Dan_Miller's Blog

I had to feel for Martin Mayhew and Tom Lewand today as they sat and addressed the media in Allen Park.  Here were two men living out a dream, both having been named to the jobs they have worked years   to attain.  A great time in their lives and certainly accomplishments to be celebrated but it didn't go that way.  Instead they were grilled about their culpability in the teams demise over the past 8 years.  It wasn't pretty but it was fair.

Lewand and Mayhew knew exactly what to expect when they took the podium today.  They understand that they are seen as extensions of the Millen regime.  They understood that nothing that they were going to say was going to simmer the boiling waters of their fans discontent.  They said what they could, answered the questions to the best of their abilities but the truth is, not much was accomplished today.  They did the press confrence they had to do and then retreated to their offices to do the only thing they can and that's work.  Work to make this team better.  Work to improve the way this organization operates and work to put the kind of structure in place that can bring about future success.

They couldn't say anything to make fans understand why the team didn't go on a full scale search before settling on them.  The only thing they can do is ask to be judged on their efforts and results.  They did that.  They understand that they will have no honeymoon, no equity and no room for error in the fans eyes.  Now, they will not be perfect.  Nobody is.  Not in the NFL.  There's too much guesswork and luck involved.  They have to hit for a high average.  Perhaps higher than most considering the current standing of the team and the current state of its relationship with the fans.

I won't waste your time telling you what I think of these guys.  It doesn't matter and most people are so angry right now in the aftermath of this past season that they aren't listening to anything anyway. 

What I will say is this.  You have two choices.  Turn and walk or give these guys a chance.  Period.  Don't respond by telling me you're turning in your tickets and going "Lions free".  I understand that, I hear it all the time and it's your choice.  Look, I cover this team and I call their games.  I'm not going to kill these two before they start but they are on the clock.  Heck, in the NFL everybody is on the clock.  They deserve that scrutiny and at the same time, the room to operate.  They took the jobs that were offered to them and I respect  that.  Did you expect them to say "naah, thanks Mr. Ford but you should hire somebody else".  That said, now they have to do the work.  The only thing and I mean the only thing that life really presents us with is an opportunity.  When you are lucky enough to get an opportunity that you have fought for, it's up to you to make the most of it.   

Mayhew and Lewand are working right now to do that.  It's foolish to wish them anything but the very best.  Life's too short to root for your team to lose.  Oh yeah.. I think I already covered that.  

Have a great New Year.  

Let me get this out of the way.  I'm a big Rod Marinelli fan.  I'm a better person since getting to know him.  His approach to life, leadership, responsibility and his desire to see others succeed is outstanding.  He attacks the day, attacks problems and never lets anybody bring him down.  He accepts responsibility for failures without passing the buck either in front of the mike or through whispers to media people like many others in his position do.  I just think he's a stand-up guy. 

That said.  He failed.  He didn't win enough games.  He came into a horrible situation and wasn't able to show tangible improvement.  You may look at the roster and see that it is now void of bad actors, locker room politicians and full of great character guys that work hard but that's not enough.  You have to win.  Rod didn't.  Rod is gone.  That is the way it works and he knows it.  

I think Rod made some bad choices for his staff.  He needs to live with those and he will.  He did comment today that he perhaps underestimated how difficult it is to put a staff together, citing his first year and trying to assemble one.   Fact is and get your blow torches ready, I think Rod Marinelli has the makings of a good head coach.  I think he needed to surround himself with better people.  Head Coaches are about leadership.  He has that in spades.  However, they are also about delegating to your staff and when you hand assignments to people that aren't qualififed to handle them, you suffer, your team suffers, your record suffers but you also have to accept that in the end its your fault.  Rod won't hide from any of that, if he even agreed with me on this he would say that he is culpable for brining those men in and their performance.  If they failed, he failed. 

The biggest problem though is this roster.  There is simply not enough talent to compete in the NFL.  Too many years of bad drafting have left them in a position where they are undoubtedly at the bottom of the league and I don't even think it's close.  The problem is fixable.  In the words of GM Martin Mayhew they need to make better choices.  He's right and it's now on his plate to do something about it.   

