Just Wondering about Rachel Uchitel & Tiger Woods...

I am just wondering whether I should populate my blog, at least every now and then, with some juicy pieces of celebrity gossip. I am wondering this after having a look at my blog stats for the last 12 months or so. The stats show me that people who tend to end up at The RAB Experience in search of celebrity gossip also take some time to read my other more substantive posts on all manner of things. Those that come here for the more substantive posts also do not mind checking out some of the celebrity gossip.

So, with that in mind, I post these happy snappies of Rachel Uchitel and her recent night on the town. For any one that did not know, Ms. Uchitel was the trigger mistress that led to the revelations about Tiger Woods infidelities.

The photo credits goes to http://pacificcoastnewsonline.celebuzz.com/

Elin Nordegren -- "I Felt Stupid..."

Elin Nordegren has given an interview to People magazine about the hell she has endured since her former husband's infidelities became fodder for tabloids and newspapers around the globe.

The most interesting part of the tid bits that have been made available so far is that she claims that she had no idea as to the extent of the philandering. In a way, it reads like she had not idea at all about any of the women on the side. I guess that would make you feel stupid. What it does not do though, is make you stupid.

Tiger Woods is a billion dollar sports and marketing star. His image has been tarnished but it is not beyond repair. You can bet the marketing gurus will be working overtime to polish up their product. The fact that Woods is such a money spinner meant that there were more than enough people in place (sycophants?) to ensure that Nordegren had no inkling of what was going on. Yet, considering the number of women on the side, it was only a matter of time before the wheels fell off on this out of control car. A spectacular crash it was.

Apparently, Nordegren is almost finished a psychology degree. Maybe her studies have allowed her to find some solace away from it all, and some time to heal the very deep wounds she has suffered.

As I have said in previous posts, any amount of money she and her children receive as part of the finalised divorce are more than deserved.

Elin Nordegren and Tiger Woods -- Divorced...

It is official, the marriage of one Tiger Woods and one Elin Nordegren is over.

It really could not have ended any other way, could it?

No terms of the divorce settlement have been announced. The only statement was that their mutual and paramount concern was for their two children and they made a call for privacy. In any event, it is going to be a difficult conversation that Mr. Woods has to have with his children at some point in the future, you know the one, "Dad, why did you and Mum get divorced?"

I would reckon Ms. Nordegren ended up with a settlement that over time will be well over USD 100 million. She deserves it.

Tiger Woods & Elin Nordegren -- The 100 Million Dollar Divorce...

Tiger Woods is getting out of his marriage cheaply. Earlier reports that Elin Nordegren was set to agree to a USD 750 million divorce deal have apparently been far-fetched, or too good to be true for Ms. Nordegren, as it is now being reported that she is going to settle for USD 100 million.

Now, truth be told, this is still better than a poke in the eye with a burnt stick. However, it is no where near half of what the golfer is worth!

Although, it would seem that the quoted USD 100 million is the low end of the spectrum because it does not include any child support payments. I would be guessing that over the years, child support payments are going to see Tiger Woods parting with a considerable chunk of his fortune. Nevertheless, one must assume that married or not, he would presumably parted with that anyways.

I would also imagine that there are plenty of blokes out there in the real world thinking, "Tiger, WTF were you thinking?". Truth be told, my personal opinion is that, she deserves more, much more.

Hopefully, once the divorce is finalised everyone involved in this episode can move on.

Tiger Woods and Gay Sex...

It has been a spectacular fall from grace for the world's first billion dollar sportsperson. However, no matter how spectacular the fall, there is always an opportunity for redemption. The game now is whether Tiger Woods can trek that path to redemption.

In many respects the only way that things can go from here are up. There are probably some who might wonder how a professional golfer with a squeaky clean image can recover from one affair let alone fourteen or so of them over a relatively short period of time. Perhaps, therein lies the answer. Tiger Woods is the golfer of his generation, and perhaps overtime the greatest golfer of all time, and herein lies the opportunity for redemption. His name and reputation may be forever marked by this myriad of indiscretions, but the situation is not beyond repair in most facets of his existence.

