Tiger Woods news: sports agent Leigh Steinberg on Woods

All of these web titles: "tiger woods wife hospital", "joslyn james tiger woods", "gatorade drops tiger", and the seemingly endless parade of names from Rachel Uchitel and Jaimie Grubbs, to his wife Elin Nordegren, and even the word "mistress" have combined to alter our image of Tiger Woods and he's got to get out in front of the process. That's the advice of legendary sports agent Leigh Steinberg.

Leigh Steinberg in his Newport Beach Office 

Curious to know how a sports agent would deal with Tiger Woods' enormous problems, I turned to Steinberg. Leigh Steinberg is credited with creating the era and the industry of the Super Sports Agent. The Cal-Berkeley (undergrad and Boalt Hall School of Law) graduate has represented a stable of number one NFL Draft quarterbacks, from Atlanta Falcons' Quarterback Steve Bartkowsky in 1973 to Warren Moon, John Elway, Drew Bledsoe,  Steve Young and others. Clients include Matt Leinart, Ben Roethlisberger, Howie Long, Mark Brunell, Ricky Williams, Lennox Lewis, Troy Aikman, Bruce Smith,Thurman Thomas, Kordell Stewart, and Warren Moon

Leigh's also had non-football clients like Olympic skater Katarina Witt, Eric Karros, Dusty Baker, Oscar de la Hoya, and John Starks to name some of them. Leigh played a cameo roll in and served as a consultant to the makers of the movie Jerry McQuire, staring Tom Cruise.   Steinberg's known as a popular media figure and hosts one of the hotest Super Bowl party tickets in town.  I should know as I've attended six of his celeb-filled events.

With his background, I knew Leigh would have a valuable perspective on Tiger Woods problems. First and foremost from an agents' view, will Woods' corporate sponsors dump him? Gatorade's decision to end the Tiger Woods drink wasn't a matter of a sponsor pulling away from Woods as the end of a specific product line. But if Nike were to jump ship that would be a different story. "Companies have millions and millions of dollars invested in an athlete like Tiger Woods," Leigh said, "so they're loath to just jump ship on such an investment."

"They are in the process of assessing what his 'Q rating' will be once all of this is done."

A "Q-rating" or "Q-score" is the number that's developed after a kind of survey process is done to determine a celebrity's level of popularity and visibility. Once that's done, Leign says companies will determine what their next move will be. In 2007 Tiger Woods was "a marketers dream" and called "golf's $6 billion man", but now that lofty position may be in jeopardy. Tiger Woods seemingly endless stream of news of alleged affairs is feeding the media beast.

"His timing is unfortunate," Steinberg observed. "All of this comes during the development of a massive industry designed and dedicated to chronicling the fall of the high and mighty." The "massive industry" Steinberg's referring to is New Media: the system of websites, blogs, social networks, television, radio, video, and cellphone cameras that work to advance the rapid transfer of information at never-before-seen rates.

"And he's hurt by the repetitive, relentless cycles of news and information, "Steinberg continued, "All of it effects how the public views him. It's like if you see the Rodney King beating over and over again. Your image of the LAPD (LA Police Department) is that they beat blacks. Ryan Leaf (Steinberg's famous melt-down story of a first-round NFL draft quarterback client) will always have the image of an angry person who yells at reporters because that (video of Leaf yelling at a reporter in the San Diego Chargers locker room in 1998) was replayed again and again."

Still is.

Steinberg says Tiger Woods needs to do what David Letterman has done: get out in front of and in control of the news cycle after revelations of his affair with aide Stefanie Birkitt came to light. The Jerry McGuire-star says Woods needs to first, assess his own behavior, second, own it or admit what he's done openly, and then make sure all of the known facts are gathered so Tiger Woods Management can rapidly answer any false claims in the future, and finally apologize and publicly explain that he's taken steps to control his behavior for the future.

The Tiger Woods Scandal is a big story because as Steinberg says, we're talking about someone who had a squeaky-clean image. "The problem is the shock value", Leigh offered, "the revelations come on a daily basis. Nike. AT&T, Buick, and all the corporate names are just hoping this all blows over.  We're talking about someone who's got a name bigger than everyone except Michael Jordan."  

Steinberg says that all of the negative news washes over the good things Tiger Woods has done through his foundation as well as his barrier-breaking success as an African American in a rich, white-man's sport: golf.    This isn't a case of there being no such thing as bad-PR because of his clean image being sullied by associations with porn stars.  Bad PR is hurting Woods.

Steinberg asserts that Woods can't expect to be a private person; the secrecy Woods craves is unrealistic.  Leigh counsels his athletes that they're always in the public eye in the age of the cell-phone camera.  One of his clients, Matt Leinart, learned that the hard way when photos of the Arizona Cardinals quarterback with an allegedly underage girl were taken using a cell phone... at Leinart's home.

If Tiger Woods wants to reclaim his image he should follow Leigh Steinberg's advice, and the sooner the better.

Joslyn James is Tiger Woods latest alleged affair

Joslyn James is Tiger Woods latest alleged affair? Who's she? Ok, maybe Fox News was right to go ahead and claim there was a 9th and 10th affair without naming names, because now we have Joslyn James, who's said to be another (drum roll please) porn star!

This time the news doesn't come from TMZ.com or RadarOnline.com; it comes from the ever-snarky DAl Daulerio of Deadspin, in a blog post called "Chaos In Tigerland: A Deadspin Investigation Into The Sexual Habits Of Pro Athletes".

