Ball Boys are always providing great clips, but it's usually because they are getting hit in the face with a ball. This young whippersnapper decided to step it up a level by going all parkour during a match recently....

BAM! Now that's how you take a fall on National TV, right there.

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)

One of the more obvious annoyances within the Sports media world, is Chris Berman's nickname schtick. People call him out on it all the time, but when Berman was added to ESPN's coverage of the Masters last year, he chose to keep it in his arsenal. And according to Neil Best at Newsday, he's not going to be changing anytime soon....

"But that doesn’t mean it’s a Caddyshack or even Tin Cup, which is a great film. Everything is treated with respect. It’s within the moment of golf. There will be a few nicknames. But it’s while they’re lining up a putt. It’s not distracting. You won’t hear it as the ball is halfway to the cup.

"Will you hear Ground Control to David Toms? You hear it once a year, not five times a year, once a year. Will you hear me intro Roger as Chocolate Maltbie? Sure. But once. Diet Koch? Sure, when it’s in the spirit of what I’ve done in my career for 30 years. Nothing has changed.

"In golf, it’s less. But pull up a chair and enjoy the hour or half hour or three hours you can spend with us because we make it enjoyable that a couple of friends might be talking about something that you the viewer and Roger and I and everyone on the course care about. That’s all."

While it bothers me as much as the next person, he does sort of have a point. It can't be easy to fill three hours of airtime, and if part of that time is spent lightheartedly....I don't really have a problem with it. It's when it becomes forced that I start to bang my head on the wall. Hopefully Berman can keep it to a dull roar at Bethpage this year.

Chris Berman says detractors are 'missing the point' (Newsday)

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.

Now far be it from me to poke fun at a Tournament that is trying its hardest to let people know it's right around the corner, but when you employ Don King and the WWE to do so....I have to comment. The U.S. Open is getting underway today, but the past few weeks have been rather interesting in the way of PR for the matches in Flushing, New York.

First up was Nike's campaign hyping the potential final matchup of Nadal v. Federer. The Swoosh decided to turn the potential meeting into a pseudo-weigh in for the two Tennis stars and even brought in Don King to do what Don King does. Hype. Via the Telegraph....

King, speaking exclusively to The Daily Telegraph, revealed his “delight” at being called up to promote one of the greatest sporting rivalries on the planet. “You had the 'Thrilla in Manila’, you had the 'Rumble in the Jungle’ now we have the 'Grapple in the Apple’. We gonna take it to the moon. They try to pretend to be friends. But they’re no kin and they’re gonna bend. They got to be competitive.”

King, getting into character, insisted in his idiolect that the US Open would be “free of trickeration”. Tennis may never be the same. But nor would boxing have had some of its most memorable nights without the genius of King.

As annoying as King is, that's pretty clever and that poster is pretty spot on. You would think that "stunt" was enough, but oh no, they weren't done there. "Hey, Let's try to use the most obvious avenue to cross promote the Tourney. Why of course that's the WWE!"



Well then.....that was special. The collaboration between WWE and the U.S. Open isn't anything new, but I think it's safe to say that having a wrestler jump off a judges chair onto a tennis player is taking it to another level.

'Apple Grapple' brings a gleam to Don King's eye (Telegraph)

Ninety one holes....91! I questioned the 18-hole Playoff before the start today to myself, and more often than not this format probably end in a blowout, but today and the whole five-day period completed arguably the best rounds of Golf I've ever seen. The ride of Tiger Woods' Round yesterday and the drama of the Playoff today was simply amazing and Golf has never captivated me in this way before.

I thought at the beginning of the day that Mediate had a chance, but when he went down three at the turn I (and everyone else) counted him out. In the section of the course that Tiger owns, Mediate went birdie, birdie, birdie, and tied it up. He then sank an astonishing putt on 16 and took the lead. Tiger saved his best for last and on the Par-5 18th he made the green in two and put the pressure on Mediate. Tiger got his birdie with a two putt and then Mediate was left with the longest four footer of his life. He stepped up to the challenge and forced the sudden death portion of our program and I think all of us were left shaking our heads.

The 19th hole obviously went to Tiger and you can see that below, but the best part about this Tournament was Mediate. It's easy to root for or against Tiger at times, but I don't know how anyone could root against Rocco. The guy just loves Golf and after the putts on the 19th in the video below, you can see why he became America's Sweetheart over the weekend....

The best part of this whole duel wasn't the 19 holes (even though each one was special in its own right), but that it was one of those rare occasions where it didn't even matter who won. Mediate didn't come out on top, but no one is going to soon forget his run at Tiger Woods. Just a great, great Tournament and both deserve praise for a great run.

The sportsmanship, play, and tension made this a Father's Day weekend for the ages. I think we were all lucky for witnessing it (and if you didn't today, then I hope this site helped a bit) and thanks for playing along with me during the live-blogs. Tiger Woods continues to amaze me and there's nothing left to do but marvel at his greatness. Unbelievable (there's that word again).

What a finish, but it's not over yet! It was a battle of attrition just about the entire day, and even though he struggled early and was grimacing after every drive, Tiger Woods forced an 18-hole playoff tomorrow morning. It wasn't easy though as Woods had to hit this shot out of the rough and one putt to finally come even with Rocco Mediate on eighteen....

