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Beyond the Hostage Video: Tiger Woods Schedules Google+ Hangout with Fans

May 23, 2012 by 1 Comment

Though we here at MSR thought a lot of the criticism was unfair, the now-infamous Tiger Woods hostage video is getting an upgrade. According to a tweet from Eldrick himself, Tiger Woods will invite some real people to join him in a Google+ hangout on May 29, ostensibly to talk about the upcoming Memorial and U.S. Open tournaments.

If you haven’t seen one, a Google+ hangout is basically a shared video chat, where up to 9 people can interact live via the comfort of their own webcam. The hangouts can also be broadcast live or archived to watch on YouTube, so non-participants can view the interchange. No word yet whether or not Tiger’s hangout will be broadcast live or taped, but you can be sure whatever happens that the mainstream golf media will rip it apart, bit by bit.

Here at MSR we are actually in great favor of moves like Woods’, which eliminate the bow-tied middlemen who still think of themselves as necessary “conduits” to the athletes. Don’t get us wrong — there is always going to remain a needed and necessary space for sports news coverage and opinions. But I also think that sports media are going to have to live with the fact that their value-added access to athletes is going to diminish in the future as more players, like Tiger, take their interactions directly to the fans.

The great upshot of all this is that the clowns who clutter up press conferences with questions like “how did you feel when you hit that great shot” will fall by the wayside, while true athlete-fan interactions and smart reporting and writing surface to the top. At least we can hope. And hangout in the meantime.

Filed Under: Golf, Google, Tiger Woods Tagged With: , ,

Watching Golf this Week: The Players Championship

May 10, 2012 by 1 Comment

As we said earlier in the week, it’s all about the island green 17th hole at The Players Championship, aka the “fifth major.” I still don’t agree with that sentiment since to me the whole Pete Dye railroad ties-thing seems like mini golf. Plus, there is absolutely no tradition behind The Players equal to that of the heritage of the U.S. Open or British Open, or the grandeur of Bobby Jones’ idea, the Masters.

Even the PGA to me has more major muster than The Players, simply again because of its connection to course pros and the history of the sport. But that doesn’t mean we won’t watch all the big guns this week, since there is (hooray!) online coverage again. (I just watched defending champ K.J. Choi rinse one at the 17th as I am writing this.) Now all Tiger needs to do is conjure up some more 17th hole putting magic to put all the chattering to rest.

Here’s where to follow the action:

THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

(all times Eastern)
TV COVERAGE
Thursday, May 10 — Golf Channel, 1 p.m. — 7 p.m.; 9 p.m. — 12 a.m.
Friday, May 11 — Golf Channel, 1 p.m. — 7 p.m.; 9 p.m. — 12 a.m.
Saturday, May 12 — Golf Channel, 12 p.m. — 2 p.m.; NBC, 2 p.m. — 7 p.m.
Sunday, May 13 — Golf Channel, 12 p.m. — 2 p.m.; NBC, 2 p.m. — 7 p.m.

RADIO
SIRIUS XM (Satellite)
12 p.m. — 7 p.m., Thursday-Sunday

ONLINE
The PGA’s Live@ is back! This page seems to be the best for links to whatever they are showing on @Live. Here is the @Live schedule:
Thursday/Friday: 9 a.m. — 7 p.m.
Saturday/Sunday: 12 p.m. — 7 p.m.

PGA SHOT TRACKER
Get another online fix via Shot Tracker for the TPC.

TIGER TRACKER
GolfWeek is back with its hole by hole recap of El Tigre’s swings… Here’s round one.

TOP TWITTER FEEDS TO FOLLOW

Geoff Shackelford — well known golf writer.
Golf Channel — official Golf Channel feed
@PGATOUR — official PGA Twitter feed
@StephanieWei — great golf writer who is a Twitter fiend

WHAT’S THE COURSE LIKE?
The main TPC page has an exhaustive hole-by-hole description of TPC Sawgrass.

WHO WON THIS THING LAST YEAR?
K.J. Choi.

FEDEX CUP LEADERS
1. Hunter Mahan, 1,378 points
2. Bubba Watson, 1372
3. Rory McIlroy, 1,290
4. Phil Mickelson, 1,178
5. Carl Pettersson, 1,135

See the full standings for the FedEx Cup points list.

WORLD GOLF RANKINGS
1. Rory McIlroy; 2. Luke Donald; 3. Lee Westwood; 4. Bubba Watson; 5. Hunter Mahan.
See the official World Golf Ranking list.

