After last week’s latest surprising announcement that USC and UCLA are leaving the Pac-12 Conference for the Big Ten (actually, it’s up to 16 now) Conference, I have been trying to figure out who is to blame for all of this conference craziness.

I’m blaming you, Arkansas Razorbacks!  Woo-Pig-Sooie, indeed!

After doing some research on this matter, I believe that we should point the proverbial pig snout of guilt directly at the University of Arkansas.  When the Razorbacks decided to leave the comfy confines of the Southwest Conference and join the SEC back in 1991, they started a game of dominoes which keeps picking up steam even to this day.

Yes, this is your fault, Arkansas!

If the Razorbacks had just stayed in the Southwest Conference in 1991, then the SWC would not have been forced to merge with the former Big Eight Conference to become the new Big 12 Conference in 1996.

Yes, I do remember that South Carolina also joined the SEC in 1991.   However, the Gamecocks came to the SEC dance without having to break-up with their long-time conference partner.

When the Atlantic Coast Conference began play in 1953, the South Carolina Gamecocks were a founding member.  Years later, Carolina’s head football coach Paul Dietzel was not happy with a new minimum SAT requirements being instituted by the ACC.  He felt that this change would unfairly limit his school’s ability to recruit future players.  So, the South Carolina Gamecocks went rogue in 1971, opted to leave the ACC to play football as an independent, and were finally welcomed into the SEC’s growing party in 1991.

Even though Carolina and Arkansas both joined the SEC in 1991, it was Arkansas which effectively started this earthquake of college conference changes over the past 31 years.

Shame on you, Arkansas!

After Arkansas moved to the Southeastern Conference in 1991, the Southwest Conference (which then included Texas, Texas A&M, Baylor, Houston, Rice, SMU, TCU, and Texas Tech) was left with just eight teams.  As you may have just noticed, Arkansas was the only member of the Southwest Conference whose university wasn’t located within the great state of Texas.  It’s easy to see how Razorback fans may have tired seeing the Lone Star state flag being displayed at every one of their conference road games for decades.

When SMU’s football program received the dreaded “death penalty” by the NCAA beginning in 1987, the Southwest Conference began to wobble.  Arkansas’ departure in 1991 caused four of the biggest programs in the conference (Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and Baylor) to seek a merger with the Big Eight Conference teams which are all located to the north of Texas.

The newly-formed Big 12 Conference began play in 1996.  Unfortunately, the remaining Southwest Conference teams (Houston, Rice, SMU, and TCU) were left “homeless”.  They eventually found new conference affiliations, though.

The conference dominoes game was now fully in motion.

In 1993, another former independent football power, Penn State, joined the Big Ten Conference.  Though Penn State became the eleventh member of the conference, the Big Ten retained its name.  Apparently, being known as the “Big Eleven” didn’t sound as good.

I have put together a partial list showing some of the conference moves by largest football-playing universities since Arkansas started this game of musical chairs in 1991:

1991- Arkansas to SEC from Southwest Conference

1991 – South Carolina (independent) to SEC

1993 – Penn State (independent) into Big Ten

1996 – Merger of Big Eight and Southwest Conference into the Big 12

The rebirth of the spring professional football league called the USFL is almost over.  After ten weeks of regular season games by the league’s eight teams – all played in Birmingham, Alabama – the season draws to a close this Sunday night at 6:30PM Central on FOX. (Update 7/5/22 – Ratings for the USFL championship game won by Birmingham 33-30 indicated only 1.07 million viewers for the season finale)

The South division champion Birmingham Stallions (now 10-1) will face the Philadelphia Stars (7-4) from the North Division.  The Stars pulled an upset last weekend by taking out the North Division’s regular season champion New Jersey Generals 19-14.   Birmingham had no trouble downing the error-prone New Orleans Breakers (6-5) 31-17 to reach the championship game.

Just like the Super Bowl, the USFL is playing its championship game on a Sunday night.  I think that Sunday night’s television viewership will show the league and its supporters just how viable this new league is after a full season of play.

