The Summer of Jim Gray Continues

Just when we thought he was gone forever from the National Sports Media Stage, relegated from ESPN to doing radio golf, and sideline reporting for the Sacramento Kings, guess who decided to pop back into the sports media scene?

If you had Jim Gray, you win.

First it was working in the employ of LeBron James to ask the softball questions during "The Decision." Now, he's working for the Golf Channel at the PGA Championship about to take place this weekend at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin.

Here he got the chance to interview Corey Pavin, captain of the US Ryder Cup team, about the prospects of every one's favorite 119th ranked golfer Tiger Woods, making the Ryder Cup team. What happened? Here's the story from Steve Ellig:

In a tense exchange in the middle of the PGA Championship media center on Wednesday, Golf Channel reporter Jim Gray stuck a finger in U.S. captain Corey Pavin’s chest, called him a liar and barked, “you’re going down.”

The exchange was precipitated by a conversation between the two that took place outside the player registration area on Tuesday night. Gray reported that when when asked if he would extend a captain’s pick to struggling star Tiger Woods, Pavin said, “of course I’m going to.”

On Wednesday morning, when he learned of the report while practicing on the Whistling Straits course, Pavin denied making any such statement or that any player had secured a spot as a captain’s pick, which are not finalized until Sept. 7.

Pavin and his European counterpart Colin Montgomerie had just concluded a scheduled Ryder press conference when Gray, approached Pavin after the room had mostly emptied.

Gray, whose employer earlier had issued a statement that it was standing by the facts of his report, stuck a finger in Pavin’s chest and berated him, according to Pavin and his wife, Lisa, who claims she recorded the exchange on her cellular telephone.

“It’s all right here,” she said, waving the phone.

“I just said, ‘You’re full of ‘something,’ ” Pavin said. “I’m not going to let that happen. He got upset. His eyes were a little odd … He was just a little crazy.”

If you seek comment from Jim Gray, he said the following earlier today on Live From the PGA Championship on Golf Channel '... there is absolutely not one part of what Corey Pavin said to me that has been misquoted. And quite frankly, I happen to like Corey Pavin. I've known him an awfully long time, and in this instance, his is being disingenuous and is not telling the truth.' "

If I had to take a side in this, give me Corey Pavin. Gray is nothing more than a hack, looking to stir up any controversy, in order to get back into media relevance. So enjoy telling Kings viewers about end of game strategy and just leave the rest of us alone.

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Golf Channel Reporter Reports What Several Women Already Know

As I am sure you all noticed, I have avoided touching the Tiger Woods story with a ten foot pole. For starters, I am not a golf fan and I find it incredibly boring and secondly, not only am I not a golf fan, but I do not care that Tiger Woods has a thing for women. Therefore, other than an occasional cheap joke during chats, the Tiger Woods story has not been a story for me to talk about. That being said, I absolutely cannot ignore this report on Tiger's injury that kept him out of The Player's Championship. Listen closely as this reporter tells the world what several women Elin Nordegren is insanely jealous of already know.



Steve Levy sympathizes.

Although, for all we know, Tiger Woods could not only have that bulging disk in his back, but he could also have a bulging dick. Just talk to any girl you see the next time you go for a walk in the park. She'll tell you the truth about what parts of Tiger are or are not bulging.

The Mystery Of The Man Who Farted At The Buick Open

It's the story that just won't blow away. Who really farted at that Buick Open? Was it Tiger Woods? Was it David Feherty? Or was it a practical joke? We may never know the answer. There has been rampant speculation on this grave and serious matter of who would be such a disgrace as to pass wind at a golf event. While no one is brave enough to step up and admit that their chesse cutting was picked up by a microphone, it is always fun to guess at who may have done such a cowardly thing. Courtesy of MSNBC and Countdown with Keith Olbermann, here now is the moment in question.

I would like to thank Keith and his incredible journalistic integrity for permanently embedding the unedited moment of the broadcast from CBS on the Countdown website at MSNBC.com as the PGA have decided that this could be a permanent stain on their legacy and are desparately determined to take down any and all evidence of this embarrassing moment. Keith, the only man that is able to defy the PGA and embed the video without getting in trouble. It takes a brave, brave man to take on the PGA like that. Keith, always known as a guy that will stop at nothing in search of the truth in this puzzling mystery, has only the visual exhibit of what happened. Regardless, my thanks to him.

