Things that make your humble blogger laugh:
Firefox Power User Keeps 7,400+ Browser Tabs Open for 2 Years
Sheesh, I coulda been a contender! I have some open for far longer than 2 years, but I'll have to up my game to get to that level.
Before diving into things, I'd like to use this forum to wish friend-of-the-blog Bobby D. a Happy Birthday, though we shall eschew any quantification thereof.
LIV Reax - On Monday we had some particularly amusing and/or odious LIV triumphalism from two of our faves, and we have some reactions thereto. First, a refresher on these Greg Norman comments:
One came from LIV commissioner Greg Norman, who doubled down on the idea that, merger or not, LIV is here to stay.“My boss told me LIV is not going to go anywhere,” he told Bloomberg, referring to Yasir Al-Rumayyan, who governs Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and also chairs LIV. “It will be well and truly in operation well past his death — and he’s a young guy. He’s asked me to just stay focused and deliver LIV. LIV is a standalone entity. He’s invested billions of dollars into this and we’re starting to see an ROI within this. So we’re gonna stay focused over here.”Norman also mentioned to Bloomberg the idea of LIV teams buying golf courses to serve as their home venues, like an English Premier League team has in soccer or the Indian Premier League in cricket.“And now you can build out around that,” he said. “It’s not just a golf course. You bring in education, you bring in hospitality, you bring in real estate, you bring in merchandise, you bring in management, you bring in all these other different opportunities that the game of golf has to deliver to a community, to a region. We are gonna be doing that.”
Dylan Dethier, in his Monday Finish column, had these thoughts:
As for Norman’s remarks? On the one hand it’s tempting to be dismissive of his over-the-top bombast; it’s easy to roll your eyes at someone guaranteeing a fledgling sports league will be around for decades to come. Nor has Norman’s track record been particularly spotless when it comes to grandiose claims; just think back to late 2022, when he claimed seven of the top 20 players in the world would come to LIV only to roll out a group headlined by Thomas Pieters.But regardless of specifics, the subtext of Norman’s claims are significant and dismissing those would be foolish. Not just because the idea of home games is intriguing (LIV’s Adelaide event remains its proof point on this sort of stuff, including the power of untapped markets and cohesive team storylines) but because of the seriousness behind them. Take comments from Koepka, who isn’t prone to LIV hyperbole but sought to clarify a detail about the much-discussed merger this week.“I mean, the merger is also between PIF (the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund) and the PGA Tour,” Koepka said at LIV Singapore. “I think that’s the difference. It’s not LIV Golf, it’s the PIF and the PGA Tour. I think that’s something that needs to be well known.”LIV’s future has been a sticking point of negotiations and that only seems more true with time. Even as we wait to hear more about Rory McIlroy‘s reappointment — or lack thereof — to the PGA Tour’s board, his hopes for reunification run counter to everything LIV is saying. Monday marks 11 months since the surprise announcement of a PIF-PGA Tour-DP World Tour merger that would unite the golf world. It’s not clear in what concrete ways that merger has actually progressed since.
Yes, Dylan, the eyes are certainly rolling out of their sockets, especially since I'm still laughing at Norman's assertion a few years back that he was going to revolutionize the golf world with a pimped out golf cart...
Adelaide was different, but I've struggled to understand exactly why given that nowhere else have they exhibited so much as a pulse. But how laughable is Greggie's assertion that LIV has nothing to do with and wouldn't be affected by a deal PIF/PGA Tour deal. That's the ticket! Of course LIV is the stumbling block to the merger, though we did hear previously that PIF had proffered $1 billion to soothe Patrick's rage, which has a way of smoothing out those tough negotiating points.
As for our Phil, reminder of his Goodfellas moment:
Take Mickelson’s first: probably not much. Koepka has talked all season, including during this week’s win, about using LIV events as major championship prep, and Cameron Smith said it was great to play well heading into a major. These guys haven’t forgotten where their legacies are made, and it’s tough to imagine the likes of Koepka, Smith or Jon Rahm passing up a chance at a major title. That’s kind of the point, y’know? It’s also tough to imagine LIV players receiving much sympathy from the general public should they strike. Still, Mickelson’s tweet was the latest in an increasingly escalating war of words in which LIV continues to double down on itself.
