I've tried my best to not give you any Tiger news that you haven't heard already (and that has me posting zero items on it), but I couldn't skip past this nugget from CBS analyst Ian Baker-Finch. In an interview he did with the Sidney Morning Herald, Finch basically said there has been a gag ordered by the "Eye"....

Former British Open champion and respected CBS golf commentator Ian Baker-Finch has been gagged by the US network from talking about Tiger Woods' dramatic fall from grace.

"Mate, if I say one word about Tiger I will get fired," Baker-Finch said before playing in Australia's richest one-day pro-am at Wynnum Golf Club today.

Well, I hate to say this to Ian and the folks at CBS, but if you don't talk about it this year, you're not going to have many viewers. I mean, you're not going to have many anyway, but you mind as well try for as many as you can if you ask me.

Baker-Finch gagged about commentating on Tiger (Sydney Morning Herald)

Tiger Woods went on to easily win the Buick Open yesterday, but it didn't come without some drama on the 18th. Up three strokes going into the last hole, Tiger played his drive into the fairway. While he waited for his chance at shot number two, someone decided it was the perfect time to release their bowels....

Now some of you may think that was fake, but I assure you that was exactly what was played live on CBS. Good times in the PGA this season.

This is just about the toughest argument in the history of Sports, but Charles Barkley knows where he stands. The AZ Central asked Chuck about the careers of Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods, and while you'd think someone who played against Jordan in his prime would pick "His Airness", Barkley decided to throw a curveball....

On Tiger Woods missing the cut at the British Open:

"It bothers me right now that people make such a big deal out of that. He missed one other cut in a major, and that was after his dad died. So that doesn't really count. And to go 13 years and miss one cut in the majors has to be one of the most remakrable achievements out there. That's really impressive. And it shows you the stupidity of certain people who are questionging him. I'll bet every pro has missed 10 or more cuts. but it just shows you the double standard. Some of those guys have probably missed 25 cuts. This is really his first one, and when I talk to him, I'll tell him, 'Bro, you're probably down and have the red ass right now, but to go 13 years and only miss one cut, that's one of your major accomplishments. You're talking about the world's hardest golf courses, and to go 13 years and only miss one cut is remarkable."

On who's more impressive, Tiger or Michael Jordan:

"I think Tiger is more impressive. He has to play against 130 guys or more every week. He can't control what other people are doing. He can only do his thing. They're the two greatest athletes I've seen in my generation. For me, it's cool to have competed against Michael and watched Tiger in his prime."

That's a tough one to answer, and Charles makes a couple of great points, but I would call it a dead heat. Michael Jordan was flat out unbeatable from age 23 to 33 (minus the attempt at Baseball), and Tiger just turned 33 himself. My personal view is that Tiger is starting his decline at the same time as Jordan's, and now that he has an injury to wrestle with and a growing family, winning might not be everything. Still though, it's a great topic to debate.

Sir Charles Speaks (AZ Central)

The U.S. Open kicks off today (if it can stop raining), and with ESPN and NBC pairing up for the telecast, the schedule can get a bit confusing. That's why I'm here to help try and break it down for you. Here are your announcers, and when you should change the channel back and forth.

ESPN Coverage:

Hosts- Chris Berman, Mike Tirico, Curtis Strange, Andy North, Roger Maltbie, Gary Koch;
Hole Announcers- Terry Gannon, Gary Koch, Bob Murphy, Karl Ravech, Mark Rolfing and Scott Van Pelt
On-Course Reporters- Bill Kratzert, Dottie Pepper, Judy Rankin
Sports Center Reporters- Scott Van Pelt, Andy North, Tom Rinaldi, Jimmy Roberts, Rick Reilly

NBC Coverage:

Hosts: Bob Costas, Dan Hicks, Johnny Miller, Gary Koch, Peter Jacobsen and Bob Murphy
On-course Reporters: Roger Maltbie, Mark Rolfing, Dottie Pepper
Interviewers: Jimmy Roberts, Tim Rosaforte.
________________________________