Filed Under: Golf, Golf Channel, Live sports via mobile, NBC Sports, Tiger Woods Tagged With: , , ,

Watching Golf This Week: Tiger, Phil and Rory: Live, Not on Home Video

May 3, 2012 by 1 Comment

Part of watching golf this week involved a much talked-about home video — which, if you were a fan of Tiger Woods, you might have found interesting. The established golf media, however, and even some of Woods’ tour competitors, took friendly swings at the King for his somewhat self-absorbed, completely scandal-free Q&A session.

With all that behind us now all that remains is the golf, this week at Quail Hollow in Charlotte for the Wells Fargo Championship. All the big hitters are back this week, at one of the tour stops that is a favorite among the golfers for its layout and “major” type feel (and “major” purse — $6,500,000 in the prize kitty). So set back, tune in the Golf Channel for an extra hour Thursday and Friday, and bonus coverage before CBS comes in on the weekend.

Here’s where to follow the action:

WELLS FARGO CHAMPIONSHIP

(all times Eastern)
TV COVERAGE
Thursday, May 3 — Golf Channel, 3 p.m. — 7 p.m.
Friday, May 4 — Golf Channel, 3 p.m. — 7 p.m.
Saturday, May 5 — Golf Channel, 1 p.m. — 2:30 p.m.; CBS, 3 p.m. — 6 p.m.
Sunday, May 6 — Golf Channel, 1 p.m. — 2:30 p.m.; CBS, 3 p.m. — 6 p.m.

RADIO
SIRIUS XM (Satellite)
12 p.m. — 6 p.m., Thursday-Sunday

ONLINE
The PGA’s Live@ broadcasts don’t return until the Players next week. So you will have to get by online with…

PGA SHOT TRACKER
Get your online fix via Shot Tracker for the WFC.

TIGER TRACKER
GolfWeek is back with its hole by hole recap of El Tigre’s swings… Here’s round one, and here’s round two.

IF YOU ARE THERE… USE YOUR CELL PHONE, SILENTLY
We love the PGA Tour’s attempts to keep people from using their cell phones. Here are the rules for cell use at the WFC:

Mobile Device / Cell Phone Policy: The following information outlines the proper usage of Mobile Devices at the Wells Fargo Championship. Our goal is to enhance the spectator experience while preserving the integrity of the competition. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.

All electronic devices must be on set to SILENT at all times.
Calls only permitted in designated Cell Phone Zones. See course maps for approved areas.
Photos are NOT allowed to be taken with cell phones (or cameras) Thursday – Sunday.
No video recording permitted anytime Monday-Sunday.
Texting is permitted, but limited to areas away from competition.
Failure to adhere to the Mobile Device Policy may result in the confiscation of your mobile device or removal from the tournament.

You can have my iPhone when you pry it from my cold, dead hands…

TOP TWITTER FEEDS TO FOLLOW

Wells Fargo Golf — The tournament’s own Twitter feed.
Geoff Shackelford — well known golf writer.
Golf Channel — official Golf Channel feed
@PGATOUR — official PGA Twitter feed
@StephanieWei — great golf writer who is a Twitter fiend

LOCAL FLAVOR
The Charlotte Observer has you covered with a special golf section that has columnists, features and news.

WHAT’S THE COURSE LIKE?
The local Charlotte Observer has a fly-by feature that lets you look at Quail Hollow, hole by hole.

WHO WON THIS THING LAST YEAR?
Lucas Glover, who is trying to get back on track after some injuries including the feared paddle-board knee twist.

FEDEX CUP LEADERS
1. Hunter Mahan, 1,378 points
2. Bubba Watson, 1372
3. Phil Mickelson, 1,136
4. Carl Pettersson, 1,111
5. Johnson Wagner, 1,056

See the full standings for the FedEx Cup points list.

WORLD GOLF RANKINGS
1. Luke Donald; 2. Rory McIlroy; 3. Lee Westwood; 4. Bubba Watson; 5. Hunter Mahan.
See the official World Golf Ranking list.

Filed Under: CBS Sports, Golf, Golf Channel, Tiger Woods Tagged With: , , ,

Tiger Woods Answers Fans’ Questions on Web Video

April 30, 2012 by 3 Comments

We wish this was embeddable, but it’s easy enough to go over to the Tiger Woods website and check out the web video of Eldrick the king answering fan questions. While the one-man, one-camera production is a little spare I actually found myself liking this a lot more than some of the over-produced, SportsCenter-type music-ated highlight type films.

What’s interesting about this video segment is that it gives you almost 15 minutes of up close and personal with Woods, who is notorious for being wooden, stiff and cliche-predictable at press conferences or on those “you just got off the course” video interviews. In this one Tiger seems as normal as any mega-millionaire can be, revealing why he likes the British Open trophy better than the others, and what’s in those little bottles that he drinks on the course. (If you listen closely at one point you can hear Tiger’s or someone’s phone buzzing in the background. Love the low production values! Good enough works!)

