Said NBC's Peter Jacobsen: "Where's the Sham Wow guy when you need him?"
On Sunday, NBC did an excellent job of toggling between leaders Ricky Barnes and Lucas Glover and staying in touch with Phil and Tiger.
Mickelson to NBC's Mark Rolfing shortly after his 40-foot birdie putt on No. 18 ended his third round: "I'm one good round away."
The process started Thursday at 10:18 a.m. when the horn suspended play and USGA executive director David Fay said "it is tough to deal with Mother Nature when she gets irritated."
Fay made a cameo Sunday to explain why Ricky Barnes did not violate rules when he took extra practice swings in the fescue.
Saturday, when an entire round got played, NBC made the most of the situation including a sparring match between Johnny Miller and Roker — Miller jokingly called him Dr. Doom — who cut short a vacation to make an appearance.
We didn't get a champion crowned but we got a lot of golf Sunday. Which is saying something.
When third-round leader Ricky Barnes had a birdie and then an eagle on No. 4, the analysts were ready to laud a guy whose bona fides and nerves they had questioned the day before.
"This was the eagle that landed for Ricky Barnes," NBC's Dan Hicks said.
"A Cabrera performance," said Johnny Miller answering colleague Bob Murphy — who asked 'is this the coming out party for Ricky Barnes?' — referring to Angel Cabrera's 2007 U.S. Open win.
When Barnes faltered in the middle of the round, Miller explained that his swing is "two wrongs to make a right" and when his right elbow flies, bad things happen.
•The final round concludes today with coverage starting on ESPN at 9 a.m. ET before moving to NBC at 11:30 a.m. ET.
Noonan, Noonan
On Saturday, as Justin Leonard was lining up a tricky putt, Miller said there was no one better to make the putt, describing Leonard's stroke as "born in heaven." Leonard then hit an awful putt and Miller could only laugh. On Sunday, Jacobsen guaranteed a birdie putt by Woods on the final hole. Tiger slid it a few feet by and Jacobsen said, "I apologize."
Camera work
During Saturday's second round, the NBC cameras showed a replay of Woods guiding his tee shot on the par-3 eighth with his tongue. The Jordanesque gesture ended with the ball 12-feet from the hole, more proof Tiger is better than you and I.
Challenge now in July
The Golf Digest U.S. Open Challenge with Michael Jordan, Justin Timberlake and Ben Roethlisberger will be shown July 4, after the ladies final at Wimbledon.
HBO twins Hall of Famers
At 10 p.m. ET Tuesday, HBO gives us a mixture of history and comedy on Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.
Hall of Famers Bill Russell and Jim Brown provide the history. Former outfielder Lenny Dykstra presents the laughs.
Gumbel interviews Russell and Brown, friends for a half-century, who talk about their careers and their activism in the Civil Rights movement. Brown talks about his disappointment that Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan didn't continue the work that he and Russell began. "… I know they both know better, OK. And I know they both can do better without hurting themselves."
Bernard Goldberg updates his 2008 profile of Dykstra. The interviewer can barely contain his mirth as he leads either a brilliant or delusional Dykstra through his profanity-laced paces.
Europhiles no more
Fran Fraschilla, who is ESPN's NBA Draft expert on European players, says executives have slowed their roll in recent years concerning the drafting of foreign players.
He expects three to five Europeans to go in the first round of Thursday's draft with another six to 10 possible in the second round.
Said Fraschilla: "Teams are doing a much better job of vetting of who can come over here and either play right away or help down the road."
Fraschilla on two point guards projected to be in the top 10:
•Ricky Rubio, 18, Spain: "You can put him in the same category (as a passer) with, and this is sacrilegious, with Pistol Pete, Magic, Larry Bird and Steve Nash. But he's a kid … the best case scenario is that he goes to a team that will hand him the ball and let him take his lumps."
•Brandon Jennings, 19, Italy: "There is no question he has terrific physical ability but I would not give him the keys to my Maserati until he had little more driver's ed."
Pearl's picks
Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl will be a draft analyst for NBA TV and NBA.com.
His top seven: Blake Griffin (to L.A. Clippers), Hasheem Thabeet (Memphis); James Harden (Oklahoma City); Ricky Rubio (Sacramento), Tyreke Evans (Washington), Stephen Curry (Minnesota) and Jordan Hill (Golden State).
