Tiger Woods 'I Had Affairs, I Cheated'

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Tiger Woods just finished giving his 13-minute, prepared statement (click here for the full transcript). Highlights are below.

-- Tiger described his behavior as "irresponsible and selfish."

-- "I was unfaithful. I had affairs. I cheated."

-- "I have bitterly disappointed all of you ... I am so sorry."

-- "I thought I could get away with anything I wanted to ... I thought I was entitled ... I don't get to play by different rules."

-- "As Elin pointed out to me, my real apology to her will not come in the form of words; it will come from my behavior over time."

-- "I ask you to find room in your heart to one day believe in me again."

-- "I do plan to return to golf one day, but I don't know when that will be."

-- "Starting tomorrow, I will leave for more treatment and more therapy."

-- "Parents used to point to me as a role model for their kids. I owe all those families a special apology."

-- Tiger Woods says he wants to get back to his Buddhist roots.

-- "I have bitterly disappointed all of you ... I am so sorry."

-- About the paparazzi: "Leave my wife and kids alone."

-- Tiger said he has never used performance enhancing drugs.

-- "Elin didn't hit me that night or any other night ... Elin deserves praise, not blame."

-- Tiger apologized to the people who work for him and his foundation.

-- Tiger Woods hugged his mom and went down the line hugging each person in attendance.

-- Among the people in attendance: Tiger Woods' mom, longtime friend Bryon Bell, and PGA Tour commish Tim Finchem.



Olympian Scotty Lago -- To the Victor Goes ...

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Bronze medal winner Scotty Lago got a little friendly congrats from a snowboarding fan in Vancouver last night.

No word on whether the fan received a medal for her work.

Crisis Manager -- Tiger Woods Rambled

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One of the biggest crisis managers in America says Tiger Woods' address was a great 5 minute speech ... problem is it lasted 13 minutes.

Michael Sitrick, who has repped Rush Limbaugh, Paris Hilton and lots of other celebs in crisis, thinks, "There were good points in the speech but you had to wade through so much to pick them out."

Sitrick thought the most effective moment for Tiger was when he hugged his mom, which Sitrick says, "showed a genuine, human side."

Uber-publicist Howard Bragman -- who repped Isaiah Washington during his ordeal -- tells TMZ, "He didn't forget to apologize to anyone. Today was Yom Kippur for Tiger!"

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Nike Accepts Tiger's Apology ... Duh

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In completely obvious news, Tiger Woods' apology got the Swooshtastic stamp of approval from Nike -- who's already looking for their cash cow to get back on the golf course.

A rep from Nike tells TMZ, "Tiger has apologized and made his position clear. Nike fully supports him and his family. We look forward to him returning to golf."

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Pro Golfer: Michael Jordan will Attend Tiger Event

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Michael Jordan will be at the Tiger Woods apology event, his wife Elin Nordegren will not -- this according to Tiger's former Ryder Cup teammate.

PGA great Brad Faxon went on the Dennis and Callahan radio show this morning and said, "I know Michael Jordan's going to be there. I know Elin is not going to be there."

MJ and Tiger are famously close -- Jordan has been described as a mentor to Woods.

Faxon -- who shared a spot with Tiger on the 1997 championship Ryder Cup team added, "I think Tiger really wants some friends there. That's why this thing is really a mystery to me."

We'll see if he's right in about 90 minutes.

UPDATE: Jordan's rep told ESPN that MJ "will not be in the room."

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Tiger Woods -- Look, Up In the Sky!

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The paparazzi around Tiger Woods' Isleworth home are really stepping up their game .... preparing for today's "news" conference -- the choppers are already hovering.

This was the scene yesterday about an hour before Tiger hit the green for his second staged photo shoot -- Tiger's golf cart was spotted pulling into his driveway from above.

We're pretty sure that's Tiger in the white hat.

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Tiger Woods' Jogging Buddy -- He Swings Too

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TMZ has learned the identity of the mystery person jogging with Tiger Woods in the infamous first photo -- and it turns out, Woods handpicked the guy several years ago.

The man in the blue shirt is Corey Carroll -- a 23-year-old avid golfer who Tiger plucked from obscurity to mentor several years ago.

Carroll -- who hails from Windermere, Florida, right near Tiger's home -- met the golf legend when he was 17 ... and they've been training partners ever since.

The two didn't just start jogging together for the posed photo -- according to an interview Carroll gave back in 2007, they practice and work out together nearly every day.

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Golf Writers to Protest Tiger Woods Event

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Tiger Woods is making even more enemies -- the Golf Writers Association of America has officially decided to boycott Tiger's big media event tomorrow because they feel he's screwing the media.

The GWAA just released a statement claiming they feel Tiger's decision to refuse questions -- and to handpick reporters, "goes against the grain of everything we believe."

The group also believes that if they show up to the event -- without the ability to fire off questions -- it gives credibility "to an event that isn't worthy of it."

FYI -- Tiger's set to speak tomorrow at 11 AM EST.

PGA Makes Rehab Slip about Tiger Woods

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UPDATE: Tim Finchem told ESPN Tiger got out of rehab last week and has been spending time with his family. He also said Tiger would be addressing the rehab issue at tomorrow's event.

