Eduardo Gustafson

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Sizing up the TV coverage from the Northern Trust Open ... and away we go.

It continues to blow my mind that the PGA Tour doesn't have a stricter rules policy when it comes to the slow pace of play. The Northern Trust Open was the latest example, as golfers took upward of 5 hours and 15 minutes to play a round of golf.

The pace wasn't lost on The Golf Channel crew, who questioned the pace on a couple of occasions. One of the bottlenecks happened to be on the par-4 10th, a drivable hole that had many going at the green from the tee.

The Golf Channel's Peter Oosterhuis brought up a good question during Thursday's first round: Why weren't the players playing the hole like the 17th at TPC Scottsdale?

"Brandel, are you surprised they aren't waving guys up like they were on the 17th at TPC Scottsdale?" Oosterhuis said.

Chamblee, ever the diplomat, tried to blame the slow pace on some poor golf shots: "Yeah, I am," Chamblee said. "But I think these guys are in such a plight, that all they were worrying about was getting out the Band-Aids and Neosporin and getting to the next hole."

Let's be honest, the pace of play is a problem. It's making it nearly impossible to get all the rounds done in one day, and causing networks to cutoff the coverage before everyone is off the course. This is a problem, and it continues to get worse each week. Somebody needs to fix it, and fast.

More follows ...

Cutting away from coverage ... again

CBS has a growing propensity for cutting away from coverage before the end of the round. The past few weeks have included cutting away while the final group was putting out on the last hole, and closing the end of the tournament coverage in a hurried manner.

Saturday, the network cut away while the final group still had five holes left to play. Quite honestly, this nonsense is getting really tiresome. CBS starts 15-plus minutes late, due to college basketball coverage, and then can't get the entire round in within the coverage time frame.

While this week's cutoff was due in large part to the slow play at Riviera, it still amazes me that the network is completely fine cutting away from coverage for the local news or infomercials, but wouldn't dare do that if a basketball game was on.

It goes to show you how much CBS values its golf coverage.

Golf Channel wasn't any better, cutting away for the wrap-up show with players still on the course. Honestly, do you really have something better to show me than live golf coverage for an extra 30 minutes? I don't think so.

Paging the mic'd up golfers

Golf Channel's idea to mic up the players during coverage is looking as good as CBS's decision to show early FedEx Cup rankings in February (more on this later), which is to say it's failing to impress.

The last time the network had any mic'd up coverage was three weeks ago at the Farmer Insurance Open. The idea is something tour pros clearly have no interest in doing.

Ryan Palmer was a dud, as was Davis Love III; it makes you wonder why The Golf Channel doesn't scrap the idea altogether.

At the moment, the network just looks silly waiting for a pro to play guinea pig and use the mic. They may want to consider stealing a page from CBS's "Inside the Ropes" and just putting a boom mic near the players.

CBS caught a lot more of the lighthearted moments with its mic. Why can't The Golf Channel put together something like this?

Tenth talk

As expected, both The Golf Channel and CBS raved about the drivable par-4 10th hole, considered by some to be the best short par-4 in the world.

It definitely left an impression on some of the announcers that had the privilege of playing the hole in the past: "In my opinion, it's the best short par-4 in the world," said Brandel Chamblee. "It's a risk and reward hole that really sneaks up on you. Guys think they can just pull out driver and bomb it up there. But you really have to be careful and place the shot in the correct position."

Chamblee went on to describe some of the subtle nuisances that make the hole so special: "Not what you envision when you walk to the 10th hole. The great thing about this hole is, as players have gotten longer, it's made some of these short par 4s and par 5s obsolete. But this one has stood out because of the green design. And when you go for it, there's a very short window of opportunity where you get a good look at this green."

Stop with the FedEx Cup updates

CBS continues to show FedEx Cup updates throughout the round, something that completely infuriates me every time I see them. Why do we care where these guys stand in the rankings when the four-leg finale isn't until August?

Why not go the route of the BCS and debut some sort of rankings during the last few months of the season? Give me something, anything, that at least makes me excited about the FedEx Cup.

I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one that doesn't care about the points updates.

Fred's back

While Couples had a comeback of sorts at the Northern Trust, the talk late in Sunday's final round was about his back. It seemed like everyone at CBS was waiting for Freddy to double over and be carted off. At least that's what Gary McCord and David Feherty thought, as Couples bent down to mark his ball on the 16th hole.

"He always gets me nervous when he bends over to mark that ball," McCord said. "He gets his hips really low and goes down really slow."

