There was a time three or four crack-ups ago when it was fun and easy to be a fan of John Daly.

 

The man had more demons than a haunted house, but boy, did he have talent.  Daly was the priceless original of the new-generation of long-bombers, wrapping his driver three-quarters of the way around his then-bloated body to clobber tee shots 340 yards shots.  More remarkably, when it came to chipping and putting, this enormous heap of a man had perhaps the softest hands in the game.

 

Oh, the talent he had, the gift, the potential.

 

But somewhere along the line – was it the third trip to rehab, the on-course meltdowns, the fights in the fast food parking lot? – rooting for Big John to get his act together became an exercise in futility and frustration.  I finally gave up on him.  A lot of people gave up on him, including the PGA Tour.

 

So it was with a wary eye that I previewed the latest Golf Channel reality show, Being John Daly, which premiers tonight at 9 p.m.  Only the hardest core Daly fans will make it through this 30-minute downer, which is scheduled to continue to document his 2010 comeback, such as it is, in subsequent episodes in the same timeslot.

 

"He is on a mission, crusade, to regain control of a life out of control," intones the narrator.

 

How about Mission Impossible.

 

Produced by the Golf Channel, Being John Daly  is a laudable effort by the network to give us more of the kind of original programming we won’t get anywhere else.  And they make no attempt to sugar-coat the reality that is Daly.

 

Yes, you get the present-day slimmed-down, loud-pants-wearing Daly, but you also get plenty of his train wreck years.  (Remember the particularly depressing sight of him being escorted off a golf course after some kind of mid-round breakdown, shivering, wrapped up in a jacket that looked more like a straight-jacket? 

 

Who knows how long Being John Daly will actually last.  After he embarrassed himself at the Farmers Insurance Open in late January, shooting 79-71 to miss the cut by a mile, he told the producers of the new show he was bagging it, quitting golf.  What was the point?

 

Daly thought better of it, no doubt when he remembered his own personal Ex-wives Club, and quickly returned to golf.  He missed the cut at Pebble Beach, where it’s hard to know whether he was competing as a professional golfer or as freak-show celebrity.  Daly made his first cut (T-67, $7,308) of the year at the Mayakoba Golf Championship, when the game biggest stars were at the Accenture Match Play Championship.

 

Watching Being John Daly is like watching a fight the ref ought to stop.

During 35 years in the news business, I have been blown off, disrespected, misled and flat-out lied to by small-town public officials, cops, career politicians, movie stars, best-selling authors, coaches and athletes from a variety sports and bosses in my own newsrooms.

 

Point is, I like to think I have to bow to no man when it comes to being a cynic.

 

But after reading and listening to some of the I-ain't-buying-it backlash directed at Tiger Woods' public apology this past Friday, cynically speaking, I feel like a rube, a naive babe in the woods.

 

They are all over the internet.  Bill Simmons at ESPN.com, Sally Jenkins in the Washington Post, Stephen A. Smith in the Philadelphia Inquirer, John Hopkins in the Times of London, just to name a few.  There are plenty more where they from, each one meaner and more skeptical than the other.

 

I don’t get it.  Me, I watched Tiger for those 13½ minutes and could not stop thinking about how shamed, humiliated and broken he appeared.  Gone was the confident, cocky golfer who was always so full of himself in the hundreds of press conferences and interviews of his I sat through. I saw no hint of defiance in his eyes.  They appeared dull and lifeless, his strength and spirit sapped.

 

For such a proud man, I could not imagine the humiliation of having to stand before you, me, his mom and the world and admit, essentially, that he was a no good, lyin’ fraud – anything but the image of invulnerable, impenetrable perfection he projected for so long.

 

I agree totally with the prevailing observation that he seemed nervous, stilted, over-prepared and over-rehearsed, right down to the well-timed pauses and glances into the camera for dramatic effort.

 

Was he coached?  You bet.  Was he wooden and awkward?  Yes, painfully so.

 

But how anyone can say that his confession was disingenuous or not from the heart – whatever is left of Tiger’s heart – is beyond me.  How do they know that?  What could they see that I couldn’t see? 

 

I don’t mean to be soft on Tiger.  Because of his peerless abilities and accomplishments on the golf course, he has been allowed to behave like an entitled, arrogant ass for too long. This mess is entirely of his own making, and he deserves every bit of the misery he has caused himself.

 

For that matter, add me to the list of folks who think he and his people have bungled this disaster from the beginning, trying to control this like he has controlled everything else.  He only compounded his problems by waiting so long to show his face and, once he finally did, he could have done without the gratuitous reminders of the good work his foundation does or his little lecture to the media.

 

His problem is not the media in general, by the way, it’s the tabloids and celebrity websites, who are joyously feasting on Tiger like he was some hapless wildebeest they chased down on the African plain.  How a man who has been in the public eye and dealt with the media for so long can be so oblivious to their needs, wants and relentless determination is inconceivable.

 

Tiger’s announcement, orchestrated as it was, was boycotted by the Golf Writers Association of America, of which I am a long-time member.  Our beef was that the three hand-picked reporters who were invited by Tiger’s people would not be allowed to ask questions, thereby reducing them to mere props in his little one-act play. 

 

Thing is, before he was finished, Tiger said most of the things I thought he needed to say, and he answered most of the questions I had. I don’t think he owes us the seamier details and, frankly, I don’t want to hear them.

 

While I believe Tiger did himself some good in the PR department with his statement, I don’t think for a moment he has put sorry chapter behind him.  Not a chance.  When he returns to golf -- whenever and wherever that turns out to be – the reporters and the questions will be waiting.   The man who for so long dictated the terms of interviews will find a very changed media landscape.

 

Tiger is still the best golfer in the world, but we no longer have any illusions about who he is as a man.  For now, at least, when he says he is sorry, I am willing to take him at his word.  Like his wife says, the real proof will be in the way Tiger lives the rest of his life.

The Tiger Woods that stood before us for 13 minutes today was shamed, humbled shell of his former self.   He needed to be, and he was.

 

Although Tiger’s apology to his wife Elin, their kids, his mother Tida, his friends, extended family, sponsors and fans was long in coming – too long – it felt genuine and sincere, and Tiger, emotional at times, had a well-earned tear in the corner of his eye.

 

"I was unfaithful.  I had affairs.  I cheated.  What I did was unacceptable, and I am the only person to blame," he said, framing the problem perfectly.

 

It was good to hear Tiger concede that "fame and wealth" made him feel that the rules of life that apply to the rest of us didn’t apply to him.  It was good to hear him admit that there is nobody to blame but himself for the mess he is in.

 

There was a complete absence of arrogance, which was refreshing coming from a man known for just that.  In fact, no matter what you think of what he did, you’d have to be as cold-hearted and cynical as they come not to be able to musteer a little compassion after that performance.

 

Of course,  as Tiger himself said, he can talk the talk, but now he’s got to walk the walk.  "As Elin pointed out to me, my real apology to her will not come in the form of words," he said.  "It will come from my behavior over time."

 

If I had to nitpick, I’d say at first he seemed, well, a little stiff and wooden, no doubt as a result of nerves and embarrassment; he seemed a little more at ease once he looked up and spoke directly into the camera.  I could have done without the lecture to the media, considering it is a very small segment of the tabloid and gossip media that has been giving him fits.

 

Tiger is kidding himself if he thinks he’s not going to eventually have to stand before the media and answer questions.

 

But over all, Tiger Woods did himself a world of public relations good today.  Now, let’s see if he really means it.

When Tiger Woods makes his grand reappearance on Friday, he plans to make a statement but take no questions from the few, hand-picked members of the media in the room.  As always, he wants to be in control.

 

Well, I’ve got a few questions, and you’ve probably got a few of your own.

 

How about these for a starter:

 

1. What the hell were you thinking?

 

2. Other than that rehab clinic in Mississippi, where have you been?  It’s easier to find Osama bin Laden?

 

3. Are you cured or whatever?

 

4. If you were Elin, would you take you back?

 

5. Do you really, truly want to salvage the marriage?

 

6. If you were a golf fan, would you take you back?

 

7. Do you understand the shock, disappointment and betrayal your fans and the sports world feel?

 

8. It’s hard not to notice that Elin is a beautiful, classy woman, not to mention the mother of your two children, while the women you ran with on the side were largely skanks.  What was that about?

 

9. Come to think of it, why no women of color?  You prejudiced?

 

10. Why have you remained silent for so long?

 

11. You have shamed not only yourself but the entire game of golf.  Do you have a long-range plan to make amends?

 

12. How did you pull this whole secret, parallel life thing off?

 

13. Who around you knew?  Do you plan to fire them?  If not, why not?

 

14. Tell the truth, did Elin catch you in the kisser that night with that golf club?

 

15. Can your mother ever forgive you?   Do you think your father would be proud?

 

16. From everything we’ve seen, you had fine parents and stable, loving upbringing.  Could you please make some effort at explaining your behavior?