Look, nobody gets out of this thing without some blame.  Rod was far from perfect but he was also in my mind far from the biggest problem.  I'm in no way saying that Rod should still be here.  0-16 is a ticket out in any sport.  I simply submit to you though, that  a good man is walking out the door and regardless of who walks in, things aren't guaranteed to improve.  This goes deeper than the head coach, Martin Mayhew and Tom Lewand know that.  Now it's their job to do something about it.  They have what any human being wants and that' a chance.  Simple.  A chance to show what they can do.  We're all hoping that they can do the kind of job that will make us proud of the Lions for years to come.

Thumbs up for Rod Marinelli naming Dan Orlovsky the Lions starting quarterback this week against New Orleans.  

I know this team believes or at least did at the outset of his time here that Duante Culpepper can be their starter next season.  I know they believed that he would make them competitive this year.  I know he is hurt right now.  What I don't know is whether or not he has anything left.  I haven't seen anything even remotely approaching proof that he does.     

I also don't know what Dan Orlovsky will be in this league or if he even belongs as a starter.  I do believe this.  He is the best quarterback on the roster right now and I thought he played well against the Colts.  Considering the fact that he has now started 5 games and seems to be improving each time out, I'm intrigued by what he could be.  I think he has a chance to be a productive player and that needs to be considered moving forward.  Dan will be a free agent at the end of the year.  I have no idea who will be calling shots but  I think that Martin Mayhew or his replacement would be making a big mistake to let him go.    

The Lions could go out and draft a quarterback number one overall, they could make a trade for a qb or they could sign one as a free agent.  Regardless of what they do, I've seen enough of Dan Orlovsky to believe that he should be back here and competing for a starting spot next season.

I also believe that he is their best shot at making sure that this season ends with at least one victory.   

So I was getting my hair cut the other day and had some time to kill.  Sitting in the waiting area, I grabbed the Sporting News.  I opened it up to the offseason baseball  section and got a look at the big free agents and their potential destinations.   Obviously, there was no mention of the Tigers when it came to K-Rod or Teixiera.  Not even a mention for the guys on the next level down.  I wasn't shocked by that.  I guess what threw me was the section where they discussed the top 5 A.L. teams for next year.  The Tigers were nowhere to be found.  That got me thinking.

Now, clearly this wasn't real newsworthy.  The team was lousy last year and doesn't appear poised to make any major changes this year.  However, isn't it somewhat amazing when you consider the fall from grace this team has endured.  World Series in 06, thought to be a contender before falling apart in 07, a favorite in 08 with a roster that appeared loaded only to once again spit the bit and finish well off the pace.

I don't know, it just seems that the team has fallen so fast that the reality of it is a bit shocking.  We now know that the experts failed to note their significant pitching problems last year and that in the end they were far too significant to overcome.  It really goes to show the precarious perch that contenders rest on and how quickly they can slip and fall. 

Without spending significant money it appears that this team won't contend anytime soon.  They have no catcher, no shortstop, an offensive liablility at third, a DH that may be done and no starting pitchers that they can count on.  Verlander is coming off a lousy year and has to prove that he can be a number one guy.  Bonderman has been nothing more than a guy with potential and now he has an injury to overcome.  Galarraga still has to prove he has staying power.  Willis is Steve Blass until he proves otherwise.  Nate Robertson is a number five with a horrible contract outdone only by the deal Willis got.  I won't even get into the bullpen.

I'm a huge Dave Dombrowski fan.  I think he has made some very, very bad moves.  The contracts given to Willis and Robertson are crippling this team as is the extension they gave to Sheffield.  Look you can like a guy and point out that he has made mistakes.  Show me somebody that hasn't.  Dombrowski has.  Now he has to prove that he can turn things around with budget restrictions hanging around his neck.  It won't be easy but I'll roll the dice with him making the calls.  