"It's like one day he won't get back up, and you'll just have to go out there and cart him off," Feherty said.

Notes:

The Golf Channel did a featured group during Thursday and Friday's rounds. It was the pairing of Bubba Watson, Anthony Kim and Fred Couples in the first round, and Mark Wilson, Jim Furyk and Matt Kuchar in the second round. ... Interesting note during Friday's round from Brandel Chamblee, who mentioned that the ball tends to sit up on the grass at Riviera -- something that plays to Phil Mickelson and Luke Donald's strength of picking the ball off the turf. ... Saturday's third-round coverage on CBS started 15 minutes late, due to the end of a college basketball game and its ridiculous postgame show. Another week, another tournament with a late-coverage start. I'm starting to see a trend here. ... After raving about Pebble's greens last week, CBS's David Feherty raved about Riviera's greens, saying they were in the best condition he'd ever seen.

Quotes:

"Fred Couples has been jumpier than a box of frogs," CBS's David Feherty, commenting on Couples' affinity for moving around so much during the round.

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UFC 127 picks, Vegas-style: Can Penn avoid a Fitch decision win?

UFC 127 betting odds (Courtesy Lagasse Stadium):

B.J. Penn (+160) vs. Jon Fitch (-190) - Welterweight
Jorge Rivera (+240) vs. Michael Bisping (-320) - Middleweight
Denis Siver (+250) vs. George Sotiropoulos (-330) - Lightweight
Brian Ebersole (+240) vs. Chris Lytle (-320) - Welterweight
Chris Camozzi (+150) vs. Kyle Noke (-180) - Middleweight
Spencer Fisher (+120) vs. Ross Pearson (-150) - Lightweight
James Te Huna (+170) vs. Alexander Gustaffson (-200) - Light heavyweight
Riki Fukuda (-130) vs. Nick Ring (Even) - Middleweight
Jason Reinhardt (+170) vs. Tiequan Zhang (-200) - Lightweight
Anthony Perosh (+150) vs. Tom Blackledge (-180) - Light heavyweight
Mark Hunt (+210) vs. Chris Tuchscherer (-270) - Heavyweight
Curt Warburton (+120) vs. Maciej Jewtuszko (-150) - Featherweight

Watch UFC 127 right here on Yahoo! Sports.

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Tuesday, March 1, 2011

02/06 (Super Bowl) Quickie

Dominique Swain Jamie Chung

The Shutdown 40: #5 - Von Miller, OLB, Texas A & M

With the 2010 NFL season in the books, it's time to turn our eyes to the NFL draft, and the pre-draft evaluation process. Before the 2011 scouting combine begins on Thursday, we'll be taking a closer look at the 40 draft-eligible players who may be the biggest difference-makers when all is said and done.

We continue our series with Texas A & M outside linebacker Von Miller, the winner of the 2010 Butkus Award as the nation's best linebacker. Miller is as dynamic a pass rusher as you'll see in this draft class and among the best of the last few seasons. In 46 games, Miller amassed 32 sacks (30 solo), 47.5 tackles for loss (43 solo), 172 tackles (100 solo), 11 passes defensed, 10 forced fumbles and eight quarterback hurries. He led the nation in 2009 with 17 sacks and came on late in 2010 after recovering from an early season ankle injury to put up 10.5 sacks in his senior campaign.

Miller had a lot of buzz going into the Senior Bowl, and he was as impressive as advertised. A strong combine performance on top of that might propel Miller into the top five. In a defensive end class that's among the best ever, Miller is the top guy to watch when it comes to pure pass rushers.

Pros: Takes as quick a first step off the snap as you'll see, and he takes near-perfect angles to the quarterback. Fast even for a stand-up pass rusher. Has to be taken on one-on-one - he shoots through chip blocks as if they aren't happening. Extremely impressive footwork allows him to bait tackles inside or outside and move the other way to get an open lane.

Great speed to redirect after losing the back end of the pocket. Some of his sacks come as a result of his determination to chase quarterbacks down as they're leaving the pocket. Shoots inside with extreme quickness - unless the guard and/or center are prepared for it, Miller's going to shoot right past them. Can stack-and-shed very well for his size (6-foot-3, 237 pounds) to bring running backs down. Not a bad open-field tackler when the situation arises, but this is a guy whose gearbox is set to "forward" almost all the time.

Cons: Will need to put on a few pounds to succeed at the NFL level. Sometimes Miller is just winning speed battles against guys who don't have serious NFL futures. Lack of experience in coverage shows on tape, but there's no reason a player with his athleticism couldn't develop into a good intermediate pass defender. He displayed some coverage ability during Senior Bowl week. No real bull-rush to speak of; he lacks the upper-body strength to do that at this time.

