Tiger Speaks Tomorrow

Tomorrow at 11 AM the Tiger Woods scandal goes to an entire new level. After 3 months of settling down, he's coming "back" to make a statement at a press conference. There will be no questions, just a statement. Already everyone is going insane. TMZ is reporting that he'll show up in a Black SUV - WHO CARES WHAT CARE HE DRIVES.

The reality is that this story shouldn't be as big as it is. Infidelity is unfortunately all too common in our society, and just because the biggest athlete in the game isn't as innocent as we thought he was should not create this much panic.

Tiger doesn't owe us anything. He owes his wife, child, and family something. By something I mean more than half of his earnings, cause money can't fix a broken home. I mean an apology and a stern commitment to either better himself for his family or to remove himself from the situation as the mature thing to do. If he can't handle being married that's fine - but don't drag Elin through anymore - if she's willing to accept him back.

Whatever Tiger actually ends up saying tomorrow, it's going to cause a ruckus. He could announce he is coming back X date, and it'll be a big deal. He could say he's sorry, he's not sorry, he's this, he's that. It doesn't matter. We're so caught up in this debacle that we want ANYTHING. We're vultures waiting to feast on Tiger's scandal.

It's really getting sickening. Although I want to know what he has to say, I primarily want to know when he is coming back to the game - which is most important to me and the PGA Tour. While I don't think he should be rushed - he clearly has to figure out his family situation first - it's important for Tiger to get back to doing what Tiger does.

I hope tomorrow is a full admission. Let everything out. Get it out there. He's not allowing questions from reporters, so it'll make things more definite (PS - dumb or smart move by his PR team? I say smart given the amount of media presence that would be there - control the circus.) Let the news settle, come back to golf in X months. The selfish Tiger fanatic in my wants him to come back the week before the Masters to play in the Torrey Pines tournament, setting him up for the Masters and a potential big year for Tiger. But that's me being selfish.

What's still important though is getting Tiger's life together. If his family is too chaotic, there's a chance his golf will suffer, making the game and his life that much harder for him. I wish him the best, and a quick recovery back to the sport that made him famous.

LOST - NO MORE QUESTIONS ?

Spoiler. Spoiler. Blah I get tired of saying it.

Okay so LOST just ended and it was so awesome I had to write about it immediately. Prepare for a typical scattered post as I try to gather my thoughts.

1) THE NUMBERS

So the numbers actually DO have a purpose - sort of. Somehow these specific numbers connect to each of the people remaining from 815 - EXCEPT KATE OR CLAIRE. It's possible Claire was removed because she is dead/infected/sick/pick your word. That doesn't explain no listing for Kate - unless she was crossed out. Maybe she's not a "candidate" she's just a random girl. Or maybe she was already dead. Maybe Jacob visited all of the survivors pre-crash, but we only see those few. In trying to focus on the story while observing the room, I could of swore I saw Rutherford (for Shannon or Boone) inscribed, so Jacob could had listed everyone originally. Why wasn't Kate on the list? Is this technically Jacob's list? Can they not die (putting more emphasis on Sayid - although Locke is dead.)

HOW DO THE NUMBERS CONNECT TO THE SWAN - "THE NUMBERS"

My concern is maybe that Smoke Locke isn't being totally truthful. Why would Jacob come all the way down here when he had the Cabin/Statue? Maybe it's Smokey's list. Clearly the pendulum could of been for either of them. The concept of Jacob's ladder also could apply here.

Also though, we've been dealing with Jacob for so long we assume he's the good superpower. He's also white in the light vs black literary device (so we think.)

2) SMOKEY/NEMESIS

My gut tells me that he's still trying to get into the Temple. He needs someone to get past the ash so he can get in there and kill everyone. Right now thats Sawyer - a broken man desperate for answers. That's how they can get off the island "together." Sawyer helps Smokey, Smokey either kills him or lets him go, and Smokey is free to rule the island (or worse.) He's playing the part of the liberator by talking to Richard as if he's been enslaved by Jacob without any real knowledge for of what's going on. I'm sure Jacob told Richard whatever Richard needed to know.

