Records And The LIV Golf Tour
Hear it here!
Records are made to be broken.
Raise your hand if you’ve heard that a million times. But it’s true, sooner or later they all come tumbling down.
I’m not sure if they all do. How about Joe DiMaggio’s streak of getting a hit in 56 consecutive games? What about Wilt Chamberlain scoring 100 points in a single game? I know Miami’s Bam Adebayo scored 83 points in a game this year, but that’s still a way from triple digits. Maybe it’s easier now with the barrage of 3-point baskets but that’s not the point here.
Last week a record was broken in my profession. Kenny Albert passed this writer/commentator for the record for the most national play-by-play broadcasts called among the four major sports. On April 28, Kenny called his 1,545th game, a hockey telecast, and he hasn’t stopped yet and won’t for a long time. It was only last year when it was revealed Albert had moved past his father, the great Marv Albert, that I became aware that I had been in the lead. It was never a ranking I knew existed and my initial reaction was, “no kidding”.
But at the same time I saw that Kenny and Kevin Harlan would easily motor past my number of 1,544.
Albert is only 58 years old and has at least 20 years or more to add to his impressive achievement that speaks to his longevity and versatility. Harlan is 62, and he has miles to go before he steps down as well.
The bulk of Kenny Albert’s work has come from hockey, with the NFL in second place. While he does fill-in assignments for local New York Knicks games, he has never done an NBA broadcast nationally.
In my case, I’ve only done two NHL games in my career. Both on Fox Sports when they had the package, and both with the legendary Mike Eruzione, the captain of the 1980 US Olympic hockey team that defeated the Soviet Union and ultimately won the Gold Medal. So we are all at the mercy of what the various network’s rights may be in the various sports. While I would have enjoyed working more hockey games than I did, I was able to work many more NBA games because CBS and TNT owned those rights. The hoop season and early baseball campaigns always conflicted with the NHL.
I know I have mentioned this several times on these pages, but the first time I met the younger Albert was when I visited his dad, Marv, at his apartment in New York City. The Alberts had a piano and asked me to play. I started but was interrupted by a loud cry from a crib in the living room. It was Kenny, less than a year old sending out his review of my piano-playing ability. So, after he moved into first place on the all-time network broadcasting list, I sent him a text and he answered: I wrote… Congratulations. Thanks for the kind words. Not surprising coming from you. Now I’m just another guy on a list… He texted back: Haha. Thanks Dick. Greatly appreciated. Thanks to you for the kind words as well. I was just another baby listening to a star piano player.
That story will always endure for us. As for Kenny Albert, it’s great to see a talented, humble, and a good man get all the honors he can grab. He’s earned every bit of it.
A few years ago, when the LIV Golf Tour upset the apple cart in professional golf, there was so much riding on the first challenge ever to the hold the PGA Tour held ever since the sport became a major television attraction.
Backed by Saudi Arabian money, LIV golf snagged several big-name golfers from the traditional tour and paid them huge sums of money to make the jump. They included John Rahm, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson and Patrick Reed. One of the sport’s iconic figures, Greg Norman, was the front man. The players made millions and there were new wrinkles to what golf fans had known forever.
The tournaments were 54-holes instead of the time-honored 72, teams were established, and generally the game set out to be more of an entertainment form that never really found a following of television viewers. Fast forward to the current picture where Koepka and Reed have returned to the PGA Tour, facing financial penalties in the process. Mickelson is no longer a factor in the game, but most significantly, Saudi money has evaporated and the LIV Tour venture is fizzling out.
The focus now is on Rahm, Johnson, and DeChambeau. They will be returning and their penalty picture will be what it will be. But there is one thing that’s obvious from the stars jumping ship. Those names who were the leaders of the pack before they departed seem to have lost their competitiveness. When there is no reason to have the drive to win because money is no longer an object and victory depends on team play, the pressure is off. It’s just another weekend of a golf show. While the challengers in team sports, the AFL in football, the ABA in basketball, for instance, forced mergers, the game of golf has always been different. It’s an individual thing and while fans and viewers are attracted to the big names and stars of the game, it still comes down to who is alive on the back nine on Sunday that is really the attraction. Every week on the PGA Tour we see many prominent players either missing the cut or not a factor in the outcome. It doesn’t matter. The ones who played well are challenging to win. The last few years, we’ve seen Scotty Scheffler emerge as the star. Where were the other names who departed? Now, the Rahms, Johnsons, DeChambeaus, and Keopkas will have to regain their competitive nature. Let’s see how that goes.
Kenny passes Marv
Kenny and Marv in younger times
Kenny’s the man
Kevin Harlan
Rahm and DeChambeau