I know this though, unless they have the stars seriously align behind that pitching staff, this is going to be another long season.  2006 and the excitement going into last season seem like a long long time ago.  

Gotcha!!!!  I'm guessing you were looking for your pitchforks and torches when you read the headline here.  Look I am not saying that Rod Marinelli deserves any slack for the teams abysmal showing this year.  He doesn't.  He is the head coach and he signed up for a business in which you are judged by wins and losses.  Right now we all know where that measure of his performance stands.

What I am saying is enough already with the weekly reviews of his press get togethers.  I for one think it's admirable that he stands up there, takes the blame and refuses to throw any of his players or coaches under a bus.  That is leadership.  Leaders don't publicly pass the buck to somebody else so as to clear themselves.  I think coaches that do that are garbage. 

Look, this team is bad, there is nothing he can say to change that.  Who gives a hoot what he says on Monday?  The ONLY thing that matters is what his team does on Sunday.  I've had this argument with some of my media brothers.  Some agree, some don't.  I just think it's ridiculous that we have gotten to the point where we review his performance every Monday and submit that as substance around which we can build programming or content.

If you want Rod fired because of the teams failures.  I won't argue.  Frankly I don't think he would either.  He doesn't want to go, he'd rather stay and try and turn this around but he understands what the measuring stick is for men in his position.

Ask yourself this.  If your child ever is put in a position of leadership and has to speak to the public.  Would you want him/her to say "we are failing because I haven't done my job?"  Or would you rather he/she says "hey you know I'm doing my job but employee A, B and C are slackers so blame them."

I think Rod's results have been bad.  I think his willingness to keep himself in the crosshairs and not hide from the teams shortcomings has been an example of what a stand-up person does in times of crisis.

I know we all want the team to win, short of that...What do you want him to say that's going to make anybody feel better?   

I love the trade for Allen Iverson.  That's it.  I think it was a great move on a number of fronts.

-I have always admired his game.  I think he gives you everything he has every night.  I think he is somebody that is willing to mold his game to the players around him.  I know he is known to some as a ball hog but fact is, he has been surrounded by less than top notch talent for most of his career.  In Detroit he'll have the best supporting cast he has ever played with.

-I think he will bring an element of toughness that has been missing since Ben left.  I think he will bring a measure of desire this team needs.  Look, these guys have enjoyed success for a number of years.  They do not appear to be as hungry as they were back in 04 and 05.  You've seen it, at times it manifests itself in these guys looking "too cool for school."  No more of that.  A-I needs a title for his resume and I think he will drive these guys relentlessly.  I think it's a great infusion.

-I don't think this was a championship team with Chauncey.  I think his game was slipping and more than that it was just more of the same old same old.  With Iverson, it's all new and I think the team needed to change the mix for the previously mentioned reasons.

-There is NO RISK.  With my premise being that this team wasn't going to win a title, what's the risk?  Iverson's deal is up at the end of the year and you can move on.  Chauncey had 2 years left after this.  

Joe Dumars hit a home run here.  I think his team is better in the short term and for the long term he has more flexibility than he has ever enjoyed as the Pistons top dog.

Guys, I am in the tank for A-I.  I have always loved him as a player.  He may not be 24 anymore but he still makes things happen and I can't wait to see him do it here in Detroit.

I just finished watching the Pistons opener.  I have to say, I like this team.  I love the young guys like Stuckey and Afflalo and Johnson.

The only problem is this team appears to be in the same spot it's been for a few years now, good but not great.  There is no crime there, however, in this town it's really championship or bust.  I think this team is lacking some of the key components that would allow them to beat the Celtics or Cavaliers and look out because the Magic, Raptors and Sixers are all coming.

I think the Pistons will be a fun team to watch and win more than their share of games.  I also think that we are watching the end of the line for this group as Joe Dumars moves some of his pieces sooner rather than later with an eye on more than just the Eastern Confrence finals. 

Your thoughts?  Blog away!

