happening in the world." I think a Pulitzer-prize-winning morning paper and the cable and Internet news (not blogs, news!). The ultimate source of the story about an affair that broke in the tabloids on Wednesday was a couple of women in NYC that apparently tried to cash in on a slight acquaintance with a woman who happened to be in Australia on business while Tiger was at a golf tournament there recently and that story didn't check out. If Tiger's wife believed that story in spite of her resources in being able to check it out with a phone call to anyone with a computer and free long distance calling, she is unlikely to get involved in assault with a deadly weapon and attempted murder, evidenced by the lack of a police record of any such history of behavior, and in any case what took the rage so long, from Wednesday morning to the wee hours Friday morning?

The more I think about it, the more I believe that the NYC woman did the right thing in hiring Gloria Steinem, and I hope Tiger Woods has hired Simon Smith or some other lawyer that has succeeded in cleaning clocks over at the Enquirer and Star.

[BodybyFisher]

Lest we forget that setting aside the billions, the house, the endorsements, the super model wife, the fame, the perfect image and his skill, he is human.

What is the expression, we shouldn't judge another until we have walked a mile in his shoes? It must be terrible to be famous glad I'm not,

[adallak]

Why did he not lock all the golf clubs in a safe as soon as he married that bimbo?

[MrEldo97]

Geez...I wonder if Tiger ever learned to sleep with one eye open…hehe…

[JohnnyG]

I must ask this question though. So I take a Big Bertha and bust out the back window of an Escalade (which, by the way must not be laminated like the side windows of my DTS), exactly where would I find that door unlock button?

[adallak]

I must ask this question though. So I take a Big Bertha and bust out the back window of an Escalade (which, by the way must not be laminated like the side windows of my DTS), exactly where would I find that door unlock button?

[OynxSTS]

I'm willing to give him a pass on this one, but I think he would be better off explaining a bit more. But I am not a publicist.

LOL...

What did you expect...Something like this?

"Well you see, I told my supermodel wife that I was going out to get busy with some super hot waitress... And that we've been, as you might say, hitting the fairway, since 2007 or so... So to my great surprise my wife grabs my favorite 1 iron, not an easy club to hit properly I might add, and she goes nuts-o on my 'slade. The only way that I could make her stop was to crash the truck into things and have the OnStar operator talk her down. Thanks OnStar. The calm response of the OnStar Operator helped me have a two year tryst and get away with only a small cut or two. I recommend it to anyone with a new GM vehicle who is tagging a hot former tv actress."

Nope, in this case, the less he says the more he will get to keep in the divorce settlement... Assuming he doesn't have a prenup.

[JimD]

....Nope, in this case, the less he says the more he will get to keep in the divorce settlement... Assuming he doesn't have a prenup.

You can be assured he has an iron clad prenup.

Otherwise the first casuality will be the annual retainer to his legal team.

If the Florida court system is anywhere near as backlogged as the Georgia court system is, the final chapter to this alleged infidelity - domestic abuse BS is at least two years in the future.

Been there, done that.

[MAC]

Very peculiar set of circumstances. If Wood's cheated on his wife, I have no sympathy for him.

[MrEldo97]

A man dosesn't stray unless he's unhappy (women too)...

[SDLo2]

Believe it or not, I actually am very familiar with the girl that you see in the news right now who hooked up with Tiger - Jaimee Grubbs. She transferred to my HS my junior year. Many stories about all that. Small world for sheez. I called my old roommates and laughed about it as soon as I saw her name...

[MrEldo97]

Whatever else she is she's a goodlookin' girl.

[PAUL T]

I like this

Tigers Christmas photo:

[OynxSTS]

You'all will love this too

Tiger's Girlfriends March on DC

A new girlfriend of Tiger's holds a press conference every eleven seconds.

[JohnFritz]

What's the main difference between Tiger Woods and Santa Clause? Santa Clause only has three Ho's!

[JimD]

Tiger's future income is taking a major hit.

A few days after this fiasco first made the news, Tiger's spokesperson for product endorsment was on the record saying that the various companies were supporting Tiger and not planning any contract changes.

As of today that support situation seems to be changing.

Reminds my of the Hertz - OJ situation.

*******************************************************************************

Tiger Woods TV Ads Disappear After Reports of Affairs (Update2)

Brett Pulley and Michael Buteau

Dec. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Advertisements featuring Tiger Woods have

disappeared from prime-time broadcast television and many cable

channels following reports of his extramarital affairs, according to

data from Nielsen Co.

The last prime-time ad featuring the 33-year-old golfer was a

30-second Gillette Co. spot on Nov. 29, according to New York- based

Nielsen. Woods also was absent from ads on a number of weekend

sports programs, including NFL games, Nielsen said.

“Last weekend there wasn’t any advertisement during those games,”

said Aaron Lewis, a spokesman at Nielsen.

The No. 1 ranked golfer’s standing with the public has plunged in

the wake of reports of infidelity that followed a Nov. 27 car

accident outside his home near Orlando, Florida. Woods’s ranking

among celebrity endorsers tumbled to 24th from 6th, according to the

Davie Brown Index, which is used to gauge the ability of

personalities to influence shoppers.