The PGA Tour Commissioner slipped when he was talking to the media yesterday .... and said Tiger Woods is still in rehab.

At the Accenture Match Play Championship, Commissioner Tim Finchem said, "I don't know what his [Tiger's] plans are in terms of what he's going to say [tomorrow]. I don't know what he's going to do after he finishes his rehab, you know, I think all of that is TBD."

We got the transcript off of pgatour.com.

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Wizards GM: Arenas Not Finished in Washington

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Locker room pistolero Gilbert Arenas may have another shot with the Washington Wizards after all -- the team's general manager "thinks" he'll be back with the squad next year.

The NBA team's GM Ernie Grunfeld just finished up a news conference on the state of his team -- and according to Washington Post reporter Michael Lee, the squad isn't ready to empty the clip on their highest paid player saying, "We think he's going to be back with us. He's part of the organization. If he's going to play, he's going to play here."

Arenas is currently serving a season-long suspension for bringing guns into the Wizards locker room back in December -- over an incident involving his teammate Javaris Crittenton.

As we previously reported, the Wizards were so helpful with police, insiders say they were looking for an excuse to 86 him from the team.

Before leaving today's conference, Grunfeld noted that his relationship with Arenas is, "fine."

Tiger Woods Alleged Statement Leaked

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A radio station reportedly got a leaked copy of the statement Tiger Woods will deliver tomorrow -- a statement which says "things have not worked out" between Elin Nordegren and him. To us the statement is a total fake, and Tiger's reps reportedly claim it's not the real deal.

Here's part of the alleged statement:

"Directly to the point there is no one to blame but me for the mess I have put my wife and family through. I accept total and complete responsibility. My wife and I have been trying to work things out but sadly things have not worked out."

It goes on:

"We have decided to live apart with me having mutually agreed upon times when I can be with our children."

Why would Tiger get into issues of custody and make his relationship with his wife a focal point? Feels totally fake.

And there's this ... the radio station credited with breaking the story, WYCD in Detroit, claim they had nothing to do with it and "has since taken it down."

.

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Jayson Williams - Free to Booze Before Prison

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Former NBA star Jayson Williams will have four days to drown his sorrows before heading to prison next week ... because the alcohol monitoring bracelet is coming off.

Jayson's lawyer, Linda Kenny-Baden, tells TMZ the SCRAM bracelet he was ordered to wear after his DUI bust last month will come off on Friday.

But Jayson's bracelet isn't being 86'd for a good reason. He's being sentenced to prison on Tuesday over the death of his limo driver -- and the bracelet has to come off before he goes to the pokey.

It must Absolut-ly suck to be Jayson.

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Stephen Colbert's Olympic Lunch -- Cold Cuts

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Stephen Colbert -- assistant sports psychologist for the U.S. Speed Skating Team -- is so hungry for a win in Vancouver, dude actually used an ice skate to slice up a sandwich right before the men's 1000m.

For the record, Colbert's psychological strategy is paying off: U.S. skater Shani Davis took gold in the event.

Turns out, there are 2 heroes in these photos.

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Tiger Woods' Wife -- Branded!

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Elin Nordegren may not be wearing a wedding ring, but these pictures are the most powerful proof yet she's behind Tiger Woods.

Elin is swooshed out in Nike gear -- the company that stood behind Tiger. It's more than coincidental that Tiger was snapped yesterday with his own Nike accoutrement.

The pic was taken as Elin picked her daughter up from school this AM.

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Tiger Woods Screws the Paparazzi

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It was the holy grail -- the most sought after image in the world -- but when the first image of Tiger Woods was released through Getty Images yesterday, the move blocked the paparazzi from their million dollar shot.

TMZ has checked around with some major paparazzi agencies, who tell us the first picture of Tiger could have scored them more than $1,000,000 in worldwide distribution profits.

But when the image was released through Getty Images -- a non-paparazzi, subscription-based photo agency -- the value of the photo plummeted ... as most major media outlets got the pic essentially for free as part of their deal with Getty.

FYI -- Just 24 days before the shot was taken, Getty had announced a "multi-year" deal with the PGA, in which both sides touted the move as a "strategic partnership." Turns out, they were right.

We called Getty for comment -- but they're on lockdown.

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Red Alert for Tiger Woods Mea Culpa

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The golf course where Tiger Woods is expected to make a statement Friday is putting together a serious battle plan to keep spies, poachers and other no-goodniks away from the event.

TMZ has learned the staff at the TPC Sawgrass golf course in Florida has a 4:30 AM call time on Friday so they can get an early start on transforming the links into the safest place on Earth.

Sources connected to the event tell us the staff has been instructed to move all golf carts from underneath the clubhouse by 5:30 AM to clear a landing pad for Tiger's convoy.

We're told officials believe Tiger will arrive in a fleet of black SUVs sometime before 11 AM when he is scheduled to speak. Tiger's crew will drive underneath the clubhouse presumably so he can move about freely without worrying about interlopers seeing or hearing anything Tiger doesn't want people to see or hear.

We're told local police officers will be on site during the event -- some of the cops will be in plain clothes.

It seems Tiger plans on having complete control of the situation -- as we previously reported, he's not even taking questions.

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