Thursday, June 18th

10am-3pm (Live): U.S. Open Championship – First Round (ESPN)
3pm-5pm (Live): U.S. Open Championship - First Round (NBC)
5pm-7pm (Live): U.S. Open Championship – First Round (ESPN)
8pm-11pm: The Best of the U.S. Open Presented by Titleist, First Round (ESPN)
11pm-12am: SportsCenter Presented by IBM at the U.S. Open (ESPN2)

Friday, June 19th

2:30am-5:30am: The Best of the U.S. Open Presented by Titleist, First Round (ESPN2)
10am-3pm (Live): U.S. Open Championship – Second Round (ESPN)
3pm-5pm (Live): U.S. Open Championship - Second Round (NBC)
5pm-7pm (Live): U.S. Open Championship – Second Round (ESPN)
8pm-11pm: The Best of the U.S. Open Presented by Titleist, Second Round (ESPN)

Saturday, June 20th

12am-1am: SportsCenter Presented by IBM at the U.S. Open (ESPN2)
3am-6am: The Best of the U.S. Open Presented by Titleist- Second Round (ESPN)
1pm-2pm: SportsCenter Presented by IBM at the U.S. Open (ESPN)
2pm-8pm (Live): U.S. Open Championship - Third Round (NBC)

Sunday, June 21st

12am- 1am: SportsCenter Presented by IBM at the U.S. Open (ESPN)
3am-6am: The Best of the U.S. Open, Third Round (ESPN)
12:30pm-1:30pm: SportsCenter Presented by IBM at the U.S. Open (ESPN)
1:30pm-7:30pm (Live): U.S. Open Championship - Final Round (NBC)

Monday, June 22nd

12am-1am: SportsCenter Presented by IBM at the U.S. Open (ESPN)
1am-5am: The Best of the U.S. Open, Final Round (ESPN2)

Scott Van Pelt is your voice for the spanking new version of Tiger Woods '10, and the folks at EA Sports have decided to run some ads with the ESPNer. The premise is that SVP wants to be an actual golfer, but only his voice appears in the game. Thus, Tiger carries around a talking cardboard cutout of Van Pelt, and of course hilarity ensues....

Man that was rather long, wasn't it? However, very funny. "I Will Punch You In The Face!", needs to be in every golf telecast from now on.

Tiger Woods vs Scott Van Pelt, EA Sports Video (NESW Sports)

So Tiger, Jack, Kenny Perry and Stewart Cink, all played together in the Memorial Skins Challenge this afternoon, and not only did Tiger take home the lion's share of cash, but he also did so in a way only he could. There were four skins that had carried over to the 18th, and Tiger hit a clutch putt to deny Kenny Perry the win. With five skins now carrying over, the four players decided to have a closest to the pin contest from off the 18th green, and Tiger decided to show off by holing his chip....

The guy is just insane. He's donating the money to charity anyway, but that doesn't matter. I used to think Michael Jordan was the most competitive person ever, but Tiger might have just taken over the number one spot.

I don't know what it is with Sports commercials lately, but they've been popping up all over the place. Gillette's latest effort, which debuted on the big screen at Yankee Stadium today, features it's three pitchmen (Tiger Woods, Roger Federer, and Derek Jeter) walking through New York City ala John Travolta in "Saturday Night Fever". Here's your first look....

Pretty entertaining, and certainly much better than the last couple of commercials from Gillette. Now try to get that song out of your head for the rest of the night.

Thanks to the eagle eye of a few viewers of the final round of the Masters yesterday, Total Pro Sports can share with us a "boob grab like no other". Tiger landed his approach on the 15th green, and a gentleman in the crowd decided to celebrate just a little too much with his lady friend....

Beautiful! There's nothing better than a public breast grabbing to show your excitement. I was going to do a post on the great finish, and the great ratings the Masters received, but I think that video is much better.

Another day, another Tiger Gatorade commercial. Apparently the company is using the Masters to release a campaign of random commercials, and today's debut features none other than the unstoppable, Eli Manning....

