“This is a bad-guy move Tiger is pulling, trying…to get a TV golf analyst fired for something the TV golf analyst didn't even say on TV.”

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Gregg Doyel says Tiger plays dirty and the latest comments from China will be a mistake.

All because Chamblee pointed out -- in a creative way -- that Tiger was, shall we say, cavalier with the rules during the 2013 season.

But facts are facts, and the facts would be Chamblee's defense in a slander lawsuit, should Woods file one, which he won't. Because he has no case -- and if he doesn't know it, Steinberg does. So in lieu of a legal remedy that doesn't exist, they're trying to cut off Chamblee's biggest source of income. Why? Because they can.

Now we'll see what Golf Channel does. The ball truly is in their court. We'll see if the people who run that network are as scared of Tiger Woods as Tiger Woods hopes they are.

Martin Kaufmann answers that question and says Tiger needs Golf Channel more than Golf Channel needs him. I'm not sure I buy that, but here's his case:

Here’s the reality: Brandel Chamblee is more valuable to Golf Channel than Tiger Woods. Yes, I realize that sounds crazy at first glance. I follow the TV ratings. I know that Woods can double the viewership when he’s in contention.

But Woods has no leverage in this instance. Golf Channel and its parent, NBC Sports Group, have locked up PGA Tour rights through 2021. If Tiger Woods wants to play on the PGA Tour, he’s going to have to appear on Golf Channel and NBC. And the Tour’s media rules mandate that he make appearances in the media center before and during events.

"In less than 18 months trophies and memorabilia valued at nearly $1 million were stolen from three museums and a country club...by what the authorities say is probably the same male suspect."

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The NY Times' Joe Drape does a nice job piecing together the sad story of the worthless fleabag who has been stealing golf trophies of significance in the northeast United States over the last year. (Thanks to reader Tim for the link.)

We all know it started with the Somerset Hills and USGA heist of the U.S. Amateur trophy, but it seems this loser has branched out to include several other priceless artifacts, including "the 1903 Belmont Stakes trophy, a silver Fabergé soup tureen and ladle given by Czar Nicholas II of Russia to an American harness horse impresari."

“Whoever it is is experienced at what they do,” said John Catone, an assistant chief with the Saratoga Springs Police Department. “The question is, is it about having something of historic value or is it about melting down the gold?”

At the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, as in the previous thefts, Catone said, video surveillance shows that the thief worked quickly and confidently. He smashed two cases with about a half-dozen trophies in each. But he took only five in total. Three of them had significant amounts of gold: the 1903 Brighton Cup Trophy won by Hermis (35 ounces, 18-karat gold); the 1905 Saratoga Special Trophy won by Mohawk II (76 ounces, 18-karat gold); and the 1914 Brook Cup Handicap Steeplechase Trophy won by Compliment.

The Belmont Stakes Trophy captured by Africander and the 1923 Grand National Steeplechase Trophy won by Sergeant Murphy were silver.

“He obviously knew the place and knew what he was coming to get,” Catone said. “He was out in less than three minutes.”

With gold prices in the last year reaching as high as $1,700 an ounce and silver at $30, it does not take a horseplayer to calculate that the odds are pretty good that the trophies have been melted for their metals and a big score.

“I’ve never seen a significant secondary market for trophies,” Robert Wittman, a former senior investigator and founder of the F.B.I. Art Crime Team, who now has his own protection and recovery firm. “At the same time, they are not the best thing to steal for the melt. There’s a lot of garbage metal in there to get to what’s valuable.”

Uihlein Donates £10,000 To Help Scottish Golf Union Player

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Martin Dempster reports that the European Tour's Peter Uihlein, one of the hottest golfers on the planet right now heading into the Race To Dubai, has donated £10,000 to the Scottish Golf Union, "to specifically help with Bradley Neil’s playing expenses after being impressed by the Blairgowrie teenager during their four days together in last month’s Dunhill Links Championship."

Now I know your heart strings have been tugged at upon learning of this noble charitable act, but the question has been asked by the five people who still think there is such thing as amateur golf: how is that one can donate money to be used for a specific player and said player remains an amateur?

Dempster says the R&A is monitoring the situation but there is no evidence whatsoever of tampering.

“Bradley was a pleasure to partner and I was very impressed with his performance,” Uihlein, the Madeira Islands Open champion, told the Associated Press. “He has a great chance of achieving success in the game if he continues to work hard. I will be following his career and hope the donation can play some small part in helping him progress in the right direction.”

Privately, Neil is understood to be delighted – understandably so. Due to the Rules of Amateur Status preventing players in the non-paid ranks from promoting themselves or being linked with either individuals or companies assisting them in such a way as Uihlein, though, he is prohibited from commenting publically on the matter.

Doing so would be deemed as publicising a sponsor and, in this instance, the R&A is likely to be watching the situation closely due to Uihlein’s links with equipment manufacturer Titleist. His father, Wally, is the CEO of Acushnet, its parent company.

Hey, just like IMG thought Earl Woods was just that good at scouting young talent, I'm sure there's nothing here. Move along!

Lindsey (Kind Of) Regrets Putting Sammy On Tiger's Shoulder

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An Access Hollywood report quotes Lindsey Vonn about the Presidents Cup moment when she put Sammy the squirrel on Tiger's shoulder and how it didn't even scare her man. (Eat your heart out, Herb Wind, that you never typed a sentence like that!).

“It was bad timing on my part,” she said. “He was very concentrated, of course, on his shot and he was more annoyed than anything. But he thought it was really funny. I mean my whole goal was to try to scare him, clearly it did not work.”

She was also asked about Tiger's attendance in Sochi, home to the Winter Olympics in just 100 days.

“We’ll see. He doesn’t like the cold very much so,” she revealed.

Fits somewhat perfectly in his schedule. The first two weeks of the Sochi games are the AT&T National Pro-Am in Pebble Beach and the Northern Trust Open at Riviera, two almost guaranteed non-starts for Woods.

Then again, it's Sochi. Maybe we have just the thing to get Tiger to finally return to Riviera!