Category: Sports

Is It Time to Ditch the PGA Tour?

I Think so…

Damaged Goods! Enough said!

Since the cancelation of the Player’s Championship due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the PGA Tour has gone on a downward spiral.

First, they wanted to be the first sport to defy the pandemic with a big comeback. Jay Monahan adopted some draconian rules, instituted some flawed restrictions, and he got his wish.

The first event was the Charles Schwab Challenge and not to outdo himself, Jay Monahan decide that it was a wise decision to save an honorary tee time for convicted felon, George Floyd.

Probably because he thought the Black Lives Matter thugs were going to campout outside the gates at Colonial, so he wanted to be as woke as possible to avoid such embarrassment. The problem with Jay’s move is that it was embarrassing.

Of all the people they could have chosen for an honorary tee time, the PGA Tour chooses a convicted felon, drug addict, and domestic violence perpetrator. Nice example for the kids to follow.

After that, it was the ‘White Guilt’ trip. Every tournament the likes of Cameron Champ, Tony Finau, and Harold Varner III, were the faces of the PGA Tour. The PGA Tour took it upon itself to lecture fans on racial issues instead of just entertaining the crowds.

Lumping everyone in the same group has never been smart, but when the PGA Tour jumped into the woke stratosphere, they did not know what they were getting into.

Today’s professional golf is about talent, regardless of color or race, unfortunately the PGA Tour wants to tell you, the fan, that you are a racist, but still wants your money.

Of course, this was a flash in the pan. These gentlemen should have known this gig was not going to last forever. The PGA Tour did not get boycotted and that is all they wanted. Mission accomplished Jay!

The fact remains that Finau, Champ, and Varner III, are remarkable golf players and do not need the PGA Tour to equate their talent with their race. It is cheap and unfair.

When you have to try to sell your product with specific messaging your product is probably not that good to begin with. The PGA Tour has gone out of their way to let us know they are not a bunch of racists, and their mission is to make golf as inclusive as possible.

Sure, as long as you do not try to play the private clubs that nobody else can play. Stick to the municipal and public courses and they will be as inclusive as they can be. The PGA Tour is full of it.

They have peddled inclusiveness since 2014, but it was not until the Black Lives Matter movement threatened their livelihood, the PGA Tour actually felt the heat.

Then it came LIV and Greg Norman. For months, PGA Tour Commissioner, Jay Monahan, has said, in not so many words, any player wishing to play on the LIV Golf League can do it at their own peril.

To be honest, I have always thought of Jay Monahan as a petty thug. He always walks around like he is better than anyone else, like a bully searching for a fight. He reminds me of a mafia “Don.”

He got a prize fight coming with Greg Norman and with the players that wish to play LIV events and cash-in big. Of course, the top 10 players in the world who make millions, not only on the course, but with major endorsement deals, are sticking with Monahan.

People like Justin Thomas, Scottie Scheffler, and Rory McIlroy are nothing more than Monahan’s lapdogs, spreading his lousy talking points.

Most of these players do not know anything about geopolitics and get their information from Twitter or Facebook, so for them to whine about the Saudi Arabian government without the facts means nothing.

Where were Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy, or even the ‘has been’ Fred Couples, when the PGA Tour was giving honorary tee times to a convicted felon?

Has the PGA Tour ever given an honorary tee time to a fallen law enforcement officer? Not that I can remember, despite the fact police officers provide protection to these bunch during golf tournaments.

Furthermore, spare me the outrage over Saudi Arabia and its human rights record. China’s is not that good either, but the NBA does business with the Chinese Communist Party and nobody screams outrage.

Nike, a big sponsor of players on the PGA Tour, makes its apparel in China, and those making millions from wearing Nike apparel on the PGA Tour do not seem to care about China’s dismal human rights record. Either that or they choose to ignore it for the sake of making money, which is even worse.

Why McIlroy and other professional players continue to use apparel made by Nike? After all, this apparel is manufacture in China under awful conditions, in what many have called child labor camps and sweatshops.

The Chinese Communist Party is an equal violator of human rights, but I do not hear Jay Monahan complaining about it or McIlroy giving up his big Nike contract. Nothing but hypocrites.

The PGA Tour has very little room to claim the moral high ground over Greg Norman or the LIV Golf League.

The PGA Tour has shown its true nature during this spat with Greg Norman. Their behavior and reaction has made me questioned their ‘non-profit’ status and welcome any investigation by the Federal Trade Commission.

I believe the PGA Tour, by threatening independent contractors with their livelihoods, is breaking antitrust laws, and behaving like a business and not a non-profit organization.

