Shownotes
The recent disconcerting departure of Amanda Balionis from PGA Tour golf, as she pivots to cover the NFL, raises significant inquiries regarding her future in sports journalism. While the intricacies of her decision remain somewhat opaque, it appears that she may be seeking broader exposure within the realm of professional football, which undeniably garners a more substantial audience compared to golf. This episode delves into the implications of her transition, juxtaposed against the evolving dynamics of sports media, where the pursuit of profit increasingly dictates the nature and frequency of events in golf. Moreover, we explore the ramifications of this shift on the perception of golf and its players, exemplified by the recent controversies surrounding Paige Spiranac at the Internet Invitational. Ultimately, we reflect on the broader implications of these developments, particularly as they relate to the intersection of traditional sports broadcasts and modern digital media platforms.
Links referenced in this episode:
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- PGA Tour
- NFL
- CBS
- Southwest Airlines
- Costco
- Subway
- Barstool Sports
- Fox News
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy
Transcripts
Welcome to Grilling at the Green After Hours, the conversation that took place after the show ended.
Speaker B:Welcome to After Hours here on Grilling at the Green.
Speaker B:I'm Tracy.
Speaker B:We got Van Sickle on the other end today.
Speaker B:Always a fun time when Gary's here.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:Very pressing topics.
Speaker B:Gary, first of all, Amanda Balionis is stepping away from PGA Tour golf to cover the NFL.
Speaker A:More shocking is, is she giving up golf or just adding.
Speaker B:She just said she was stepping away to focus more on.
Speaker B:NFL football.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:So I don't.
Speaker B:That was a little un.
Speaker B:That that story was a little unclear, but it made it sound like she was stepping away from golf.
Speaker B:That hasn't, you know, she's taken some heat the last couple years for different things.
Speaker B:She got married and then she's, I think, unmarried now or reason.
Speaker A:There were rumors, unsubstantiated, as far as I know, about her and Rory.
Speaker A:And Rory had a separation at that same time.
Speaker A:And I don't know if any of that was true.
Speaker A:But, you know, she's, she comes across as being a pretty good, being able to interview guys in the heat of the moment.
Speaker A:And there's a shortage of those in all sports.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:So, I mean, maybe, maybe there's more opportunity.
Speaker A:I mean, how many events does CBS do versus how many NFL games?
Speaker A:I mean, NFL is.
Speaker A:That's 18 weeks of big time exposure.
Speaker A:So maybe that's a step up for her, but maybe.
Speaker A:So maybe she's tired of golf.
Speaker A:Maybe she's tired of being at events where the weather's good and wants to go to football games where it's, you know.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Amanda, you're going to Buffalo next weekend and there's a storm front coming in.
Speaker A:Have a good time.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:Yeah, I don't know.
Speaker A:I don't.
Speaker A:It's probably a step up.
Speaker A:I would.
Speaker A:Football certainly beats the heck out of golf as far as viewers go.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:But I will say this to go back to what we touched on really quickly in the regular show, this aversion about golf to stay away from football.
Speaker B:And that was one of the reasonings to jam everything up at the first part of the year.
Speaker B:You know, there's only certain football games I want to watch, whether it's college or pro.
Speaker B:And if there was a decent golf tournament on, I would watch that.
Speaker A:Brian, roll ups talking about not starting the season till after the Super Bowl.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:The highest, some of the highest rated telecasts are the ones from the west coast and Hawaii in January and early February when people in the Midwest under snow are starved to see Grass.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Would you ever give those up?
Speaker A:Those get good ratings for, for golf.
Speaker A:So I don't, I don't understand that at all.
Speaker A:It's crazy.
Speaker A:It's crazy to me.
Speaker A:But.
Speaker A:Okay, as we said on the regular show.
Speaker A:The, the money guys are in charge.
Speaker A:It's not, you know, the investment bankers are in charge of this and they want a return on their money.
Speaker A:And they see making every, having fewer events and making every one of them an extravaganza more profitable than having too many John Deere classics and rsm, you know, the small events.
Speaker A:We're not making enough money off that.
Speaker A:Okay, well, that's the model that got.
Speaker B:You where you are now.
Speaker A:Why are you going to kill it?
Speaker A:I don't know.
Speaker B:You know, you got to remember that venture capitalists and investment bankers kind of in the same ilk, the one thing they like to do is buy entities and then break them apart and keep the core money making thing.
Speaker B:And the, as they would view it, the ancillary factors get tossed away.
Speaker A:Yeah, well, and, and they usually ruin the product.
Speaker A:Oh yeah.
Speaker A:I mean, look at Southwest Airlines.
Speaker A:They've got money people involved now.
Speaker A:Make it more profitable.
Speaker A:Oh, we're going to get rid of the free bags.
Speaker A:Well, that's why people go there.
Speaker A:We're going to get rid of the, get rid of the numbered boarding where you get on faster.
Speaker A:We're going to consign.
Speaker A:You're going to become just another airline you've lost.
Speaker A:You know, I forget who, who it was who said about Costco never get rid of the five dollar chicken, rotisserie chicken.
Speaker A:That's why people go there.
Speaker A:And you know, Subway has got bought out.
Speaker A:Two years ago they used to bake their own bread each day in each.
Speaker B:Subway because it smelled good when you went in there.
Speaker A:How they got frozen bread there and whatever, however it's made, it no longer quality meets the FDA requirements to be called bread.
Speaker A:The buns they have.
Speaker A:So you think that's going to work out well, long term?
Speaker A:I don't think so.
Speaker A:If you make the product worse, people will figure it out.
Speaker B:Yeah, well, speaking of Subway, we had two of them in my town and one of them closed because that franchise or I don't know if it was a corporate store or franchisee store, it wasn't making enough, so they closed it.
Speaker A:Yeah, well, you have the California problem where they jacked the minimum wage up to $20 an hour and they lost like $19,000.
Speaker A:19,000 jobs in the fast food business because nobody can maintain it.
Speaker A:And now they're you know, they're, they're using AI and robots to replace everybody who works there.
Speaker A:So there's fewer people employed and the prices are up.
Speaker A:You know, a combo platter is $15.
Speaker A:And they're putting themselves out of business by, they don't understand the laws of economics.
Speaker A:But, yep, it's very simple.
Speaker A:Back to our earlier conversation before we get on the air, Jeff and I said, in a nutshell, people are stupid.
Speaker B:Yep.
Speaker B:And I would agree, and I do agree, so.
Speaker B:And speak.
Speaker B:What a great segue.
Speaker B:I hope that doesn't insult anybody, but this is great.
Speaker A:I'm not talking about us or your viewers.
Speaker A:They're the stupid ones.
Speaker B:Here's the greatest segue in the world.
Speaker B:Paige Sporadic, got called on cheating in a Pro Am.
Speaker B:And I, for the life of, well.
Speaker A:It was the Internet Invitational.
Speaker B:It was barstool guys, you know.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, but I, I'm laughing.
Speaker B:In fact, I'm telling my wife about this last night.
Speaker B:I said, because we were talking about influencers and, and my wife said, I think influencers are starting to fade in a here and there on stuff.
Speaker B:And she goes, some of them are actually dying.
Speaker B:And she pointed out a couple of examples.
Speaker B:I said, I didn't know that, but I don't follow them, you know, but here's sp.
Speaker B:I'll give that girl credit, that lady credit.
Speaker B:She's not a little girl.
Speaker B:She's got a, she's a beautiful woman.
Speaker B:And she who, whatever PR firm she hired to rep her has done a magnificent job because now you see her stuff on, like the Fox News website, you see it in your Google feeds, you know, it's just all over.
Speaker B:Wherever you get your feed, there's going to be something that pops up about Paige Spirani.
Speaker B:She's not that good a golfer.
Speaker B:She never made it on the tour.
Speaker B:She never made it on the many tours.
Speaker B:She, she couldn't do that.
Speaker B:And, but she's smart.
