Rumors of book and movie rights for the bloggers stories are circulating as well with a working title in place of:  “Good Wood(s): The untold story of how Tiger Woods was betrayed by pasty white bloggers.”

There are a million tweets, blog postings, columns and TV stories being done right now that go into the timeline and  details. If you want that info you can find it elsewhere easily enough.  

For days now it’s been fashionable to trash ‘the media’ for invading Tiger Woods privacy. 

For days now fans and select media have worked themselves up into fits chastising anyone who dare suggest Woods speak out for his own good, and set the record straight.

So now that Woods has come clean what do our combo 20/20 hindsight and futurvision glasses tell us?

Not talking is rarely a solution: Tiger not talking to the cops?  Legally that appears to have been a sound decision.  In the court of public opinion however it added to the perception that he had something to hide with the accident, which doesn’t seem to be the case at all.  But now there will always be some lingering doubt from many around the circumstances of the accident. Plus, his lack of quick transparency helped further intertwine the Rachel Uchitel, and now Jaimee Grubbs, (the 2nd ‘e’ is for extramarital) stories with his crash.  Tiger never ‘owed’ us a response as many have been so vehemently pointing out.  Nor would have coming clean on the Grubbs involvement sooner helped him avoid the current scandal he is caught in.  But talking openly, honestly and quickly would have let him be the lead voice in this story versus deferring to TMZ, The National Enquirer and Jaimee Grubbs old voicemails.  Woods has been a master of exerting control over his image in the media.  He seemed to think that same control could be extended to a crisis like this – he was wrong.

It’s over and it isn’t: For Woods, the worst part of the public ordeal (barring something truly new and earth shattering coming out) is over.  He confessed and did so in a way that enables him to be able to deflect calls for further comment even if other women come forward claiming to have been with him – and they will.  Regardless of how true any of their claims may be there will be no shortage in people looking to cash in on Woods mistakes.  If you thought the onslaught from TMZ, The National Enquirer and other gossip rags/sites was bad before, you haven’t seen anything yet.  But Woods truly has said all that anyone can reasonably ask him to share (again barring a new bombshell that goes beyond other women coming forward).  He doesn’t need to go on TV and cry or detail out how many women, when, where or even why.  Now the public and media get to feast on the carcass of this story for the next several days or weeks or (God help us) months. 

The blame game: Woods himself clearly sought to call out, via his statement, some media (tabloid media specifically) for contributing to his current woes.  Fans continue to decry the media’s coverage, even to the point where reasoned, respectable journalists, bloggers and writers are verbally attacked for essentially not ignoring a story.  Others want to blame Jaimee Grubbs and any other women who may come forward. Feels a bit narrow minded to toss them under a bus that Woods may not be driving but certainly gassed up and started down the road.  In the end, no matter how despicable any media outlets coverage may be, or self-promoting an accusers actions may look, blame rests with Woods.  It also rests with our society where the business (and yes it is a business) of celebrity gossip sells, and sells quite well it seems.  We all feed the beast.  Now it’s eaten up a hero’s image and people act surprised.  If you want to be mad at someone, you may as well be mad at everyone because the blame game doesn’t easily tag one winner (or loser) in this situation.

I don’t feel sympathy for Tiger Woods. I also don’t revel in seeing him put through a public humiliation. He did what he did and now will deal with the consequences.  Because he is arguably the greatest golfer of all time, those consequences are significantly worse than what any average person would have to deal with.  Is that fair?  Maybe, who knows, probably not.  It doesn’t matter.

I find myself not really caring what is fair to Tiger Woods right now.  The only sympathy I can muster up is for Elin Woods and her kids.

Jay Busbee at Devil Ball Golf, who incidentally is one of our favorite golf bloggers to read because he is one of the few that is willing to not pull a lot of punches when writing about the big boys, put forth a piece echoing similar points that we made earlier about Tiger, and how he should (key point here) for his own benefit, get out front and share the facts around this incident.

If you’re the objective sort, give it a read and at the end ask yourself if Busbee is suggesting anything out of bounds, which boils down to:

- Tiger should get out in front of this story that is spinning out of control due in large part to his lack of sharing any details of what exactly happened.

- He cannot rely on his good ole boy network of the golf media to come rushing to his defense as the story has superseded sports journalism and is now a celebrity and culture story. TMZ is not going to do Tiger any favors.

The response? Exactly what anyone who has ever dared criticize Woods would expect – a freakout by the Tiger Woods fanboys. A few choice excerpts from Devil Ball comments:

Maybe you should go suck his d*ck busbee and then he will tell you his life story and what actually happened that night. Leave him alone, he will tell you when he wants, media just loves making everyone think the situation is worse than it actually is. If something did happen between tiger and his wife thats probably because some [profane] paparazzi people like TMZ cough cough made some bull [profane] up. Regardless tiger is above the media, he doesnt give a [profane], he has money and he owns the sport of golf. So get off his nuts and just be thankful he didnt get seriously hurt.

