2018 Masters thread

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Rotorooter
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2018 Masters thread

Post by Rotorooter »

No Masters thread yet?! It's only the best sporting event of the year.

I love the reporting on the Masters. Spieth shoots 66; others in the mix; Tiger only 25 strokes back (exaggerating to make a point). What ESPN will do to hype the thing.
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Re: 2018 Masters thread

Post by ml wave »

Rotorooter wrote:No Masters thread yet?! It's only the best sporting event of the year.

I love the reporting on the Masters. Spieth shoots 66; others in the mix; Tiger only 25 strokes back (exaggerating to make a point). What ESPN will do to hype the thing.
Seems like a weird thing to blame ESPN for at this point. Tiger's comeback was the biggest story in sports the last few weeks, should they have not covered his round?
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Re: 2018 Masters thread

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ml wave wrote:
Rotorooter wrote:No Masters thread yet?! It's only the best sporting event of the year.

I love the reporting on the Masters. Spieth shoots 66; others in the mix; Tiger only 25 strokes back (exaggerating to make a point). What ESPN will do to hype the thing.
Seems like a weird thing to blame ESPN for at this point. Tiger's comeback was the biggest story in sports the last few weeks, should they have not covered his round?
True, it's a big story, it's just that TW has always commanded a lion's share of coverage (sorry for the pun) even when it isn't warranted. Obviously, since Masters tix are 2x what they normally are, he is the biggest part of that. I just think they give the rest of the field short shrift and have been since TW's rise (and fall).

Everyone likes the underdog, a redemption story and all that. I just think there are so many story lines this year that ESPN seems to beg coverage with TW when it doesn't have to. Perhaps Johnny Mac can fill us in with Tiger's "Q" rating. I'd be interested to know what that is.
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Re: 2018 Masters thread

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I was stuck in a doctor's waiting room yesterday morning with ESPN on. The drooling over TW was nauseating. They kept cutting away from SportsCenter all through the 9 am hour to him on the practice tee, with "10:52 am Tee Time" in one corner and a countdown clock (literally minutes and seconds) in the other corner. They came back to him between every. single. story. Every one.

At 10 am ET they started "SportsCenter at The Masters". They could have called it "Tiger Woods at The Masters". Guys were already out on the course, someone (Singh?) was already 3 under after 4 holes. But that didn't matter, no one else was apparently playing. They showed nothing but Tiger. The countdown loomed large! Then, as if the world had awaited it, with about 2 or 3 minutes before he was to tee off, they played the pre-packaged piece they'd been waiting to show. Words like "finding the soul he lost" and "journey to spiritual redemption" were thrown about. It was like he was a world leader or even a religious deity.

The piece ends, Tiger is on the tee. The world stands still (or so ESPN implies)....

...and it goes into the gallery. It was friggin' poetic.


I know I've said it a few times on here but I'm glad I haven't given a cent to that company in the past decade.
(yes, I'm aware that I give it to the parent company when I watch Star Wars and Marvel movies, but you know what I mean)
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Re: 2018 Masters thread

Post by ml wave »

Sounds like you need to find a doctor that doesn't keep you waiting for 2 hours?
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Re: 2018 Masters thread

Post by tjtlja »

Lol.

Pete, you seemed like you loved the ending. A two hour movie with a great ending doesn't seem like a bad way to past the time at the doctor’s office.
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Re: 2018 Masters thread

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ml wave wrote:Sounds like you need to find a doctor that doesn't keep you waiting for 2 hours?
It's none of your business, it wasn't for me, and it wasn't what you imagine, so f off.
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Re: 2018 Masters thread

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How do ratings of tournaments with TW compare to rating where he isn’t playing?
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Re: 2018 Masters thread

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BC Wave wrote:How do ratings of tournaments with TW compare to rating where he isn’t playing?
Tiger Woods then or Tiger Woods now? Everyone knows that infinitely more people watched 15 years ago when they were seeing the guy who was going to be the greatest of all time. But the coverage Thursday morning was like ESPN is just pining for the good old days when they weren't losing money and viewers by the millions.

If viewership numbers are up this year, it's either morbid curiosity or evidence that most Americans really are sheep who believe anything ESPN tells them. Tiger is certainly doing nothing to merit the coverage.

