Hicks (r) said that Miller helped change the "landscape of the whole business of golf broadcasting” GETTY IMAGES
The PGA Tour Waste Management Phoenix Open began today, and Saturday’s third round will mark NBC analyst Johnny Miller's final call, as he "decided it was better to risk leaving too soon than too late, just as he did as a player," according to Neil Best of NEWSDAY. Miller semi-retired from playing to join NBC in '90 when he was 43. Miller is now known for his "blunt honesty in a sport that traditionally promotes gentlemanliness." NBC's Dan Hicks said Miller “changed the landscape of the whole business of golf broadcasting.” Miller said of his announcing style, "People are starving for the truth. A lot of people don't want to go there. They don't want to go for truthful things that maybe sound like they're hurtful a little bit, but they're truths" (NEWSDAY, 1/29). In L.A., Tom Hoffarth wrote Miller "wasn’t about shock value." The clips that will be shown on his Saturday farewell "document his ability to know the mind of the golfer and see what troubles lie ahead." Miller "combined gravitas with the personality of someone who didn’t take himself too seriously." An honest narrative about "what goes on during the sport’s most high-tension moments didn’t happen until Miller became the network’s lead analyst 30 years ago" (L.A. TIMES, 1/29).
STILL GOT IT: MORNINGREAD.com's Gary Van Sickle wrote Miller "hasn’t lost much off his fastball" and he "still paints the corners of the plate with insights like no one else." Miller has "still got it." He showed that with "some smart observations of the U.S. Ryder Cup team’s dismal showing in France in September" (MORNINGREAD.com, 1/29). GOLFWEEK's Eamon Lynch wrote it is a testament to Miller’s "enduring appeal that he’ll be as much the focus during his final event in the booth for NBC Sports as he was during his first" (GOLFWEEK.com, 1/27). The "Closing Shot" in this week's SPORTS BUSINESS JOURNAL takes a look at Miller's broadcasting career (THE DAILY).