Unlike the other blogs and articles on Tiger Woods alleged mistresses, one has to read deep into this one before the identify of one "Veronica Siwik-Daniels aka Joslyn James" becomes known. But the path to the information is worthwhile, because Daulerio gives the reader an excellent view into the dark social underbelly of the entertainment lifestyle of the wealthy athlete.

Veronica Siwik-Daniels aka Joslyn James

Now Veronica Siwik-Daniels has not issued a statement as of this writing, but Daulerio claims the Las Vegas owner of 'Itty Bittys by Joslyn James" according to her Linkedin page, was Tiger Woods mistress who provided him with "years of fateful service." Daulerio writes:

But here's what we've learned throughout this Tiger mess, which, in many ways, may change how some of these athletes are covered. Athletes have utilized the VIP service to engage in their affairs (and meet possible mistresses) for the sake of (supposed) privacy, philandering without the hassle of having to do any work themselves to land these women. It's a dirty business all around. But what to do now, since Tiger has gone and messed it up for a bunch of people who were pretty safe from prying eyes and camera lenses whenever they stepped out on their wives and girlfriends during Vegas weekends? CHAOS REIGNS ...

So for those who thought my innocent Super Bowl video was nothing, read Deadspin, then read my conversation about Tiger Woods with legendary sports agent Leigh Steinberg.

Rush Limbaugh talks like a white supremacist

What the hell does Rush Limbaugh know about the "black frame of mind"? Nothing. Today, Tuesday, Rush, apparently upset that people are paying more attention to Tiger Woods than he, decided to say something so totally nuts I can only believe that he's paling around with white supremacists.



Rush uses a selection of an interview that Jesse Jackson did, not with Rush, talking about how urban blacks are being impacted by the poor economy. Limbaugh says we're (blacks) all livid and that we're especially upset about it and we feel abandoned.

Then Rush ends it all with a blast against Tiger Woods because his girlfriends were white, thinking that, again "we" have an issue with Woods racial choice of woman to sleep with.  

Well, I'm African American, Rush, and I don't feel abandoned by President Obama or upset him. But one thing I cam really tired of today is some black or white telling me what I think as a black person. Moreover, Tiger Woods can marry or whatever any kind of woman he wants to and it has no bearing on me.

We live in the 21st Century, Rush. And while I'm at it, I'm still unhappy with the Associated Press' Jesse Washington writing that hilarious article that the "Black Community" has alienated Tiger Woods. (And what's the heck's going on with the East Coast media and race? Is the Right Coast media segregated or something? Don't they know we're in the 21st Century?)


I'm beginning to think a low I.Q. and the desire to group people entirely by race go together. Racism is a mental illness. The idea that "the other" is just that can lead to all kinds of anti-social behavior. Just take what Rush said today.

Rush opens his mouth and makes these statements then wonders why the NFL rejects him. If Rush can't put two and two together, I'll help him.

Rush, the problem is you make hurtful statements about people who happen to be black, such that your statements add up to an attempt to marginalize and put down African Americans. As long as you keep doing that, Rush, the only part of an NFL team you'll ever own is a bobblehead.

Did Tiger Woods overdose before the car accident?

The news is at the top of search patterns and on television and shows no sign of going away. The possibility that Tiger Woods, the World's Greatest Golfer, had overdosed possibly on a combination of Ambien and Vicodin has colored the story of what happened to Woods on the night he wrecked his SUV.

Rather than the idea that Woods was hit with a golf club by his wife Elin Nordegren, (who as of this writing is back at home with Woods and her Mother-in-Law Barbro Holmberg who's out of the hospital after an emergency trip to deal with stomach pains ) it now looks that she may have smashed the windows of the 2009 Cadillac SUV if only to wake up the possibly groggy Woods.

Barbro Holmberg out of the hospital

TMZ.com reported the story early this morning and - even with all of the other Woods news - it's caught fire. If we look back, Windemere Police did not report an overdose and in retrospect may been protecting the privacy of Woods, since it seems they have known far more than they communicated to anyone, including the Florida Highway Patrol.

Stay tuned.

East Oakland man tasered, another rolls a joint; sideshows in East Oakland

Followers of my blogs may remember a YouTuber by the name of EASTOAKLAND106 (his capitals, not mine) who uses video to capture life as he experiences it in East Oakland between 106th and International Blvd, and the San Leandro boarder.

In the first blog post we saw two young men exact a unique form of street justice in dealing with an alleged drug dealer, and EASTOAKLAND106's camera took us to a side show.

This time he has more videos. The most recent one was of an obviously out-of-control person; our fearless YouTuber describes the event in this way:

This man was on a few pills and some drank i guess. As you seen in the street he was throwing hella shit in the street bottles pots, pants, pipes he was doing way to much so he came from the other side of his gate and they tased his ass you can hear it when they shoot the taser and the red marks on his clothes he went down for the count.

The second video has his friend from our first drug dealer video rolling a joint and describing the special features of his Buick Park Avenue that he wants to sell:



In this video, uploaded October 3, a group of young women are hanging out of a car turning in a circle in an intersection in East Oakland where Sideshows took place. One of the women falls off the trunk of the car as its moving.



And unless you think, as I did, that the Sideshow only happens at night, not so. Here's a video uploaded in June that has a daylight street party. In the video another group of women drive up to a set of young men twice: first to flash them, then to stop and talk to them. And no the women were not stopped; they slowly drove the car up to the men and stopped.



That Oakland Councilmember Larry Reid and others want to have a legal venue for these "happenings" is a good idea if only to stop the kind of traffic interruptions and safety threats the Sideshows bring. It's also clear there's little in the way of alternative entertainment geared for this demographic anywhere in Oakland, let alone East Oakland.