 

17. When you do return, do you think fans who heckle you at golf tournaments should be removed by security or do you think you have it coming?

 

18. Do you think you are a sex addict or merely the world’s worst narcissist?

 

19. When exactly do you plan to return to golf?

 

20. Competitively, how big of a setback is this?

To everyone who stopped by our booth at the North Coast Golf Show, thank you.

 

The just-ended annual show at the Expo Center in Oaks was our first real effort to promote and market MyPhillyGolf and the response was favorable and incredibly gratifying.  Our director of advertising, Paul LaPotin, and I passed out more than 4,000 informational postcards and golf pencils bearing the website logo.

 

Now that you’ve found MyPhillyGolf, we will do our best to give you reason add it to your list of "Favorites" and return day after day, even in the dead of winter.

 

My vision for this website was to offer news and information but, more importantly, to give golfers in the region a place where they can meet and talk to each other, to share their passion for the game and their thoughts on people, issues and courses to play or avoid.

 

As I pointed out to golfers at the golf show, under "Course Finder," MyPhillyGolf empowers you to write your own reviews of courses you play.  Under the "Discussion Boards," you can start a conversation about any golf topic under the sun.

 

As you explore MyPhillyGolf, if you come across something you don’t understand, or if you have an idea you’d like to suggest, please let me know in an email.

 

 

If the gossip website Radar is correct and Tiger Woods has indeed left the Gentle Path sex addiction rehab clinic in Hattiesburg, Miss., well, who among us doesn’t wish him the best?

 

Forget for the moment his return to golf; the man has his work cut out for him earning his wife’s trust and forgiveness.  His mother’s, too.  The kids are probably too young to know what’s going on. What his millions of fans around the world will feel upon his return is probably a mixed bag.

 

The men I talk to, for the most part, shrug and say, "That fool screwed up big time."

 

On the other hand, knowing the temptations Tiger likely faced on a daily basis, men also seem to be more willing to eventually close the door on this ugly chapter.  That door will close all the quicker if Tiger’s return, whenever it is, is highlighted by an victory of Secretariat proportions.

 

Women, they’re another story.  The women I’ve talked to don’t seem nearly so ready to forgive and forget.  They think Tiger is a rotten, low-down dirty dog, and they seethe with rage over the shock, betrayal and humiliation Elin must have felt.  Can Tiger earn back female fans’ trust and respect, let alone Elin’s?  Women shake their heads.  Not likely.

 

A newspaper in Melbourne, Australia purports to have inside info that Tiger will return to action in mid-February at the Accenture Match Play Championship.  Don’t count on it. For one thing, Tiger has never been a big fan of match play, even if he has won it three times.  If that tournament wasn’t one of the World Golf Championship events, he’d like skip it every year.

 

For another thing, the sponsor, Accenture, was one of the early corporations to publicly dump its endorsement deal with Tiger, saying he "no longer fit the company’s image." Tiger, a well-known holder of grudges, will not be doing Accenture any favors anytime soon.

 

It’s also a given that when Tiger does return to golf, we will want to make a statement by winning and winning big.   You know, show’em that the High Sheriff is back in town. Unless he has been secretly pounding balls by moonlight out behind the Gentle Path clinic, even the great Tiger is going to need some time to knock the rust off his game.

 

What is unknowable at this point is what Tiger is thinking, or what he wants from golf and life from this point forward.  We’ll find out soon enough, but not before Tiger is ready to tell us.

Word just in from Golf Channel that the network is launching a morning show, beginning in January.

 

Here’s the full announcement:

 

ORLANDO, Fla. (Sept. 15, 2010) – Golf Channel announced today that it has greenlit the network’s first-ever morning show. Tentatively titled Dawn Patrol and currently in development, the show is slated to debut in January 2011. 

 

Scheduled to air live, weekdays from 7-9 a.m. ET from Golf Channel’s Orlando, Fla., studios, the show will feature news and commentary on the biggest sports and news stories of the day.

 

Following a news/talk show format, the sports-driven morning show will place an emphasis on golf while also offering a fresh perspective on topical news, sports and pop culture.

 

The program will feature field reporting and an array of in-studio guest appearances from a variety of industries. Golf Channel currently is searching nationwide to cast the program’s two co-hosts.

 

"We’ve wanted to introduce a morning show to Golf Channel for a number of years and felt that now was the right time," said Tom Stathakes, Golf Channel senior vice president of programming, production and operations. "Tackling everything from Tiger Woods to Brett Favre, the show’s format will be unlike anything we’ve done before and we are very excited to be launching it in 2011."