I guess that was kind of funny, and I think I want to try the new Tiger "Focus" drink from Gatorade, so I guess it did the job. We've had a cartoon and Eli Manning as spots so far. Now if we can just Tiger to join the DSRL....the trifecta will be complete!

ESPN aired a new (or at least I think it's new) Gatorade commercial featuring Tiger Woods, but instead of Woods playing on the moon, he was magically transformed into a cartoon kid in the woods. Not only that, but they even added in Tiger's dad, Earl Woods, as a talking bear giving advice to the young Tiger. Here's the clip....

Kind of trippy but still pretty darn good. I like the voice-over work by Van Pelt, and I definitely could use a swim in the "Focus Falls".

ESPN and CBS have worked well over the past few years to split up major Golf tournaments, and this year's coverage of the Masters will be no different. ESPN will have the first two rounds, as well as the Par 3 contest, and CBS will take over for rounds three and four. In addition to that, CBS will also be streaming the action online, with live looks on 11-16. To get the full coverage, you have to get Masters Extra, which will carry the CBS feed. Oh, and there will also be an IPhone App release for perusal on your telephones....

Here is your schedule and announcers for the four-day event starting on Thursday:

CBS Team: Jim Nantz, Nick Faldo, Peter Oosterhuis, Verne Lundquist, David Feherty, Bill Macatee, Peter Kostis and Ian Baker-Finch
ESPN Team: Mike Tirico, Scott Van Pelt, Andy North, Tom Rinaldi

Wednesday, April 8

Masters Par 3 Contest (ESPN, 3pm)

Thursday, April 9

Live Coverage (ESPN, 4-7:30pm)
Replay of Round One (ESPN, 8-11pm)
Highlights Show (CBS, 11:30-11:45pm)

Friday, April 10

Live Coverage (ESPN, 4-7:30pm)
Replay of Round Two (ESPN, 8-11pm)
Highlights Show (CBS, 11:30-11:45pm)

Saturday, April 11

Live Coverage (CBS, 3:30pm)

Sunday, April 12

Live Coverage (CBS, 3:30pm)

Noooooooo! Stupid Tiger. Why did you have to go and ruin a perfectly good weekend of Golf by losing yesterday? Not only are we as fans out a weekend of viewing Tiger taking out, random PGA Pro after random PGA pro, but the NBC "brass" has probably been cursing the name of Tim Clark for the last 18 hours or so.

There is good news for you Golf fans though. Just because Tiger isn't playing in the Tourney anymore, doesn't mean NBC won't be shoving clip after clip of him down your throat! Via the LA Times....

Tiger Woods is out in the second round of the Accenture Match Play Championship, beaten Thursday by South Africa's Tim Clark. That means Woods won't be playing Saturday and Sunday during live network television coverage of the event, but he'll still be prominent on NBC.

"We'll have to deal with showing what happened to Tiger because this has gone from being a golf tournament to a news event," NBC golf producer Tommy Roy said. "Our weekend telecast will have to deal with showing what happened to Tiger. It will be our duty."

Wednesday's first-round coverage of the match-play event resulted in the highest first-round ratings ever for the Golf Channel. Golf Channel President Page Thompson said the 1.8 rating was up 50% from the same round a year ago. "It was exceptional," Thompson said.

Well that's just great. What NBC doesn't understand, is that all of those people interested in that angle won't even be around to bombard them with all of Tiger news. Instead you'll have hardcore Golf fans, wanting to watch some of the other players they enjoy, and NBC will be pissing them off to no end by continually talking about Woods. It should be a fun weekend on the "Peacock"!

NBC won't forget about Tiger Woods (LA Times)

The highlight of today's match between Tiger Woods and Brendan Jones wasn't Woods' convincing win over the youngster, or any of the shots or putts he hit. No, it was far and away this spot that the Golf Channel ran throughout his round....

Now the Sam Jackson one was entertaining, but that one gave me goosebumps. It's so refreshing to have him back.