For those who may ask why I'm presenting this, it's because the vast majority of Oakland or San Francisco bloggers don't show it. What we get is a kind of upper-middle-class view of another part of Oakland on the North end of town. Few blogers, if any, pay attention to East Oakland.

Moreover the view of some in general is to want to sweep Oakland street culture under the visual rug. The mainstream media only shows East Oakland when someone's shot but it does not give anyone a view of what happens in the area on a regular basis. That should change.

Cowboys' Flozell Adams should be suspended for Justin Tuck hit

Dallas Cowboys Offensive Tackle Flozell Adams should be suspended for a series of potentially career-ending actions against New York Giants Defensive End Justin Tuck. What Adams has done in both games against the Giants this year are more than just personal fouls, they're personal cheap shots.

Adams has made no statement of contrition as of this writing. Have a look at Adams actions for yourself:

Oakland Parking upsets this Oaklander; she's shoping in Walnut Creek

The City of Oakland shows no sign of changing its aggressive and unnecessary parking enforcement policies and actions and the result is upsetting Oaklanders so much, some are shopping in places like Walnut Creek. Take this example: a message left at the Adams Point Neighborhood Yahoo Message Board:

Curious if others are experiencing the same thing.

I feel the parking enforcement has gotten a little out of hand. I usually get 1
or 2 tickets a year for parking during street cleaning. My error, but it would
be nice if the street cleaning actually cleaned the streets.

Recently I received a ticket when I had a paid & visible parking receipt in my
car window. On another day, I received a ticket while I was purchasing a
parking ticket. Another issue is after paying tickets weeks later I get "late
payment" notices asking for more money, even when I paid on time.

I'm curious if the parking issuers have new standards and quotas that are
causing them to be overzealous w/ the ticket issuing. I'm hoping our city
officials can look into this and respond.

I'm also curious about the late notices. How can they not know who has paid?
Do they return the money that gets sent in by people who pay when they don't
need to?

Oakland Resident/Wayne Ave.

P.S. I recently went to Walnut Creek (which I never do). Parking was plentiful
and only $1 an hour. This convenience is very important to me and unfortunately
I will be "shopping oakland" less.

The City of Oakland and Mayor Ron Dellums claim $65 million in Economic Simulus money, but can't stop gouging its people with parking tickets. Something's really wrong here. Visit the Oakland City Council tonight at 7 PM.

Tiger Woods ambulance update: 911 call came from Woods' home

An update in the Tiger Woods ambulance to hospital story: the 911 call that one Fire Department spokesperson told TMZ.com came from Woods home and then backed off on the report, then another source claimed came from another residence in the area is confirmed to have come from Tiger Woods home.

And while that was going on, Jaimie Grubbs, another alleged mistress of Tiger Woods, is revealing just how much she hates men. According to Radar Online.com, Grubbs said that "boys" were "like toys" to her.

Jaimie Grubbs is not showing a good side of herself and the media's not helping her cover it up. The public news is that she worked or works in a medical marijuana store and was arrested for shop lifting. But what's more terrible is that Jaimie Grubbs opens up and first allegedly sells a voicemail of a person said to be Woods to US Weekly for $150,000, then uses an affair that's obviously contributing to the emotional harm of the Woods family to develop her own fame.

Very bad behavior.

Stay tuned.

Tiger Woods ambulance news: 911 call for Barbro Holmberg, Woods mom-in-law

In the Tiger Woods ambulance story this update: the 911 call was made for Tiger Woods mother-in-law, Barbro Holmberg.

Barbro Holmberg

TMZ.com reports Barbro Holmberg, Elin Nordegren's mother and a Swedish Social Democratic politician, was rushed to the hospital after complaining of stomach pains.

According to the New York Daily News, Homberg she was appointed Minister for Migration and Asylum Policy in the Swedish Government on October 10, 2003 and left office October 6, 2006 after the Swedish government election.

For more on the Woods hospital story, click here.

Tiger Woods hospital news: woman on advanced life support released

An as of this writing unidentified middle-aged blonde woman was rushed to Health Center hospital early this morning and is now released. According to TMZ.com, the Orange County (Florida) Fire Department spokesperson reported that 911 call came from Tiger Woods home, but then the Fire Department rep backed off the story.

Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren (Zap2it.com)

TMZ explains that sources have told them the mother of Tiger Woods' Wife Elin Nordegren had traveled from Sweden to the United States to be with her daughter.

There are conflicting reports. Some claim that the 911 call came from Woods house; others say it came nearby. The second report may be the case, as it matches with Monday's new of Woods wife moving out of their home and into that of a friend in the area.

According to WKMG a woman was taken to the hospital and followed by a blonde woman in a black Escalade from Deacon Circle to Heath Center Hospital. The same hospital that Woods himself was taken to after his car accident. Here's the video link from TMZ.com (embed code was not operating): LINK

RadarOnline.com reports that the woman has been released from the hospital as of 9:41 AM EST.  They describer her as in her 50s with "blondish-gray" hair. 

Stay tuned.

Oakland got $65 million in Economic Stimulus; where's the jobs?

I received this email from Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums' Oakland Community Task Force late Sunday night:

Hear Mayor Dellums report on stimulus funding (some of which will fund task force-related recommendations). Oakland has received $65 million in stimulus funding, including half from competitive grants.


A preliminary review of selected cities indicates that this makes Oakland second after Chicago (my emphasis) in the amount of competitive funding received. And Oakland is not, by any means, the second largest city. Congratulations to the Mayor, the wonderful city staff led by task force member Margaretta Lin, and other task force members who participated in the planning process and grant writing.

