Tiger's Knee Injury

[Cizzle]

I'm with iacas, I do not find it "insulting" but the man is paid to entertain everyone. In every other sport, you are told when someone is injured, how long it will take, etc. Don't know why Tiger would not do the same. Because it's his personal life... Right.

[immts007]

but the man is paid to entertain everyone.

Where did you get this idea? Tiger is not a salaried employee with a boss telling him what to do. He's a free agent. He wins tournaments and takes the prizes.

In every other sport, you are told when someone is injured, how long it will take, etc.

You are thinking of professional team sports. Those people ARE salaried, and responsible to their employers and their teammates.

[rudygu]

So this thread asks three questions:

1) No clue, but I agree it has to be worse than he let on.

2) I think he'll at least play the PGA. Also, the British if he can without hurting it too much more. 3) I think it's annoying. Not that I feel the need to know any detailed information, but I don't see how a vague description and a ballpark estimate on when he intends to return would hurt his privacy too much. If he has no idea how serious it is or when he'll come back, then just say that. Just the same basic info we get from every other sport. The more mystery there is surrounding his knee, the more that it will dominate the news.

I'll probably get some

Well, this post is kinda off topic isn't it?

[teal]

I'll say it again - from a business perspective the worst thing to do is for Tiger to come out and say "I am shutting it down for X weeks or for the year" The PGA and the individual tournament organizers stand to lose should he do that. The best thing for all concerned is that he stay hush and let people speculate on if he will be at x tourney or y - I am sure the sponsors and organizers know but they need the public to hope and continue to buy tickets, merchandise and the like based on the assumption he might attend any number of tournaments. I am sure Tiger is well aware of this - he is a bright guy.

[RichF]

Well it is Tigers business, and it is also what Tiger does professionally, Tiger is also a shy person who does not let on much I mean how much did he tell us about his swing changes?

Exactly.

It's exactly the same when Cristiano Ronaldo doesn't go public to the media and say: "I'm staying with Man Utd" or "I'm going to Real Madrid". It's entirely up to them whether they tell the general public or not.

[CG031]

It'll be interesting to see how long he can play on this high of a level and if the knee injury gets worse, or if it eventually heals up. This is his third surgery on this knee so if it gets worse his PGA tour career may come to an end before he can pass Jack Nicklaus.

[TigerCurtis333]

It's scary to think that if it does continue to get worse it could actually keep him from playing golf, and a new face will have to emerge. (GO BEN!).

I don't think there's any way he plays in the Fedex Cup - might as well skip the tournament that would put the most pressure on that knee. He may only play in the majors, Players Championship, and if it feels ok and he wants an easy win for a tune-up, the Bridgestone here in Akron and his tournament.

[SubPar]

He is in great physical shape and has the best doctors and trainers in the world working with him. If it were a simple meniscus tear, or even an ACL issue, he could repair it and get on with his life. I believe he had a cyst removed from that knee as a young man, so there may be more than the run-of-the-mill sports injury in play.

Given what modern medicine can do with joints, barring some degenerative condition that would destroy the knee mechanically, he should be able to recover from it. I had surgery on my left knee almost 30 years ago, before they were doing arthroscopic work on knees. I managed to play some serious racquet ball, race in marathon cycling events and play a lot of golf since then. I don’t swing as hard as he does by any measure, but if the knee will let him shift his weight on to it without internal slippage, he should be okay. I disagree with his not wearing some kind of support wrap on it. The neoprene knee wraps help keep it compressed which reduces swelling. The wrap also keeps the knee warm and holds the patella in place. There is no downside to giving a bad knee a little extra support.

A bad knee…. so maybe he'll only win 20 majors, rather than 25.


SubPar

[justinp]

I don't think this is a conspiracy. I think Tiger had the surgery they say he had. Maybe they didn't get it all who knows. To me it just looks like a case of coming back too soon and putting too much stress on it. Practicing is one thing, coming out and playing 5 grueling rounds in 5 days is all together different.

My guess is that he'll skip the Buick later this month for sure. There is also a pretty good chance he'll skip his tourney (AT&T; National) in two weeks unless he makes a complete turnaround and the knee is feeling back to 100%. I think, as most have said, the more realistic return date is at the British Open.

As for what he tells us, I think that's completely up to him. I don't feel he owes the fans or anyone else an explanation of his physical ailments. Until the PGA Tour starts requiring the individual players to release weekly injury reports he doesn't have to tell anyone anything. Pro golf is different from every other sport. You get to pick and choose when you play and you don't need an excuse not to play a tournament. I know the fans would love to know what is wrong with his knee, but they shouldn't feel as if they are entitled to this information. That's just ridiculous.

As a side note, I think one poster's comments regarding recovery time from arthroscopic knee surgery is bogus. I'm not sure you see too many NFL players back on the field for game action within 1-2 weeks of having this type of knee surgery. I'd like some specific examples to prove me wrong.

[ganjagolfer]

i think the small part of this injury that tiger likes is that he only really wants to win and play in majors and so this will be a good excuse with his sponsors that he will only play the majors

[Wisco-Kid]

i think the small part of this injury that tiger likes is that he only really wants to win and play in majors and so this will be a good excuse with his sponsors that he will only play the majors

Are you proposing a theory here? If so I have to admit it is mildly interesting....

[iacas]

I think its a possibillity that much of his knee drama is just gamesmanship - or "hamming it up" so to speak. Would his win yesterday seem more dramatic to you with or without the injury?

I don't think Tiger wants anyone's pity and I don't think he can be accused of gamesmanship. That's a pretty serious claim to be making, a pretty serious accusation. The amount of planning that would have to go into that, the orchestration... all of it would take too much focus away from, you know, WINNING the tournament.

