John Daly

Just when you're ready to dismiss John Daly as a washout and a quitter, he reminds you why he remains appealing enough to merit a new reality TV series. (Or at least why the Golf Channel thinks he does.) Daly says stuff you'd never hear from another professional athlete. Candid stuff, like his take that Tiger Woods will return to golf sooner than most believe. "I honestly think he's not going to miss the Masters," Daly said Wednesday in a telephone interview to promote the eight-episode "Being John Daly," which debuts Tuesday.

It was 15 years ago this week that Tiger Woods made his professional debut in Milwaukee, stepping to the podium with the words "Hello, world" and winning twice in his first seven starts. That was only the start of a dizzying ride —– one that includes 69 other PGA Tour victories, 14 major championships, a wraparound Grand Slam, bouts with injuries and the sex scandal that brought so much crashing down 21 months ago. Asked on Golf Channel's "Morning Drive" what advice he might have told his younger self that day in Milwaukee, Woods was direct: "Life is very difficult.

JOHN DALY, a former war correspondent and game-show host, is dead at age 77. His long-time assistant said yesterday that Daly was found dead Sunday at his home in Chevy Chase, Md. Although he suffered from emphysema, Lila Bader said, "I believe death was due to cardiac arrest."In a telephone interview from Daly's office in New York, Bader said she spoke with Daly by telephone Sunday, "and he was going to do his taxes" on Monday.A native of South Africa, Daly moved to the United States as a boy. He studied at Boston College and was a scheduler for the Washington, D.C., transit company when he joined CBS in 1937.

Just when you're ready to dismiss John Daly as a washout and a quitter, he reminds you why he remains appealing enough to merit a new reality TV series. (Or at least why the Golf Channel thinks he does.) Daly says stuff you'd never hear from another professional athlete. Candid stuff, like his take that Tiger Woods will return to golf sooner than most believe. "I honestly think he's not going to miss the Masters," Daly said Wednesday in a telephone interview to promote the eight-episode "Being John Daly," which debuts Tuesday.

The dust is still settling from the explosion of power golf with which John Daly won the PGA championship a month ago. But while the fallout of his newfound fame is making the 25-year-old tour rookie a rich man, some of it is already old.The star-making machinery has been grinding the private life of golf's newest hero to a halt, with the national news media shadowing him, countless business deals including an instruction video and a book on the table, and...

For a big fella, that John Daly really gets around. Just two days ago, I was writing about Daly's weekend and how it seemed like he was headed in a real bad direction from the way things went on the Florida Gulf Coast. He had failed to make a cut again this year, was hanging out drinking beer at a place called the Hooters Owl's Nest off the 17th hole and then burned some time at the Philadelphia Phillies' spring training camp when he could have been working on his short game. I caught some heat from Daly fans whose basic message was: Lighten up and get off the guy's case.

POTOMAC -- He is no longer golf's biggest hitter or its biggest draw, his spotlight eclipsed by the onslaught of Tiger Woods and his own self-destructive behavior. He is trying now not to be the PGA Tour's biggest embarrassment, either.John Daly is one week into the second comeback of his career.More importantly, he is three months into his second attempt at sobriety.The first lasted four years and included two victories, most notably the 1995 British Open at St. Andrews. It ended in March, when Daly blacked out in a Florida hotel room after what he estimated was 14 straight hours of drinking.

A look at the key hole yesterday in the first round of the 79th PGA Championship:Hole: 18. Yardage: 448. Par: 4. Stroke average: 4.38. Rank: 2.Key fact: John Daly and Davis Love III each made birdie to shoot 4-under 66s. Daly hit a 9-iron to 1 foot. Love hit a 6-iron to 12 feet.Pub Date: 8/15/97

POTOMAC -- The television cameras facing the scorer's tent behind the ninth green yesterday at Avenel weren't focused on Mark Brooks, the first-round leader of this year's Kemper Open. They were on John Daly.Not because of anything Daly did during a 2-over-par 73, but because of what he did after the round. He did something he failed to do at Avenel after an opening-round 77 last year: Daly signed his scorecard.Funk strugglesFormer University of Maryland coach Fred Funk, who has been bothered by a recurring problem in his right shoulder, struggled to a 3-over-par 74. The other player with local ties, Donnie Hammond, shot a 2-over 73.

Washington -- LISTEN, IT'S mid-August, so let's talk about something important a few minutes here -- like sports.I've always wondered about the haunting last line of the final column by America's best sportswriter ever, Red Smith."

1 Mad about UM: Comcast Center is host to Maryland Madness to kick off basketball season, starting at 7:30 p.m. (doors open an hour earlier). And, yes, we suppose that should be "tip off" instead. 2 You're velcome: Given the Broncos' home turf, Hawaii is quite likely to be Blue Hawaii for tonight's game at Boise State (8, ESPN). 3 Bringing sexy: golf back: Justin Timberlake (left) has his name on this week's PGA Tour event in Las Vegas (5 p.m., Golf Channel). Please, no wardrobe malfunctions with John Daly.