The PGA Tour and DP World Tour are acting as if they have an absolute ownership of golf. I believe they are attempting to monopolize professional golf and are using some questionable practices to keep PGA Tour and DP World Tour members on a tight leach.

A clear example is how Jay Monahan denied all the waivers for players to play the first LIV event in London. The PGA Tour has always granted these waivers in the past and this is nothing more than Jay Monahan flexing his muscle. I think some players are going to take the plunge and deal with the PGA Tour in court, if necessary, and I hope they do.

The PGA Tour is a big money maker, so I do not understand why they cannot coexist with the LIV League. IRS filings for FY2019, show the PGA Tour total assets at a $3,384,025,893.00 and even after expenses, the PGA Tour had a net balance of over 1 billion dollars. Not too shabby for a ‘non-profit’ organization if you ask me.

https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/520999206/202023219349309777/full

I believe the PGA Tour has become a toxic environment not worthy of my viewership. It is a shame because I thought golf was going to stay away from all the woke-isms, but under Jay Monahan’s regime, they are neck deep in it.

I love and watch golf for its entertainment value, not to be lectured on social issues. The LIV saga and the way the PGA Tour has treated Phil Mickelson, finally did it for me and I am ready to write off the PGA Tour along with all their hypocritical garbage.

I am looking forward to watching some LIV events, and I am looking forward to seeing which players are ready to take the leap and let Jay Monahan make his move.

LIV v. PGA Tour is just around the corner, and I cannot wait to see how it will turn out. Professional golf and the PGA Tour are ready to face an awakening.

The PGA Tour better have lots of money to spend on lawyers, because you can bet Greg Norman is going to have all the money he will need.

I believe in competition and the free market. LIV has provided the PGA Tour and DP World Tour an opportunity to put their money where their mouth is and prove to the world they are indeed a better product and not the only product.

The fans are not stupid and they are very capable of deciding which product is better.

Fore!

Of God and Golf

Masters Champion Scottie Scheffler

A man of God and new Masters Champion, Scottie Scheffler Photo courtesy of news18.com

On Sunday, professional golfer, Scottie Scheffler, won his first Major Championship at The Masters.

As a golf fan and a player, I was extremely impressed with his game, his maturity, and his execution under the pressure of leading a tournament of this magnitude.

Scheffler has publicly expressed his love for family, the meaning of his family to him, but more importantly, his love for God.

In a day and age when speaking so openly about one’s faith can cost anyone a way of making a living, it was refreshing to hear Scottie Scheffler talk about God as a driving force and a motivation to do what he does in and outside of the golf course.

In his press conference he praised his caddie, Ted Scott, who joined his team this year and has helped him win three tour tournaments and a Major in less than sixty days. Ted Scott is a man of faith and they have known each other through the PGA Tour bible study group.

Of Scott, Scheffler said, among many things, “He’s a man of faith and I love him,” “I mean the qualities you look for in a person, Ted embodies pretty much all of them.”

Throughout the press conference Scheffler was very candid about how he felt prior to the final round and how he cried the morning of because of the stress. He told his wife, “I do not think I am ready for this. I am not ready.” “I don’t feel like I am ready for this kind of stuff.” He said he just felt overwhelmed.

He went on to say, Meredith, his high school sweetheart and wife, told him, “Who are you to say that you are not ready?” “What we talked about is that God is in control and the Lord is leading me, and if today’s my time, then it’s my time, and I shot 82 today, somehow I was going to use it for His glory.”

He was asked if his faith played a significant part in his victory. Scheffler went on to say, “Yeah, I would say so. Like I said earlier, what Meredith told me this morning is that we are not in control of our lives, and so I spoke a little bit about what playing golf for me is like, and why I do it. I mean, my faith affects all aspects of my life, not just my life on the golf course, and so the Lord has given me a skill and I am trying to use it for His glory.”

Scottie Scheffler is everything that is right in this crazy world. Scheffler represents the good in all of us and the world could use a few more Scottie Scheffler’s.

The PGA Tour Has Become a Self-Absorbed and Greedy Cult

PGA Tour; all about the money. Picture courtesy of mikeduran.com

Listening to Commissioner Jay Monahan in his press conference at TPC Sawgrass, it reminded me how much I love the game of golf, and how much I despise professional golf.

First off, addressing the war in Ukraine, Jay Monahan was just another parrot. Grandstanding and demonstrating, once more, the PGA Tour does not understand geopolitical nor internal or external political issues.

When asked about some of the sponsors who have chosen not to pull out from Russia, Monahan did the ‘Potomac Two-Step’ around the question. So much for caring about the Ukrainian people.

