The News Cycle Perpetuating Itself

I can understand the constant feeding frenzy of the cable "news" networks during the run-up to the Presidential election. But the election is over, and the networks have found a formula to keep their audiences all day long. Remember when Crossfire was a 30-minute show and not a way of life?

The news, itself, doesn't do it for the American TV consumers any longer. Unless they're invested in it. Hate guns? We got a show for you. Hate Obama? We got a network for you. Want an out-of-context soundbite mash-up to back up your own views? Just stay tuned.

We root for political sides now like we root for our sports teams, and down-the-middle news reporting is now extinct. Not that it's not practiced, but because so few believe that the reporting entity is without bias. With all the black helicopters out there and such.

There is only one thing that can derail the cycle, a salacious sports scandal. The Secret Service sex romp in Colombia and the Petraeus affair are a drop in the bucket compared to Tonya Harding, OJ Simpson, Tiger Woods, Jerry Sandusky, or Manti Te'o.

As Clay Travis headlined on OutkickTheCoverage.com, the Te'o story is the kind of thing that breaks the internet, and causes the whale to show up on Twitter because it's overloaded.

A sports scandal brings both political sides together and takes over the 24-hour cycle. Even on MSNBC's (smartly named) The Cycle, they led with the Te'o fake, dead girlfriend (or is it dead, fake girlfriend?) story. They even had Tom Scocca on, Deadspin.com's managing editor who broke the story.

While we spend the next day or two figuring out exactly how the Te'o situation all went down - as if we ever really will - the cable news networks will move back to partisan fights and rhetoric.

And that all comes from sports, since you can't like Alabama and still respect Auburn. And 24-hour sports radio preceded 24-hour cable news.

Adam Scott: The Open is In The Bag

For the current holder of the dubious title "Best golfer never to win a Major," the path is wide open. A four-shot lead at the final round of the British is usually far from a certainty, with stars on the leaderboard and the possibility of weather concerns. But it doesn't take a meteorologist to predict which way the wind is blowing.

The 8-time PGA Tour winner is peaking: 8th at The Masters, 15th at The U.S. Open, and 3rd in his last start at Congressional. And he's closed the deal in the past. At 24, he famously seized control, fell apart, and then gutted out the 2004 Players Championship.

The owner of $26M in career earnings and the textbook swing made a change last year -- to the most successful caddie in golf history. And while there is a lot of debate about how much Steve Williams actually helped Ray Floyd, Greg Norman and Tiger Woods win tournaments, his bosses' successes have to be seen as much more than coincidence.

Williams is like a politician's "Body Man," making sure every minute detail is taken care of, and the golfer has no distractions or worries. And watching Scott's body language for 3 days, his game seems completely unencumbered.

There is one problem in the leader's rearview, and it's not Tiger.

More like the sideview, since Graeme McDowell (#12 in world) is in the final pairing with Scott. McDowell has proven over the last 3 years that he can stand the heat with a 1st and 2nd at the U.S. Open and was the anchor of Europe's 2010 Ryder Cup win.

The home oddsmakers see it that way too. PaddyPower.com has Scott as the better than odds-on 1-2 favorite going into Sunday with McDowell at 4-1 and Woods at 5-1.

It's Scott's date with destiny right now. And at just 32 years young, it should be the first of many.

What's missing from a Text? Context and Subtext

It's the start of an epic love story:

I saw you across a crowded room. I noticed your steely eyes, pursed lips, and striking intensity as you thoughtfully and meticulously tapped characters into your Smart Phone.


Then I watched as you paced anxiously.

I felt the vibration across the room when you received your validation. Your teeth gleamed, you flipped your non-dominant hand through your hair, and gazed approvingly toward the heavens.

I knew then you were a real human being, and not merely an extension of the handheld device you were attached to.

The inspiration for this post came this morning when I read Jake Hodesh's column on SavannahNow.com: Straddling Two Worlds -- Digital and In-Person and decided to hijack some of his message. Though Jake and his colleagues at The Creative Coast would probably soft-sell the thievery and call it "networking."

Anyway, the line that struck me was "In the digital world, emotion is difficult to interpret." Text messages are good way to steer clear of awkward conversations, but sometimes they just create more misinterpretation.  This hasn't just affected our interpersonal communications but our business ones as well.