As I have reminded you throughout the USFL’s first season, Fox Sports owns 100% of this football league.  Before the first week of play, Fox Sports stated that they would consider the USFL to be a success if the average weekly television audience averaged 1.5 million television viewers or more.

That didn’t happen.

Though the first weekend of USFL football games had an average television audience of more than 1.5 million curious fans, the USFL’s average audience decreased slightly for nearly every weekend thereafter.  The final week of the regular season failed to have one game attract more than 650,000 viewers.

Last weekend’s semifinal playoff games didn’t exactly light up the TV viewership scoreboard, either.

The opening game last Saturday afternoon on FOX (Stars vs. Generals) netted 957,000 viewers.  The second semifinal game (Stallions vs. Breakers) pulled 998,000 viewers on NBC on Saturday night.  I’m sure the league was hoping to draw more than 1 million for both of these USFL semifinal playoff games.

On the bright side, the USFL was competitive with the meager viewership totals for other sports last weekend.  Here’s how the USFL’s two semifinal games ranked against other televised events last weekend:

NHL Stanley Cup Game 6 – Sunday – Tampa Bay vs. Colorado – ABC – 5.82 million

Major League Baseball – Sunday – Dodgers vs. Braves – ESPN – 1.73 million

Formula 1 Auto Racing – Sunday – ESPN – 1.72 million

College World Series Game 1 – Saturday – ESPN – 1.63 million

USFL – Semifinal – Stallions vs. Breakers – Saturday – NBC – 998,000

USFL – Semifinal – Stars vs. Generals – Saturday – Fox – 957,000

Auto Racing – Superstar Racing Experience – Saturday – CBS – 951,000

PGA Golf – Sunday – Hartford Open – CBS – 850,000

Auto Racing – NASCAR – Nashville – USA Network – 800,000

UFC – Fight Night – Saturday – ESPN – 672,000

Lacrosse – Premier Lacrosse League – Saturday – ABC – 452,000

WNBA – ESPN (recent weekly average) – 300,000

The NHL’s viewership for the Stanley Cup Game 6 was expected to be the top draw last weekend.  The College World Series Game #1 between the Oklahoma Sooners and the Ole Miss Rebels also easily topped the two USFL playoff games.

Yes, the ratings for the USFL’s two playoff games last weekend were competitive with most of the other regularly scheduled sporting events.

However, the USFL predicted that American football fans would salivate for the chance to watch any kind of professional football during the spring month...

In the past several weeks, longtime PGA golf stars such as Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, and Brooks Koepka have joined the new LIV Golf league.

Each has earned millions of dollars playing golf on the PGA Tour.  Phil Mickelson won $94 million during his 30 years on the tour.  DJ is right behind Mickelson with $74 million in tournament winnings.  DeChambeau has “only” won $26 million while his arch-enemy, Koepka, has already pocketed nearly $38 million during his relatively short career.

As a result of their frequent exposure on television with the PGA Tour, each player has earned several times that amount just from their commercial endorsements.

Unlike other sports, professional golfers do not work for the PGA Tour.  As an independent contractor, these golfers must pay for their own travel and lodging costs when traveling to the weekly events.

There are a number of other people who have their hand in the pro golfer’s wallet, too.

A top-125 golfer’s caddy will pocket 6% of the player’s earnings for a made cut, 8% for a top 10 finish, or 10% for a win.  An average PGA Tour caddy now earns about $140,000 per year.

Then there is the golfer’s agent.  For at least 10% of the golfer’s earnings, the agent will cut deals for the player’s commercial endorsements and along with lucrative corporate outings.  This is where a professional golfer is paid handsomely to put on a brief golf exhibition, eat a rubber chicken dinner, and address a group of corporate executives at a resort location.

Don’t forget a personal trainer (1 to 3% cut) or the mental coach (1-2% cut).  Plus, the golfer also pays about $10,000 per year for disability insurance.  Over the course of a year, most professional golfers also drop $5K or more annually in tips to the locker room staff at local venues.