Busbee, you are simply pathetic. Can the guy actually get to feeling better before you ask him to respond to innuendo? But hey, feel free to use the National Enquirer as a source anytime you’d like. That will save us all the time of actually reading your garbage.

Tiger doesn’t need to do anything except continue to mind his own business like you should do. Do you post to the whole world when you make a mistake (I don’t think so). That’s the problem with this world, people don’t know how to tend to their own affairs and stop putting their noses in other’s business. Knowing what happened to Tiger is not going to improve or affect your life one bit except that it will give you fuel to write more negative crap. Get a life!

Classy.

When are we all going to learn that Tiger Woods is a human being and has shortcomings like all of us? When hero worship results in the inability to have some objectivity it’s both pathetic and frightening. Busbee wasn’t saying Woods is now suddenly a horrible person. Or that everything he has accomplished is suddenly undone. No he simply pointed out the obvious that if Woods wants the story being told about him right now to be accurate and go away sooner vs. later, then he’s the only one who can make that happen.

Real crazy talk. I guess Busbee isn’t angling for that Tiger Woods interview anytime soon, which is fine with us. If the cost of access is trading in your credibility and integrity then it’s too high a price anyway.

By the way, if you’re wondering if you’re a fanboy here is a helpful chart.

I know NiceBallz is a relative newcomer to the golf blogging scene. We’re the Johnny Come Lately, new kid on the block.  Invariably FNG’s like us show up and think they’re going to tell the world how to do things.  Don’t you hate that?

If so, you’re not going to like what we have to say here -The golf blogsphere is in need of a reboot.

Recently a post by Fake Steve Jobs (written by the real Dan Lyons) essentially opened a can of blogging whoop ass on the mainstream media.  If you haven’t read it, do yourself a favor and check it out, plus the follow-up here.

So why use a blog post authored by a real journalist pretending to be a CEO ripping the NYT to make a point about the golf blogsphere?  Simple – the business and tech blogsphere has a few key components to their collective mindset and approach in blogging that we think are by in large lacking in the golf blogsphere. 

• Balls: Yes, sorry to be all machismo on our female readers, but we believe women bloggers can (and sometimes do) have blogging balls as well. Ovum? If you have spent time following tech or business blogs you see one thing consistently.  People will piss all over establishment, each other…everything at the drop of a hat.  One could argue this isn’t exactly generative behavior.  True enough.  But at the same time…criticism at least stirs debate and dialogue and sometimes real change.  Plus, look at the impact blogs in tech and business have vs. golf.  You see major news broken in blogs by tech and business bloggers.  Policy shifts by companies have been made because of buzz stirred up by bloggers.  Usually when you see big news broken online in golf it’s still from the mainstream media, who happen to be at least somewhat savvy about using these new tools.

• Challenge: Do golf blogs by in large challenge the industry or players or the status quo enough?  We would argue, again in general, that they do not.  Why?  Some of it is probably an access question.  Golf blogs rely on agents, PR people at major organizations like the PGA and LPGA and other layers of gatekeepers to get access to the personalities that can help deliver great content.  If you challenge too much or dare work a bit of snark into the dialogue, odds are you’re at risk to get cut off.  The tech/business blogging world faced similar challenges.  Mainstream media and others tried to marginalize them and paint them as militants…the lunatic fringe.  Well, now the inmates are running the asylum with the advent of social media and more people being influenced by what they see and read in blogs and other places online.  You’re far more likely to see a slew of posts on a golfer giving money away to a charity, or gracing the cover of a magazine than you are to read anything critical of a player that goes beyond the superficial “FIGJAM’s a jerk” blather.  That’s not to say SOME coverage of the good stuff isn’t warranted.  But when bloggers are re-posting press releases (hey we get them too so you’re not fooling anyone) about a charity event or other softball news, it doesn’t exactly lend credence to the argument that we’re collectively serious about asking the tough questions.

• Contribute: Possibly the most disappointing thing we’ve observed, and what is arguably the most fixable is the propensity to copy and redo the same  story over and over.  It’s actually a bit of a hot button for us because IF we write something up on a topic others have done…we always strive to put a very unique spin on it.  After all, how many posts on Tiger Woods house do we REALLY need?  Sure, there is a fair amount of copy/lift/reprint in any sector of blogging…tech, biz, entertainment, sports overall etc.  But in a space (golf) where blogging is seen as generally lagging behind other sports bloggers, why be ok with the status quo?  Contribute a unique perspective…hell, just find a different PHOTO to use when you post the same article.  That’s a start.  And by the way…you know where you read it first, do the right thing and give some link back love to your fellow bloggers.  We’re all in this together folks, for better or worse.