What’s interesting to me is how this effort is being reacted to by the professional golf press. Here’s one take from Stephanie Wei, editor of the great Wei under Par blog and a writer who covers the tour for Sports Illustrated and the Wall Street Journal, among others.

Wei’s pretty savage takedown of Tiger for skipping the formal press conference in favor of a one-sided Q&A is a pretty standard reaction I have seen this year from traditional media. It’s pretty clear that the professional press doesn’t like (and has never liked) the way Woods goes “over their heads” and talks directly to the world via his own electronic media channels. I think you can draw a pretty straight line between this issue and the way many media people savor kicking Woods when he fails on the course — the post-Masters rip jobs are but the latest example.

On one hand, I get the outrage. Media people are trying to do a job and serve their readers, and when the best and most interesting player in the sport you are covering makes your job a hassle, it’s understandable that you might be ticked off. But to rip a guy for taking media into his own hands is, I think, a bit backwards. If Tiger isn’t happy with how he gets treated by the media, he has every right to become his own broadcaster. I think it’s something we’ll see more of in the future, not less. I also think “professional” media types would do well to shelve their outrage and figure out ways to make their own reporting and analysis more attractive to their readers. Because if it comes down to fans having to choose to follow Tiger directly or via a proxy, I don’t think professional media types are going to like the answer.

Here’s the link again.

UPDATE: Here’s another take, which I think unneccessarily rips the production value. And finds fault with Tiger reading the questions off paper. Like what, he’s supposed to use a teleprompter? I don’t think fans care about this stuff as much as the “pro media” does.

UPDATE 2: Yet another “professional media” take ripping Woods, from a media person who claims that the media is supposed to be “the conduit” between player and fans. What law was passed that makes that statement true? It might have been the way things happened historically, but there’s a lot of things that have changed over time. Being the approved “conduit” is not something I think the media can or should take for granted.

UPDATE 3: Stephanie Wei, to her credit, not only watched the whole video several times (I have watched it once) but also transcribed some of the answers. She also seems to have reversed field a little bit from her original take, no longer seeing this as a “middle finger to the media” but as something geniune, done for fans. I think it’s pretty funny that media folks are ripping Tiger for the video’s supposedly poor quality. It’s not like there’s a lot of better stuff from the media I see covering golf 24/7.

Filed Under: Golf, Tiger Woods Tagged With:

Is Masters Online Coverage Feeling the Pressure?

April 7, 2012 by 1 Comment

Tiger in the creek at #13

Don’t know if this is a widespread thing or if it’s only affecting me but I would have to say that through 2 and a half rounds the online coverage of the Masters this year is playing about as well as Tiger Woods. Meaning that when it’s on, the online coverage is world class. But so far this year like el Tigre there’s been a lot of bad to go with the good.

The problem I am seeing most is just stuttering load times — for no reason the screen will just stop and you get the feared white line circling around the logo, the Masters online equivalent of the old Windows hourglass or the Mac spinning rainbow. And when the live coverage does come on there seems to be a long wait for the pixelation to go away. I have also seen on several occasions a Matrix-like instant repeat, a replay of the scene shown just seconds before. Once it got so bad (5-6 times in a row) I had to shut down the app and start over.

(Just for reference I have been watching mainly the Masters.com service online. Went to the CBSSports.com window a few times but saw some similar problems there. Also think the Masters.com design is a better feel.)

Before you tell me this is just my setup, rest assured I have done all the home-fix things I can, closing and clearing the browser cache, resetting the router and the cable modem, and the problems are persisting. And I am on a Comcast Internet connection that just tested out at 35 Mbps download so it ain’t the ISP. We’ve asked the folks at IBM if they are having any problems but my guess is that we’re not going to hear anything from them so if you are having similar issues let us know in the comments below.

I also tested out the Android app, which is new this year, during a trip to the doctor’s office yesterday. While I was generally pleased with the service (I mean it’s pretty damn amazing to be sitting there watching live golf on your phone, right?) I did notice that the app kept telling me (every few minutes) that the “this video not optimized for mobile.” Exsqueeze me? If it’s not optimized for mobile what’s it doing on my phone?

So… watching Tiger trying to get back into the tourney it looks like he is playing solidly but not amazing anyone. I’d have to give a similar grade to the online coverage this year, though with a note that the Masters online is by far the most ambitious digital coverage of any major sporting event, hands down. Like the Masters, this stuff ain’t easy.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, Apps, CBS Sports, iPad, iPhone, PGA, The Masters, Tiger Woods Tagged With: , ,

Watching Golf This Week: The Masters

April 4, 2012 by 3 Comments

OK golf fans, time to get interactive and help us out. We know there is no way in hell that we are going to find every outlet covering the Masters this week, but we’ll try. And with your help we can do that sharing thing that everyone loves about the Internet. So here is our “first draft” attempt, going out on Wednesday since there is going to be coverage of the par 3 event Wednesday and who doesn’t want to watch that? But instead of typing it in this post we are going to simply say:

HERE IS THE MAIN MASTERS COVERAGE LINK.