For example, if I were to receive a text from my boss, I have not yet seen your report, a number of thoughts would go through my head.

1) Is he serious? Maybe he was being ironic in a follow-up to a previous conversation.

2) How come he used "have not" instead of "haven't"? He must be very serious.

3) Why did he use "yet"? Am I slacking?

4) Why did he text me instead of just sending an e-mail?

If we had a phone conversation about this I would've been able to judge his tone and get involved in some give-and-take. But to text him back would involve a lot more thought about how carefully to choose my words, right down to the contractions and characters to make it as succinct and expository as possible. Hey, Text messages are supposed to save time!

And on the interpersonal front when messages are mangled, the answer is to exchange more and more texts. Also time-consuming. Check out the sheer number of communiques from that cheating spouse or that public official.

I hope Tiger Woods and Anthony Weiner sounded out what they were going to say out loud before they punched the words into their phone. It would have saved everyone a lot of time and a lot more trouble.

Is Harrington the Yin to Tiger's Yang?

When Tiger Woods really started to establish himself as the game's dominant force (roughly 10 years ago), a number of would-be challengers have come and gone. And we're still waiting for the Watson to his Nicklaus.


We thought it might be David Duval. Or Ernie Els. Or Vijay Singh. Or Phil Mickelson. All have provided challenges, but none have sustained it. Until now?

Padraig Harrington may be the guy. At 37 years old, he's got the fitness and fortitude to keep up. He's won 3 of the last 9 Majors, though two without Tiger in the field.

Harrington enters PGA Sunday tied for second, just two back from Tiger. But he's not in Tiger's pairing. That's your X factor. Or "Y" factor as the case may be.

That's 37-year old Korean Yong-Eun (Y.E.) Yang. He may be ranked just #110 in the world. But he won the Honda Classic earlier this year, and has two Top 10s and a Top 20 at Bridgestone in his last three starts. He is piling up FedexCup points and in his last 3 final rounds he's shot 68, 67, and 66.

So maybe Yang is the yin to Tiger's yang. Or is he the yang? Before this degenerates into a Abbott & Costello routine (though it's probably too late for that), it's time to remind you that Backtime will provide live updates and perspective from Sunday at Hazeltine.

Harrington tees off at 2:36 ET. Woods and Yang at 2:45. Weather could play a factor.

7:12 ET Final thoughts. I'm not sure I can put it into words, except I am thrilled to have watched this from start to finish. After Tiger's bogey, Yang won by three. As it turns out, a 71 for Tiger would have won it, but he shot 75. Yang shot 70 and made history. Forever Yang!

7:05 ET Yang nailed the birdie putt and celebrated on the green while Tiger, still unfinished, stewed in the background. What a surreal moment.

6:58 ET Asked and answered, counselor. Yang hit the best possible approach. Tiger's in the rough. This is 99.9% in the bag.

6:53 ET Both players hammered their drives on #18. Tiger's was a little better. But remember Kenny Perry couldn't hit an iron on #18 to win the Masters so Yang has a pressure shot coming.

6:49 ET Tiger made a horrible pitch at #17 and made bogey. But Yang made a horrible 1st putt and he made bogey as well. Yang could have put it away, but still goes to #72 leading Tiger by one. Riveting.

6:32 ET Even in standard definition, Yang looks very strong. After a low-maintenance par at #16, Yang still leads by one with only 17 & 18 left.

6:17 ET Peter Kostis just said what I was thinking about Yang, "It's easy to play with nothing to lose when you don't have the lead. Now he's got the lead, it's time to see what he's made of." But sure enough Tiger and Yang both had misplays on the par-5 15th, and both settled for par. Then CBS lost the HD feed.

5:58 ET Wow! The "Tiger" moment came from Yang with a chip-in for eagle on the short par-4 14th. But Tiger didn't concede the trophy on the spot, he made birdie. Yang leads by one with 4 holes to go.

5:47 ET CBS suffered some serious technical glitches. They cleaned up the mess and are back on track, though they didn't acknowledge or apologize for the difficulties. Tiger hit a great tee shot to the par-3 13th, but couldn't convert. Yang scrambled from the sand and remains tied. Yang is proving to be a tough customer, but you have to think the big "Tiger" moment is coming soon.