I'm about 3/4's of the way through Jeff Pearlmans new book "Boys Will Be Boys".  It's an account of the rise and fall of the Dallas Cowboys during the Jerry Jones era.  Now to say they fell would probably be a bit of an overstatement but nevertheless they never have gotten back to the level they played at during the mid 90's.

It is a GREAT read.  The excess that these guys enjoyed was amazing.  The world was their candy dish and nearly all of them had a sweet tooth.  You'll find some of it amazing that it actually happened (Charles Haley) but you will keep turning the page.

Further, there are some parallels to the situation the Lions are in.  When Jones took over the organization was down.  Jimmy Johnson, through his keen eye for personnel was able to bring it back up throught the draft and free agencey.  Now, the Lions don't have a Herschel Walker to trade and stockpile picks but they do have picks.  The game hasn't changed and the game plan shouldn't either.

I will repeat what I have said.  The Lions aren't dead, they're dormant.  Go ahead and tell me they have been for 50 years but the past only dictates your future if you allow it to.

This teams road back to being respectable begins and ends with the GM that runs this ship next year.  He will choose the coach and the players.  He will build his scouting staff both pro and college.  He will be the centerpiece of the organization.  The coach may be out front but the GM is the man that brings in the guys that play between the lines.  For too long, those players here have been less than championship caliber.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.  The key step for this team will be hiring the right man to run the football side of the organization.

In the meantime, they have to continue the good fight for the next 12 games.  You have no choice.  The hope has to be that some of the younger players learn and show that they can be part of a brighter future.  If they don't or if they can't, I think they'll be former Lions before too long.  It has to be that way.  

Back to the book, give it a look and let me know what you think.  I'm giving it 2 thumbs up.  

Let's go:

-Matt Millen had a run of 7 years plus three games in Detroit recording a record of 31-84.  That is easily the worst record in the NFL during that time.  To say that he deserved to be fired is stating the ovbvious.  The real question is what went wrong.  The answer...Many things but first and foremost this team is in dire need of talent.  Why?  Because their drafts have not been good.  They have been bad.  In the NFL you cannot continuosly blow the draft and expect to win.  You need to draft and develop guys.  If you don't, you end up trying to catch up in free agency and that's a license to fail.  I'm not going to go back over all the drafts, that's been done.  The fact is though that they are in this spot because their talent has consistently been inferior to the teams that they are lining up against.  Talk about drills and fundamentals all you want.  Talent wins.  Now granted, you need talented guys that are hungry and not hungry in the way Shaun Rogers was.

-The Lions have reorganized their front office with Tom Lewand running the business and league side and Martin Mayhew as the GM.  I think Lewand could well still be in place when the dust settles next offseason.  He understands the business side of the sport as well as anybody.  I think it will be tough on Mayhew to survive because he is so connected to the previous regime that didn't do a good enough job evaluating talent.  I have known Martin for a long time.  He is a very smart and talented football man but the team will have a tough time convincing fans that you can get this done without a significant change in that department.  So.... 

-I believe that the team will go out and hire a new GM.  Somebody with a proven track record of evaluating talent successfully.  They have to.  Maybe Mayhew can convince the team that he is the right guy or maybe he can stay on as assistant GM.  Fact is right now we don't know.   The goal of the excercise though is to be sure that you have the right guy in the chair for the 09 draft.  This is the most important decision that Mr. Ford will make.  I think it's more important than hiring a coach or retaining the one you have.  It STARTS with talent.  The best coach in the world cannot win without it.

-I think Rod Marinelli has an uphill battle to be here next year.  He has 13 games to get this team moving in the right direction but  it won't be easy based on what I have previously discussed.  The next head coach will be chosen by the next GM.  He may feel like Rod is the guy or he may not but he will make that call.  Matt Millen did with Gary Moeller.  The fan base needs to be energized.  That will be tough for Rod to do but I know it won't be for lack of effort.  He will not let his players or coaches quit.  However their best may not be good enough to make a dent on the scoreboard from week to week.

