Tiger Woods and EA Sports Stay Friends to Stay Profitable

Electronic Arts (ERTS) is proving to Tiger Woods that a friend who can make a buck off your name in a time of crisis is a friend indeed. The no. 2 video-game company doesn't seem to care about the beleaguered golfer's 14 (alleged) mistresses, his bizarre Thanksgiving car accident, or his beefcakey portrait, shot by celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz, on the cover of Vanity Fair. No, EA's relationship with Woods was about golf, says its president, Peter Moore, and the company plans to move ahead with its "open beta test" launch of PGA Tour Online this month.