Television commentators continue to ask that we believe what they say, dismiss what we see. Don’t believe your lyin’ eyes. Add NBC’s Johnny Miller, who brought unwelcomed wonder to this wonderful, wonder-filled Ryder Cup, to the list.
On Saturday afternoon, on the second hole of the better-ball matches, Steve Stricker’s shot to a par-three bounced into the water.
At that point, Miller seized on a theme, and despite piles of visual evidence to the contrary, determined for us that Stricker was the reason that he and teammate Tiger Woods had lost their first two matches.
And then, despite more visual evidence to the contrary, Miller picked and chose when to certify his own position.
Miller suggested that at 45, Stricker was weary; teaming Woods with younger, surging Keegan Bradley — sitting out the afternoon session — would have made more sense.
But the Woods/Stricker team’s loss of Friday morning’s alternate shot match had nothing to do with Stricker, everything to do with Woods, who hit worse shot after bad shot. If you didn’t know he was Tiger Woods you’d have wondered how this guy was allowed inside the ropes.
Miller left that out. Perish the thought that Woods take a hit on TV.
The Woods/Stricker loss of Friday afternoon’s better-ball match had almost nothing to do with Stricker or Woods — Woods played very well — but with the great play of opponent Nicolas Colsaerts.
On the Stricker/Woods third hole, Saturday, Stricker, with a birdie putt left, was in good shape — Woods wasn’t. On the next hole, Stricker hit the fairway while Woods snap-hooked his drive into the woods. Stricker hit his approach to 10 feet. On the next hole, Stricker made a putt for eagle.
But Miller, after pointing to Stricker as the reason this team was 0-2, wasn’t about to make the point that Stricker now was carrying Woods.
Yet, on the eighth, after Stricker missed a birdie putt — Woods again no threat — Miller returned to his self-fulfilling theme that it was Stricker who was hurting this team.
It took until the ninth hole, with Scotsman Colin Montgomerie a guest in NBC’s booth, for the obvious truth, one NBC’s announce team chose to miss or ignore, to be told. Montgomerie: “Woods has hardly hit a fairway or green in regulation.”
Ya don’t say?
In the back nine, Woods played great, helping to make a fabulous match vs. Luke Donald and Sergio Garcia.
Still, the Stricker/Woods team finished, 0-3. It was all Stricker’s fault. That was Miller’s story and we were stuck with it.
* More Cup: Saturday, the Stricker/Woods-Donald/Garcia match moved toward the green after three great shots to the par-3. On NBC, Miller and Dan Hicks told us what we could see and hear: This is great stuff, a spectacle to behold!
And at that moment NBC cut to the booth so we could watch Miller and Hicks talk about it!
Sweet cut by NBC, yesterday, after Justin Rose holed a bomb on 17 to get even with Phil Mickelson, who was then seen applauding and giving Rose a thumb-up.
‘A lot’ of nonsense still being spewed by Kay
Michael Kay continues to mine for rich meaning in pure nonsense. Thursday in Toronto, Blue Jays’ starter Brandon Morrow was superb, shutting out the Yankees, 4-0, through seven. But Kay went mystical on us:
“I wonder if the dead-still atmosphere in this ballpark — just 20,000 people — kind of put the Yankees to sleep when the size of the game should be enough motivation for them.”
He then added: “But you got to give credit to Morrow.”
Even Al Leiter was stunned by Kay’s suggestion: “You’ve got to give a lot of credit to Morrow!”
Minutes later, Kay was eager to debunk his own bunk. He gave a learned speech to the unknowing about how, in big league baseball, the worst teams often beat the best teams — all it takes is a good pitching. Who knew?
Twice last week, home runs were hit right after the announcer said the batter — first Pittsburgh’s Rod Barajas, then Toronto’s Rajai Davis — wasn’t a home run threat. On SNY, Keith Hernandez made fun of himself, afterwards; on WCBS-Radio, John Sterling made believe he never said it.
Yesterday, at 5-5 in Toronto, second and third, Sterling screamed on Eduardo Nunez’s opposite field fly to right, hollered as if it would land on the moon! But — what else is new? — the ball was caught.
Sterling next excused himself by twice hollering, twice, that the right fielder made a sensational, fantastic catch. But Moises Sierra, who was playing in, made a nice running catch — that’s all, nothing extra-special — and caught this “blast” toward the gap, about 15 yards short of the track.
Big moment in the season, left to Sterling … aw, what’s the use?
Time to abolish useless statistics
If I were King, the first thing I’d do is destroy the databases that store useless, misunderstood and misapplied stats.
On Saturday, with Tennessee driving at Georgia, CBS posted a large graphic showing Tennessee’s “15 [touchdowns] for 25 in the Red Zone.”
Come on. Those TDs were mostly compiled at home against S & M opponents (they get paid to be beaten) Akron (51-13) and Georgia State (47-26). They had nothing to do with this game or that moment.
* Fox’s Moose Johnston, in the second quarter of Niners-Jets, told us its important for the Jets’ O to make “positive plays.”
Later, “Mark Sanchez and his wide receivers have to accelerate their learning curve.”
Nurse!
Plus, 5,000 plays later and Johnston still hasn’t seen one that speaks for itself.
Niners had a third-and-goal at 0-0 in the second quarter, and that’s when ESPN Radio-NY cut to an update from another game. Geez.
* Thorough job, as usual, Saturday morning by WFAN update pro Mike McCann, noting the death, at 91, of longtime ABC and CBS auto racing commentator, Brooklyn-born Chris Economaki.
* Still lovin’ MLB Network. Red Sox-O’s, Saturday night, ex-ESPNer and non-wise guy studio man Brian Kenny speaking to us as if we’re not on home detention, context-filled highlights. I could cry.
* Why, we’ve been asked, after two weeks of indifference about NFL replacement officials, did Mike Francesa blow several fuses bashing them, last Monday — before that Green Bay-Seattle mess? Educated guess: He went 0-3.