They did the same thing during the George Floyd riots by saving an honorary tee time for convicted felon George Floyd at the Charles Schwab Challenge, while ignoring the carnage caused to cities and businesses by those same rioters.

“Go Woke or Go Broke, that should be the PGA Tour motto.

During his press conference, Monahan was clear; the PGA Tour is all about money and revenue. I do not believe Monahan is sincere when he states the PGA Tour is about legacy and not leverage. Individuals establish legacies not organizations by themselves.

I think the PGA Tour position on the Saudi funded Super League is obtuse. This will be going to court, and I believe the PGA Tour will lose the case based on antitrust regulations. Competition and free market are part of business life, and the PGA Tour has no leg to stand on.

Players, as independent contractors, should have the right to play where they wish. Monahan gives the impression of strong-arming the players by telling them the PGA Tour or else, that is leverage. Sure, the players will not publicly talk about it, but I cannot believe independent contractors are fine with one individual telling them they cannot make money elsewhere.

What’s next? Is he going to tell players which sponsors are acceptable? Get real Jay!

The PGA Tour and the Saudi Super League can coexist, the problem is Jay Monahan and his greediness. Monahan wants the PGA Tour to be the only game in town and goes after any competition that can threaten his monopoly, or like he said, his “lunch money.” Frankly, in my opinion, it is disgusting.

In regard to Phil Mickelson, I think Monahan was a coward and did not address the questions with honesty. He stated the ball was in Mickelson’s court, well Jay, not if he has been suspended. Of course, Monahan refused to say if Mickleson was in fact under suspension. The secrecy of the PGA Tour mafia continues.

One thing is for sure, the Phil Mickleson saga opened my eyes as to the greedy nature of the PGA Tour and professional golf.

The PGA Tour has become a greedy and shameful institution.

The Fragility of American Society

Time to Grow a Spine and Stop the Whining

Whaaaaaaaa! Photo courtesy of YouTube.com

It seems like every Olympic cycle some story emerges about an athlete getting his or her feelings hurt because they cannot withstand the criticism for a poor performance.

I am not going to go into full details because, honestly, I do not care about these athletes going to a murderous communist country to compete for the sake of money.

Slalom favorite Mikaela Shiffrin crashed in the early stages of the slalom competition. NBC has been accused of been insensitive towards the skier because they showed her interview in which she appeared to be distraught and very emotional.

What was NBC supposed to do? Accusing the media of the shortcomings of athletes is ridiculous. The media pump these athletes at the behest of the athlete’s publicists, endorsers, and the United States Olympic Committee.

When they do not perform as expected, the world is crumbling, and the media is evil for reporting the facts. The ‘Blue Checkmark’ keyboard warriors and the Twitter fantasy metaverse loons go on their typing sprees, accusing the network of mentally abusing the athlete.

They did the same thing in the 2020 Summer Olympics when gymnast Simone Byles withdrew from events because apparently the pressure was too much to manage. The media then call it how they saw it and the public was outraged.

Athletes, welcome to the real world. A Twitter keyboard warrior went on to say, “Anyone that endures a public disappointment should be given some empathy, respect, and privacy, it’s basic human decency.”

First, she is an athlete, as an athlete she should know that she will not be perfect, and disappointments will come along. By reporting and showing the truth NBC was not disrespectful, and she is a public figure competing in an Olympic event.

Instead of feeling sorry for these athletes, people should encourage them to get off the self-pity wagon and go fight for it. Unfortunately, in this era of victimhood it is easier to encourage whining than fighting to earn something.

I am sure the millions of Americans living in poverty and wondering how they are going to feed their children are not too concerned about Shiffrin’s meltdown.

Our society has become too fragile, too entitled, and too self-absorbed.

Like President Truman once said, ‘If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.’

The “Wokestralian” Open Down Under

The Australian Open Champion *

Rafael Nadal? ‘I made sure the #1 ranked in the world player was kicked out of the tournament’

The Australian government made a mockery of their country, the pandemic, and the tournament. They used Djokovic as a political pawn, and his vaccination status, as an excuse to keep him out of the tournament and eventually kicking him out of the country.

Still, the country is run like a penal colony and the cases of COVID-19 remain at their highest despite of their vaccination mandates and lockdowns. Spare me the outrage.

Rafael Nadal may have won the Australian Open, but without the #1 ranked player in the world, Novak Djokovic, the victory will be seen by many as a fraud and with a huge asterisk next to it.

The Australian government may have won the ‘Woke War’, but they lost their prestige with it.