-If they are saddled with another loss or two here in the next few weeks, they have to evalute their young talent.  Guys like Stanton, Dizon, Cherilus, Fluellen, Cohen, Alama Francis, Avril  and Ramirez have to play.  Stanton playing is a must.  You need to know what you are in the market for during the offseason. In particular at the qb position because it's the most important one in sports IMO. Overall, that's a tricky thing though, because this staff needs to win now to have a future more than it needs to find out what the future of the team is.

This isn't hopeless.  Bad teams get better with the right moves.  The Lions can get better over the next few years with the right moves.  The first move is making sure the right men are in place to lead the way.  Until those decisions are made though I'll go into each week believing that they can win if they play the right way (thanks Larry Brown).  Is that a bit of a contradiction?  Yes. I'm like that with all my teams.  I guess that's what you call being a fan. 

I also know that the future is as bright as bright as they make it.  Nobody limits what you can do in this league except the limits you bring upon yourself with the decisions that you make.

See you at Ford Field a week from Sunday.  This team has 13 games left and there is still plenty to do.

Rod Marinelli says players and teams are what they put on tape.  Right now and until we see something different what we are watching is a bad football team.  There are no quick fixes, there is no wishing it away, there is no explaining it away.  Right now this is simply a bad team.  I hate to say it because I know the coaches work hard and the players do as well,   but the end result is all that matters.  I'll say it again.  In sports you either win or you lose.  Period.  End of discussion.

The Lions defense is bad.  It has been bad and we have all been waiting for it to improve but right now it's not showing any signs of that.  In fact, you can make the case that it is headed in the opposite direction.  Over their past 5 losses dating back to the San Diego game a year ago consider these numbers.  The opposition has opened games by scoring on 19 of their 21 possesions.  The Chargers scored on their first 7  possesions, the Packers scored on their first 3, moving ahead to 08, the Falcons scored on their first 3, the Packers and Niners each scored on three of their first four.  Needless to say each of those games saw the Lions fall behind by big numbers right off the bat.  In those games they have given up an average of 39.6 points per game.  Now I realize that some of those points came courtesy of the offense throwing picks for scores but you get the point.  You have two options.  The defense doesn't work or you don't have the talent you need to make it work.  Chicago runs it and made the Super Bowl and Indy won a Super Bowl with the same system.  All the head coach can do is continue to drill his players on the system.  In the end though, drills and fundamentals are trumped by talent and they don't look like they have enough to make this work.

We'll talk offense later in the week.  We have time to chew on this for a while with the bye coming up.  Your thoughts are welcome.

No order here just free flowing thoughts.

-I don't want to hear anybody talking about the Lions comeback.  Was it fun?  Yes.  Was it exciting?  Yes?  Did it lead to a victory?  No.  In this league you win or you lose and anything else is window dressing for losers.

-This team has lost 9 of its last 10 games.  In those 9 losses Jon Kitna has thrown 18 interceptions.  Now, NOT ALL of them were his fault.  However, the fact is he has not shown an ability to make plays in crunch time.  Just the opposite, he appears to have problems when things get tight.  Simply put, if you don't have a dominant defense then you need a quarterback making plays in the 4th quarter.  Jon hasn't done that.  Can he?  The answer so far is no and that's a problem.

-Should the team make a change?  Well, fact is there are many things at play here.  If this coaching staff were assured of coming back next year, I think it would be more likely.  However, they are coaching to win and to keep their jobs.  The future may not matter to them.  If this season slips away, it would be in the best interest of the organization to play their younger guys to see what they have.  Right now, the season is still viable and Jon Kitna is still the guy.  We'll examine this as the season moves forward.

-They have got to keep Roy Williams involved.  6 catches in 2 games isn't enough.  They have two very, very good receivers and need to use them both.  

-Joe Barry does deserve some heat.  His unit has been flat bad for the better part of 18 games now.   I think Joe is a good coach and wouldn't be surprised if he were a head coach one day.  Matter of fact I think he will be.  That said, he needs to get this thing moving in the right direction UNLESS there just isn't enough talent to do so.  I'm still working my way through that one.  I'm leaning towards talent being more of an issue than Joe.

