As someone who has worked as a speechwriter before, I paid careful attention to Tiger's speech/statement. To me, it was obvious that while he had professional help (which is fine; he's not a writer), certain points he made were coming from Elin. I am sure that she is FURIOUS at how her children have been followed, and she made it very clear to Tiger to include the plea to the press to leave his family alone. I saw real ANGER in his face when he addressed that, and also when he said he was never on performance-enhancing drugs (which seemed off-topic for this particular place and time)> that came from Tiger alone. I was at first taken aback by how direct he was verbally, by using the words "affair", "cheated", etc.- but then of course his writers/handlers urged him to get the ugly words out in the open, which was good advice. It was really a pretty good speech for such a private person, and he obviously has a long way to go. I saw a man completely penitent (for now, anyway) and emotionally raw and hurting. He seemed very sincere, for whatever it's worth to Elin? His apology to families/kids who looked up to him was something that had to be said; I think that he finally thought of his own kids and how they may feel when old enough to understand this, and maybe for the first time he really realized what a "role model" is supposed to represent. He has had such an insulated life starting with papa Earl; maybe when his father died, that's when he began to not give a d*mn about his actions. I think he probably has a lot of emotions to work thru re. his father and their rel'ship which he is only now beginning to be made to confront; any decent rehab place has to strip you raw and make you feel pain that you've been covering w/your particular addiction, before you can start to recover/heal/change. I wonder, did Tiger EVER have a carefree, teens-early twenties time of just being young, hanging out with friends, dating/clubbing? Or was Earl always right over his shoulder, pushing? I mean, how many prof. athletes were in commercials- as an athlete- in elem. school, like the "I'm Tiger Woods!" comm. from when he was a little boy. Well, he never upset me with any of this, in fact it was predictable, but in hindsight, if that makes any sense. Yes, TW went crazy for quite a while w/these hookups, I guess he just compartmentalized the "bad" stuff; he was really in denial and also very selfish. NOW he sees that, and can continue to get help, but no addict ever feels bad at the time they are feeding their addiction; they are only focused on what they want, and then chasing the next "fix." They never change until they are found out and can't hide it anymore. I think it's great that he is returning to therapy tomorrow and doesn't think he's "cured." You can bet he was in a top-notch facility with doctors who worked a strict program. As he said, his marriage is a private matter, and God only knows what will happen. And I myself don't think of him as a role model, never have, just "knew" him as a great golfer; he never spoke much and seemed to live in rarefied air. Maybe he's not a talker,or maybe he was a smug, conceited a-hole. Who knows? Who cares? I never encouraged my two boys to call athletes "role models." Your role models should be the adults who love, take care of, and teach you, everyday people. It's dangerous when anyone is perceived or hailed as being near-perfect. Sorry, just isn't realistic. You know, I majored in English and I love John Steinbeck. In East of Eden, he wrote,"I believe all men want to be good and want to be loved. Indeed, most of their vices are attempted shortcuts to love." TW obviously was in it for the sex, not love, but apparently he got something secondary out of these encounters aside from the obvious; I'm not too familiar w/sex addiction but all addicts are covering their real problems/pains up with things that numb them or serve as a mental escape. I wish Tiger the best. I think his behavior was horrible, but sometimes so is mine, just on a far less grander scale; we all have our issues. Some people, imo, are being awfully smug as they judge his words, for ex. saying his apology wasn't "good enough." Oh PLEASE! This is not about you! And let's not lie, I think most of us enjoyed a wee salacious thrill when this news broke, and couldn't wait to gossip about it. Yep, Tiger asked for it, no doubt. But to sit in one's living room JUDGING another's apology? Save the scorecards for when you watch "American Idol." Time to move it along, show's over, as the cops say to gawking onlookers at a bad wreck. Tiger Woods wrecked his entire life, for now; maybe he will never fully repair it, but that's his business. :twocents: