Tales From the Front by Cheryl Lavin

Have you seen Tiger on the cover of Vanity Fair looking like a mugger? The photos, taken several years ago, make it clear that there was another side of golf's golden boy, just dying to get out.

Here are what some men think about the scandal ...

Brad: Tiger got sucked in by women who were after him as a conquest because he's a celebrity.

Chris: Let's get something straight — if Tiger hadn't lied for Elin about her assault on him with a golf club, she would've been arrested and thrown in jail. And if it's proven that she did indeed whip his butt, women will say, "Good for her!"

How different would it be if a man hit a woman? Especially with a golf club?

Noah: Elin was brought out of a middle-class environment and taken to the top of the world, and she's gonna stay there with the $300 million she'll get. Poor Elin!

John: I think a big part of Tiger's behavior can be attributed to his father's rigid control over his life. He's like Michael Jackson in that neither of them had a childhood. It was inevitable that he would rebel against that kind of upbringing.

College is the time when most young people find out about themselves and experiment with sex. Tiger didn't stay in school long enough for that. He turned pro. And when he was in school, he was most likely a geek who didn't attract the kind of women he wanted — white, blond, light-eyed, attractive.

After he took the world by storm, all his material fantasies — houses, cars, boats — came true. Now he could concentrate on making his other fantasies come true, too.

But his dad was still alive and likely telling Tiger to find someone and settle down.

Elin was that right someone — model good looks, naive and controllable.

After marrying and having two kids, he had probably hit a sexual slump with her, as most married couples do when children appear.

Hanging out with other celebrity sports stars like Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley (known womanizers) probably made the transition from faithful married man to cheating pro athlete easy. After all, were his buds going to tell him he was wrong? That he should seek counseling? That maybe he needed God in his life? That he should concentrate more on his family?

Most men will admit that exciting sex is good sex. Having sex with a highly desirable, aggressive woman can be fun. Having sex with multiple desirable, aggressive women must seem like being on a never-ending roller coaster ride.

Tiger probably didn't know how to stop all this himself, and wanted Elin to step in and be an assertive wife who wanted her man back. Except, she probably didn't know how to reel him back. Maybe she didn't want to because she was too angry.

Scott: On some level, and for some reason, Tiger wanted to get caught. He's no dummy. He had to know that when you're sleeping with that many bimbos, in that many places, someone's going to talk! And when they do, the whole facade would blow up in his face.

Maybe he was just tired of the whole perfect Tiger image and needed a way out.

Jerad: The only hope for Tiger is if he gets into some major therapy. Otherwise, he'll spend the rest of his life going from bimbo to bimbo, never finding happiness.

Connor: I have just one question for Tiger: Why'd you get married?

Is it important that you and your partner share the same interests? Send your tale, along with your questions and problems to cheryllavin@aol.com. And check out my blog www.talesfromthefront.com. To find out more about Cheryl Lavin, and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit www.creators.com.

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