So, how did that tweet play among normies?
Which is more pathetic, making a mafiosa-like threat or making such a threat and then being forced to delete the tweet? I guess we can conclude that, how do the cool kids put it, that he f*****d around and found out.
On a related note, you can breathe again, as the PGA Championship has dodged the dreaded asterisk:
Defending champion Brooks Koepka – three times a winner of the Wanamaker Trophy – headlines a field that includes 16 PGA champions and 33 major champions as Valhalla plays host to the second men’s major of the year for the fourth time.Included in the line-up are six LIV golfers who have received special exemptions to take part.Talor Gooch let slip yesterday that he is one of the lucky lot.The 2023 LIV Golf individual champion shared the news on social media, writing: “Looking forward to Valhalla next week! Thank you for the invitation @PGA. See y’all there.”Receiving a similar invite are 2018 Masters champion Patrick Reed, Dean Burmester, Lucas Herbert, Adrian Meronk and David Puig. There is no place, however, for 2010 Open champion Louis Oosthuizen.
Yeah, I saw one source call that a shocking omission, but I guess some folks are just easily shocked.
Gaming The System - The estimable Eamon Lynch takes aim at Webb and Adam, though the header is a bit of a hot mess:
Pretty sure it'll matter to someone....
As always, Eamon's ledes are worth the price of admission:
The scorched-earth political strategist Lee Atwater has been dead for more than three decades, but one of his odious aphorisms has never been more alive: “Perception is reality.” One need only skim the scummy surface of social media to realize how many people require no evidence to support fiercely held convictions about the malfeasance of others. The prevalence of that sentiment in every realm of life means it’s unsurprising to see it bubble up in golf, but it does present yet another headache for the PGA Tour, since the problematic perception is emanating from its own board members.
OK, but are you certain it's merely a perception? I'm not in love with that reality, but let's give Eamon a fair hearing:
There are numerous arguments why Webb Simpson warrants sponsor’s exemptions into tournaments for which he is not otherwise eligible, the latest of which he has received for next week’s Wells Fargo Championship. He’s a popular former major champion. He’s built sturdy relationships on a reputation for professionalism and keeping things moving on the golf course (OK, that’s only half true). He has been a diligent member of the Tour’s Policy Board as it tries to navigate shark-infested waters. He’s chosen well in the places where he has won (Harbour Town) and where he lives (Quail Hollow, the host venue for the Wells Fargo). You can see why he’d get a special invitation or two.
Sure, especially for the home game, but is it only the one or two?
But four? And all for signature events, the most lucrative stops on Tour with excessively reducedfield sizes? That’s half of the eight starts Simpson has made in 2024. There have been 10 non-signature tournaments he chose not to play. Simpson doesn’t traffic much in profanity, so someone ought to explain to him the concept of taking the piss.He isn’t the only player-director on the Policy Board whose schedule has been scrutinized. Adam Scott received free passes into three signature events this year. Two other player-directors each got one — Peter Malnati and Tiger Woods, who was ushered into the Genesis Invitational, where he was also the tournament host. So generously are golden tickets gifted to board members that one almost expects the panel’s chair, antediluvian attorney Ed Herlihy, to peg it in a signature event, too.
OK, it's true Tiger only took the one, but not only is he no longer a professional golfer, but he gave it to himself. No self dealing to be found here.
One should be wary of picking a fight with Eamon, but I feel there's some confusion to be found herein:
Every invitation extended to player-directors has merit and is defensible, for those who care to defend them. None of those players is acting unethically by requesting and accepting exemptions since regulations permit members to use an unlimited number of them. But the pattern of invitations for player-directors creates a lousy perception that board members are gaming the system for their own benefit. It doesn’t matter if it’s the reality. The mere impression of self-dealing is perilous for an organization already running on fumes when it comes to goodwill among the rank and file.Sponsors who dispense these exemptions aren’t breaking rules either. In return for anteing up a small fortune, events ought to be given latitude in how they deploy their limited number of invitations, even if it leads to jarring parochialism.
The Venn diagram of lawful and ethical will show areas covered by both concepts, but also the opposite. I'll take Eamon at his word that they're all following the rules (of course, to some extent they wrote these rules), but is what they're doing ethical? Well, this issue first arose at Riviera, and Peter Malnati has this reaction to the criticism he received:
"If the reason I got that exemption is because I'm on the board, that's not right.