This case might be single handedly cracked with one piece of evidence, never before seen, that I am about to show you. It is this piece of evidence that will prove to you, once and for all, that it was Tiger Woods, not David Feherty or a jokester, that farted at the Buick Open. I present to you, this clip from 2006.



Let it be known once and for all, that Tiger Woods has a history of passing gas. As has just been shown, he has farted before in his lifetime, something that folks like David Feherty and any and all practical jokesters have not done before. Therefore, this case is solved. Tiger Woods is your guilty man and he will soon be taken into custody for this egregious crime.

Hidden Turnbury, Cut Down Tiger, And There's Been a Tom Watson Sighting!

(Guest posted by James Craven of The O Files)

The British Open has lost a lot of star power for golf. First, Phil Mickelson withdrew to be with his wife as she battles breast cancer, and now, Eldrick Woods has missed the cut at Turnbury.

No, that second comment is not a misplaced error. Tiger Woods has missed the cut at a major for the first time since the 2006 U.S. Open, and the second major of golf's grand slam (The Masters, U.S. Open, British Open or more commonly called, "The Open Championship", and the PGA Championship) that Tiger missed, and the fifth overall since becoming pro in 1996.

Even bigger news, there's been a Tom Watson sighting! (He's 206! No, he's 59) He's tied for the lead with virtual unknown Steve Marino heading into the weekend. If I was over at ESPN, my stomach would turn because this will be the last time there will be over-the-air coverage on ABC Sports. (I'm sorry, but I don't buy the "ESPN on ABC" BS branding, thank you very much.) Starting next year, it's cable exclusive at TWWLS, knowing that there's no Tiger, the ratings will sink faster than a rock in water. In the Atlantic Ocean, and 24,000 feet deep. And so, I won't watch.

CBS Golf Commentator David Feherty Does Not Like Democrats

And that's about the lightest way that this can be put. I don't watch golf so I do not know how good of a color commentator David Feherty is, but methinks he really should stay out of political commentary. And not only is he Keith Olbermann's Worst Person In The World for May 8, but he may also no longer have a job as a golf color commentator. Here's Keith Olbermann with more.

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Actually scratch that remark about staying out of political commentary, Fox News would love to have him! In all seriousness though, at the bare minimum, Feherty should be suspended for what he said if not fired or resignation as Olbermann alluded should happen. Regardless of whether you are a liberal, conservative, Democrat, or Reupblican, to suggest that something like that would happen is just downright wrong.

(Thanks to JC for the tip!)

Update: It took awhile, but I finally found the D Magazine article where Feherty says this (once I give you the link, you'll see why it took awhile to find this). This is the paragraph in its entirety.

From my own experience visiting the troops in the Middle East, I can tell you this, though: despite how the conflict has been portrayed by our glorious media, if you gave any U.S. soldier a gun with two bullets in it, and he found himself in an elevator with Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and Osama bin Laden, there’s a good chance that Nancy Pelosi would get shot twice, and Harry Reid and bin Laden would be strangled to death. I’ve never met a soldier who didn’t love this president and this country, and I’ve met a bunch of them, at home and abroad, in hospitals and in theater. At Walter Reed, Bethesda Naval Medical Center, and the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, I have visited dozens of patients, and I always ask of them before I leave: “What do you want to do when you get out?” No matter how broken or burned, or how many limbs they are missing, they give only one answer: “I want to go back. I want to rejoin my team, to finish our mission.” They are rightfully proud of what they have done and want nothing more than to be with their brothers and sisters in arms, because they know the consequences if their job is left unfinished. Right here on American soil, we will end up with unqualified people having to do the job they have been doing over there so incredibly well, and with such extraordinary compassion. The fact is, Americans in America have been safe since 9/11, almost the whole length of [George W. Bush]’s term as president, and for that we should be thankful.

The more I read it, the more I think that his worst punishment will be a suspension. Outside of the liberal media, this story has gained little ground and I am yet to see it reported on a big sports media site. The more I read it, the more it seems like he just misstated a political point and there was no ill-will intended.

An F-List Celeb Imagines What Preston Hollow Life Will Be Like For W (Scroll down to the 3rd article on this site for the Feherty column). (D Magazine)