For a top-125 level golfer earning $2 million annually on the PGA Tour, you must subtract about $500,000 for these expenses and costs.

Don’t forget about Uncle Sam’s current maximum tax rate of 37%, too!  That leaves a successful PGA golfer with less than 50% of his earnings on tour every year.

Though most of us would love to have that type of problem, the travel required to earn significant money on the PGA Tour works against any player who values having a balanced family life. During golf’s lower paydays of the 1960’s, Jack Nicklaus never spent more than two consecutive weeks on the PGA Tour prior to coming home for at least a week.

He said, “I always loved to get home.  Because when I went back to play golf, my mind was fresh and clear and I could do whatever I wanted to do. If all you think about is golf …”

The balance between a professional golfer’s time on the PGA’s golf courses versus his time spent with family has been an ongoing issue for many decades.   Other successful golfers such as Byron Nelson, Gary Player, and Bruce Lietzke also played a bare-minimum number of PGA Tour events in order to have more time with their families, too.

Enter the LIV Golf Invitational Series in 2022.

Backed by a virtually unlimited supply of money from wealthy Saudi Arabian sponsors, a new golf league just hit the scene in June after years of discussion.  Headed by World Golf Hall-of-Fame star Greg Norman (who has long disliked the PGA Tour), the new golf tour is effectively buying men’s professional golfers to play in the league’s inaugural season of just eight events this summer and early fall.

Each LIV Golf tournament is just 54 holes (LIV = 54 in Roman numerals).  With no weekly cuts for the golfers, everyone in the field earns a minimum paycheck.

As compared to labor disputes involving most other professional sports businesses, professional golf has been a relative oasis of calm and peace for decades.

The PGA Tour has been steady as a rock in featuring many of the most talented professional golfers in the world every season without any significant controversy.  Beginning with the Arnold Palmer era, to Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Tom Watson, and, more recently, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods, the PGA Tour has satisfied golf fans and provided significantly increased payouts to the professional golfers since the late 1960’s.

It was not easy to make enough money to be a full-time touring professional prior to the 1960’s.

The touring professional golfers of that era were once part of a larger group called the PGA of America.   The easiest way to distinguish these two entities is that the majority of the 29,000 PGA of America members work at private country clubs and public golf facilities around the country.  The golfers we see on television nearly every weekend are part of a separate group now known as the PGA Tour.

Let’s review the history of professional golf in America.

Founded in 1916, the PGA of America now employs thousands of men and women in a variety of roles associated with the game of golf.  There are 18 universities in the United States which offer the PGA’s Golf Management program to standardize and develop the skills necessary to operate golf courses and help teach the game to the general public.

Near the end of the PGA of America’s first year of operation back in October, 1916, the first PGA Championship golf tournament was held for the group’s teaching professionals.  This tournament featured prize money of $2,580 and a very large trophy – both provided by a New York City golf retailer named Rodman Wannamaker.   Mr. Wannamaker’s name still adorns the trophy over a century later.

How about that for a great advertising gimmick?

During the PGA of America’s formative years, golf professionals earned the majority of their income from employment by the local country clubs which kept them on the payroll year-round.  As more golf tournaments were held among the club professionals, the nation’s best golf professionals were lured to work for the most prestigious country clubs offering more money.  With the publicity generated by winning one of the limited amount of golf tournaments being held annually (including the US Open), country club professionals parlayed their skills on the golf course into higher annual wages as a host professional at the most prestigious country clubs.

For the next forty years into the 1950’s, the prize money being offered at most local golf tournaments was simply not high enough to entice the majority of club professional golfers to abandon their day jobs and travel at their own expense to the next tournament stop.   Unless independently wealthy, the majority of professional golfers frequently travelled together in the same car and shared expenses in order to make ends meet.

Enter Arnold Daniel Palmer and television.

Coming onto the professional golf scene after a successful college career at Wake Forest, the Pennsylvania native passed up a career selling paint for his father-in-law to take his chances at becoming a touring professional golf in the late 1950’s.  Back then, most pro golfers had trouble breaking even on the fledgling golf tour.  A top ten finish was needed nearly every week just to break even due to the relatively small prize money being offered.