Some would argue that the reason biz and tech bloggers are more big time than golf is due to the billions and billions of dollars at stake.  Totally fair point.  But golf itself is a pretty sizable industry but the sophistication and willingness to flat out take some chances here seem to be lagging disproportionately behind blogs in other sectors or sports.

But hey…that’s just some new guy’s perspective.  We’re sure you may have a different one and we’d love to hear it below.

PS - We weren’t talking about YOU of course fellow blogger.  No, not you.  You are a beacon of light in the dimly lit back alley’s of golf blogging.  You are the standard we aspire to live up to and we are graced by your presence here reading our drivel.*

*May or may not be true depending on who you are.

Oh don’t worry, we’re fine we’re fine.  Thanks for asking by the way.

In fact I’ve been traveling the road, above is a portrait I took of some of my fellow vagabonds during a recent stop.

Meanwhile Corey is busy networking and making various connections that are sure to payoff in the future.

But don’t fret. We’re just using this as a means to recharge our batteries during the Silly Season Fall Series and we’ll be back bigger and badder than ever.

You can count on it.  Unless something better comes along.

Until then, look for more sporadic updates from NiceBallz.

But news that came out yesterday about the FTC putting forth strict guidelines for bloggers to follow around who is paying them what (if anything, ever) to endorse products and services, should put some in the blogging (and tweeting world) on notice.

An FTC spokesperson said to the WSJ: “Our strategy is going to be more education than it is enforcement,” said Richard Cleland, an assistant director in the FTC’s consumer protection division who specializes in advertising practices.

Whew!  So no jack booted thugs are likely to come and haul your pasty white blogging rump (dramatic reenactment in above photo) off to a white collar prison, or to drop the maximum fine of up to $11k on you for a first offense.

But still, it’s an interesting shift and one that we welcome. If someone is paying a blogger/tweeter/facebooker/etc to endorse their product then that should absolutely be made clear.  Does that mean that bloggers endorsement completely goes without merit?  

Not necessarily, but it will suffer a pretty significant blow in terms of impact.  But how is that any different (besides the MUCH MUCH smaller scale) than a top pro athlete or celeb endorsing one brand of deodorant over another? 

It’s not, as long as both are equally transparent about it.   

So let us take this opportunity to clearly put forth our own practices for your awareness.

Reviewing Products:When we receive product from companies, it often is provided gratis (that’s fancy lawyer talk for free).  If we then choose to review those products, we do not in any way allow the fact that the product was provided free of charge for review to factor into our final recommendation.  In fact, if you are a company who sends us something, and want it back after we review it…feel free to send along a pre-addressed postage paid envelope/packing material and we will ship the product back to you. Not sure how huge the market is for broken tees, used golf shoes and scuffed balls, but hey…we’re ok with it if you are.  As a side note, this is pretty much the same practice that most mainstream media have used for decades when reviewing products. 

Stuff we pay for: We actually buy many of the products that we review.  For example many of our ball reviews are just stuff we’ve purchased, liked (or not) and written about.

Paid endorsements: If you are a company and wish to pay us to endorse your product/service, then feel free to let the rainmaking begin!  We accept cash (preferably in big manila envelopes to stoke our ego) and checks.  We’ll say anything about your company/product/service that you write up if the price is right because well, we’re whores.  Of course, we’ll disclose we’re whores and as such our endorsement of your product/service/other should be worth, well basically whatever we scrape out of our pockets on a Saturday morning.

People will be tempted to make this into a much bigger and more complex deal than it is.  Don’t.  It’s simple – if you’re getting paid to endorse something, then you should make it clear. 

In the meantime, we’ll sit back and wait for the revenue windfall that we’re sure is coming now that we’ve let it known our highly valued endorsement is for sale.

In the process of reading the same arguments being re-run on a variety of news sites and blogs, one headline jumped out at me: Despite hopes, FedEx Cup not on par with majors.

A few weeks ago we ran a post that poked a bit of fun at a story written about Morgan Pressel because it was essentially vapid and boring.

Now the latest Fox Sports headline above seems to have me thinking we likely have a recurring series of Water is wet type journalism to put on display from time to time.

