Grading Tiger's first interview

When Tiger Woods made his very public mea culpa in February, he was criticized for not allowing anyone to question him afterwards. Last night, the golfer finally submitted to a TV interview with ESPN's Tom Rinaldi (watch video below), but imposed a strict five minute limit. Did Tiger's first exchange with a reporter since November tell us anything we didn't know yet?

He's still an arrogant jerk: He hasn't changed, says Mike Lupica in the NY Daily News. The "arrogance" of dictating the rules of this interview was breathtaking. Despite his much-publicized therapy, "the new Tiger Woods" still thinks the "rules [don't] apply to him." Well, the public aren't "as easy as the other women in Wood's (former) life," and they'll see this "scripted soul-searching" for what it really is.

"Tiger Woods spits out more of the same on ESPN"

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Not really — but at least he flashed some personality: Although Woods "did not reveal a great deal more" than in his February apology, say Larry Dorman and Richard Sandomir in the NY Times, he cut a "far more relaxed and animated" figure during this interview. He answered most of Rinaldi's "probative" questions, sometimes with "vivid" honesty, and "visibly perked up" when the questioning turned to golf. What more did people expect?

"Woods Conducts First Interviews Since Accident"

His new media advisors really know what they're doing: Tiger's "timing was immaculate," says Jason Whitlock at Fox Sports. He correctly assumed the "March Madness" of the NCAA tournament and the "political partisanship" going on in Washington would "bury" his interview completely. It was a "brilliant move," and one that shows he intends on "changing nothing about the way he tightly controls his public image."

"Tiger shows he's still a player"