Courtside Post

by Matt Etlinger

The World stopped for 13 minutes this morning as Tiger Woods addressed his disgraced personal life, his alleged stay in a Mississippi rehabilitation clinic, and his reutrun to golf. Instead of asking for forgiveness from the public, he looked into the camera and said “I hope you can find room in your heart to one day believe in me again.”

The stage was set. In fact, as Rick Reily put it, “It looked like a magic show, with the blue curtains in the background.” Tiger came out right at 11am EST and stood in front of a podium, with only his Mother, selected press, and some of his closes friends looking on to support him. Notah Begah, his college roommate and teammate from Stanford, was one of the notables on hand.

by Peter Stenson

INTERNATIONAL by Peter Stenson

Call me crazy, but Wednesday made me a little bit more proud to be an American. Me – I’m sitting on the couch watching sporting events I’ve barely heard of, rocking my sweatpants and eating potato chips, cheering with all my might as the US accomplished a national Olympic best by taking home six medals in one day.

by Matt Etlinger

BUZZ Being a huge music buff, I am sucker for a catchy theme song. Especially, a sports introduction theme. You guys know what I’m talking about? The anthem you hear just before Jim Nantz, Gus Johnson or Bob Costas welcomes you to the broadcast. It’s the song that is supposed to fire you up, as you sit down with your six pack and some chips and salsa, settling in for the big game. Since the Winter Olympics started, I have been involuntarily belting out the NBC Olympic song. I can’t help it. It is catchy, inspiring and it just makes me feel good when I sing it terribly out loud; even as my friends and colleagues tell me to “save it for the shower.”

Singing the Olympic Song this week got me thinking about some of the other great theme songs, and with that, I give you the Top Ten Sports Television Introduction Themes!

by James Robles

BUZZ When athletes go up in flames it can be assumed their adoring fans will fan them on. Tiger Wood’s recent scandal has left the nation twittering in morbid delight, and basking in the revelation that even super star athletes aren’t perfect. The media presence following the golfing great has been unprecedented. Woods will be speaking out tomorrow morning for the first time sense the allegations. A look into the past reveals a few of the most anticipated press conferences of all time.

by Nick Bruner

SPORTS BIZ by Nick Bruner

On Wednesday night, Shaun White made Olympic history in the halfpipe by becoming the first Olympian to win back-to-back gold medals in the event. While the halfpipe has only been an Olympic event since 1998, it is still a noteworthy accomplishment made by one of America’s most notable Olympic athletes. White demonstrated his superior skill by landing a Double McTwist 1260 on his final run, even though he had already wrapped up the gold with his first run. “I just felt like I didn’t come all the way to Vancouver not to pull out the big guns. I put down the tricks I’ve worked so hard on. That last run was about going out there and taking my victory lap and showing everyone in the world what I can do.”

But now that the halfpipe is done with until the x-games next year, we turn to what this Olympic gold means to White and his sponsors.

by Spencer Loomis

BUZZ Every year, truly committed fans looking for an opportunity to flee their team’s chilly hometown conditions journey south for an opportunity to warm up and watch their favorite players participate sparingly in the exhibition pre-season that is Major League Baseball’s Spring Training. Teams from the American League and National League are combined into two different leagues; the Cactus League in Arizona, and the Grapefruit League in Florida. With pitchers and catchers reporting to training camps today, let’s take a look at what the leagues have to offer in terms of the fan experience.

BUZZ Today Out of Bounds reported that an Ashville, North Carolina country radio station has obtained leaked text from Tiger Woods’ upcoming presser to be given tomorrow morning. At the CSP, we are extremely skeptical of the authenticity of the text, but for fun, we figured we would still share with you.

by CSP Staff Writer

INTERNATIONAL Sven Kramer, a Dutch speed skater took the Gold Medal on the first night of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Upon winning the Gold, an NBC reporter asked him to some up “what he just won, and what his name and what his country is.” This line of questioning from the NBC reporter apprently did not sit well with Kramer.

Kramer quickly interrupted the reporter saying, “Are you stupid? Hell no I’m not going to do that.”

In a later interview with a Dutch television station, he defended his reaction saying “Come on, this is ridiculous. You’ve just become Olympic gold medal winner. She was there when it happened and then you have to sum up your whole biography, etc. She’s crazy.”

The Olympics have received strong prime time ratings, but people are still griping about the stylistic coverage of the games, as NBC looks to fabricate story lines about the athletes.

by Peter Stenson

BUZZ Kobe Bryant returned to the spotlight Tuesday after a grueling two-week stretch of relatively Kobe-free media. Thank god. No, he wasn’t back on the court, his ankle still not feeling great. And much to the dismay of sketchy Dallas club-going enthusiasts, it wasn’t at the topless SHOW party he was rumored to be hosting. No, Kobe returned to our attention in a feature article written by J.R. Moehringer in GQ.

by Brittni Michaelis

BUZZ Zimbio.com has just released photos of Tiger Woods running in Windermere Florida, near the site of the Tavistock Cup which is set to take place on March 22nd and 23rd. Just minutes after the PGA Tour announced that Tiger would be giving a exclusive press conference on Friday morning, these photos were snapped.