Don't Do This to Me, GOLF CHANNEL

First, it was trying to change your name from The Golf Channel to GOLF CHANNEL. That was at least kind of cute since the PGA Tour likes to refer to itself at THE TOUR or PGA TOUR everytime they mention themselves. And since it's rumored that the PGA Tour owns part of TGC, it makes sense. I'll let that slide, especially when I start writing about The 19th Hole as THE 19TH HOLE GOLF SHOW WITH RYAN BALLENGEE.

But Golf Channel, you might be going ESPN on me with the cross promotional stuff. Brandel Chamblee, trusted TGC analyst since 2004, left the broadcaster role for one week and is in the Fry's Electronics Open on a sponsor exemption. Chamblee lives in Scottsdale and a lot of pro golf locals are in the event, too. It makes sense for him to play.

In the first round, Brandel fired a +3 round of 73. He's 10 back of the lead. I would never have known that were it not for TGC's constant updates on how he is doing. Mike Ritz had to interview him for like 10 minutes on Golf Central on Wednesday. His scorecard and game story are front page material on The Golf Channel's website. There's video of him on their media player. All of this for a guy who ended round one tied for 109th place. Brandel is not on the level of Michelle Wie, so he does not deserve this kind of coverage for not playing so well.

Use this as a comparison to what's going on over at the Worldwide Leader right now in their golf section. Jason Sobel, their golf editor, is caddying for Roland Thatcher this week in Chattanooga on the N'Wide Tour. Again, a cute little fluff story that is just laced with self-promotion.

Let's stick to the golf here and we will get along just fine. And while I have you, I'll be playing in a pro-am on the LPGA Tour in four weeks. Catch all of the reporting here on GNN BLOG and GOLF NEWS NET!*




*That's not true. It's funny.