Well, not fired really, but kicked out of her anchor chair and sent back to the studio.
Another notebook nugget, this time from Andrew Both of SportsTicker:
Finchem, a skilled lawyer/politician, diplomatically told the players that while he consults with the network regularly, he does not have any direct say in whom it uses on the air.
He pointed out that Tilghman is always co-operative with the tour, happy to read its promotional blurbs, and that Thursday-Friday ratings on The Golf Channel are higher than they used to be on ESPN.
The players who voiced their opinions were not necessarily upset with anything specific that Tilghman has said in her 16 months in the job, including the famous remark in January that players wanting to beat Tiger Woods should "lynch him in a back alley."
Rather, they seem to think that she does not have the gravitas or broadcasting expertise to elevate a telecast in the way that Jim Nantz, for example, does on CBS.
Great - they want an anchor more like Nantz. No surprise, given that Nantz's broadcasting style is to make people think golf - and by extension, golfers - is as important breathing. Nantz calls golf as if he were calling the Birth of Democracy.
Jay Busbee, on the Yahoo Golf Blog, writes:
Finchem pointed out that the PGA Tour doesn't actually control the Golf Channel, but simply the fact that this story leaked out of the players' meetings means there'll likely be action. Expect Kelly to start talking in a much lower register and using words like "majestic" to describe routine chip shots.
I'm not a fan of Tilghman's work in the anchor's chair. But I don't want her (or anyone else) to be more like Nantz.If she were more like Dan Hicks, though, that'd be just fine.
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Some PGA Tour Players Want Kelly Tilghman Fired :: 7 Comments :: Post a Comment
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