Once the black and white television cameras discovered a handsome young “go-for-broke” golfer named Arnold Palmer, professional golf finally took off.  Tournament purses started to rise quickly as television viewers became more interested in the game.

The regular season of the new USFL concluded last weekend with Week 10 action in Birmingham, Alabama.  The eight team spring football league will now begin its four-team playoffs this coming Saturday with all games being played in Canton, Ohio.

The games are reportedly being moved from Birmingham to Canton to accommodate the World soccer tournament.  In Canton, the Tom Benson Hall-of-Fame Stadium will host the USFL’s playoff games.  This stadium is used by the NFL for the annual Hall of Fame preseason kick-off game in August.

If you happen to live in the Canton area, the tickets to this weekend’s semifinals are just $15 apiece!

Before we preview the USFL’s upcoming playoffs, let’s cover Week #10’s action:

New Jersey Generals 26, Philadelphia Stars 23

USA Network – 239,000 television viewers

In Saturday’s early game, the New Jersey Generals ran their record to 9-1 with a narrow 26-23 win over Philadelphia.  The Stars went for a 3-point conversion with less than two minutes left in the fourth quarter to try and tie the game.

Yes, I did say, “3-point conversion”!    The USFL rules allow three extra-point options following a touchdown.  The team may kick the traditional extra point, go for a 2-point conversion from the two yard line, and, if so inclined, try the league’s unique three point conversion attempt from the ten yard line.

In this case, Philly came up short on the 3-pointer, and the Generals held on to secure the victory.  New Jersey and the hometown Birmingham Stallions finished with a sterling 9-1 record and will be the favorites in the upcoming semifinal games on Saturday in Canton, Ohio.

Birmingham Stallions 21, Tampa Bay Bandits 18

FOX – 649,000 viewers

In Saturday afternoon’s second game, yet another failed 3-point conversion near the end of the game was pivotal as Tampa Bay (4-6) came up short against the Birmingham Stallions (now 9-1).   The Stallions jumped to an early 14-0 lead on the arm of quarterback Alex McGough (pronounced Magoo).  Tampa Bay fought back in the second half to finally get within three points with seven minutes left to play in the fourth quarter.   After the missed 3-point attempt, the Stallions were able to hang on to secure the win.

Michigan Panthers 33, Pittsburgh Maulers 21

USA Network – 282,000 viewers

In a Sunday contest between the two North Division bottom feeders, the Michigan Panthers improved to 2-8 with an easy 33-21 win over the hapless Pittsburgh Maulers (1-9) in the early game.  Michigan jumped to a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter and coasted from there.   Pittsburgh padded its final stats by scoring 18 points in the fourth quarter to make the final score look closer than this game actually was.

Houston Gamblers 20, New Orleans Breakers 3

FS1 – 181,000 viewers (lowest number of network television viewers this season!)

The Houston Gamblers ended their regular season on a positive note by dusting off the playoff-bound New Orleans Breakers 20-3.  Former University of Tulsa quarterback Zack Smith threw two interceptions for New Orleans in the first half to hand Houston an early lead.   The Breakers’ offense was pitiful on Sunday with just 64 yards passing and another 72 yards on the ground for the entire game.   The Gamblers (3-7) also totaled less than 200 yards in this game, but it was still enough to take down New Orleans (now 6-4).

USFL Divisional Championships – Predictions:

Both semifinal games will be played this Saturday, June 25 (Kickoff times are CDT):

2PM – FOX – North Division Championship – Philadelphia (6-4) vs. New Jersey (9-1)

Yes, these two teams just played last weekend in Week #10.  New Jersey has won both regular season contests by slim margins (seven points and three points)....

Drive for show, putt for dough.  In Sunday’s final round of the US Open, that combination brought a lot of dough and a hefty US Open trophy for one professional golfer.

27-year old Matthew Fitzpatrick executed a nearly perfect game plan in Sunday’s exciting finish at the US Open at The Country Club in Boston’s suburb of Brookline.

