There is one slight problem with the image that resembles a graphic from a video game: the guy isn't Tiger.
WSJ photo editors cropped Woods from the Associated Press picture with the story headlined "Tiger Woods to Break Silence." The photogenic duo appear on the WSJ's website. The caption there has Woods and his unnamed friend jogging near the golfer’s home in Windermere, Fla.
My guess is that the WSJ photo editors wanted to send readers a subliminal message. It was an intentional screw-up. Sure, Woods' marital crisis will be front and center tomorrow with his decision (drumroll, please) to break the almost three-month silence about the multiple sexual dalliances that made him a national punch line.
But once the last cameraman exits from the press conference, set for the TPC at Sawgrass golf course tomorrow, Woods and his entourage of lovers will vanish from the national scene. We will all be left wondering, why the big fuss?
You've got to hand it to Tiger's handlers. The timing for the Big Inquisition is impeccable.
Woods' "crisis" pales in comparison to the mess that Toyota has driven itself into. Do you really car about whether Tiger fathered a "love child" when praying that your Camry will stop?
As the Japanese carmaker reels from the recall of 8.5M of its vehicles for sticky accelerators and other headaches, word comes that the U.S. Dept. of Transportation is launching an investigation of Toyota's Corolla line-up. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it received more than 160 complaints about steering problems.
Speaking of the ultimate bum image, Toyota is tarred with the rep of making cars that accelerate when they want and can neither be stopped nor steered -- pretty basic car safety requirements. Icing on the cake is news of the apparent reluctance of Toyota's president Akio Toyoda to appear next week before a Congressional panel. That shyness may be coming to an end as the New York Times reports that Toyoda is waiting for a formal invite. That invitation is certainly now in the mail.
Toyota’s safety problems concern the lives of millions. The company will be in the news for years (remember the Pinto), long after Tiger has wrapped up counseling or an advocacy campaign for the sexually addicted.
The New York Post and New York Daily News are the biggest losers in Tiger’s escape from the media beast. Their headlines today about Tiger's impending confession are gems: "Lock up the Waitresses" (Post) and "Lock up the Bimbos!" (News).