THANK GOODNESS LEBRON JAMES ISN'T ON TOUR!

By Doug McAllister

I have watched reluctantly over the past several days how things have played out in the NBA as several free agent players have strutted their stuff, seeking to turn the balance of power in the league. Chief among the nitwits was LeBron James, seemingly this week's "God's Gift to Sports!"

As I stayed in touch with the nonsense, one thought arose preeminently in my mind: "THANK GOODNESS LEBRON JAMES ISN'T ON THE PGA TOUR!!" Think of it. What if golfers jockeyed for position every time they were trying to determine which sponsor they would go with this season. And — with the possible exception of Eldrick Woods — there hasn't been this sort of nonsense in golf — EVER!

Sure, Woods had his "Press Conference." Sure, he supposedly attempted to do to golf what James has shamelessly done to basketball. But, in the end, golf just wouldn't allow it. Everyone yawned at the nonsense of Woods' attempted PR coup and went on their way.

It all made me proud and grateful that golf is the sport that it is. Sure, our sport has its share of ego and egotists. But the very nice thing about golf is that, just when someone is getting too big for his britches, golf has a way of slamming them down to the terra firma faster than you can say double bogey!

Some might call this aspect of golf tedious or boring or even frightening. Why not be able to manipulate things in the press and in the arena? Why not have a scenario where officials are reluctant (if not directed) to call fouls on the leagues "major product" — as commissioner David Stern once referred to Michael Jordan. Hell, in golf the competitors call "fouls" on themselves!

With LeBron James' shenanigans, the NBA, more and more, seems similar to the World Wrestling Federation, steeped all of the sham of being entertainment first and sport second!

I won't go as far as to use the language that the Cleveland Cavaliers' owner did when venting about his lost "asset." Rather, isn't it refreshing to be affiliated with a sport that has featured and continues to feature the likes of Old Tom Morris, Bobby Jones, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Phil Mickelson and David Duval, just to name a very few? Yes, the Eldrick's and the Pat Perez's and the Steve Williams's add unneeded flare from time to time. They will come and they will go. Sometimes they will climb to golf's loftiest levels. But, rest assured, golf has had and will continue to have the ability to rid itself of unsightly scars and present itself as good as new to the next generation of aficionados.

Be grateful for that and...HELAS!