Ok. Great.  The Mayor's giving a City Council report tonight on Economic Stimulus money to Oakland for ...$65 million?  Wow. 

But here's the question: where are the jobs?

Oakland is a city of just around 400,000 people; the Chicago Metro area's about 4 million. To compare Oakland to a much bigger city in terms of monies received is one thing but it also means what's done with the cash is to be questioned.

$65 million is a lot of money.

I check the City of Oakland's Economic Stimulus Website and found something disturbing: a list of program grants applied for that had not been updated in months. Under the estimate of jobs to be created most of the boxes had TBA which I guess means "To Be Added".

And for those areas where jobs were listed, the total was just over 2,500 positions.  But 1,750 of those were from a block grant program that the website doesn't report the City got money for.   It doesn't read that the City of Oakland was rejected either - it really doesn't tell you much of anything beyond the application due date and the program description.  

Yikes.

This website has not been updated in months!   Terrible!  

Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums is scheduled to present the Oakland Economic Stimulus report tonight, Tuesday, at 7 PM at Oakland City Hall. Ask him what happened to the $65 million.

He will tell you that most of the money has not been claimed, but how much has not? Also, when will the jobs become available? Now, or in stages over the next year? And if it's in stages will that be enough to offset projected higher unemployment rates?

And then ask him with $65 million, why does the City of Oakland gouge its residents with high parking ticket costs and overly aggressive enforcement?

Geez.

Toby Gerhart named one of Heisman finalists 2009

The Heisman finalists for 2009 have been named and Stanford's Running Back Toby Gerhart is among them. As The Chronicle's Tom Fitzgerald explains, Gerhart, who led the nation in yards gained with 1,736 and 26 touchdowns, would become the second Stanford player to get the award if he won on Saturday. Quarterback Jim Plunkett was the first Heisman winner for The Cardinal in 1970.

Gerhart is up against stiff competition in Texas Quarterback Colt McCoy, Florida Quarterback Tim Tebow, Nebraska Defensive Lineman Ndamukong Suh, and Alabama Running Back Mark Ingram.

While Ingram played for the undefeated Crimson Tide, his numbers are far less impressive than Gerhart's. Ingram rushed for 1,542 yards this season with 15 rushing touchdowns, 11 less than Gerhart.



Meanwhile my Tim Tebow Crying Poll is a virtual dead heat with 34.51 percent who voted that crying was OK, versus 34.69 percent who think he should have not cried, out of 2,776 votes since Sunday. 

Gloria Allred to talk about motherhood, not Tiger Woods, on MyWorkButterly.com

A quick note to post an interesting comment by Bradi Nathan placed at Zennie62.com and which points to her cool new social network for working mothers called MyWorkButterly.com:

When I received an email from Gloria (Allred) this past Friday, 12/4, stating that she was suddenly free for our video interview, I was shocked and thrilled. My partner and I knew she was in the midst of the Tiger Woods case and were originally set to visit her Malibu home on Saturday. We later learned that she cancelled her press conference that, according to her daughter Lisa, was most likely due to a settlement from the parties at hand.

Gloria invited us to her office in LA for a 30 minute interview that I wished lasted all-day. She put her trial aside to talk about all things motherhood and empowerment. Gloria's interview will be loaded to our site, MyWorkButterfly.com, to inspire our online community of return to work and working moms.

This is a woman who should be in the forefront of the news, not Tiger Woods (a man who can't keep his club in his pants!).

Bradi, Co-Founder, www.myworkbutterfly.com

I checked out the new social network and it's really a great online concept. It's fascinating to see how the social networking industry is so segmented with portals for working moms like MyWorkButterfly.com and others for parents and kids in sports teams like MakeItPro.com.

I'll look out for the Gloria Allred interview!

Tiger Woods wife moves out; porn star Holly Samson 8th woman

UPDATE: Woman rushed to hospital Tuesday morning released.

Tiger Woods wife Elin Nordegren has reportedly moved out of their home and in with friends in the Windemere, Florida neighborhood they live in. Meanwhile Porn Star Holly Sampson is listed as the 8th woman to have had an alleged affair with the World's Greatest Golfer. This is a sad series of developments, as it appears Woods life as he and we knew it is crumbling before our collective eyes.

Holly Sampson

Radar Online.com lead with the story "Elin Nordegren moves out" that was confirmed by the Chicago Sun Times. There's no more new information on that report as of this writing or if she took their two children with her. That information needs to be included here.

Separated? 

Meanwhile, Porn Star Holly Sampson has not denied sleeping with Tiger Woods and Fox News claims that while Samspon is the 7th woman allegedly linked to Woods, there's an 8th, a 9th and a 10th woman as well.

Beyond the 8th woman, who's I can explain in a moment, I think it's irresponsible of Fox News to allege there's a 9th and 10th without evidence that is even a child of deductive reasoning. Let's recap how many women have been connected with Woods to date:

1. Rachel Uchitel - The National Enquirer-outed nighclub executive who denied sleeping with Woods but later admitted it after two other women stepped forward.
2. Jaimie Grubbs - The San Diego cocktail waitress who gave US Weekly her recording of Woods alleged voicemail to Grubbs that she remove her name from her phone because his Wife was going to call her.
3. Kalika Moquin - While linked to Woods by a source to Radar Online and other gossip pubs, Moquin has denied any relationship and not given any additional statements. She's the marketing manager at The Bank Nightclub at Bellagio in Las Vegas.
4. Jamie Jungers - The 26-year-old Las Vegas entertainer-for-hire model is the fourth woman who came forward on Saturday. She claimed she was going to tell her story to a British publication, but has yet to do so.
5. Mindy Lawton - Of all the women connected to Woods, 34-year-old Mindy Lawton is closest to his home in Orlando, and was said to have worked at a local restaurant called Perkins Diner. They carried on a 14-month affair (starting in 2006 and ending in 2007) which was said to have been documented by the National Enquirer, which never ran the story.

