Tiger Woods Rebounds! AT&T National! 74th PGA Tour Win!

Tiger triumphs again at AT&T

Tiger Woods has a very long memory. On Sunday evening after earning his 74th career PGA Tour victory in a 2-shot win over Bo Van Pelt in the AT&T National, the 14-time major champion reminded us of what many people had predicted about him at the beginning of the year.

"I remember there was a time when people were saying I could never win again," Woods said. "Here we are.

"A lot of media people didn't think I could win again, and I had to deal with those questions for a quite a bit. It was just a matter of time."

Yet many of his doubters were also average golf fans. Since I joined ESPN.com in August, I have received an avalanche of mail from readers who have grown impatient with Tiger. Nearly every day for the past three years, people from all walks of life have drilled me with questions about Tiger's future.

Many of the fans or commenters generally fall into three camps. The first group abhors any mention of Tiger unless he's winning the tournament. On Saturday night, when Brendon De Jonge held a 1-shot lead over Tiger and Van Pelt, a reader pelted me for barely mentioning the 31-year-old Zimbabwe native in my column.

The second camp, the practical kind of people who recognize that Tiger is one of the most exciting athletes to watch in the world, appreciates the 36-year-old former Stanford star as one of the most extraordinary transformative figures of our times. Fans of Tiger, like the average Joe who wouldn't watch golf otherwise, could be lumped into this group.

Then there are the Tiger haters. For these people, he can't do anything right. They often remind us of every bad choice that he's made in his life. They don't like him because of the color of his skin or his choice of women or any number of his imperfections.

Over the past several months, I've pondered often about Tiger's abilities to get back to the golfer he was in 2000 and 2001. I have never been a Tiger hater or a major doubter of his ability or will to win, but I have considered that he might never again be a dominant player.

To paraphrase a line from Matthew McConaughey's character in "Dazed and Confused," Tiger has seemed to be getting older while all the kids have stayed the same age. Rory McIlroy and a host of young bucks are emerging every year with an aim to unseat Tiger from his throne.

At times recently, Tiger has looked brilliant. His winning performances earlier this year at Bay Hill and the Memorial, after a nearly three-year winless drought, showed a glimpse of his former genius. But then there were his failures at the Masters and the U.S. Open. Still, it was foolish of any of us to think he would never win again. And it's not because of what he had done in the past but really because of how hard he's continued to work on his game through injuries and a very public divorce.

"Give me a little bit of time, and I feel like this is what I can do," Tiger said Sunday night. "When you're changing systems and have a totally different release pattern, it's going to take some time, and there are times when, yeah, I revert back, but that's happening less and less, and my ball striking is getting better and better."

Tiger has earned our patience with him. He's not promising to win the next two majors or even this coming week in West Virginia at the Greenbrier Classic, where he will be playing for the first time.

All he did this week at Congressional was pass Jack Nicklaus on the all-time wins list and take over the top spot on the money list for the first time in three years. He's brimming with confidence after winning three of his past seven tournaments.

It sounds good to say, Tiger is back. And for the next several news cycles until he has another disappointment at a major or regular tour event, we'll be talking about his slow ascendance back to No. 1 in the world. But Tiger has warned us time and time again that this is all a progression, and that perhaps our expectations of him are sometimes unrealistic despite his otherworldly success.

Does it matter that he's still No. 4 in the world despite being the only three-time winner this year other than Brandon Grace, who has achieved the feat on the European Tour? Not really. In Nicklaus' prime, there wasn't an Official World Golf Ranking.

Whether we like Tiger or not, he's in the business of hard work and winning.

"I try hard," Tiger said. "I try everything I possibly can and give everything I possibly can, and sometimes I don't quite hit the ball well or not putt well and do everything right. ... Welcome to golf."

So wherever you fall on the Tiger spectrum from the lovers to the haters, try to do what those 25,000 fans did on Sunday afternoon at Congressional and just take in the moment for what it is.

Tiger's game will never be perfect. But we can always be sure that he's trying his best. The world of golf had better take notice.


