Masters: You're NOT with us, leather

Not quite sure where the story is. Unless I'm reading this wrong -- the only difference in terms of ESPN on-air talent was going to be the person interviewing the golfers -- the CBS crew was always going to do the on course stuff. Tirico is their number one golf guy and is more suited to interviews than Berman. Also, there is no evidence that Berman was considered by ESPN, that the Augusta people expressed an opinion or that there was any internal ESPN issue with the decision.

 

Exactly. This smells of Phil Mushnick making shit up.

 

He didn't have anything to be a nanny goat about, so he had to reach.

 

Berman: "Can we run an all-time top 10 Masters highlights so that I can soil great moments with my take?"

Berman in 1986: "And Jack Pearl Nicklaus scores one for the aged with a remarkable win at age 46..."

 

"And watch this chip from Tiger in 2005.....braaaack, braaaaaack, braaaaaack, braaaaack......and it could. go. all. the. waaaaaaay. GONE! And here's Gary Player dressed in all black, looking like one of 'Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa' raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayaaaaaaassssssssss!!!"

 

Mushnick might indeed be reaching here, but with Berman's ego far outsizing his girth -- which is saying something these days -- I'd find it hard to believe he didn't expect he'd have a role in Masters coverage, particularly since he'd been so heavily involved in U.S. Open coverage. Never mind that he couldn't have sucked worse in that role ("Ian Poulter geists it into the hole," or some similar bullshit leaps to mind from two years ago, I believe).

Berman thinks he's great, and he's injected himself into every other big thing ESPN gets, whether he was the best-qualified candidate or not (more often, NOT). I hope he did expect the Masters would bow before him, and -- though I don't agree with much of their past policies -- I hope the Masters told ESPN to blow it out its ass if the company even thought of having Berman involved.

I'm a casual golf fan, at best, but I enjoy watching all the majors. And the first thing I thought when I heard about ESPN getting the first two days of the Masters was, "Fuck, I'm going to have to listen to that idiot say, 'Camillo "Viva Las" Villegas' or 'Retief "Duck Duck" Goosen'" or some other nonsensical bullshit. If this came down as Mushnick speculates, I raise my glass to whomever made that call. If it just turned out that it was a matter of minimum personnel allowed, I'm still thrilled that Berman didn't make the cut at Augusta. And I won't believe for a minute that he expected not to be there and is actually OK with that.

 

I actually think if McCord wanted to come back, they (Augusta National) would let him.

 

That Gary Player line is fucking solid.

 

Eyyyyyyyyyyyye don't think so.

Lead pipes up the wazzu, they have.