Lawton's proximity to Woods gave the World its closest look at the golfer's "off-course" lifestyle, consisting of meetups with friends and party girls in VIP areas of places like The Blue Martini in Orlando.   Lawton reportedly took their affair seriously, so it is no wonder that she's allowing her story to be told far and wide - she's pissed.

Mindy Lawton

6. Cori Rist - A source told the New York Post that the 31-year-old Upper East-Side dwelling Rist met Woods at a New York Nightclub called "Butter" then flew her to places where he had golfing engagements.
7. Holly Sampson - The first, and hopefully for Woods the last porn star to make this list, Holly Sampson was introduced to the British Daily Mail via another unnamed source. Sampson has made 85 movies from Lingerie or Bust to Diary of a Horny Housewife. Holly Sampson has not confirmed or denied that she slept with Woods as of this writing.
8. Name by Michael O'Quinn - Michael O'Quinn has said he also represents a woman who allegedly had an affair with Woods, but since O'Quinn has not come forward, that woman has to be "Number 8" because he has said he does not represent any one else.

Fox News claims there's a 9th woman and a 10th woman but has no media partner to confirm that assertion as of this writing. Unlike "Number 8" which can be linked to Michael O'Quinn, there's nothing, not even mention of an unnamed source to justify the introduction of a 9th or 10th woman.

I think Fox News is trying to advance and move the search pattern of this story to favor its own website, which is a terrible process to use in this or any news story.

Now, with all of these reports coming fast and furious, our attention should turn to Woods and his mental state. I have no idea, and the media does not seem concerned to know, how he's doing.

I've got to believe all of these affairs, some real and many questionable, may in some way be connected to the passing of his father Earl Woods, who was so central to Woods development as a man and a level-headed celebrity.

Finally, I wonder why Woods selected nightclub executives and waitresses as opposed to sports executives and lawyers or Stanford coeds?  Woods was at Stanford for just two academic years before his golf life took over and he turned pro in 1999.  Maybe he didn't get the full experience of a Cardinal education, complete with all of the amazingly talented female leaders that come from The Farm.  

I don't know.  I just don't know. 

Stay tuned.

Blind Side Number 1 Movie, Michael Oher video interview

The Blind Side, the amazing true story of how Baltimore Ravens Offensive Tackle Michael Oher emerged from homelessness to become an NFL star with the help of Ole Miss Alum Leslie Ann Toughy, now reached the level of the number one highest grossing movie in America last weekend.

According to Nikke Finke at Deadline Hollywood Blog, the feel-good pict gained a total of $129.2 million to date and scored $20.4 million last weekend with $6.8 million on Friday and $8.5 million on Saturday.

What's interesting about the Sandra Bullock movie is its' real star, Oher refuses to see it. According to Sports Illustrated, he's focused on being a better player in the NFL.

I had the pleasure of meeting Michael Oher at the 2009 NFL Draft and recording what turned out to be the only readily available online video interview.

In the video, Oher talks about his past life saying that "I still can't believe it" regarding his new stardom, but really lights up when the conversation turns to the playing field. Oher mentioned that he liked going against Florida Linebacker Brandon Spikes, who talked to him during the game, calling him by Oher's middle name, Jerome. Oher: "He would say "Martin? Jerome in the house? He's a funny guy."

For more NFL and college football news and views, listen to Football Reporters online at this link, where you can  listen to a nationally-represented panel of coaches, draftniks, and bloggers like me on last Thursday's BlogTalkRadio show, or tune in to the next program.

Window at home in Georgia

Testing mobile blogging from my Blackberry.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Overheard in New York: a cool blog that's a good example for Oakland

I figured I'd save video-blogging for Monday and just cyber-walk over to New York to see what was happening in the blogsphere there. Being in Georgia for about a third of the year gives me a weird national perspective that I bring to my Oakland and Bay Area blogging and vice versa. (Also there's just more coin in national video-blogging.) But also I have something like eight city blogs so I have to pay attention to what's happening in those towns anyway; eventually I wind up looking at the whole damn country.

Just to keep on my toes I typed NY blogs, found a blog directory called NYCbloggers.com , then meandered into Noisiest Passenger, which recommended a blog called Overheard In New York.

A random guy, listening..

Much of the blogging in Oakland and San Francisco leans toward the art scene or the politics arena (except the sports blogs, which do just that). Nothing wrong with that but in New York the blogging tends to be more about crap that happens in urban life. Much like some of my video-blogs like the Angry Cab Driver, but in text. Such is Overheard In New York.

Overheard In New York is just that: a blog consisting of what the blogger actually heard someone say, somewhere in in New York. I would think the rule is the saying had to actually happen, and I think it would make a better video-blog, but its entertaining. No, the sayings are not about other people, so defamation is not a concern.

Here's a taste of what's there:

Teenage boy: We should go hang out in Park Slope.
Teenage girl: No, we shouldn't. The yuppies will run us over with their strollers.


--Long Island City


Overheard by: Sunny

And...

Girl to friend: What's the difference between penguins and puffins?
Friend: Well, for one thing, puffins are birds.


--Central Park Zoo, Penguin/Puffins Exhibit

And..

Drunk girl to another: There's like 7 miles of cock out there and I can't even get 7 inches.