BUT Smokey cheated. He technically killed Jacob by pushing him into the fire. There's a chance Jacob may not of died by being stabbed from Ben. That's where that boy comes in - who JUST HAS TO BE AARON. HAS TO BE. Because Smokey cheated, Jacob can rise again, or some other power (maybe one of the candidates - also remember Lapedis is a candidate too) can become the new Jacob to put Smokey back in his place. Maybe it's Aaron - providing him more of a purpose. It's interesting that Smokey has something he's scared of - and that he doesn't just transform to take him out. Maybe a power higher than Jacob/Smokey. Maybe Aaron is a reincarnation of Jacob, which was the purpose of allowing him to be born.

TO NOTE: Alpert couldn't see the kid. Sawyer could. Alpert probably isn't a candidate.

But does the Island need a new Jacob? Was Smokey lying in saying this Island didn't need anything? Is that what we see in the "sideways" time line - a world where the island doesn't 'exist' ? It's definitely possible, but I have my doubts about Smokey.

3) INTERESTING SIDEWAYS TIME LINE NOTES

-Hurley's doing great - different

-Rose still has cancer but she's loving life
-How can Rose and Hurley be on the same plane if Hurley is her boss? Wouldn't Hurley notice?

-LOCKE IS WITH HELEN - that's a huge change, but he's still depressed as ever.

-Locke as a teacher and him saying "John Locke - Substitute" is an interesting - but definitely serves as a metaphor - for being Smokey's Substitute - and potentially could have been Jacob's as a candidate. The writers are too smart.

-Also of note for Locke is that Helen mentioned his father attending the wedding. Meaning that they probably are on better terms than they were on the original time line. Meaning that Locke was paralyzed by other means.

-BEN AS A EUROPEAN HISTORY TEACHER - interesting. If he was Egyptian history I would have died. What does this sideways time line have to do with his rivalry with Widmore - if that even exists with everything else going on)

-SIDE NOTE FOR BEN --> By Ben being off the Island, that means that the Island had been underwater PRE-Dharma. Here's why: Ben in 1977 was last seen at the Temple, being healed from Sayid shooting him. So, were the bomb to go off, it would have killed him and everyone else. Ethan from last episode is fine because he would have been evacuated on the sub. Ben was not on the sub - as far as we know of course.

-Did anyone else think that the kid that Locke grabbed was going to be Walt? Obviously they can't capture Walt in 2004 form, but that would of made the sideways time lines that much more unbelievable.

I can't figure out if the sideways time line is to prove anything outside of how their lives would have been without the island - but why did some people have different pre-island experiences? Why is Hurley not cursed? Kate may be innocent for whatever she did? There's a lot of questions still left to be answered.

I think I read where Damon & Carlton are working towards proving that the lives of everyone on the island was going to be linked regardless of the events of the island - but was it because of the island?

4) Illana

She had to pick up those ashes for a reason. There must be some connection. Maybe they can reincarnate Jacob. Maybe it's to prove it to Dogen. I can't be sure, but there's definitely a connection. We still don't know how she knows about Jacob/Island/Temple or any of that.

PS REALLY CAN'T WAIT FOR JIN AND SUN TO GET BACK TOGETHER SO THAT CAN STOP BEING A STORYLINE.

Overall though this episode was the best of the season. I'm back on board the LOST train and will have a long 7 days until next week's episode.

Are the Winter Olympics Better than Summer?

Okay, I know the answer is no. But let me explain why I thought that anyway. Besides just trying to get you to read my posts.

I typically don't pay any attention to the Winter Olympics. It is like the ugly twin of the Summer Olympics. Part of that is because the lack of varying events and participating countries. All the events involve ice or snow. There's only 15 events total. I think Summer has something like double that. It's lead to NBC losing about $200 million on advertising - something I LOVE. (I used to really like NBC, but after the Conan situation, I'm finding any reason possible to laugh at them. They're still okay.)

