President was received by a zealous crowd, who welcomed him with cheers with few boos scattered in. He sported khakis, a Nationals jacket and a Chicago White Sox, his favorite team. Obama commenting on his pitch a little later said: “I was a little disappointed with the pitch, … It was high and outside. I was intentionally walking the guy. Fortunately, Zimmerman has a tall reach.”
Obama  has strong basketball skills but have found pitching tough. He once said that baseball does not come naturally to him. Twitter was soon flooded by the critical as well as generous review. But he told his audience that he could have come around if he had more time: ”If I had a whole inning, I’m telling you, I would have cleaned up,”.

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[Photograph: Jim Young/REUTERS]

Scandal

Woods was not shy to talk about the affairs but when asked what he did and why he did, he replied diplomatically. In his interview with the Golf Channel, Woods said not many people close to him knew about the affairs: “I’m sure if more people would have known — in my inner circle — they would have stopped it. But I kept it all to myself.” No wonder, he was very secretive. If he can keep paparazzi at bay what chance did his inner circle stand.
He tactfully evaded million dollar question. When asked how many affairs he had, Woods did not answer directly. “Well, just one is enough. And obviously that wasn’t the case, and I’ve made my mistakes. And as I’ve said, I’ve hurt so many people, and so many people I have to make an amends to.” It looks like we will have to wait for other parties to come forward to know the real count.

Family

Woods talked a lot about what has been going in the family and how he is trying to keep his family together. He talked of conversations he had with his mother and wife and how they responded. Woods told ESPN that telling his wife and mother about his aberration was the hardest. “They’ve both been very tough. Because I hurt them the most. Those are the two people in my life who I’m closest to and to say the things that I’ve done, truthfully to them, is .. honestly .. was .. very painful.”
When asked about his wife’s reaction, Woods said she “was hurt, she was hurt. Very hurt. Shocked.” His mother when approached by journalists for a response was silent.

Golf

Woods said that he is “little nervous” about the reception he will receive at the Masters, he is scheduled to return to golf in April at the Masters. He wants spectators to be kind and cheers him up and looking for supporters in stands. Lets see how it goes.

Full Transcript:

Rinaldi: What’s the difference between the man who left Augusta national a year ago and the one who is about to return?
Woods: A lot has transpired in my life. A lot of ugly things have happened. Things that…..I’ve done some pretty bad things in my life. And uh, all came to a head. But now, after treatment, going for inpatient treatment for 45 days and more outpatient treatment, I’m getting back to my old roots.

Rinaldi: For a lot of people, the spark of those bad things is Nov. 27. Early that day, what happened?
Woods: Well, it’s all in the police report. Beyond that, everything’s between Elin and myself and that’s private.

Rinaldi: Why did you lose control of the car?
Woods: As I said … that’s between Elin and myself.

Rinaldi: If it’s a private matter, why issue a public apology?
Woods: Well, I owe a lot of people an apology. I hurt a lot of people. Not just my wife. My friends, my colleagues, the public, kids who looked up to me. There were a lot of people that thought I was a different person and my actions were not according to that. That’s why I had to apologize. I was so sorry for what I had done.

Rinaldi: You’ve said you’ve made transgressions. How would you, in your own words, describe the depth of your infidelity?
Woods: Well, just one is, is enough. And obviously that wasn’t the case, and I’ve made my mistakes. And as I’ve said, I’ve hurt so many people, and so many people I have to make an amends to, and that’s living a life of amends.

Rinaldi: You said you were in treatment. The simple question is, for what?
Woods: That’s a private matter as well. But I can tell you what, it was tough, it was really tough to look at yourself in a light that you never want to look at yourself, that’s pretty brutal.

Rinaldi: What’d you see?
Woods: I saw a person that I never thought I would ever become.

Rinaldi: Who was that?
Woods: Well, I had gotten away from my core values as I said earlier. I’d gotten away from my Buddhism. And I quit meditating. I quit doing all the things that my mom and dad had taught me. And as I said earlier in my statement, I felt entitled, and that is not how I was raised.

Rinaldi: Why not seek treatment before all of this came out?
Woods: Well, I didn’t know I was that bad. I didn’t know that I was that bad.

Rinaldi: How did you learn that? How did you learn it?
Woods: Stripping away denial, rationalization. You strip all that away and you find the truth.

Rinaldi: How do you reconcile your behavior with your view of marriage?
Woods: That’s living a life of amends and that’s just working at it each and every day.