As Rory McIlroy and other “bombers” found their errant 320-yard drives in knee-high rough this weekend, Matt Fitzpatrick executed a very smart round of golf by limiting his visits to the punishing rough.  Playing the percentages off the tee might sound like a boring strategy, but it can be a very smart idea when competing on a US Open-styled golf course.

Just put the ball into the fairway and hit as many greens as possible.

Matthew Fitzpatrick hit 17 out of 18 greens during Sunday’s final round and won his first professional golf tournament on US soil.  It also didn’t hurt to have a lot of course knowledge and some timely good luck on his side, too.

Coming to the tee box on the 18th hole Sunday, Matt Fitzpatrick was at six under par and clinging to a one shot lead over his playing partner, Will Zalatoris, and current Masters champion Scottie Scheffler (who had just finished at -5).

After Zalatoris cranked a perfect tee shot right down the middle of the fairway on the 72nd and final hole, Matt Fitzpatrick made one of the few errant shots of his final round.  His 3-wood landed in a deep fairway bunker in the left rough.  The television camera angles showed a clump of weeds protruding out of the middle of this sand trap and possibly obstructing any chance of reaching the green on his next shot.

At that moment, Will Zalatoris felt a glimmer of hope in observing the predicament which his playing partner was facing.  In order to reach the green, Fitzpatrick would need to navigate around the grassy obstruction directly in front of him in the bunker.  He would need to pick the ball cleanly out of the sand in order to impart some left-to-right spin to bring help turn the ball back toward the green.

“It’s probably 1 in 20 — at best — to pull it off,” said Will Zalatoris.

Unfortunately for Zalatoris and Scottie Scheffler (both one shot behind), Matt Fitzpatrick was able to execute the perfect shot at precisely the right time on the tournament’s final hole at the US Open.  He connected on the 160-yard fairway sand shot cleanly, launching it high into the air, and landed it 25 feet beyond the hole.

“It’s one of the best shots I’ve hit of all time,” Fitzpatrick said. “I’ll be honest; I’ve really struggled with fairway bunker shots all year. I’m a fast player, and when I look back on it, it all happened so fast. Natural ability just kind of took over. I just played the shot that was at hand. It came out as a kind of a squeezy fade. It was amazing.”

Will Zalatoris (who finished second in a playoff to Justin Thomas at the PGA Championship just a month ago) followed suit and landed his second shot about 15 feet from the hole, too.  After Fitzpatrick’s putt for birdie fell short, Zalatoris had one final chance to tie the match and force an 18-hole playoff.

For those of us who have watched the 25-year old former Wake Forest golfer over the past few months, Will Zalatoris plays as well as anyone from tee to green.  His putting stroke, though, has become a big concern.  He puts a very smooth stroke on most of his longer putts, but his short putts can be very jerky and inconsistent.

If you’ve ever seen a putter with the dreaded “yips” on the greens, you might prefer to close your eyes when Will Zalatoris is standing over a 3-footer for par.

Thursday night at the Boston Garden, the visiting Golden State Warriors vanquished the Boston Celtics in Game 6 to grab the 2022 NBA title with a surprisingly easy 103-90 victory.

The Celtics had their backs to the wall with a 3-2 deficit to overcome.  They needed a victory at home to push the series into a Game 7 finale in San Francisco this weekend.  The Boston crowd, as expected, was loud, rowdy, and ready to push their beloved green pro basketball team on to victory.

As the game tipped off, the energy in the Boston Garden crowd seemed to give the home team a huge jolt of energy as the Celtics rushed out to a 14-2 early lead.  As Golden State burned a time out, I wondered if the Warriors were going to throw in the towel Thursday night and try to win the title at home in Game 7.

As usual, I wrong!

Unlike the Celtics dominating years of Hondo Havlicek in the 60’s and 70’s or Larry Legend’s championship teams of the 1980’s, Boston’s 2022 team never developed a killer instinct.  No matter how big of a lead this team rolled-up during this year’s NBA playoffs, they found a way to let their opponents climb back into the game.