Friend: I'd be happy with 4 inches.


--Chaos Club

Or...

Little boy: Mommy, mommy!
Mom: What?
Little boy: Can I please have this? (holds up Transformers toy)
Mom, laughing: Yeah, the tooth fairy's gonna have to come a lot more for you to afford that.


--Target

And...

Girl: Yeah, like I mean, I would definitely say that I was in the best shape of my life when I had my eating disorder.
Guy, after long pause: Uhhhhh... at least you're honest!


--Fordham University


Overheard by: Rachel

You get the idea.

It's a good example of how bloggers in Oakland and San Francisco can better represent what happened around them rather than what they chose to look at. It's said that there are 178 bloggers in Oakland alone but to me it seems like there are only 10 or 15 at best who are active. Then within that group there's a few that have a narrow set of interests, then exhibit a kind of clique approach, writing about the same topics and identical perspectives weekly.

Because they have a small, but loyal readership that talks to each other, that group thinks their blog set is more widely read than in reality. In all, it makes for a rather boring mix of text and almost no video. We as a collective can do better at showing Oakland and San Francisco as they really are.

As for me, the International scene's getting more and more interesting. Now if I can only link all of them effectively I'll have a better Zennie62.com

SNL Tiger Woods skit has Blake Lively playing Elin Nordegren

The SNL Tiger Woods skit is totally off the hook. It aired last night on the popular NBC Saturday Night Live telecast hosted by 'Total Babe for Tiger Woods' Gossip Girl's Blake Lively, (@itsmelively).

Blake Lively

Tiger Woods is played by Kenan Thompson and Lively is his wife Elin Nordegren. The setting is a CNN Situation Room report where SNL actor Jason Sudeikis is Wolf Blitzer. CNN breaks to a new Tiger Woods report explaining another accident that covers for the fact that she kicked his butt after his misstatements during press conferences!

Blake Lively does more of a German than Swedish accent, but who's paying attention to that?

Oscar buzz: Live Action Short Films paired to 10 from 71

AMPAS, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, announced that out of 71 entries, 10 films advanced in the voting process for the three to five nominees that will make up the Live Action Short Film category at the 2010 82nd Annual Academy Awards. The movies, listed in alphabetical order by title and with their production company, are:

* “The Door,” Juanita Wilson, director, and James Flynn, producer (Octagon Films Ltd.)
* “The Ground Beneath,” Rene Hernandez, director, and Kristina Ceyton, producer (Passion Pictures)
* “Hotel,” Tim Conrad, director-producer (Oyster Films)
* “Instead of Abracadabra,” Patrik Eklund, director, and Mathias Fjellstrom, producer (Direktorn & Fabrikorn)
* “Kavi,” Gregg Helvey, director-producer (Gregg Helvey)
* “Miracle Fish,” Luke Doolan, director, and Drew Bailey, producer (Druid Films)
* “The New Tenants,” Joachim Back, director, and Tivi Magnusson, producer (Park Pictures)
* “The Response,” Adam Rodgers, director, and Sig Libowitz, producer (Look at the Moon Productions)
* “Short Term 12,” Destin Daniel Cretton, director-producer, and Michelle Steffes, producer (Destin Cretton)
* “Sidney Turtlebaum,” Tristram Shapeero, director, and Daniel Jewel, producer (Third Man Films Limited)

The Short Films and Feature Animation Branch Reviewing Committee paired the list from 71 to the 10 listed. Now, AMPAS Short Films and Feature Animation Branch members will cast their votes for the final nominee safter screenings that are coming to San Francisco, as well as Los Angeles and New York in January 2010.

The favorite in this area is hard to determine, but Steve Pond over at The Wrap has done a great job of presenting each movie with a video where available. Please take time to read his blog!

Pete Carroll with grad student - Charlie Weis says he didn't say it

The talk in sports is former Notre Dame Head Coach Charlie Weis mistaken blast on USC Coach Pete Carroll during a wide-ranging interview with Irish Illustrated. Before I get to some of the other notable comments Weis made, let's focus on the one that's got everyone talking and produced some confusion with me.

Pete Carroll and Charlie Weis (ESPN)

First, Weis makes a profound statement to Irish Illustrated:

Q: You talked about the negativity with the media and the community, and the irreparable harm that it’s done on your family.
CW: What people don’t understand is that in the day of the Internet and tweeting and everything else that’s out there, when people put things out that are not based on fact, they all come back to your family. They all come back. As hardened as I am and as many blows as I’ve taken, I’m still standing, fellas. They didn’t beat me down. But they beat my wife down and they beat my son down. Hannah doesn’t know what she doesn’t know. So they didn’t beat her down.


But the pain that Maura went through and Charlie went through, I’ll never forgive them is the term. You can take all the shots you want at me. Fire away, but you have to understand that when they’re personal, they go directly to your wife and kids, and that’s really inexcusable. Those people really should be ashamed of themselves. As a matter of fact, I’ll make sure that the next time I’m at the Grotto, I’ll light one for all those people so that maybe they can see the light and stop being so vindictive. It’s a shame. It really is.

Here Coach Weis is right on. In the old days of media, nasty, lying, and insulting letters to the editor never saw the light of day; now Internet comment trolls are allowed to get away with murder. (Which is being curtailed slowly because they're harming website ad sales.)

But then Coach Weis goes off and says this:

Q: Is it frustrating to you Pete Carroll, for example, portrayed in one way…
CW: Let me ask you this question: You guys know about things that go on in different places. Was I living with a grad student in Malibu, or was I living with my wife in my house? You could bet that if I were living with a grad student here in South Bend, it would be national news. He’s doing it in Malibu and it’s not national news. What’s the difference? I don’t understand. Why is it okay for one guy to do things like that, but for me, I’m scrutinized when I swear. I’m sorry for swearing; absolve my sins.