Woods has endorsement agreements with Accenture Plc, Nike Inc.,

PepsiCo Inc.’s Gatorade, Tag Heuer International SA watches,

Electronic Arts Inc. and Procter & Gamble Co.’s Gillette. Neither

Mark Steinberg, Woods’s agent, nor Glenn Greenspan, a spokesman,

responded to phone messages or e-mails seeking comment.

The golfer’s $110 million in annual income from endorsements and

tournaments, as estimated by Forbes magazine, hinges on his standing

with consumers. Woods ranked as the world’s fourth-highest paid

celebrity in the 12 months through June 30, the magazine said. In

October, he became the first athlete to top $1 billion in career

earnings.

Woods posted a statement on his Web site on Dec. 2 saying he let his

family down with “transgressions” and hasn’t been true to his

“family values.” He didn’t address reports of infidelity that

appeared in media including US Weekly magazine.

“His sponsors will attempt to limit his face time,” Andy Donchin,

director of media investments at Carat North America, an advertising

agency in New York, wrote today in an e-mail. “The best thing he can

do is get back on a golf course.”

Fifteen different advertisements featuring Woods have appeared

during prime time since the beginning of June, according to Nielsen.

Those included spots for Gillette, Accenture, Electronic Arts and

the PGA. Most had stopped running as the PGA golf season wound down,

prior to Woods’s accident. A Gillette ad that also included baseball

player Derek Jeter was still running, according to Nielsen.

Withdrew From Tourney

Following the car accident, Woods withdrew from last weekend’s

Chevron World Challenge on NBC, an event he has hosted since 1999 to

benefit his charitable foundation. Other than an announcement of his

absence by TV host Dan Hicks, there was no other mention and the

network didn’t air any ads featuring Woods in two days of coverage,

according to the New York Post.

Gillette is running its media schedule as planned and no Tiger Woods

ads have been pulled, said Mike Norton, a company spokesman. He

wouldn’t comment on the frequency of the ads.

Nike’s golf division isn’t changing its advertising plans, Beth

Gast, a spokeswoman for the Beaverton, Oregon-based company, said in

an e-mail.

Lisa Gordon-Miller, a spokeswoman for Dublin-based Accenture, had no

immediate comment. Electronic Arts wasn’t running any Woods ads and

hasn’t changed its marketing, said David Tinson, a spokesman for the

Redwood City, California-based video-game publisher.

Woods’s continued relationships with corporate sponsors may hinge on

factors including their duration, his importance to their brand

images, the target audience and how much money is at stake,

according to attorneys experienced in celebrity contract

enforcement.

Celebrity Contracts

While contracts typically contain behavior clauses, terminations for

morality are rare, said Douglas Wood, a partner in the New York

office of Pittsburgh-based Reed Smith LLP and general counsel to the

Association of National Advertisers.

“It has to be pretty bad, where the artist is someone who has fallen

pretty far,” Wood said today in a telephone interview.

The attorney, who has had no involvement with the golfer’s

endorsements, said he doubted sponsors such as Gillette and Nike

would rush to end their contracts.

Woods ranked just below Oprah Winfrey and above Bill Cosby on the

Davie Brown Index, which tracks 2,800 celebrities. Now he is between

actress Julia Roberts and former U.S. Secretary of State Colin

Powell. The Davie Brown Index was created by Los Angeles-based Davie

Brown Entertainment to provide a way to measure the use of

celebrities in campaigns.

Temporary Decline

The decline in marketability may be temporary, said Chris Anderson,

a spokesman for the index.

“This type of swing is caused by major events -- winning the Super

Bowl MVP Award or, as with this case, an intense personal crisis,”

Anderson said in an e-mail. “Typically, over time, the scores settle

back.”

Woods is the best-known active athlete, based on a September study

by Marketing Evaluations, a Manhasset, New York- based research

company that publishes the Q score, ranking entertainers by their

appeal to consumers.

Among U.S. consumers over the age of six, 86 percent recognized the

golfer, with 28 percent saying Woods was one of their favorite

personalities, giving him a +28 Q Score.

The average celebrity is recognized by 32 percent of the U.S.

general population and has a +17 Q rating, according to Henry

Schafer, the company’s executive vice president.

The company plans to conduct another survey at the end of January,

Schafer said.

“We don’t like to take measurements immediately after any negative

social incident,” Schafer said. “We want the consumer to digest

things as much as possible.”

While Woods’s popularity may be down, visits to golf.com, owned by

Time Warner Inc.’s Sports Illustrated, have more than quadrupled,

according to Scott Novak, a Sports Illustrated spokesman.

[Bruce Nunnally]

http://web.tigerwoods.com/news/article/200912117801012/news/

By Tiger Woods

I am deeply aware of the disappointment and hurt that my infidelity has caused to so many people, most of all my wife and children. I want to say again to everyone that I am profoundly sorry and that I ask forgiveness. It may not be possible to repair the damage I've done, but I want to do my best to try.

I would like to ask everyone, including my fans, the good people at my foundation, business partners, the PGA Tour, and my fellow competitors, for their understanding. What's most important now is that my family has the time, privacy, and safe haven we will need for personal healing.

After much soul searching, I have decided to take an indefinite break from professional golf. I need to focus my attention on being a better husband, father, and person.

Again, I ask for privacy for my family and I am especially grateful for all those who have offered compassion and concern during this difficult period.

[OynxSTS]

I don't think his golf game was the problem...