The guy just continues to amaze me every single time I watch him, but this was other-worldly. He was lifting up through most of his swings and even with the bad start, he still came out on top. As far as athletes go, he's in a class of his own. I also would be remiss if I didn't mention the play of Mediate who was steady and jovial throughout the round. It should be a great playoff starting at noon tomorrow. I'll be sure to keep you informed.

This post is really just a preamble to the Final Round of the U.S. Open, but if you missed Tiger Woods eagle putt on the 13th hole, here it is....

The guy is just a machine. He putted that at least six feet to the right before it swung back to the left. Amazing. Bob Costas and company are on hand and I'll be pulling quotes and videos from the Final Round as it creeps along. If anything exciting happens you know where to find it.

Happy Father's Day to all you dads and let's enjoy some Golf!

I have to admit that I was just as confused as some of you this morning with ESPN's coverage. For some reason the network didn't go into "total coverage" until 1pm, but I had no idea that's what they were planning. For two hours to start the day we got a few shots of the "Big Three" teeing off and putting but it was interrupted by 10 or so reports on players and the course itself. Karl Ravech and Andy North waxed ecstatic for the better part of the two hours and went to Tom Rinaldi and Colleen Dominguez early and often for the reports mentioned above. It's not that the reports were bad, there was just zero golf and no explanation for it.

Well right before 1pm, Ravech explained that they were currently in "ESPN U.S. Open Extra Coverage" and that Berman would be coming on with Roger Maltby and Dottie Pepper. The network went to break and then magically transformed into a regular Golf telecast. It makes sense to wait until most of the players are on the course, but it was very confusing to say the least.

Now that we're over 30 minutes into actually coverage, I have to say that it's actually pretty good. Chris Berman is doing a good job of not being "over-the-top", and while most of the coverage is on Tiger Woods, they're spreading it around just enough to other players. Not a bad start at all. Sure Berman has had his moments, specifically when referencing Chargers fans after the gallery cheered for Tiger, but he's not bothering me (yet) in the least.

I know a lot of you are TIVO'ing the first round so I'll skip on telling you about the play and just leave this spot as a running open thread for quotes and videos. Here are some of the early comments by the crew at Torrey Pines....

Day One Quotes:

“This is his mini-driver, 11 and a half degrees.”- Andy North
“And let’s not confuse the people at home who may think Minnie Driver might be walking around following Phil. It’s not Minnie Driver the actress, it’s Minnie Driver the golf club he’s hitting.”- Karl Ravech

“That 50% mental really applies to you Karl considering how much you do with Baseball.”- Tom Rinaldi

“Sounds like a Chargers crowd at home here.”- Chris Berman

“He’s [Tiger Woods] have never finished out of the Top 10 here. Pretty remarkable at Torrey Pines.”- Roger Maltby
“He knows where the bodies are buried…….and he knows where the putts are buried.”- Chris Berman
“He buried that one.”- Roger Maltby

(P.S.- Berman has some seriously wide shoulders these days.)

Squeezing 40 hours of coverage into a two-day period has to be near impossible given the fact there's only 48 hours to fit it in. This is why ESPN is starting things up tomorrow and Wednesday with two hour long Sports Center Specials. The rest of the coverage will come fast and furious from Torrey Pines Golf Club starting at 11am on Thursday and finishing up on early Monday morning with a highlight package of the Final Round.

Mike Tirico and Chris Berman will be your hosts and they'll deal with a cavalcade of reporters out on the course. Here's the breakdown:

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

You can also prepare yourself for a ton of Rick Reilly over the weekend as well. He'll be providing commentary and essays much along the lines of the Belmont one he did this past weekend.

Here's the whole schedule if you're interested....

Tue., June 10

1-2 p.m.- SportsCenter Presented by American Express at the U.S. Open (ESPN, Live)

Wed., June 11

1-2 p.m.- SportsCenter Presented by American Express at the U.S. Open (ESPN, Live)

Thu., June 12

11 a.m.-1 p.m.- U.S. Open Extra Presented by Titleist (ESPN, Live)
1-3 p.m.- U.S. Open – First Round (ESPN, Live)
5-10 p.m.- U.S. Open – First Round (ESPN, Live)
5-9:25 p.m.- U.S. Open – First Round (ESPN Deportes, Live)

Fri., June 13

12- 1 a.m.- SportsCenter Presented by American Express at the U.S. Open (ESPN2, Live )
2 a.m.-5 p.m.- U.S. Open – Best of First Round (ESPN2, Delay)
11 a.m.-1 p.m.- U.S. Open Extra Presented by Titleist (ESPN, Live)
1-3 p.m.- U.S. Open – Second Round (ESPN, Live)
5-10 p.m.- U.S. Open – Second Round (ESPN, Live)

Sat., June 14

12 a.m.- 1 a.m.- SportsCenter Presented by American Express at the U.S. Open (ESPN2, Live)
3-6 p.m.- U.S. Open – Best of the Second Round (ESPN, Delay)
1-2 p.m.- SportsCenter Presented by American Express at the U.S. Open (ESPN, Live)

Sun., June 15

12- 1 a.m.- SportsCenter Presented by American Express at the U.S. Open (ESPN2, Live )
3-5:30 a.m.- U.S. Open – Best of Third Round (ESPN, Delay)
1-2 p.m.- SportsCenter Presented by American Express at the U.S. Open (ESPN, Live)

Mon., June 16
1:30-2:30 a.m.- SportsCenter Presented by American Express at the U.S. Open (ESPN2, Live)
2:30- 5 a.m.- U.S. Open – Best of Final Round (ESPN2, Delay)