PrintTHE media were in the eye of the Tiger - and scared away.
Frightened by a steely eyed control freak trying to reclimb the Mount Everest of sports pedestals.
Tiger Woods controlled his first open news conference on April 5, make no mistake.
Whenever a questioner dared to dip his toe into the cold-water side of the pool, i.e., with a tough question, Tiger recoiled and fired back with a latent, but stern, message: don't go there again.
Imagine the temerity of a media member to ask Tiger: "What were you treated for in rehab?" Yes, that question was asked.
In response, Tiger blurted: "That's personal; thank you."
There was no follow-up after that. The media members present apparently got the message - loud and clear, sir.
Yes, Tiger is a control freak, but so is Augusta National, the golf country club that presents the Masters as an annual rite of spring. We've all seen those placid March commercials when CBS golf broadcaster Jim Nantz hails the Masters as "a tradition unlike any other." Augusta issued a postage-stamp-size special credential just for Woods' news conference (separate from actually covering the tournament) and allowed television networks to subsequently air only a maximum of three minutes per hour of Woods' 36-minute news conference after the live event.
That's Tiger and Augusta: Just call them two control freaks in a pod.
That also meant no celebrity media, such as TMZ.com or "Extra."
That's why we didn't hear questions such as:
"Tiger, did you pay alleged Mistress No. 1 Rachel Uchitel $10 million in hush money in return for a confidentiality agreement, as reported by TMZ.com? "
Or: "Tiger, porn star Joslyn James, in an interview with `Inside Edition,' claims you impregnated her twice. Is that true? And, if so, is it true that she suffered a miscarriage the first time and underwent an abortion the second?"
No, we didn't hear those questions from the traditional media.
One also is tempted to wonder about something else Woods so adamantly preached during that Monday afternoon news conference: a more controlled temperament on the course. That was a sign of humility; in fact, Woods' news conference was equal parts contrition and arrogance. Remember, he said the rehab was "personal" in a somewhat condescending tone. But, at other times, it was obvious he was trying to curry sympathy from media, viewers and, surely, lost sponsors.
Perhaps Tiger's brand-new Nike commercial will assist in the sympathy vote. The innovative, yet brilliant, commercial features a pensive Woods in black-and-white standing silent. The voice-over is Tiger's deceased father, Earl, offering Woods true-to-life disciplinary lessons from his childhood. At one point, Earl asks: "Did you learn anything?"
Now, that's the most important question in this saga.
Tiger must have used some form/meaning of the word "lie" at least 10 times during his news conference, such as "... You know, as I said, I lied to a lot of people, deceived a lot of people, kept others in the dark, rationalized. You know, and even lied to myself."
So how honest and realistic was Tiger: We will see if seeing is believing during his future course work.
gclay@mctinfoservices.com
Gregory Clay is assistant sports editor for McClatchy-Tribune News Service, 700 12th Street NW, Suite 1000, Washington, D.C. 20005.