A new look at one of the oldest events
A GRIP ON SPORTS • This is one of my favorite weekends of the year. Not because of anything around here, of course. It’s kind of dead until Sunday, when the area’s fathers are honored. (That doesn’t happen elsewhere, does it?) But it’s one of my favorites because of what’s on TV. And that scares me a bit this week. Read on.
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• Golf’s majors have always been must-see TV for me. I may not watch every hole every day, but sometimes I get close. Each of the four have their distinct personality. The Masters is like an old friend, dropping around in early April to help usher in spring and to get me using the word “patron” again. CBS has always televised the Masters and done an exceptional job of it, considering the shackles Augusta National puts on the network. (The trade-off, however, is there are just a few commercials, which is not a bad deal.) The British Open is ABC’s turn in the spotlight and though the broadcast is never as crisp and clear as the other networks, it’s been fine over the years – even on DVR delay because, really, who can get up that early in mid-July? And the season’s last major, the PGA, is back on CBS, which is appropriate. Which leaves us this week. The U.S. Open. For years NBC has been the USGA’s partner in crime, the network of record when the rough swallows balls and golfers hit duck hooks off the tee as the pressure mounts. The peacock network featured one of golf’s gadflies, Johnny Miller, who last pulled a punch in, I don’t know, maybe 1963. If a player choked – and despite what professional golfers want you to believe, occasionally they do – Miller called them on it. He is the only announcer with the guts – and the bonafides, having shot a 63 at Oakmont on the last day of the 1973 Open to set a record and win the thing – to pull it off and, believe you me, the golfers hated him for it. But Miller isn’t doing this U.S. Open and, no, unlike Gary McCord and the Masters, he wasn’t banned. His network was. Well, actually, his network didn’t bid enough. Money, if you were wondering. Fox came at the USGA a few years back with a boatload of Rupert Murdoch’s cash and took all the USGA championships away from NBC. Tradition is never a match for an unlimited gold card. So today we can settle in and watch Fox work its technological magic on another sport. And we can listen to Greg Norman as he makes his debut as an analyst. You think Norman will use “choke” in a sentence? As in “Greg Norman choked on Sunday in the 1996 Masters?” Me neither. I’m guessing golf’s major choke artist will make 78 excuses for every bad shot, one for each stroke he took that day at Augusta. But heck, I could be wrong. After all, no one could challenge Norman’s credentials in that regard. Sitting next to Norman in the booth will be one of the best play-by-play guys in sports, Joe Buck, but, in golf, the lead announcer is less crucial than the analysts or the folks on the course. Fox has put together a decent team, including one of my all-time favorite female golfers, Julie Inkster, and long-time tour pros Brad Faxon and Corey Pavin. It will all be new starting in an hour or so, so let’s see how they’ll do. It will be different than NBC, that’s a given. Better? Worse? We’ll find out.
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• WSU: The Cougars added another player to the fall class at a position of need. Jacob Thorpe has all the information in this blog post on a junior college cornerback who will be in Pullman soon. ... After all the movement in college hoops, Jon Wilner has a new preseason top 25.
• Gonzaga: Speaking of new, BYU will have another new player this season.
• Indians: Tonight is opening night at Avista with defending Northwest League champs Hillsboro in town. (Nothing means less in sports than being the defending champion of a short-A league.) Chris Derrick has an advance.
• Golf: Besides the stories we linked above on Fox’s coverage, Jim Meehan has a look at the challenges Chambers Bay presents for the golfers today as well as a notebook of other items.
• Seahawks: Today is the one day the Hawks will have on the field during minicamp. During the time on the field, Tom Cable will be trying to see what his mix-and-match offensive line can do. ... There are also other things to watch. ... Speaking of offensive linemen, John Moffitt has decided to make a comeback.
• Mariners: Rarely do regular-season matchups live up to their billing. Last night’s showdown between Felix Hernandez and the Giants' Madison Bumgarner certainly did, though. Actually, in some ways Bumgarner outpitched Felix, but one play not made by his outfield ended up leading to two runs and Felix, Charlie Furbush and Carson Smith made them stand up in the 2-0 win. ... Two pitchers pitched the ninth last night but that may change again real soon.
• Sounders: The immediate fallout of the Sounders’ 3-1 loss to Portland is obvious: Seattle won’t repeat as U.S. Open Cup champs. The long-term fallout, though, is still to be determined.
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• I’m done for this morning. It’s time to get set downstairs to watch the golf. I’m pretty pumped. Until later ...