More to come.  Heck we have 14 weeks to go. 

I have no idea how long this will be because there isn't much to say after the Lions opening day debacle.

First, I never saw it coming.  I thought this team was better than that.  I thought they were competitive and ready to win somewhere between 7 and 9 games with a belief that it would be towards the higher end.

Now, I do think that they are better than the "horrific" (Rod's description of their tackling) display we saw on Sunday.  You know what though?  Who gives a &^%$ what I think?  Too often this team has sold themselves on what people think and not what they actually do.  So this is pretty simple.  Let's see what they are.  Let's see how they respond.  Let's see if they have the professional pride to bounce back and play like they want to earn their checks.  Maybe they will.  Maybe they won't.  Maybe they can't.

I don't know the answers.  Then again.  It doesn't matter if I know the answers because I don't have a thing to do with how they play.  I'm not giving up.  I believe that there is still hope.  But hope won't bring success, effort and prodcution will.  Rod always says his team has to worry about what they do and not what the opponent does.  That's a sound philosophy for winning.  Now we'll see if they can execute it and find some success.

In this league you either win or you lose.  Words don't change what you do or what you are.  So I won't waste any more here.

See you Sunday.

The sports world lost a dominant figure and a great man when Gene Upshaw passed away.  He's a man that while controversial, helped make the NFL what it is today and to me, that's the greatest sports league in the World.  Beyond that, he was a Hall of Fame player that helped form the Raiders mystique without getting arrested or acting like he needed a straight jacket.  Beyond that, Gene was a great person who touched my life and my career and without a doubt helped me attain whatever success I'm enjoying today.

When I was doing sports radio in Washington during the mid 90's, Gene was getting roasted by some of the players and many of the fans for what they saw as his misguided direction in negotiating a new contract with owners.  I would have players on for their take and of course open the lines for the fans.  Well, Gene lived in D.C. and he was listening.  One day out of the blue he called in and went on.  Then it happened again.  And again.  Then Gene wanted to come sit in studio and take calls which he did several times.  

Next thing I know, the NFLPA is starting up a radio show and I was asked to be the host.  Certainly this wouldn't have happened had Gene not thrown my name into the hat and it just so happened that the hat was his hat and what Gene wanted, he got.  The show was a blast.  I worked with Matt Millen, Craig James, Darryl Johnston and several other players over the 10 years that I did it.  The friends that I made at the NFLPA are still people I talk to from time to time today and I value their friendship.

As for Gene.  He wasn't involved in the radio show on a day to day basis but we remained in touch.  I saw him at several NFLPA functions.  I called on him from time to time for interviews when I needed his take both on radio and TV.  He was always willing to help.  We played in several charity golf outings together and you couldn't ask for a better guy to hit the course with.  He was down to earth, funny, he drove the ball mile and he cheated like nobodies business witha  smile on  his face.  We shared the same fear of snakes and he used to always stay out of the wild stuff because he was afraid of "Mr. no shoulders."  He never failed to ask for detailed information about what I was doing professionally and where my career was going.

In our lives we'll all have moments where something just leaves us cold.  When I heard that Gene had died this morning, I was just floored.  He always seemed bigger than life to me with his voice, his laugh and hell just the fact that he was a rock solid man. 

We weren't best friends.  We were acquaintances and he was somebody that took an interest in me and my career without ever asking for anything.  That's what I'll take from Gene.  Not what he did for the NFL or the Raiders but the fact that somebody who had everything took the time to help out a guy trying to find his way.  I think that's a great measure of a man, what they do without being asked and when there is nothing in it for them.        

I don't know if you had a chance to read Jerry Green's column over the weekend about Jim Leyland, but it was a good read.   It was about managers being fired.   As the TIgers stumble towards the end of a very disappointing season, there have certainly been questions about the futures of both the players and Leyland.  In fact, he was quoted by Green as saying the following....

"I'm not leaving here if that's what you're getting at," he told me the other day in the manager's office in the clubhouse at Comerica Park.

