More TV Talk

Ed Sherman on the Tour TV deal winners and losers, leads off with his take on the Western Open (R.I.P.).

Steve Elling takes a closer look at Golf Channel and what it needs to do.

"We've got a lot of areas where we've got to get up to speed," said Frank Nobilo, a TGC analyst and former tour player. "We're in the major leagues. Now we've got to see whether the team is good enough. Hopefully we'll be the Florida Marlins."

No question, the sports analogy fits. Comcast, the cable giant that own TGC, just purchased a big-league franchise -- and now it's time to work on that opening-day roster, because Triple-A talent won't get the job done.

And this: 

Still, it's not unusual for TGC to be ranked around 60th in the prime-time window among cable-TV networks, out-drawn by the likes of Great American Country and Country Music Television. Yep, TGC's minuscule ratings are to ESPN's what a crouton is to Winona Judd, and that will soon be a concern.