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Electronic Arts Stands Behind Tiger Woods
(AP) ^ | Jan 5, 2010 5:03 am US/Pacific

Posted on 01/05/2010 7:10:06 AM PST by BenLurkin

Electronic Arts Inc. said Monday it will stand behind Tiger Woods -- at least for the release of a new online golf game featuring the embattled athlete.

The relationship between EA and Woods stretches back more than a decade, and Tiger Woods-branded games have pulled in hundreds of millions of dollars for the company over the years.

Woods' image has been tarnished following a Thanksgiving holiday car accident at the golfer's Florida home, which led to an admission of extramarital "transgressions."

He is taking a break from golf and has been dropped by major corporate sponsors AT&T Corp. and Accenture.

Gillette, a unit of the Procter & Gamble Co., and Swiss watch maker Tag Heuer, a unit of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, have also said they will cut back their use of Woods in their advertising campaigns.

On Monday, EA Sports President Peter Moore said the company decided to stick with Woods because he is "still one of the greatest athletes in history" despite his "mistakes" off the golf course.

Moore added in a statement that the company has spent "considerable time" developing and testing the new "Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online" game, which he called a "breakthrough experience."

The game will be released in so-called "open beta" later this month, which means it is still being tested but anyone can play and help find areas that can be improved.

EA said it doesn't have a date yet for the launch of the finished game.

(Excerpt) Read more at cbs2.com ...


TOPICS: Computers/Internet; Hobbies; Music/Entertainment; Sports
KEYWORDS: electronicarts; tiger; tigerwoods
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1 posted on 01/05/2010 7:10:06 AM PST by BenLurkin
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To: BenLurkin

Too much money already in it.

They ought to add a mini game...where you run from an angry wife without getting hit, etc.


2 posted on 01/05/2010 7:13:04 AM PST by lacrew (The 274th trimester is a very late procedure)
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To: BenLurkin

Sports is EA’s cash cow. They don’t care what he’s done ... as long as they can make some $$$ off of their games. I don’t expect them to drop Tiger .... ever.


3 posted on 01/05/2010 7:13:11 AM PST by al_c (http://www.blowoutcongress.com)
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To: lacrew
They ought to add a mini game...where you run from an angry wife without getting hit, etc.

That would be a great easter egg in the main game!!! LOL!

4 posted on 01/05/2010 7:14:10 AM PST by al_c (http://www.blowoutcongress.com)
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To: BenLurkin

EA really didn’t have any choice. Phil Mikelson Golf 2010 (or Michelle Wie, or Vijay Singh) has no chance of selling anywhere close to the numbers that Tiger Woods Golf sells.

Tiger may not be a good endorsement for non-golf-related products ... but he is still the most popular, recognizable, and highest-echelon name in golf.

SnakeDoc


5 posted on 01/05/2010 7:14:47 AM PST by SnakeDoctor (Ask not for a lighter burden, but for broader shoulders ...)
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To: lacrew

Hmmmm....

Maybe it could be an “Easter Egg”.


6 posted on 01/05/2010 7:14:50 AM PST by BenLurkin
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To: BenLurkin

That’s the only place it’s safe. Everyone else seems to be laying underneath him.


7 posted on 01/05/2010 7:15:36 AM PST by perfect_rovian_storm (The worst is behind us. Unfortunately it is really well endowed.)
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To: al_c

40 seconds!


8 posted on 01/05/2010 7:15:45 AM PST by BenLurkin
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To: BenLurkin

I think a “Hot Coffee” mod is in order for this game.


9 posted on 01/05/2010 7:17:00 AM PST by pnh102 (Regarding liberalism, always attribute to malice what you think can be explained by stupidity. - Me)
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To: BenLurkin

Subject: Inside Scoop......Tiger

I don’t know if this is true or not BUT it certainly sounds like a reasonable explanation!!

This is pretty close to what I’ve heard from some guys at Whisper Rock....By the way, the “buddies” he was playing poker with was Mark O’Meara and John Cook @ O’Meara’s house....

This is supposedly from someone who knows an Isleworth member living close to Tiger......

As you all know Tiger’s agent is Mark Steinberg. I have a Member who lives 10 houses down from Tiger in Isleworth. My Member plays golf with and is a good friend of an IMG insider who got the following information directly from Steinberg and related it to me. I was told that the following is up to date as of yesterday.

