GO CRAZY, GOLFERS
CBS hopes to spice up Colonial
Jim Nantz will be alone in the broadcast booth when the PGA Tour resumes its schedule Thursday. That’s not the only voice CBS Sports wants to hear at Colonial.
In announcing the broadcast and productions plans for the return to golf, CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus said the network would have what Nantz dubbed a “confession cam.” Players would walk into a tent during the round and talk briefly into a remote camera.
McManus also said the network has been working more aggressively to have players wear microphones, and that CBS already has received commitments from some players.
“There’s probably a greater appreciation for wanting to contemporize golf coverage,” McManus said Monday on a conference call. “Players are beginning to realize they can play a real role in making the product more interesting at home.”
Nantz, who typically has analyst Nick Faldo at his side in the 18th hole tower, put the onus on the players to liven golf broadcasts and help expand the audience.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity for the game to go before a sports-starved nation and have a chance to create a wider fan base than it’s ever been before,” Nantz said. “A lot has to be personality driven. We need to hear from the players. It’s something that’s not obtrusive. It’s an opportunity for players to invest in their own game.”
ALDRIDGE DONE FOR SEASON
Seven-time All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge will miss the remainder of San Antonio’s season while he recovers from surgery on his right shoulder, a major blow to the Spurs’ postseason chances, assuming the season continues as planned.
The Spurs announced Monday that Aldridge had the surgery on April 24, stemming from an injury he suffered in a game at Utah on Feb. 21.
San Antonio is one of the 22 teams will that report to the ESPN Wide Wide Of Sports complex at the Disney campus near Orlando, Florida, starting next month, when the NBA plans to resume its season. The Spurs have been to the playoffs in 22 consecutive seasons, matching the longest streak in NBA history.
● The Golden State Warriors expect to have a better idea about how Klay Thompson’s recovery from reconstructive left knee surgery is going once the team can finally reconvene after the long separation caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
For now, general manager Bob Myers is encouraged Thompson has experienced no setbacks during the extensive rehabilitation process.
FICKLE FINGER OF FATE
A federal judge has ruled that UConn did nothing wrong when it took away the scholarship of a soccer player who gave the middle finger to a television camera.
Noriana Radwan, who eventually transferred to Hofstra, had argued that her punishment for the November 2014 incident was excessive and not in line with discipline meted out to male athletes who violated school policies.
Radwan made the obscene gesture to an ESPNU camera while celebrating with teammates after the Huskies beat South Florida, 3-2, on penalty kicks in the 2014 American Athletic Conference championship game.
UPROAR AT IOWA
Iowa players returned to campus Monday to prepare for voluntary workouts amid an uproar after former Hawkeyes alleged systemic racism and other mistreatment in the program. The team’s strength coach was placed on administrative leave and coach Kirk Ferentz’s leadership was called into question.
About two dozen current players took to social media to voice messages of unity, with several referencing the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the social unrest in the country. None complained directly about treatment inside the Iowa program.
“I’m a human before an athlete, I’m black before anything,” redshirt freshman receiver Desmond Hutson tweeted. “There is an obvious problem and it’s up to us to fix it.”