Taming the Tiger Style

Wednesday, December 2, 2009 at 11:16PM
By Alec Radzikowski, TheSportsHatch.com managing editor

Tiger Woods issued a statement today on his website and apologized for "transgressions" and "personal sins."

Was anyone surprised this was coming? Actually it IS a little surprising. We all suspected something was amiss after Woods smashed his black Escalade in the middle of the night, only to have his wife bust him out of with a golf club that seems all too readily available. Police sought Tiger for a couple of days about injuries he suffered and how he exactly got them, but Woods wasn't very "available" at the time. Then Tiger asked for privacy pretty much right away. Something to the effect of, "My wife is a hero. I made a mistake driving. I'm not perfect. Please leave me alone."

Then the story got a bit juicier. Woods became linked to a NYC hostess that was apparently doing more than helping him get a dinner reservation. Now we have a guy darting recklessly the heck out of dodge (his home) at around 2 a.m. He's obviously a little banged up and his wife took a golf club (obviously) and smashed him out of the car that he just smashed for no apparent reason. He most likely had some cuts or scratches on his face and Florida police wanted to ask about them. But Tiger wasn't saying anything.

So I never expected Tiger to come clean at all. He didn't have to worry about further criminal investigation. The investigation was closed yesterday after Woods was cited for driving recklessly. Any rumors of domestic violence were just that, rumors. No one would press any charges. The ultra-private Woods seemed destined to keep everything close to the vest. But he must have realized that this would be impossible considering the amount of coverage and speculation out there.

Rather than going into the specifics, Tiger admitted wrongdoing for "transgressions," but we all KNOW what he did. Today's statement basically reaffirmed that. This was Tiger's last ditch effort to see if this story will finally go away. But you've got a feeling we are going to hear from the other woman very soon. And once that happens, I'd be surprised if Woods didn't find himself in some uncomfortable Katie Couric interview in the next few month. Tiger's wife Elin will need to take the opportunity to sit by her husband's side and explain how she became so handy with a nine iron.