One of my favorite open threads was the Tiger Woods-Rocco Mediate open thread during the 2008 U.S. Open last year. I spent a day chronicling the playoff between the two, and had a blast doing so. I'm going to try and do a little of that today during Tiger's round, and if you want to follow along, you're more than welcome to do so. Woods is teeing off in about twenty, and I'll give you a hole-by-hole recap, as well as some video when it's warranted.

It's Tiger, It's Brendan Jones, and it's on the Golf Channel....NEXT!
___________________________________

Mark Rolfing says that Tiger looked brilliant in his warmup, but that he didn't seem to be swinging too hard. Brendan Jones is in for a heck of a round today. Here are some of the notable winners from earlier....

Lee Westwood, Camillo Villegs, Anthony Kim, Oliver Wilson (over KJ Choi)

HOLE #1

Tiger is walking to the tee, and getting his potassium in with a quick banana before his round. He and Brendan Jones are waiting for another match, that went into OT, to move out of the first fairway. Tiger is up first and he hits his first shot, a 3-wood, in the fairway down the right hand side. Jones follows with a good strike as well that just scoots through the fairway into the left side rough. And we're underway!!!

Tiger is away and sticks his shot within 10 feet of the pin. Man, the guy is a machine. Jones has a downhill lie, and will be trying to hit it on the right of the green and run it towards the hole (same thing Tiger did). He's short and in the left, front bunker.

Nice out by Jones and his bunker shot skips past the hole, but within Tiger's distance. Tiger with about a six footer.....Drains It! Welcome back.

Woods 1 up thru 1

HOLE #2

We've got a Par 5 for hole two, and it's 574 yards. Tiger with another shot in the fairway, and Jones follows with another drive in the rough. It should be okay though. Quick flip over to Phil Mickelson, and he smashes a drives through a Par 3 and into the gallery. Good one, Phil.

Jones with 252 to go....down the middle but short of the green. Tiger with 238 to go, but a difficult angle. WOW!!!! It's another shot within 10 feet of the hole. Perfect play, and he'll have an eagle attempt to go up 2 holes on Jones.



Jones within 12 feet after a chip, and he misses. Tiger won't even have to putt on this hole.

Woods 2 up thru 2

HOLE #3

Third up is a 205 yard Par 3, and Tiger has the honor. And there's his first bad shot of the day. It hits the fringe and bounces into the right side bunker. Jones is long, but right on the edge of the green. The two halve the hole and we're off to number four.

Woods 2 up thru 3

HOLE #4

We've got a Par 4, and Tiger sends another shot in to the fairway down the right. Jones follows with a shot way way right, and it's not a good start for him today. Jones is in the desert, and is out down the fairway. Woods' second is on the green about 30 feet or so away from the pin. Oh, and Cabrera has squared his match with Mickelson going to the 18th.

Jones' third shot is a nice one, and pitches it within five feet or so, and has a chance to split another hole. Tiger leaves his first long putt a bit short, and the two will push the 4th.

Woods 2 up thru 4

HOLE #5

Aaron Baddeley goes down to Paul Casey, and it looks like Mickelson might hold on against Cabrera. Jones and Woods both go right off the tee into the rough. Jones follows it with a dribbler down the fairway, and Woods ends up in the green side bunker.

"He's (Mickelson) got humps and bumps everywhere."- Roger Maltby

Well that's not a nice thing to say, Roger! It was said about his long putt, but it could certainly be taken another way. Cabrera has a 10-footer to extend the match, and he misses. He makes it, and this match with Mickelson will head into extra innings, after Phil gave up four straight holes leading into the 18th.

Jones shoot well past the green, and with a good chip, Tiger can take another hole. He chips out of the sand to about 12 feet or so. He'll likely have that to go 3 up. Jones flops it onto the green, Tiger misses his putt, and Brendan will have to hit a long putt to halve it. He finally makes a good stroke and they split another.