Man, all we need now is Brett Favre to come back. And, maybe he could coach football in the SEC, the greatest football league every single year!
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Re: 2018 Masters thread

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PeteRasche wrote:
BC Wave wrote:How do ratings of tournaments with TW compare to rating where he isn’t playing?
Tiger Woods then or Tiger Woods now? Everyone knows that infinitely more people watched 15 years ago when they were seeing the guy who was going to be the greatest of all time. But the coverage Thursday morning was like ESPN is just pining for the good old days when they weren't losing money and viewers by the millions.

If viewership numbers are up this year, it's either morbid curiosity or evidence that most Americans really are sheep who believe anything ESPN tells them. Tiger is certainly doing nothing to merit the coverage.

Man, all we need now is Brett Favre to come back. And, maybe he could coach football in the SEC, the greatest football league every single year!
Or Pete Rose.
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Re: 2018 Masters thread

Post by tjtlja »

Pete, you are right about Tiger. I love golf and I loved Tiger in his heyday. What he did for as long as he did it was spectacular. But today, he is a shell of the player he was with a lot of baggage. The other players do not exist. This is simply about viewership and ESPN grasping at straws. It makes them look foolish and I all for that.
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Re: 2018 Masters thread

Post by PeteRasche »

TUPF, did Pete Rose get wall-to-wall coverage on ESPN in 1989? I was at Tulane in the pre-cable-in-dorms days so I don't know, but I doubt it (maybe you meant that comment from a different angle?) To me, it seems like the transition from sports highlights to sports analysis, opinion, and argument began in the early 2000s. Around the time Jim Rome rose on radio and PTI began on TV.

There were always a handful of athletes to whom ESPN chose to give ridiculous coverage. Favre and Tiger were the poster children. They couldn't use the restroom without ESPN commenting on the type of toilet paper.
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Re: 2018 Masters thread

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Nah, I was jousting unearthing another fossil with an old story. Like OJ, there are some old guys that never completely go away.

I don’t watch golf...so how many Arnie Palmer insurance commercials get trotted out this weekend?
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Re: 2018 Masters thread

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From a golf perspective the coverage of TW is ridiculous, and I can understand the people who watch a lot of golf being annoyed. But you can't have your cake and eat it too. Most golf people I know like to talk about one of the reasons (not the only) they like the Masters is that it is such a bigger stage, a big time sports event for even casual golf fans and some even non golf fans. Well, for the last 20+ years, those casual fans watch the masters BECAUSE OF Tiger Woods. So, in that vain, the coverage this weekend has been warranted. If you want the big time networks, the big time buzz, the big time interest,coverage of all four rounds, etc, then realize that part of the reason you are getting that coverage somewhere other than an obscure golf cable network, is BECAUSE of TW and people who are watching just for him.

For what little its worth, back when I still watched and played golf, I always found the Masters over hyped. The British Open was usually a more entertaining tournament most years (or maybe I'm just biased toward links golf). I do remember getting really invested when Ben Crenshaw won the Masters in his 50s (he'd been my childhood golf hero when I was 12 and under)
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Re: 2018 Masters thread

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Carly Simon comes to mind
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Re: 2018 Masters thread

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WaveProf wrote:From a golf perspective the coverage of TW is ridiculous, and I can understand the people who watch a lot of golf being annoyed. But you can't have your cake and eat it too. Most golf people I know like to talk about one of the reasons (not the only) they like the Masters is that it is such a bigger stage, a big time sports event for even casual golf fans and some even non golf fans. Well, for the last 20+ years, those casual fans watch the masters BECAUSE OF Tiger Woods. So, in that vain, the coverage this weekend has been warranted. If you want the big time networks, the big time buzz, the big time interest,coverage of all four rounds, etc, then realize that part of the reason you are getting that coverage somewhere other than an obscure golf cable network, is BECAUSE of TW and people who are watching just for him.

