Senseless tragedy
posted by LW, Friday, February 19, 2010
If you're like me and didn't know much of anything about Rajaan Bennett, his murder probably didn't hit home all that much.
Watching this emotional video of Bobby Johnson's reaction will probably change that for you.
Just awful, awful stuff.
AJC recruiting reporter Chip Towers gives more insight with this first-person column.
For six months last year I worked as a reporter on the AJC’s breaking news team. During that time I covered the triple murder and suicide of Professor George Zinkhan, a little boy’s shooting death by his grandfather in Commerce, the parking deck collapse downtown and countless fires and fatalities.
So you’d think I’d be used to such things. Truth is, you never are.
Coach Hockman answered his cell knowing what I needed. We both struggled through the conversation.
“I don’t know the timing of it,” Hockman told me, his voice deep and heavy with grief. “I just don’t know a lot more information.”
When did you find out, I asked?
“About 5 this morning.”
I started to ask another question and Hockman cut me off.
“The school is going to release a statement later this morning,” Hockman said. “I don’t want to talk further right now. Maybe later I can talk to you personally. I’m sorry.”
“He was a good kid wasn’t he, Coach?” I said.
“Just one of the best ever.”
There's no way to transition from profoundly saddening news to profoundly trivial news, but we now move to the Tiger Woods circus that'll unfold later this morning.
Looks like the Golf Writers Association of America said no-thanks to Woods' invitation to his press conference, er, press statement, er, statement.
Actually, no-thanks would probably be an understatement. More like, "kiss our apostrophe keys."
Good for the GWAA for standing up to a guy their writers have largely worshipped before this can of worms was opened.
This is an association filled with members who had covered Woods, by almost all counts, fairly and with respect, chronicling his golfing feats even as he bristled at times at his media obligations.
It was an awkward dance between Woods and the scribes, but he and his camp were always in the lead. They set the time and place for discourse, and that was that.
But after going underground for nearly three months after his post-Thanksgiving scandal, Woods thought he could return and set the ground rules as always. The GWAA, in the end, said it would not be party to it. [Late Thursday night, the Associated Press reported that Woods is on a weeklong break from therapy, which helps explain the timing of the statement.]
"I cannot stress how strongly our board felt that this should be open to all media and also for the opportunity to question Woods," said Vartan Kupelian, president of the 950-member group, in a statement. "The position, simply put, is all or none. This is a major story of international scope. To limit the ability of journalists to attend, listen, see and question Woods goes against the grain of everything we believe."
Jeff Schultz of the AJC gives his take.
The problem: Tiger Woods doesn’t live in the perfect world. He lives in the real one. Because in the real world, he has hurt the sport of golf, the fans that follow it, the youth who idolize him, the sponsors that pay millions to support the PGA Tour, the networks that pay millions to broadcast it, and the other golfers who happily walk off the 18th green after completing a round of 65, only to face questions about Tiger and the porn star, or Tiger and the coffee shop waitress, or Tiger and the 12-step program to being satisfied with having a Swedish super model for a wife.
Two University of California-Davis economics professors recently estimated that stockholders of Nike, Gatorade and other Woods’ endorsement companies lost $5 billion to $12 billion in the wake of the sex scandal. That’s as public as it gets.
On Friday, Woods will speak. Sort of. For the first time since the National Enquirer broke Bimbogate nearly three months ago, Woods will hold a news conference. Except it won’t really be a news conference. There will be little news and no conference.
My good friend Scott Michaux of The Augusta Chronicle runs Tiger ragged in this column.
What we do know is that in spite of his international embarrassment, Woods and his handlers remain the exact same control freaks and manipulators they were before he was shamed and that his underlying vindictive streak has survived the tabloid onslaught intact.
Woods will only speak in front of a select group of friends and invited guests -- including just six representatives from the media who are not allowed to ask any questions. Talk about controlling the conversation. What conversation? It's a monologue.
That he's doing it at the PGA Tour's headquarters while at the same time overshadowing and undermining one of the marquee tournaments on the tour's schedule is another master stroke by a manipulator who seems to know no shame or have learned any lessons in humility.
In The New York Times, an analysis of Tiger's damage-control strategy.
Gene Sapakoff of The Post and Courier weighs in.
OK, back to stuff that actually matters.
Greg Wallace of the Independent-Mail writes about Casey Harman's desire to step forward as the Tigers' new ace.
Bill Hass of TheACC.com has a nice feature on Jerai Grant.
In The Greenville News, Ed McGranahan writes about the football team's attempt to replace that Spiller guy.
Some weirdness with Ed Davis and an agent.
A look at Georgia Tech's Derrick Favors.
Josh Nesbitt is out for the spring after undergoing what's been termed minor surgery on his ankle.
And in The ACC Sports Journal, Part 4 of the interview with the ACC's officiating czar.
LW
Click here for the "Eye On The Tigers" blog archive.
Link to this entry - Discuss this entry - Return to Blog Home
If you're like me and didn't know much of anything about Rajaan Bennett, his murder probably didn't hit home all that much.
Watching this emotional video of Bobby Johnson's reaction will probably change that for you.
