After the news that Hollywood actor Warren Beatty allegedly slept with 12,775 women, at least according to a new book, “Star: How Warren Beatty Seduced America,” it kind of puts the whole Tiger Woods thing in perspective. A “good” day at the local Perkins for Tiger would be a slow Tuesday afternoon for Warren Beatty.
It has to be that smile Warren has, right? The smile?
Whatever it is, Tiger Woods has been big news in most circles these days. It seems as if everyone is very concerned about his marriage, which is so very nice. Who says Americans are all about me, me, me? One American, a Mr. Brit Hume of the FoxNews, went so far as to offer some spiritual advice despite the fact that Tiger, like his mother, is a Buddhist.
Oh, the advice went “viral” as they say. It’s everywhere.
Hume’s advice aside, there’s a strong chance that stories about Tiger Woods and his, um, dalliances, won’t be such big news in the future. Or, maybe depending on how one’s media appetite, Tiger-like stories will be even bigger news. That’s because TMZ, the Internet scandal sheet that broke the Tiger story as well as the story of Michael Jackson’s death, has decided to launch a sports department as well as a site specific to Washington, D.C.
The assumption is that TMZ will treat the sporting scene in much the same manner it reports on Hollywood, so don’t go there expecting game analysis or a breakdown of the statistics behind the statistics. Actually, TMZ just might treat sports and Hollywood exactly the same, meaning like it’s entertainment.
Now this development should not scare the so-called “traditional” media because they have already ceded interest in sports figures’ social and personal lives until it is time to pile on. The fact is no one cared at all about Tiger Woods’ personal life until the story exploded and/or he announced (via his web site) he would be “taking a break” from golf1.
The fact is, mainstream media never dives into the realm of Hollywood-type gossip and reportage on sporting types even though certain “affairs” are hardly a secret. Everyone hears the stories and the rumors and does nothing more than chuckle about them. There’s no judgment or Hume-like advice (at least that I know about), certain choices are simply viewed as “par for the course,” to use a phrase.
No, if TMZ is going to tackle sports the way they get after the Hollywood scene, the athletes and sports types—including the radio, newspaper, web site, and television “personalities”—should take heed. After all, as the Tiger Woods saga has proved, everything is fair game and there are no secrets of limits.
TMZ’s foray might not be just a game-changer for sports and the way it is covered, but it very well might be a life-changer, too.
Or maybe another stat on the back of the bubblegum card? Who is going to try and break the records set by Warren Beatty or Wilt Chamberlain?
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1 Isn’t that funny… taking a break from golf. Seriously. Normal people take a break and go play golf, but not Tiger. At the risk of sounding like Brit Hume it sounds as if “taking a break” from golf is where Tiger got himself into trouble in the first place.
But whatever.