The world according to Jim:
• Like it or not, I guess Phil Mickelson was right all along.
In the wake of Tuesday’s sudden merger between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf, we go back to what Lefty said some 16 months ago to golf journalist Alan Shipnuck, who was finishing up an unauthorized biography of Mickelson. Lefty didn’t seem entirely comfortable with jumping in with the Saudis, acknowledging the sportswashing component of their involvement, their “horrible” human rights record and the killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi when he said, “They’re scary (expletives) to get involved with.” ...
• But this was his ultimate reasoning for considering (and ultimately joining) the new circuit:
“Because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape how the PGA Tour operates. They’ve been able to get by with manipulative, coercive, strong-arm tactics because we, the players, had no recourse. As nice a guy as (PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan) comes across as, unless you have leverage, he won’t do what’s right. And the Saudi money has finally given us that leverage.” ...
• Even before the LIV tour had played its first everybody-gets-paid event last June, Monahan and the PGA Tour had already made player-friendly changes to their circuit in response. And going forward, whatever the new tour will be called — Whooper Dooper Golf, perhaps? — will be the outgrowth of the leverage provided by all that Saudi cash. ...
• But there are different forms of leverage. Even with LIV golfers dotting the leaderboards at majors, including Brooks Koepka’s victory at the PGA Championship last month, LIV barely had a TV presence, and its team format is more curiosity than competition. The PGA Tour still has the established tournaments, the TV contracts and the rest. ...
• The true impetus behind this merger seems to be the competing antitrust suits filed by the two sides, and the nervousness over which business practices for each side might have been revealed in open court had it ever gotten to trial. Consider this new structure, with Public Investment Fund administrator Yasir Al Rumayyan the new chairman of the combined organizations, the price of not only peace but of secrecy. ...
• This assumes, of course, that the Justice Department lets this go through without objection. That’s not necessarily a gimme, because there will be some monopoly issues to be sorted out, both stateside and overseas. ...
• In the meantime? If the initial reaction from current Tour players is any indication, don’t expect to hear anyone singing “Kumbaya” at the U.S. Open here next week.
When Monahan addressed a players’ meeting Tuesday in Toronto, site of this week’s Canadian Open, he was not well received. Give him this, at least he sort of acknowledged the hypocrisy between his statements a year ago and his actions now. ...
• But Rory McIlroy, probably the Tour players’ most outspoken opponent of LIV and, he acknowledged, a “sacrificial lamb” in light of the merger, held out an olive branch Wednesday when he allowed the merger ultimately would be “good for the game.”
So, in a roundabout way, maybe he and Lefty are back on the same page after all. ...
• Incidentally, the aforementioned Shipnuck has a book on the war between the Tour and LIV scheduled for release in October. Hopefully, the publisher extended his deadline. ...
• Elsewhere, the stories of Kyrie Irving trying to get the Dallas Mavericks to pursue LeBron James (or, conversely, LeBron trying to get Kyrie to the Lakers) are more reminders that superstar players (a) often make lousy player personnel decisions, and (b) maybe should be treated under the same rules as executives. In other words, if it’s tampering when an NBA general manager makes an overture to a player currently under contract, shouldn’t it also be tampering when a player (or his agent) reaches out?
And yes, under those conditions, LeBron should and would have been fined for tampering when he publicly campaigned for Anthony Davis to join the Lakers in 2019. ...
• News item: Aaron Judge went on the Yankees’ injured list with a bruise and a strained ligament in his right toe.
Comment: The Dodger Stadium right field bullpen gate, into which Judge crashed Saturday to make a sensational catch on J.D. Martinez’ drive, is still day to day. ...
• The continuing fallout from the collapse of cable sports networks: The Utah Jazz deal with AT&T SportsNet has expired, and majority owner Ryan Smith suggested earlier this week that a combination of over-the-air TV and streaming could be in the team’s future. That’s two, after the Phoenix Suns’ owner Mat Ishbia announced his intention to do the same, though the Bally Sports affiliate in Arizona is fighting it. ...
• Could we have a third example closer to home? The Kings contracted their broadcast team this week, with a significant loss when the team announced TV voice Alex Faust would not have his contract renewed, leaving Nick Nickson, Jim Fox and Daryl Evans to do simulcasts in the 2023-24 season. But that also came with an announcement that the team “currently has no information on a future rightsholder partnership or distribution agreement.” ...
• This could go two ways. The Kings could go streaming only with their video presentation, as they’ve done with their audio broadcasts, or they could reach a deal with an over-the-air partner. They’ve aired a few games on KCOP/Channel 13 in recent seasons. Maybe it’s time to expand that presence, either there or someplace else.
Granted, it’s harder to do in this market with so many franchises and existing prime-time commitments on most stations. But even a partial over-the-air schedule potentially expands the audience. What do they have to lose?
PREVIOUS ARTICLE
