The Masters

[TU_BLA]

So one of my favorite events to watch start to end each year as much for the beauty of Augusta National as well as the intrigue on the course, especially the back 9 on Sunday. I've seen the Thursday/Friday group pairings and August National really missed out on creating a little spice in the pairing and creating tension the 1st 2 days by not pairing Sergio or Phil with Tiger or Rory, or the even better putting Patrick Reed and Rory in the same group. Seriously, any of those pairings would be must watch TV whereas most people wouldn't tune in until the weekend hits and then just watch the leaders. I'd love to see some trash talk on the course and not the playful stuff Rory and Tiger seem to engage in or Tiger and JT. I want to see true vitriol out there.

 

[noble cane]

Its funny that people make a big deal about the PGA - LIV rivalry.

Tiger and Rory used LIV to shakedown the PGA to the benefit of the top ranked players.

 

[TU_BLA]

Its funny that people make a big deal about the PGA - LIV rivalry.

Tiger and Rory used LIV to shakedown the PGA to the benefit of the top ranked players.

LIV won't survive 2-3 more years and Norman will go the Trump route to sue the PGA for antitrust because he couldn't generate enough interest or ad revenue to keep it self-sustaining. And then he better hope the Saudi's don't decide to off him for losing them a **** ton of money. Courses will stop wanting to host the events because they won't be making anything off of them and probably even losing money b/c they don't generate enough ticket sales and subsequent concessions sales. The 3 day, shotgun start format is way too gimmicky. I know what they're trying to do but you can't take a product that has a limited fan base in terms of viewership and then make insane crazy changes and expect people to just bounce over to them.

 

[noble cane]

LIV won't survive 2-3 more years and Norman will go the Trump route to sue the PGA for antitrust because he couldn't generate enough interest or ad revenue to keep it self-sustaining. And then he better hope the Saudi's don't decide to off him for losing them a :crap: ton of money. Courses will stop wanting to host the events because they won't be making anything off of them and probably even losing money b/c they don't generate enough ticket sales and subsequent concessions sales. The 3 day, shotgun start format is way too gimmicky. I know what they're trying to do but you can't take a product that has a limited fan base in terms of viewership and then make insane crazy changes and expect people to just bounce over to them.

Not arguing the legitimacy of the LIV circuit... just saying that Woods and McIlroy used the situation to shake the PGA down...

 

[TU_BLA]

Not arguing the legitimacy of the LIV circuit... just saying that Woods and McIlroy used the situation to shake the PGA down...

Well, I don't think Woods did it for himself. He's got plenty of $ and doesn't play anything but the majors and a couple selected non-major events. I think he wants to just be opposed to anything Phil Mickelson supports. And I think both Woods and McIlroy saw some of the better players bolting for the 7, 8, and 9 figure signing bonuses thrown out by the Saudi Crown Prince and understanding if many more top players chased the cash, the sponsor and TV dollars for the PGA tour were going to dry up. I think they've managed to succeed in driving up the purses for events, spread the events out, give younger players to work their way into the higher profile events while also getting the networks to not back LIV and hold off on LIV getting OWGR points. From the sounds of it, some of the LIV golfers have contemplated asking to be reinstated to the PGA Tour and leaving LIV but the LIV signing bonuses would need to be paid back in full...some of those golfers signed on for $100M guaranteed.

I know what LIV was trying to do but I don't see it working. The team thing is very gimmicky. The limited schedule is the only thing of any worth to the game over the packed PGA Tour schedule. If you've seen any of the results on the LIV events, the biggest name players are sort of playing it out like it's a weekend round with buddies and beverage girls. And they're playing course set ups about as challenging as South Lakes in Jenks. I watched 20-30 minutes of one event and it was like having a tooth extracted or watching pro baseball (pre pitch clock era). And it should tell you something that CW is not showing stuff LIV but mostly on tape delays and some local CW affiliates have also bumped the telecast in favor of running popular syndicated reruns.

Yes, watching the Masters and Brooks Koepka (who I think is immensely talented) and Mickelson be in the mix was fun, but I also found myself rooting against those players and hoping a PGA guy won.

 

[noble cane]

...pro baseball (pre pitch clock

I hate the pitch clock... (and all the other new rules) ..

ML Baseball keeps trying to give an aspirin to a man with a broken leg...

Remove the cause of the illness.. 21st century A.I. analytics... return
the game to its roots and it will become exciting again..

Tiger and Rory effectively Usurped the power of the PGA commisioner. They elevated 12 events to Major status.. instituted guaranteed payouts to top 50 players.. required top players to play in at least 20 events.. All players are guaranteed $500k in earnings with tour rookies getting it up front.. plus a missed cut bonus of $5k to cover travel..

PGA golfers are now employees rather than independent contractors..

Woods didnt take the LIV money because it would have made all his trophies worthless and with the state of his game.. past glory is all he has..

 

[TU_BLA]

I hate the pitch clock... (and all the other new rules) ..

ML Baseball keeps trying to give an aspirin to a man with a broken leg...

Remove the cause of the illness.. 21st century A.I. analytics... return
the game to its roots and it will become exciting again..

Tiger and Rory effectively Usurped the power of the PGA commisioner. They elevated 12 events to Major status.. instituted guaranteed payouts to top 50 players.. required top players to play in at least 20 events.. All players are guaranteed $500k in earnings with tour rookies getting it up front.. plus a missed cut bonus of $5k to cover travel..

PGA golfers are now employees rather than independent contractors..

Woods didnt take the LIV money because it would have made all his trophies worthless and with the state of his game.. past glory is all he has..

I like the pitch clock. I think there need to be some tweaks to it. And I'm not 100% behind the only 2 pick off throws per batter. Basically gives away a stolen base. I'm also not keen on the no shift rule. Hitters should adjust and learn to hit the ball the other way. The pace of games make them watchable again. I think the Red Sox have played 3 games in just about 2 hours so far this season.

 

[noble cane]

I like the pitch clock. I think there need to be some tweaks to it. And I'm not 100% behind the only 2 pick off throws per batter. Basically gives away a stolen base. I'm also not keen on the no shift rule. Hitters should adjust and learn to hit the ball the other way. The pace of games make them watchable again. I think the Red Sox have played 3 games in just about 2 hours so far this season.

I watch a lot of youth/HS baseball and it is still pretty exciting.. no pitch clocks.. no funky rules (other than a universal DH and a mercy run rule).. biggest difference.. no advanced analytics..

Interesting historical data.. on length of games.. look at game lengths in the past before all the rule changes and tv... it wasnt unusual to have a game over in 2:15..

Major League Miscellaneous Year-by-Year Averages and Totals | Baseball-Reference.com

League year-by-year totals for pitching, fielding, batting and team win totals.

www.baseball-reference.com