For what little its worth, back when I still watched and played golf, I always found the Masters over hyped. The British Open was usually a more entertaining tournament most years (or maybe I'm just biased toward links golf). I do remember getting really invested when Ben Crenshaw won the Masters in his 50s (he'd been my childhood golf hero when I was 12 and under)
Blasphemy, ignorance and idiocy all wrapped into one post. Amazing.
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Re: 2018 Masters thread

Post by windywave »

Rotorooter wrote:
WaveProf wrote:From a golf perspective the coverage of TW is ridiculous, and I can understand the people who watch a lot of golf being annoyed. But you can't have your cake and eat it too. Most golf people I know like to talk about one of the reasons (not the only) they like the Masters is that it is such a bigger stage, a big time sports event for even casual golf fans and some even non golf fans. Well, for the last 20+ years, those casual fans watch the masters BECAUSE OF Tiger Woods. So, in that vain, the coverage this weekend has been warranted. If you want the big time networks, the big time buzz, the big time interest,coverage of all four rounds, etc, then realize that part of the reason you are getting that coverage somewhere other than an obscure golf cable network, is BECAUSE of TW and people who are watching just for him.

For what little its worth, back when I still watched and played golf, I always found the Masters over hyped. The British Open was usually a more entertaining tournament most years (or maybe I'm just biased toward links golf). I do remember getting really invested when Ben Crenshaw won the Masters in his 50s (he'd been my childhood golf hero when I was 12 and under)
Blasphemy, ignorance and idiocy all wrapped into one post. Amazing.

So the usual?
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Re: 2018 Masters thread

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The Top 3 were spectacular young American golfers, so $crew Elbert. Never liked him, and golf doesn't need him to succeed - done fine enough without him the last 2 years. The purses don't seem to be getting smaller. Great golf today with Speith masterful, a missed Eagle put away from making it really interesting, and Fowler finishing strong. But Reed didn't flinch, and congrats to the young man and probably the first ever pink and Green pairing!
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Re: 2018 Masters thread

Post by Rotorooter »

doncecco wrote:The Top 3 were spectacular young American golfers, so $crew Elbert. Never liked him, and golf doesn't need him to succeed - done fine enough without him the last 2 years.
I hear "Elbert" is a lousy tipper, too. Golf has moved on, I think. ESPN hasn't/won't.
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Re: 2018 Masters thread

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Curious how you golf nuts feel about this. I don't follow enough to even know Reed's name but all I've seen since yesterday is how disliked he is... yet it sounds like he's basically won the Ryder Cup for us so you'd think Americans would be proud of a guy who is nicknamed "Captain America". I guess it's an uppity "we're a classy bunch and he represents the boorish stereotype that others have of us" attitude of snobby golf fans?

This story makes it really seem like it's a universal thing, but then you realize the writer is coming from the point of view of being surrounded by folks who got tickets to attend the final day at The Masters, so it's not exactly a tractor-pull crowd, ifyaknowwhatImean... it's the "connected-est of the connected".
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/golf/d ... li=BBnb7Kz
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Re: 2018 Masters thread

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PeteRasche wrote:Curious how you golf nuts feel about this. I don't follow enough to even know Reed's name but all I've seen since yesterday is how disliked he is... yet it sounds like he's basically won the Ryder Cup for us so you'd think Americans would be proud of a guy who is nicknamed "Captain America". I guess it's an uppity "we're a classy bunch and he represents the boorish stereotype that others have of us" attitude of snobby golf fans?

This story makes it really seem like it's a universal thing, but then you realize the writer is coming from the point of view of being surrounded by folks who got tickets to attend the final day at The Masters, so it's not exactly a tractor-pull crowd, ifyaknowwhatImean... it's the "connected-est of the connected".
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/golf/d ... li=BBnb7Kz
Reed has some really negative things in his background, no doubt. He is not at the top of my favorites list, but he is a strong player who did help win the Ryder Cup and is considered "cork sucker", "brash" and "outspoken." To me, he showed a lot of guts Sunday and particularly Saturday and I enjoyed watching him in both the Masters and Ryder Cup. Apparently, he'll never be the sportsman that Spieth/Fowler/Thomas are, but he will be a player to watch in big situations--which is admirable to me. BTW, he was voted by his fellow pros as the "last person you would help in a bar fight."

