Dear Golf Channel: Please say goodbye to Jim Gray

Jim Gray has always been the kind of sports reporter who, in his heart, wants to be the story. I never liked Pete Rose until Gray appointed himself his grand inquisitor. I winced when it was announced that Gray would be working for the Golf Channel. Say what you will about the Golf Channel but the network has done a good job getting the tone right when it comes to reporting about golf...at least until they hitched their wagon to Gray's falling star.

Actually, I'd argue the slide started with that slightly less loose cannon Alex Miceli and has continued with the addition of golf writers Jeff Rude and John Hawkins. My guess is that the Golf Channel is looking to be edgy by including these veteran shouters. The problem is that shouting and golf don't mix.

Last night, the Golf Channel's shouting golf pro, Michael Breed (one shouter I actually like, by the way), said that with over a million people giving up golf last year we all have an obligation to grow the game.

Grow the game:

I have loathed that phrase since the first time I heard it back in the early days of the Tiger era. The theory was that golf is just going to grow and grow until it's as big as soccer. That's not only impossible, it's not desirable.

Golf has always been and will always be a relatively minor sport. The early years of the Tiger era, like the Dot Com era, weren't a glimpse of the future but a look at something truly exceptional. We won't see the likes of either any time soon for those once in a generation events are just that.

What all this means is that the Golf Channel would be wise to cool its jets. It needs on air personalities who know the game and can speak about it intelligently. The good news is that it already has a lot of them.

Jim Gray's departure from the Golf Channel makes room for someone who can do the job without trying to be a bigger story than golf.

And, that's a good thing.