Woods 2 up thru five

HOLE #6

Six is a Par 3, and Tiger is still away. He hits it dead center right in the middle of the green a little ways past the hole. Jones follows with a shot within 10 feet of the hole, and he'll have a chance to get one back. Woods narrowly misses his putt and will finish the hole with a par. Jones misses his opportunity and Tiger lets him pick it up for the push.

Woods 2 up thru six

HOLE #7

Par 4, 463, and Woods has another FIR on the day. Phil wins his match and will be moving to face Zach Johnson who won his match as well. Jones is back in the rough. Tiger has 159, up hill, and leaves it short. The ball rolls way back down the hill and he'll have a tough chip for his third. Jones' second has a left to right, lie in the rough, and sticks it within 20 feet. That'll give him another chance at a hole.

Tiger chips it past Jones' ball and leaves himself a tough putt. He leaves it short and Jones has two chances to go back to only 1 down. Jones puts it within a foot and finally takes a hole.

Woods 1up thru seven

HOLE #8

Jones is up first on the Par 4 8th, and his tee shot ends up either in the fairway bunker or right beside. Tiger destroys his shot right down the center. Great swing there. Jones hits a fairway wood from the low rough, and that shot rolls off the green. Tiger with a pretty straightforward second shot from 258 away....and he nails it into the rough on the right of the green.

Both chip it on, with Tiger about five feet closer, and Jones will have a much tougher line to split the hole. BJ misses his 13-footer, and Woods will have about an 8-footer to move back to 2 up.

Tiger drains it, and we're going to the ninth after he gets the hole back he lost.

Woods 2 up thru eight

HOLE #9

Woods and Jones both end up in the fairway, and Woods' second shot from 150 hangs onto the green on the right side. 23 feet away on the putt, and Tiger leaves it waaaay short. Not a good stroke at all. Jones putts out, and Tiger will have a tough one to stay at 2 up. He drops it, and we're at the turn.

Woods 2 up thru nine

HOLE #10

The first hole after the turn is a Par 4 at 450, and Tiger pulls it a bit left onto the fringe of the fairway. The Golf Channel is now skipping Jones' tee shots, but I think he's over there with Tiger. Tiger's second hits the green, but rolls off.

Jones was actually closer to the pin than Tiger, and chips it right up near the hole. He's trying to hang around. Woods leaves it short, and Jones has a six-footer to get back to 1 down. He promptly misses, and Tiger now has the line to stay at 2 up. He's got it, and we're onto the 11th.

Woods 2 up thru ten

HOLE #11

Here's the huge Par Five on the course, and Tiger hits his tee shot....well we can't really see where it goes. Great job by the Golf Network cameras there. Okay, it was apparently in a fairway bunker, and he'll lay up his second shot into the fairway. Jones is in the fairway and hits another straight shot down the middle. He could be up if he could have just sunk a few early putts.

Woods' third is about 260 into the wind, and he's hitting a 3-wood. Nope, scratch that. Steve Williams talks him into a five, and he skips it up onto the green, but a good distance from the hole. Jones' chip ends up past the green in the rough, and he lets Tiger off the hook once again.

Woods just misses his putt, and Jones follows with a nice chip to leave him a short distance for a halve. He gets it.

Woods 2 up thru eleven

HOLE #12

Another short, but tough, Par 3. The wind is picking up in Arizona as well. Woods is away, and his shot starts right and stays right. Holds up on the fringe though. Jones lines up his tee shot, and hits another shot long past the hole. In fact he's actually right up against a wall. Not good.

Jones' ball didn't quite make it to that wall, but he's got a tough down hill chip to get it close. Annnnnd....he hits it about four feet back into the rough. That should be another hole for Tiger.

He puts a nice chip to about two feet, and will go up three with six to go.

Woods Up 3 thru twelve

HOLE #13

Another Par 5, and another shot heading right by Tiger. It holds up in the short stuff though, and he'll be okay. Jones' drives his ball well past Tiger's and is smack dab in the middle of the fairway. Woods' second shot....Wow! Just drills an iron a million feet into the air, and it comes down on the green and just slides past the hole and onto the fringe. He struck that one just about perfect. Jones follows that with a similar look but his roll takes him into the bunker.