5:36 ET Tiger came off a rare birdie with some rare trouble on #12, air-mailing the 515 yard #12. He couldn't save par and is tied with Yang for the lead again. The closest in the chase are still 3 behind, and running out of holes.

5:21 ET Neither Tiger or Yang converted on #10, but Tiger finally made his first birdie on the par-5 11th, getting 606 yards in two shots, then a run-of-the-mill 2-putt. He's at -7. Yang is -6. Nobody else closer than -3.

5:02 ET Glover and Lee Westwood are each three shots back and will remain that way, missing birdie putts on their respective par-5s (Glover on #11, Westwood on #15). Tiger and Yang each got lucky bounces on their drives on #10, and both can realistically make birdie.

4:37 ET This championship may be defined by what's transpired on the 8th hole. Henrik Stenson got reasonably close to the lead, but bogied. Glover made bogey. Harrington built a snowman. Tiger found the trap and he made bogey as well - he's two-over for the day. Yang hit the approach of the day on #8, but another no-confidence putt. He's tied for the lead with Tiger again, but noone has wrested the outright lead from him the entire week. Now Soren Kjeldsen is alone in 3rd, two shots back.

4:27 ET Harrington may have had that winning look, but he's still the guy who made an "8" down the stretch last week going mano-a-mano against Tiger. He put it in the water on #8, then botched his shot after the drop, then put a second into the water. Another "8" - all of a sudden Harrington looks less like Tiger and more like Mickelson. It's down to Tiger and Yang.

4:13 ET Yang flirted with tree trouble on #6 but blasted out of it. His birdie attempt lacked confidence. The pressure may be mounting on him. Tiger made another par. Harrington didn't take advantage of the par-5 7th, and has 7 straight pars.

3:57 ET Yang bogied #5, while Tiger churned out a workmanlike par. Harrington just barely missed birdie on #6. Glover dropped a shot, so he's two back. And Tiger is alone at the top again. But Harrington is starting to remind me of Tiger. He exudes confidence in his swing, his walk, and his stare. Think of Robert Patrick in Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

3:42 ET For the second day in a row, Tiger 3-putted the par-3 4th. Yang missed his birdie putt by inches, so he's now tied for the lead. Harrington and Glover are just one back.

3:31 ET Tiger has played well, if not great thru 3 holes. And like yesterday, he hasn't been close to any trouble. Harrington has flirted with trouble but has 4 pars. Yang made birdie on 3 and trails Tiger by one. Glover made a 2nd birdie on #5, and he's tied with Harrington at -6, within two.

3:15 ET Tiger was in position for a second straight birdie chance, but didn't convert on the putt. Yang looks rock-solid though it's only been 2 holes. No noise from Harrington. Lucas Glover with the first significant move of the day with a bird on the par-5 3rd, he's within 3 shots.

2:59 ET Tiger missed a great birdie opportunity on #1, sending his short putt wide. Yang played the first hole very solidly. Nobody from the field has made a move toward the top, yet. But you get the idea that another 71 from Tiger won't get it done.

The PGA's Top Two All-Time Money Winners Walk Into A Bar...

...What were you waiting for - a punchline? The joke's on the field as Saturday's final pairing has combined for $150 Million in career earnings.

Tiger Woods is halfway home to his 15th Major and 5th PGA Championship. He leads by four in front of a quintet of international elites, including Vijay Singh, Padraig Harrington, and US Open Champ Lucas Glover.

Tiger and Vijay go off at 2:40 ET. Perspective will be offered throughout the day. Let's not call it a LiveBlog, because if Tiger takes off and hides there's more pressing housework to be done. Check back for updates.

7:00 ET Final thoughts. Tiger entered the weekend with a 4-shot lead and I'm sure he would have signed for a 70-72 today. Sure enough he shot 71, and still leads by two at -8. He didn't play great, but he played smart. What else would you expect? Harrington and Yang are the challengers. Glover and Stenson are both Top 20 players and they are 4 shots behind.