Rinaldi: Given all that’s happened, what’s your measure of success at Augusta?
Woods: Well, playing is one thing. I’m excited to get back and play. I’m excited to get to see the guys again. I really miss a lot of my friends out there. I miss competing. But still, I still have a lot more treatment to do, and just because I’m playing, doesn’t mean I’m gonna stop going to treatment.

Rinaldi: What reception are you expecting from fans?
Woods: I don’t know. I don’t know. I’m a little nervous about that to be honest with you.

Rinaldi: How much do you care?
Woods: It would be nice to hear a couple claps here and there. But also hope they clap for birdies, too.

Rinaldi: Eleven months ago, here at Isleworth, I asked you, ‘How well does the world know you?’ What’s your answer to that now?
Woods: A lot better now. I was living a life of a lie. I really was. And I was doing a lot of things, like I said, that hurt a lot of people. And stripping away denial and rationalization you start coming to the truth of who you really are and that can be very ugly. But then again, when you face it and you start conquering it and you start living up to it. The strength that I feel now, I’ve never felt that type of strength.

Rinaldi: In the last four months, Tiger, what’s been the low point?
Woods: I’ve had a lot of low points. Just when I didn’t think it could get any lower, it got lower.

Rinaldi: An example?
Woods: When I was in treatment, out of treatment, before I went in, there were so many different low points. People I had to talk and face like my wife, like my mom.

Rinaldi: What was that moment like, either one?
Woods: They both have been brutal. They’ve both been very tough. Because I hurt them the most. Those are the two people in my life who I’m closest to and to say the things that I’ve done, truthfully to them, is … honestly … was … very painful.

Rinaldi: What was your wife’s reaction when you sat down and had that first conversation?
Woods: She was hurt, she was hurt. Very hurt. Shocked. Angry. And, you know, she had every right to be and I’m as disappointed as everyone else in my own behavior because I can’t believe I actually did that to the people I loved.

Rinaldi: I ask this question respectfully, but of course at a distance from your family life. When you look at it now, why did you get married?
Woods: Why? Because I loved her. I loved Elin with everything I have. And that’s something that makes me feel even worse, that I did this to someone I loved that much.

Rinaldi: How do you reconcile what you’ve done with that love?
Woods: We work at it.

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In another devleopment, YuNa Kim built on her last performance to win figure skating gold for South Korea. “Queen” scored 228.56 points and shattered her previous world record by more than 18 points.

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Winter Olympics has been in news for couple of unconventional reasons for last couple of days. First it was curious case of Scotty Lago, who was kicked out of Canada after he was filmed taking a bong hit. According to people close to Lago, the USSA in an effort to avoid USOC intervention, came to him with two options: either leave for  home and play the necessary politics, or go through a trial process and risk getting sacked forever from International events. He chose the former one and left quietly. Though, he tried to preemptively cool down the situation by issuing an apology to the USSA on Friday morning. He apologized for the lapse in judgment and said he was grateful for the opportunity to participate in the Olympics. It appears it was not enough. [source]

And now it is the ridged helmet of Amy Williams, Skeleton racer from Great Britain. This is first gold medal for GB in Winter Olympics. She won the race by margin of 0.30 secs, which is like centuries from Skeleton’s standards. USA and Canada officially lodged complaints against the racer but they were shot down by FIBT, which ruled that the aerodynamic ridges were an integral part of Williams’ helmet.  Though they sound more like grape sours than anything else. [source]

[photo: Getty Images]

According to a letter from PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem, Woods chose Friday to make his first public comments, which are to be televised live by the major networks. Tigers is on a week long break during his therapy. “Tiger’s therapy called for a week’s break at this time during which he has spent a few days with his children and then will make his statement before returning,” Finchem said in a letter Thursday. “Accordingly, there was very little flexibility in the date for the announcement.”

Letter mentioned nothing of the return to game though.
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Andrew Bynum on the other hand added 21 points and seven rebounds in his return to the lineup. His bruised right hip is still troubling him but he is coping with it in style. He was 8 for 11 from the field in 30 minutes. The defending NBA champions have won all four games they’ve played without Bryant, who also was unable to play in the All-Star game.

But will they be able to pull it off against Celtics as well… Only time will tell. At the time of this post match is nicely poised at Celtics with a 29-27 lead after first quarter, lets see how things end up.