BJ almost holes it out of the bunker, but Tiger still has an Eagle putt from the edge of the green. NAILS IT! This one could be over soon.

Woods 4 up with 5 to go

HOLE #14

Tiger finally gets his drive back into the fairway, and Jones follows that excellent shot with a slice onto another hole. That could be it, folks. Tiger's second is 168 into the wind, and he hits yet another green in regulation as his ball stops above the hole about 40 feet away.

Jones is in the middle of nowhere and will have a tough shot at hitting the green.....and he somehow makes it on! The ball hit the edge of a bunker, and sprinted back onto the back of the green. Both have ridiculously long birdie putts.

Jones takes a run at it, but his ball goes well past the hole. Tiger can end it end it here.....great putt, but it's just right. Jones has a seven footer to keep the match alive. He drops it and we're onto the fifteenth.

Woods 4 up with 4 to play

HOLE #15

Woods is away on this short Par 4, and he has a shot to drive the green with a good strike. They're waiting for a previous pairing to finish up the hole first though. After a long wait, Tiger's finally ready to go with his 3-wood. And he's on the front of the green. Great shot.

Jones tee shot is even better though. He almost holes it! It draws back to the hole and is only about 10 feet away. He's trying to make it interesting. Tiger leaves it short, and Jones has a chance to extend it.

He drains it! Great putt, and he's down three with three to go.

Woods 3 up thru 15

HOLE #16

The sixteenth is another Par 3, and Brendan Jones has the honor. He'll need a birdie here to get to seventeen. Jones drops it within about 25-feet, and Tiger's up. He steps away a few times as the wind picks up, but is ready to go now.....AND HE'S IN THE BUNKER!

Actually it's a pretty good lie, so he might be okay. He's actually closer to the pin than Jones. Here's his shot, and......he puts it within two feet. Jones has to hit another birdie to move on. And he just misses....Tiger takes his first round match 3 and 2.

Earlier today, I showed you NBC's promo for the Accenture Match Play featuring Tiger Woods, and now we get a chance to look at the Golf Channel's latest effort. They too went with the welcome back message, but took it just a bit of a step further. How so you ask? Well by getting Samuel L. Jackson to recreate his "Path of the Righteous Man" speech from "Pulp Fiction"....

Now that's how you make an ad! Now I'm ready to watch some Golf!!!

The news that Tiger was returning came last week, and it took probably all of about five minutes before NBC started churning out the spots for the Accenture Match Play Championship this weekend. Here's on of the ads that were airing all day on the network yesterday....

The best news for NBC, is that this is their first Tournament of the year. While other network's have been struggling in the ratings to start the PGA season, NBC will get a serious windfall come this weekend.

The Ryder Cup gets underway early on Friday and for the first time ESPN will have live coverage beginning on Thursday with the Opening ceremony. The network will carry 10 hours of various events and practices during the four day period and each Sports Center will carry live reports.

The team that the "Leader" is sending will be anchored by Mike Tirico who will call action with Andy North, Judy Rankin, Bill Kratzert and Scott Van Pelt will be out on the course and Tom Rinaldi and Rick Reilly will be there for updates. Here's the schedule if you want to block off any of the days on your calendar....

Thursday, September, 18th

2pm-3pm: SportsCenter at the Ryder Cup (ESPN)
4pm-6pm: Opening Ceremonies (ESPN News)

Friday, September 19th

7am-8am: SportsCenter at the Ryder Cup (ESPN)
8am-6pm: Ryder Cup First Round (ESPN)
6pm-1am: Ryder Cup First Round (ESPN Classic, Tape)

Saturday, September 20th

12pm-1am: SportsCenter at the Ryder Cup (ESPN2)
7pm-Midnight: Ryder Cup Second Round (ESPN Classic, Tape-NBC)

Sunday, September 21st

Midnight-1am: SportsCenter at the Ryder Cup (ESPN2)
6pm-7pm: Closing Ceremonies (ESPN News)