These directors approved the unconscionable concentration of purses in limited field events, ones they couldn't qualify for on the merits. Are we to believe that there was no winking and nodding going on? Or, perhaps more likely, that those sponsors whose economic fortunes depend upon Signature status aren't aware who awards that designation? In the legal sphere this might be passed off as the appearance of a conflict, but that's a whole lot more than a "perception".
Eamon works up a lather and offers a proposal, though I'm inclined to let these guys continue to reveal themselves:
Rank and file players are seeing their opportunities dwindle, a trend likely to continue as the Tour product is further streamlined in the coming years. There will be fewer tournaments, fewer cards available, fewer chances to make a living. That’s already painfully apparent this season to card-holders who earned status but lack privilege or seniority. It adds insult to injury for them to see sponsor exemptions into the most sought-after tournaments repeatedly used to prop up players who are not sufficiently competitive, whose best days are in the rearview.Unlimited invitations to regular Tour events are fine, but the fast lane into signature events needs to be closed after a couple trips. The elevated events simply count for too much — particularly FedEx Cup points, the most meaningful currency now in determining playing privileges. But go further. For every exemption into a lucrative signature stop, the recipient should be required to enter a regular event that they haven’t supported in recent years. Players who take more from the business ought to have no issue with giving more, since they are now league owners.
In case it's escaped your notice, Eamon, these guys are world class at the taking and unranked amateurs at the giving but, just to be safe, let's make them play the regular Tour event first. After all, I'm still waiting for Tiger to play his make-good for the waiver from the Tour to play in Turkey a few years back.
NBC The Excitement - The Peacock has taken many hits recently for the diminution of its broadcast, both in terms of personnel and technology. There was much speculation about the analysts chair for U.S. Open, and Dylan Dethier shares the wide-ranging personnel announced:
GOLF STUFF I LIKEWe’re getting the band back together!NBC announced its broadcast plans for this June’s U.S. Open — and it includes a few notables.After months of speculation surrounding who will fill Paul Azinger’s lead analyst chair for Pinehurst and beyond, Brandel Chamblee and Brad Faxon will share that seat as part of a four-man booth; Chamblee and Dan Hicks will take the even holes (including the 18th hole on Sunday) while Faxon and Mike Tirico will handle the odds. I know he’s polarizing but I think the addition of Chamblee is excellent; he’s sharp and intensely well-prepared and there’s no questioning his passion for the role or its subject matter.Bones Mackay is joining the coverage as an on-course reporter; the golf world was curious whether he’d pick up a new bag or return to the broadcasting world following the legendary caddie’s split with Justin Thomas before April’s Masters.And the tandem of Roger Maltbie (on-course reporter) and Gary Koch (analyst, working alongside Steve Sands) will join NBC’s coverage following positive reception to their return on Thursday and Friday of this year’s 50th Players Championship; this time they’ll be around all four days. The two were let go in controversial fashion at the end of the 2022 season after more than a quarter-century with NBC, but it’s clear the fans — and now the network — want more.Golf viewers criticizing the broadcast is a sport in and of itself, so I don’t expect NBC to receive universal praise for this (or really anything else it does) but these all feel like wins. So, too, does the network’s promise of fewer commercials for the week. There’s work to do — that lead analyst chair still needs a long-term plan, for instance — but these specific additions will help the U.S. Open feel big. That’s golf stuff I like.
The Maltbie and Koch cameos are seemingly an admission that their dismissals were a mistake, no? I find them like old shoes, a familiar presence that reminds of previous events.
I like Chamblee, at least in measured doses, though that odd-even hole bit seems quite weird. My concern would be too many voices trying to talk over each other. My sense is that Chamblee has owned the studio work, so one wonders whether his presence will be missed on Live At and post-game shows.
But at least I can agree with Dylan's last point, at this juncture we're just happy to see a little effort.