Though Boston’s boisterous fans were ready to pounce on the Warriors after just four minutes of the first quarter, the early timeout by Golden State literally flipped two switches at the same time in Game 6 at Boston Garden.

The Celtics failed to keep the motor running and put away a very dangerous opponent.  The home team had retreated to running its time-wasting stodgy offensive sets and handed turnover after turnover to a very talented opponent whose basketball playing speed can resemble the Roadrunner of Saturday morning cartoon fame.

The Warriors quickly revived and came off the mat like a professional wrestler with a sudden burst of energy.  Golden State quickly took control of Game 6 and never let up.  By the end of the first quarter, Boston’s early 12-point lead had turned into a 5-point Golden State advantage.

And unlike the Celtics, this veteran Golden State Warriors team never relinquished the lead for the remainder of the game in taking the win and the NBA’s championship trophy.

Beep-beep!

The wrestling analogy for this Golden State team may be quite appropriate.  Golden State went from champions in 2019 to the worst team in the league the following year in 2020 (primarily due to several key injuries).  Just as suddenly, the Warriors key players healed during this past season and the team returned to championship form again this spring.

Similarly to the Warriors previous championships, this year’s team was led by the dynamic duo of shooting guards Steph Curry and Klay Thompson.  The famous “Spash Brothers” twosome averages nearly 50 points per game together.

However, Golden State’s team engine is sparked by their relatively undersized 6’6” versatile big man Draymond Green.  While Curry and Thompson pile-up the points in most games, Green toils under the basket gathering rebounds, plays defense on the opponent’s best player, pushes the ball up the court on fast breaks, and dishes out assists like a point guard.

Draymond Green’s effect on this Warriors team is very similar to how Magic Johnson pushed the Los Angeles Lakers back to the top of the NBA.   Like Magic, Green tends to be a reluctant scorer on offense but prides himself on making pinpoint passes and hustle plays on both offense and defense.

Steph Curry’s offense carried the day in this championship series, and he deserved the Finals MVP award.  However, it was the energy provided by Draymond Green which sparked the Golden State Warriors their fourth NBA championship in the past eight...

When you go by the nickname of SwampSwami, your gills have adjusted to being at or slightly above sea level for most of your adult life.

Last week, my lovely wife (aka SwampMommy) and I hit the road into the mountains of Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma for a week of post-COVID vacation time.  We had not taken a full week of vacation since March, 2020’s good ol’ COVID lockdown, so we were long overdue.

We also rejoiced at the chance to escape from the earlier-than-normal heat and humidity of our current habitat.  The temperature was and still remains in the upper 90’s daily with no rain in sight.

Thankfully, temperatures were in seasonal mid-80’s each day last week in Arkansas, southwest Missouri, and northeastern Oklahoma.  Ahh…

Here are a few observations from our trip to the not-quite-so-frozen tundra:

Stop #1 – Hot Springs, Arkansas

We always stay at the DeGray State Park Lodge about 25 minutes south of Hot Springs.  In addition to being our honeymoon destination several decades ago, this lovely state park has everything you need – including a very nice and reasonably priced 18-hole golf course.  The main lodge (for non-campers) has about 100 well-equipped air-conditioned rooms at an affordable seasonal price.  It also has a full-service restaurant on premises.

For those who prefer the great outdoors, there are a large number of camping areas available.  If you’re like me and your body isn’t yearning for a Boy Scout-type primitive camping experience any longer, DeGray State Park has a few unique yurts for those who want to experience camping but without having to risk a visit by Smokey Bear’s relatives at your tent.  These yurts have bunk-style beds but no air conditioning.  I’d recommend them when the weather is cooler.

After a brief drive north on scenic (translated – winding road) Arkansas Highway 7, you arrive in Hot Springs.  Officially named Hot Springs National Park, the city is large enough to provide plenty of food, lodging, and entertainment choices.  Its charm lies in the quaint historic downtown district.  In addition to the remaining hot springs-fed spas, there are a large number of interesting small retail shops and eateries available.  We highly recommend The Pancake Shop (it closes at 1PM).