6:35 ET Harrington's first bogey of the day comes at #18. That means Yang (-6) will be in the final pairing with Tiger tomorrow (unless Tiger drops two shots coming in). What Tiger does on 17 & 18 will likely determine whether or not tomorrow is a mere formality. His approach on 17 was very average.

6:15 ET Tiger made a mess of the par-5 15th and wound up with par. Harrington made par on 16. Yang is in the house with 67, -6 overall. Everyone else is fading. Looks like a 3-man race tomorrow.

5:55 ET Despite a par on the par-5 15th, Harrington looks to be playing with a lot of confidence. But Tiger answered with a long putt for birdie on the short 14th. Woods now has the outright lead, the only player to have it today.

5:45 ET While Tiger has let the field back in, he isn't doing anything to lose this tournament. Still even through 13 holes, he is rarely in birdie position, but never in trouble. Els just bogied #16, so he will drop two back.

5:33 ET The dirty rice with andouille sausage, turkey bacon, and bell peppers never disappoints. And it would seem that Paddy doesn't either. Harrington is now -4 on the day, -7 overall after a birdie on #14. Tiger finally has company at the top. And Els and Yang each connected on birdie putts. They're each just one shot back.

5:00 ET A couple of upsets. Not only is the playroom clean and the dirty rice ready, but Harrington birdied #11 to get within one. Els and Kjeldsen both with clutch par saves at the tough par-3 13th.

4:48 ET While Glover and Kjeldsen falter, Henrik Stenson has moved to -4, and Ernie Els (!) is storming the back nine, now tied with Harrington for 2nd. Tiger grinds along. With a 4-stroke lead going into the day, he'd probably be just fine with a 72 but plenty of golf left.

4:38 ET It should be noted at this point that Vijay Singh's eagle was on a chip-in, because he can't make anything with his putter. Tiger finished the front nine even for the day, but still two in front of Harrington, Glover, and birdie machine Soren Kjeldsen. Nobody has gotten within one yet.

4:15 ET OK, this is officially interesting. Harrington got a second straight birdie on #8 and knocked it close on #9. Glover birdied #7, and Vijay eagled it. While Tiger looks like he'll have to settle for par. He's still 2 ahead, but he isn't pulling away. In fact just the opposite.

4:02 ET Yang missed a great birdie chance on #10, but Tiger missed on his opportunity on #6. Maybe the question isn't if anyone can catch Tiger, but can anyone get within 2 shots? Singh and Westwood are self-destructing. Harrington made bird on the par-5 7th, and he joins Glover three behind. You feel like it's destined to be Harrington to ultimately test Woods' supremacy.

3:49 ET Vijay's approach on #5 was awfully tight, but he missed the putt. Tiger scrambled for par. Y.E. Yang and Lee Westwood each made birdies and they join Glover at -4, three back.

3:35 ET Tiger's par putt on #4 went most of the way down before lipping out. 3 putts and even on the day, still 3 clear. If Tiger doesn't get too far away, look out for Henrik Stenson who is -3 on the back nine.

3:22 ET Tiger and Vijay both made par on the par-5 3rd, despite making seemingly perfect birdie putts. Tiger did make birdie on #2, so he's at -8, leading Glover by 4.

3:00 ET Torrential rain has knocked out my satellite feed, though it is my understanding that Tiger parred #1 while Glover made birdie on #2. Tiger by 3.

The 2009 PGA Championship: Glory's Last Snooze?

The last time the PGA Championship was played at Hazeltine in 2002, Rich Beem stared down Tiger Woods and Justin Leonard, and shocked the world.

While the event was as memorable as anything I've ever seen in my living room, Beem's dance on 18 was so horrible that the golf gods haven't allowed him to win since.

The next year, Shaun Micheel gave glory his last shot (as good a last shot as any I can remember) for his only tour title.

There have been 5 PGA Championships since. The winners: Singh, Mickelson, Woods, Woods, Harrington. The rich get richer.

Well, the spotlight will be back on Beem for a couple of days as his playing partners are Tiger (going for major #15) and Harrington (defending his title). They tee off Thursday at 8:45 AM.

Beem's breakthough at Hazeltine was his second straight win. He took the now-defunct "International" just two weeks earlier. So he was hot. But now he's been cold for 7 years, making the cut in just 8 of the 25 Majors he's played since.