And just as I'm prepared to hit "Publish", this pops up:
Which doesn't happen every day:
Sam Flood would rather not be part of this story.Over the years, Flood’s employer, NBC, has taken a cautious approach to making its topexecutives available for interviews. Call ’em old fashioned, but the Peacock would prefer that its stars of the show be … the stars of the show. When it comes to the decision-makers responsible for hiring, firing, strategizing, budgeting and managing those stars? Well, their actions should speak louder than their words.So when NBC offered up the head of its golf coverage at a U.S. Open preview day on Monday morning — the same day the network announced its official coverage plans for next month’s U.S. Open — Flood’s availability was noteworthy in itself. For the first time since assuming control of Golf Channel’s day-to-day operations last August and shifting into the de facto steward of NBC’s golf coverage, Flood, whose formal title is executive producer and president of production, was ready to speak on several thorny topics swirling around NBC Golf. And, for roughly 30 minutes with lead event producer Tommy Roy by his side, that’s what Flood did.
As a wise man said, if you're taking flak, you're over the target....
But, irony alert, one of the biggest purveyors of fake news is going with the fake newqs defense:
NBC refused an interview request for the story in the weeks before it was published, which would have allowed Flood to defend his overarching strategy for the network’s golf telecasts and refute points in the reporting that both he and Roy now say are untrue. Like, for example, the charge that Flood doesn’t care about golf as a sport. (“I’m a golfaholic,” he said. “I belong to two great clubs, I love to play and I grind like maniac.”) But on Monday, Flood wanted to talk.Flood, unsurprisingly, said he disagrees with the characterization of NBC Golf as a decaying, “penny-pinching” entity. From a restaurant table by the 18th hole at Pinehurst No. 2, he spoke about his in-motion plans to innovate golf television — and pointed to a glimmering new U.S. Open broadcast strategy as proof that money is the least of NBC’s problems.“It’s a completely false narrative,” he said when asked about the allegation that NBC has been cheapening its golf product. “We are investing and looking at opportunities to grow the game and make the audience bigger. Tommy has had more assets and more resources than he’s had in the last few years.”
Since he works for the Peracock, the operating assumption is that he's better versed in Marx than Orwell, still it's the latter he evokes:
“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”― George Orwell, 1984
Given how frequently I use that perennial, should I be paying royalties to the Orwell estate?
So, a completely false narrative, but isn't this an admission against interest?
Added Roy: “This narrative was accurate for several years about stuff being taken out of the broadcast. Sam has switched that around. We’re getting the toys back.”
Let me see if I have this straight. The boss says that it's hogwash that they've defunded the endeavor but the guy that gets it on TV says we're getting back all the stuff they defunded? Noted.
So, put yourself in the position of a sponsor of a non-signature event:
One explanation is the network’s week-to-week golf coverage. Some of those events have had less tech in ’24, including fewer cameras and shot tracers, Flood said, pointing to a conscious editorial decision to place a greater emphasis on the biggest events. You might have noticed that NBC’s coverage from this year’s Players Championship, which received positive reviews, had more add-ons than any other Tour event this season. That was no accident. The U.S. and British Opens, which NBC also broadcasts, will have a similar big-time feel.“We looked at the entire portfolio, and we decided to lean in where the audience is going to be bigger,” Flood said. “We use our resources smartly at the other events. You have to look at things through the lens that NBC tournament golf, Golf Channel tournament golf and the Golf Channel studios are one big bucket. You look at the whole bucket and you take advantage of the moment you can grow the game, engage the audience and give the biggest audience the best possible experience.”
No wonder Honda and Farmers Insurance found the exit....
You can read the remainder for yourself, but this one 'graph has a "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain" vibe to it:
Flood said these decisions are not being motivated by a network ethos toward cost-cutting, even if in an earnings call in late 2022, Comcast chief executive Brian Roberts outlined a plan to cut some $1 billion from NBCUniversal in the coming years — a division of the company that includes NBC Golf. It does seem unlikely that NBC would dial back on spending on on-air talent at a time when sports networks, NBC included, are falling over themselves to sign broadcasters to big-money deals, knowing that quality on-air talent can mask other network flaws. (NBC pays host Mike Tirico, who regularly contributes to the network’s golf coverage, a reported $10.5 million annually.)
The problem is that their actions are predictable and logical. The Tour has announced to the world that the vast majority of its schedule is of lesser quality, and NBC is delivering consistent with that valuation. Said differently, no one will be watching regardless of the toys they employ.
That's it for today, kids. Catch you again towards the end of the week, content willing.
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