"Other players have reportedly received TUEs. Why?"

Doug Barron continues to make a convincing case for a Therapeutic Use Exemption while raising questions about the tour's desire to single him out.

I played four Nationwide events early in 2009 and was never tested (I think because officials knew about my condition). In June, I received a sponsor's exemption to the Tour's St. Jude Classic. As the tournament approached, I was so depleted I could hardly get out of bed, so I took a shot of testosterone. I knew I was tempting fate.

I shot 72 in the first round, and was then asked to supply a urine sample. Last November, I was notified that I'd tested positive. I was suspended and blocked from Q school. I planned to appeal, but commissioner Tim Finchem, the sole arbiter in such cases, told me I'd never win.

Other players have reportedly received TUEs. Why? What are their levels and what are they taking? I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but one Tour round, one drug test, for a guy with a widely known issue, didn't feel right. Was I being made an example?

Of course. But why is the question that will inevitably be answered in court. And we know how well that worked out last time.

"Slow play is a legitimate issue, but not to the point where I think we need to do something like that."

Another head-scratcher from Commissioner Tim Finchem, this time in John Feinstein's Golf World column on slow play:

Of course, it has been 18 years since a PGA Tour player received a stroke penalty for slow play -- and Finchem doesn't sound as though he wants to see it happen again anytime soon.

"Slow play is a legitimate issue," he said, "but not to the point where I think we need to do something like that. The real problem isn't how long it takes to play a round but when one player makes it uncomfortable for the other player or players because of his pace. That's just bad etiquette. And it's true, we do have some players who are in denial about being slow."

So is the Commissioner sending out word, or has sent out word that he does not want a stroke penalty assessed? We know he's not a fan of controversy, so it wouldn't be a stretch to think he's sent word that penalty shots are brand-averse.

Gary Van Sickle also tackled slow play this week for SI and did it in very entertaining fashion. Naturally, he picked the one week they actually played faster at The Players, but he still offers several insights into the problem and a glossary of slow play handbook.

Clockblocked - Forget Greenwich Mean Time. On the PGA Tour, Time Par (no relation to Old Man Par) is what matters. Time Par is the time it should take to play each hole, as determined by the rules crew after careful study. At the Players, for instance, Time Par was two hours, 14 minutes for the front nine and 2:15 for the back, plus five minutes to make the turn. Time Par for the entire round by a threesome was 4:34, 3:58 for a twosome.

The 40 Time - How cool would it be if golf, like basketball, had a shot clock? It would be handy too, because once a group has been alerted that it's on the clock, a player has 40 seconds to hit his shot once it's his turn. The first to play the tee shot on a par-3, a second shot on a par-4 or par-5, a third shot on a par-5 or a stroke near or on the green, gets an additional 20 seconds. If a player exceeds his allotted time, he receives a bad timing.

Commissioner's Pig Roast Exclusive: See The Dinner Options

My NSA sources heard about the Commissioner hosting his second annual Southern Style Pig Roast for the media Friday evening and forwarded this exclusive image of the Commish prepping the main course.

 

"So please don't offer any lectures about how many times Woods has gone ballistic, especially when you have a clear financial stake in the spin-control rehab of his reputation."

Steve Elling points out that the Commissioner's suggestion of "overblown" Tiger coverage and excessive focus on one club toss was, well, wrong.

Monday, in an interview in the Jacksonville paper as a lead-in to the Players Championship, Tim Finchem said: "In his early years, [Woods] had difficulty controlling his actions but he worked hard at it and got away from it. But he tossed a club in Australia and everyone was writing about Tiger tossing clubs. Well, he didn't toss clubs ... he tossed a club. It wasn't a habit." As a point of fact, writers from two major sports websites, including CBSSports.com, watched in shock as Woods tomahawked a driver into the ground with such ferocity last year in Boston that the club bounded into a dry water hazard next to the tee, where his caddie was forced to wade into waist-deep hay to retrieve it -- after he finally located it. It was an astounding display of temper worthy of Tommy Bolt. So please don't offer any lectures about how many times Woods has gone ballistic, especially when you have a clear financial stake in the spin-control rehab of his reputation. I have an entire DVD sent to me by a fan, filled with videotaped examples of Woods' tantrums and titanium tosses over the years. To assert otherwise is as unprofessional as it is transparently absurd.

Well, should be an interesting Commissioner's pig roast this Friday at TPC Sawgrass. What do you think Ty: yours truly, Elling and Huggan at the same table?