I really thought that last week was the last time I was going to address Tiger Woods ... I guess I was wrong. Reports are surfacing (in UK's The Sun) that Elin has told Tiger that he needs to quit golf. Well, well, well, if (and that is a big if) this is true, we may find out exactly how much of a family man Tiger is.

The coverage that this whole mess has received is more than Michael Jackson, and it doesn't look like it is going to stop any time soon. Of course, the fact that Tiger couldn't keep the driver in the bag is the reason that the whole situation has gone to H-E-double hockey sticks in a handbasket; so he has to live with the consequences. He wants privacy, but that just ain't going to happen Tiger, especially not during the Internet age.

Officials for Gatorade, a division of PepsiCo, Inc. (PEP), officials told CNBC today that it will discontinue its "Tiger Woods"-branded line of Focus Gatorade products.

But don't worry. It has absolutely nothing at all to do with the whole SUV crashing/golf club beating/multiple mistresses scandal. In a statement to CNBC, the company noted that "We decided several months ago to discontinue Gatorade Tiger Focus along with some other products to make room for our planned series of innovative products in 2010. We hope to share more about our 2010 plans soon."

The Tiger Woods drama has ballooned since I last looked at the situation. Of course, I focused a tad more on the situation for Tiger's sponsors. I want to continue that look, but I want to look at why Tiger's sponsors will stand by him, why we are so fascinated by the situation, and the difference between Tiger and Michael Phelps (a.k.a. Aquaman).

First things first, this will not impact Tiger's relationship with any of his sponsors. No matter what you think happened or why the situation happened, Tiger was cited for a traffic violation and will pay the fine with money out of his change jar. Was his act immoral? Yes. Was the act inexcusable? Yes. Is the act something he will be reminded of publicly (and privately) on a near daily basis? Yes. Should his sponsors jump ship and run? No.

Okay, so everyone is weighing on the Tiger Woods incident over the holiday weekend. As a "business of sports blogger," it's my turn to toss in my two cents. First things first, whatever you think happened early on Friday morning, Tiger has asked for privacy and respect, so I will not participate in the rumor-mongering taking place across the Internet.

What is interesting is that people are forgetting to look at what this could do for his biggest sponsor, Nike (NKE). Now, I am not saying that any stock trouble that Nike may experience is the fault of the little incident between (or involving) Tiger and Mrs. Tiger, but the company will be performing a bit of damage control, just as Tiger and crew have.

So, the Open Championship (or the British Open) is set to tee off in Scotland later this week -- and I found an interesting article taking a look at how golfers pick what they will wear. Yes, they go the same route that I went when I was in elementary school -- someone else (my mom in my case, Nike, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) in Tiger Woods') picks out the clothes for them. This New York Times article takes a look at this week's British Open and lets us know exactly what Tiger will be wearing this week. What I find interesting is that Nike determined what Tiger would wear more than a year ago - which is the case with every major tournament this year. In fact, the article notes that Nike started meeting about Tiger's British Open outfits roughly 17 months ago.

Following up on my Nike (NYSE: NKE) post from last week, you just knew I would have to comment on Nike's earnings report, right? Bottom line, it was a rough report and the short-term outlook is bleak as far as future orders go -- but all is not lost for Nike.

Here are the reasons to be optimistic. First, this is Nike, ladies and gentlemen. This is the company that has the biggest of the big names in its stable of athletes: Michael Jordan, Lance Armstrong, Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James, to name just a few. This ensures that Nike will continue to be in the discussion as long as these athletes are at the top of their game.

Is Northwest shoe behemoth Nike (NYSE: NKE) starting to feel the sting of the economic crisis? It certainly appears that way with the company announcing that it will cut 1,750 jobs, or roughly 5% of its total work force. The cuts are the largest in the company's history, and roughly 500 of the positions will be eliminated from Nike's Oregon headquarters, which employs more than 3,000. A majority of these cuts will occur over the next week.

Nike is making the move in hopes of cutting costs and boosting competitiveness, which I will address in a moment. Back in February, Nike hinted that a review of its operations would result in a 4% cut to the firm's staff. Furthermore, the athletic apparel and footwear firm has cut production at Chinese and Vietnamese factories, cut marketing spending, and has reorganized its global business into six geographically based groups. All of these moves have been made to help the company deal with the current economic slowdown and its impact on the consumer.

Well, just in case you were wondering when we would see Tiger Woods tromping down the fairway, this site has the answer. Not only do we find out Tiger will return, but the kind folks at Nike, Inc. (NYSE: NKE) let us know what he will be wearing each day of the upcoming tournament (the Accenture Match Play Championship).

Golf fans know, and the Nike site quickly shows, that red is Tiger's signature Sunday color... and unfortunately it has become Nike stock's signature color as well.

Well, there go my chances of playing on the Professional Golf Tour (PGA). Of course, it has nothing to do with the fact that I can't keep my golf ball out of the water. Nor can I curb my temper enough to regroup after one of my many horrifying shots. However, all that can be worked on through a lifetime of lessons (though I believe I am beyond help) -- but rumor of a facial-hair policy for the PGA means I will never join Tiger, Phil, or Sergio on the tour.