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Sources: ESPN, Reuters, Google Maps

Tiger Woods Loses AT&T Sponsorship

AT&T Becomes Latest Sponsor To Drop Tiger Woods


AT&T Inc. said Thursday it would no longer sponsor Tiger Woods, joining Accenture in dropping support for the world's top golfer, who's taking a break from the sport to focus on his marriage after his admitted infidelity.

The phone company hasn't used Woods' image extensively in advertising, but its logo appeared on his golf bag. That deal had been billed as a "multiyear" agreement when it was signed early in 2009, after Buick ended its endorsement one year early because of its financial woes.

Woods has also been the host of the AT&T National PGA Tour event since it started in 2007. Tour spokesman Ty Votaw said that since Woods is on indefinite leave from professional golf, he will not serve as host for the 2010 event. However, his Tiger Woods Foundation will continue to be the beneficiary of the AT&T National, under a contract that runs through 2014, Votaw said.

AT&T said it would continue to sponsor the event.

Woods won the 2009 AT&T National in July at the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md. The AT&T National is moving to Aronomick Country Club outside Philadelphia the next two years as Congressional prepares to host the 2011 U.S. Open.

AT&T has also been the presenting sponsor of the annual Tiger Jam concert event in Las Vegas.

AT&T, which is based in Dallas, did not comment on its reasons for dropping Woods, or how much the relationship was worth.

Woods' agent, Mark Steinberg, had no comment on AT&T's decision.

Consulting firm Accenture dropped the athlete two weeks ago, saying he was "no longer the right representative" of the company's values.

Gillette, a unit of the Procter & Gamble Co., also has said it won't air ads for its razors that include Woods or include him in public appearances.

Swiss watch maker Tag Heuer, a unit of luxury goods empire LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, also said that it would "downscale" its use of Woods' image in its advertising campaigns for the foreseeable future.

Electronic Arts Inc., which puts out the "Tiger Woods PGA Tour" series of golf video games, has not said what its plans are for the franchise. The company did not immediately return requests for comment Thursday. Nike Inc. and PepsiCo Inc.'s Gatorade are other big sponsors that haven't severed their ties.



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Sources: AP, MSNBC, Fox Sports, AT&T, NY Post, Reuters, Google Maps

NSA To Begin Monitoring Certain Web 2.0 Activity, Internet Traffic & E-mails...Stopping Cyber Attacks

MSNBC, Washington Post----


The Obama administration will proceed with a Bush-era plan to use National Security Agency assistance in screening government computer traffic on private-sector networks, with AT&T as the likely test site, according to three current and former government officials.

President Obama said in May that government efforts to protect computer systems from attack would not involve "monitoring private-sector networks or Internet traffic," and Homeland Security Department officials say the new program will scrutinize only data going to or from government systems.

But the program has provoked debate within DHS, the officials said, because of uncertainty about whether private data can be shielded from unauthorized scrutiny, how much of a role NSA should play and whether the agency's involvement in warrantless wiretapping during George W. Bush's presidency would draw controversy. The activities of any private citizen who visits a "dot-gov" Web site or sends an e-mail to a civilian government employee would be screened.

"We absolutely intend to use the technical resources, the substantial ones, that NSA has. But ... they will be guided, led and in a sense directed by the people we have at the Department of Homeland Security," the department's secretary, Janet Napolitano, told reporters in a discussion about cybersecurity efforts.

Einstein 3:

Under a classified pilot program approved during the Bush administration, NSA data and hardware would be used to protect the networks of some civilian government agencies. Part of an initiative known as Einstein 3, the plan called for telecommunications companies to route the Internet traffic of civilian agencies through a monitoring box that would search for and block computer codes designed to penetrate or otherwise compromise networks.

AT&T, the world's largest telecommunications firm, was the Bush administration's choice to participate in the test, which has been delayed for months as the Obama administration determines what elements to preserve, former government officials said. The pilot program was to have begun in February.

"To be clear, Einstein 3 development is proceeding," DHS spokeswoman Amy Kudwa said. "We are moving forward in a way that protects privacy and civil liberties."

AT&T officials declined to comment.

A DHS official said the delay occurred because the original timeline "did not take into account all that was required to ensure the exercise would provide the data needed."