Make sure to take the National Park Service’ free tour of a well-preserved historic spa.  This facility is now over 100 years old and provides a fascinating visit into the not-so-distant past.  People still come to downtown Hot Springs to fill-up bottles of the spring-fed 147-degree hot water.  It’s free!  Years ago, the naturally-occurring hot spring water was thought to help cure many ailments in addition to simply helping to relax your muscles and joints.  Alas, the “miracle cure” aspect has been debunked but the hot spring waters still offer therapeutic benefits.  Spending a few hours in the downtown district is definitely worthwhile!

After a hard-fought match of miniature golf in Hot Springs (I was victorious by just two shots), we departed for our primary destination, Branson, Missouri.

Driving north to Branson via Arkansas can be a challenge.  Though US 65 from Conway to Clinton (not named for Bill) is four lanes, the next hour of the drive to the north becomes a two-lane thrill ride for both you and your vehicle.  After seeing a sign advising truckers on this section of roadway to utilize a “Runaway Truck Ramp” in the event that the brakes fail, this road contained a few more steep grades and hairpin turns than I had expected.

Suggestion – do not drive this portion of US 65 right after eating a meal!     

After reaching Harrison, Arkansas, the road becomes four lanes again and more manageable to navigate the hilly Ozark terrain as we arrived at our primary destination.

Stop #2 – Branson,

“When you were young, And your heart was an open book,

You used to say live and let live, you know you did, you know you did, you know you did…”

In nearly every James Bond movie, there is at least one easy-to-dislike bad guy.

Professional golf’s new villain has just arrived on the scene and has announced his new league’s inaugural schedule for this summer and fall which will compete against several PGA Tour events.

The LIV Golf Invitational Series, led by long-time PGA star Greg Norman, is going to tee-up its first professional golf tournament next week (June 9-11) in London, England.  According to their website, the new golf group thinks they will have an edge over the PGA Tour:

“We are doing things differently. With smaller fields, fewer rounds, a defined season, shorter

playing windows, and shotgun starts, the format has been designed with fans as the #1 priority.”

LIV Golf is a startup golf league bankrolled by Saudi Arabian investors and long-time antagonist to the overlords of the PGA Tour in Greg Norman.

“What does it matter to ya?  When you got a job to do, you got to do it well

You got to give the other fella *ell…”

If you asked, “What is LIV?” join the club!

Embarrassingly, I have just learned that LIV is derived from the Roman numerals equaling 54.

That means these tournaments will be limited to 54 holes played over three days.  While the PGA Tour plays 72 holes over four days featuring a cut (half of the field) after 36 holes, the LIV Golf events will not have a cut at all.  That also means that all 48 players in the LIV Golf field will receive a paycheck of some amount.

The second LIV event will be the first of five to be played on US soil.  Portland, Oregon will host the June 30-July 2 tournament at the impressive Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club.  A daily admission pass will cost you $70.

Other American locations for this tour include the Trump National Club in Bedminster, New Jersey (July 29-31), The International Golf Club near Boston (September 2-4), Rich Harvest Farms near Chicago (September 16-18), and the season finale to be hosted in Miami, Florida at the Trump National Doral Country Club (October 27-30).

In addition to the opening event in London, the new LIV Tour will also play events in Bangkok, Thailand (October 7-9) and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (October 14-16).

Another unique feature of LIV Golf tournaments will be their “shotgun start” idea.  This means that the players will all begin play at the exact same starting time but begin (and end) on different holes.  This is a format utilized by many corporate outing “scrambles” so that all of the golfers may return back to the clubhouse at nearly the same time for prize awards and an evening meal.

My lovely wife suggested that they may be doing this to maximize their television coverage.  As usual, she is right!  Rather than starting each group at the #1 tee and then waiting ten to twelve minutes for the next group to go off the tee, the LIV Golf players will start and finish their 18 holes at nearly the same time.  Golf’s television coverage just dropped from six or more hours to (hopefully) less than five hours.