"They'll have to fire me. I'm very happy here. Let's see how that plays out. I like managing and I've got a lot of energy. So I'm strong, I feel good, I've got a lot of energy and I want to manage."

So clearly the skipper knows the questions are out there and he addressed the issue for Green.  Now here's how it works in the media.  Once something like this is out there, it will be addressed again.  Managers, players and GM's are all used to answering follow-ups to articles or columns that are written.  Other media members want the quote for their articles or radio or tv shows. 

So fast forward to yesterday after the teams latest loss.  Our reporter, Ryan Ermanni, went into Leylands office after the game and asked him to talk about his future and whether or not there was any question that he would be back.  A rehash of the article? Yes.  Common practice to get the quote again?  Yes.  Leyland was clearly in no mood to talk about it and he told Ermanni he had no idea what he was talking about and then invited Ryan to leave his office.   Leyland was calm and within his rights to react this way.  It would have been nice to hear him reaffirm his commitment to the team in light of his having walked away from three previous jobs, but he can certainly choose what questions he wants to answer and when.  

Not over yet.  A member of the Tigers media relations staff then informed Ermanni that "you don't ask that question after a loss."  Now I will leave his name out of this because he's a good guy who lost track of his job responsibilities.  Media relations staffers can inform somebody if they don't like a question but they don't dictate what the questions can or should be. Period.  Further, I will submit with great confidence that if the question had come from Mitch Albom or Wojo, said media relations worker wouldn't have said a word about this.  Ermanni is a talented guy but still working his way up the totem pole and dealing with this kind of treatment is part of the climb. 

When all is said and done, our job as a staff  is to ask questions.  Fair questions.  Questions YOU want answered.  Along the way we may not get the answers we want and we may be asked to move on to the next topic or at times to the next room.   That's ok.  That's not the crime here.  It's somebody thinking that they can dictate how we do our jobs.  Funny though, it seems when the teams we cover actually do their jobs, we never have these problems. 

OK, so my mind was moving in a few directions as I watched things unfold this weekend.  In 27 years in this business, there are three times I have felt that I was unfairly disrespected by somebody I worked with or interviewed.  One of those honored positions goes to Greg Norman.  I won't go into a bunch of details but many years ago at the Kemper Open he was beyond a jerk to me and it's a moment I've never forgotten.  At the end of the day, I could really not care less but at least it gave him a place in my life.  I'm sure he appreciates that.

Needless to say, as reporters, we're human and we root for the guys that have treated us well, because you want to see good things happen to good people.  Now, Greg Norman is considered a good person by plenty of others in our business,  so my opinion, based on a single moment in time is really pretty petty and truth be told, I'm sure he's a great guy to have a beer with.

So as I watched what could have been one of the greatest moments in the history of golf unfold, the question was did I want this guy to win?  The answer was simply, yes.  I was very wrapped up in what he was doing and rooting hard for him at the age of 53 to secure a victory that would have changed the way people view his career.  As things stand now he is seen as a great player known more for coming painfully close than actually closing the deal.  If he had won this tournament, I think it would have replaced Bob Tway from the bunker, Larry Mize from off the green and Nick Faldo's crushing comeback victory in 96.  (I must point out that Faldo's comeback was aided by Norman's puking all over the course that day)

Anyway..It would have been a great story and one that really made Tiger's absence much less significant.  In the end he didn't win but I do think he gave the week what it needed.  A story that did erase much of the Tiger talk.  Look any major without Tiger becomes a Major*.  Sorry but that's just the way it is.  I'm not saying a Shark can beat a Tiger but for a couple of days it allowed us to get out of the Woods and see that there is still a reason to watch.  So to Norman, I say  "thanks and bygones".  

Now let's hope that we can get the same type of show here at Oakland Hills in a few weeks.  

BTW, the complete Norman story and the other two guys that made my all jerk team will be released at a later date when my book comes out.  My book will come out when I am sure that anybody I offend can't kill my career.  I'm shooting for 2034.