Beem's only other win in his career was as a rookie in 1999, a season documented in the book Bud, Sweat, and Tees: A Walk on the Wild Side of the PGA Tour by Alan Shipnuck.

It chronicles the lurid tales of Beem and his somewhat legendary caddy Steve Duplantis through that 1999 season, including the improbable win at the Kemper.

Duplantis, who lived recklessly, was killed in January 2008, when struck by a car.

Anyway, I'm still not going with Tiger. I have a hard time pulling for the prohibitive favorite (not counting the Yankees or Obama). I saw in one publication with Woods at 6-5, followed not-so-closely by Mickelson and Harrington at 20-1 each.

I got Kenny Perry. Good enough for 5 wins in the last 2 seasons, including one after he gagged away the Masters. But chances are it will be a big name with no drama. Just in case, I'm leaving Saturday and Sunday open for potential live-blogs.

Leveling The Players' Field

This weekend is The Players' Championship, what many call "the 5th major" on the PGA Tour. It's truly one of the toughest tests in golf. It's got maybe the world's most famous hole, the island green on 17, but the finishing hole is actually much more treacherous.

No. 18 is a 462-yard par-4 shaped like a boomerang (but that doesn't favor the Aussies - just ask Adam Scott about that) with water all along the fairway and green on the left-hand side.

Couple that with the fun and frolic on 17 and you have one of the great finishing stretches in sports.

Every year, the field is just as strong as any major. And the dominant figures in the sport each become just another "player."

Just ask Tiger Woods, who's only won the event once in 11 starts (2001 - which was also his last Top Ten). Tiger's last three finishes: T-53, T-22, T-37. And he didn't enter last year as he was rehabbing his knee for his epic US Open triumph.

Just ask Phil Mickelson, who also has only won it once (2007). The same number of times as Craig Perks and Fred Funk, who each won with both Tiger and Phil in the field. And once fewer than Davis Love and Steve Elkington.

It's also a great stage for tour winners to take that next step before becoming the dreaded "best player not to win a major" like Adam Scott, Stephen Ames, and Sergio Garcia (defending) have in recent years.

My pick will follow that logic. I'm going with the swaggering 23 year-old Ryder Cupper, Anthony Kim. Besides winning twice in '08, he set a Masters record with 11 birdies in his 2nd Round at Augusta this year. He's got all the shots, and it's been a great year for Oklahoma Sooners' individual accomplishments (Sam Bradford, Blake Griffin). Let's add Kim to the list.

Also, he's not short on self -confidence. Check out the customized "AK" belt buckle.

Your turn, player.

Backtime's Bracket Bounces Back

Backtime remembers March 14 in Oklahoma City. Missouri handled Baylor easily (as I had correctly predicted) for the Big 12 Championship. Over a few postgame pints, I was feeling my oats and I threw out a few prognostications to several somewhat lucid colleagues:

>UConn (not Memphis) would get the 4th #1 seed.
>Syracuse would vault to a #3 based on their Big East performance.
>Tiger Woods would rally from the middle of the pack to a tie for 9th at Doral.

By 7 PM Sunday, all three were on the money. Tiger actually finished with a T-9 even though my point was he’d rally to crack the top 10.

At 8 PM Sunday, I filled out my bracket and posted it.

By 8 PM the following Sunday, Backtime’s bracket was #308 out of #308 in the network pool. Now that’s embarrassing.

I picked a few early upsets and missed on practically all of them, so the points deficit is likely insurmountable. But with 8 teams remaining, we’ve got 7 of them, along with only 7% of the entries.

The one I missed is Sparty. You’d think the years I lived in Michigan and all the trips to the Breslin Center would have tipped me off.

Michigan State looks better right now than my pick, Pitt. Are the Panthers now battle-tested or just lucky? Anytime you've got high-quality guys like Blair and Fields, and you've got a great shot.

My other finalists, the Missouri Tigers, clearly are not just lucky and have a great chance against Connecticut. Their defense focuses first on “shutting off the water…” which translates to the opponents’ lifeline. Once they have successfully flustered AJ Price, everything else will fall like dominoes.

Oh yeah…Tiger Woods will rally to take Bay Hill this weekend.