Cybersecurity initiative:

The program is the most controversial element of the $17 billion cybersecurity initiative the Bush administration started in January 2008. Einstein 3 is crucial, advocates say, in an era in which hackers have compromised computer systems at the Commerce and State departments, and have taken military jet data from a defense contractor.

The NSA declined to comment on Einstein 3, but a spokeswoman said the agency would help DHS in "any way possible, including technical support" as it seeks to protect government networks.

The internal controversy reflects the central tension in the debate over how best to defend the nation's mostly private system of computer networks. The techniques that work best, experts say, require the automated scrutiny of e-mail and other electronic communications content — something that commercial providers already do.

Proponents of involving the government said such efforts should harness the NSA's resources, especially its database of computer codes, or signatures, that have been linked to cyberattacks or known adversaries. The NSA has compiled the cache by, for example, electronically observing hackers trying to gain access to U.S. military systems, the officials said.

"That's the secret sauce," one official said. "It's the stuff they have that the private sector doesn't."

Government snooping?

But it is also the prospect of NSA involvement in cybersecurity that fuels concerns about unwarranted government snooping into private communication.

"The bitter battles over privacy and NSA's role in domestic wiretapping hang over cybersecurity like a toxic cloud," said Stewart A. Baker, who was assistant secretary of homeland security under Bush.

AT&T was sued over its role in aiding the Bush-era counterterrorism program to intercept Americans' e-mails and phone calls without a warrant. It is seeking legal assurance that it will not be sued for participating in the pilot program. That legal certification has been held up for several months as DHS prepares a contract, several current and former officials said.

Einstein's promise, they said, is that it can more effectively detect malicious activity and disable intrusions before harm is done to civilian government networks.

"Intrusion detection is like a cop with a radar gun on a highway who catches you speeding or drunk and phones ahead to somebody at the other end," Michael Chertoff, former homeland security secretary, said in a recent interview. "Einstein 3 is a cop who actually arrests you and pulls you off the road when he sees you driving drunk."

Testing separation of traffic:

The program has two goals. The first is to prove that the telecommunications firm can route only traffic destined for federal civilian agencies through the monitoring system. The second is to test whether the technology can work effectively on civilian government networks. The sensor box would scan e-mail messages and other content just before they enter the civilian agency networks.

The classified NSA system, known as Tutelage, has the ability to decide how to handle malicious intrusions — to block them or watch them closely to better assess the threat, sources said. It is currently used to defend military networks.

The database for the program would also contain feeds from commercial firms and the DHS's U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team, administration officials said.

"We're looking for malicious content, not a love note to someone with a dot-gov e-mail address," a former senior administration official said. "What we're interested in is finding the code, the thing that will do the network harm, not reading the e-mail itself."

Ari Schwartz, a vice president of the Center for Democracy and Technology, was among a group of privacy advocates given a classified briefing in March on the Einstein program. The advocates wanted to ensure that officials had a plan to protect privacy and civil liberties, including shielding such personally identifying data as Internet protocol addresses.

"We came away saying they have a lot of work in front of them to get this done right," Schwartz said. "We're looking forward to their next steps."

Bush administration lawyers determined last year that DHS had the legal authority to conduct the Einstein program, and could do so in compliance with existing wiretap and privacy laws, as long as appropriate policies were in place.

AT&T's concerns:

Last fall, plans for the pilot were proceeding, former officials said. But in the Bush administration's final weeks, AT&T lawyers raised concerns about legal liability, they said. Then-Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey was willing to give AT&T written assurance that it would bear no liability for participating in the program, but both AT&T and the Justice Department agreed that the new administration should issue the certification, they said.

"They just wanted to make sure the certification would not be reversed by the next administration," a Bush administration official said.

In hindsight, Baker said, the Bush White House's decision to classify so much of its initiative was a mistake.

"It meant that the problem was not well understood," said Baker, who was NSA general counsel in the Clinton administration. "The solution was veiled in secrecy in a way that allowed people outside to be suspicious, so anybody who mistrusted the intelligence community could just assume that it was because they were doing something that they shouldn't be doing."


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Sources: MSNBC, Washington Post, NSA, Google Maps