On Thanksgiving Day, after he and Elin and the family had Turkey Dinner, Tiger spent the rest of the afternoon on the couch watching football and texting Rachel. After he received and sent text message back and forth to Rachel, he would clear his message box to destroy the evidence. At some point during the afternoon texting session, one of Tiger’s Orlando buds called him to see if he wanted to get together at the Clubhouse to play poker with the guys. Tiger agreed and left the house around 7:30 to go play poker. He left behind his cell phone....and one message he had forgot to delete from Rachel.

When Tiger returned home around 11:30 -12 that night, Elin confronted him about the text message she had found on his phone. A heated discussion ensued. According to what I was told, there was more “incriminating evidence” than just the text message (i.e. photos). Tiger told Elin that she was reading too much in to it, and that she did not know the whole story. Tiger went upstairs to change into his gym shorts and t-shirt, came back downstairs were Elin confronted him, again. Tiger gave her the same story as before and sat down in a chair in the living room.

Elin sat across from him. She urged Tiger to just come clean. Tiger stuck to his story and denied everything. At one point Tiger turned away to look at the TV, and as he turned back, Elin, enraged, hit him on the right side of the face with the head of a 9 - iron. When she struck Tiger, she put a huge gash in the right side of his face next to his nose (causing his nose to bruise some), virtually knocked out two of his upper teeth, and broke the bone on the upper right side.

Tiger, scared as hell, ran down the hallway, out of the house to the garage (explaining why he had on no shoes) followed by Elin swinging the golf club. Tiger hopped into the Escalade and tried to leave. As we know Elin knocked out the windows in the Escalade in the process as well as doing considerable damage in the hallway.

When Tiger crashed, Elin panicked and was not sure what to tell the police (which is why there are two conflicting stories from her). When this happened, Elin immediately called Mark Steinberg to tell him what happened, and Mark told Elin to tell him what hospital they were going to, and he would meet them there.

If you remember FHP kept showing up at Isleworth to talk to Tiger, and was told by another FL attorney, hired by Tiger for PR reasons, that Tiger was not ready to talk. This is why.

As amazing as it may seem, Tiger was in Phoenix. Tiger was originally transported to the hospital in Orlando with Elin in the ambulance where they were met by Mr. Steinberg. Tiger was taken in for X-Rays, etc. to assess the damage. The doctors told Steinberg there was not much they coukd do to repair the teeth and the gash, but did know a cosmetic dentist and plastic surgeon in Phoenix who could make Tiger look as if nothing happened. Tiger told Steinberg to get the jet ready and he and Steinberg flew to Phoenix to see the surgeon. The resulting procedures were more intense than what everyone had expected which meant Tiger was in PHX longer than expected. Tiger and Steinberg did not arrive back in Orlando until either late last Wednesday night or early Thursday morning.

Since arriving back in Orlando, Tiger and Elin have been in intense marriage conseling sessions (up to 6 to 7 hours a day) every day! Both Tiger and Elin have told the counselors they love each other, and want to make the marriage work. The reports you are reading on TMZ and RadarOnline are about 30% accurate at best according to Mark.

Tiger has not returned to his house at Isleworth since the day of the accident except for the therapy sessions. IMG has enlisted the assistance of one of its most recognized sports figures, and Tiger has taken up residence in his neighborhood - Bay Hill. Because of the high regard in which Tiger holds him and based on his public persona when he was at the height of his game, the person IMG contacted was Arnold Palmer. He has agreed to intervene with Tiger. IMG is convinced that if anyone can get through to Tiger, Mr. Palmer may be the only person who can.

As to other rumors, my source claims that the moving trucks being shown on TMZ and RadarOnline are moving out pictures and furniture which was damaged during their Thanksgiving Day argument - not because of Elin moving out. Yes, Elin has retained a divorce attorney, but has not filed any papers. As of yesterday, she had no intention on doing so.

Tiger has not made any public appearances or statements due to the surgery and plastic surgery he had in PHX. It will be about another month if not more before he gets in front of a camera. Yes, Tiger is hitting golf balls late at night at Bay Hill out of their teaching center (which is equipped with lights). In regards to Tiger’s boat being in Palm Beach this week, along with Rachel; that part is true. However, Tiger is not on the boat, is not in Palm Beach, and Rachel is not on the boat. Her parents live 6 blocks from where the boat is, but that is it.

That is as up to date as I have........