HERE IS THE MAIN CBS MASTERS PAGE.

HERE IS THE CBSSPORTS LIVE ONLINE COVERAGE PAGE.

OK, that takes care of 99 percent of your questions. Now. Unless you’ve been under a rock you know all the story angles — Tiger vs. Rory, Tiger vs. Phil, Rory vs. Keegan, who the heck is Charl Schwartzel — so we don’t need to repeat those here. The only big question left is how to watch — on broadcast or cable, where there are so few commercials you might want to keep an empty jug handy next to the couch if you know what I mean; online, where Masters.com and CBSSports.com will have seven different live streams of video; or at any one of the many live-blogging outlets. If you know of one that we don’t have listed, add it to the comments; we’ll update this post throughout the week.

Here’s where to follow the action:

THE MASTERS

(all times Eastern)
TV COVERAGE
Wednesday, April 4 (par 3 Contest, live) — ESPN, 3 p.m. — 5 p.m.
Thursday, April 5 — ESPN, 3 p.m. — 7:30 p.m.
Friday, April 6 — ESPN, 3 p.m. — 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 7 — CBS, 3:30 p.m. — 7 p.m.
Sunday, April 8 — CBS, 2 p.m. — 7 p.m.

RADIO
SIRIUS XM (Satellite)
2 p.m. — 6 p.m., Thursday-Sunday
Sirius will also have several feature shows. Check this schedule for more.

Masters.com
There will be a live streaming radio report on the Masters.com site.

ONLINE
Full live video coverage at Masters.com and CBSSports.com. Different cameras start at different times each day, so… check the schedule to see when they go live. Right now tentative start times for Thursday are: Amen Corner camera, 10:45 a.m.; Holes 15 & 16, 11:45 a.m.; Featured Groups 1 & 2, 12:00 p.m.

ESPN’s live ESPN3 coverage of the Par 3 contest

ESPN: The Worldwide Leader will be at the Masters in force, with its live coverage Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and more online coverage goodies. Here is ESPN’s Tournament Central link. This is also a good place to check for live ESPN online coverage, via ESPN3 or the WatchESPN app for mobile devices. Remember, the WatchESPN app only available for cable subscribers of Bright House Networks, Time Warner Cable, and Verizon FiOS TV. Comcast customers are still out of luck.

ESPN also has the Putting at Amen Corner game online, as well as the popular Best Ball Majors fantasy game, which plays just like the NCAA hoops brackets. We’ll have an MSR group to join, stay tuned or follow me on Twitter @PaulKaps for more info.

Golf.com is going Masters overboard, with more content than you could possibly read. But the Sports Illustrated group of writers hanging out there may be the best covering the game right now.

PGA SHOT TRACKER
There will be NO Shot Tracker at the Masters. Too bad.

TOP TWITTER FEEDS TO FOLLOW
Dan Jenkins — golf’s Shakespeare. From Texas. Hope he is on form for the Masters. If you don’t know who he is, hit Google. And buy a few books.
Geoff Shackelford — well known golf writer is slinging Masters lore and great links.
Golf Channel — official Golf Channel feed
@PGATOUR — official PGA Twitter feed
@StephanieWei — great golf writer who is a Twitter fiend

LOCAL FLAVOR
The Augusta Chronicle knows how to play the biggest event of the year. A good bookmark.

WHAT’S THE COURSE LIKE?
Here’s an incredible service: The Masters course page has video flyovers of each hole. I think I will only spend about 80 hours on this page alone.

Want to check out the historic clubhouse? Sports Illustrated’s Golf.com has a video that takes you inside.

WHO WON THIS THING LAST YEAR?
Do you need a refresher? It was Mr. Four Birdies in a row to close, Charl Schwartzel.

FEDEX CUP LEADERS
1. Hunter Mahan, 1,314 points
2. Johnson Wagner, 1,056
3. Rory McIlroy, 1,015
4. Phil Mickelson, 988
5. Kyle Stanley, 954

See the full standings for the FedEx Cup points list.

WORLD GOLF RANKINGS
1. Luke Donald; 2. Rory McIlroy; 3. Lee Westwood; 4. Hunter Mahan; 5. Steve Stricker.
See the official World Golf Ranking list.

Filed Under: Apple, Apps, CBS Sports, ESPN, ESPN3, Golf, Golf Channel, iPad, PGA, The Masters, Tiger Woods, Twitter, WatchESPN Tagged With: , ,
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