Tiger's Indefinite Leave Clippings, "Jesus Christ offers Tiger Woods something that that Tiger Woods badly needs" Edition

I've been astounded by a lot of things over the last month. But the ability of Vanity Fair to generate so much buzz over some photos locked in a drawer and accompanied by a revelation-free story in a magazine usually so rich with detail?  Check out these headlines procured from a Google search for the article about nothing:

"Tiger Woods shown shirtless, pumping iron"

"Tiger Woods gets the Annie Leibovitz treatment for Vanity Fair"

"Tiger Woods strips for Vanity Fair photo shoot"

Vanity Fair' on Tiger Woods: 'A sex addict who could not get enough'

Vanity Fair: Tiger Woods Paid Big Money For Sex, Goes Topless for Cover

As for the date of that cover photo, Annie Leibovitz herself isn't saying (yet) but she chimes in with this reminder why she should to stick to taking photos: “Tiger is an intensely competitive athlete—and quite serious about his sport. I wanted to reveal that in these photos. And to show his incredible focus and dedication.”

Steve Elling is having trouble understanding how Conde Nast's Vanity Fair is sensationalizing Tiger as Conde Nast's Golf Digest puts him on a sabbatical:

Then there's the completely reverse philosophy espoused by Vanity Fair, which, rather unbelievably, is also a Conde Nast publication. The latter features Woods on the cover of its latest edition, sans shirt and doing biceps curls, and includes a feature story that seemingly was written in 15 minutes by a guy with no apparent knowledge of the PGA Tour. So while one Conde Nast mag was skirting the Woods situation entirely -- he has a seven-figure contract to pen the tutorial pieces for Digest -- another was exploiting his situation to sell magazines. How consistent, huh? Maybe Woods can pen an instructional piece when he gets back called, "The left hand should know what the right hand is doing." Good picture, though.

Elling also touches on the tour's decision to remove Tiger as host of the AT&T National event and notes this discrepancy.

When asked how that differs from two years ago, when Woods was on the shelf after having knee surgery and skipped attending the event entirely, the tour declined to elaborate further. ... Add it all up and the impression is clear: AT&T, a huge player in the tour's sponsorship pantheon, wanted to sever its ties to Woods across the board.

And don't miss his final "Up and Down" item on Tiger mistress Ashley Samson talking to the New York Daily News.

Gawker features this follow-up video of Brit Hume appearing on The O'Reilly Factor to clarify his remarks and not really doing a very good job convincing the Buddhists of the world that he thinks very highly of their philosophy. From the interview:

He needs something that Christianity especially provides and gives and offers, and that is redemption and forgiveness. I was really meaning to say in those comments yesterday more about Christianity than anything else…I think that Jesus Christ offers Tiger Woods something that Tiger Woods badly needs.

You mean a blood platelet spinning doctor south of the Canadian border?

The New York Daily News' Nancy Dillon reports that Buddhists were not happy with Hume's homily.

"Could Hume get away with saying something like this about Jewish people or black people or the Muslim Faith?" asks Kyle Lovett on TheReformedBuddhist.com.

"You betcha he couldn't," Lovett continues. "Why should he be able to skate away scott free when speaking about Buddhists? Because we are only 3 or 4% of the population of the US? Hell No! Sometimes we have to speak up."

Adam Satariano says that EA Sports is sticking with Tiger and keeping his name on their games.

“Regardless of what’s happening in his personal life, and regardless of his decision to take a personal leave from the sport, Tiger Woods is still one of the greatest athletes in history,” Peter Moore, president of EA Sports, said in a statement today.

Titles featuring Woods have generated $675 million in U.S. sales since 1998 for Electronic Arts, the second-largest video game company, according to researcher NPD Group Inc. “Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online,” to be released this month, is the first in the series that can be played through a Web browser. The game is part of Chief Executive Officer John Riccitiello’s strategy to expand sales of non-console titles.

Dave Shedloski reports on the reduced PGA Tour Media Guide (no more photos of all VP's, no wonder it's 100 pages shorter). He also says a certain somebody is still on the cover.

Jon Show looks at the PGA Tour's "inventory" issues and notes this from a consultant close to a couple of key sponsors:

Despite the developments surrounding the sport’s biggest star, agency executives do not expect the controversy to have a short-term effect on sponsorship sales.

“You should pay what you’re going to pay for your title sponsorship regardless of Tiger,” said Sarah Hirshland, senior vice president of consulting at Wasserman Media Group, which works with tour title sponsors Northern Trust and Travelers. “You can’t make a decision based on one guy that you can’t control where he’s going to play.”

They're saying Tiger's visit to Australia generated $31 million in revenues and tourist dollars. Boy, those National Enquirer expense accounts must be generous.

And finally, add Africa and South Africa to the list of places Tiger may be hiding.