This idea removes the chance that a golfer teeing-off in the morning will play in different course conditions than others who might start play in the afternoon.

This week, the LIV Golf group rolled out their list of golfers who are willing to risk their PGA Tour membership for the chance to earn a lot of money in 2022 offered by the new golf league.

A standard PGA Tour event features a field of 144 golfers.  After two rounds, the field is cut in half for Saturday and Sunday’s rounds.  If you fail to make the cut, you aren’t paid in PGA Tour events.  Tough luck!

The newest spring football league called the USFL features eight teams playing a ten game regular season.  After Week #7 games were completed last weekend, two of the teams have already qualified for the league’s playoffs.

Let’s review last weekend’s Week 7 action:

New Jersey Generals 20, Tampa Bay Bandits 13

In Saturday’s early game, the Generals ran their record to 6-1 and became the first USFL team to qualify for the inaugural playoffs with a 20-13 win over Tampa Bay (3-4).  The Generals capitalized on three pass interceptions off Bandits’ quarterback Jordon Ta’amu (who played college football at Ole Miss) to set-up their ball-control offense.  New Jersey’s defense stopped Tampa Bay 11 yards away from a tying touchdown with a final minute fourth down stop.

New Orleans Breakers 31, Michigan Panthers 27 (Overtime)

In Saturday’s nightcap, the Breakers (5-2) jumped to an early 14-0 lead before Michigan (1-6) came roaring back to grab a late fourth quarter lead.   New Orleans squared the score at 27 apiece on a chip-shot field goal on the game’s final play.  The field goal caused the first overtime game in the USFL’s inaugural season.  The league’s unique overtime rule calls for each team to go for a 2-point conversion.  If one team outscores the other on two of three conversion attempts, the higher scoring team wins the game.  New Orleans scored twice in OT to win 31-27.

Birmingham Stallions 26, Pittsburgh Maulers 16

In Sunday’s first game, the Stallions remained the USFL’s only unbeaten team as they moved to a perfect 7-0 record.  Trailing 10-6 at the half, Birmingham’s Bobby Holley ran a fake punt 53 yards for a third quarter touchdown to provide a lift for the Stallions.  Field goal kicker Brandon Aubrey also connected on four field goals as Birmingham rallied to victory over slumping Pittsburgh (1-6).  The game also featured a league record 60-yard field goal by the Maulers’ placekicker Cole Murphy.   With the win, Birmingham clinched a playoff spot with three games remaining in the regular season.

Philadelphia Stars 35, Houston Gamblers 24

In Week 7’s final game, the Stars ran their record to 4-3 with a fourth quarter rally to down the hard-luck Houston Gamblers (1-6).  Houston jumped to an early 10-0 lead in this game and had a 24-13 lead entering the fourth quarter.  However, Philadelphia scored the game’s final 22 points in the decisive fourth period as Houston coughed up a fumble, an interception, and a safety during the final fifteen minutes of play.

USFL’s television ratings collapse in Week 7:

As covered in last week’s story, the USFL’s television ratings for Week #7 were expected to be negatively impacted by having just one game being played on FOX.  The other three football games were played on less-viewed cable networks and NBC’s internet outlet called Peacock.

The television ratings were released on Wednesday, and the numbers were extremely weak.

The Birmingham vs. Pittsburgh game on FOX netted just 840,000 viewers.  USA Network’s coverage of New Jersey vs. Tampa Bay on Saturday pulled only 267,000 viewers, while FS1’s presentation of New Orleans vs. Michigan garnered a meager audience of 228,000 TV eyeballs.  Viewership for Sunday’s game between Philly and Houston on Peacock Premium (internet) was not made available but was the smallest audience of a very poor television week for the USFL.

Just how important are the USFL’s television ratings?  Fox Sports (which owns 100% of the USFL) stated prior to the season that they hoped to pull an average of 1.4 million viewers per national telecast in Year #1.  Week #1 remains the only time in which the USFL television ratings have exce...