Reportedly, the PGA Tour has started working on a set of guidelines covering appearance and decorum on the course. Supposedly, this plan has been in the works since last summer. The GolfWorld article linked to above notes that this was around the time that Mike Weir (a Canadian) sought advice from Wayne Gretzky on how to succeed in the FedEx Cup playoffs. Gretzky tells Weir to grow a playoff beard (a long-standing tradition in hockey), which would be verboten with this new rule.

I know that discretionary spending is light thanks to the current economic crisis, but I found an interesting article on MSNBC.com that looked at what athletes other athletes would pay to watch. The number one answer was no surprise, Tiger Woods. Keep in mind that this wasn't a broad survey of athletes; in fact, it was just 40 athletes. Nevertheless, Tiger beat Michael Jordan (MJ) as the athlete most athletes would pay to see.

I have seen MJ play in person (the good MJ, not the Wizards MJ), so I would have to say that I would pay to see Tiger (which would have happened if he hadn't been forced out of the Ryder Cup) knock that dimpled white ball around for 18 (or more) holes.

This post is part of our feature on Money Winners of 2008. See all 20.

Tiger Woods returns to our Money Winners list this year despite a season shortened due to an injury and being let go as a General Motors spokesman. He won four of the six PGA tournaments he entered this year before bowing out with an injured knee. Paul Rogers, a veteran golf writer, who has written for Travel + Leisure Golf, GOLF Magazine, and Links Magazine, who I interviewed via e-mail, called that, "an unheard of rate of success by any current player's standards except his own."

That record made him golf's second-biggest prize winner despite his short season. Rogers says, "To give you a better sense of this
accomplishment, the top money winner on Tour this year, Vijay Singh, competed in 23 events." Rogers also mentioned that Woods is currently designing three golf courses in the Dubai desert, the mountains of North Carolina, and in Mexico's Baja, Calif., for a reported design fee of $25 million each.

Golf Digest magazine estimated in its February issue that by 2010 Woods could be the first athlete to reach $1 billion in earnings. He earned $123 million total in 2007 for total career earnings of $769 million, according to the magazine.

General Motors (NYSE: GM) has finally ended its nine-year endorsement deal with Tiger Woods. Tiger had been carrying a Buick golf bag since 2000, and GM said the separation was "mutual and amicable" and that Woods had a "desire for more personal time."

GM, meanwhile, has a desire to keep the lights on for a few more months. The contract will now end on December 31, 2008, a year sooner than it had previously been set to expire.

The Tiger-Buick deal was always awkward. The average age of a Buick driver is around 63-years-old, and the notion of Tiger Woods tooling around in a Buick simply wasn't believable. The $7-million per year deal did little to stop the decline of the brand, and as with any endorsement deal involving a sports icon you have to question the motivation behind the deal.

Were GM executives looking to create shareholder value or were they buying the opportunity to show up at the Buick Invitational and have a few beers with Tiger and Vijay? We'll never know.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) is recently up 26 cents to $61.09. PG is expected to report Q4 EPS in early August.

PG announced on June 30 that Derek Jeter, of the New York Yankees, will join Tiger Woods, Roger Federer and Thierry Henry as Gillette Champion ambassadors.

PG call option volume of 5,770 contracts compares to put volume of 38,520 contracts. PG August option implied volatility of 23 is above its 26-week average of 20 according to Track Data, suggesting price movement.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

After a U.S. Open victory that was perhaps the most thrilling of his entire career, Tiger Woods will miss the rest of the season to undergo surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left knee.

Obviously this is bad news for his main sponsor, Nike (NYSE: NKE). They pay him handsomely to hit their clubs and wear their hat (although his bag bears the logo for Buick), and watching a close-up of his 18th hole birdie was priceless marketing: as the ball rolled, the Nike swoosh was in plain view.

And in a larger sense, this is bad news for anyone who's marketing on the PGA Tour. It's a well-known fact that golf's ratings plummet for any event Tiger isn't playing in. I mean, who really cares about Justin Leonard and Geoff Ogilvy? There's Tiger and then there's everyone else. Wake me when it's over -- maybe I'll go watch some arena football.

Tiger Woods has been a staple on money lists for over a decade now, so I doubt anyone is unaware of the magnitude of his income. This past year, though, has been a great one even by his standards.

He had an outstanding year on the golf course, with seven tour victories, including a PGA championship and the overall Tour Championship. Along the way, he led the tour with winnings of over $10 million.

This was only the beginning of his cash flow, though. Endorsement money well exceeded his on-course winnings. In addition to his standing affiliations with Nike (NYSE: NKE), General Motors (NYSE: GM) and others, Procter & Gamble's (NYSE: PG) Gillette signed him to a new deal for $10-20 million as part of its "Gillette Champions" campaign. In the fall, PepsiCo's (NYSE: PEP) Gatorade agreed to pay him up to $100 million to license a Tiger Woods brand of sports drink, due out next spring. He also moved forward on his newest venture, golf course design, announcing plans for his first U.S. design, The Cliffs at High Carolina.

Tiger continues to dominate his sport and keep his image positive. Young, vastly talented, and a shrewd businessman, in 2007 he not only drove the green, he raked it in, too.

Be sure to check out more Money Winners of 2007.