Losing NFL could be big win for other fall sporting events

They won't brag publicly. But if the NFL lockout leads to cancelled games, there'll be winners.

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  By Mark J. Rebilas, US Presswire

  
  

  Many TV networks could be left scrambling to fill ad time if NFL games are cancelled.

By Mark J. Rebilas, US Presswire

Many TV networks could be left scrambling to fill ad time if NFL games are cancelled.

Like NASCAR, whose playoff races would not air opposite NFL 800-pound gorillas. Or MLB, whose postseason would get a much bigger spotlight. And while no TV network wants to miss selling NFL ad time after last season's historically whopping ratings, not every network should be despondent.

Uncertainty over the NFL lockout —NBC's Cris Collinsworth suggests there could be "no football until at least November" — means that advertisers and networks will proceed pretty normally with so-called upfront TV ad buying next month, with everybody scrambling later if NFL owners and players keep refusing to blink. Cancelled NFL games might lead advertisers that need to reach hordes of males — think beer brands, which calculate you'll buy at least another six-pack for every million beer ads you see — might end up bidding up the value of any unsold ad time on, say, next fall's MLB playoffs of college football. But networks would be crazy to hold back selling much ad time in those sports now for a big bet on a coming NFL apocalypse.

Who might be blindsided, or just blocked, by lost NFL games:

ESPN/ABC. Having overpaid for its money-losing Monday night NFL games, it could cut some losses since networks eventually will be reimbursed for cancelled NFL games. And it has quite the showroom — college football tonnage, NASCAR — for NFL advertisers scrambling for other TV sports to reach male viewers.

NBC. NBC's barely visible silver lining is that unsold ad time on its Notre Dame home games and NBC/Golf Channel late-season golf might become more valuable. But that's small taters for the last-place network, whose spectacular deal for marquee Sunday NFL night games for bargain rights fees leaves NBC thanking the TV gods that it has something that attracts crowds in prime time. NBC has gamely offered spots in Celebrity Apprentice to NFL negotiators on both sides if the lockout is settled soon.

CBS. Would lose those big lead-ins to 60 Minutes and would likely just give Sunday afternoons back to affiliate stations. If the NFL seems hopeless by summer, it should look at moving some of its big SEC games to Sundays.

Fox. Consolation might be increased demand for any unsold ads, and better ratings, for its World Series and new Pac-12 football TV package.

Turner Sports. Has no NFL, and demand could tighten for TBS' postseason MLB. But don't get cocky: Your TNT NBA games could get locked out next season.

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Report: Sabbatini in trouble, could face PGA Tour suspension

CHARLOTTE ? Rory Sabbatini (FSY) could face suspension from the PGA Tour for what was described as a profanity-laced argument with Sean O'Hair (FSY) during last week's Zurich Classic in New Orleans.

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  By Chuck Burton, AP

  
  

  Rory Sabbatini faces suspension from the PGA Tour because of misbehavior, reports say.

By Chuck Burton, AP

Rory Sabbatini faces suspension from the PGA Tour because of misbehavior, reports say.

According to multiple players and officials, it was the second time this year that Sabbatini has run into trouble because of his behavior on the golf course. The first incident was at Riviera in the Northern Trust Open, where Sabbatini was said to have spoken harshly to a teenage volunteer who was trying to help him find a lost ball.

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The players and officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the tour keeps all disciplinary matters private.

O'Hair also was in Sabbatini's group at Riviera. Two people familiar with the incident said the volunteer wrote a five-page letter to the PGA Tour, but Sabbatini escaped punishment by offering to apologize to anyone he offended.

Sabbatini won two weeks later at the Honda Classic.

Stewart Cink (FSY) also played in the group with O'Hair and Sabbatini at Riviera.

"It was raining. It was hard. We were all stressed trying to make the cut, and I think we might have been behind," Cink said Wednesday. "There were a lot of factors. And then the incident happened."

Cink didn't go into details and said it involved "another player in my group," without mentioning Sabbatini by name.

"It was embarrassing for me as a golfer," Cink said. "He did apologize directly to me. I hope he meant it and he moved on."

Two people with direct knowledge of the Riviera incident said the teenager placed an empty plastic bottle on foot-high grass right of the fifth green where he thought Sabbatini hit his ball. Sabbatini is said to have berated the youth for affecting his ball, although it turned out the ball was not his. The grass was so dense that three other balls were found, none belonging to Sabbatini.

PGA Tour spokesman Ty Votaw would in an email that the Tour was aware of what happened in New Orleans, and that it had responded to the incident at Riviera.

"We don't discuss disciplinary matters," Votaw said.

Two officials said Sabbatini hasn't been suspended and that he has 14 days to appeal any discipline. He is playing in the Wells Fargo Championship this week and is expected to play next week at The Players Championship.

Another official said a 30-day suspension would be typical in this case, although he did not know how it would be resolved.

"Comment on what? On all the crazy rumors going around?" Sabbatini said Wednesday after his pro-am round in the Wells Fargo Championship. "I'm playing this week so I wouldn't worry about it."

O'Hair, who has missed his last five cuts on tour, withdrew from the tournament Monday. He recently fired his second caddie in four months, and split with swing coach Sean Foley earlier in the week. He could not immediately be reached for comment.

It was not clear what triggered the argument between Sabbatini and O'Hair on the 14th hole at the TPC Louisiana last week. Both players missed the cut. Pat Perez (FSY) was the third player in the group, and when contacted Tuesday evening by The Associated Press, he said, "I can't really say anything. The tour has asked me not to talk about it."

Two other players who were near Sabbatini's group in New Orleans said the argument became so heated that Steve Lucas — O'Hair's father-in-law and caddie — stepped in to keep the dispute from getting physical. Lucas is a college basketball referee.

A voice message left for Lucas was not returned.

Player confrontations in golf are not uncommon, although they typically are handled privately between players in the locker room or the scoring trailer after the round. What made this unusual is that it happened during the round.

Not so unusual is that it involved Sabbatini, a spunky South African with six career wins.

Sabbatini showed a quick temper in 2005 at the Booz Allen Classic when he became so frustrated with Ben Crane's (FSY) pace of play that he played ahead on the 17th hole and walked to the 18th tee as Crane was still in the fairway.

There was a buzz about Sabbatini at Quail Hollow on Wednesday, unrelated to the allegations from the previous tournaments.

Sabbatini's wife, Amy, walked with him in the fairway while pushing their infant son in a stroller during a practice round, according to two players who saw it.

If he is suspended, it would come at a pivotal time for Sabbatini. The two tournaments that follow The Players Championship are in the Dallas area, where Sabbatini lives — Colonial and the Byron Nelson Championship. Sabbatini is a past champion at both events.

Sabbatini is No. 58 in the world and not yet exempt for the U.S. Open. He would have until the Colonial to get into the top 50 and avoid having to qualify.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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