Regardless, I'm really enjoying this Winter Olympics. I'm not sure why. I don't feel particularly invested in Apolo Ohno or Shaun White (or any of the American athletes.) It's great to just see these events. The race the other night with Ohno getting Silver because of the Koreans falling was very exciting - reminiscent of that unforgettable Phelps finish in 2008. Maybe it wasn't as serious or dramatic, but it was dramatic.

I feel like the Winter Olympics (and Summer too) are events that are only interesting every four years. No one cares what Phelps is doing now (in the water, not at frat parties) and won't care until 2012. He still competes in swim meets, but they don't garner any attention whatsoever. I like watching the snowboarders, but if it was an annual event, I know my attention (and the country's) would wane. Same thing with the World Cup - I love it for the month that it happens, but Soccer isn't on my radar for the other 84 months in between.

One of the other captivating things is the way NBC broadcasts the Olympics - they've done a relatively remarkable job over the past few Olympiad. The addition of viewing events in High Definition has made watching it that much more interesting. It sounds cheesy, but seeing the picture so clearly makes it hard not to watch. The fly-overs they show of the Vancouver mountains are absolutely breath-taking. My only complaint with NBC is not enough information about when events are happening on what channel. When NBC is broadcasting events on Sci-Fi channel, I wouldn't have any clue unless the the national NBC shares that with us.

The Olympics are different than the professional sports leagues we are used to. The athletes we know make millions upon millions and are pampered. Most of the athletes in the Olympics aren't any sort of celebrity - just someone representing their country. Sure, they are great at what they do, but they don't have any status as a superstar. As much attention as Bode Miller/Apolo Ohno/Shaun White may get, people like the US Curler's are nobodies. Who is on our Bobsled team? Nobody knows, and I love it. It's like college sports on a "professional" level - people living out their passion. That is what life is all about.

I plan on watching as much Olympic coverage as possible until I get sick of it - it's a special event that really captures a sense of athletic, non-violent patriotism that is rarely found anywhere else.

Google isn't Buzzing

Yesterday GoogleBuzz came into my life, and 24 hours later I'm ready to say goodbye. Unceremoniously.

If you asked me a month ago I would have said Google is primed to take over the world. I even mentioned it in my post yesterday regarding their great Super Bowl ad - that was before I played with Buzz and really had time to think about the company. Now, I really think that Google still has that potential - but Google is too all over the place to succeed right now.

My problem with GoogleBuzz is the fact that I don't REALLY use GMail. I have a GMail account, but all my mail goes to my BlackBerry/Mail Client. Whenever I actually log on GMail, it's a mess because it doesn't seem to sync up. So given that alone, I NEVER want to go to the GMail site. But to use Buzz I would have to see it every day. Plus everything that's "Buzzed" is already sent to my e-mail (aka Blackberry/Mail) - making my GMail even more cluttered than before.

The Internet is creating TOO many outlets for us to sign up for. I could probably think of 20 things I've signed up for in the past five years where I have to connect with "friends". Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn, YouTube, AIM, Skype, BBM (okay so not an Internet, but same deal,) Foursquare, Xbox/PSN/Wii, Netflix, any type of message board, etc. I think I proved my point. So my question is why would I want to add GMail/G-Chat do that ever-growing list?

I understand their intended goal - to clear the clutter. I'm just not sure that it quite accomplishes that task. Maybe it's because I've organized my TweetDeck well enough that I feel like I've already done it for Twitter, I'm alright with my Facebook (although the new layout is a struggle,) and I'm able to talk to my contacts on AIM/BBM. I feel relatively organized and less cluttered than usual. If anything, by getting e-mails on everything my "G-Friends" are "buzzing" about, it really clutters my inbox.

I think Google's goal is to somewhat brainwash us into using everything Google. Google Mail. Google Chat. Google Buzz. Google Reader. Google Cereal. Okay so that last one was a joke, but if they had it, we would probably eat it up - pun intended.

I'm not saying that Google Buzz sucks. I just think it needs some fine-tuning. If it came out 3-4 years ago - before Twitter, before Facebook blew up, they would of been onto something. By implementing it now, it feels more like an RSS feed of your friend updates - which are the same as Twitter, without the 140 character limit. I'm just not sure it's necessary.