Just awful, awful stuff.
AJC recruiting reporter Chip Towers gives more insight with this first-person column.
For six months last year I worked as a reporter on the AJC’s breaking news team. During that time I covered the triple murder and suicide of Professor George Zinkhan, a little boy’s shooting death by his grandfather in Commerce, the parking deck collapse downtown and countless fires and fatalities.
So you’d think I’d be used to such things. Truth is, you never are.
Coach Hockman answered his cell knowing what I needed. We both struggled through the conversation.
“I don’t know the timing of it,” Hockman told me, his voice deep and heavy with grief. “I just don’t know a lot more information.”
When did you find out, I asked?
“About 5 this morning.”
I started to ask another question and Hockman cut me off.
“The school is going to release a statement later this morning,” Hockman said. “I don’t want to talk further right now. Maybe later I can talk to you personally. I’m sorry.”
“He was a good kid wasn’t he, Coach?” I said.
“Just one of the best ever.”
There's no way to transition from profoundly saddening news to profoundly trivial news, but we now move to the Tiger Woods circus that'll unfold later this morning.
Looks like the Golf Writers Association of America said no-thanks to Woods' invitation to his press conference, er, press statement, er, statement.
Actually, no-thanks would probably be an understatement. More like, "kiss our apostrophe keys."
Good for the GWAA for standing up to a guy their writers have largely worshipped before this can of worms was opened.
This is an association filled with members who had covered Woods, by almost all counts, fairly and with respect, chronicling his golfing feats even as he bristled at times at his media obligations.
It was an awkward dance between Woods and the scribes, but he and his camp were always in the lead. They set the time and place for discourse, and that was that.
But after going underground for nearly three months after his post-Thanksgiving scandal, Woods thought he could return and set the ground rules as always. The GWAA, in the end, said it would not be party to it. [Late Thursday night, the Associated Press reported that Woods is on a weeklong break from therapy, which helps explain the timing of the statement.]
"I cannot stress how strongly our board felt that this should be open to all media and also for the opportunity to question Woods," said Vartan Kupelian, president of the 950-member group, in a statement. "The position, simply put, is all or none. This is a major story of international scope. To limit the ability of journalists to attend, listen, see and question Woods goes against the grain of everything we believe."
Jeff Schultz of the AJC gives his take.
The problem: Tiger Woods doesn’t live in the perfect world. He lives in the real one. Because in the real world, he has hurt the sport of golf, the fans that follow it, the youth who idolize him, the sponsors that pay millions to support the PGA Tour, the networks that pay millions to broadcast it, and the other golfers who happily walk off the 18th green after completing a round of 65, only to face questions about Tiger and the porn star, or Tiger and the coffee shop waitress, or Tiger and the 12-step program to being satisfied with having a Swedish super model for a wife.
Two University of California-Davis economics professors recently estimated that stockholders of Nike, Gatorade and other Woods’ endorsement companies lost $5 billion to $12 billion in the wake of the sex scandal. That’s as public as it gets.
On Friday, Woods will speak. Sort of. For the first time since the National Enquirer broke Bimbogate nearly three months ago, Woods will hold a news conference. Except it won’t really be a news conference. There will be little news and no conference.
My good friend Scott Michaux of The Augusta Chronicle runs Tiger ragged in this column.
What we do know is that in spite of his international embarrassment, Woods and his handlers remain the exact same control freaks and manipulators they were before he was shamed and that his underlying vindictive streak has survived the tabloid onslaught intact.
Woods will only speak in front of a select group of friends and invited guests -- including just six representatives from the media who are not allowed to ask any questions. Talk about controlling the conversation. What conversation? It's a monologue.
That he's doing it at the PGA Tour's headquarters while at the same time overshadowing and undermining one of the marquee tournaments on the tour's schedule is another master stroke by a manipulator who seems to know no shame or have learned any lessons in humility.
In The New York Times, an analysis of Tiger's damage-control strategy.
Gene Sapakoff of The Post and Courier weighs in.
OK, back to stuff that actually matters.
Greg Wallace of the Independent-Mail writes about Casey Harman's desire to step forward as the Tigers' new ace.
Bill Hass of TheACC.com has a nice feature on Jerai Grant.
In The Greenville News, Ed McGranahan writes about the football team's attempt to replace that Spiller guy.
Some weirdness with Ed Davis and an agent.
A look at Georgia Tech's Derrick Favors.
Josh Nesbitt is out for the spring after undergoing what's been termed minor surgery on his ankle.
And in The ACC Sports Journal, Part 4 of the interview with the ACC's officiating czar.
LW
Click here for the "Eye On The Tigers" blog archive.
Link to this entry - Discuss this entry - Return to Blog Home
Donnie Patterson. Donnie Patterson is the founder of Patterson Tax Service, located in Easley, S.C. He has been active in tax preparation since 1970, and offers a full range of tax and bookkeeping services.
Larry Williams. Larry has covered the daily beat at Clemson since 2004. Williams, who worked for the Charleston Post & Courier from 2004-08, joined Tigerillustrated.com in November of 2008. He may be reached by email at ldubya08(at)gmail.com. Replace (at) with @.