Is there any chance that Big Brown's owner will send the thoroughbred on an injury rehab race before the Belmont Stakes? Big Brown visited a hoof specialist earlier this week. Strangely, it was Dr. James Andrews. But seriously ... I'm reading reports on how the actual specialist, Ian McKinlay, inserted stainless steel wire stitches into a crack in Big Brown's left front foot to draw it together. He'll return to Belmont Park today and likely clean the area and replace the stitch before covering it with adhesive.

For a big fella, that John Daly really gets around. Just two days ago, I was writing about Daly's weekend and how it seemed like he was headed in a real bad direction from the way things went on the Florida Gulf Coast. He had failed to make a cut again this year, was hanging out drinking beer at a place called the Hooters Owl's Nest off the 17th hole and then burned some time at the Philadelphia Phillies' spring training camp when he could have been working on his short game. I caught some heat from Daly fans whose basic message was: Lighten up and get off the guy's case.

Discussing the behavior of someone as self-destructive as pro golfer John Daly is dicey business. Too snarky and it comes off as cruel. Too preachy and it comes off as too righteous. I'm not sure we'll sound just the right tone here, but Daly's recent weekend is a pretty instructive primer on the guy. Daly started off at a PGA Tour stop in Palm Harbor, Fla., that's in the greater Tampa-St.Pete-Clearwater area. (The tournament is called the PODS Championship, and, boy, I can really get on a riff about these stupid corporate names for golf tournaments - I mean, PODS are portable storage bins where you stuff junk that you should probably throw out, right?

OAKMONT, Pa. -- When it was all over, Tiger Woods stood next to the new U.S. Open champion and tried to smile. You didn't have to read his mind because everyone shared the same thought, whether you watched from the stands or from your couch. Tiger just lost the U.S. Open to this guy? It's true, Angel Cabrera - Argentina's John Daly - took the trophy home, beating the world's No. 1 golfer by a single stroke at Oakmont Country Club. And for the second straight year, the most interesting thing about the U.S. Open was not who won, but who lost.

Good morning --John Daly --If you're giving away clubs, expect your galleries to start growing. QUESTION OF THE DAY What was the worst part of the Ravens' performance Sunday? They showed up. Glenn Rothschild Pasadena The unsportsmanlike penalties were classless and showed the arrogance of an organization in decline. The 10-year love affair is officially over. Bob Kahl Bel Air Winning teams exhibit discipline, focus and sportsmanship. The gloating, showboating, undisciplined Ravens are losers in more ways than even their record shows.

1 Mad about UM: Comcast Center is host to Maryland Madness to kick off basketball season, starting at 7:30 p.m. (doors open an hour earlier). And, yes, we suppose that should be "tip off" instead. 2 You're velcome: Given the Broncos' home turf, Hawaii is quite likely to be Blue Hawaii for tonight's game at Boise State (8, ESPN). 3 Bringing sexy: golf back: Justin Timberlake (left) has his name on this week's PGA Tour event in Las Vegas (5 p.m., Golf Channel). Please, no wardrobe malfunctions with John Daly.

PONTE VEDRA, Fla. -- Davis Love III beat the odds and eased some of the frustration of a recent playoff loss when he turned back the late threats of Nick Faldo and towering Phil Blackmar and scored a four-shot victory. The fourth triumph of his seven-season career on the PGA Tour was secured with two great shots down the stretch -- a bold attack on a tucked pin on the island green of the 17th hole, and a clinching approach to the double-dangerous 18th. Love won it with a closing 5-under-par 67 and a 273 total, 15 under par, matching the tournament record on the TPC at Sawgrass, the home course for golf's touring pros.

AUGUSTA, Ga. - Ryan Moore, the college kid, was standing with a few reporters under a clubhouse veranda shortly after threatening weather suspended play at Augusta National yesterday. A reporter mentioned having heard spectators discussing Moore's comment that he thought he could win the Masters this year. "Did I really say that?" said Moore, a 22-year-old senior at Nevada-Las Vegas who put together one of the greatest seasons in amateur golf history in 2004. No one said anything at first, but then a smile eased onto Moore's face, effectively answering his question.

JOHN DALY and Vin Baker play totally different sports. One's a big-hitting golfer. The other is a former NBA All-Star and Olympian. One plays an individual sport, predominantly white. The other plays a team sport, infused with and marketed to hip-hop nation. John Daly and Vin Baker play in totally different worlds. Or do they? At the Buick Open on Sunday, one of the world's most famous alcoholics scored a stunning victory. Daly won his first PGA tournament since 1995. That was a long dry spell: 189 tournaments without a win. John Daly: The mere mention of his name conjures up vivid images of that "grip it and rip it" swing and that down-home, cherubic face.