Congrats, Larry Scott, for doing something to celebrate

Congratulations, Larry Scott. This week, you finally did something universally praised by Pac-12 fans: Leave.

It says something about the Pac-12 commissioner’s 11-year tenure that the immediate reaction to Wednesday night’s announcement Scott would step away from his post this summer was a series of self highfives across social media.

While Scott has been unfairly criticized for some of the conference’s struggles on the field during the past decade — he’s not the one who keeps giving USC football coach Clay Helton more money — there’s little doubt plenty can be laid at his feet.

The Pac-12 Network launched on his watch had fewer subscribers than The Pursuit Channel or Z Living as of 2019, according to Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News.

The 12-year, $3 billion television deal he struck with ESPN and FOX was lapped by the Big Ten and SEC well before its 2024 expiration date.

And the lavish Pac-12 headquarters he decided to stick smack dab in the middle of the downtown San Francisco is the most gratuitous money suck in all of college athletics. (Unless, of course, you include Larry’s $7,500per-night luxury suite at the Pac-12 basketball tournament in Las Vegas.)

Even the one great triumph of Scott’s tenure — adding Colorado and Utah a decade ago — was accompanied by failure: Original targets Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State left poor Larry at the altar.

All that said, we’ll give Larry this much credit: At least he never fired Bill Walton.

Billy Payne — F

The Grading the Week staff doesn’t have enough fingers to count up all the depraved characters who appeared in the two-part Tiger Woods documentary produced by HBO.

But this much is clear: The biggest villain of the near three-hour production that aired over the past two Sunday nights was former Augusta National Golf Club Chairman Billy Payne.

Hands down.

Even 11 years later, watching Payne castigate and humiliate Woods for his marital infidelity in a news conference prior to the 2010 Masters makes our skin crawl.

Sportscaster Bryant Gumbel characterized the incident as a “public whipping.”

And it’s hard to think of a better way to describe it.

Rockies hot stove — D+

Not sure if you noticed, but the San Diego Padres acquired another pitcher to add to their already formidable rotation earlier this week.

Just a few weeks after picking up aces Yu Darvish and Blake Snell in a pair of trades, the Padres turned a deal to bring Pirates right-hander Joe Musgrove to San Diego as well.

For those not counting at home, that’s three top-end starting pitchers added to a team that made the playoffs a year ago.

And your hometown Colorado Rockies? The ones who stumbled to a second straight losing season and had one of the worst bullpens in Major League Baseball?

Crickets.

Nathan MacKinnon — A

Here’s a tip of the cap to the 25year-old Avalanche forward, who earlier this week became the youngest player in franchise history to tally the 500th point of his career.

MacKinnon is now the seventh Avs player to reach the milestone, with Gabe Landeskog (463 points) a decent shot to join him later this season.

Of course, MacKinnon is just getting started.

Maybe he could play some goalie, too?