10 posted on 01/05/2010 7:17:07 AM PST by Ev Reeman
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To: BenLurkin

Hot coffee?


11 posted on 01/05/2010 7:17:57 AM PST by ctdonath2 (Virtue is to be apologized for. Depravity commands respect. - Galt)
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To: BenLurkin

Director Eyes Tiger Woods for ‘Hangover’ Sequel/strong>

Plans for a sequel to Todd Phillips’ adult comedy hit, “The Hangover,” are already in the making, and it seems that the director has an unusual addition to the cast of the film that he’s been musing about—Tiger Woods.

Phillips had a good run at the box-office with the first “Hangover” flick and wouldn’t want to mess with his winning formula.

The first movie featured former boxer Mike Tyson, and Phillips sees Woods as a parallel pick, only with an extra helping of controversy.

“We are going to try and get Tiger Woods for the second one... and help him regain his image,” Phillips told HollyScoop. “Mike [Tyson] loved doing ‘The Hangover’ because he loved [bleeping] with the image people had of him. He knew we were not making fun of him but of the image people projected on him.”

Heather Graham, who intends to play a pregnant stripper in the movie, thinks the casting of Woods would be “hilarious” and that the idea “sounds brilliant.”

Personally, I’d recommend Tiger go for a “Caddyshack” sequel.


12 posted on 01/05/2010 7:18:37 AM PST by Ev Reeman
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To: lacrew

That would be a great ‘easter egg’ for the game currently in development...


13 posted on 01/05/2010 7:18:56 AM PST by TV Dinners (Hope is not a Strategy)
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To: BenLurkin

Tea Leoni’s Advice for Tiger Woods

Finally, there are some other stories to cover besides the latest Gloria Allred client who claims to have had an affair with beleaguered golf champ Tiger Woods.

One Hollywood actress who’s been carefully watching the media has experienced a similar Woods situation, only hers was from the cheat-ee perspective as opposed to the cheater.

Tea Leoni separated from her husband, actor David Duchovney, in 2008 because of his alleged sex addiction.

Leoni recently made a public appearance with Duchovney at her side, and the couple appears to have happily reconciled.

She was asked what advice she would give Tiger and his wife.

“I’ve been through some crazy things this past year, personally,” Leoni replied.

She added that she thinks “everybody just [needs to say] God bless and get through it.”


14 posted on 01/05/2010 7:19:45 AM PST by Ev Reeman
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To: BenLurkin

Lookk at their target audience. They don’t care. They might even cheer for Tiger.


15 posted on 01/05/2010 7:22:03 AM PST by paulycy (AMERICA: Less safe. Less free. More broke.)
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To: BenLurkin
EA hasn't made a profit in over 2 years. They keep losing money quarter after quarter in part because EA is run by incompetents, and in part because they keep overpaying for their annual sports franchises, who's sales have stalled (apart from FIFA), and in part because they have not been able to bring out block buster series like the Call of Duty franchise , which is making billions for Activision.
EA is not a very well run business.
16 posted on 01/05/2010 7:22:23 AM PST by SmokingJoe
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To: BenLurkin

Could the AP have concocted a more deferential, protective piece? Ya think the story might have had a somewhat more “gritty” tone if the star had been Rush?!


17 posted on 01/05/2010 7:24:10 AM PST by Oldpuppymax (AGENDA OF THE LEFT EXPOSED)
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To: paulycy
They say there's no such thing as bad publicity...
But, in Tiger's case, I'm not too sure.


18 posted on 01/05/2010 7:26:52 AM PST by billorites (freepo ergo sum)
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To: lacrew

Exactly. If you win a tournament you could get an achievement and unlock a new “ho” or something.


19 posted on 01/05/2010 7:29:58 AM PST by Vasilli22
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To: SnakeDoctor
Phil Mikelson Golf 2010 (or Michelle Wie, or Vijay Singh) has no chance of selling anywhere close to the numbers that Tiger Woods Golf sells”

I don't know about that.
If I were Activision of Microsoft, I'd sign up Phil Mikelson for a Natal(Microsoft's new no controller, motion control, gaming technology) golf game for next year.
No one is more loved by golfers than Phil Mikelson.
He really is a great guy. A golf game from Phil would using Natal technology would sell like hot cakes. This a great business opportunity to seieze upon while the iron is hot, and Tiger Woods is damaged goods.

20 posted on 01/05/2010 7:30:07 AM PST by SmokingJoe
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