The guy's attitude is like the Team USA skier in the 1984 winter Olympics, downhill Gold Medal winner Bill Johnson, who walked into the skier's locker room and proclaimed, "See these skis? They're fast, really, really fast and they're going to beat you." And he did and no other American has won the downhill since.
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Re: 2018 Masters thread

Post by ml wave »

PeteRasche wrote:
ml wave wrote:Sounds like you need to find a doctor that doesn't keep you waiting for 2 hours?
It's none of your business, it wasn't for me, and it wasn't what you imagine, so f off.
Overreact much? :shock: :lol:
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Re: 2018 Masters thread

Post by AO Sig »

Rotorooter wrote:
doncecco wrote:The Top 3 were spectacular young American golfers, so $crew Elbert. Never liked him, and golf doesn't need him to succeed - done fine enough without him the last 2 years.
I hear "Elbert" is a lousy tipper, too. Golf has moved on, I think. ESPN hasn't/won't.
Another jerk was Tom Kite. The year he won the Msmphis PGA tournament he was celebrating at Grisanti's. My brother was working as a waiter there at the time; said he was rude, left a $10 on a bill that was over $500.

there are good guys in golf; I have spoken with Ernie Els and his beautiful wife on two occasions (they came to support a fund-raiser for an autism charity, and we compared notes on our sons). they are both very gracious. Mark Wilson, Vaughn Taylor are two other PGA players who have won on tour and who are class acts.
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Re: 2018 Masters thread

Post by GretnaGrn »

AO Sig wrote:
Rotorooter wrote:
doncecco wrote:The Top 3 were spectacular young American golfers, so $crew Elbert. Never liked him, and golf doesn't need him to succeed - done fine enough without him the last 2 years.
I hear "Elbert" is a lousy tipper, too. Golf has moved on, I think. ESPN hasn't/won't.
Another jerk was Tom Kite. The year he won the Msmphis PGA tournament he was celebrating at Grisanti's. My brother was working as a waiter there at the time; said he was rude, left a $10 on a bill that was over $500.

there are good guys in golf; I have spoken with Ernie Els and his beautiful wife on two occasions (they came to support a fund-raiser for an autism charity, and we compared notes on our sons). they are both very gracious. Mark Wilson, Vaughn Taylor are two other PGA players who have won on tour and who are class acts.
I worked one summer for a delivery restaurant that sold steaks in Jackson, MS, when they briefly had a PGA tour stop. We got a lot of orders from players in the tournament (the restaurant was fairly close to where they were staying, and the idea of a steak dinner without having to go out had to be appealing mid-tourney). The players were uniformly very polite and excellent tippers.
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Re: 2018 Masters thread

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Rotorooter wrote:
PeteRasche wrote:Curious how you golf nuts feel about this. I don't follow enough to even know Reed's name but all I've seen since yesterday is how disliked he is... yet it sounds like he's basically won the Ryder Cup for us so you'd think Americans would be proud of a guy who is nicknamed "Captain America". I guess it's an uppity "we're a classy bunch and he represents the boorish stereotype that others have of us" attitude of snobby golf fans?

This story makes it really seem like it's a universal thing, but then you realize the writer is coming from the point of view of being surrounded by folks who got tickets to attend the final day at The Masters, so it's not exactly a tractor-pull crowd, ifyaknowwhatImean... it's the "connected-est of the connected".
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/golf/d ... li=BBnb7Kz
Reed has some really negative things in his background, no doubt. He is not at the top of my favorites list, but he is a strong player who did help win the Ryder Cup and is considered "cork sucker", "brash" and "outspoken." To me, he showed a lot of guts Sunday and particularly Saturday and I enjoyed watching him in both the Masters and Ryder Cup. Apparently, he'll never be the sportsman that Spieth/Fowler/Thomas are, but he will be a player to watch in big situations--which is admirable to me. BTW, he was voted by his fellow pros as the "last person you would help in a bar fight."

The guy's attitude is like the Team USA skier in the 1984 winter Olympics, downhill Gold Medal winner Bill Johnson, who walked into the skier's locker room and proclaimed, "See these skis? They're fast, really, really fast and they're going to beat you." And he did and no other American has won the downhill since.
One other Reed story that came to light was one concerning his enstrangement from his parents. They came out to the 2014 US Open and when Reed noticed they were there he had security escort them off the grounds and confiscate their passes.
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