Speaker B:I mean, she is smart.
Speaker B:But then, you know, at the Internet Invitational, she got, she got called on, accused of cheating everybody in the world when they go to that particular tournament or any tournament, they've got a cell phone with them.
Speaker B:They've, they're come on, really.
Speaker B:And now she says she's received death threats and all this.
Speaker B:Is that the world we live in in the golf world now, Gary?
Speaker B:I mean, my God, I, I, I was really just.
Speaker B:Not surprised to see her name in the headlines again because like I said, she's got a really good PR agency.
Speaker B:But to act.
Speaker B:Devastated because she got called out on something.
Speaker B:And I was explaining, my wife doesn't really follow golf.
Speaker B:I said, you know, it's kind of the worst thing you can be in golf.
Speaker B:The cheater.
Speaker A:I didn't watch that.
Speaker A:I saw clips of it in clips of other things from that event.
Speaker A:And from what I could see, none of those people were playing by the rules because they don't know any of them.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Now in her case, she tried to get on the tour.
Speaker A:She certainly knows the rules of golf or should.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:And it appeared that she was doing something she shouldn't have been doing.
Speaker A:But did you see what some of the other guys were doing?
Speaker A:There was a guy pulling weed.
Speaker A:You know, he's in the tall grass and he's just pulling up grass, throwing it.
Speaker A:I mean, are you kidding?
Speaker A:And then I saw a guy miss a putt and he turned and he threw his putter 50 yards as far as he could.
Speaker A:Why is this guy in a tournament?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:So yeah, I like her.
Speaker A:She is smart.
Speaker A:I don't.
Speaker A:And then she had a comment.
Speaker A:She was upset that they weren't conceding her partner at a two foot putt.
Speaker A:And she said something like, obviously you guys don't play competitive golf.
Speaker A:Well, if it's a two foot putt that matters, then putt it.
Speaker A:But you know, it made it.
Speaker A:It seemed to me like she was the one who didn't understand competitive golf.
Speaker A:Now I only saw clips.
Speaker A:I didn't see the whole thing live.
Speaker A:So my opinion, I will not say, you know, I can't say I saw things as they were.
Speaker A:But those two things made me think, you know, if, if you got a two foot putt downhill slider for a bunch of money.
Speaker A:Dang.
Speaker A:Go ahead.
Speaker A:You dang right.
Speaker A:I'm going to make you putt it.
Speaker B:You bet.
Speaker A:You got buddies at the club who I got a two footer for to win $1.50.
Speaker A:Go ahead and put it because he's going to choke most of the time.
Speaker A:So I, I feel like.
Speaker A:Those clips made her look bad.
Speaker A:And I don't know if they were as bad as they looked or if they were.
Speaker A:So I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt because from what I know about her, she is a real competitor and tried really hard.
Speaker A:You know, she's still, she has that competitive spirit.
Speaker A:She sure on the tour, but she, she didn't make it.
Speaker A:But.
Speaker A:I respect the gamer and I think she is a smart entrepreneur.
Speaker B:I think she's very smart.
Speaker B:I think she's very smart and I think she's got Like I said, and she did.
Speaker B:For somebody in that position to go out and hire.
Speaker B:I don't know what the PR firm is.
Speaker B:I've never researched it.
Speaker B:But to do that, and they got her in these placements and different things.
Speaker B:She's got a deal and inside the ropes deal with the Tour.
Speaker A:She's got the most Twitter followers of anybody in golf.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Crazy.
Speaker B:You know, I wonder if that'll.
Speaker B:She'll lose any of those or not.
Speaker A:It won't really matter, but it'll be.
Speaker B:You know, might go the other way.
Speaker A:It'll be gone in 10 more minutes.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So is that where we're at, though, in the.
Speaker B:I mean, look, you and I are kind of traditionalists in a way, especially about the way the game is played.
Speaker B:You know, I play in a lot of scrambles because they're fun and I help them raise money and so on and so forth.
Speaker B:And we don't take that too seriously because you're there to have fun and have a good time and support whatever charitable organization you're doing that day.
Speaker B:But if you're out there playing, even if it's with you and two of your friends, you know.
Speaker B:You.
Speaker B:You just don't.
Speaker B:There's certain things you don't do.
Speaker A:And, you know, I forget who I was playing golf with.
Speaker A:And he was telling me, hey, do you watch Grant Horvat?
Speaker A:It's like, well, no, I barely know who he is.
Speaker A:I know he's big on the Internet.
Speaker A:Oh, he's great.
Speaker A:Those shows are great.
Speaker A:Oh, it's my neighbor.
Speaker A:That's who it was.
Speaker A:He plays some golf, but, you know, he doesn't watch any PGA Tour stuff, but he watches all these guys on the Internet because he says their shows are great.
Speaker A:He's naming all these guys, none of whom I know.
Speaker A:They were probably all in the Internet Invitational.
Speaker A:And somehow this.
Speaker A:Other people who are maybe aren't captured by the PGA Tour or the mainstream golf, they like watching these trick shot things and other stuff.
Speaker A:Yeah, no, it's almost like it's golf shelves for people who don't really like golf.
Speaker A:Kind of like lime flavored beer.
Speaker A:It's for beer who don't.
Speaker A:Real people don't really like beer that way.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:So Grant Horvat, okay, the.
Speaker A:The was the Bryan brothers.
Speaker A:I. I haven't watched any of those.
Speaker A:I guess I should, but to me, they're meaningly, you know, the Internet imitational.
Speaker A:I should have watched it for purposes of my job, but I didn't because I really don't care about any of them.
Speaker A:Yep.
Speaker A:So I think that's a performance entertainment vehicle, not unlike some of the silly season events or.
Speaker A:Where.
Speaker A:What was the events where these guys, they have the match.
Speaker A:The show.
Speaker A:The match.
Speaker A:The match where they have the carts, the tv.
Speaker A:TV camera.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:The match.
Speaker A:That's kind of what this is.
Speaker A:Only, you know, the Internet is, you know, you and I are probably last to know that, you know, the television networks are dead.
Speaker A:The Internet is where.
Speaker A:That's where broadcasting is.
Speaker A:NBC, ABC, and cbs, they're done.
Speaker A:They just don't know it yet.
Speaker A:They're just like newspapers were.
Speaker A:They're just like magazines were.
Speaker A:They're circling the drain.
Speaker A:They're the walking dead.
Speaker A:And the new world is the Internet stuff.
Speaker A:The Internet people and the PGA tours trying to get a toehold in that because.
Speaker A:They want all the money from everybody in the world, so they don't want to miss out on, you know, they have creators, one day thing, shootout and stuff.
Speaker A:So they want in on the party, too.
Speaker A:But because they're traditional, they don't really know how to do it either.
Speaker A:So I don't know what the answer is, but why would I want to watch some guys who aren't very good at you aren't that good at golf play on a.
Speaker A:On the Internet invitational when I could watch PGA Tour guys who were way better.
Speaker B:But it's kind of.
Speaker A:Kind of like for entertainment.
Speaker A:It's not for the golf part.
Speaker A:I like the golf part.
Speaker A:They want the entertainment.
Speaker B:It's kind of like McCord showing up on a infomercial that this Senior 7 would.
Speaker B:Is going to land it soft on the green.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And give you an extra 20 yards and knock 10 strokes off your game.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:And I watched a couple of those things the other day, and I went, God, Gary, I hope they're paying you a lot of money here.
Speaker A:They are.
Speaker A:Well, he and Peter Costas have a.
Speaker A:Some kind of a podcast.
Speaker A:It might be audio, might be video, but believe it's called off their rockers.
Speaker A:And those two guys together are pretty good.
Speaker A:And, you know, McCord is, you know, he really knows a lot about golf.
Speaker A:He could be a golf instructor if he wouldn't be.
Speaker A:Be bored by that.
Speaker A:But he knows the golf swing, but he's.
Speaker A:He is off the wall.