Now given what Charlie Weis himself said in the same sentence, why would he go and do that? It feeds the same animals Weis says writes things he does not like regarding his family. Plus, it makes Weis look like a troll.

Coach Carroll, very upset, said this to USC sports information director Tim Tessalone:

“It’s untrue, it’s irresponsible, and it’s incredible he’d be talking about me like that,"

The Weis got wind of the Internet tidal wave and backtracked, saying...

“In no way was I trying to take a shot at Pete,” Weis said in a phone message. “What we were talking about was how the rumor mill can affect people’s lives. When I was asked a specific question like that, I responded like, 'This is the same crap that I’m talking about.' You start saying things like this and one thing, this guy does this and I do that and all of a sudden the Internet takes it all over the place.


"So, in no way was I trying to take a shot at Pete. I feel if I offended Pete, I will run Pete down and apologize. ... In no way do I have any idea what’s going on in anyone’s life other than the fact that rumors on the Internet can affect coaches' lives in a very, very negative fashion.”


“In no way would I be disrespectful to that guy,” and “All I know is that he kicked the crap out of me five times.”

I know for a fact Weis and Carroll don't like each other much, so Weis let a little of his reported issues with Carroll slip. It's not Coach Weis' finest moment.

It's too bad Coach Weis couldn't go out with class. He says he's going to coach for an NFL team next year. But here's hoping he thinks twice before he talks about other coaches in the future.

Also, Irish Illustrated should have used video rather than be accused of misquoting Weis.

Tiger Woods alienates black community with white lovers? Garbage!

The Associated Press' material can be a howler at times. The latest funny was this title: "Tiger Woods alienates black community with white lovers" which was conceived and written by a writer at the AP who presents his take on what the "Black Community" is and who represents it by turning to the old mainstream media standard, the legendary Tom Joyner.

Now, I love Tom Joyner, so it's not his fault; I'm aiming at the AP's 39-year-old Jesse Washington, who, while African American, has no idea what the "Black Community" is.

Jesse Washington

In a time when interracial dating is common, and black women with white men in commercials are more common than the opposite, its downright silly to complain about Tiger Woods' choice of female companions, blonde, brunette, or polka-dot, Rachel Uchitel, Jaimie Grubbs, Jamie Jungers, Kamile Moquin, Cori Rist, or Mindy Lawton.

Besides, why would any woman regardless of color want to be compared with or take the place of the alleged mistresses Tiger Woods has been linked to, given the PR backfire that can ensue?

Jesse Washington's AP-blasted take is a reflection of a certain part of Black America
that no longer represents the sum total of Black America: those who racially segregate themselves and hate any image of racial mixing for fear that it may result in the devaluation of their blackness.

Washington (who's background includes work in Detroit and New York City) reflects a part of the East Coast's Black Community that's far more hardened against and critical of interracial dating than on the West Coast, in San Francisco or Los Angeles or Oakland. I'm black and I'm certainly not the kind of person Washington implies "we" are. Moreover, many African Americans are not like that at all and root for Tiger Woods to overcome his problems.

What's interesting is Jesse Washington cherry-picked his sources to make the article he advanced. For example, he went to Tom Joyner as a source rather than The Root, the Washington Post-backed black blog site where Terence Samuel's blog post on Tiger Woods mentioned nothing about race.

And the study Washington references refers to adolescent interracial romance and not the adult American population. Washington should know that two studies referenced in the USA Today explain that interracial dating is so common in the Millenial Generation that the new generation "doesn't blink at interracial relationships."

And on a personal note, my mother and her friends and family, all black, still root for Tiger Woods. My African American friends who send emails and texts all want Tiger to succeed. So this idea Jesse Washington is advancing - that Tiger Woods' is in some way "alienated" from the black community - is just pure garbage with all due respect to Mr. Washington, who's overall work I enjoy.

I just disagree with my brother.

Tiger Woods 4th mistress - Media loses count of alleged affairs

Ok Tiger Woods 4th mistress is a headline, even as we have alleged mistresses number 5 and 6, Cori Rist and Mindy Lawton.

What's going on?

What's going on is at this point the media's not paying attention to details. Read my previous blog post for the right update on all of this.

But if you're keeping score, here's the list of alleged affairs: Rachel Uchitel, Jamie Grubbs, Kalika Moquin, Jamie Jungers, Cori Rist and Mindy Lawton.

Cori Rist and Mindy Lawton Tiger Woods alleged 5th and 6th affairs

Ok, within two days we've seen three more women surface claiming to have had affairs with Tiger Woods, and so many new names the media's losing count: Jamie Jungers, Cori Rist and Mindy Lawton.

Jamie Jungers was alleged mistress number four, but what happened was that an Orlando lawyer named Michael O'Quinn surfaced reporting that he represented the 4th mistress. But that was questionable because Jamie Jungers lives in Las Vegas and gave her story to a British tabloid. So that pointed to a 5th woman and possibly a 6th woman.

Now we have both and it means that my video presenting the first three will have to be revised, but here it is if you need a "who's who" background:



Again, that was Rachel Uchitel, Jamie Grubbs, and Kalika Moquin.

Now and again we have Jamie Jungers, Cori Rist and Mindy Lawton.

Jamie Jungers

So lets put them all in a row: Rachel Uchitel, Jamie Grubbs, Kalika Moquin, Jamie Jungers, Cori Rist and Mindy Lawton.

