Vince Cellini, The Golf Channel Part Ways

by Mulligan Stu on Jul 12, 2007 8:26 PM EDT

Affable host Vince Cellini has left his gig at The Golf Channel, according to the latest issue of Golf World. And from the sound of things, if The Golf Channel didn't push him out, they at least held the door open for him.

vince cellini In its front-of-the-book "Bunker" section, Golf World reported that Cellini turned down a multiyear contract offer at the end of last year, then put off negotiations for a while. When talks resumed last month, The Golf Channel seemed unwilling to make much of an effort to keep Cellini.

According to Golf World:

"It was like Tony Soprano in the diner," said Cellini ... "It just went black. They weren't negotiating anymore. I tried to ask them about making certain changes, and they didn't want to make them."

Cellini said money wasn't the stumbling block, but rather his schedule and what he said was a lack of consideration by management toward developing his own programs and ideas. "I think this could have been avoided," he noted. "There wasn't a big gap."

Cellini had filmed three episodes of "Fore Inventors Only," and presumably another host will take over those duties. According to the magazine, Cellini was replaced on the filming of "Big Break VIII" by someone named Rick Schwartz.

I'm disappointed to see Cellini exit. While I enjoy The Golf Channel's tournament announcers, when it comes to their studio hosts ... well, not so much. Cellini was an exception.

The Golf Channel has to make decisions factoring in salaries and assignments, and maybe those calculations just didn't work out for them when they considered Cellini's wants. But why any station would keep Steve Deumig (or, for that matter, Kraig Kann) on the air while letting Vince Cellini walk is a mystery.