Penn State, John Daly, & Tiger

Now it’s more than a fallout—a reignout, with more than just Joe Pa gone—also Penn State President Graham Spanier, athletic director Tim Curley, and Vice President Gary Schultz. That seems like a clean sweep, one the Happy Valley school needed badly. What a sad commentary on one of the best programs in the country. What a sad commentary on Jerry Sanduski, the predator who put this whole mess in motion.

Another sad commentary, this time about John Daly, the bad news baby who just keeps screwing up his life and his career. In the first round of the Emirates Australia Open, he was three over through eight, then went five more over on nine and ten, (after a 2-stroke penalty on ten for hitting the wrong ball out of a bunker), and on the par-5 eleventh, he hit seven balls into water, shook hands with his fellow competitors, and withdrew from the tournament. Here’s a no-longer young man with enormous golfing talent who’s spent the last twenty years throwing it all away—temper tantrums, booze, failed marriages . . . and ridiculous behavior on various golf courses. Meanwhile, Tiger, who’s still trying to walk away from a train wreck of his public image and what looked like an idyllic marriage, played a bogey-free first round of 68. Then he followed it up with a second-round 67. Let’s all hope he can pull it together and show the world in the upcoming Presidents Cup that he really is back.