Conclusion: Miller has had the late Derrick Thomas as his NFL model for success for a long time, but he puts me more in the mind of Clay Matthews because of his ability to stunt inside and play the LEO position in hybrid fronts. Matthews has become a nonpareil quarterback disruptor out of any front, and Miller has already proven to be the same. However, he's not scheme-transcendent - he'll have to put on far too much weight to be a legitimate 4-3 end. Where he'll no doubt excel right away as a situational rush end in a more straight-up five-man front. The rest is up to him, but Von Miller is as freakishly athletic for his position as anyone in this draft class.

NFL Comparison: Clay Matthews, Green Bay Packers

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Albert Haynesworth accused of fondling a waitress

Remember when Albert Haynesworth was just a guy who played football really well? That seems like a really long time ago.

Today's new Haynesworth headline involves allegations that he sexually abused a waitress at the W Hotel in Washington, DC. Here are the details. "Subject 1" is Haynesworth.

According to a police report obtained by NBC Washington, the waitress stated that her hands were full carrying glasses as she was clearing the table at about 1:30 a.m. Sunday.
She said that "Subject 1" tried to pay his bill by giving her his credit card, but he asked if it was OK to stick the card in her blouse near her breast area. She nodded her head yes and, according to the report, she said he then placed the card into her blouse gently, sliding the card further into her left side of the blouse and then started to caress her breast.

And here's your denial from Haynesworth's agent, Chad Speck, to NBC Washington's Dan Hellie:

"There seems to be no truth to these allegations. We are currently evaluating facts and considering our own legal action against those involved."

Haynesworth was also charged with assault over the weekend involving an alleged road-rage incident. This past season, of course, was a turbulent and unproductive one for him, as he was reluctant to play in the Redskins' 3-4 defense, despite his massive contract. The team eventually suspended him for "conduct detrimental to the club."

Just a couple of years ago, Haynesworth was considered one of the most dominant players in the game, and at that point, at least his reputation problems were related to something (terrible) that happened on the field.

Now, I don't think there's anyone in the football world who is 100 percent confident that Haynesworth will ever play a good game again, and off the field, he's starting to seem a little Pacman Jones-ish.

This latest incident is just an accusation at this point, but it's still something Haynesworth could have done without. If you're a current NFL player looking to start a downward career spiral, Albert Haynesworth is providing an impeccable role model for you.

Bianca Kajlich Giulianna Ramirez Ashley Greene April Scott Mia Kirshner

Can Dan Ellis enrich the Anaheim Ducks' goaltending?

One is tempted to read so much into the Anaheim Ducks' swap of goaltender Curtis McElhinney for goalie Dan Ellis of the Tampa Bay Lightning this morning.

It happened less than 24 hours after the Ducks called up Ray Emery from his 3-game conditioning stint in the AHL. It happened after starter Jonas Hiller told reporters that his doctors suspect he's suffering from vertigo, telling Ducks Blog:

"I think the problem is nothing really hurts. It's not like I have a headache and can say my headache's less than the day before. The symptoms are less. It's just a feeling I have, kind of an uncomfortable feeling. I can't really say it's better or not as bad."

It happened roughly five days ahead of the NHL trade deadline, with the Lightning shedding some cap space in flipping Ellis ($1.5 million) for McElhinney ($535,000), as well as swapping out a goalie with another year on his deal for one that goes unrestricted next summer.

In fact Dwayne Roloson, Mike Smith and McElhinney are all UFAs after this season. Does GM Steve Yzerman have someone in mind for between the pipes?

As for the Ducks, the Ellis move does more than drag the "Dan Ellis Problems" Internet meme out of mothballs. It gives them a solid, veteran keeper who had played well in limited chances during 2011. He's familiar with the Western Conference, he's durable and he's an upgrade over McElhinney, who was losing games for the Ducks in Hiller's absence.

As GM Bob Murray said in the Ducks' release:

"We are excited to acquire a goaltender of Dan's caliber, someone we feel can help us immediately," said Ducks Executive Vice President/General Manager Bob Murray. "He has experience playing in big games down the stretch."

If Emery falters or, god forbid, gets reinjured, Ellis gives this team a better chance at making the postseason without Hiller than McElhinney. There's no denying that, or that it's worth the move at this price.

Here's a look at the rest of the impending free-agent goalies, as we approach the deadline. Might the Blues move Ty Conklin?

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