Posted: 4:14 am
June 29, 2008
* In response to Phil Mushnick's column about Tiger Woods and the TV networks [Equal Time, "Tiger-crazy TV execs getting just deserts," The Post and nypost.com, June 23]: The main reason the networks bet on Woods is the fact that he is the only consistent player on the PGA Tour. It would be futile to try and make any of the other nameless, faceless, automatons into other than what they are - the field. Name three other players that any sponsor would bet millions on. My guess is, you can't. The networks have been trying to invent a rival for Woods for years, trying Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh, Ernie Els and a few others. Guess what? They all come up way short. I love golf and I will watch either way, but the casual fans don't appreciate the game, they just want to be entertained. The field is not entertaining. To blame the networks for betting on a once-in-a-lifetime athlete doesn't make much sense to me.
DANTE BAINS
Palo Alto, Calif.
* It seems to me that the PGA Tour and the television networks have been desperately trying to boost the profiles of other golfers and would love nothing better than for someone like Phil Mickelson to challenge Tiger Woods for golf supremacy. Do I believe the coverage of Woods goes overboard at times? Sure. But I also understand that it's because he is far and away golf's most talented and popular player, and often its most compelling storyline. I'll bet lesser lights like Robert Karlsson and Justin Hicks would agree that watching the No. 1 player in the world limp around Torrey Pines at the U.S. Open beat just about anything they did that weekend. Darned right he'll be missed.
L. M. SHEPARD
Manhattan
* The only problem with putting all your eggs in one basket is that there will be no eggs left for all the other baskets. Translation: The PGA Tour and their networks have shown maybe 1-2 hours of programming of golfers not named "Tiger" in events played by Tiger Woods for years. Now that Woods is out for this whole season their "all Tiger, all the time" philosophy is going to bite them back, coincidentally, with all the power of a tiger.
GARY FERSTER
Tinton Falls, N.J.