You can read Robert Lusetich’s article for yourself to see if I’m being overly harsh in categorizing it as a snooze-fest.  Though I would challenge you to find any new insight stemming from it other than a smattering of carefully worded Tiger Woods quotes.  I’ll paraphrase his piece along the following lines: The FedEx Cup isn’t as big as Finchem had hoped…Tiger couldn’t really care less whether he wins or loses…insert snazzy hook of FedEx cup isn’t like the Super Bowl – kaaa-ching!

By contrast give a read to Jay Busbee’s piece on the Tiger Woods presser (that’s hip blogger speak for press conference).  Unique.  Honest.  Displaying a sense of humor. Insightful.  It is essentially most everything that the Fox Sports piece could have been, but wasn’t.

This is hardly newsworthy as well, one golf blogger giving a proverbial big sloppy kiss to another.  But we like to think we’re pretty even handed.  We’ve pointed out that there are a lot of traits that make bloggers really annoying as well, like how many are guilty of doing the old ‘rip & read’ bit by re-reporting the same news broken by the mainstream media we criticize. 

But on some occasions the big boy sports journalists step up and flat out whiff, while the scrappy golf blogger can sometimes show that water isn’t always just wet.

Sometimes bloggers make posts to create comments.

Sometimes bloggers make posts to create traffic.

Sometimes bloggers make posts to create a laugh.

And sometimes…only sometimes…bloggers make posts to pay respect to what’s already been created.

Happy birthday Mr. Palmer.

1. Criticize EVERYTHING: Pretty straightforward. Find nothing good in anything. Or, if you must find something good (e.g. Annika has a baby!) make sure to balance it with something highly critical (e.g. Wow, thanks for putting yourself ahead of the LPGA when they need you most sister.).  See how easy that was? That way others will always have someone to disagree with and call a moron.

2. Criticize NOTHING: I know…this may seem to be in contrast to #1 but stay with me.  You can take this as an alternative to the first point and simply think everything is great and every golfer is the model of benevolence and charm.  Sure, it’s boring and makes you look like a suckup but it also will ensure you get on every flack’s email distribution list so you’ll have plenty of fodder around charitable events to fill your blog with.

3. Name drop: “So, I said to Jack…‘and that’s why you should always use a 9 iron there’ and he laughed and, well, let’ s just say we shared a moment.” Use casual references as if to imply you couldn’t possibly be talking about anyone other than Jack Nicklaus.  Sure, it’s Jack Lebromowitz your neighbor who carries a 23 index, but who is to know?  Pretty soon others will be asking you ‘what’s Tiger really like?’ and wanting to know if you can get them an extra ticket to the U.S. Open. Both of which you should respond to with a heavy sigh, eye roll and thorough shaking of your head as if to imply ‘why are you speaking to me?’.

4. Never…ever…comment on others stuff: You are the premier golf blogger just remember that. If you comment on others posts that only validates that you (again the premier blogger) find their stuff interesting.  Uhhh sorry!  But others should be reading your stuff remember, not reading a comment you had on what someone else thought.  What the f*ck do they know – you’re the master bater blogger!  And for that matter, don’t reply to comments left on your blog.  This is about you dispensing YOUR pearls of wisdom, not interacting with the unwashed masses. They should be happy you leave comments open at all.  The swine.

5. Make sh*t up: Nothing interesting to write about that day?  Tired of reading and ripping stories from the mainstream media? Resort to the greatest news source ever – your imagination.  Headlines like “Tiger Woods sacrifices baby ducks to rehab his knee” will drive major traffic.  Or you can be more titillating and go with stuff like “Guess which pro golfer I may or may not have shagged last night”.  See? You didn’t even say anything! But certain topics (e.g. sex, Sergio, hot people) will always get a reaction. Just sit back and watch the speculation, name calling and traffic roll in.

So there you go.  Employ any or all of these tips and you’re sure to rake in the big blogging bucks. More later but right now I’ve got to go catch a tee time with Phil. Ciao!

But, as has also become the new normal, criticism of the format and the event overall continues.

So here’s your chance to vent a little and feel free to firmly plant your tongue in your cheek.

Submit your ideas on how the FedEx Cup could be improved and we’ll run it through our highly rigorous judging process with a panel of exteemed experts and determine a winner. 

In fact, as we recover from our post-Solheim USA victory hangover we’re feeling extra generous and will name TWO winners:

1st Place: Choice of a NiceBallz.com t-shirt or visor

2nd Place: Whatever the first place winner didn’t take Sloppy seconds!

Contest will close on Monday, August 31st at 12 noon Eastern.

Other miscellaneous rules: There are no rules in Fight Club…except you do not talk about Fight Club!  But we do ask that it’s only one entry per person. 

Also, please make sure to leave a contact email when you submit your ideas in comments below so we can get you your free schwag should you be the lucky wiener!

 Thanks & good luck!