The Herald Bulletin

Afternoon Update

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November 26, 2009

Rick Teverbaugh: Golf loses holiday tradition

Thanksgiving is much about tradition and more about family.

It is a time to be thankful for all that we have. Even in tough times, there is usually so much more on the positive side of the ledger than on the negative.

Loss of family members, especially those who have passed during the past year, is very hard to get through.

But Thanksgiving also changes in more subtle and less important ways from year to year in the sports world. The day used to belong to the NFL. The centerpiece game was always in Detroit, and the Lions often provided tough competition in some very inclement weather.

Now the Lions are not usually in a position to compete with their Thanksgiving foe. The game is played indoors, and there also are two other NFL games to run the fans well into the night.

I don’t really mind those changes. The Lions are in Detroit, and any team from that city isn’t likely to get any sympathy from me no matter how pathetic. Having a noon to midnight football schedule this day isn’t a bad thing either.

There also are a pair of NBA contests to compete for viewers. Orlando is at Atlanta at 8 p.m., followed by Chicago at Utah.

One other change to the holiday schedule falls in the area of professional golf. Since 1983, the Skins Game always has been played this weekend. That first year it was Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Tom Watson. This year the event isn’t being held.

The corporate sponsor dropped out, and the TV ratings went south. The last time Tiger Woods played was 2005, and even then the ratings flagged. But last year the ratings were only a third of what they were in Tiger’s last year. Last year the foursome was K.J. Choi, Stephen Ames, Phil Mickelson and Fred Funk. Is there any wonder only the hard-core golf fans watched?

What went wrong? The money went away.

The Skins Game, which for the uninitiated is a contest where a certain amount of cash is available for the winner of each hole, was never able to increase the total purse money beyond $1 million. First place alone was worth more than that at 27 PGA events this past season.

So the big-name golfers have chosen to stay away and spend Thanksgiving weekend with their families instead of participating, and the ripple effect of that decision has been the demise of the event.

I don’t blame them for choosing family. I blame them for their reasons.

I am choosing to spend the day with my family, and money has absolutely nothing to do with it. I hope you enjoy your day, and thanks for spending part of it here.

Contact Rick Teverbaugh: 640-4886, rick.teverbaugh@heraldbulletin.com.

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