Monday, September 22nd

Midnight-1am: ESPN2SportsCenter Presented by American Express at the Ryder Cup
5pm-10pm: Ryder Cup Final Round (ESPN Classic, Tape-NBC)

I like to think that I watch more Golf than an average male fan my age. I don't miss a major and I even watch parts of tournaments that Tiger Woods isn't involved in. With that said, I still have zero idea how the Fed Ex Playoffs work for the PGA and I'm willing to bet that most diehards don't either. I know it's a four event playoff, and that somehow 144 people qualify somehow, but other than that I'm at a loss.

It's more confusing than the BCS at this point, and the PGA Tour seems to know that, which is why they decided to come up with a "celebrity" ad campaign to get people interested. The big names include Dana Torres, Michael Jordan, John Elway, Joe Sakic, Daryl Strawberry and my two favorites.... Joe Buck and Emmitt Smith!

YBB has some more vids, but as they point out....the Championship has already been locked up by Vijay Singh, so they're all kind of for naught. I have to admit though that the FedEx Trophy is pretty badass looking, but until you get Natalie Gulbis on YouTube explaining the rules to me....I'm probably not going to pay attention.

Video: Vijay Singh Ruins PGA Ad Campaign (You Been Blinded)

Last year, in EA's Tiger Woods 2008, a Youtuber found a glitch that let you hit off water and dubbed it the "Jesus Shot". Well Tiger Woods would like you to know that the "Jesus Shot" isn't a glitch and that he can, in fact, walk on water. Via You Been Blinded....

Pretty cool if you ask me. That kid is going to be the star of his highschool for about a week now and hopefully he (like us bloggers) can get out of the basement and meet a girl. Huzzah!


Video: Tiger Woods Walks On Water (You Been Blinded)

Should have caught this yesterday, but I was a little bogged down with the Sports Center stuff. Olympic Swimming announcer Dan Hicks was pulled aside by NBC for a conference call the day after the amazing 4x100 Freestyle Relay and I wanted to share some highlights....

"Without a doubt it's the great Olympic moment I've ever experienced or called, head and shoulder above anything, and we have done some pretty good things. It's just one of those rare moments that you get in this business to be a part of something like that, and the fact that it now has a chance to continue, one of the greatest Olympic stories ever in Michael Phelps, just makes it an even bigger moment.

It was something out of a Hollywood script. It had everything. It had the guys that did the trash talking in the French, it had the 32-year-old swimmer in Jason Lezak who has not had successful Olympic swims in the past trying to catch the world record holder in the 100m, and doing it when it looked like he had no chance at all. It was a crazy, crazy moment. I know Rowdy, in his eyes, agrees with me that it was simply the greatest Olympic relay race he has ever seen.

That race is why we get into the business of sports broadcasting. It was just absolute excitement, shock, and the utmost of wattage. It was just so unexpected. It was so clear that Bernard was going to win this race and in those last meters, it was like a switch was flipped and all of a sudden Lezak pulled it out. I think it has been clear throughout the Games that we are certainly not rooting for the Americans. The excitement that we had was just simply about an unbelievable piece of drama in the pool."

I don't know about the whole "not rooting for the Amercians" thing, but I thoroughly enjoyed the "utmost of wattage" line. While Rowdy Gaines is busy turning into Swimming's version of Doug Collins ("When I played/swam, I was ____."), Hicks is really making a name for himself. I personally didn't think he was impressive during Tiger's U.S. Open overtime win, but I'm definitely enjoying him during these Olympics.

It's tough to make a name for yourself in a Sports that people only care about every four years, but if he can pull it off.....more power to him. Hey, and just because I like to challenge the man....let's watch it again!



(P.S.- Listening to Doug Collins call Olympic Basketball games is a personal hell for me. If I have to hear the, "I made two free throws, and if they hadn't put more time back on the clock," story one more time I'm going to lose it. We get it...the U.S. was screwed and you were awesome, but we've been hearing it for the last 36 years.)