So no, I don't buy that at all.

3. Secretive sure but you can bet the PGA wants it that

Sorry, pet peeve. It's the PGA Tour. The PGA is an entirely different organization.

By limiting the information he shares with the media, his injury can't be blown out of proportion.

That's the thing: now people are going to be speculating. If he shared more information - WHAT the surgery was and WHAT the doctors told him and WHAT he thinks about those opinions - all the speculation would die. Instead, he's playing coy, giving vague non-answers, and fueling the speculation.

3- It could be that he doesnt want people to speculate too much so he has tried to be as quiet as possible on the matter.

That's backwards. You create speculation by not giving information. Give the information and the speculation goes away.

Where did you get this idea? Tiger is not a salaried employee with a boss telling him what to do. He's a free agent. He wins tournaments and takes the prizes.

Tiger's an entertainer. There'd be no prize money if people didn't watch golf - and pay to watch golf. I think you know this. It has nothing to do with being "salaried" or not. Tiger wouldn't be salaried (and he is - just not for his actual winnings, but his endorsements, etc.) if there were no fans watching golf.

1) No clue, but I agree it has to be worse than he let on.

I have no clue either. But we were told he would be ready for the U.S. Open. Heck, we were told he might play Memorial, and that was two weeks earlier. And now it's obvious that he probably shouldn't have even played the U.S. Open (or at least his doctors said as much), and so yeah - it's obviously worse than he let on.

I think the odds that Tiger will play the British Open are 50/50. C'mon, people: Rich Lerner asked him if the rest of the year might be lost and Tiger basically said "maybe." That's a whole different story than the one he was spinning before. And I don't think he's playing it up to get more "style points" for his U.S. Open win.

3) I think it's annoying. Not that I feel the need to know any detailed information, but I don't see how a vague description and a ballpark estimate on when he intends to return would hurt his privacy too much. If he has no idea how serious it is or when he'll come back, then just say that. Just the same basic info we get from every other sport. The more mystery there is surrounding his knee, the more that it will dominate the news.

That's about how I feel, yes.

[immts007]

Tiger's an entertainer. There'd be no prize money if people didn't watch golf - and pay to watch golf. I think you know this. It has nothing to do with being "salaried" or not. Tiger wouldn't be salaried (and he is - just not for his actual winnings, but his endorsements, etc.) if there were no fans watching golf.

Sure, but there are some fundamental differences in the operational economics of golf and even tennis. Tiger calls the shots - even with his endorsements, I'm sure. People will pay to watch him and big companies will give him endorsements without any stipulation on his behavior because of his abilities as an athelete and what he does on the golf course. He has no obligation to do anything he doesn't want to, including telling us anything he doesn't want to. All he has to do is win golf tournaments.

[ganjagolfer]

Are you proposing a theory here? If so I have to admit it is mildly interesting....

just a silver lining to the clouds

[iacas]

Sure, but there are some fundamental differences in the operational economics of golf and even tennis. Tiger calls the shots - even with his endorsements, I'm sure. People will pay to watch him and big companies will give him endorsements without any stipulation on his behavior because of his abilities as an athelete and what he does on the golf course. He has no obligation to do anything he doesn't want to, including telling us anything he doesn't want to. All he has to do is win golf tournaments.

He makes his living and provides for his family because of the fans. He doesn't "call the shots" any more than any other entertainer does. He's largely no different than an actor, a musician, or a major league baseball player.

Feel free to start another thread on this, because for this one, the topic isn't "tiger's obligations to the fans that line his pockets." That's only a small part of this discussion.

[MSDOGS1976]

I find it mildly insulting and

I agree 1000% with you on his attitude towards answering a few simple questions concerning his knee. It's not like he is being asked about rumors about his priviate life or something. We are talking about a frigging knee injury. What is the big deal??? To answer your questions:

1)have no idea 2)have no idea 3)see above

[RichF]

1) What do you think is wrong with Tiger's knee?

1 - The cartilage maybe completely gone....and when that goes, all the money in the world can't bring it back. If it has gone, then the pain he's experiencing is likely to be be bone-on-bone friction.

There isn't a 'cure' for a removed cartilage or even a quick fix. You an have as many injections of corticosteroids (as well as natural lubricants that provide temporary relief). Non-steroidal anti-flammatory drugs hold off the pain with hevay doses but there are nasty side-affects. 2 - If the above is the case, then he could be back in 2-4 weeks but...that pain and discomfort h experienced last weekend will always be there when he steps up for 4 rounds of golf. When that pain gets too unbearable (and from what I know, it always does), he'll probably have a knee-replacement and in turn, I doubt he'll be able to match the current level of golfing ability he's set. Possible career over. 3 - See last sentence in #2. He may be trying to play down a 'doom-and-gloom' scenario which only he, his doctors and advisors know the full extent. An official announcement from Tiger Woods is going to be made later today. Damn, I really, really hope it isn't the cartilage gone.....

[x-forged]

1) Playing in the US Open extended the healing process, so...
2) He's put too much strain on it after playing for 5 days, not to mention against the doctors orders, so I think he will be out for a while, maybe coming back for the Open...but who knows, if he feels like playing before while he is still healing, then so be it, he can do what he wants.
3) I think Tiger needs to give the public some sort of details about the knee...he has been too secretive about it. If he just lays to rest the speculation, then everyone will get off his case and stop worrying about whats going on. I get annoyed when TGC talks about it non-stop, and an explanation from Tiger would decrease this nuisance!