Speaker A:He's hilarious.
Speaker A:He's funny, he's inventive.
Speaker B:Are they even.
Speaker B:Are they even doing that?
Speaker B:Because I looked that up the other day.
Speaker B:Yeah, because they.
Speaker A:They.
Speaker B:I didn't see a new episode for.
Speaker A:Oh, maybe.
Speaker A:Well, you know, things come and go.
Speaker A:I don't know.
Speaker B:I don't know.
Speaker B:I don't know.
Speaker B:Last question.
Speaker B:Did you have a good Thanksgiving?
Speaker A:Much turkey was consumed?
Speaker A:Yes, much turkey.
Speaker A:What are your.
Speaker A:What are your favorites?
Speaker A:Because I like the turkey and I like the stuffing.
Speaker A:And a little bit of gravy is good if it's good gravy.
Speaker A:But everything else, I not that interested.
Speaker A:So those are mashed potatoes.
Speaker A:I don't care.
Speaker A:Cranberries, cranberry sauce.
Speaker A:I don't care.
Speaker A:I mean, yeah, I'm all about the turkey and the stuffing and a little gravy.
Speaker A:How about you?
Speaker B:I'm a dark meat guy.
Speaker A:I don't even know you anymore.
Speaker B:And the dressing, of course.
Speaker B:I do most of the cooking here, so I know what's in everything.
Speaker A:Oh, sure.
Speaker B:And the.
Speaker B:The gravy.
Speaker B:And I do like.
Speaker B:Kind of the way I make sweet potatoes, which are kind of whipped, and there's some brown sugar and pecans and stuff in them.
Speaker B:And I.
Speaker B:And I do that.
Speaker B:The rest of the sides.
Speaker B:Like you.
Speaker B:You know, you can have mashed potatoes anytime.
Speaker B:You're probably not going to have good turkey dressing or stuffing frequently.
Speaker A:Well, they're really filling, and it takes up room that could be better filled by turkey.
Speaker A:I know a lot of people don't, like, think turkey's overrated.
Speaker A:So, yeah, it's got to be done well.
Speaker A:But yeah, yeah, I like it.
Speaker A:It's a change of pace.
Speaker B:I like turkey.
Speaker B:And then we usually have a litany of desserts.
Speaker A:People will.
Speaker B:Folks that come to our house, they all bring some extra desserts because they all want to do something, and that's fine.
Speaker B:So you got a choice of.
Speaker A:I never even get to the dessert table because I've overindulged in the turkey and stuffing.
Speaker B:See, my favorite thing, Gary, is the next day watching college football is to have maybe a regular plate or just a turkey sandwich, maybe with a little dressing in a bowl with little gravy on it and watch the game.
Speaker B:That's what I like.
Speaker A:The next day, I had some turkey and stuffing with gravy for breakfast.
Speaker A:That's what I did.
Speaker B:There you go.
Speaker B:That works.
Speaker B:Gary Van Sickle.
Speaker A:Turkey, stuffing and gravy.
Speaker A:It's not just for breakfast anymore, America.
Speaker B:There you go.
Speaker B:Tell people how they can find your podcast.
Speaker A:You go to YouTube.
Speaker A:It's called the Golf Show 2.0.
Speaker A:It's myself and Kathy Bissell, the creator of the original the Golf show, which was a nationally syndicated TV show in the 80s.
Speaker A:Early 90s.
Speaker A:She was before the Golf Channel or inside the PGA Tour?
Speaker A:I believe so.
Speaker A:They kind of took her 30 minute format and turned it into, you know, so, yeah, we're, we're on that.
Speaker A:We've done 120 episodes over two years and at least four of them are good, so check it out.
Speaker B:There you go.
Speaker B:Thanks, buddy.
Speaker B:We'll be back getting ready for Christmas next week, so stay with us for that.
Speaker B:Until then, go out, play some golf, be kind, have some fun and read Gary's stuff on the Internet too.
Speaker A:We'll be.
Speaker B:We'll see you then.