That said, I would reckon the situation might be beyond repair on the marriage front, but being a divorced father is probably not the end of his world. I don't envy the man's task in having to tell or explain to his children how and why things went the way they did. Nevertheless, we are all human and we all make mistakes, the key is getting back up off the ground when we get knocked down, either by our own doing or by someone else's.

Tiger Woods will be back.

Considering the title of the post, I guess there should be a few words about the allegation that Tiger Woods has either indulged in, or had fantasies about, gay sex.

Now, one of the women Tiger is alleged to have been doing the deed with has decided to write a tell all book. The major selling point of the book seems to be not only Tiger's appetite for sex with women, but also with men. According to Loredana Jolie, she has seen Tiger having sex with men. Not sure that there are any photos floating around of these gay sex encounters, but if there were I am guessing that they would be selling for a pretty good price.

The idea is not outside the realm of possibility. It seems that Tiger had a bit of a fetish for threesomes and had a fantasy of being part of one with one of his other mistresses, Rachel Uchitel, and Derek Jeter or David Boreanaz. Derek Jeter is a New York Yankees legend and David Boreanaz is the star of the show Bones.

In any event, the timing of the recent Vanity Fair cover was particularly opportune, don't you think?

A Billion Dollar Sportsman...

This is what a billion dollar sportsman looks like. The Tiger's billion dollar income has come from sponsorship with the likes of Nike. It also helps that he is a fine golfer and a consistent winner, as the prize money is pretty good too. And winning the season ending Fed Ex Cup and the USD 10 million check also helps bump up one's earnings for the year.

I knew I should have taken my golf more seriously!

Golf -- Expensive Balls

Just because I cannot think of anything else interesting to write. And, I also read that Tiger Woods might not be back for a long while. So, this got me thinking about golf.

Did you know that Americans spend more than USD 630 million per year on golf balls.

That means that there must be a lot of balls going into the water hazards.

Tiger Woods

It is being reported that Tiger Woods is to miss the rest of the 2008 golf season because of injury. The injury is a ruptured ligament in his left knee and double stress fractures of his left tibia. This has been confirmed in a news announcement on Tiger's own website. This will require a round of reconstructive knee surgery.

Now, all his fellow pros are sending their best wishes for a speedy recovery. I am sure that some though will be a little relieved that at least for the rest of 2008 they might be a shot for a win without having to look over their shoulders to see whether or not the Tiger is lurking.

For a man who has just concluded his 500th week as the world's top ranked golfer the news is bad but the prognosis is good. Over the long term he should fully recover and be back as good as ever. Nevertheless, if you are one of those fellow pros and you now know that the bloke just won the US Open on one leg, you have to be worried about your chances when he comes back to the tour with both legs in full working order!

This injury will delay the Tiger Woods march to history. He is currently the best golfer on the planet and soon enough he will be the greatest ever to have played the game. This should be a lesson to any youngster out there looking to succeed in sport; love the game, be passionate about the game, work hard, train hard, and the results will take care of themselves.

Well, I night get back to watching golf next year once Tiger returns. The game just won't be the same until then!

Coffee and Stress

I have found the perfect reason to drink more coffee although I am not sure whether I have to be a rat to benefit. A South Korean trial has uncovered that just the smell of coffee triggers action in a number of genes that produce proteins with anti-oxidants that are good for you. It must be pointed out that these responses were measured in rats and not humans (picture was found here).

Nevertheless, anyone who knows even a little bit about scientific testing knows that the rats get it first! The results of the trial have been published in the "Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry". The report indicates that generally just smelling coffee alleviates the stress levels of the sleep-deprived rats.

So, I am going to drink more coffee today or at least go to Starbucks, Gloria Jeans, or the Coffee Bean and buy some fresh roasted beans to sniff because I am sleep-deprived after having watched the US Open Golf. As it turns out I could have stayed asleep as Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate have to go at it again today in a playoff!

It seems like catch-22 to me as the drinking of the coffee keeps you awake and causes stress increases but the aroma of the beans reduces that stress, weird! Apparently, previously studies have shown that coffee consumption reduces depression and the risk of suicide. All this time I just thought these big coffee drinkers were just wired on the excess caffeine but in fact they were not wired but enjoying levels of reduced stress.

In any event if you want to learn more about current coffee research you should go here, The Coffee Science Information Center or CoSIC.