Of these, Rachel Uchitel and Jamie Grubbs are confirmed. Kalika Moquin's not talking. Jamie Jungers story seems shaky to me. Cori Rist and Mindy Lawton are new, but Mindy Lawton's the one backed by Orlando lawyer Michael O'Quinn, even though her really detailed story is described in a British publication Mail Online.

The New York Daily News has Cori Rist as reportedly an NY Upper East Side 31-year-old Manhattan "nightclub goer" (which can't be her profession) who claims to have met Woods at a nightclubs called "Butter" and then he flew her to tournaments.

Now we're into Silly Season.

So why is Cori Rist in our midst if her story is of a shaky trist? Because some unnamed source blabbed to the NY Daily News. But geez, is that all it takes to get on Tiger Woods "alleged affairs" list? That's ridiculous.

Cori Rist is not talking and the NY Daily News could be fishing for attention (ok, they got it) so scratch Cori Rist from your list for now.

We've got to start calling out this crap when it happens rather than getting caught up in the numbers. Society has no shortage of low-lifes who will spread bad lies about a person just to do it and because they don't feel good about themselves. The Tiger Woods issue is fertile ground for this.

The NY Daily News should have really fleshed out that story before going public with it.

By contrast, the Mindy Lawton story in the Mail Online is more fleshed out. It's a story of Mindy Lawton, the "$8-an-hour-waitress" who had an alleged affair with Tiger Woods that was reportedly chronicled as far back as 2006 then reportedly kept out of the media for years until a tabloid sting in 2007 came close to outing Tiger's affair.

The Mail Online's article, written by Sharon Churcher and Caroline Graham, starts like this:

Perhaps he didn't notice the SUV parked across the road. If he did, he wasn't troubled by its blacked-out windows or any nagging hint of familiarity about its presence.


In fact, if Tiger Woods thought so much as twice about what he was doing, then Mindy Lawton had no inkling of it as they enjoyed a secret assignation in Tiger's Cadillac Escalade 4x4 in a church car park soon after daybreak during a Florida spring.


But every move of that alfresco encounter was recorded by a surveillance team of reporters and photographers from one of America's biggest-selling tabloid magazines. It was a scoop - the first example of what we now know to be a pattern of infidelity on Tiger's part.

Yikes.

The Mail Online explains all of this reportedly happened right in Orlando in Tiger Woods backyard as Lawton worked at Perkins, a dinner near the Windermere home of Tiger and his wife Elin Nordegren reportedly ate. And then when his management company got wind of a tabloid sting then reportedly (that word again) when into overdrive and made a deal to kill the story.

The source for that view is Neal Boulton, who was an editor with Men's Fitness at the time. Men's Fitness is the magazine that Tiger Woods reportedly agreed to be in as an exchange for the National Enquirer which was going to run with the story. Both the National Enquirer and Men's Fitness are owned by American Media Inc.

But Gawker reports that American Media Inc. CEO David Pecker is calling Neal Boulton a "disgruntled former employee" and the Gawker author who revealed this, Hamilton Nolan, wrote that Boulton once stiffed him for a freelance article he wrote for Boulton, so he's biased against Boulton.

Geez.

It's the financial agendas and personal issues like that one which color the Tiger Woods story and will continue to do so in the future.

Stay tuned.

Oakland Adams Point Action Council Party December 8th

The Oakland Adams Point Action Council, a group of neighbors that live in the Adams Point area next to Lake Merritt, is having its Holiday Party Tuesday, December 8th at 7 PM the Bellevue Club 525 Bellevue Avenue.

They're asking you to bring cookies and other "nibbles" to share, but come-on. It's a holiday party, so someone bring spiked egg nog and grilled chicken. There's a Kentucky Fried Chicken nearby on Lake Park, right next to the Grand Lake Theater, for goodness sakes!

Tim Tebow crying after Florida loss; give Heisman to Toby Gerhart

Florida Quarterback Tim Tebow is without a doubt one of the best quarterbacks in college football in the 21st Century. Before the SEC Championship pitting undefeated and number one-ranked Florida against undefeated and number two-ranked Alabama, Tebow was a virtual lock for the Heisman Trophy.

Tim Tebow

But I don't think that's going to happen because Florida lost 32 to 13 and Tebow cried. That's right, he cried.

I can understand being upset over losing, especially after throwing a costly interception. But I would think a religious leader like Tebow would cry more for those less fortunate than he, rather than a football game that will not take much out of his future endorsement checks or NFL contract.

The Heisman Trophy is given to the best college football player in America. The trophy itself is designed to encourage the energy and drive of a leader: the runner side steps one tackler and stiff-arms another. A person who does that on the football field doesn't have time to cry.

I'm not saying there's something wrong with crying or that one's not a man to cry. Hey. I cry. But crying over a football game rather than just going out there and fessing up to the loss and shaking the hand of every Alabama player (which he did try to do in fairness) with a smile? No.



In my book Tim Tebow has to prove he can stare down an opponent and will a win all over again, just as those of us at Football Reporters thought he could do before the SEC Championship Game. And just as it seems Stanford's great player Running Back Toby Gerhart can do.



When I think or this Stanford Cardinal, I think of Jim Brown. Few have Gerhart's ability to gain yards as he glides through a defense, or outrun defenders with just a thought. Gerhart is fun to watch and epitomizes what the game's all about: great plays by a great student-athlete who gets it done with little fanfare.

I can see Toby Gerhart crying when its appropriate to do so, but not after a loosing a football game.

Geez.

Ok, here's my poll on Tim Tebow's crying.

make a free poll on pollsb.com