Nantz, Johnny Win In Popularity Poll Landslides

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Golfweek's informal online poll on golf telecasts is up and the closest race was for Best Announcer In An "Hmmm, that's interesting" Performance.

Which analyst is most likely to make you think, "Hmmm, that's interesting"?

Paul Azinger, ESPN   12.2%
Curt Byrum, Golf Channel   2.3%
Brandel Chamblee, Golf Channel   24.4%
Nick Faldo, CBS/Golf Channel   27.5%
Johnny Miller, NBC 33.5%

Of course Johnny won by an even bigger margin in the "remote throw" division.

But even better, fans want to see more shots. Another landslide.

What reason is most likely to make you turn off the TV?

Coverage focused too much on Tiger Woods   28.6%
Don’t see enough golf shots   45.7%
Find the commentators annoying   19.1%
Prefer watching sports other than golf   6.6%

"Because our scatter value on television would go up, and that's why we like to have better ratings, because it is a value proposition."

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Commissioner Tim Finchem took a few minutes from his schedule to visit the Farmers Insurance Open press center. While some scribes were taken by the newsworthiness of several answers, I will contend that it was his concoction of a potentially life-changing b-speakism that should be the lede story.
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"You can’t just look at ratings and say the sport has a problem. People who say that don’t know what they’re talking about.”

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Nice reporting by SBJ's Michael Smith and John Ourand on where the tour stands with its television partners (who sound positively giddy) and we learn that the 30% ratings really doesn't mean much. Get our your value-count reference clickers...
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Jack: “Probably the whole book of the rules of golf should be changed."

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I tuned in for a bit but missed Jack Nicklaus joining Morning Drive's Erik Kuselias and Gary Williams via phone for Wednesday morning. Thankfully, the Golf Channel PR folks sent out a few highlights, including this response to an email question about any rules of golf he would like to see changed:
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"Even in today's must-know everything culture, if pro golf's TV fortunes rise or fall on whether someone is miked up, that is a sign of greater problems."

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That's what Bill Fields says in today's Golf World Monday. He also writes:

TV could better utilize the mics already on course, and the tour mandate its players to do interviews during a round. The latter would give viewers more without taking away something from the stars of the show.

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"In the age of blogging, Tweeting and podcasts, wearing microphones shouldn't be a big deal. I think it's worth a try."

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According to Sal Johnson in this uniquely conveyed disquisition, SI Golf Plus commissioned a counterpoint My Shot to Justin Rose's view that players should not wear wireless microphones. However, Ted Purdy's piece did not make the magazine and was buried at golf.com, but here it is.
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