Google really still has so much potential but needs better execution. Google Wave seems to be a flop - nobody can figure out how the hell to use it, and they don't have enough friends to create Waves with. I recently just bought my own web domain from Google, but can't figure out how to set that up either - although most of that is probably because I'm not very HTML savvy. Google has all these great things that no one really knows how to use. They recently announced a plan to launch it's own ISP. They've talked about Google Voice for a bit - something else that at least I know I can't personally figure out. AdWords. There's a bunch out there.

I used to really like Google, and most of the time I still do, but I really think there are times when they hide behind the "don't be evil" mantra to reveal that they actually are "evil" in terms of trying to take over everyone else. There's definitely a "war" brewing between Google and Facebook. Everyone is afraid of Google. Apple, Blackberry, and Facebook all have tried to implement using Bing rather than Google because Google is threatening to take over their respective mediums - why support the 'enemy'. Suddenly Microsoft isn't the big bad 5,000-pound gorilla anymore. Who would of ever seen that coming?

Google can still do it. They can fix Buzz. I've heard great things about Wave, but no one I personally know either knows about it or can use it. Maybe because of Buzz we will start to see a transition to using their website as the home base for all our browsing/social needs. They just need to re-calibrate their vision to be more cohesive and work with us instead of rolling out new programs every few months.

LOST --> STILL NOT FOUND

SPOILER LOST SPOILER LOST. You're warned. I'll keep this one short cause I have other things to worry about this week (probably healthy to be honest)

THIS WAS THE WORST EPISODE IN 3 YEARS. IT MADE ME WANT TO SCREAM, HENCE THE CAPITALS.

Now that we've gotten past that moment, seriously, wasn't that episode awful? The name of the episode is "What Kate Does"--- what is Kate doing exactly?? Drive Claire to the Hospital? I'm pretty sure people were expecting everything BUT that. Seriously. She kills someone. Gets away. Jack saves her. I don't know, something more pro-active than being a chauffeur.

Is the "Does" part reflect to following Sawyer? Another non-active step to allow us see Sawyer drag out the loss of the only girl he ever loved - right? Or does/did he love Kate too? Hmmmm. Way too dragged out. Way too emotional. He had his moment in the last two episodes to be sad and then mad and then more sad. There's bigger things at stake here.

This Temple nonsense is straight-up bizarre. It's taken three years for us to get here, and I think everyone was expecting something other than this Dogan figure. He's mysterious, seems to be some sort of ninja, and very short with words (when he actually speaks English.) Of course, this sticks to the concept of Lost, that they reveal as little as possible to make people go nuts. It's working, but at a more frustrating level than usual. Given that it's THE FINAL SEASON TELEVISION EVENT SHA-BANG, I was hoping for more.

SOME NEW THOUGHTS/REACTIONS

Was totally spot on about Sayid. Going to revise it a bit though: By drowning in the dark water, he is becoming essentially a disciple of Smokey. He doesn't know it. He had to die to be reborn. It's almost the concept of being like a zombie or ghost in human form. Sayid will quickly lose his memory (as Ben did when he was saved - in CLEAR-JACOB-APPROVED water) and live for Smokey - ideally, killing everyone inside the Temple.

What doesn't totally make sense is how Claire has been infected. Unless Christian/Smokey killed her when she chased after him, there must be another way to infect. Why wouldn't Smokey do this to everyone though? So did Claire die? Does Smokey have another outlet to infect? OR Is she even infected at all, or is Dogan BS-ing. Is Claire crazy like Rousseau (love the cyclical nature of the show - Rousseau is just like Claire in every way. Claire still being operated on by Ethan. Kate still being there for her birth. Smart guys write this show.)

This all has to be taken with a grain of salt because I personally don't know if I/we can trust Dogan/Templies because of their mysteriousness. Sure, Ben said that it was the safest place on the Island, and they should be very pro-Jacob, thus pro-life/saving Sayid/not lying to Losties, but something doesn't make sense. Or it's just Lost and I'm tired of it.

I'm looking forward to next week's episode - the way ABC promotes it, it seems like its going to be a 4 episode season. Way to milk it ABC.